User Reviews

While Ep 1 managed to stay true to the first few chapters of Asimov's tale in terms of overall theme and Hari Seldon's prediction about the future of the galaxy, this episode took a major departure...

In the books, Hari Seldon is beset with a condition that sees him prematurely put out to pasture, but in this show something altogether unforseen occurs and I'm not sure I like where it's headed.

Moreover, while the books rapidly move on decade by decade, century by century, this TV show is lingering at the beginning.

While it is compelling, Movie grade TV in and of itself, I'm not right now convinced of its direction.

Let's see what happens with ep. 3.

This episode was good, though not as good as the first. And the reasons it wasn't as good are partly the reasons that, as a reader, I would have chosen to start the series on the Prelude to Foundation novel, instead of the Foundation novel.

People complaining about that last sequence simply don't get that its results are essential to the plot of the novels. But I get why they complain in viewer terms, and those problems would not have arisen if they had started with the Prelude novel. That said, in this, they are following Asimov himself and there is little to criticize about being faithful to the original.

Now I turn to a more essential problem stemming from the opposite choice. I have zero issues with the gender change (from the books) of the Demerzel character, but I certainly would not have shown THAT scene and the subsequent conversation scene since they give away a reveal that's supposed to be five books in. Anyone who has read the books knows what I'm talking about and anyone who hasn't, will have the books partly spoiled by the series in this episode, not by this review. The scenes change the behavioral essence of Demerzel (the Zeroth Law for book readers) and of the Cleons's motivations and behavior. And, worst of all, the change serves no discernible purpose. Of all the things that should not have been changed from the books this was number one. And it is for this perplexing choice that I take points.

Was extremely happy with how much of the books got squeezed into the first episode. With this episode, they've definitely slowed down the pace and have introduced some subplots that I hope will become relevant to the source materials.

I believe the intention is only to cover the timeline of the original trilogy. However, much like the Lord of the Rings, there is an abundance of related works that can be borrowed from to beef up the subplots. The robot novels, the Empire novels and the three B's novels can all help to modernize the base literature.

At any rate, it looks like we will have to get four or five episodes in before the real fun starts on Terminus, and that's ok with me.

Has David S. Goyer already ruined another show? You betcha! What a gigantic fall from episode 1. That laundry room scene couldn't have been more cringey.

And can someone please tell me why the Emperor of the Galaxy always wears the same blue outfit? Do they not have enough money to get him different clothes?

What an episode, literally the last 10 min I was very impressed. This series looks so promising and these 2 first episodes were an example of that. Great acting, brilliant visuals and very interested in the story.

Can't wait for next episode, I totally recommend to watch this!

Keep pushing the envelope and keep true to literature, this episode was absolutely fantastic, although there were a few parts that one a little too quickly it is understandable considering the Thousand Years that this is going to cover most likely. Establishing characters and character development is critical. Considering the company that it is coming from I am duly impressed.

The opening episode of Terminus took a couple of days before getting into the second episode. It changed from the books, drew from the prequel novels, and adjusted to reinforce reasons why the Empire is collapsing. The primary focus of the season was on Terminus itself, which we saw thirty-five years after the events of Seldon and Gaal coming together on Trantor. The series took some time to flesh out the gap between the exile of Seldon and his followers and when we took up the story of Salvor Hardin on Terminus. Jared Harris and Lee Pace were used as much as possible. This episode has two main tracks that play out separately but have a sizable impact on what's to come. Seldon and his followers are now en route for the next several months or more to Terminus on a slower moving ship. Raych and Gaal have gotten a lot closer, which is a radical change to his story. Seldon is grooming Gaal for a larger role along the way, getting her into more of the meetings over how to handle what's to come with the Foundation. When she starts talking to the committee about how they can't even agree on the same ways of counting, it forces a change in approach - albeit slowly. Gaal is growing in this role, reluctantly, while also spending a lot of her time swimming and her version of praying by counting primes. It shows an interesting character that I really want to see more of as she's apprehensive about the immense challenges ahead. But the show takes a dramatic, or melodramatic, turn toward the end of the episode that worked perfectly for me. In a moment of tension and connection with Raych, Gaal ends up racing to find him but ends up discovering him seemingly stabbing Seldon to death. Raych panics over her being there and seeing this, which has him eventually shoving her into a life pod and off the ship into the darkness of space. While the last part has me curious as to his intent there, the reason for his killing Seldon is easy to understand. It's not the sequence where Seldon basically humiliates him at a meal in the cafeteria. That was a useful moment to provide a little info dump on his past in a semi-natural kind of way. The reason for the death goes back to the beginning with Seldon being called Hari. With Seldon going from this almost mythical leader prophesizing the end of the Empire on Trantor with a trial in public - just as the Star Bridge fell, no less - Seldon's mystique is diminishing rapidly by the people he needs the most to view him that way. When they utilize his work in the future, if he's just the guy they ate with in the cafeteria, will they have the same reverence toward him? While his psychohistory works large groups, Seldon also knows small groups and understands that he and his formulas are being diminished by all this closeness. Now he's a martyr - killed by his own adopted son - on the journey to set up the Foundation by his followers that will shorten the darkness. Now he's a man of myth for the next thousand years. With the other track in this episode, the focus on events on Trantor after two months since the attack are grim. The Empire has not found who is responsible as the representatives of the two sides deny it while the evidence is mixed on it. The main focus is on Brother Day here as he knows that a firm hand is needed but he's dealing with educating Brother Dawn on the right path and seeing that Brother Dusk is starting to falter in a number of ways, though some of it is just a forced interpretation on Day's part in order to achieve his goals. Dusk is dealing with the weight of a lifetime in this position and is opting for a sense of grace from the Empire, but Day is clear in that with hundreds of millions deal and a massive sprawling scar visible on Trantor, a response is needed. I really liked Pace's performance as Day throughout this but Terrence Mann as Dusk delivers a really haunting old Emperor who is coping with the guilt and knowledge of the past combined with overseeing.

Well, here is what I have to say about season 1 episode 2. After reading several of these comments, I am just soooo extremely happy to announce that I have not read the book or books. And this is why: It reminds me of the Harry Potter movies. I did read the books but not until after I watched all but the last movie. I was totally disappointed in the movies because the books were so much better.

That being said, in regards to the Apple TV series, FOUNDATION, I am very happy to be able to watch this and not have my mind clouded with how the books were written. Once I have finished watching the entirety of FOUNTAIN, I will read the books.

A downhill from the 1st episode. I really hope they bring it back on the track. 2nd episode was like an adoption of cheap romance scifi novel adoption.

And what the hell the ending ? It felt abrupt, incoherent and random.

Hari never left Trantor and didn't tell that BS speech in the laundry. The ship never was without a hyperdrive. Raych never went to Terminus, he had a completely different story with a tragic ending. His daughter, Hari's granddaughter stayed with Hari in the Second Foundation. The Emperor Cleon was dead by that time, there was no Star Bridge and no one revenged for its destruction. The ending is as absurd as the rest of the episode.

In short, it's a completely different story, that has nothing in common with the books. Very clumsy, very clichéd and very... modern. Like everything happened in our time, not in a very distant future.

The first episode was kind of ok. I'm a huge fan of the books, but I can accept that some adaptation to the format are necessary. But at this point everything is so far off the essence of the original story. Is this a telenovela? It sure isn't good science fiction.

The first episode was really promising. But what happened?! Instead of continueing to build the world we are introduced to a super boring lovestory which is badly acted! Why should we care for a lovestory just after being introduced to a complex world. And common they just met each other, really annoying! This ruined everything. Really sad since they had the funding to create something great but I dont understand the writers and producers. Dont they watch the series after they finished it?

It feels like half the episode is just cringy conversations in the moonlight - I thought this was supposed to be a sci-fi, not a love drama? Drama is also at the center in other ways: inclusiveness becomes a theme as well, and it is dealt with rather clumsily and unconvincingly. The characters involved seem unreasonable and the situation rather petty. It is nothing like an elite scientific foundation.

Furthermore, relationships between key characters revert completely in an abrupt and nonsensical manner. This weakens the characters as well as the plot in perhaps detrimental ways.

The only reason this episode does not get a 2/10 is that what happens back on Trantor is convincing and interesting, and is visually impressive, unlike the shots inside the foundation space ship.

It's quite difficult for me to fathom the drop in quality from episode one to episode two. The first episode was one of the most magnificent television productions I've EVER seen. Beautiful visuals, huge budget, tremendous performances, a good translation of the source material; everything was absolutely marvellous - as close to perfection as it gets.

Episode 2 however, has reduced the show to (so far - I'm only halfway through) what can only be described as lacklustre young adult fiction. It's uninteresting, boring, the budget is halved. The performances are not in the same key as the the premier episode.

I don't have much else to say.

Apologies to the creators for being critical, but there is drastic drop in quality from episode one to episode 2 - so drastic that it's obvious to basically anyone.

Hope everyone is doing well either way.

This is just bad! First episodes should hook the viewer and these first two do not fit the bill. Quite boring throughout. Uninteresting characters and too much drama (A romantic involvement that just appears out of nowhere) between them that was not in the books. Character are all mismatched and turned around anyway. Producers should have started with "Prelude to Foundation" as a jump off point or perhaps not stay within a linear timeline to give us some backstories on the main characters. And why oh why would you take the biggest reveal of the novels and give it away in the second episode? At this point in the series I could not recommend it.