Hit or Miss: Foundation
Thousands of years in the future, an empire is in decline, civil wars and infighting are beginning, and one man and his apprentice have a plan to reshape the future to give the galaxy a fighting chance for the dark age to come. This year is shaping up to be the year of adapting sci-fi epics from the mid 20th century with Dune by Denis Villeneuve around the corner set to release on HBO Max in October along with this new series. Foundation is the first attempt to adapt the novels of the same name by Isaac Asimov, originally a collection of short stories published in fragmented pieces in a science fiction magazine, and has become one of the “foundational” pieces of modern science fiction leading to many sequels and prequels written later.
The adaptation might not be the closest to the original story which can be intellectually dense and told almost as a history book detailing events without a true central character. Regardless this modern take on the original story looks enticing, starring the always wonderful Jared Harris as the titular Hari Seldon, the story will follow Seldon’s journey to establish a foundation for a second galactic empire after the fall of the current one in a few centuries and shorten the amount of chaos that follows from a 30,000 year dark age to only a 1,000 year dark age. Seldon determines this conclusion through his invention of psycho-history, a blend of psychology and science that through advanced mathematics can reliably predict the future and can foresee the collapse of the galaxy.
This is the original premise of the novel, and while it seems like the show follows a similar vein it looks to be more action packed with a much larger cast. The original story was more akin to political maneuvering and negotiating in a science fiction universe with more of a space opera adventure than a civil war in space. Asimov purposefully did this because he wanted to study and model his story based upon the fall of the Roman Empire and was fascinated by telling that story on a galactic scale. The fantastic looking show has similar lofty goals and will tell its story over 10 episodes exclusively on Apple+ and has a largely unknown cast featuring Lou Llobell, Alfred Enoch known for the Harry Potter series and How to Get Away With Murder, Laura Binn, Pravesh Rana the former Mr. India and game show host, and Lee Pace as the evil galactic emperor Brother Day.
Overall, I am a fan of Jared Harris and the original novels, and I hope this series will be elevated by what looks to be a gigantic budget, but being created and produced by David S. Goyer does not make me excited whatsoever. Goyer’s efforts can not be overlooked as having his hands on many comic and great fiction properties over the past twenty years, but I believe he has been the weak link in almost every writing project he has touched, and anything he has had sole writing or directing duties have been absolute failures from the Blade Trilogy, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, and Man of Steel to name a few. I am optimistic, but skeptical, and if Goyer has produced a worthy script then we will see just how good this show can be. Adapting something as cherished to science fiction nerds like myself as Foundation will be a challenge especially in the age of streaming. Foundation and will release weekly after its first three episodes premiere all at once on September 24th, 2021 on AppleTV+.
