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Foundation

fokof

fokof

One day ,I'll be in the future
Mar 16, 2007
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1,686
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#1
Spoiler alert !!

Very nice series so far.


I've read all the foundations 5 or 6 times over and I think that it's a good interpretation so far.
Knowing that it spans through thousands of years , a television adaptation is tough , people are used to attach themselves to central character that lasts all the way , I wonder how they're gonna pull that off ........

Spoiler : Happy that they already linked the Robot series...... ( Foundation and Earth)
 
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#6
Well and when the real ending finally did come, it was pretty high on the lame-o-matic hand-waving scale. Just left a bad taste in my mouth, so to speak. A pity, as he was truly a titan of the short story. I met him once, wanted to like him, but truth was, he was a grumpy old man who resented contractual obligations, he'd rather have not been there that day, I'm pretty sure. Anyway, got a signed copy of his then-latest, and a handshake, but I walked away feeling disappointed and sorry for him. He looked trapped.
 
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#7
Curious to hear about people who actually read the book thinks.

I don't agree with the " ....he lost his way in longer works" part , you obviously didn't read the whole thing.
Keep in mind that it's been written in the '50 too....

Tip for other who might be interested in reading his stuff: after reading the 4 foundation , read the whole Robot series THEN read " Foundation and Earth" THEN "Prelude to foundation".
 
#8
fokof said:
Curious to hear about people who actually read the book thinks.

I don't agree with the " ....he lost his way in longer works" part , you obviously didn't read the whole thing.

Tip : after reading the 4 foundation , theread the whole Robot series THEN read " Foundation and Earth" THEN prelude to foundation.
Click to expand...
Might give it another try after retiring lol. That's a lot of reading. I found re-reading Frank Herbert incredibly rewarding (made me appreciate the later works way more), but Asimov somehow seems like a chore, sorry.
 
#9
fokof said:
Curious to hear about people who actually read the book thinks.

I don't agree with the " ....he lost his way in longer works" part , you obviously didn't read the whole thing.
Keep in mind that it's been written in the '50 too....

Tip for other who might be interested in reading his stuff: after reading the 4 foundation , read the whole Robot series THEN read " Foundation and Earth" THEN "Prelude to foundation".
Click to expand...


My tip to casual SF fans is to only read the first 3 novels.

Foundation
Foundation and Empire
Second Foundation

These were all written as a series of short stories from 1942 - 1950, and were compiled into the 3 novels in 1952.

Asimov began writing new novels in the series in the 1980s. I say forget about these because they're almost completely separated from the earlier story. It's basically all new material with completely different characters and in different times, but set within the same universe.

The new novels are also written in a very different style that is more tedious than how he wrote in his early years.

I say this as an extreme fan of science fiction and I've read, literally, everything that Isaac Asimov has written and he's one of my most favorite authors.

But I just believe that the original Foundation trilogy is among Asimov's best work, while the additional 4 novels from the 80s and later are somewhat lackluster, and casual SF fans are much better off spending the time reading something else.

IMO, of course.


Since I have no intention of getting AppleTV, I won't be watching the series. Does anybody know what the scope will be?

Are they keeping to the original trilogy or including the later novels? Or are they changing everything around so that the story doesn't stay faithful to Asimov's timeline?

I've read some online reviews and have watched the trailers but that hasn't really answered my questions.
 
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#10
hbarcat said:
Since I have no intention of getting AppleTV
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I'm sure you already know you don't have to buy any Apple hardware. Most any streaming device can do Apple TV+ content. If you wait until the entire series drops, you can binge the whole thing for $5. Maybe for free is you can cram it all in during the free trial. Still not worth it? ;)
 
#11
Alkali Ike said:
I'm sure you already know you don't have to buy any Apple hardware. Most any streaming device can do Apple TV+ content. If you wait until the entire series drops, you can binge the whole thing for $5. Maybe for free is you can cram it all in during the free trial. Still not worth it? ;)
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I didn't know that. I thought I had to buy an i console and then pay a monthly subscription fee.

If I can watch it from my current DISH setup and then pay a nominal fee without having to sign up for a recurring subscription, I'll do that.

I don't mind waiting. I've got patience.
 
#12
Doesn’t look like you can get it on DISH unless I’m missing something.

Putting it another way, Dish Anywhere doesn’t seem to support it.

Edit: You can stream it on any computer and the same pricing deal applies including the free trial. There’s no contract. It’s month by month, cancel at any time. I start and stop Netflix like that all the time.

Sorry if I seem pushy but at $4.95/no Apple TV+ is a streaming bargain. My opinion anyway. ;)
 
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#14
Alkali Ike said:
Doesn’t look like you can get it on DISH unless I’m missing something.

Putting it another way, Dish Anywhere doesn’t seem to support it.

Edit: You can stream it on any computer and the same pricing deal applies including the free trial. There’s no contract. It’s month by month, cancel at any time. I start and stop Netflix like that all the time.

Sorry if I seem pushy but at $4.95/no Apple TV+ is a streaming bargain. My opinion anyway. ;)
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That's a problem. My internet connection at home is HughesNet and it's too slow to stream video without constant dropouts.
Also, I'd be stuck watching on the 15" screen on my laptop. No thanks.

If the series is any good at all, at some point it will be available for download or on DVD. If I feel like watching it, I'll buy it then.
 
#15
Herrick said:
That's the case with every book turned into a movie/TV show isn't it? Dune will get the same treatment when it comes out later this year.
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Even though I haven't finished Dune, I know it has a massive sweep that could be difficult to capture in a film, but apparently the upcoming release only covers half the novel so maybe it will have enough depth. A few years ago I got about 20% through the book. I restarted it the other day, and plan to finish it before seeing the film.

IMO The Handmaid's Tale is a rare example of the TV series doing justice to the novel, possibly because Margaret Atwood was involved. In some ways, the TV series provides more, because it isn't as tied to the main character's perspective. The first season corresponds exactly to the original novel. The later seasons take off from there, and while a couple of episodes are subpar it's generally excellent IMO. I can't wait for season five.

I absolutely love sci-fi, and I did like Foundation, but got bored during the second in the series and never reached the third. I don't have Apple TV but want to see the show at some point.
 
#17
I read the original trilogy in high school. I don't remember much about them at all except I liked them then. Looking forward to watching the show here soon.

Also looking forward to seeing Dune. The 1984 film was a mess, IMO. Hope this one is better.
 
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#18
gln1955 said:
Also looking forward to seeing Dune. The 1984 film was a mess, IMO. Hope this one is better.
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Frank Herbert's "Dune" series (his original 6 works) were as equally engrossing to me as Foundation. I agree the Dune film and Dune mini-series were lacking. But they were enjoyable enough, to me, in their way. Wouldn't watch 'em again, though.

I think it's hard for me to reconcile the mental imagery, the 'visions', in my head with those of the filmmakers 'visions' of what they imagine and create. I'm usually disappointed. "If they'd have just let ME make that film." LOL.

As such, I think folk who've never read the books before watching the movies have an advantage over me and will enjoy them more.

Still really excited about Foundation and the new Dune. Might get lucky where our 'visions' are closely matched. Will wait for the DVD's.
 
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#19
Nedmundo said:
Even though I haven't finished Dune, I know it has a massive sweep that could be difficult to capture in a film, but apparently the upcoming release only covers half the novel so maybe it will have enough depth. A few years ago I got about 20% through the book. I restarted it the other day, and plan to finish it before seeing the film.

IMO The Handmaid's Tale is a rare example of the TV series doing justice to the novel, possibly because Margaret Atwood was involved. In some ways, the TV series provides more, because it isn't as tied to the main character's perspective. The first season corresponds exactly to the original novel. The later seasons take off from there, and while a couple of episodes are subpar it's generally excellent IMO. I can't wait for season five.

I absolutely love sci-fi, and I did like Foundation, but got bored during the second in the series and never reached the third. I don't have Apple TV but want to see the show at some point.
Click to expand...

I have some hope they'll make a decent movie because as you said, they're making two. I'm not really getting my hopes up though.

Someone recommended The Handmaid's Tale to me years ago. I haven't gotten around to reading it yet.

Is the Foundation show based off the first book or the whole book series? I'm not sure if I read the first one. I read one of Asimov's more well known books back in the day but I didn't enjoy it. I'm pretty sure it was part of a series. I did enjoy The Positronic Man though.
 
#20
@Herrick , the show is based on more than just the first book, but I'm not sure how much more. The Wikipedia page says it's based on the Foundation "series of stories," but I don't know if that's the main trilogy or includes the prequels and sequels.
 

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