Are priests electric?
Iām going to go out on a limb and wonder aloud if that might not be a good thing because robot priests are less likely to abuse kids?
Whereās Sir Isaac Asimov when we need him?
So I read about a dubious 4th-hand claim of an Elasmotherium found in eastern Siberia in 1864ā¦ try to track down the sourcesā¦
so now itās a dubious 3rd-hand claim of some kind of Rhino found in 1771.
They got carried up to heaven by Jesus and his Holy T-Rex?
lāAnse aux Meadows dated to 1021.
āIf writers ever want a science consultantā? I wonder if he knows that Foundation was written by Isaac Asimov?
But most likely the show was quite a bit different than the books. I havenāt read them in awhile. And 20 years ago, as much as I loved the books, I predicted that if anyone ever tried to make a movie or show out of it, it wouldnāt live up and I would fall asleep within the first half hour or so. Which is exactly what happened when I tried to watch it.
So I looked it up, and yeah. Itās just as expected.
You know that whole sequence where terrorists from Anacreon and Thespis destroy Trantorās Starbridge, causing it to crash into the planet in spectacular fashion? None of that happens in Foundation. In fact, the Starbridge doesnāt even exist in Foundation .
Since the Starbridge incident is an invention for the show, the political fallout and subsequent bombing of Anacreon and Thespis are also departures from Asimovās books. That being said, the planet of Anacreon figures heavily into the later stories of Foundation , specifically āThe Encyclopedistsā and āThe Mayors.ā Thespis, meanwhile, straight up does not exist.
The beanstalk isnāt in the original books.
Appleās series makes so many creative changes. Simple changes, like giving women more roles.
Lou Llobell as Gaal Dornick.
Complex changes, like Brothers Dawn, Dusk and Day.
Now, itās been rather a long time since Iāve read the books. But itās not direct from Asimovās pen to our screens. And thatās fine. The adaptation is enjoyable and absorbing.
i agree. the changes were needed, and some are inspired, like Dawn, Day, and Dusk. loving it so far.
I havenāt seen the series, but Iām familiar with the books as I estimate Iāve read them maybe 20 times. I really love them, and I suspect I would hate the series. Why it has to be a blockbuster sci-fi movie is beyond me. The drama we see in the books is all personal and intellectual, somewhat like a quiet lawyer show. Of course the physical background is science fiction, and there the producers could have really pulled out all the stops. For example, when Dornick (a provincial) arrives, heās overawed by the glory of Trantor, a metal-covered planet. Show this in detail as the ship descends, and later when he takes a taxi to his hotel, goes to meet Seldon etc. This would make a terrific visual point, when Seldon describes how the galactic empire is decaying, and maybe shows some simulations showing exactly that. I.e., use the background for the sf elements. I can imagine all sorts of ways to make the show special, without it becoming Star Wars.
And the changes really bother me. The clones business (and blaming the fall of the empire on them) is too big a change, IMO, as is the beanstalk.
I do like the idea of changing some of the men to women, though. SF was heavily male-centric back in those days.
Of course the Empire is going to have some kind of imperial personality cult. And cloning. Combining these helps turn things up to 11.
Of course Trantorās going to have a skyhook. Although Iād prefer to leave it in place until well into Foundation and Empire.
And somehow the Foundation has to get exiled to Terminus instead of remaining in Trantor or being eliminated.
I was impressed with the āstarbridgeāā¦ until the climax of the first episode. And then my brain kept saying āsomething that big doesnāt move that fast/like thatā, and my suspension of disbelief dropped. Iāve noticed that thereās other times during the show that similar things have happenedā¦ Iām sure itās a stylistic thing and intended to speed things up, but it has the effect of watching bad stop-motion effects.
Iām still fairly impressed with the rest of the show Iāve seen so far, although Iām starting to suspect that they have telegraphed several of their reveals much too early.
Completely unrelated, but the big starships in this show are really making me think of Homeworld mixed with a bit of Mass Effect.
Yeah, I have no problems whatsoever with it having women in important roles. If anything, thatās the one thing that makes it better. Asimov said he didnāt understand women and thatās why he mostly didnāt write them.
So thatās something at least.
Thank gawd! Because a lot of men who donāt, do.
And I think this is interesting because the Foundation Trilogy was much-admired by my dad and brother. I donāt know what if I ever read it (old-style CPU clicking noises); nope, I didnāt.
I like his short stories that involve robots better.
And I know I mention my dad a lot when it comes to books, but Mom was just as voracious; but her taste ran to Harlequin Romances (from the 1960s and 1970s, before they got more graphic, and esp. the ones that took place in Oz or the Netherlands), Gothic romances, English mystery novels, and sci-fantasy. Her fave in the latter was the great Anne McCaffreyās Pern series. Oh, and Ursula LeGuin.
I wonder if we need a separate Foundation series thread?