3 Body Problem vs Three-Body

In which I compare Netflix's with Tencent's (China) adaptation. This issue is non-spoilery. Part 1 of 2 because I wrote a freakin' long essay.

When I heard that Netflix was going to adapt Liu Cixin's The Three-Body Problem trilogy of novels and that the people behind it were the ones behind The Game of Thrones my initial reaction was:

It's not purely because David Benioff and D. B. Weiss totally ruined the best fantasy drama ever made with that shoddy last season.

And true, my trepidation has a lot to do with how little confidence I have in Hollywood depicting one of the most sensitive periods of China's history, the Cultural Revolution. For god sake, they couldn't even do China's folk tales right (exhibit 1: Disney’s live action Mulan), let alone China's history. (PS: I’ll be covering more of this topic in part 2.)

But my main concern was around the inevitable China vs West comment wars on social media and movie forums everywhere, with both sides touting their version as superior, and then the inevitable "Communist Party bad", "OMG Chinese propaganda" and "You only like the Chinese/Netflix version cos you're pro-China/pro-West" conversation points.

And indeed it did happen. One of the Three-Body forums I lurked at devolved into East vs West squabbles daily. 

This was the most un-fun part of the whole Three-Body watching experience, having to wade through Sinophobic-tinged comments and lectures about the awfulness of a certain country, never mind that many of these users hail from countries with as blemished a history as China’s, and that most comments are wildly ignorant and off the mark.

And damn it, can we, like, not talk about Xi Jin Ping, commies and evil dictatorships when I'm trying to talk about entertainment omg??

Tencent vs Netflix versions

But okay, I'm pretty sure you don't want me to rant about the evils of over-consuming Reddit, but about the drama itself.

First, a disclosure: I've not read the novels, but I've watched the 30-episode Tencent version of Three-Body. The drama was considered a very loyal adaptation of Ciu Luxin's novels. 

I wrote an extensive review of the Tencent’s Three-Body at my blog for Chinese and Korean dramas, DramaTea, so do read it if you like.

But the TL;DR version of my review of the Tencent version is this: While it dragged in the first 10 episodes, the writers and directors did a fantastic job in fleshing out the very complex, hard-sci-fi story. 

I enjoyed how subtly and nuanced they depicted the horrors and impact of the cultural revolution. Concerns that it would be completely censored out were unfounded. If anything, the entire drama was about how this historical event had a massive impact on all of humanity.

Initially, I didn't want to watch 3 Body Problem, especially after reading the reviews and thoughts of those who had watched it.

But my brother was watching the show during my recent Penang vacay, so I ended up watching it with him.

I didn't hate it, surprisingly.

But I didn't like it either.

The best way to illustrate the difference between the two versions can be summed with these two images:

Tencent version:

Netflix version:

Basically, the Netflix version is a simplified version for the masses. Three-Body for Dummies, if you will.

In the Tencent version, your brain will need to do some extra work to figure things out. 

The Netflix version doesn't require you to think at all because we have characters explaining things to you like you're a ten-year-old.

For example, in the Netflix version, instead of us slowly finding out what the refrain, "Physics doesn't exist", means characters will literally tell us why in the first few episodes.

This "tell, don't show" approach dulls the significance and emotional impact of this mysterious event and many other events in the drama. 

I also don't understand some of the show’s creative decisions.

Like, why introduce the girl NPC character that constantly screams “Help me”? Is that a way to elicit urgency? Or turning the computer into a sexy female samurai? Both felt very cheesy.

Also, the Netflix version excluded the farmer and shooter hypothesis, a major theory that forms the foundation of the story. I have to guess that maybe the writers thought that it'll be "too much theoretical science" for the average Joe.

Don't get me started about turning the main character into several characters.

I guess I’m supposed to care about these fellas or something.

The absence of Wang Miao, the protagonist, was keenly felt. Instead, I have to watch the “Oxford 5” deal with the drama of their lives rather than the drama of the planet. (At some points I wanted to yell: “Dude, I have no time for your existential crisis or dating dilemmas. There’s an alien thingamajic problem to deal with, remember??)

Yet, the simplified Netflix version has its benefits. For one, it can be helpful for those who got lost in the weeds in the Tencent version, which is so subtle at telling the story that you sometimes take a long while to figure out why certain things are happening.

But the oversimplification of plots, characters and concepts has watered down a lot of the beauty and nuance of the Tencent version. The subtle implication of horror and despair.

As this is review is non-spoilery, I can’t really be detailed on the plot points, but I’ll explore this in next Friday’s issue*, which is about my thoughts about the depiction of the Cultural Revolution and what Chinese netizens think about the drama.

* The newsletter was at a robust 2,000 words and I thought that well, maybe email inboxes won’t like that.

So, which one is better?

In the end, it depends.

For one, the Netflix version will be best for you if you prefer an easier way to access the Three-Body tale. Meaning, you don't have to crack your head trying to figure out tough scienc-y stuff or plod through 30 episodes of a drama in a foreign language and squinting at English subtitles. It's a pretty clear-cut tale, albeit clumsily done.

About the criticisms about "forced diversity" from some corners of the web, I think as this is Britain, this level of diversity is not unusual and felt quite natural. I didn't mind it at all.

But, ultimately, I still preferred the Tencent version, for its respect for the audience's intelligence, of Chinese history, subtle and nuanced storytelling and depth. 

However, I didn't really hate the Netflix version as much as I thought (unless I start thinking about what they did to Ye Wenjie's character).

There's nothing wrong at all if you enjoyed the Netflix version or even prefer it, but big portions of the story, the deeper meaning of the tale, would be lost to you.

ℹ️You can watch Tencent's Three-Body on Amazon Prime and Viki. Note, WeTV recently released a 26-episode anniversary version which is said to be better paced and edited.

I leave you with the trailer from Tencent’s Three-Body.

PS: This newsletter has bits of my post from Reddit. In case you're wondering if I stole this from a random Redditor, that Redditor is indeed, me.

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