Foundation

I had read over 200 of Asimov's short stories novellas and novels as a kid of the 70s and early 80s and they formed the core mythos of how I perceived the distant future would become. Not exactly a dystopia and not the utopic Star Trek to be sure but at least a future where science and technology would be respected and relied upon to deliver the ... ahem.. foundations on which all society should rely.

So when this long considered unfilmable series was aired, I watched with much trepidation and bating of breath.

And ngl the first season raised my hackles somewhat... The stupid, stupid decisions of people in power and the predictable, pedestrian plot and cliche layered upon cliche actually made me quit my Apple TV+ subscription, I sh!t you not! Seriously. What were they playing at.

But when Severance S2 released I was forced to renew my Apple TV+ sub and in the days between Severance episode releases I figured I'd rewatch Foundation from S1E01

Yeah, S1 sucked as much as I remembered but having heard whispers on the grapevine that S2 was a marked improvement, I grinned and bared it.

Lee Price and Jared Harris were the frame upon which the entire show was allowed to shine... Wow. It's like they just said fk it to all the risks they DIDN'T take in S1 and pushed the whole show into deep water.

Gone were the Mary Sue interpretations of Gaal and Salvor and they were replaced with a nuanced and sympathetic roles...

Moreover the so called "comic relief" aspect turned out to be as poignant as the the rest of the show.

For me, the key was that every character was human (even the robot) and given a believable motivation and and premise that one could rally behind and feel real sympathy for.

Moreover, the IQ of the characters and plot in S2 suddenly returned to 3 digits signifying a showrunner that has gained confidence.

Let's hope Foundation outlives the original Trilogy and pushes into the whole ASIMOVERSE!!!

Magnificent bouts of rich storytelling often feel diluted by cheap and pointless moments of juvenile entertainment. While the core of this series held the potential to become an ode to the greatest science-fiction writer of all times, it would appear that Apple couldn't keep itself from interfering in their typical (biased) politically correct, family friendly fashion. You stand on the shoulders of a giant, and behind that giant stand millions of minds inspired by a vision of the future the whole of humanity can rally behind. The implications of the existential questions raised by Asimov are not PG-rated, this shouldn't be either.

... Its name didn't need to be Foundation. Imo, it's about 50% Asimov and the rest is a combo of soap opera, sc-fi-imperial politics, CGI explosions and Webb-esque space vistas. Heck, you could claim several other writers' materials were influences. Lots of this series is purely mainstream, outer space SF.

But it's excellent SF! Captivating sub-plots, likable characters and gorgeous images are extremely entertaining! In its own right, it is a superb show. Aye, and there's the rub... A "show" isn't necessarily literature. Michael Crichton and James Patterson were/are graphic oriented writers, evoking a "screenplay" feel in their fiction, which isn't meant as a detraction. Excellent easy read authors! Asimov isn't as frugal a wordsmith, however, and there are probably as many different visual interpretations of scenes in his books, as there are readers of his books. But then again, this is series is just loosely "based" on his work, whether it is expressly acknowledged or not.

Finally. An adaptation that doesn't just rely on pretty graphics!

I read the books years ago and only barely remember the story. But this is complex and you need to keep up at some points! Which is a good thing.

Some of the world building is excellent and I thought it was beautifully presented. Some acting was a bit wooden, but most are very entertaining with a few exceptional performances.

It was dark, scary and sometimes funny.

If you are a regular sci-fi reader I think you'll enjoy this series.

Asimov is not light reading and you need to be able to accept the premise and suspend disbelief.

I remember watching the first couple episodes and not being very impressed. Not necessarily hating it, but not intrigued. It felt like a very traditional sci-fi series, akin to dune or star wars. A year or two later, i tried watching again... and now i'm somehow roped in and invested and binged most of the show well into 4 in the morning.

Great visual effects, music, vfx, product and costume design, even acting. Really intriguing clone concept (and a very obvious anagram for Cleon). Fantastic world building and i appreciated the non-linear storytelling. Interested to see where this series will take us!