Kochase

They've always done it with little to no promotion because they're not allowed to promote it. That's how it always was... it's nothing new with this new wave.

Lol I think this one is all projection. Translation is a little off too. I didn't hear any meaningful pauses where it was mentioned. He basically gave some new year wishes, and said he'll be sharing some great roles and great works with everyone this year. Very basic response haha.

But oh lord do I wish to be proven wrong!

While we're waiting, for another historical / political drama that has good bromance, I recommend Secret of the Three Kingdoms - https://kisskh.at/23728-secrets-of-three-kingdoms. It's based on a Chinese classic, and Tan Jianci is in it too! He was one of the side characters, but he gave a stellar performance as the complex character, Cao Pi. I originally came for the leads, but I remember thinking 'damn that Cao Pi actor is pretty outstanding'... and a few years later TJC is now quite a big name himself haha.

I can't believe I did not make the connection that Tan Jianci was Cao Pi here... watched this way back in the day and then became a Tan Jianci fan after watching Under the Skin and awaiting Winner is King.

Even back here, I remember thinking Cao Pi was such a well developed characters.

Can't tell if you're being serious since this the comment section is full of people talking about what they dislike about the show. 😅

I paused it halfway and plan to give it a finish once it's done airing. It's definitely not as awful as some people make it out to be, but like... honest assessment so far - the writing is sloppy. The acting also doesn't shine... idk how much due to the sloppy writing, how much due to acting skills. I won't comment. The setup had a lot of potential, IMO, and I really liked the premise for all the characters! Their personalities + positions to each other should have made for a very interesting dynamic and story development. But as of episode 4 or 5, there are just some scenes / drama that just... scream drama for the sake of drama. It doesn't align well with the development of the characters. That, or they straight up just made the characters unlikeable.

Anyway... I'll give it another chance once it finishes. Honestly, I'll probably still enjoy it as a background drama. But I found the potential sputtering out where I paused at least, because the writing got really sloppy. Some of the zero to sixty action / drama is just... a little ridiculous lol. Like the fight at the dance hall. Like... what. Lol.

I think this is one show that gave the impression it would tell a heavier plot, meaning more complex writing and development, but it's failing to deliver that elevated level of expectation. I would expect this level of writing from one of the simpler, purely university setting dramas.

Censored adaptations can't really be promoted, so cast / crew / people related to production sometimes post things to hint at potential upcoming things and build up hype... but we've had several hints before which fell through. Still, could be promising given A League of Nobleman did manage to air, and it's ending soon so naturally, Tencent will want to put out something to fill that market.

Only because League of Nobleman is ending... they're thinking something else might drop. But it's really all still very wishful thinking. 🤣

Ah ok thanks for the clarification

Yeah... back in the Cultural Revolution days, *not* participating in the fervor was a sign that you were a bad egg. So no, silence was very much *not* an option. (Although in the end, you could do everything 'right' and still get punished.)

I get it, we want to stand up for justice and everything... and I'm not saying people should be a bystander to 'evil' happening. However, it is kind of a privilege of someone born / raised in a stable, democratic nation (myself included) to be able to say this kind of stuff. Sometimes, you don't get an option. And being 'brave' means not only putting yourself at risk, but those around you.

I try to just focus on applauding the folks who do stand out and say things, because that takes guts. For the rest... I just try to ignore and not pass judgment. With high profile figures like him, you never know what's truth and what's CCP leverage in the background.

Does the Taiwanese print start out also with the Cultural Revolution scene? I thought they avoided that in the Chinese versions, but then a friend mentioned reading that as the first scene in the Taiwanese version. Are the Taiwanese and Chinese Mainland prints also slightly different?

But I do know the English and Mainland versions are at least pretty different. Liu Cixin also recommends the English version as a result of it being more authentic to his intentions since the Mainland one had to be rearranged for censorship.

Hmm idk... part of being a physicist is acknowledging a set of laws, sure, but everyone knows that theoretically, the laws of nature can change, we just haven't really observed them to (in a major way). We've definitely made modifications though with the discovery of subatomic particles and such, I can believe a number of people react poorly, but I would bet there's several physicists who probably thrive on the idea that the laws of nature may be challenged.

But it was one of those details I let the story just have. Seemed like a cool twist and explanation.

Wait, that's not true, right? I don't think they're ever shown physically in the books?

That it's trending on Weibo makes me both giddy and terrified. Please fans, stay cool. Don't mention HYX, and so maybe it can actually air!

Yeah. Hence why I'm curious haha. I know the Chinese version already had a different ordering of events to address this... but I think censorship has gotten even harsher since the publication of the book.

Re. the Netflix comment, I'd normally agree... except there is the huge element of the translation differences to consider. Due to the cultural revolution elements, Liu Cixin was unable to publish the Chinese version the way he wanted to originally. And apparently, Ken Liu (the translator) cottoned onto the less-than-natural narrative flow and reverted the story structure to what Liu Cixin had originally wanted. And now, apparently, Liu Cixin recommends the English translation over the Chinese one, for audiences who speak English. You can read the Ken Liu interview here: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/03/magazine/ken-liu-three-body-problem-chinese-science-fiction.html

I'm assuming Netflix will be adapting it based on the English version of the book, which will give it a leg up on faithfulness to the spirit of the story. Of course, that doesn't mean they can't totally mess it up from there.

Anyway, I'm hoping both will be good, and we just get to enjoy it twice, perhaps in different ways.

There was a NYT piece on Ken Liu's translation process. Very fascinating, especially the part where he was so attuned to the author's intent, he proposed an edit that matched Liu Cixin's original thought process (which had to be changed due to censorship concerns).

You can very likely check it out of a nearby library. It's super mainstream at this point.

So I'm waiting for majority of the episodes to air before I start... but can someone who's read the books tell me if (and how) they're handling the Cultural Revolution elements in the adaptation?

It'll be quite interesting to see how they compare. I wonder how the rights thing worked... you'd think there were some exclusivity rights to each particular type of media... did Tencent and Netflix basically concur that their target audiences were entirely different?

On one hand, I'd say I trust Tencent to do a more better adaptation, since Chinese entertainment is pretty okay with adapting directly from novels and therefore tends to stay more faithful. Western entertainment often seems to be allergic to the possibility of almost 'copying' novels... I guess partially because they often adapt to movies instead of long dramas, so there's a major time constraint. But sometimes, it feels like they're trying to insert unnecessary creativity.

On the other hand... I'm not sure if the book, directly translated, provides the best pacing for the screen. It's not conventional storytelling, and there's a lot of concepts to convey, so that'll pose an interesting challenge. Also, there's the element of the Cultural Revolution. That's one thing I don't anticipate Tencent's version being able to stay faithful to. (Haven't watched it yet since I'm waiting for most of it to air first.) And actually, I believe the original author touts the English translation / version as better since in the Chinese one, he was forced to pare down the influence of the Cultural Revolution in a way that diminishes the story a bit. So apparently, he's told people who can read English to read the English version instead.

I would frame it more as... it is very much sci-fi, but it falls in the category of sci-fi that has a lot of social commentary, politics, philosophy, psychology, etc. More similar to Dune than Star Wars or Star Trek, which are more action journey focused.

So - for sci-fi fans who really only like the sci-fi setting and action scenes more than anything else... they might not enjoy it as much.

And similarly, for people who dislike sci-fi because they think it's only about 'weird alien things' and 'made up hi-tech nonsense' (I'm going off of what people who dislike sci-fi might say, not my own opinion)... consider giving this a shot.

It's certainly not the 'popular' definition of sci-fi in movie / tv media, but there are lots of sci-fi books that fall into the cognitive realm of enjoyment.