In the original series of Foundation books, prior to the release of the prequels, the equivalent character did not turn up until the very end, meaning the latest point in the timeline covered by the books.
Spoilers Foundation Adaptation Series on AppleTV+ (Discussion and Spoilers)
- Thread starter JD
- Start date
Fidelity to the source is not the only thing that defines the quality of an adaptation. I liked the Potter books (before Rowling turned out to be horrible), but I feel the first two movies, the ones most faithful to the letter of the text, are the weakest, because they're so focused on duplicating the surface that they lack the deeper substance. I feel the later movies, which take more liberties with the plots, are better at capturing the feel and spirit of the books.
There's a lot in Foundation that's really well-done irrespective of whether it has any relation to the books. Although I do regret that they abandoned my favorite part of the whole series, Bayta's defeat of the Mule. Change is fine if the changed story is good enough in its own right, but I'm not convinced this change was worthwhile as anything other than a way of surprising the book audience.
