Thoughts on Foundation

I've now watched the first three episodes of Isaac Asimov's Foundation on Apple TV. I'm starting from a place of having read the original trilogy multiple times over the years but not in the last ten years. I did recently read Benford's Foundation's Fear, which was probably not a help. Suffice it to say that I'm glad Benford's Hari Seldon didn't influence his portrayal in the series.

First, I am impressed with the number of characters the writers transferred from the novels. Hari, Demerezel, Cleon, Gaal Dornick, and Salvor Hardin one all there, though some are gender-swapped from Asimov's. I think that's a good thing since strictly following the novels would have meant an almost all-male cast, standard for the 1950s and '60s, but out of place today.

The writers have given the characters more depth than the novels, as well. The Emperor is not just a dynasty but a line of clones at the original Cleon I, reaching back four hundred years. That brings home the stagnation and calcification of the empire, making more real Han's calculations that its fall is inevitable.

One might think that the mathematics that were so important to the original would have been difficult to bring to the screen. Still, they talk of theorems and proofs and convey the complexity and beauty of the equations in glowing visuals that hang in the air, suggesting Field Theory without ever using the term. Gaal Dornick chants prime numbers in her head to calm herself as she swims laps in a pool in interstellar space.

The pacing is thoughtful. Some would say that it's too slow; some would say that pace befits the grand scale of the tale. Enough action scenes and tense dialog intersperse the stately scenes in the Emperor's palace to keep it moving. I'll need to see a few more episodes to say where I come down on the pacing.

It's not going to be exactly the story that Asimov wrote. That much seems clear already. But it is looking like it will be good science fiction and close enough that it can call itself Foundation.