More Fiction Than Science

(091224) The Netflix miniseries, 3 Body Problem is an intelligent and thought-provoking blend of mystery, dark drama, a little real history, and a lot of speculative fiction. The show explores current cutting-edge science issues and its stories involve aliens, virtual reality, and alternate universes. The series was created by David Bernoff and D. B. Weiss, the creators of the acclaimed  fantasy/action-drama Game of Thrones, one of the best streaming shows I have ever seen (at least until the last episode.) This series is nowhere near as good as that show at its best.

It is about a group of scientists investigating the phenomena of a sudden outbreak of scientist suicides. If the show had fewer protagonists and plot it could have almost been an extended episode of X Files.
The miniseries is based on the critically acclaimed Liu Cixxon science fiction novel trilogy which has often been called un-filmable. The show and novel have disturbing implications about virtual reality and parallel universes. Like Frankenstein, Dr. Strangelove, and the story of Prometheus, the show implies that there is certain knowledge humans should not or may not want to possess in the end.

The early part of the series takes place in the past during the Maoist Revolution in 1948-49 China. The film opens with a rather brutal scene in which a Chinese scientist has been apprehended by Communist forces that see him as a capitalist tool.  He is brutally beaten to death right in front of his wife and daughter. Unsurprisingly, Chinese authorities were not crazy about this scene and Chinese leaders railed against the whole series, calling it one more example of the US media pushing Western cultural hegemony while pretending to be diverse. Of course, his daughter Ye Wenjie (Zine Tseng) who also saw the horrendous execution is appalled. She is one of the major characters in the show and the miniseries jumps back and forth between her story and that of the American characters. In one of the timelines the series explores the daughter is sent to a labor camp. But since she is a top-notch physicist who was tutored by her father, the government cannot resist enlisting her on a mysterious secret project because there is hardly anyone on her level in her field. But like her dad, she too suffers for trying to convey uncomfortable truths to China’s authorities.

The US side of the story begins when two very different men see what turns out to be a very unnatural phenomenon. They see the stars briefly brighten and then seemingly flicker on and off. Both of the observers are physicians but one of them, Saul (Jovan Abejo), a frequent drug user, and is stoned at the time while the other man is less doubtful about his vision.

The show is set in a time of great crisis. Particle accelerators begin showing results that go against all scientific laws and American scientists start seeing numbers materialize in their minds which turn out to be some kind of message from intelligent extraterrestrial life forms.  There are also many suicides in the scientific community and a policeman named Da Shi (Benedict Wong who plays Wong in the Marvel films). He reports to Thomas Wade (Liam Cunningham), a mysterious figure who belongs to a secret government organization. Like many of the government agents in X-Files, we don’t know whether he is good or evil or whether he is trying to tell them to learn the truth or cover up government secrets.

Five students of a former teacher also reconvene to find out what’s going on with the deaths after their teacher dies. The motley group includes the already mentioned drug-using nihilist, Saul (Jovan Adepo),  Auggie, a super smart engineering prodigy,  (Eliza Gonzales of Alita Battle Angel), an important physicist, Jin Cheng (Jess Hong),  the super-rich junk food tycoon, Jack (John Bradley), and the underachieving Will (Alex Sharp) who teaches science to bored high school students. The dynamics in the group are a bit uncomfortable because, since their high school days, Will has always harbored an unexpressed crush on Jin. Jonathan Pryce (Brazil) later shows up playing a former eco-terrorist who has since become an oil billionaire. The whole rest of the show has these characters gradually finding answers to the elaborate scientific characters and they keep meeting mysterious characters with superior knowledge which could either be their salvation or destruction.

When some scientists begin to interact with alien devices, they become transported to different alternate realities across continents and times. It seems like the ways that the scientists interact with the game scenarios could either save or doom the alternate realities.  The story has certain similarities to the Marvel comic series in which the Illuminati are trying to prevent different planets from colliding and destroying each other. It turns out that the ET's are an advanced race that wants to relocate and they are testing out humans to see if they are worthy. They transport them to different civilizations to see if they can find a way to save people during that place’s apocalypse.

 Although I liked the show, I found the story overstuffed, complicated (sometimes needlessly), and at times hard to follow. Also, viewers looking for a warm and fussy feeling or something that will elevate them emotionally will not find much to like here. The show is more successful on an intellectual than emotional level. But viewers looking for a little brainy cinematic fun that creatively uses some scientific issues may find it intriguing and involving if they put a little effort into it and avoid multi-tasking while watching it.