The production value on this is visablly fucking insane. What a gorgeous show.
And with only 2 episodes out I am already hooked like haven't been by a show in a long time.
EDIT after full first season:
Damn, I'm disappointed right now. It started off so well with the first episode. But with each passing episode it felt more like two different shows. One on Trantor about Empire. Which was fucking amazing science fiction and mesmerizing to watch. But also one on Terminus about the Foundation itself. Which felt like a cheap SyFy spinoff in the same universe. Very bizarre.
Still an entertaining watch throughout but it could have been so much better.
BTW. I haven't read the books.
Beautifully shot but writers have butchered the characters, really disappointed.
Take a scifi pillar and destroy it like one of Trantor's space elevators. Awful butchering of the story.
Daneel is not. genderswapped is fine, but he's unmasked immediately and is made into a weakling
Dors Venabili---gone
Hari is no better than a kidnapper
Reych...kills Hari what?
Pretty trash is still trash.
This show is awful. I thought I’d give it a chance and watch both episodes. The characters are dull and the acting isn’t any better.
Outstanding production, acting and CGI!
If you’ve read the seven books you may have issues with the screenplay and the “Apple-fication” of several aspects of the show. I expected that though. Some people seem to refer to this as “woke”. I call it writing a screenplay for modern times based on a universe and fictional society conceived nearly 80 years ago. Actual society and audiences have changed. If you’re hung up on that aspect you may not enjoy this as much.
As for myself, I loved the books and thoroughly enjoyed the first two episodes of the show! Seeing this universe come to life on my screen is amazing to me!
The girl is just too annoying.
Watched first 2 episodes.
Slow and not very interesting. The characters are completely devoid life - they might as well have been robots. There's no reason to be interested in any person in this show they are so one-dimensional.
The show only becomes remotely interesting in the final 2 minutes - convenient to get you to watch the next episode's drivel...until the final 2 minutes...so you'll watch the next episode... NOPE, done.
Visually - 8/10
Story 3/10
Watchable 0/10
There are comments saying "butchered the books" etc. Darn.. I've read them too, I love them too, but to be honest you're wrong.
God damn it... read the fricking description: "Based on the award-winning novels by Isaac Asimov(...)" it's not even adaptation. So don't expect it to follow the same story-line, don't expect the same characters, finally don't expect it to be reflection of the book.
Show is brilliant. I love it.
This is not Foundation. Asimov would turn in his grave.
Too much action and explosions and Hollywood and none of Asimov's power of logic. Where are those dialogues where the winner is the wisest? Too much testosterone.
At this rate, they will do 10 seasons or more.
This show is awful. I thought I’d give it a chance and watch both episodes. Characters are dull and the acting isn’t any better.
Visually stunning. It would have been impossible to be faithful to Asimov's novels. Because they cover a time span that lasts centuries, and because they were written in the 1950s, imagining things that today could have a steampunk flavor. So adaptations are welcome. The novels themselves were born on the basis of short stories and were anything but perfect. Only later were they appreciated. But just as the novels were innovative in their time, in the same way this TV series represents, in my opinion, the best that could be expected. The distortion of roles should not be displeasing. If a woman can play 007, I don't see why shouldn't be able to play Salvor Hardin. Those who loved Asimov's novels will only be surprised. Not disappointed.
Damn!!!!!! What a show there should be more quality series just like this
from the visuals to the storytelling it's perfectly produced.
This show left me speechless.
This has to be one of the best shows in TV history. :fire::fire::fire:
It is one of the best shows I have ever seen. Great series.
This show is f**king brilliant.
I've got a feeling This series is up there with the best.
I've never seen a show produced this well.
Love this show, it is five stars and should definitely be on everyone's watch list.
whoever directed it did an amazing job. The blocking, excitement, power,
subtle yet always there. Love how they heightened the court scene.
One of the best series ever made. WOW!!!
This was supposedly based on the Foundation novels by Isaac Asimov. Those novels were a retelling of "The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire" by Edward Gibbon - with an SF setting.
However, this adaption has little or nothing in common with those novels.
You can basically split the series into two main threads. It's almost as if these two threads are written by different people - they differ so much in quality.
The Empire story actually works. The creators of the show added an new section about a genetic dynasty of clones ... it actually works. The segments about the empire and its decline are quite watchable. Machinations of power etc. The Emperors are well-acted, compelling even.
The Foundation story is awful. I mean really badly written and shockingly badly acted. It's also laced with woke drivel. I don't know how better to express how bad these parts are written and acted than to say... I actually ended up laughing at some of the lines and how they were delivered. It ditches the idea of psychohistory (or rather it pays it lip service) and in its place is a kind of silly story about uploaded consciousness and coin tosses.
But the main takeaway is this: the series has virtually nothing in common with the books. It's completely and utterly missing the grandeur and shocks of the original Foundation novels. This is mega-budgeted nonsense.
The entire industry of film and TV seems to have plumbed the dregs to fill up the acres of space needed for content these days. It's embarrassing.
Cast choices are pretty bad and episode scripts are poorly written I guess. So much potential but hardly delivered compared to the visual effects and great atmosphere. Note: Didn't read the books. People who read them could be right about the scenario. Feels like could be better. Also the speed of the series brings my sleep. A great series wasted for a SJW/Diversity agenda of Apple. Welcome to the New World Order.
Really disappointed. Slow and tedious. Bored.
A steaming hot mess with little connection to Asimov’s work apart from the name. Priorities diversity quotas and checkboxes over plot, acting and storytelling.
I was super intrigued by the first episode. This show is beautiful, and the acting is decent. Unfortunately, aside from the first episode and then a few decent plot points here and there, this show is mostly a bore. I found it a chore to get through as I found most of the characters to be entirely uninteresting and often quite annoying. It's also disappointing to hear from other people that the show writers have completely butchered the original plot of the books. I can't recommend this one, despite the fantastic grand vision that is laid out in the first episode. 4 episodes were more than enough for me.
The visual effect are awesome....BUT the characters are boring and the acting isn’t any better, the actors look like they don't want to be there, i don't know....and in some point the plot is like they try to show a lot of visual effects and sudenly action.... i saw the 3 first episodes and i don't like it, yes, you will see a show with great visual effects, but the characters won't make you feel anything
It has a long way to go to become exceptional, but it has potential imho. I'm still not blown away by it (although it looks amazing), but I'm slowly getting into the world and the story. Brother Day is a highpoint for me every episode. I just hope that in coming seasons the story gets more interesting. My gut tells me this show will be okay in the end, hopefully season 1 was just a warm up/slow start.
I didn't read the books, but people reaaaaaalllyyyy need to stop comparing books/movies/tvshows with each other. It's always the same "books are better"-crap. Rate this show for what it is, a freaking tv show. It's fine if you enjoyed the books and this a bit less, but try to understand that it's nearly impossible to recreate the personal experience you had with a book. It would be nice if people would understand that a bit more.
All though loosely based. I’m absolutely in love with this interpretation of the books. I have read the books all the way from the robot wars through to the foundation series. It’s everything my imagination pondered. The sound track the wonderful worlds created, the growth of the story through time. The casting is on point. The extended character development beyond the books is in keeping with what would I believe Asimov’s imagination of what foundation could be, with our modern interpretations. But this is my own view. Watch it. It’s fabulous. Well done Apple TV.
I loved this show! It was executed so well - visually stunning, great cast, good script, etc. The pacing was balanced perfectly so that it wasn't rushed even though they had to do big time jumps. The concept is a refreshing new take on humanities future in its space endeavors and how humanity still repeats its mistakes (like the dark ages), but there is a kind of 'mystical' twist that is based on math and hyper intuition. I'm very much looking forward to the future episodes/seasons and hopefully quite a few more seasons because this story can definitely be delved into since there are about 500 years to work with based on the predictions Hari made. One disappointing bit is the lack of alien species in this universe. It seems humans have taken over many habitable worlds over a few thousand years, but where are the other intelligent life forms? That seems like a big plot hole because it's very hard to believe that there are only human life forms in this vast galaxy.
I see a lot of complaints here, but I don't really get why. So far the acting has been great, the visual effects really impressive and modern, and the scenario far from being bad. It feels like a dense and interesting universe to get into. As someone who didn't read the source material (I have read some of Asimov's books but not foundation in particular), I am not bothered by the differences.
I agree on the fact that the scenario could be better, but as I said it is good enough to me and is balanced by the universe and its mood that I find fascinating and quite unique. I like the fact that there is not one main story, but ~4 that are connected and alternate regularly (like in a lot of books I read).
Even though I didn't see them enough to make my mind yet, the characters feel well written and interesting.
To conclude, if you get easily bored (The pace is quite slow, for me it is a strength but I understand it is not for everyone) or are an Asimov purist, this show might not be for you. However if you are into sci fi and are looking for something unique, it would be a shame to miss this.
I am waiting for the end of the season to mark the show, but at episode 6, it is a solid 8 or 9.
An update that fundamentally lacks the essential element that allowed the original to exist at all.
What's missing? (Spoiler: It's intelligence)
It's a dumb action show with philosophical pretentions, that sometimes manages compelling scenes, with extremely expensive visuals that show off truly excellent CGI (because it doesn't 'look like' CGI), and has some great cinematography and production design (but also some pretty weak/generic/nonsensical production design, mainly in the abysmally stupid Hardin/Terminus bits.)
What about the actual source material?
Asimov grew considerably as a writer throughout his career, addressing his weaknesses of having rather dry dialogue and matter-of-fact storytelling, and, more specifically, kind of flat characters, and weak female characters. Foundation itself saw a considerable upgrade in its depth and focus on women and girls as main characters, as it went on, but it is still dry by comparison to his later works such as Nemesis, which is still one of my favorite books (the main characters of Nemesis are a plain, probably autistic teenage girl and her mother. So, yes, there are a number of different ways a Foundation adaptation could have gone, stylistically. Although, there's really only one option nowadays with the current trend of dark, overly self-serious, and frankly suffocating mid-brow pretension in "serious" "science fiction", the formula could have definitely benefitted from a transfusion of dramatic lifeblood.
The problem is that they forgot (actually, never understood) the core ethics and dynamics of the story, and the story told therein ends up as a confused mess of incoherent melodrama that completely and utterly slanders and wastes its core concepts. They also frontload and spoil two of the biggest reveals of the book series within the first few episodes, for absolutely no narrative reason, and absolutely zero payoff. They also utterly assassinate every single aspect of arguably the most important character to the centuries-spanning plot as a whole. So do yourself a favor and read the books before getting more than five episodes or so in.
Yeah, Lee Pace is a dead sexy beast as a charasmatically domineering and ever-young Cleon. Lou Lloubell is also a great actress and Gaal and Hari compelling characters until they make her and Hari into idiotic telenovela characters because modern Hollywood (non)writers don't understand how to write stories about the conflict of empirical and religious values without making it into incoherent emotional nonsense, likely due to working out their own personal issues without actually having read or understood, or likely even been exposed to decades-old knowledge and exegesis on the subject.
And it was predictable. Friedman showed he had a surface-level attention to and understating of SF concepts with his Sarah Connor series. I liked that at the time, but even as a twenty-something I could tell he didn't understand basic computer science, and didn't bother to consult with anyone to write it properly. One look at Goyer's filmography and it's clear that he doesn't do anything but dark, pulpy action fantasy. We got children without sea legs and hacks sailing this boat.
Astonishing series, the 1st episode is outstanding. And yes, that is not really the novel of Isaac Asimov but they catched the meaning of the book and added necessary TV elements, like that with the starbridge. When it was destroyed that was really impressive, you could really feel that this empire will fall and it is not expecting that. Also because of its savageness.
Yes, it is not like the books from Asimov but they adapted it astonishing good for TV. The special effects and the actors (!) are nearly perfect in my opinion. 10 points. Best SciFi series and I watched TNG, Battlestar Galactica and many others. This is „The Man from Earth“ in Action.
Incredibly bad acting coupled with a lousy adaptation of the original story - meant to please certain groups. Lee Pace is akin to a manikin and child actors will never be more than children.
Luckily the media industry does depend on profits so this trend will dissolve shortly.
captivating from start to finish ! the actors are giving stellar performances, the costumes are beautiful, the set designs are amazing, the planets, the spaceships, the visual effects are top notch ! the single and only gripe I have with the show is ; it's too damn short and I WANT MORE NOOOOW !!! this is the type of science fiction I really love.
Really well done. If you are familiar with the Isaac Asminov’s books, you can understand why his FOUNDATION series has not found its way into mainstream media before now. It began as a series of short stories in a magazine (so it doesn’t have a core of characters), it covers a vast expanse of time (so it is problematic in gathering an invested audience) and it is rather dated (the trilogy being written in the 1950s and the other 7 books spawned by a renewed interest in the 80s. However, it is arguably one of the most influential SciFi works (Does Dynastic Galactic Empires ring any bells for you? DUNE? STAR WARS?). Showrunner David S Goyer has proposed an 8 season arc for this fledgling project and if season one is any indication, this series has legs. It is beautiful, it is grand in tone, it gives us a core group of characters that span the massive time line, it has a talented cast giving layered performances and it has already been renewed by Apple TV+ For a second season. Without hesitation, I give this series an 8 (really well done) out of 10. [Epic SciFi]
Very interesting history about how this show was finally brought to the screen.
https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20210920-foundation-the-unfilmable-sci-fi-epic-now-on-our-screens
Oh, stop it, you incel bookworms. So it is not faithful to the books, but it is a great sci-fi series.
You're all just upset about the main female characters and the colour of their skin!
Whoever got the rights for the book adaptation just took characters and places names from it and tried to make Game of Thrones in Space, Force powers from Star Wars included.
I tried watching it. A few episodes in, maybe four. But this is so shallow. I don't care about it being woke or the original material being butchered, it's an old book anyways, but if they wanted to present their own interpretation, they should have done a better job. Because besides some flashy visuals, the emperor is naked.
Full of expectations I have watched three episodes and just unable to perceiver, not for me I will find something less woke.
After S1E7 I’m still undecided on how I feel about this show.
There’s no doubt to the brilliant production and high budget. The vast majority of the actors are of high calibre too, which is why I can’t understand the actress who plays the main female part in the first few episodes. Her acting is very weak in comparison to everyone else and it actually makes it very difficult to watch; I’m getting to annoyed with her acting rather than concentrating on the show.
My other main gripe is the pace. Is so slow, too often. Why are there so many long pauses of no one speaking or doing anything of any interest or importance? I find myself constantly rewinding as I’ve actually dozed off, it really does get that mind numbingly boring.
However, the saving grace is when there is talking, action etc, it is worth watching. If all the boring parts were removed, there would probably be only 4 episodes and not 8.
Will I continue to watch? Yes, but only when I’ve exhausted everything else I want to catch up on. Or this is how I’ve naturally progressed without thought. Which is a great shame as it’s got huge potential.
I had no idea until 30 minutes ago it was a well known book series, I’m ashamed to say I don’t read. In my defence I’m dyslexic and by the time I’ve read something, not only have I taken ten times longer than I should, it doesn’t make sense. I and many others are reliant on shows and movies and Im jealous of what reader’s experience as they immerse themselves. It’s therefore far more important for TV & Film to get things right and do justice to well written novels.
I digress…there’s a lot of positives for this show and I will continue to watch as I feel I’d be disappointed if it was cancelled. I hope they are listening to reviews and will tweak the show. Outstanding shows such as GTO went from incredible to diabolical, Foundation could go from a rocky start fo phenomenal. We shall see.
Went in with no expectations and was pleasantly surprised by the first two episodes. It's visually stunning, some characters were a little flat, some performances - not good enough but there was more than enough to keep me entertained. Episodes 3 and 4, I started to lose interest. 5 and 6 were okay. Hope it picks up the pace cause I really want to like it.
I can see lots of people taking great dislike of the series but I am getting quite a bit of enjoyment from this. The "Halt & Catch Fire" Emperor actor is a brilliant actor and choice. At least that is In my lowly esteem. Other than that, I'm hooked to the extent I am happy to keep watching this one. I mean I look forward to it and I have a lot of cool things to watch at the moment (Loving Wu Tang tv series for e.g.). I would say if you are into sci fi give it a go. Ignore the negative and just enjoy it as a bit of a popcorn flick. If you are an Asimov fanboy perhaps not for you. To be honest I have never got on with the books - Found them incredibly hard work to get into to. I'm more of a cyber punk kind of guy (think Snow Crash). Still - This is welcome tv and I am enjoying it for what it's worth. A solid 7 for a non Asmiov fanboy who wants a bit of non cheesy sci fi at a time when there isn't a whole lot to choose from that I haven't already seen. If this series ends strong I might up my 7 to an 8/9. My 2 cents.
I haven't read the original series, so I'm coming into this with no specific expectations other than wanting the show to be good.
Five episodes in and it's not looking like this show is going to be particularly great. Sunk cost fallacy has set in and I might try a couple more episodes in case the show picks up steam late into the season, but I'd be surprised.
The effects and cinematography are pretty stunning, but I tend to care less about that than the writing which is nothing remarkable. The fifth episode had some cheesy choreography and an army of Stormtroopers who collectively couldn't hit a broad side of a barn.
The timelines aren't exceptionally confusing, but the story keeps jumping back and forth in time including flashbacks for no compelling reason. In some cases we are just expected to accept some kind of event like Gaal's back story only to get the long version later on with no emotional payoff.
I stumbled upon the new Foundation TV series accidentally as I typically do not watch TV shows at all. The title Foundation reminded me of Isaac Asimov trilogy, psychohistory, epic science fiction - and I was not disappointed. The TV show really is epic :star_struck:, I liked almost everything about it. While the story is only loosely related to Asimov's novels, the authors did a great job of world building. The shining imperial capital Trantor, the genetic dynasty, the 3 brothers Dawn, Day, Dusk, their servant and master mind Demerzel. Hari Seldon, mathematician and magician, psychohistory, Terminus in the outer reach, and then of course the first Seldon crisis. It seems each major crisis plays out within one series (with 10 episodes). I was also amazed by the formidable cast, in particular Lee Pace as emperor Cleon. And stunned by the great visuals. Overall this is science fiction at it's best, can't wait for series 3 hopefully aired in 2025 :rocket:
Moral of the Story:
When you don't read books, bad for you...
when you do read books but don't (or won't) appreciate changes that another medium brings in, doubly bad for you...
when you think you appreciate changes but begin bickering as soon as you can digest them, triply bad for you...
Personally, have read the books, and watched the adaptation; loved them both and it only wants to re-read the books again.
... and that is the story of most of the comments of any book adaptation to the another medium - theatre, small screen, large screen or fan-service books (period)... thanks for your time reading this...
After 2 seasons, i'm fairly enjoying this adaptation, it's not perfect but overall a good tv show.
I wouldn't read the books anyway because i can't stand how Asimov (and few classical sf authors too i guess) writes.
I wish there was more empire, really the whole foundation storyline failed to hook me.
Just give me a show about space empire drama, Cleon clones galore!
I want to like this show so much... But it is such a slog. I have no trouble keeping up with other sci-fi and mind benders, but this one just feels either unnecessarily complicated, or does a poor job at conveying what the viewer is supposed to know contextually.
And it moves too fast. I never feel the weight of things that happen. I'm regularly pausing it to ensure I have time to process something that feels like a bombshell (but maybe it wasn't after all).
I quite enjoy some aspects of the show, and sometimes it all comes together nicely. But, then it scatters again, and I just never feel like it's cohesive enough to recommend others watch it.
They must have scoured England for the worst actors they could find for season 2. Big drop in quality from season 1 in both writing and acting. Very disappointing!
The first season ended with high expectations, but this second so far is proving to be excessively cumbersome, with a falsely complex plot. Not to mention the character dialogues often unsuitable for the prosaic nature of the show. All in all, really disappointing.
No idea whether this is true to the books or not and don't really care. As TV entertainment I'd rate it a 6 or 7 though, the production value and sets are stunning and at times the story is really interesting. Problem is there's WAY too much down time where it isn't, a couple of the characters are downright annoying too. The show also CONSTANTLY jumps back and forth in time with virtually no indication of when or where you are supposed to be, not helped by the fact that the settings and the dress of the characters is largely identical even with 100+ years separating them, the first season is definitely the worst in this regard. Generally well acted but at times it's hard to keep motivated enough to keep watching, without the plot down time and time jump confusion (which at times seems to be there just for the sake of it) it would easily have been an 8 or a 9.
It hurts to watch this deformed waste of money for more then 10 minutes. Why would they do this to such an amazing piece of work. Apple never do this again.
A movie with excellent production value. Every shot is beautiful and the CGI is well done. However, if you have read even the first book, you'll quickly find yourself lost with the story told by the series. Also, everything is predictable and because of that, you'll dread every moment you have spent watching the series. The writing of the series is an insult to sci-fi fans.
Very disappointed by this show. Expected more from an Apple production. Immensely slow and confusing. Also mostly boring. First season is not worth being called a season. Nothing really happened apart from being a setup for a second season—which I will not be watching.
Lee Pace is Empire, outstanding. Jared Harris as Hari Seldon, perfection. Laura Birn as Demerzel, fascinating. Everything else about this show is utter dreck. Gala Dornick is a worthless character who spends the entire season as a whining emotion wreck. Leah Harvey as Salvor Hardin is absolutely horrendous in a completely butchered storyline.
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.
I've watched the first 3 episodes. The first episode is stupendous, the best of the series so far, and episodes 2 and 3 are not without their charm. After the pilot, the story progresses less rapidly, situations are less dire, and the visuals are less spectacular. I hope that future episodes will match or surpass the quality of episode one.
Apple has had some great shows. I hope this will live up to the promise of this epic trilogy. Can't wait!
Should have been labeled 'loosely based on the books by Isaac Asimov'.... Absolutely butchered the books... Disgrace... Woke nonsense
On a positive note, it is beautifully made and the actors do an excellent job.
The pilot episode is just brilliant. Wipes the floor with the rest of new sci fi television. The vistas and scenic design may be the best since Lynch's Dune. Watch on the biggest screen you've got.
I've never been more disappointed
9 episodes in, and it is clear that this is an incredible story and world. But my god it was not put in the right hands. This story deserved far more competent people to adapt it.
Anyone who uses the term 'woke' or 'wokeness' when it doesn't mean awake or awoke, immediately gets the thumbs down from me. The most irritating term ever.
What a wasted opportunity. Could have been great, but very little resemblance to the book I read.
After 5 episodes i still have no idea what this is about :’)
There are two shows in this... one - the Foundation side - is... bad... the Empire side (which I don't think is based on the Empire series) is mostly quite good/interesting...
The Foundation side though... absolutely awful adaptation of the books. The character of Salvor Hardin in the book has "violence is the last refuge of the incompetent" as a very firm ideal... he (in the books) solves the crises peacefully... Salvor in the films hears that, but races to the guns all the time. Also the resurrection in Episode 9 is ridiculous...
Okay, it looks like a series similar to StarWars episode 1: it is tasteless, it falls flat, but it's pretty.
Also, forget Asimov's novels: you won't find them here.
I am usually a "the book was better" person. Not today. This show is way better than the books, probably because it is merely inspired by them, just takes the seeds that were good in the book and uses them to create something beautiful. Of course it's not perfect, only way better than I expected. I liked the Trantor section better than the Terminus one, which is sad, but i will definitely watch the next season.
3 episodes in and I very much like what I am seeing here. I'm totally recommending it if you are into SciFi, however this ain't Star Trek Discovery or Star Wars. It's got a slow pace, comparable to the first season of Expanse with lots of political drama. It's also a bit confusing for now, since the story jumps from timeline to timeline and you have lots of characters to keep track of.
I have never read Asimov's books, even though I love SciFi, so I can't speak for how faithful this adaption is, but production value is off the charts. I also love how they realize certain concepts in a way I have only seen in some SciFi anime so far, like very mild spoilers from the first episode: a space elevator where the ride down takes over 40 hours and that thing is a proper space station, earth being turned into a matryoshka world where the sky is only a projection and they even show a ship with a black hole drive.
I didn’t even know this story was from a book. I guess that shows you they never said it was exact match which so many people wining that it isn’t the book story. I say just enjoy it or don’t watch it and enjoy reading the books again. Instead of forcing yourself to watch and then complain. :/
Wow this is an incredible series, it is so expansive. For anyone that is struggling with the time jumps etc, I would highly recommend listening to the official podcast in between episodes as it explains and expands the episode and points out bits you may (like me) have missed! It makes it even better than the series on its own which is incredible
From episode 7 onwards it's constant, predictable suffering, bad characters and terrible development. It has good characters and good plots in some segments of my series but the overall plot is terrible, poorly developed characters and everything is predictable. I don't recommend anyone waste their time watching this series.
I watched 15 episodes of this, and didn't really enjoy a single one. I should have given up sooner. It's a show that is visually stunning, but has pretty much nothing going for it. Which is odd, considering the source material. I think it comes mostly down to the actors, which I find piece by piece to be a giant mismatch to the story. Completely bland. Uninteresting. I've unwatched it and deleted it from my brain.
I was very confused for about 4 episodes and then they started pulling the stories together. It was extremely disjointed and, not having read the stories, I wasn't too sure what was going on at the beginning but wasn't disappointed with the characters, as others have been. All scifi/ fantasy (apart from Dune) seems to be very derivative now. If they aren't copying Star Wars or Lord of the Rings (or GoT), they're nicking the titles off His Dark Materials, and it shows.
Nothings changed in the future…white man still rules the universe while enslaving all the other colored people.
Thrones in space with a kickass budget and Apple visuals. What more do you want?
Bloody Awesome Enough Said, Wow
Before going into this I was expecting a slow paced epic journey and after 2 episodes that's what it is. Hopefully it is laying the foundation for something worthwhile......to be continued.
OMG cannot wait!!
I read the books umpteen times since the age of 14! Simply the best sci-fi ever. Looks like the TV show will do the books justice.
Well done Apple TV!!!!
I really wanted to like this, it seems like something I would usually like. It's just so boring, I can't get into it. It's a 3 because although I'm not a fan of the plot and its execution, the visuals are stunning
After watching this, I've wondered if anybody out there has considered making a TV show based on Asimov's Foundation novels.
It is a must-watch for sci-fi enthusiasts. As someone who hadn't delved into the source material, I noticed that some who didn't enjoy it were fixated on its deviation from the book. It's important to recognize that adaptations often take liberties. Though certain segments slow the pace while establishing its world, they don't detract from its overall quality. The visual quality is top-notch, a testament to the substantial investment made. The series boasts compelling characters that draw you into their stories, making you genuinely care about their outcomes. While it might not be the pinnacle of sci-fi, it's undeniably a worthwhile viewing experience.
Just finished 2nd season and yeah I know it doesn't follow exactly the book. Haven't read them and I don't care about the fact that a book and adaptation are difference. I don't understand this obsession for the book and show to be the same. What matters is the outcome and it is really good for this show though, I do have some remarks mostly from the last 4 episodes where the show goes superb and with a lot of buts that leave a bit of bitter taste.
* certain logical leaps are made that either they were cut in post production or they didn't know how to connect the dots
* The backstories are great. It's actually super.
* There is a focus on actions scenes which are short and don't offer much. THe placement though, the standoffs and the suprises are delivered superbly. An example of bad scene is the one with the fighters and an example of awesomeness is the jump to the palace
What I like about the second season especially but it was there in the first one is that the show feels slow but super dense while it really manages to advance with each episode. Also, the way the "suprise" is injected is incredible. It keeps your interest. It makes you feel that you watched a full season per episode. The music, the actors, the directorship, the clothes are all incredible.
I'm a bit afraid about the continueity of the actors though, especially for Dawn, Day and Demerzel, who must not grow to look older based on their characters.
The blueness of Day is just awesome. My favorite colour. It's a very difficult colour in clothes and it's just superb and it looks great in the rest of the scenes. Day just stands out, both because of his blue attire and because he has the necessary presence.
Btw A+ is by far the best service at this moment. And this is very hard for me to say good things about the company. If you haven't read the books, then it's strongly recommended. If you have read the books I don't know. It depends on your expectations when a book is adapted to the screen.
Sorry for going a bit defensive with the spoiler tags. It's not all spoilers.
For someone who has never read nor even heard of the books I gotta say I am very entertained
I am very disappointed. Such a great book and such a poor adaptation. Season one was average, but it was possible to follow the story line. The beginning of season two is very confusing and is over complicated without a reason. I couldn't wait to get to the end. The graphic and technically great, but story and all the characters are poor or bellow average.
Very good first season. Loved it.
Sadly it degrades to fantasy gibberish with jedi mind tricks.
Season 1 = Peak Science Fiction
Season 2 = A big mess
entertaining and thought provoking. I enjoy the series
Only watched season 1 so far, still got season 2 to watch, but so far my experience is: the show looks great, sounds great, all the actors and actresses are doing a great job, but...I could see every plot twist coming a mile away. No, I'm not familiar with the book (or books? I dunno). This is quite literally the most predictable show I've watched in quite some time.
It's still enjoyable to watch and all and I don't feel I've wasted my time with it, but being able to tell every single upcoming twist does hamper the fun somewhat. I also wish they'd have spent a bit more time on all the philosophical questions here, since there's SO much potential for a good conversation on that here.
If you're expecting pew pew, and pacheew pacheew, and kaboom! Then this isn't for you.
It's a pretty intelligent beautifully shot sci-fi spanning generations. Impossible to be faithful 100% to the original work but it feels like they've hit a sweet spot.
Captivating to watch.
The acting is getting weak
This show is visually stunning, but as someone who has never read the books I am very confused as to what is fully going on. But I am intrigued every episode.
The writing in this is atrocious.
Show and season 1 rated a 7.3
Four episodes in and im still not sure if this show is worth watching.Hopefully it will improve as it has many plus points
:heart:x8
As someone who has not read the book(s?), this was an amazing first season. This story is epic, spanning millennia. The story is very engaging and well written. Watching the storyline jump back and forth in time works well here and is easy to follow. Can't wait to see season 2.
How I rate:
1-3 :heart: = seriously! don't waste your time
4-6 :heart: = you may or may not enjoy this
7-8 :heart: = I expect you will like this too
9-10 :heart: = movies and TV shows I really love!
Everything surrounding and regarding Empire and the dynasty is a strong 8/10 at times 9/10 particularly when following Brother Day or the character Gaal Dornick's story line. Everything else plays off as a weak 7/10, almost as if there is a first unit director working with the stellar cast playing the clones and Gaal and a second unit director managing everything else. Not that there is anything wrong with that, it's just unfortunate that the show feels a bit disjointed. I just started reading the books and I understand that this is a very loose adaptation but still it would have been better had the pacing and quality been more consistent throughout.
This ended up being very different than what I imagined, but it kept my interest throughout. I was hoping for a more faithful retelling, but I'm OK with what we actually got. I will more than likely end up watching whatever a new season will bring.
I really don't get how Salvor Hardin is a female character.
I didn't read the books so what they've done for TV doesn't bother me. The first 3 episodes, though, made absolutely no sense to me, so it was only on episode 4 that I began to see the sequences running through, which was a relief. It is beautifully made, a whole hill above the usual bulls*t we've been fed over the last decade (I've stopped watching whole screeds of stuff as being too American, too much Hero crap, and so on. It's about time America woke up and began to make intelligent films (if Dune can do it, why can't the rest of Hollywood?)
Good story, good SFX ... but if you're a fan of Azimov and his works, and you've waited as long as I have for an adaption, this will just feel wrong to you.
I'll definitely continue to watch, at least for now; but I can't help feeling I would enjoy it more ( and rate it higher ) if I had no knowledge and love for the source material.
I've not read the books but the content in the first few episodes feels very rushed. We've had so much character evolution around relationships and death all too soon. Felt rushed. I guess this is Apple so it's bound to be pretty crap
Beautifully made with good acting but I don't understand anything about it xD
To be honest, I was expecting it to be worst, as far as the book adaptation part.
The issue with the completely different characters that the book introduce in each part, is a really hard issue to solve when creating a tv show.
They tried to solve that with some clever changes but the fact that some crucial story events are completely new, or fundamentally changed, it feels really weird for someone that have read the books.
The production value is over the top, easily one of the best shows ever made so far.
If you read the books and can keep an open mind, i think you will be hooked only to see how the story will unfold with this adaptation.
Gem in the making, not yet epic, not there yet.
Shout by DeletedBlockedParent2021-06-29T08:58:05Z
can't wait to see this! september 24th cannot come soon enough!