any good TV series recently?

[StChris]

Not Chinese language, but Netflix recently released a new trailer for 3 Body Problem (which is due to debut on March 21st, 2024):

 

3 Body Problem | Official Trailer | Netflix - YouTube

 

I watched series one of the Chinese version a couple of months back and it is very slow-going, so I expect that this one to move much faster. It was ok for me, as there was lots of difficult science-related vocab to chew on, but I can understand if some people got bored with 20+ episodes of vague 物理学不存在 dialogue. 

 

The Netflix series is being made by the people behind Game of Thrones, we could be a good or bad thing depending on your views of that show! At least they have a completed book to stick closely to this time...

[jannesan]

On 1/12/2024 at 6:35 PM, StChris said:

Not Chinese language, but Netflix recently released a new trailer for 3 Body Problem

 

That trailer is so exciting in my opinion, I recognized quite some of the scenes from the first book. I am very looking forward to this and now I feel motivated to start reading the third book

 

On 1/12/2024 at 6:35 PM, StChris said:

I watched series one of the Chinese version a couple of months back and it is very slow-going

 

I watched just the first episode and wasn't hooked, also felt the characters were so different than I imagined the in the book.

[StChris]

On 1/13/2024 at 6:46 AM, jannesan said:

I watched just the first episode and wasn't hooked, also felt the characters were so different than I imagined the in the book.

 

I have never read the book, so can't comment on that, but the plot moved so slowly that I eventually relegated the series to my "things to watch while do cardio at the gym" slot.

 

One series I did feel well worth watching with my full attention at home was 《漫长的季节》. It was recommended a few months back in thus thread and is definitely one of the best Chinese TV shows I've ever seen. I must really be getting old, because I identified with the tired middle-aged people much more than the young characters in the show, haha! It's easily available on YoutTube too:

 

ENG SUB [The Long Season] EP01 | The case from twenty years ago resurfaced - YouTube
 

[abcdefg]

On 1/13/2024 at 6:00 AM, StChris said:

 

One series I did feel well worth watching with my full attention at home was 《漫长的季节》.

 

Agree! That's a good one. 

[TaxiAsh]

On 1/13/2024 at 8:00 PM, StChris said:

One series I did feel well worth watching with my full attention at home was 《漫长的季节》. It was recommended a few months back in thus thread and is definitely one of the best Chinese TV shows I've ever seen. I must really be getting old, because I identified with the tired middle-aged people much more than the young characters in the show, haha! It's easily available on YoutTube too:

 

ENG SUB [The Long Season] EP01 | The case from twenty years ago resurfaced - YouTube

Excellent! Thanks. I have just watched first few minutes and saved it! 

[TaxiAsh]

wow, without subtitles this would be impossible for me! 

 

I'd not subbed to that channel though, and there are hundreds of series on there. Nice. 

 

 

[StChris]

On 1/13/2024 at 2:54 PM, abcdefg said:

Agree! That's a good one. 

 

I really liked the way they handled the aging characters, both in terms of their physical appearance as well as how they behaved (for those who haven't watched, it takes place over a 20 or so year period). You can see a lifetime of disappointment and tragedy weighing them down by the end!

 

An interesting little titbit is that the guy who plays the young 哑巴 man actually did get a speaking role after all - he did the voice of the Hong Kong businessman (apparently that actor was having difficulty with the accent).

 

On 1/13/2024 at 4:24 PM, TaxiAsh said:

wow, without subtitles this would be impossible for me!

 

The do all speak with a heavy Dongbei accent for sure! Luckily that was where I studied, so it was ok for me. The English subtitles look pretty well done from what I can see.

[TaxiAsh]

On 1/14/2024 at 1:58 AM, StChris said:

The do all speak with a heavy Dongbei accent for sure! Luckily that was where I studied, so it was ok for me. The English subtitles look pretty well done from what I can see.

Ah I meant the Chinese subs. I try and read them. Whenever there is a person's name or noun or something, I can't keep up though. So Yeah, need the Eng aswell. 

Luckily they don't overlap like on some shows. Just finished episode 1. Not sure what's going on yet!

[sekkar]

Not a TV show but I guess movies are also OK: 

年会不能停！(Johnny Keep Walking!) A movie that came out a few weeks ago and received quite a lot of positive feedback. A comedy movie making fun of work culture/the environment at big corporations in China (think 大厂). Sort of a Chinese version of "Office Space". Both me and my wife genuinely enjoyed it, lots of laugh, and no overt "message pushing" (other than screw big cooperate,  but that's a message we can all agree on ?). Highly recommend it, although if you dont live in China you might have to wait a bit for it to be available anywhere.

 

花儿与少年/Divas Hit The Road: Your basic MangoTV reality/variety show. 7 actors go traveling on a budget to Saudi Arabia, Croatia and Iceland. Starts pretty rough in the SA part where 50% of the content seems to be added to just please the censors with bits such as:

* Learning about and and experiencing the Highspeed rail line China was a part of building

* Visiting a kuaidi/packing center and seeing how goods from China has improved the locals' life

* Visiting locals' home and hearing them talk good things about China

 

But once it moves on to Croatia and Iceland this stuff takes a backseat and it feels more like a normal travel show. I found it to be OK entertainment, just something nice to watch and discuss with your partner when your tired after work and just wanna shut off your brain for a while. All the guests are pretty entertaining and easy going.

 

If you use tv shows for listening practice then this show would be pretty good for that. Lots of simple dialogue, should be a lot easier to follow than plot-driven shows. Might also help you feel better about your language skills when you see how much most of them are struggling with basic communication in English, queue Dilireba mixing hours and minutes when booking a reservation at a restaurant ?

 

 庆余年/Joy of Life: Pretty sure this one has been mentioned/recommended in this thread before. One of the better "Historical Dramas" (number two after Nirvana in Fire IMO). Just very entertaining, with a nice plot that keeps you guessing while also not being to heavy on the romance part. Been re watching this one lately since they have announced that season 2 will be airing in June.

 

The first season aired in 2019 and I think that the fact they actually managed to get the actors together for a second season says something about the popularity/commitment to this series. As far as I know this almost never happens with Chinese dramas, due to actors only signing up for a single (but long..) season, and then it just becomes a huge mess of scheduling conflicts if you ever wanna film a second season.

  

[TaxiAsh]

On 1/14/2024 at 4:12 PM, TaxiAsh said:

Ah I meant the Chinese subs. I try and read them. Whenever there is a person's name or noun or something, I can't keep up though. So Yeah, need the Eng aswell. 

Luckily they don't overlap like on some shows. Just finished episode 1. Not sure what's going on yet!

Well, in a week, I've watched all of that series. Quite long winded but very detailed and really good last 2 episodes. I would have enjoyed that even if wasn't learning Chinese. 

Need to find another one to watch already! I'll check out that tencent youtube page again, looks like loads on there.

[lordsuso]

I've decided to start watching TV shows this year. I don't really watch TV because I work all day with a computer, but I want to improve my listening and there are a few shows I really want to watch (mainly adaptations of the 4 classic books and wuxia stuff). I was looking for a short one so I followed the recommendations here and I'm half-way through 开端 Reset, so far I really like it! But the acting of the main actress awakens some really bad urges of wanting to punch someone (preferably her) in the face.

 

This is probably obvious, but I just realized something: it turns out my listening skills are not as bad as I thought, it's just that listening while doing something else is way harder than watching videos. I made a few tests and even active listening is significantly easier for me if I am watching the speakers rather than a wall.

 

[lordsuso]

I finished 开端 Reset, it probably would have worked better as a movie but I enjoyed it. I think I'm going to keep watching shorter shows that were recommended here before I jump into a longer one.

 

I've also been watching and enjoying 虹猫蓝兔七侠传, a very charming wuxia cartoon with a peculiar animation style. Beware that it is not suitable for kids, it contains explicit violence and other adult themes. You can learn more about the show here and watch it here.

 

Despite having a 9.6 douban score, so far I wouldn't recommend it unless you are really into wuxia. It isn't particularly good for learning either because there isn't a ton of dialogue and some characters speak in rather unpleasant squeaky voices. But I do recommend you watch at least the first episode (just ~10min without the intro and outro) to check out the trippy animation and this very cute 麒麟 move and make noises.

[roddy]

So, you've all been watching the Long Season without me, yeah? Enjoying possibly one of the best Chinese TV shows I've seen, and not telling me, on Prime (only English subs available) or Youtube (hardcoded Chinese, same English subs).

 

It's definitely worth a look. I don't think the trailer I link to above is a very good representation of what I've seen so far, but give the first 20 minutes of Episode 1 a shot and see what you think.

[Ledu]

 

Savage(2018)
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9742422/

I liked this film. It has Fan Liao which is one of my favorite Chinese actors yet most of his international films are too controversial to be on mainstream Chinese apps, so can't find them to download yet. I'd give this a C.[English subtitles]

Endless Journey(2023)
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt28212677/

I really liked this film. It is a detective story. I've seen another film with this same actor:Yi Zhang. I'd give this an A.[English subtitles]

Never Say Never(2023)
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt20865116/

Also liked this film. It has a Kung Fu Comedian but I don't know his name. I don't know why they refer to "Wrestling" this is clearly Mixed Martial Arts in the film. Perhaps it is not allowed to talk about MMA as a sport. This has some Sichuan dialect. I'd give this an A. Although I obviously can't follow Chinese as I am only HSK4 it was very entertaining unfortunately I don't know the main actor's name. [English subtitles]

Blossoms Shanghai (TV Show, 2023)
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3881914/

I have to say this is quite stylish. It reminds me of "John Wick". However, I could only understand about 10%. I think even someone who has successfully passed HSK6 would still not be able to tackle this show. Most of the time they are speaking in Shanghainese. You would have to be able to quickly read the Mandarin subtitles to follow it. Also there are many cultural references that I would not be able to understand. I often get confused when references are made about ants, mosquitoes, bears. Who are the ants, the mosquitoes? I don't know? Main actor is Ge Hu, Shanghainese. If I could understand I think I'd give it an A+. I would be interested to know which forum members could understand and follow this show. [Shanghainese, attempt at Mandarin subtitles only].

[Ledu]

https://m.douban.com/movie/subject/35725869/

 "Johnny Keep Walking"(2023)  on Youku. It is quite funny, I recommend it. I was able to understand a joke which related to a Monkey King story which I saw in the TV show from the 70s. [Mandarin subtitles only]

[Balthazar]

"烟火人家" is looking promising one episode in. Seems to be (again, one episode in) one of those family dramas that are relatively easy to follow and not too cringey (plot or characters).

[roddy]

I’m three episodes in to Long Season and enjoying it. The English subtitles aren’t great but manageable. 

[lordsuso]

Check out the opening theme of this show, absolutely beautiful, peak CGI! Btw that channel is quite new and has a ton of shows (better than that one) in very high quality.

[lordsuso]

I just finished 七种武器之孔雀翎, a wuxia show adapted from a Gu Long novel. If you can see past the acting and production value, it's a pretty fun fast-paced show. It's only 21-episodes long and highly rated in douban, it's available in youtube.

[StChris]

The Netflix version of The Three Body Problem has been released. What does everyone think? There is a Chinese dub which isn't too bad, but I prefer the original English. 

 

Most of the present day action has been moved to England, which leaves just the past flashbacks in China. Chinese reception to this version seem fairly negative. It's only 8 episodes, so the plot moves much quicker than the Chinese series. I just watched the first episode yesterday and thought it was ok, but I'm not sure if I'll watch the whole thing, as I already know what will happen from having watched the Chinese one.