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Maya Rushing Walker's avatar

I'm watching the series now! I don't usually watch sci-fi, I'm not a fan of the over-use of CGI, and the science often sounds really silly. So far I'm enjoying this one, but I'm not done yet...I remember being shocked at the terrible conclusion to Game of Thrones, it was SO bad...so I have to reserve judgment about anything these writers are involved in. I always like a diverse cast and non-English dialogue, so...so far so good?

And will have to watch that Kashimashi episode! I'm such a nerd, I started on their entire Hikaru Genji playlist!

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Leanne Ogasawara's avatar

Good morning! This is a really long transcript of a podcast, but I enjoyed it a lot and I pretty much totally agree down the line with Jenny. I really loved the Chinese version or the Chinese production, which I agree is really slow, but it captured so much of the spirit of the novels I really feel like Netflix screwed up all the moral issues and I like that she called it the Scooby-Doo a fact because that’s exactly what I was trying to say about turning it into a friendship film instead of a book about really big scientific and philosophical issues https://open.substack.com/pub/sinica/p/transcript-did-netflix-ruin-the-three?r=9ofya&utm_medium=ios and I totally hated Game of Thrones. I stopped watching because I thought it was so bad.

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Barbara Shoup's avatar

Thought-provoking--and scary: The aliens are right, our earth is a beautiful paradise. And Liu is correct that broadcasting our location is probably not the best idea… it would be like putting out an ad in a local newspaper with your address: “Beautiful home, doors not locked.”

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Brooks's avatar

Definitely Exhibit B!

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Nishant Jain's avatar

I have not started watching the show fearing precisely that American-ization of storytelling that you pointed out. Sigh!

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Elle Griffin's avatar

I’m so bummed about this because I can’t get into the books but would love to watch.

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Leanne Ogasawara's avatar

You might still enjoy the Netflix show!!

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Elle Griffin's avatar

I'll give it a go!

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Leanne Ogasawara's avatar

If you watch I would love to know your thoughts!!

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Made in DNA's avatar

I read the first Three Body novel and found it was interesting but ultimately was not my thing.

Exhibit B, please. I'm a hairy bastard and I like a snarky cowboy hat and fast cars. Admittedly, I like girls with black teeth and no eyebrows though.

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Leanne Ogasawara's avatar

LOL!!!!!!! Yes to cowboy hats and fast cars!!! I loved the first three body problem best... I am mid-way through book two and have heard great things about book three...peter Durfee was the one who got me into them btw!

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Made in DNA's avatar

DURRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRF! He's a great guy. I need to get back to Toe-key-yo to visit him sometime. And you, too, if you are in that area and don't mind meeting up. (It's cool to say "no.")

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Leanne Ogasawara's avatar

I would never say no to that!!

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Made in DNA's avatar

Honored. I would like to head there in summer sometime if finances and time are fortuitous. Will keep you informed.

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Leanne Ogasawara's avatar

❤️❤️❤️

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Sally's avatar

Oh, the hero's journey! The Netflix version lost you right there. These writers don't know how else to establish point(s) of view? Lol! And, Exhibit B, thank you.

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Leanne Ogasawara's avatar

Exhibit B!!!!!

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Sourabh Gupta's avatar

Hey Leanne,

I watched the series since i had not read the books. i will not go into its quality (average) and the dumbing down of ideas, but i have a bigger issue to raise — about the book and hence the series too.

Why do humans think they are the guardians of the earth? what if all the cats and the whales and real bugs or pests and the trees and fishes and the monkeys are told aliens are coming for their home? what will they do? will they understand or even care?

Will mankind even survive in the next 400 years because of climate change or nuclear war?

if i told a crowd on a loudspeaker in a town square in india (since we are a democracy) that aliens are coming in 400 years, will they care? why do we have this Anthropocene hubris that we, humans, will take care of earth? because we can’t. we don’t matter. nature will gobble us up. our hubris comes from collective action; and collective destruction.

A far more interesting book is Seveneves by Neal Stephenson (even though it also has the Anthropocene hubris).

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Leanne Ogasawara's avatar

I have been wanting to read that Stephenson book for such a long time! i’m so glad you reminded me about it! Thank you so much. And I agree as I found it hard to believe that the human beings would care that much about something coming 400 years in the future but it was really interesting because in China, maybe having a culture being so focused on continuity over so many thousands of years maybe people tend to think in terms of deep time. I always thought Japan had a much longer sense of time than in the United States and definitely there’s a stronger focus on the greater good over the individual if I was speaking in sweeping terms! But that was always the part of the book that kind of made me stop and wonder would the people really care and it seemed really hard to believe with the London setting….

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