A fateful decision made in 1960s China reverberates in the present, where a group of scientists partner with a detective to confront an existential planetary threat.
So yeah, as expected, this is the Dumb and Dumber version of the book. In comparison to the Chinese tv show it feels very rushed and sometimes comically flawed. While the action is moved from China to the Western world, with a lot of elements being dumbed down and people’s stories were rushed (or completely skipped), I think it’s still a fairly decent TV show, especially in the last three episodes, where the story covers some of the other books of the trilogy. There’s no world where this is as good as the Tencent one, but it stands properly on its own as a decent introduction to the universe devised by Liu Cixin.
What is missing: the great connection between Wang Miao and Shi Quiang (who are named Auggie Salazar and Da Shi in this version) who barely interact with each other; the absolutely great dark sci-fi theme song, soundtrack and mood of the sound design
What I hated: this being a Dumb and Dumber production, half of the cast is Game of Thrones B-listers. Mike Evans is played by the High Sparrow, Samwell Tarly is somewhat a billionaire and drops fucks like he’s Samuel L. Jackson, and the no balls bald Varys is now a Pope. There are others, but who gives a fuck by now.
What I really hated: D&D, in their classic mode, tried to blend in elements from the other books and mostly failed.
Here’s an article detailing all the changes and differences between the book and the D&D series.
My final opinion is that the TV show is an unfortunate attempt at breathing life into an universe that didn’t actually needed it, but if it gets popular enough to draw some people to watch the Tencent version or to read the book, I can see that as a success. Three popcorns.
