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Isaac Asimov’s Foundation

JoshuaHeterJoshuaHeter Omaha, NE
in Other TV
I’ve missed the past few lunches. Have Jim and Aron talked about this at all?

Apple TV+ is (finally) giving Isaac Asimov’s “Foundation” the Hollywood treatment. 


Like anything else, it depends on their schedule, but this looks like it was tailor made for Bald Move coverage: it looks like a million bucks, it’s hard sci-fi, the source material has been *highly* influential for other prominent storytellers. Oh, and it’s starring a Bald Move favorite: Jarid Harris (Mad Men, Chernobyl, The Expanse).
maxdemianElisa
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Comments

  • CoryCory New Scotland
    First "For All Mankind" sounds intriguing enough, now this.

    I'm gonna have to get Apple TV+, aren't I...

    And this is the first I've heard of it, so I don't think it was mentioned on lunches.
    JoshuaHeterElisablacksunrise7alexander.klassen
  • EMAW42EMAW42
    I’m fairly certain they said this is a day one cover as long as it works with their schedule. A-Ron in particular is hyped on it.
    JoshuaHeter
  • JoshuaHeterJoshuaHeter Omaha, NE
    From a friend: “This is one of my favorite sci-fi novel series, but it will be weird to see how they pull this off. The books have very little action; they’re mostly extended dialogue scenes. The show will have to invent *a lot* of things.”

    ... I guess we’ll have to wait and see.
    Elisa
  • Teresa from ConcordTeresa from Concord Concord, California
    I read the books so long ago. Think I’ll watch without a reread. 
    JoshuaHeter
  • ChinaskiChinaski Santa Cruz, CA
    live early! and so far... hole-eeee shit! i'm so pumped!

  • JPJP
    Read a few reviews calling it a flawed masterpiece but also boring
    Freddyrkcrawf
  • FreddyFreddy Denton, Texas
    edited September 2021
    JP said:
    Read a few reviews calling it a flawed masterpiece but also boring
    Crazy boring so far. I love talking head dramas, but not when they get too hung up on looking and feeling dramatic. It just chews the scenery way too much. It also has the exact same problem The Expanse has: takes so long for the scene to matter that I end up looking away the second something that actually progresses the story happens. Unlike The Expanse, the characters in this show have little to no personality. There is not an interesting or likeable character yet; although I could see that changing.

    All in all, an incredibly interesting world and premise expressed in a boring and uninteresting manner. Still though, it's better than stupid ass Raised by Wolves.
  • ZadmanZadman
    Just listen to the first podcast. Found it interesting. That said, you mis-attributed the quote about advanced technology  being indistinguishable from magic to Asimov. It was actually from Arthur C Clarke’s 1962 book Profiles Of The Future
    JoshuaHeterbror.00
  • lengmolengmo RTP, NC
    Watched the first episode.  It was certainly cerebral but at least try it to see a lovingly-realized space opera setting with the latest of our CGI technology.  I could see the show being compelling as (not really a spoiler) the galactic empire slides into chaos.

    Aside: If anyone finds memes of Hari Seldon using the red/blue plastic signs from Chernobyl to present his case, please post.
  • rkcrawfrkcrawf
    edited September 2021
    I made it about halfway through episode 1 before realizing I had no idea what had happened in the last 15 minutes. It wasn’t bad…just dense and slow for the part I saw. I was tired (late at night) and realized I’d need to force myself to get into the world-building and setup. To be fair, I felt this way when I first saw a lot of good shows (notably The Expanse and Game of Thrones). It didn’t feel like they were dumbing anything down for the viewer, which is generally a good thing. Reminded me of when I first saw 2001. 
    blacksunrise7
  • mharmlessmharmless
    I'm not sold on the show yet, but I'll keep watching at least till episode #3 before maybe checking out until its all out and gets a general thumbs up thumbs down.  Definitely see every penny on the screen: damn is it beautiful but the plot is dense as hell. 

    Never read the books so this is my only exposure to the characters or story.  With nothing to compare to the weakest performance that I just am not buying is Raych(sp?).  I can't tell if its the actor or the writing but he's just a cypher in the worst way.  I can't tell if he's supposed to be wooden and uninteresting or its just a performance that's not working for me at all.  The other 3 leads are great though.
    rkcrawfGarrison66
  • IrishMonkIrishMonk
    *Minor spoilers 

    I enjoyed the first two episodes. Covered a lot of interesting ground, looks great, and performances were strong - it’s early days. Hands up, I got totally flummoxed by the arc of the female lead who in early scenes seemed very young but then suddenly is ‘involved’. Also, the ‘how can you prioritize when you only use a certain counting method’ did not make sense when you really think about it.  
  • lengmolengmo RTP, NC
    IrishMonk said:
    *Minor spoilers 

    Also, the ‘how can you prioritize when you only use a certain counting method’ did not make sense when you really think about it.  
    I thought it was more questioning if the preservation planned had unintentional cultural biases.

    blacksunrise7
  • tjw1308tjw1308
    These two episodes prove three things:

    1) Jared Harris is a national treasure
    2) Even Jared Harris can’t save this hot garbage
    3) A second spent podcasting on this instead of Succession is a second the terrorists WON.

    I’m a huge BM supporter.  I listen to everything.  I’m a nerd and I loved the books (Foundation, although Robot was superior imo), but if Jim and A.Ron don’t see the reality here and course correct, I’m afraid we have another Romanoffs on our hands…

    And remember what was good about the Romanoffs?  Yeah.  Me either.

    Don’t do it guys!  Even if Succession coverage is just a meme by now to tease the club, you’d be better off covering almost ANYTHING else.

    Maybe not the Romanoffs
  • ChinaskiChinaski Santa Cruz, CA
    i really enjoyed the first 2 eps. i wasn't bored one bit, and was engaged the entire time. def not a show you wanna be one your phone or computer on while watching and being distracted. visually it looks incredible (hence my 'hole-eeee shit!' post earlier). just saw the fellas dropped the pod for the first 2 eps so i have a 2 hour walk tomorrow that will be insightful. really hope they appreciated as much as i did.
    CoryJoshuaHeter
  • lengmolengmo RTP, NC
    tjw1308 said:
    2) Even Jared Harris can’t save this hot garbage
    Maybe make a case for why the show is bad instead of just stating that it’s bad?
    JoshuaHeter
  • IrishMonkIrishMonk
    edited September 2021
    lengmo said:
    IrishMonk said:
    *Minor spoilers 

    Also, the ‘how can you prioritize when you only use a certain counting method’ did not make sense when you really think about it.  
    I thought it was more questioning if the preservation planned had unintentional cultural biases.

    Yes so did I but there was a line or two of dialogue in the scene which I felt mangled that point. 
  • JoshuaHeterJoshuaHeter Omaha, NE
    edited September 2021
    IrishMonk said:
    *Minor spoilers 

    I enjoyed the first two episodes. Covered a lot of interesting ground, looks great, and performances were strong - it’s early days. Hands up, I got totally flummoxed by the arc of the female lead who in early scenes seemed very young but then suddenly is ‘involved’. Also, the ‘how can you prioritize when you only use a certain counting method’ did not make sense when you really think about it.  

    Same. In the first episode, I had the impression that Gaal was maybe 14 or 15, and Raych was somewhere in his early 20s. So, it was a bit jarring to see them together in episode 2.

    And, I don’t think that was simply my (admitted) inability to perceive people’s age, I think the characterization we saw on screen (perhaps unintentionally) implied that.


    rkcrawf
  • rkcrawfrkcrawf
    Ok. I’ve kinda changed my mind. After seeing the 2nd half of a super long E1 and all of Ep2, I’m in. The first half of E1 is maybe intentionally disjointed and very slow. But things get moving later in the main action scenes that hit a bit too close to home for me, but we’re very well done. All the machinations come out, and things get rolling. 

    I see the parallels with The Expanse, and Im in. 
    ChinaskiJoshuaHeter
  • ChinaskiChinaski Santa Cruz, CA
    really enjoyed the guys Pod on the first 2 eps cause i completely agreed, and as they usually do had some terrific knowledge on a lot of the things in was a little unsure on.
    JoshuaHeter
  • lengmolengmo RTP, NC
    Found the third episode kind of scattershot; hopefully just a blip in the season.
  • redlancerredlancer Seattle
    lengmo said:
    Found the third episode kind of scattershot; hopefully just a blip in the season.
    I have a feeling the story is going to power through the timeline in order to get to whatever point the Empire is collapsed. I don't mind as long as we don't get to many compounding flashbacks in that by the end of the season every scene is in some random point in time. Even in this episode we had what, 5 different times covered between 400 years ago and 40-ish years past the Skybridge incident? 

    So far my biggest issue is with the black hole powered ships for FTL travel. All the technology in the show other than that is what our year 2021 brains would consider 'really advanced but conceivable'. The black hole ships, while hella cool from a sci-fi and visual standpoint, is essentially god-level tech that would seems to break the story. I feel like they should have stuck with the 'we have really fast ships, but still can take years and/or cryo sleep to get anywhere' theme.
  • lengmolengmo RTP, NC
    redlancer said:

    So far my biggest issue is with the black hole powered ships for FTL travel.
    I've not read the books but if the show is going to have the same character(s) at interesting events in multiple places in the galaxy around the same time, or have the Empire acting quickly across the galaxy, FTL seems like a must.  (If you've ever read some of the Flashman papers, how Flashman gets from one historical event to another is very unlikely and contrived).

  • FreddyFreddy Denton, Texas
    redlancer said:
    lengmo said:
    Found the third episode kind of scattershot; hopefully just a blip in the season.
    I have a feeling the story is going to power through the timeline in order to get to whatever point the Empire is collapsed. I don't mind as long as we don't get to many compounding flashbacks in that by the end of the season every scene is in some random point in time. Even in this episode we had what, 5 different times covered between 400 years ago and 40-ish years past the Skybridge incident? 

    So far my biggest issue is with the black hole powered ships for FTL travel. All the technology in the show other than that is what our year 2021 brains would consider 'really advanced but conceivable'. The black hole ships, while hella cool from a sci-fi and visual standpoint, is essentially god-level tech that would seems to break the story. I feel like they should have stuck with the 'we have really fast ships, but still can take years and/or cryo sleep to get anywhere' theme.

    According to the film Event Horizon, we'll be using artificial black holes to travel straight to Hell in just 26 short years.
  • redlancerredlancer Seattle
    edited October 2021
    lengmo said:
    redlancer said:

    So far my biggest issue is with the black hole powered ships for FTL travel.
    I've not read the books but if the show is going to have the same character(s) at interesting events in multiple places in the galaxy around the same time, or have the Empire acting quickly across the galaxy, FTL seems like a must.  

    Well, they do. They established that the travel to the colony is around 15,000 light years away, but will take something like 3 years to get there, so a very fast ship traveling at multiple times speed of light. They also mentioned cryo sleep in ep3 for long journeys. A story where any help is 3 years away is interesting. A story where god like technology is there instantly anywhere maybe less so. Empire can't be spread to thin to maintain control if every system is only a few minutes away.

    The black hole tech also implies a whole level of supporting technology way beyond what we will probably see in the show. Technology that makes any of these problems pointless since there would be seemingly limitless resources available. We wouldn't have gone from rocket ships and cool space elevators to literally controlling the fabric of spacetime reality without some serious inventions along the way.

    It's obviously super cool, just feels a bit out-of-bounds for this particular story.

    Freddy said:
    According to the film Event Horizon, we'll be using artificial black holes to travel straight to Hell in just 26 short years.
    lolz...


  • Teresa from ConcordTeresa from Concord Concord, California
    I’ve been hearing pretty bad reviews (except for BM) so I’m hesitant to watch. I was such a fan of the books and have been burned too many times by crappy adaptations. 
  • lengmolengmo RTP, NC
    Teresa from Concord said:
    I’ve been hearing pretty bad reviews (except for BM) so I’m hesitant to watch. I was such a fan of the books and have been burned too many times by crappy adaptations. 

    No harm in waiting for the season to finish before watching.  Even if you decide to not watch the show, it's worth watching the first episode just for the visuals.
    Teresa from Concord
  • rkcrawfrkcrawf
    I was never uninterested in Ep3, but I found myself saying "nothing happened" by the end. I think it is one of those set-up episodes where the chess pieces move into the place. 

    I am still loving the visuals and the mystery box. I'd like to get a better idea of where this is going, as it is taking awhile to unfold. 
  • CoryCory New Scotland
    rkcrawf said:
    I was never uninterested in Ep3, but I found myself saying "nothing happened" by the end. I think it is one of those set-up episodes where the chess pieces move into the place. 

    I am still loving the visuals and the mystery box. I'd like to get a better idea of where this is going, as it is taking awhile to unfold. 

    We leaned how the "Cycle of Brothers" works, something i was curious about. I'. sure that will be important in the future
  • rkcrawfrkcrawf
    Cory said:
    rkcrawf said:
    I was never uninterested in Ep3, but I found myself saying "nothing happened" by the end. I think it is one of those set-up episodes where the chess pieces move into the place. 

    I am still loving the visuals and the mystery box. I'd like to get a better idea of where this is going, as it is taking awhile to unfold. 

    We leaned how the "Cycle of Brothers" works, something i was curious about. I'. sure that will be important in the future
    It just didn't grab me from an action stand point, but yes, we def learned a lot. On retrospect, I did love a lot of the Empire stuff. I think it was the Terminus stuff that fell a little flat. 
    Cory
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