Asimov's "Foundation" Series as TV or Movie?

[Greylock Crescent]

Nah. Ian McDiarmid.

 

[malfourmed]

any attempt to tell a cohesive and complete story is going to be seriously hampered by there being no good way to end it and no real emotional core.

Good analysis. With few exceptions, characterisation and emotional arcs were never Asimov's strong suits, but they're critical to long-form storytelling on TV or film these days.

The only solution I can think of is inserting that robot character from the later books (I forget his name) at the *beginning* of the story and make the whole Foundation Saga from his POV.

Was also thinking that this would be one approach, ie have R. Daneel Olivaw (or an analogous character if the rights to the robot stories are tied up separately to the Foundation ones) be a more active prime mover behind the stories, popping up in various guises etc.

Another might be to approach the series as a shared word anthology with characters recurring as required.

 

[Owain Taggart]

Another might be to approach the series as a shared word anthology with characters recurring as required.

Yeah, that's the kind of approach I've been thinking about.

 

[Guy Gardener]

Just started the 1970s radio play.

Errgh.

The voice of the book is a massive attempt to sound like a bad 50s movie, and they have that typewriter noise in the background like old computers used to make.

Stephen Fry was a Great Hitchhikers guide.

That's what a book should sound like!

 

[Asbo Zaprudder]

The voice of the book is a massive attempt to sound like a bad 50s movie, and they have that typewriter noise in the background like old computers used to make.

Scott Brick does a great job as the voice of the book in the audiobook versions.

 

[Guy Gardener]

The voice actor's achievement and the producers choice of special effects are completely different.

I'm up to chapter 7 and feeling quite tired, but the "bee bee boop boop" in the back ground makes my eyes roll.

I looked through the cast list, and I'd probably recognize a lot of the faces, but the only name that jumped out at me was Geoffery Beevers.

 

[Asbo Zaprudder]

Prunella Scales?

 

[Guy Gardener]

I do know that name.

Just finished.

Being as this effort was put together in 1970, I'm guessing that the books that Asimov wrote in the 80s and 90s hadn't been published yet, but #### it, I want more, and technically I've been waiting 44 years for more, so hurry up Beeb!

They went back the the Studio 15 years later with Hitchhikers Guide and finished off the rest of the books to the trilogy Douglas Adams penned, so there is precedence, and really considering the dross novels they pumped out (Robot City!) in the nineties after Isaac retired/died someone had at the very least quite an interesting and expensive cocaine habit.