Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
"Oh, but Asimovs story's are just people talking" say the defenders of this tripe. As if TV series with people talking have never and could never be made. Watched any legal/crime shows lately? It's mostly people in rooms, talking, and they seem to be reasonably popular. "

Wow, you like really boring TV..... I stopped watching those boring repetitive crime shows years ago
 
  • Angry
Reactions: NetMage
Good for you. People talking to each other about stuff - how boring. Ideas, concepts, philosophy... nah... let's just blow stuff up instead!

Don't watch it then, I don't care. Neither does Apple. Very few people read the source material for shows and movies they watch. And they generally enjoy the adaptations.
 
  • Disagree
  • Haha
Reactions: mavis and NetMage
Don't watch it then, I don't care. Neither does Apple. Very few people read the source material for shows and movies they watch. And they generally enjoy the adaptations.
I slightly care. And re-reading the series now. I'm just hoping the storyline makes sense; unlike SW Ep 1-3.
Re: changing genders? a little annoying. race? it is never discussed in the books.
Will be interesting to see how they treat "The Mule."
 
  • Like
Reactions: dguisinger
I slightly care. And re-reading the series now. I'm just hoping the storyline makes sense; unlike SW Ep 1-3.
Re: changing genders? a little annoying. race? it is never discussed in the books.
Will be interesting to see how they treat "The Mule."

i have no problem with that sentiment.
 
Don't watch it then, I don't care. Neither does Apple. Very few people read the source material for shows and movies they watch. And they generally enjoy the adaptations.
Of course I'll watch it, what did you expect? Whether you or Apple or anyone else cares or not is irrelevant. I'm well aware that most people who watch it wont have read the source material, and people enjoy formulaic, trite, simplistic tosh - see SuperHero movies, for example. The problem is that there was a much better story, written for them, which could have been made in this style, and would have been much better because the foundation of it was better!
Think of 'Star Trek'. The original series was new and groundbreaking because of the stories, not the effects or the sets (which were generally dreadful). It's the stories and the writing which made it different and that's what people remember. Along comes JJ Abrams, throws all that out and makes proper SF movies with stuff blowing up and super evil villains to be defeated, plus lens flares, obviously, and they are universally derided as being inferior because the stories, characters and writing were bad!

Obviously they have to make something that will appeal to as many people as possible because money, and by attaching a well-known name to it they can increase the chances of that happening, but it's disingenuous and lazy. Why not just write your own thing and produce that?
 
  • Like
Reactions: klasma and NetMage
Of course I'll watch it, what did you expect? Whether you or Apple or anyone else cares or not is irrelevant. I'm well aware that most people who watch it wont have read the source material, and people enjoy formulaic, trite, simplistic tosh - see SuperHero movies, for example. The problem is that there was a much better story, written for them, which could have been made in this style, and would have been much better because the foundation of it was better!
Think of 'Star Trek'. The original series was new and groundbreaking because of the stories, not the effects or the sets (which were generally dreadful). It's the stories and the writing which made it different and that's what people remember. Along comes JJ Abrams, throws all that out and makes proper SF movies with stuff blowing up and super evil villains to be defeated, plus lens flares, obviously, and they are universally derided as being inferior because the stories, characters and writing were bad!

Obviously they have to make something that will appeal to as many people as possible because money, and by attaching a well-known name to it they can increase the chances of that happening, but it's disingenuous and lazy. Why not just write your own thing and produce that?
JJ Trek was indeed trash.... I won't argue with that
 
I guess my ultimate hope is that the story is good adaption like Jackson's LOTR. There were some annoyances: Arwyn? No Tom Bombadil, no scouring of the Shire, how Saruman died. These changes did not impact the movie but did change the message from the message of the book.
 
Does it mean Jared Harris is still not returning to The Expanse? Or did the character disappear for quite a while in books too?
 
I am so confused by that trailer. It didn't look bad, per se, but to say that was "based on the Foundation books" feels... dubious, at best. "Inspired by" is probably the right phrase there.

It looks like maybe they started from Forward the Foundation, because Seldon isn't a young man but isn't ancient either? But then mixed in the downfall of the empire from Foundation itself? But Forward heavily features the humanform robots who don't appear to be anywhere in that trailer, but I guess that doesn't mean they're not in the show...

Mainly I'm just confused. This looks really interesting, but I kinda get the feeling I'll enjoy it more if I go in not expecting Foundation.
No, you're not confused - you've just watched something made by people who've basically taken the basis of the entire series of books and dumped it. Then mashed up some random stuff from the books, added in their own brand of second rate nonsense and wrapped it up in gorgeous sets, costumes and CGI - and even used the black hole from 'Interstellar'!
The humaniform robot Daneel is in there, but is now female.

It’s about the fall of humanities civilization. I’d be surprised if it wasn’t dark..
But 'Foundation' isn't about the downfall of human civilisation! Sure, you can read it like that in a very surface way (which is what they have done) but that is definitely not what the books are about! Apparently all SF on TV must be dark and doom-laden and have immense explosions and almost certain death at ever turn. That's writing on the same low-resolution level as 'Doctor Who'. Good grief.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
No, you're not confused - you've just watched something made by people who've basically taken the basis of the entire series of books and dumped it. Then mashed up some random stuff from the books, added in their own brand of second rate nonsense and wrapped it up in gorgeous sets, costumes and CGI - and even used the black hole from 'Interstellar'!
The humaniform robot Daneel is in there, but is now female.
....that is a bit unfair, the work on the Interstellar blackhole was done by physicists and is expected to be accurate and has been used by everything since
 
  • Like
Reactions: jettredmont
But 'Foundation' isn't about the downfall of human civilisation! Sure, you can read it like that in a very surface way (which is what they have done) but that is definitely not what the books are about! Apparently all SF on TV must be dark and doom-laden and have immense explosions and almost certain death at ever turn. That's writing on the same low-resolution level as 'Doctor Who'. Good grief.
I'd say its quite early to say what they have boiled it down to..... they clearly have stated the story is spread over 80 hours. Most of the narration from the trailer I would expect is probably episode 1/2 .... without having taken in what they have really done, you sure have formed a lot of opinions. The show runner in a video released today said there are things that were 1-2 sentences in conversations about events that they turned into full scenes. That sounds like they recognize what the story was about and are adapting to the medium.

Someone (not sure if it was you or not) said in the books they didn't try to kill Seldon. I'm not sure I got that from this trailer, it was mentioned and seemed like the idea was shot down immediately. I would just say don't be quick to judge what they did with the core story without actually seeing it play out a bit. You might be surprised
 
Looks like it's gonna be very loosely based on Foundation books.
That’s good. The books do not translate well to screen without major changes. They are almost all talking; there is essentially no action in them (most of the action takes place off the page). Yes, you can have shows that are mostly talking -- some of my favorites are mostly talking -- but an entire series is hard to do if there's no action.

Even Asimov realized the limitations of books that were mostly talking. He introduced a little more action and plot later in the series, which improved them. In the end, making them “loosely based” will result in a much better series than a direct translation. This doesn't mean the series will be good, although I'm optimistic it will be.
 
Last edited:
No.
Every time they release a trailer, it's obvious they've taken the name 'Foundation', some character names and... that's it. The very basis of what they show here is most definitely not the story in the books. The Empire does NOT try to kill Seldon and his followers! The Empire is manipulated into supporting Seldon and installs his project on Terminus, using that as a cover for the implementation of the Seldon Plan. That's a much better story. Instead, they've made a SF TV series, with all the things SF TV series must have - giant spacecraft, epic battles, exploding things and weird alien worlds, a super inclusive cast that ticks all the boxes (for no other reason than box-ticking) and all the money spent on it up there on screen in the form of CGI imagery. It shows a total failure of creativity and imagination not to realise that the story in the books is much better than anything they could come up with, so why not make that?

"Oh, but Asimovs story's are just people talking" say the defenders of this tripe. As if TV series with people talking have never and could never be made. Watched any legal/crime shows lately? It's mostly people in rooms, talking, and they seem to be reasonably popular. They had a golden opportunity to produce something truly different, groundbreaking and memorable, but instead we get more of the same. Well, what do you expect from people who's background is super hero movies.

Anyway, Asimov himself knew all about it well in advance, and so it has come to pass - again.
From his 1983 book "Asimov on Science Fiction":

Chapter 54. HOLLYWOOD AND I

"I have hitherto firmly resisted the lure of Hollywood. I have refused to write screenplays even when invited to do so and even when my own stories were in question.

There are two basic reasons for this resistance. First, I am not visual enough to write dialogue and events that are to be interpreted primarily in the form of moving images on a screen. I’m just a word-man, and though it is a wise person who knows his powers, it is an even wiser person who knows his limitations.

Second, I am reasonably confident that in magazines and books my fiction will appear very much as I have written it. Anything I write for the visual media, however, I am certain will be tampered with by producers, directors, actors, office boys, and the relatives of any or all of these."
So to sum it up. When I read a book, I want to read a good book. When I watch a movie, I want to watch a good movie and when I watch a series I want to watch a good series. Different times, different medias, different audiences, all versions can and should be different. Perhaps that is why I have never heard a review of any book, series of books converted to different medias that ever said. Accurate depiction of the books. Nuff said
 
Will watch the 1st episode atleast. Trailer seems ok.
Like, if nothing else the effects and art design look stellar. Honestly that's about all the trailer really shows, and I'm down with that. Trailers that spoil plot kinda irk me.
 
  • Like
Reactions: svish
No, you're not confused - you've just watched something made by people who've basically taken the basis of the entire series of books and dumped it. Then mashed up some random stuff from the books, added in their own brand of second rate nonsense and wrapped it up in gorgeous sets, costumes and CGI - and even used the black hole from 'Interstellar'!
The humaniform robot Daneel is in there, but is now female.
Uh, Daneel was in there? Where? I didn't see anything that made me go "oh that's definitely robots" but I did only watch the trailer once. And yeah, the effects and costumes look pretty amazing, but I don't know that there was enough detail in there to draw really any actual conclusions.

Also, there was a female humanform robot in Seldon's life so at worst you seem to be suggesting they combined two characters. Which is far from the worst thing a book adaptation has ever done. Given how little face-time Daneel has in the Foundation books, it might actually be a really good idea.
 
....that is a bit unfair, the work on the Interstellar blackhole was done by physicists and is expected to be accurate and has been used by everything since
The point about the black hole was why? Why is there a black hole in Foundation? There isn't in the books, and black holes form no part of the story or plot. It's just a way of getting something graphic onto the screen, for no other purpose than 'it looks cool'.
BTW, I know Kip Thorne, who did a lot of the maths behind the black hole visualisation in 'Interstellar' and it is indeed an accurate representation based on what we know at the moment. When they gave the equations to the visualisation team to build the simulation, they were as surprised as anyone by what came out!
 
And you know that based on all the unchanged screen versions of Foundation?

Aaron Sorkin says “Hi!”
Someone once said "There's no action in Asimov books - it's all talking!"
The reply was "The talking is the action!"
That West Wing thing.... talk talk talk! Who's going to watch that?
 
  • Like
Reactions: artfossil


Apple TV+ today shared the official trailer for highly-anticipated sci-fi series "Foundation" ahead of its premiere on September 24.


Based on the best-selling novels by Isaac Asimov, Apple says "Foundation" is an epic saga chronicling a band of exiles on their monumental journey to save humanity and rebuild civilization amid the fall of the Galactic Empire."Foundation" stars Emmy Award nominees Jared Harris and Lee Pace, alongside Lou Llobell, Leah Harvey, Laura Birn, Terrence Mann, Cassian Bilton, and Alfred Enoch.

The first episode of "Foundation" will be released on Apple TV+ on September 24, followed by one new episode weekly every Friday. Series writer and showrunner David Goyer hopes to tell the story over the course of 80 episodes.

Apple TV+ costs $4.99 per month, with a free seven-day trial available, or a longer trial available with the purchase of select new Apple products.

Article Link: Apple TV+ Shares Trailer for Sci-Fi Series 'Foundation' Ahead of September 24 Premiere
This is one series I subscribe to Apple TV for, hope like Lord of the ring this will not deviate too much from the novels.
 
Someone once said "There's no action in Asimov books - it's all talking!"
The reply was "The talking is the action!"
That West Wing thing.... talk talk talk! Who's going to watch that?
You obviously did not watch The West Wing, it was non stop action!
 
Apple will turn it into Wokedation. Let me guess how this will go...Seldon's Foundation will be a repository of Liberal dogma that will school the future etc...
 
Last edited:
  • Disagree
Reactions: artfossil
So to sum it up. When I read a book, I want to read a good book. When I watch a movie, I want to watch a good movie and when I watch a series I want to watch a good series. Different times, different medias, different audiences, all versions can and should be different. Perhaps that is why I have never heard a review of any book, series of books converted to different medias that ever said. Accurate depiction of the books. Nuff said
Then you have to go further and define what 'good' is. Is that the same as stuff you've seen or read before and liked? Is that the same as what the majority consider 'good'?
Or could it be something that you hadn't seen before, or a familiar topic handled in a different way? Something unexpected, something that makes you think, or reconsider what you previously thought? Something that takes a genre and moves it in a new direction? Something that does the unexpected and gives you a whole new definition of what 'good' is. Go have a look at lists of all time best TV shows and see how many of them fit into that.
Why can't we have that? Why must we have more of the same? Asimov is a goldmine of ideas, but instead we get "Empire and Emperor = Bad! Hari Seldon = Good! Big fight!"
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.