September 24, 20214 yr 2 hours ago, Biff Tannen said: Pretty excited about this and I have no real idea what it's even about. I went into it the same way. Holy crap I’m a fan. It’s visually stunning, story sucked me right in and some fascinating world building. Edited September 24, 20214 yr by Js1
September 24, 20214 yr Author 4 hours ago, Biff Tannen said: Pretty excited about this and I have no real idea what it's even about. Are you familiar with the The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire? That’s a bit of what Asimov was aiming for.
September 24, 20214 yr Author 19 hours ago, Js1 said: I went into it the same way. Holy crap I’m a fan. It’s visually stunning, story sucked me right in and some fascinating world building. Without getting into book nerd stuff, they are doing some major world building and backstory development that maybe wasn't in the original book/short stories, and spreading things out in this series. The original short-stories were interrelated, but they are expanding some things. Which is good for the non-readers I think, and having read the books, it's probably for the best. As others have said, the original book was really a bunch of short-stories put together, but his later novels were written from start-to-finish as novels. This feels like if he had written the original novel as a novel, rather than it being a collection of short stories. I can see some diehards being angsty, but I don't think this series could have been sold any other way. Also, it's better for the non-book readers I think.
September 26, 20214 yr Never read the books… but just finished the first one. Really digging the world building even just from that episode.
September 26, 20214 yr This is a good show so far-it seems to be trying for that Westworld S1 “we’re not telling you everything” vibe. I was just getting ready to kill AppleTV because I don’t like Ted Lasso and everything else on the service looks like something Prime passed on. But this has me interested enough to go another month. Had someone rant to me that it has nothing to do with the book(s?), and maybe that’s true, but I never read them so I don’t care.
September 26, 20214 yr Author 6 hours ago, Liquor and Poker said: Had someone rant to me that it has nothing to do with the book(s?), and maybe that’s true, but I never read them so I don’t care. As mentioned, the original Foundation novel was a collection of interrelated short stories originally published in pulp sci-fi magazines starting in the 1940s. Because they were short stories, a lot of characters/events had little backstory. His later novels were written as novels, so they are more cohesive. The TV people are basically filling in gaps and providing continuity. Some genders and skin colors have been swapped, but given that those characters had very little backstory (Asimov was trying to tell self-contained stories with those short stories and skimped in a lot of areas), there's a lot of butthurt over nothing. Warning, if you walk into one of the subreddits dedicated to Asimov/Foundation, it's basically:
September 27, 20214 yr This is a good show so far-it seems to be trying for that Westworld S1 “we’re not telling you everything” vibe. I was just getting ready to kill AppleTV because I don’t like Ted Lasso and everything else on the service looks like something Prime passed on. But this has me interested enough to go another month. Had someone rant to me that it has nothing to do with the book(s?), and maybe that’s true, but I never read them so I don’t care. You don’t like Ted Lasso? Are you a soulless monster?
September 27, 20214 yr 1 hour ago, Scary Stranger said: You don’t like Ted Lasso? Are you a soulless monster? Nope. Maybe.
September 27, 20214 yr It looks incredible (like most Apple shows) but I feel like I’m missing about 300 pages of context. The set piece in episode one was spectacular.
September 27, 20214 yr Author 1 hour ago, Buzzrock said: It looks incredible (like most Apple shows) but I feel like I’m missing about 300 pages of context. The set piece in episode one was spectacular. I wouldn't worry about it - the show gives you the general gist of what's happening - the Empire is predicted to die, and Seldon and Co. are trying to make the dark times shorter and get humanity back on its feet quicker after the fall. Think of the fall of the Roman Empire. I'm re-reading the original book, and Asimov could skimp on details when writing, because they were short stories for magazines.
September 27, 20214 yr Episode I was faithful, more or less to the story line. (Except for the gender mixup regarding Gael and Salvor). Episode II, though-what the fuck was that? This future history was brilliantly written by Asimov and then faithfully read by generations of readers. It is as fresh and compelling in 2021 as it was in the seventies when I first read it. No need to drift off like this. (PS-my Uncle Allen, now 94, was in a post-grad discussion group proctored by the visiting Dr. Asimov at Berkeley. CSB) Edited September 27, 20214 yr by bmbmd
September 27, 20214 yr Author 32 minutes ago, bmbmd said: Episode I was faithful, more or less to the story line. (Except for the gender mixup regarding Gael and Salvor). Episode II, though-what the fuck was that? This future history was brilliantly written by Asimov and then faithfully read by generations of readers. It is as fresh and compelling in 2021 as it was in the seventies when I first read it. No need to drift off like this. Spoiler It seemed to me that Seldon felt like he shouldn't be there among the Foundation people (he even mentions that he did not predict that he would be on the ship, and clearly thought he would be executed on Trantor), felt like they were drifting/not enthusiastic, and that his martyrdom would push them a lot harder. We'll see in the next episode. Seldon was not directly in the original novel very much anyways, so this gets him out of the way and gets us focused on the Foundation instead of him. Edited September 27, 20214 yr by atomheartbevo
September 27, 20214 yr I wouldn't worry about it - the show gives you the general gist of what's happening - the Empire is predicted to die, and Seldon and Co. are trying to make the dark times shorter and get humanity back on its feet quicker after the fall. Think of the fall of the Roman Empire. I'm re-reading the original book, and Asimov could skimp on details when writing, because they were short stories for magazines. I assume some new shit will come to light because the main storyline (building a big space Wikipedia) is kind of boring. And it doesn’t make sense that a super advanced civilization would have to leave some knowledge out (base 10 vs base 12 or what have you).
September 29, 20214 yr I’m really enjoying this so far and hoping it builds momentum. I already have tons of questions.How do they have gravity on their interstellar space ship? It would seem the only way is centrifugal force but they don’t appear to be rotating.When they originally discussed the duration of travel in episode 1, Gaal estimated ~857 days. Then in episode 2, Raych said they have 54 months (1,620 days) remaining on their journey. Why did it double in length?And obviously I have no idea what to make of the last 5 minutes of episode 2. Can’t wait for the next one.
September 29, 20214 yr 6 minutes ago, wild_turkey said: I’m really enjoying this so far and hoping it builds momentum. I already have tons of questions. How do they have gravity on their interstellar space ship? It would seem the only way is centrifugal force but they don’t appear to be rotating. When they originally discussed the duration of travel in episode 1, Gaal estimated ~857 days. Then in episode 2, Raych said they have 54 months (1,620 days) remaining on their journey. Why did it double in length? And obviously I have no idea what to make of the last 5 minutes of episode 2. Can’t wait for the next one. I think she was supposed to say 1,857 days. Or that he got the numbers are the 1 wrong
September 29, 20214 yr Author Holy shit, the guy playing Raych was Dean Thomas in the Harry Potter movies. Knew I recognized him from somewhere.
October 1, 20214 yr This is so visually stunning. The Cleons part > Terminus. Little slow this week after 1 and 2. Kinda over the voiceover narration
October 3, 20214 yr This show delivers. binged all 3 episodes so far, did not disappoint. I guess except for the genetic dynasty and the android, none of the other actors will be long lived as they need to span a 1000 years for the show? not sure wtf happened to gaal. Is she pressumed dead? Production costs seem very high. I am always concerned about that. Since it is sci-fi, it wont get the eyeballs and will get shit canned before finishing out the story. Edited October 3, 20214 yr by remoh
October 3, 20214 yr 18 minutes ago, remoh said: This show delivers. binged all 3 episodes so far, did not disappoint. I guess except for the genetic dynasty and the android, none of the other actors will be long lived as they need to span a 1000 years for the show? not sure wtf happened to gaal. Is she pressumed dead? Production costs seem very high. I am always concerned about that. Since it is sci-fi, it wont get the eyeballs and will get shit canned before finishing out the story. Apple prints money and doesn’t overextend themselves with crap like Netflix does. The 2 services I’m not concerned about shit canning sci-fi early bc of money are Apple and Amazon
October 3, 20214 yr Author 1 hour ago, Js1 said: Apple prints money and doesn’t overextend themselves with crap like Netflix does. The 2 services I’m not concerned about shit canning sci-fi early bc of money are Apple and Amazon They both want those high-end markets, and in Amazon's case, Bezos loves sci-fi stuff (I believe he was the one driving the pickup of The Expanse).
October 3, 20214 yr Those companies are big because they make good decisions. If this show doesnt get eyeballs, I’d be worried. expanse got cut from plan of 9 seasons to only 6 is proof enough in amazon’s case. Jury is still out on apple. But no way would they burn 10m plus an episode if this is not a ratings hit. with that said, i am optismistic it goes on for a while.
October 4, 20214 yr They did it again, they said they can keep the water clock or the sundial technology but not both. That makes no sense to me.This episode jumped a couple of decades and kind of felt like a connector episode. Now that there is an enemy things might pick up. Still in.
October 8, 20214 yr Author Renewed for season 2. https://appleinsider.com/articles/21/10/07/apple-tv-greenlights-foundation-season-two Spoiler "[W]ith season two, our audience will get to visit more of Asimov's indelible characters and worlds, including Hober Mallow, General Bel Riose, and all the Outer Suns," Goyer said in a press release. "I'm thrilled that a whole new generation of fans are reading Asimov's brilliant masterwork. We're playing the long game with Foundation' and I'm grateful to my partners at Apple and Skydance for entrusting me with this epic. Buckle up. We're about to fold some serious space." Edited October 8, 20214 yr by atomheartbevo
October 9, 20214 yr On 10/7/2021 at 5:35 PM, atomheartbevo said: Renewed for season 2. https://appleinsider.com/articles/21/10/07/apple-tv-greenlights-foundation-season-two Hide contents "[W]ith season two, our audience will get to visit more of Asimov's indelible characters and worlds, including Hober Mallow, General Bel Riose, and all the Outer Suns," Goyer said in a press release. "I'm thrilled that a whole new generation of fans are reading Asimov's brilliant masterwork. We're playing the long game with Foundation' and I'm grateful to my partners at Apple and Skydance for entrusting me with this epic. Buckle up. We're about to fold some serious space." Niiiiiice.
October 11, 20214 yr I have no idea what’s going on, but I’m enjoying the show. A lot of confusion could’ve been fixed with a flash card between episode 2 & 3 that said “35 years later”. With the 3 emperors never changing even though the “characters” have aged into their next represented age, it took me a bit to figure out that the elderly parents were the young couple from the first episode and the Warden was the unborn baby.
October 12, 20214 yr I like it so far. I remember some reviewer (Sepinwall maybe?) said it got more interesting after episode 4, so I’m hopeful we will see a bit more intertwining of the plot lines now that they’ve been set up.
October 14, 20214 yr A little over halfway through the second episode right now. The production value is phenomenal. The direction sucks. Hear me out, most people on this threads are science fiction nerds like me who are willing to sit through a boring season opener because they have hope that it is setting up something epic. Most people who are not science fiction nerds are not. I am intrigued, but I could easily turn this episode off right now and go to sleep. We are in the middle of a renaissance of science fiction and fantasy right now. It seems like Apple could have figured out how to make this more palatable to the masses. I doubt this show obtains the success that is commiserate with the money they are spending on it. But I hope they still continue to fund it.
October 14, 20214 yr I am going to binge watch it when the season is complete. I love what I have seen (Ep. 1-3). Good to see it renewed. The production is fantastic. Well done.
October 14, 20214 yr 2 hours ago, NotActuallyALonghorn said: We are in the middle of a renaissance of science fiction and fantasy right now. [Limiting scope to Sci-fi] We are? Being super honest here (no asshole) - why do you feel that way? When a show like The Expanse cant make it - even with Amazon $$$ - I am a bit depressed. I am always worried about expensive sci-fi. Maybe you mean renaissance some other way? But sci-fi doesnt appeal to the masses (unless you talk about superhero movies, which is more fantasy than sci-fi).
October 14, 20214 yr 12 hours ago, NotActuallyALonghorn said: A little over halfway through the second episode right now. The production value is phenomenal. The direction sucks. Hear me out, most people on this threads are science fiction nerds like me who are willing to sit through a boring season opener because they have hope that it is setting up something epic. Most people who are not science fiction nerds are not. I am intrigued, but I could easily turn this episode off right now and go to sleep. We are in the middle of a renaissance of science fiction and fantasy right now. It seems like Apple could have figured out how to make this more palatable to the masses. I doubt this show obtains the success that is commiserate with the money they are spending on it. But I hope they still continue to fund it. It is very slow. My girlfriend tuned out after the middle of the 2nd episode. But honestly, the books were pretty slow too. It's probably the only famous "epic" sci-fi series I never bothered to read more than once.
October 14, 20214 yr 10 hours ago, remoh said: [Limiting scope to Sci-fi] We are? Being super honest here (no asshole) - why do you feel that way? When a show like The Expanse cant make it - even with Amazon $$$ - I am a bit depressed. I am always worried about expensive sci-fi. Maybe you mean renaissance some other way? But sci-fi doesnt appeal to the masses (unless you talk about superhero movies, which is more fantasy than sci-fi). Yeah I wish we were in a renaissance for science fiction. We have things like Foundation, SW/ST shows, The Orville, a BSG reboot, but fantasy is getting all the love (DC/MCU, The Witcher, Wheel of Time, Shadow and Bone, new GOT series, new LOTR series) Edited October 14, 20214 yr by Js1
October 14, 20214 yr Author 11 hours ago, remoh said: Maybe you mean renaissance some other way? But sci-fi doesnt appeal to the masses We have four ongoing Star Trek series, we have like 7 or 8 Star Wars series in the works, we have the Orville, HBO Max has a couple of big sci-fi shows in production (one a prequel or spinoff of Dune), Hulu has stuff ongoing or in production, one of Netflix's biggest shows is Stranger Things, and it feels like we can't go a few weeks without a new sci-fi movie popping up on Netflix. And I'm leaving out a lot. You can make the argument that this is a renaissance. But it shouldn't be all that surprising - a lot of Hollywood is being driven by 40-somethings and 50-somethings and they all came of age when sci-fi films took off in the 70s and 80s (and not just Star Wars).
October 14, 20214 yr 2 hours ago, Js1 said: Yeah I wish we were in a renaissance for science fiction. We have things like Foundation, SW/ST shows, The Orville, a BSG reboot, but fantasy is getting all the love (DC/MCU, The Witcher, Wheel of Time, Shadow and Bone, new GOT series, new LOTR series) Most science fiction(and fantasy) ends up looking cheap because it is generally so dependent on special effects and has to take some shortcuts on the day to day lives of the characters and their interactions in their built world and if you don't get it right it looks like it was done on a budget. One way to get over that is to get a big star or two. Star Wars had Alec Guinness, Alien had a whole cast.
October 15, 20214 yr Author 4 hours ago, Jiggy-Z said: Most science fiction(and fantasy) ends up looking cheap because it is generally so dependent on special effects and has to take some shortcuts on the day to day lives of the characters and their interactions in their built world and if you don't get it right it looks like it was done on a budget. BSG (the 2004 reboot) pulled it off. Some amazing special effects for the early 2000s, but the FX people and the directors/editors/producers threaded the needle perfectly on knowing the limitations, combined with relying on an amazingly solid cast and just giving them plenty of room to breathe. 4 hours ago, Jiggy-Z said: One way to get over that is to get a big star or two. Star Wars had Alec Guinness, Alien had a whole cast. Dude, Mark Hammill was in the Texas Wheelers TV show with Jack Elam and Gary Busey back in '74.
October 15, 20214 yr On 8/19/2021 at 3:44 PM, NeverMarryAStripper said: I'm debating whether or not to go back and reread these books before watching this. Don’t. That would only ruin it for you. The previews look like it’s as much of a bastardization of The Foundation as I, Robot was of I, Robot.
October 15, 20214 yr On 8/19/2021 at 5:01 PM, Biff Tannen said: Well that looks cool as fuck. Weeeee! CGI explosion fest!
October 15, 20214 yr On 9/28/2021 at 10:32 PM, Biff Tannen said: This made me go into Asimov’s bio last night. What a fascinating guy. Published a book in every category of the Dewey Decimal System.
October 15, 20214 yr He claimed he could write anywhere and once when he was on a televised panel discussion he was challenged to write a short story on the spot. He wrote "Insert Knob A in Hole B" during the rest of the panel discussion.
October 15, 20214 yr 3 eps in and so far I've really enjoyed it. Love all the world building that's been happening...
November 4, 20214 yr It started a little slow for me but just finished episode 5 and it’s pulled me in more.I think a hard part for me is that each episode doesn’t necessarily show every story or timeline. I sort of understand why that’s happening from a storytelling perspective, but as a viewer unfamiliar with the worlds and characters, it makes it a little harder to follow in the early stages and to become invested.After episode 5, I feel like we are finally getting momentum in a couple of stories.
November 4, 20214 yr I'm enjoying it, its is visually stunning, and has some pretty good SciFi going on. I've never read the series but considering it.
November 4, 20214 yr 48 minutes ago, wild_turkey said: It started a little slow for me but just finished episode 5 and it’s pulled me in more. I think a hard part for me is that each episode doesn’t necessarily show every story or timeline. I sort of understand why that’s happening from a storytelling perspective, but as a viewer unfamiliar with the worlds and characters, it makes it a little harder to follow in the early stages and to become invested. After episode 5, I feel like we are finally getting momentum in a couple of stories. I’m just liking the Emperors storyline better than the other 2. So far.
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