News Foundation Adaptation Series Officially Ordered by Apple

I'm not so sure.

If outer planets were to attack Terminus - an Imperial world, it's a further sign and that the empire is crumbling and that control is being lost and that the worlds like Anacreon no longer fear the govt on Trantor.

 

Episode dropped early tonight. I'm actually really digging this vignette structure they've got going on, bouncing between different plotlines and time periods on a more emotional rather than chronological path. Also, an early highlight was the Seer's gleeful little barely-constrained smirk while she was executing the teacher. Guess we know what her favorite part of the job is. Though I did have a rather morbid reaction about the realism of all the booted feet we saw in the underwater gallows. Also, "I'd rather you die than go to Trantor" is a pretty shitty and half-assed way of expressing your conviction, but I guess that mass-executions for political dissent is not an environment that promotes unshakable personal and familial commitment. I guess good for her father for just being emotionally distant but still letting Gaal leave the planet, rather than turning her in altogether. We saw that the teacher didn't have the face-jewels, renouncing her religion probably didn't offer Gaal much protection.

The secret second spaceship is definitely interesting (I think Gaal called it the Raven, I didn't catch where she would've learned that name, but it could've been on one of the computer screens, the not-quite-english text can be a little tricky). I noticed a suspicious resemblance between Hari's self-designed space-coffin and the Vault. Was this the first time we saw "classic" holograms and not floaty-sand holograms? I wonder if this is some super-technology Hari had socked away as part of the plan, and the ending seems to imply that not everything surrounding his murder was as it seemed (and who would suspect, if no one knew such solid-looking projections were possible?).

Events on Terminus have taken a turn for the disastrous. I realize the Empire is in it's decadent, what-could-go-wrong? period, but, come on, guys, show a little savvy. It's like the military has forgotten it's allowed for the enemy to shoot at them, which is a very late-empire mood. It looks like the next episode is all Emperors, all the time, which is fun, the brothers Cleon are always a good time, but I would like Terminus and the Anacreon story to not be left cliff-hanging for a week (yes, I know what I said at the beginning of this post). Though I just checked, and I'm heartened that we're only halfway through the season. For some reason, I thought it was eight episodes and not ten.

 

I’m really enjoying this show and today’s episode is the best so far! Loved the stuff with Gaal and we got some more info as to why Raych killed Hari. It was definitely planned.

i haven’t read the books so I’m just enjoying this as it is. I love that hard Sci fi shows like this can be made

 

Since Gaal mentioned The Mule, it seems that she'll be put to hypersleep again at a later date. Maybe she'll be awake only for the crises and in stasis in between.

 

Okay, I just started this series, and I will say right now that I'm not a fan of Asimov's writing style or the Foundation books.

And that's probably why I like the show so far. Everything looks a lot more exotic and exciting than I the books, the story seems more continuous and the protagonists seem more likable so far.
Also a huge fan of them changing some characters to women (the lack of female characters was one of the reasons I didn't like the books)
I really hope that it remains a loose adaption.
And I cannot stress how much I love the production design, particularly Trantor looks incredibly cool!

 

I'm disappointed that they wasted the first half of this week's episode on retelling Gaal's backstory. We were already given all that information in the first episode - it felt like padding.

I'm not sure what to make of Salvor Hardin's character so far. I hope that her propensity for violence is intended to allow a character arc, versus just outright changing the character.

 

So the Imperial ship scanned all of Terminus and didn't notice the big ass gun? Or take any precautions that an invading force might shoot at them? Or do an orbital bombardment of the enemy positions?

As odd as it seems, the Terminus stuff was still the most boring part of the episode, despite a big battle and CGI explosion.

 

To be fair last time I read the book Hardin seemed less against violence in his first story, it was the second one that had him outright against it (well unless other people were doing it on his behalf.)

Hardin mentioned them setting up something to hide the gun.

 

Ah that's right, but still, no precautions at all? Especially in a Universe where apparently the tech exists to clock big ass guns that can destroy your ship in one shot?

Dunno why they wouldn't just shoot the shit out of the perimeter from orbit before they started to land.or why they wouldn't have their own shields on until they landed

 

The first half was a really heavy-handed allegory of the anti-science trend of some in the US regarding climate-change denial. The Anacreonians and the Empire seem to have the military tactical skills of five-year old children. I could understand that the Foundationists would have no such skills whatsoever. The production values were very high but there was ten-minutes' worth of story stretched out to an hour.

The story telling of the series is mediocre so far. It looks pretty but it lacks coherence and substance IMO. I don't think I'll be renewing my Apple TV+ subscription to watch season 2 unless it improves significantly.

 

There is alot to be desired for Anacreonians military tactics. They rushed in with guns blazing and barely hit anything. Maybe those soldiers were newly recruited and had little training.

Which might explain why the bearded Anacreonian sergeant was encouraging them with military shouts. The Anacreonian military must be in really bad shape after the imperials "cleansed" them.

Stealthing the anti ship gun was a good tactic though.

The imperial ship going down with one shot was more due to the hubris of the ship's captain than anything else. Imperial arrogance.

 

He was only slightly more competent than his name sake in the book.

 

Their goal was not to murder an orchard of Encyclopedists.

They had to make it look like a slaughter was coming for as long as possible until the imperial ship was in position, which might have taken even longer, so killing the encyclopedias quickly was counter productive.

Maybe they still wanted an imperial navicomp?

Downing one imperial ship is only going to make sure that 10 more show up in a week and a hundred more a week after that.

They can't hold Terminus.

So they have a week to achieve their objective and then skedaddle before the Empire shows up in force.

Although, Hardin said that the grand huntress had no great plan, so their was no objective.

She wanted to die?

She wanted to take Terminus with her, because she blamed Seldon for her own ruin? If such was the case then it is important that the Encyclopedists are killed by the Empire, and not the Anachrons.

Seious?

Anacreon?

Anochroism.

Laying it on a bit thick there Isaac.

 

Anacreon was a Greek lyric poet famous for writing drinking songs and erotic poetry. Hell of a guy...

 

You know, I don't remember the last sci-fi TV show (except of course Star Trek's ones) that was actually pro-science. Usually they are all like "Beware the dangers of forbidden knowledge!" or "The only meaningful progress is the interior one, the material advancement is futile" or similar. These days, I find it reassuring.

Your thoughts?

 

So far it's a big departure from all the fundamentals of the book.

Terminus was supposed to be the center of science and reason from which a new empire would grow and Salvor Hardin is the one who said that "Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent" and someone else said that it was a doctrine for old people (or something to that effect I don't remember the exact words). The way things are going we're going to discover that the Mule is an incorrigible womanizer with the physique of a Latino soap opera star...

 

I'm starting to wonder that myself. Instead of a Harry holo at each crisis, will Gaal be woken up to impart knowledge, then go back to sleep?

 

I think you have to it into account when Foundation was written. i.e. in the 1950s. People were not at odds that much with technology as they are now, there have been many advances that made life easier for people in areas like communication and home appliances. Don't laugh but think about what the washing machine does for your life because my 80+ year old mother remembers a time as a kid and young woman where clothes had to be washed by hand and you do that for a family with 11 members.

Nowadays we have become wary of technology because we realized it's a double edged sword so to speak and it reflects all the way down to the stories we currently tell. I think with Foundation it is very evident with it big departures from the source material already and for me it's ok. Purists may cry out aka "This is not Foundation!" but i like this adaptation and Asimov may have written it like this if he were alive today and started to write it today.