User Reviews

As an avid fan of Asimov in the 70s and 80s, I was anxious that Foundation would be more like the Riverworld TV show -an abysmal adaptation of Philip José Farmer's seminal series- rather than Game of Thrones.

But luckily that is not the case... The opening stays generally true to the basic central... ahem... Foundation... of Asimov's opening chapters of the book, even if it does stray off the path a fair bit. But it manages to update it for the 2020s and change the pacing and flow to make it work on the screen..

Interestingly the side characters are more fleshed out in this episode than they ever were in the books, for Asimov was more a conceptual and dialogue author than one known for excellent, character driven stories (except maybe Elijah Bailey and Daneel Olivaw)

Luckily the casting (of females specificially) isn't just another Female Ghostbusters. The characters work... Take Gaal Dornick. She is just so well done, and I will admit having a nerd-crush on her from the get go... In this first episode she is still so adorably naive as to the scale of what she helps Seldon set in motion that you can't help but feel for her.

Reading the comments of "slow and boring" really makes me feel sorry that some just cannot appreciate decent, proper storytelling.

Also, it goes without saying that the production quality, set and costume and World Building is Star Wars level.

Solid start. Can't wait to watch more episodes.

The universe they created is endless with so much potential and I'm stunned at how fast it hooked me. Showing the worst in humanity and at the same time showing the best. The factions feel uniquely different and the characters have layers to them. There's a system here that can produce and endless level of seasons. The story seems of one that can go into many different directions and I'm beyond excited to see where this journey will take me. Reminds me kind of the rise and fall of the Roman Empire but at the same time there's nothing close to being similar. It's beyond anything I expected and I'm stunned at finding a hidden gem.

Opening with children and Seldon's vault was unexpected, but a good 'hook' for people who are not hard-core fans.

Making Gaal Dornick female was maybe done just to give a gender balance that was not normal in the 1940s. That Asimov adjusted for later, and it is inherently a good idea.

But for those who don't already know how it comes out, having the young mathematician female increases the feelings you must have for her plight.

Also done tastefully - the Empire is abstractly cruel. No one is seen being tortured, which matches the original short story that Asimov wrote as a lead-in when the original short stories were collected as three books.

Incidentally, I'd have seen two books as better. The first half of the second book completes the main theme, and its second half introduces The Mule and mental control.

What we have are a lot of extras built around that short story. Including religious extremism, a present-day reference but also one Asimov would almost certainly have agreed with. And they have the good sense to make the religion of Gaal's planet not even remotely like Islam: insulting moderate Islam is no way to discourage extremism.

The jump-ship adds imagery not found in Asimov, as well as protection for passengers. But it seems an excellent extra.

The image of the transit is very obviously derived from what astronomers think a Black Hole would look like. And which matches the images from a distant galaxy seen in 2019.

The Genetic Dynasty is a nice innovation. In the Asimov story, the nominal Emperor is an unseen child and the man with the real power is behind the scenes. A man who negotiates with Seldon, but much less dramatically,

Viewers should have noticed that the person listed as Demerzel is very odd and strangely powerful. Readers of the later Foundation books will know why this is perfectly proper. I will not spoil what will later emerge.

As someone who grew up reading these books and almost every fiction book by Isaac Asimov, I was worried that this had no chance of living up to his amazing craftsmanship and story telling. I was worried "Hollywood" would find a way to ruin it like they did for "I, Robot", example.

However so far they have stuck to the book pretty well and while making certain concessions to keeping the pace interesting for casual viewers and taking full advantage of modern special effects, it only makes it better than I dared hope.

If that is a spoiler, sorry, but that's all you'll get from me for now and if you've read the books, thankfully the only real spoiler available is that-at least so far--it is very, very good!

On to episode 2!

Man, as a big Asimov fan, I was nervous about this one. But I've gotta say, it's pretty solid. The opening feels true to the books but updates things for today's audience. Think Star Wars meets Dune, but with a unique twist.

Casting is on point. Gaal Dornick and Dr. Seldon? Nailed it. The emperor? Exactly the kind of guy you'd love to hate. The sets and visuals are insane, like seriously movie-quality stuff. If you're into 4K, this show is a feast for the eyes.

Now, for the book fans who are mad it's not a carbon copy-come on. TV and books are different, and this is good TV. Story's engaging, and it's setting up for something big. Some of the side characters could be better, but hey, it's just the start.

Bottom line? If the first episode is anything to go by, we're in for a treat. Can't wait for Episode 2!

This adaptation of the book is awesome, really good cinematography and well developed characters!

The special effects are so gorgeous!

I am not disappointed at all!

I have high hopes for the next episodes!

It differs somewhat from the books, but not too much. Seems like a good start.

I haven't read the books, but as a Sci-Fi fan very good acting, world building and writing sucks you in to seek for more. The high quality cinematography is the tip of the cake. This is how a pilot of a complex Sci-Fi-show should be done.

This one is sure to please sci-fi fans all around! Foundation is in fact the 'foundation' of modern space fiction greats like Star Wars and Star Trek, and it has finally been given the budget it needs to bring it to the screen without watering down any of the magic. It is grand. It is powerful. It translates the feel of the first novel very well, I look forward to watching this over the next couple months.

Foundation is perhaps the best looking tv series I've ever seen, particularly in the sci-fi genre.

I really love the look of the show, from the beautifully imagined watery planet of Synnax to the desolate Terminus. Both planets have distinct looks. Synnax even has a deep religious element and history that I look forward to learning more about.

I also love that two of the main characters are women of color: Salvor Hardin immediately struck me as a capable, no-nonsense woman who is also full of compassion, particularly for the children of Terminus. Gaal Dornick is like the audience stand-in. She has a face that you can't look away from, with her large innocent and curious eyes. Jared Harris' Hari Seldon is as impressive as one would expect from such an accomplished actor. I would watchin him in anything and he was perfectly cast in this role.

The twist that the emperor of Trantor is a clone played by 3 different actors in episode 1 was quite fascinating and the most showy of the 3 actors, Lee Pace, seems to be really enjoying this role. I can't say that I like Empire but I do find the "character" to be quite interesting in his different incarnations.

I've already seen the first 7 episodes but this review only covers the events of episode 1 and the beginning of episode 2. While the series has its flaws (there is a time jump from the end of episode 1 to episode 2 that bafflingly skips over the lead up to a romance plot), the good definitely outweighs the bad, I still find it to be one of the best genre series and among the best new series of 2021. I'm excited to finish the season and am happy to know that it will be returning for a season 2.

Having just re-read the entire book series to prepare myself for this production, I am utterly disappointed at how little this episode, however beautiful, relates to Asimov's iconic vision. It appears that Apple has merely used the character names and a very broad outline of the book's story as a jumping-off point for an entirely new plot line.

As a huge fan of actors Jared Harris and Lee Pace, I'll stick with this for at least a few more episodes, but for any fan of the books, you'll probably find yourself needing to forget pretty much everything you envisioned and expected, otherwise you're just going to be sad and bitter. What a disappointment.

Episode 1 of Foundation Season 1 begins with a whole group of colonists on a planet. Looming on the horizon is the "vault", a strange triangular shape that's supposed to ward people away. A group of kids each take it in turns to step up, dodging and weaving past a group of flags to catch a glimpse of the "ghosts", which seem to be strange projections. Poly, one of the children, gets too close and passes out. While the other kids run away, the warden drags Poly to safety and reveals that the object is surrounded by a null field, which stops anyone getting too close to it. We then skip back 35 years earlier to Trantor. Hari Seldon and his son Raych sit in the candlelit library, discussing what they're going to do next. "There's no other way son," Hari says ominously. Having never read the books I can't comment on how well this has been adapted. However, based on what's here, there's a fascinating world that takes a lot of inspiration from sci-fi and fantasy already out on the small screen. From Game of Thrones and The Expanse through to Interstellar and Star Trek, all the influences are here and blended up into this gorgeously presented tale. The worldbuilding is okay, although I'm hoping we see more of the world itself and how it functions during the coming episodes. So far we've only seen snapshots of these areas so it would be good to dive into the nitty gritty aspects of life and turn this into a living, breathing universe. The Expanse is obviously the most notable influence here, with these Anacreon and Thespin essentially made out to be the Foundation equivalent of the Belters. Still, the first episode sets things up well and the amount of money put into this show is clear to see. This is one beautiful, lavishly developed series and everything from the set design to the acting is exemplary. The writing though? Not so much. At least not yet anyway. With lots of intriguing possibilities for the future, we'll have to wait and see what's in store for us but Apple may actually have a pretty decent sci-fi hit on their hands here.

This was a great introduction to what might be one the G. O. A. T.s of the sci-fi series genre.

The opening narration could have been a little better, but it did a great job overall.

The story itself, is superb so far. And the casting! Oh the casting... The emperor, his face, his mannerisms, etc. Are perfect for the role of a douche! I love it! 😂

Dr. Seldon... top notch guy. The writers did an awesome job with the lines, and the actor did an awesome job making me feel like he is indeed a stoic, but passionate genius!

As for the protagonist, she is very similar to Dr. Seldon in intellect and character, but has the added benefit of being a bit more of a people person, making her a little less likely to p- off others.

Excited for episode 2!

The best science fiction show you can stream right now! The story is complex and intriguing, the world building is fantastic, the acting is superb, special effects are top notch! This show is massively underrated! Everybody who criticize it should watch Thor etc. It is one of the best i have ever seen! Thanks to all the people involved!

Watched the pilot so far and it was great. The sound, landscape and costumes give you a very similar feeling to Star wars mixed with Dune and Warhammer 40K games. No action in here so far, so my guess it will be more of a drama/adventure series. Many gave this low ratings, but it seems like most of them are complaining that it's not like the books. Frankly I don't read these kinda books, it's boring for me. So I can't care less. As a sci-fi series the Pilot was very interesting and had a good story setup.

I guess if you are looking to compare to the books just read the books instead.

Although it's still soon to decide, it looks promising. The currently introduced characters are well developed. The total involving universe has been determined and the belief systems are shortly explained.

However, hopefully, these should be introduced more. Much more details are required about worlds cultures and different people in the galaxy, also mathematics and relations that could link the incidences as the mentioned elements are being explained.

So far, I can keep my hope for this show. Acting is very good, CGI is acceptable and the story is quite interesting.

The visuals of this show is alluring and mesmerising .Where big blockbuster use only CGI and Soundstage for their movies here they went to real places and built stages .The world building is also very good .Really a must watch.

There's no reason Foundation has to be pure Asimov. Especially considering the era of writing it came from and how disproportionate it is to today's encompassing society. I mean even the cloned Empire thing rings super cheese but some of Asimov's ideas are there so I'm able to move on.

What I asked myself going in was, is this good sci fi TV? You can't directly compare written mediums with visual. They inherently must differ.

Apple has hit this out of the park. As with all their productions it's in glorious Dolby Vision 4K and Dolby Atmos. Just beautiful shots. Beautiful effects. Let's face it - one of the premier things you'd expect from a sweeping space epic is amazing interstellar visuals. It's what the 4K medium was made for. Foundation's effects surpass that of my current favorite sci fi The Expanse by leaps and bounds.

Where there is a little weakness is in the story and some of the surrounding actors. Gaal and Hari have been superbly cast. Seriously the people crying "woke" nonsense need to sit down on this one. It's great casting. They bring great zeal to the series. Lee Pace as Brother Day is another decent cast and he's doing good in his role. Everyone else however is dry, and delivers their lines with a cheese factor almost to Farscape's levels.

I have hope this series keeps on bringing this fantastic and high production value each and every episode as the story is meant to continue down a dark path.

As a huge fan of the books I was looking forward to the setup of the 1st episode. And to be frank I am not disappointed, there are a lot of new creative and plot choices that went in there which gives it a diffeent tone. I knew they won't copy-paste the books, and that is a good thing. Ignore those who are comparing it with the actual series, nothing can match it and if you go in with that mindset you will for sure enjoy it.(atleast the 1st episode)

P. S. I liked the depiction of Trantor.

I was extremely excited about this series. I recently read Asimov's seven novels and loved them. I wasn't expecting an exact adaptation but so far this is too far of course and lacks the intrigue of the novels.

Math is a character. You can't go into this expecting an epic out of the gate. This is a slow burn, reminiscent of the first season of Thrones. Yet has the geekiness we all want from science fiction. Strong start, but the best is yet to come, which is exciting. I am confident this show will have a better payoff than Thrones did.