My recommendations: IF... ...you are a fan of space opera literature in general - give this a chance, but don't expect anything beyond light TV-style entertainment. ...you are a fan of Asimov's Foundation novels - hard pass. The core ideas of the novels have not been carried over to this story. ...you are a fan of recent "sci-fi" such as Star Trek: Discovery - you will likely enjoy this.
The first season has two main (separate) storylines - I'll call them "Empire" and "Foundation".
The "Empire" storyline was great - well thought-out, written, cast, acted and visualized. We get to see an empire in apparent decline and the perspectives of conservatism, change, and middle-ground as actual characters. Top marks if this were the sole focus of the series. You can watch these sections separately and skip the rest. In fact, I think I recommend doing that. Put together a fan supercut, someone?
The "Foundation" storyline was a dud. The story is melodramatic and does not present interesting ideas or characters. I do like Leah Harvey's portrayal of Salvor Hardin, but there's not much more to be praised here. Jared Harris delivers of course, but only in a limited role. Fairly juvenile writing.
Sidenote: I have read the books long ago, and the fact that the series departs from the novelizations is not a bad thing, the details of Asimov's story are not particularly memorable. The really interesting part of Asimov's Foundation are the core ideas: that societal shifts and developments can be modelled, predicted and in some measure controlled - but only if the actors themselves are unaware of the true "plan", and only if external factors can be predicted and avoided / accounted for. Not much of that has been conveyed in this TV adaptation, other than as a general setup and a recurring deus ex machina when the writers needed something to fall back on.
Review by bantenVIP OG 12BlockedParent2021-11-21T12:35:24Z
First season complete.
My recommendations: IF...
...you are a fan of space opera literature in general - give this a chance, but don't expect anything beyond light TV-style entertainment.
...you are a fan of Asimov's Foundation novels - hard pass. The core ideas of the novels have not been carried over to this story.
...you are a fan of recent "sci-fi" such as Star Trek: Discovery - you will likely enjoy this.
The first season has two main (separate) storylines - I'll call them "Empire" and "Foundation".
The "Empire" storyline was great - well thought-out, written, cast, acted and visualized. We get to see an empire in apparent decline and the perspectives of conservatism, change, and middle-ground as actual characters. Top marks if this were the sole focus of the series. You can watch these sections separately and skip the rest. In fact, I think I recommend doing that. Put together a fan supercut, someone?
The "Foundation" storyline was a dud. The story is melodramatic and does not present interesting ideas or characters. I do like Leah Harvey's portrayal of Salvor Hardin, but there's not much more to be praised here. Jared Harris delivers of course, but only in a limited role. Fairly juvenile writing.
Sidenote: I have read the books long ago, and the fact that the series departs from the novelizations is not a bad thing, the details of Asimov's story are not particularly memorable. The really interesting part of Asimov's Foundation are the core ideas: that societal shifts and developments can be modelled, predicted and in some measure controlled - but only if the actors themselves are unaware of the true "plan", and only if external factors can be predicted and avoided / accounted for.
Not much of that has been conveyed in this TV adaptation, other than as a general setup and a recurring deus ex machina when the writers needed something to fall back on.