Foundation

Foundation is an intriguing sci-fi series that grows on you the more you watch it. At first, it can feel confusing-just as you're starting to get to know a character, they disappear, only to return much later, if at all. Then you're introduced to someone new, and the whole process of connecting with a character begins again. On top of that, events unfold across different locations, and the series makes massive jumps in time-particularly long ones between seasons.

I've completed Seasons 1 and 2. One of the show's strengths is that as each season progresses, the seemingly loose ends begin to tie together and make sense. Many odd or minor events and details-even from the very first episode-are only explained later in the season or in the finale. But if you keep your eyes and ears open, you might catch subtle clues that help you make sense of things as they unfold. Almost nothing is said without a reason. While Season 1 is built largely on suspense, Season 2 leans more toward action.

The series features numerous plot twists that help keep viewers engaged. Many come out of nowhere and aren't always happy or innocent-but that's part of the fun. In many ways, it resembles Dune, especially in tone and scale. However, one of Foundation's most distinctive traits is its pacing: at times, things move very slowly, only for the show to suddenly jump forward by decades, suggesting sweeping generational changes and the loss of familiar characters.

While I love the Foundation series by Isaac Asimov(and the Empire and Robots series), I admit it may be a bit dated. The novels were written during the '50s and Asimov never described the visuals in detail.

It was therefore expected that any adaptation would diverge from the source material. And I don't mind it. A faithful adaptation would not be possible because we wouldn't know how the ships are supposed to look like, for example. I don't mind the gender swap in itself.

But the creators take too many liberties with the source materials to the point the story doesn't make sense for any science fiction fan. If Terminus is 55,000 light years away from Trantor and the colonists don't have jump ships, how do they travel? Why does it take 900 days to get there? That would mean they are travelling at 22,300 times the speed of light. This kind of oversight may be OK for a Marvel show, not for a show where math plays a central role.

I was also disheartened by changing Demerzel's gender. Not because of itself, but because in the books Eto Dermerzel is a very special character with a deep backstory. Changing his gender sends ripples everywhere. It's like making Han Solo or Ron Weasley a woman.

Hari's relationship with Raych is also changed for the worse, presumably to make room for Gaal. Sigh.

All these changes leave us with really impressive visuals and a weakened story. Not the Foundation I expected.

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!!!

I'm a sci-fi fan since the late 60's. I have read every thing Asimov ever wrote and the foundation series was always my favorite! I don't recognize this show...4 stars out of 10.

Good story, lots of action. If you like good sci-fi shows/stories, then you'll like this one. The characters are engaging and the good ones draw you in and make you care what happens to them. It starts out at medium speed, it's not slow at the start, it's just laying out the story for you. Mid season 1, starts to really pick up and season 2 is amazing, non stop drama and action. The Empire is run by 3 clones, all of their loved leader Cleon. Brother Dusk is the oldest, Brother Day (who is the ruler at the time), and Brother Dawn, the young adult ruler who will become Brother Day when he is of age. They keep moving up the ladder as they age. Hari is a brilliant mathematician, whose talent is psycho-history and that future events can be predicted mathematically. Hari gets people together, slowly to attempt to end the rule of the clones & their empire with his predictions. Couple of storylines that come together all for the same cause.