Enjoyed watching the season, but my main problem is that the Trantor stuff with its more philosophical, harder sci-fi is so vastly compelling than the more generically action-packed other stuff. Which is why the pilot, with its one focus before splintering into the latter, still remains my favorite too.
The storyline with Lee Pace and the other Brothers is excellent - High Science Fiction. The rest of the story involving The Foundation isn't bad, it just isn't as interesting. Almost everything that happened I could see coming a mile away. Though the revelation at the end seems to promise that things will become far more engaging in the future. ...We hope.
Between the overwhelming visual spectacle and cheap science fiction. Between existentialist philosophy and silly youthful romanticism. The first season of "Foundation" has no middle ground. Either it is loved or it is hated, or it is simply ignored. An effort that tries to cover numerous narrative lines even if it betrays some of the issues raised by Asimov. A failed attempt to build a giant that only has feet of clay.
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 will continue to watch, but I can't help feeling it would be more satisfying ( and I would rate it higher ) if I didn't have a knowledge and love of the source material.
I have not read the books, so the story is new to me. It’s pretty compelling and complex sci-fi, beautifully filmed.
Loved this. Not the fastest pace show but loved every episode and binged all 10 episodes in 3 days. Even stayed up late two nights which is super rare for me these days. Enjoyed the world building, character development, and the story reveals as well. Looking forward to Season 2 and also added Foundation and a bunch of other Asimov to my Goodreads backlog as well.
First of all, I don't know the books, so I come into this scenario fresh, without any preconceptions.
The worldbuilding is interesting enough, I like the idea of the Empire trinity - but would appreciate more background information. How did they come to be? How exactly do they keep the power - and the illusion? The same goes for Demerzel - how did she come into service of the Empire?
Then there's the foundation/terminus which is the weakest part of this show. I don't care about any of the characters. Salvor is built up to be some kind of solve it all super woman, which stretches credibility quite much. I mean how does she know about steering a starship when she's never been to space? How does she know how to operate the Invictus? Etc. Not even those weird vision links with her real mother explain that since Gaal doesn't have much experience in that, either. And then there's Gaal who spends half of the season arguing with a hologramm, and then chooses to return to crysleep-journey back to her backwater planet. What a useless turn for this character.
I'm also struggling with the idea of the foundation. They've spent 30 years already on the planet by the start of the show... and it's just a colony of isolationists. I mean where are the vaults of knowledge, where are the attempts to work against the galaxy's demise? They are just a bunch of people on a desert planet - and then there's this Vault hanging above them. That's it. Does it get any more boring? No characterization, no development, just time jumps and super-woman (and mind you, the super-part would bother me as well if Salvor were a man, the characterization is just poorly handled).
And then we have Seldon whose psycho-history predicts the broad strokes of future events - and events align along his predictions even if the characters are changed out (like Salvor for Gaal who was supposed to first be left behind, then lead the foundation on Terminus). But honesty, he's nothing more than an extremist, inciting a very slow revolution. But what now? Will he pop up every time anyone needs a pep-talk? Or what's the purpose of the Vault now? And what was the purpose of the second foundation he wanted to build on his homeworld? How does not having done that impact the future?
This show is visually stunning - but, apart from the Empire parts, it could have used some serious work on plot, characterization and pacing.
Now the first season is over and visually I am absolutely impressed. Great pictures, great effects, rarely has a series been so impressive.
Unfortunately, the story is quite vague and towards the end of the first season you can easily guess which direction it is going to take. Acting is solid, not bad. You'll be entertained, but not particularly challenged, but I'm excited to see how the second season develops
In a world surrounded by mediocre visual effects, witnessing this is like a gentle caress to the soul. It's fascinating to see how the story unfolds and rewards the viewer, exuding the grandeur and magnificence of a vast universe that leaves you craving for more. Undoubtedly, it deserves a chance, although I'm not entirely sure you should go in with such high expectations, especially if you've read the books.:thinking:
I've not read the books and as a show it's quite reasonable. Some of the relationship stuff is more teen romcom than adult sci-fi but without doubt the most annoying aspect of the show is the constant jumping back and forth in time which will occur multiple times in a single episode, so much so it's hard to keep track of who is who and when, the fact that the characters all look and dress so similar and the environments being mostly the same makes it even more difficult to keep up. I don't dislike this time-jump concept per se, just the way it's executed here, .
boring!!!! boring broing boring boring
I was watching the first episode, I found it dull, childishly written, incapable of giving depth to story and characters... after 30 minutes I gave up.
Yes, Foundation is not the type of series that can be enjoyed in one sitting. The complex story and vast world can only be digested if watched periodically. Even so, this series failed to keep the audience enthusiastic in each episode because it failed to take advantage of the elements of the story.
Shout by Nicolas CameBlockedParent2021-11-20T02:06:34Z
Goyer should go on trial for the murder of the books.