# Anyone watching Foundation on Apple+?



## Pier (Sep 27, 2021)

I've been waiting a couple of years for this one.

I gotta say, while the production is simply breathtaking, it is so far... very bland?

Anyone else watching it?


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## angeruroth (Sep 27, 2021)

I'll watch it as soon as I can, but I don't have high hopes; IMHO is a very hard show to make unless you add tons of dialogues and spectacular sceneries, and sometimes I feel that people just want action and explosions.
Don't get me wrong, I enjoy action movies, but I hope it's more bicentennial man than avengers.
May I ask why do you think it's bland?


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## Dewdman42 (Sep 27, 2021)

The reviews called it boring too. Didn’t connect well with the characters or make us care much about them. I found it interesting, as I never read the books and I’m looking forward to see how it goes from here.


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## cuttime (Sep 27, 2021)

I am struggling. I never really cared for the books; I read the first two and gave up. I am having similar results with the TV show. Yes, it looks good, but I am finding it deadly dull. After suffering through "Lisey's Story" and other fare on Apple TV+, I am tempted to bail out.


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## Pier (Sep 27, 2021)

angeruroth said:


> I'll watch it as soon as I can, but I don't have high hopes; IMHO is a very hard show to make unless you add tons of dialogues and spectacular sceneries, and sometimes I feel that people just want action and explosions.
> Don't get me wrong, I enjoy action movies, but I hope it's more bicentennial man than avengers.
> May I ask why do you think it's bland?


Honestly I'm not sure what the actual problem is. In part I think there are some writing problems and some direction problems too.

IMO the drama isn't very well handled. Some scenes are great, but it's like the scenes are disconnected. There's no emotional build up. It's like the show wants to make you feel about the characters before even making you care about the characters. Like, in the second episode there's a romantic subplot but there's zero build up to that. A year has passed and boom now two major characters are in a relationship. This happens with pretty much everything that could add some tension and drama. Does that make sense?


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## angeruroth (Sep 27, 2021)

Pier said:


> Honestly I'm not sure what the actual problem is. In part I think there are some writing problems and some direction problems too.
> 
> IMO the drama isn't very well handled. Some scenes are great, but it's like the scenes are disconnected. There's no emotional build up. It's like the show wants to make you feel about the characters before even making you care about the characters. Like, in the second episode there's a romantic subplot but there's zero build up to that. A year has passed and boom now two major characters are in a relationship. This happens with pretty much everything that could add some tension and drama. Does that make sense?


Damn! Yeah, that makes sense, and I hate when it happens, mostly because it breaks the story's pace, and without a build up and clear continuity everything falls apart.
Well, maybe it's a good thing that you lowered my expectations even more  Now if it's just so-so I may enjoy it at least a bit, although, damn... I would prefer it to be aesthetically ugly but with a good script.


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## Dewdman42 (Sep 27, 2021)

I am also curious to know how close it is following the book


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## artomatic (Sep 27, 2021)

Production is great. But the rest is meh. So far.
Waiting for Invasion to arrive.


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## jbuhler (Sep 27, 2021)

It’s occasionally hard to follow, or rather keep characters straight, but so far I’ve generally liked the pacing.


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## Geoff Grace (Sep 27, 2021)

Please tell me there’s no iPhone product placement in this one.

I’ve been using Apple products steadily for over three decades, but even I get annoyed by how central the iPhone is to the plots of their shows. 

Best,

Geoff


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## Pier (Sep 27, 2021)

Geoff Grace said:


> Please tell me there’s no iPhone product placement in this one.
> 
> I’ve been using Apple products steadily for over three decades, but even I get annoyed by how central the iPhone is to the plots of their shows.
> 
> ...


Well, no iPhones, but there are plenty of transparent touch displays. Maybe Apple is teasing future iPads?


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## tebling (Sep 27, 2021)

I actually like the show so far. I have read the books, but kept my expectations low.

Funny enough, my biggest complaint is with the music. I love Bear McCreary's work in other shows, but where I was expecting mysterious, otherworldly, and reverent, we instead get "sci-fi action" or "heroic theme". Blade Runner 2049 set the tone SO much better, and is kind of what I was hoping for here.

Sorry Bear, I'm sure the responsibility isn't all yours.


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## rhizomusicosmos (Sep 27, 2021)

I've read almost all the Robot-Empire-Foundation books and am really sceptical about how this series will turn out. I think they should have tackled the Elijah Bailey novels because they have a more dramatic and episodic detective fiction format that would have translated to TV better.

Sprawling GoT- or Dune-style sagas are much harder to do effectively.


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## robcs (Sep 27, 2021)

Dewdman42 said:


> I am also curious to know how close it is following the book


Fortunately, not very close at all


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## gamma-ut (Sep 28, 2021)

robcs said:


> Fortunately, not very close at all


I read the books decades ago so can't remember that much. However, my first though on seeing someone was trying to adapt it for TV was "good luck with that". The only reasonable way to attack this one is to either deviate heavily from the books' contents or use some weird storytelling structure that's going to utterly confuse half the audience.

The only thing I can think that would be even harder to adapt successfully is Stapledon's Last and First Men.


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## Loïc D (Sep 28, 2021)

rhizomusicosmos said:


> I think they should have tackled the Elijah Bailey novels because they have a more dramatic and episodic detective fiction format that would have translated to TV better.


Sure, but the pace of the Robots cycle is very slow, barely no action, mostly made of Bailey’s thoughts, deduction and dialogs with suspects & his robot detective partner R Daneel wandering around the laws of robotics.
Totally anti-epic.


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## Alex Fraser (Sep 28, 2021)

Geoff Grace said:


> Please tell me there’s no iPhone product placement in this one.
> 
> I’ve been using Apple products steadily for over three decades, but even I get annoyed by how central the iPhone is to the plots of their shows.
> 
> ...


There's a _lot_ of gratuitous shots of Apple gear in Ted Lasso. Plus the occasional iCloud name drop. Everyone either has a MacBook open or is brandishing an iPhone.

Still good though.


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## b_elliott (Sep 28, 2021)

Pier said:


> I've been waiting a couple of years for this one.
> 
> I gotta say, while the production is simply breathtaking, it is so far... very bland?
> 
> Anyone else watching it?


I have not watched this series but gotta say if you want a decent sci-fi gem, check out The Man in the High Castle . Between that series the even older Twin Peaks, my show viewing was satiated -- now it's baseball only. Cheers, Bill


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## paularthur (Sep 28, 2021)

rhizomusicosmos said:


> I've read almost all the Robot-Empire-Foundation books and am really sceptical about how this series will turn out. I think they should have tackled the Elijah Bailey novels because they have a more dramatic and episodic detective fiction format that would have translated to TV better.
> 
> Sprawling GoT- or Dune-style sagas are much harder to do effectively.


I'm thinking there will be some sort of reference to Bailey because of Demerzel/Olivaw...


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## Pier (Sep 28, 2021)

b_elliott said:


> I have not watched this series but gotta say if you want a decent sci-fi gem, check out The Man in the High Castle . Between that series the even older Twin Peaks, my show viewing was satiated -- now it's baseball only. Cheers, Bill


I loved The Man in the High Castle. Binged it last year, I think. Time has been weird during lockdown.


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## b_elliott (Sep 28, 2021)

Pier said:


> I loved The Man in the High Castle. Binged it last year, I think. Time has been weird during lockdown.


Should this Apple series continue to suck, may I recommend reading the superior Foundation follow-up trilogy -- damn I loved those books:





__





DAVID BRIN: Foundation's Triumph


In FOUNDATION'S TRIUMPH (set in Isaac Asimov's Foundation universe) Hari Seldon is about to escape and risk everything for one final quest - a search for knowledge and the power it bestows. The outcome of his final journey may secure humankind's future - or trigger its downfall.




www.davidbrin.com





You are in for a treat if the Second Foundation Trilogy was missed.


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## garui (Sep 30, 2021)

I heard some reviews before but do not watch it


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## Macrawn (Sep 30, 2021)

I might subscribe to binge watch it. Looks interesting. I've gone through everything on HBO so maybe I'll drop that and go to Apple and see what's going on for a month or two.


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## lychee (Nov 12, 2021)

The last comment dated September 30, were you so disappointed that you wanted to talk about it?

For my part, I like this show, and having never read the books I cannot be disturbed by the changes that the directors have made to the characters or the story.
It took a while to get started, but it is certainly one of the most interesting series of the moment (personal opinion).
Beautiful, rich and intelligent content, good interpretations of the actors.


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## paularthur (Nov 12, 2021)

You have to stay patient and keep tuning in, although there are a lot of story changes (or shall we say edits) it does a lot of getting back to the book's story points.


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