Foundation: A Song for the End of Everything – TV Review

TL;DR – A solid introduction that promises a lot, but is more about the vibes than detail.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Apple TV+ service that viewed this episode.

Exposition in a garden.

Foundation Review

Well, it is time to jump back into the world of Foundation, a series I am fascinated by for how it adapts a classical work for a modern audience. The original series is one of its time, and it chopped and changed as Isaac Asimov charted a more serialised work. But this new adaptation has found ways to run through that narrative to give it a connection. Some of these have worked, and others have been failures. As we shift into the next phase of the series, it will be interesting to see where we land.   

So to set the scene, it has been 152 years since the Second Crisis, and while The Empire continues to collapse, The Foundation grows, expanding further out of the outer reach. Now both the Empire and The Foundation are fighting to control Kalgan, a pleasure planet, and the key to controlling The Middle Band. But there may be a third player out there, ready to tear everything up. For after much prediction, or perhaps, not enough prediction, The Mule (Pilou Asbæk) is on the move, and both sides should fear him. Now, from here, we will be looking at the season as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.    

Continue reading

Foundation: In Seldon’s Shadow – TV Review

TL;DR – This opening episode whispers where they are going this season while opening with a Hari Seldon, that might be a little mad.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Apple TV+ service that viewed this episode.

The Galaxy.

Foundation Review

I had always wondered how someone would adapt Foundation. Some of the older works of Science Fiction are foundational to the genre but don’t align narratively with how we create stories today. The First Season was full of interesting turns and explorations while expanding on Asimov’s world. It was not without its flaws, but it was always fascinating. My question is, where can it go from there?    

So to set the scene, at the end of last season, we had The First Crisis appear on the planet of Foundation set up by the leaders of psychohistory, Hari Seldon (Jared Harris) and Gaal Dornick (Lou Llobell), to help the galaxy recover from the inevitable collapse of the 12,000-year old Galactic Empire. The first crisis was solved by uniting two former enemies and hiding themselves in the outer rim, building a base for recovery. The Cleon Dynasty is floundering after revelations about their DNA ancestry and on the small water planet of Synnax, a mother and daughter reunite. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead.  

Continue reading