Paul Levinson's Blog: Levinson at Large, page 22

Podcast Review of 3 Body Problem season one

Welcome to Light On Light Through, Episode 380, in which I review the first season of 3 Body Problem.

written blog post review of first season of 3 Body Problem science fiction works mentioned in the podcast: Ender's Game, Childhood's End, To Serve Man, Dune, Foundation

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American Rust season 2: Zooming In on that Ending

My wife and I really enjoyed the first season of American Rust on Showtime nearly three years ago, and we enjoyed the second season on Amazon that we binged in the past few days even more.

Everything ranging from the dialogue to the plot to even the ending was in high gear in this second season.

[And here now is an advisory about Spoilers in what follows.]

Plotwise, it took a really long time before you could tell who the killer was.  And once we found out and he was disposed of, our heroes were challenged by another killer, which led to the high-octane, ambiguous ending.

By high octane, I mean Grace and Del and Billy and family sitting around a dinner table for several harrowing minutes as Fisher gets them in his sniper sights, perched outside.  When Billy, now with the benefit of some Army training a marksman, spots a red dot, he goes outside to take care of the sniper.  And there second season ends, as we hear a shot ring out.  I looked over that final scene several times, and it looks to me that though Fisher is aware that Billy or someone has exited the house, he hasn't had time to refocus his aim on Billy.  So if there is a third season -- and I surely hope there is one -- I predict we'll find out that Billy shot and killed Fisher before he got off a shot.  (My wife takes a more ambiguous view.) On the other hand, it's certainly also possible that Fisher got off that shot, not at Billy, but at someone inside the house at that dinner table.)

I will say that one problem I had with that great ending is why didn't Fisher shoot at Del or Grace right after he had them in his sights?  Of course, I'm no sniper, so maybe that's what snipers do, play around with getting their targets just right.

Meanwhile, another acutely cliff-hanging note near the ending comes when Steve's assistant cop Hannah comes to in the hospital.  She was pretty much awake when Del gave Steve his confession.  And though Steve was killed by Grace -- another great scene -- and the recording of Del's confession destroyed, Hannah could trigger an investigation of Del and the three murders he confessed to if she remembers what Del said at that moment and anyone in authority believes her.  But, optimist that I am, I think even remembering what Del said is fairly unlikely given the bad shape that Hanna was in -- having been shot by Russell and barely hanging on that moment. Also, I assume that even if she remembers what Del said, anyone defending him at a trial could impugn Hannah's testimony, by letting the judge and jury know what condition she was in when she heard or thought she heard Del talking.

Now, I said that the dialogue was in high gear.  My favorite line: when Vic walks into the bar with his broken finger in a bandage, and the bartender asks him that perfect, sarcastic question.  Not only a great line, but she delivered it with just the right tone of voice.

I read somewhere that Amazon cares less about what reviewers are saying than how many people are viewing a series.  Here's hoping that they're legion, and we see a Season 3 before too long.

See also American Rust 1.1-2: Pennsylvania Noir ... American Rust 1.3: Highs and Lows of Life at the Same Time ... American Rust 1.4-5: Tightening Noose and Fraying Relationships ... American 1.6: The Debts ... American Rust 1.7: The Dead Can't Buy Drugs ... American Rust 1.8: Finally, Some Hope ... American Rust 1.9: Needed, Another Season, or at Least Episode

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3 Body Problem: The Joke Was Great, and the Last Few Episodes Were Even Better

I haven't read the novel by Liu Cixin and its sequels, and I didn't read much about the series because I wanted to be surprised.  I'd say the first season of 3 Body Problem was superb -- a powerful mix of thought-provoking, stunning action, and heartbreaking human stories, all in support of a story of a life-threatening interstellar intelligent species, the San-Ti, who have been in contact with our planet for more than 50 years and now are approaching us, some 400 years away from arriving, which may mean the end of our species.  And there was a wise and funny joke about Einstein and God which I hadn't heard before.

But almost all of that happened in the last few episodes, and the beginning and middle of the eight-episode first season was bogged down with a computer game the interstellar beings are doling out to various people on Earth for various reasons.   I've always enjoyed science fiction about computer games interacting with reality, beginning with Orson Scott Card's path-breaking and brainy Ender's Game, but its situation in 3 Body Problem was needlessly repetitive.  The heart of 3 Body was closer to Arthur C. Clarke's Childhood's End and Damon Knight's "To Serve Man" (see this collection of Knight's stories), and the first season of the 3 Body television series, whatever may have been done in the novel, should have spent more time on that.  (This slow start is reminiscent of another iconic novel in science fiction, Frank Herbert's Dune, that also took a long time to get going, but once it did was fabulous, and led to not just a trilogy but a whole series, exceeded in excellence only by Isaac Asimov's Foundation novels, in my opinion.)

But speaking of hearts and brains, biology was actually far more the star of the first season than was space travel.  This puts 3 Body Problem in a league with Andrew Niccol's debut motion picture Gattaca.  If I'm making 3 Body sound derivative, that's because it is, but that's ok, because the first season puts all of these perennial elements of science fiction together in an original, compelling way.  It's not every day you see a science fiction series starting in Mao's China and its emphasis on ideology over truth (a problem unfortunately arising now in the United States and other parts of the world, off the fiction screen and for real), moving into a life-and-death James Bondian present fighting for the survival in the future of our very species.  

In fact, I don't recall seeing anything quite like that at all, and I'm eagerly awaiting the second season and more.  The dialog, by the way, was excellent, as was the acting.  Nearly everyone was new to me, other than Game of Thrones' Liam Cunningham, and it was good to see him on the screen again. Kudos to David Benioff, D.B. Weiss, and Alexander Woo for creating the series, and kudos to me for not having to warn you about spoilers in this review, because they really aren't any, are there?

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Podcast: Book Launch and Reading of It's Real Life: An Alternate History of The Beatles novel at The Players

Welcome to Light On Light Through, Episode 379, in which I take you into the Book Launch and reading I did of It's Real Life: An Alternate History of The Beatles, my new novel, based on the award-winning short story of the same name, in the historic Players Club in New York City on March 27, 2024.

"Paul Levinson's It's Real Life is a page-turning exploration into that multiverse known as rock and roll. But it is much more than a marvelous adventure narrated by a master storyteller...it is also an exquisite meditation on the very nature of alternate history." -- Jack Dann, The Fiction Writer's Guide to Alternate History Watch the video of the Book Launch here. Get the book here. Listen to the radio play adapted from the short story here. Listen to "If I Traveled to the Past" here. Interview about the novel here. More about The Players. More about the New York Society for General Semantics (sponsor of the Book Launch.)

 

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A Night at The Players in New York City

A night in which I read the first chapter of my new novel, It's Real Life: An Alternate History of The Beatles, play a little music, introduce a character who appeared in the novel, who was in the audience, and answered all kinds of questions from the audience. 

You can get the novel here.

"Paul Levinson's It's Real Life is a page-turning exploration into that multiverse known as rock and roll. But it is much more than a marvelous adventure narrated by a master storyteller...it is also an exquisite meditation on the very nature of alternate history." -- Jack Dann, The Fiction Writer's Guide to Alternate History Paul Levinson's books ... Paul Levinson's music

Podcast: Why Banning TikTok in the US Is a Bad Idea

Welcome to Light On Light Through, Episode 378, in which I present the many reasons that banning TikTok in the United States -- or even threatening to ban TikTok in the U.S. -- is a bad idea.

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Podcast Review of Hightown season 3

Welcome to Light On Light Through, Episode 377, in which I review the third season of Hightown.

written blog post review of the third season of Hightown, with links to my written reviews of most of the episodes of the first two seasons.

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Hightown Season 3: A Satisfying Wrap-Up that Calls Out for More

Hightown ended its third and final season on Friday.  I thought the season and series finale was the best episode of the season, and the season in turn was the best of the three seasons.

First, as someone who spends several months or more a year on Cape Cod with my family, I'll admit that I was very likely to like the series.  But it exceeded all my expectations, beginning with the theme song, "Vacation," the 1980's Textones's rendition of the 1980's Go-Go's song.  It's plain and simply my favorite punk rock song, and most of the time the only punk rock I really like.

But let's get to the storyline of the final season.

[Spoilers ahead ... ]

In a phrase, the final episode of the final season wrapped everything up in a way that left a path wide open for a fourth season or a movie somewhere down the line.

I was glad to see Frankie killed.  I was glad to see Jackie finally get in a sobre groove -- but I didn't like her siding with Alan against Ray.  Hey, maybe that's just me, but I love the relationship Ray and Renee have, and I approve of him doing whatever is needed to protect her.

I'm also glad Osito is surviving and is thriving.  Atkins Estimond did a great job in the role, and this is a good time to mention that the acting across the board was outstanding.  Just think about the difference between Monica Raymund in Chicago Fire and what she did as Jackie in Hightown, where she delivered an Emmy-worthy performance.  James Badge Dale as Ray was memorable, as was Riley Voelkel as Renee.  Garret Dillahunt has been memorable on the screen for many years, and came through again as Shane in Hightown.

Let's talk about Hightown picking up the story some time in the future.  As I said, there's more than enough room for that.  Ray now being in Osito's pocket is more than enough for a season right there.  It's the price he had to pay for protecting Renee., and it's a ticket for a future in the series. Jackie as a clean cop is a good story, made all the more powerful that she turned on Ray.  In a new season or movie, I'd expect her to revisit that wrong decision.

Big thanks to everyone for putting together this unique and uniquely satisfying series, which I look forward to seeing some more of, someday.

See also Hightown 2.1: Switching Ups and Downs ... Hightown 2.2: Some of My Favorite Things ... Hightown 2.3: Dinners and Almost Dinners ... Hightown 2.4: Approaching Midseason Predictions ... Hightown 2.5: Bullets and Love ... Hightown 2.6: True Love and Deception ... Hightown 2.7: Getting Down to Business ... Hightown 2.8: The Devil His Due and Therapy for the Soul ... Hightown 2.9: Heroes and More Seasons ... Hightown 2.10: Brilliant End-Up, Looking for 3

And see also Hightown 1.1: Top-Notch Saltwater and Characters ... Hightown 1.2: Sludge and Sun ... Hightown 1.3: Dirty Laundry ... Hightown 1.4: Banging on the Hood ... Hightown 1.5-6: Turning Point and the Real True ... Hightown 1.7: Two Things ... Hightown 1.8: Up and Down and Up

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Paul Levinson interviews Dan Abella about The Mind Revolution Experience

Welcome to Light On Light Through, Episode 376, in which I interview Dan Abella in George's Cafe in Manhattan about The Mind Revolution Experience (March 14, 7-9pm at The Producer's Club, 358 W. 44th Street, NYC) and the upcoming Philip K. Dick Film Festival (April 4-7, Musuem of the Moving Image, and other places in NYC).

more about The Mind Revolution Experience here more about the PKD Film Festival here more about my novel, It's Real Life: An Alternate History of The Beatles -- that I'll be doing a reading from at the PKD Film Festival -- here

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Podcast: Paul Levinson interviews Richard Sparks about New Rock, New Role

Welcome to Light On Light Through, Episode 375, in which I interview Richard Sparks about his new novel, New Rock, New Role, as well as the joys and woes, the trials and tribulations and triumphs of the writerly life.

More about New Rock, New Role

 

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