Sci-Fi David Goyer developing Isaac Asimov's "Foundation" as Apple Series

[Kaleb]

They renewed this fairly quickly, tells me it's doing well.

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

‎Foundation: The Official Podcast: “Barbarians at the Gate” on Apple Podcasts

Writer and co-executive producer Leigh Dana Jackson breaks down Foundation episode 4, “Barbarians at the Gate,” with Jason and David. They discuss what’s going on with Brother Dawn, how the Anacreons were conceived and adapted for the show, and why it’s important that space is multicultural.

So far I'm still watching the show and find its scope and philosophizing interesting (less so the characters) but it seems a lot of people soured on it

Spoiler

when they Sean Bean-ed (killed off) Jared Harris's character early on

and it's lack of focus on any one storyline besides the Empire's political system while it also jumps around in time. Like if you had a problem with The Witcher tv series jumping around in time this is even more challenging. People who liked the books have figured out that it's not the same story so they've soured on it too. And of course the sexists and racists (reddit, moviechat, elsewhere) hate it. They should pretty much stop watching most entertainment at this point because the majority of young Americans are not white and that's the generation this stuff is made for and by more and more into the future: a diverse generation.

 

[Bren]

I've done ep2 and... enjoying it but it's not all that yet...

But That.Scene. in episode one... As the ship drive comes on line and creates a black hole (I think? I'm not all that smart)... Spectacular. Absolutely spectacular.

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

Episode 5 expands upon Gaal's backstory and sort of reintroduces her since she's not been around for the past couple of episodes. There wasn't anything of Trantor this week but instead escalates the conflict on Terminus.

‎Foundation: The Official Podcast: “Upon Awakening” on Apple Podcasts

Leigh Dana Jackson is back to discuss episode 5, “Upon Awakening,” with Jason and David. They dive into Gaal’s home planet—the flooded world of Synnax—and her reasons for leaving. Plus, they talk about how the writers’ room grappled with all of the math. (Hint: They brought in experts.)

 

[Monsieur Xavier]

Anyone knows what was the ship Gaal boarded ?

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

Well Season 1 is just about over with. While I like more than Raised By Wolves - the various Emperors alone make it more worthwhile (B grade) - the Gaal storyline has been a big 'F' for failure and the Hardin storyline gets a 'C' from me for this first season so far. It's pretty wildly inconsistent.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

Well Season 1 is just about over with. While I like more than Raised By Wolves - the various Emperors alone make it more worthwhile (B grade) - the Gaal storyline has been a big 'F' for failure and the Hardin storyline gets a 'C' from me for this first season so far. It's pretty wildly inconsistent.

So it's Goyer.

 

[Man in the Suit]

I watched the first two episodes and they were boring as hell. Oh what could've been...

'Interstellar's' Jonah Nolan Developing 'Foundation' Series for HBO, WBTV (Exclusive)

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

Well the first two may have been the best for Gaal anyway - the Emperors/Empire story gets more compelling after that.

I just realized that besides my annoyance with the show steering away from hard science fiction into Star Wars territory with

Spoiler

the Force - they just couldn't let Gaal be smart at math, they had to give her magic powers for why she sees the future too and there's hints Salvor is the same

, yesterday it occurred to me they copied Star Wars: The Last Jedi (also a movie full of things I didn't care for) with

Spoiler

Rey and Luke arguing and fighting with Gaal and Hari where Rey/Gaal just abandons their training to go off elsewhere.

Also, Hari is just a (computer) projection/Force Ghost like Luke Skywalker became. While I don't know if that was in the books, I'm going to guess not?

 

[Dr.]

Theoretical physicist Sean Carroll — a gifted science communicator — also has a regular podcast. Many of them are a tad technical (but still accessible). Others are more general...

 

[moviefreak]

I don't mind the series being "inspired by" rather than "adapted". The race and gender swapping is fine with me. But after watching episode 9 (I figured it out way back in episode 2), the series is horrific and in poor taste not befitting the Grandmaster of Sci-Fi classic Isaac Asimov.

I enjoyed mainly the Trantor storyline, the various dilace of the three Cleon clones, and Lee Pace’s awkward walk lol for what it was. But they completely butchered the Eto Demerzel character.

The series demands a level of storytelling not unlike David Chase's The Sopranos, Bryan Fuller's Hannibal to name a few outstanding TV series. I have often said it but it bears repeating again, Goyer is a very weak writer and the wrong kind to do an adaptation of Foundation. It should have remained with Johan Nolan.

 

[Filmfreak]

So Goyer is kind of obsessed with

Spoiler

the Man in the Iron Mask story by Dumas.

He borrowed the idea in Da Vinci's Demons and again here.

The race and gender swapping is fine with me.

From what I understand, because I haven't read the books, the problem with the race change is that Asimov envisioned men as creatures of logic and women as beings of emotion and it kind of contradicts some basic philosophy behind the source material that way. However, from what I also understand, this is merely a detail compared to how many other things they changed, that directly negate the whole vision of the novels.

 

[moviefreak]

So Goyer is kind of obsessed with

Spoiler

the Man in the Iron Mask story by Dumas.

He borrowed the idea in Da Vinci's Demons and again here.

I haven't read anything on Da Vinci series. It's been a very long time since I read Dumas' book, I think that it was in the late 1970s. Sorry! lol

From what I understand, because I haven't read the books, the problem with the race change is that Asimov envisioned men as creatures of logic and women as beings of emotion and it kind of contradicts some basic philosophy behind the source material that way. However, from what I also understand, this is merely a detail compared to how many other things they changed, that directly negate the whole vision of the novels.

IIRC, Asimov's Foundation doesn't have really great characters. It's the generational story, the development & the fall of galactic civilisations that is the main driving force of Foundation series. It's like a Sci-Fi version of Edward Gibbon's 'The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'.

 

[chamber-music]

The empire stuff is interesting but the Hardin Vs Huntress stuff was garbage. Huntress had ridiculous plot armour.

 

[Albright]

Really liked this show. Very cinematic. One of the best series I watched the last two years.

 

[Filmfreak]

I thought it started off quite well but script took a real dive as it progressed. Production is one of the most impressive ones I've seen in a TV show and the world-building was very promising, but the writing got worse and worse in each episode. Such a waste of potential.

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

Empire's mostly still fine, but the rest is pretty rough.

Spoiler: season finale

Oh gawd no they've combined the F-tier Gaal and C-tier Salvor storylines together a hundred years in the future by having Gaal transport herself back to her water planet in a rage and Salvor - her biological daughter, duh - did the same by abandoning her family and boyfriend on Terminus.

Major characters are often written in the show to be dumbasses who are saved by huge contrivances. And the Gaal storyline is just painful television, making a pretty actress often swimming like Jessica Alba in Into the Blue can't change that. Salvor's segments are barely passable and have some middling shoot-bang to pass the time, but it's hard to be as invested as the Empire's plot. Production value is obviously good, but they have a lot to work to improve upon for a Season 2. Much like Raised By Wolves, I think I'm just gonna wait for viewer feedback on the first batch of new episodes before I invest any more time into it.

 

[misjuevos]

I like the stuff with Empire, everything else was just filler for me until we went back to see what the 3 clones were doing. I have no prior knowledge of this stories other than this show. Lee Pace's story is the best part.

 

[Batmannerism]

I haven't read anything on Da Vinci series. It's been a very long time since I read Dumas' book, I think that it was in the late 1970s. Sorry! lol


IIRC, Asimov's Foundation doesn't have really great characters. It's the generational story, the development & the fall of galactic civilisations that is the main driving force of Foundation series. It's like a Sci-Fi version of Edward Gibbon's 'The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'.

Disagree with the assertion that there aren't great characters - Foundation and Empire, particularly

Spoiler

The storyline around the Mule and the search for the 2nd Foundation has a lot of great character moments

.

Haven't seen this yet but from what folks have said it seems to minimize Asimov's main theme: the triumph of rationality and science, and instead focus on spectacle and interpersonal dynamics.

If so, hard pass from me.

 

[Holy Slapper]

Laura Birn talked to Finnish media about her role as Demerzel on October 15th and she mentioned they were going to start filming season 2 in a couple of weeks, so they've probably been doing that for this month. The filming will continue until the summer, which makes me wonder if season 2 might slip into 2023, since season 1 finished filming early 2021.

 

[KaijuDude1992]

I'm interested in a Season 2 mostly because of how much I loved the world building in this and while I was loving the first 5 episodes the second half definitely took a bit of a dip in quality for me.

The stuff with Lee Pace's character is super interesting IMO and man does the dude just ooze presence just like he did in Guardians of the Galaxy and I was sad to see him get somewhat sidelined later on.

The confrontation between Salvor Hardin and Huntress just didn't hold my attention as much.

 

[:eek:]

‘Foundation’: Apple TV+ Drama Adds 10 To S2 Cast, Unveils First Look – Deadline

 

[Pennywise]

 

[:eek:]

‘Foundation’ Season 2 Premiere Date & Teaser Trailer From Apple TV+ – Deadline