Foundation (2021)

[phantom000]

Well they did it!

https://youtu.be/xgbPSA94Rqg

I am a little excited simply because its a TV show rather then a film. The simple fact is that Foundation does not have the stuff for a movie, because people want action and climactic battles, which it kinda has in some of the later stories but in general the series doesn't have what audience want from a film. Dune as thick as it is can still probably make a better movie.

Still, drama and intrigue can make for good TV, so i do have a little bit of hope. I am curious how they handle it, so i will probably be checking it out.

[Artabax]

BBC Radio play of Foundation in 1970-ish made me love Sci-Fi for ever.
I am scared that a modern version will screw it up.

[GreyICE]

Oh boy, Foundation. As a huge fan of Asimov I don't think it's aged particularly well, so this could be a great train wreck to watch a review of on this site.

I wish they'd adapt Caves of Steel. Asimov was always prouder of the robot novels than Foundation, and in my opinion they've aged much better. Better written, better characters, better premise, and just generally more interesting. Outside of that one train wreck of a movie, they haven't really been touched, and with AI getting closer it's an interesting time to revisit them.

Foundation has honestly never seemed less relevant. It seems almost ludicrously silly to announce in 2020.

[LittleRaven]

Foundation is classic case of Seinfeld is Unfunny. Yes, it deserves credit for launching Space Opera, but a lot of writers have worked in that space since then and have crafted much better tales. I'll still watch and I'll probably enjoy it, because I'm a total sucker for this sort of thing, but I agree that this is going to be a narrow path to walk successfully.

I LOVED Caves of Steel as a teen, and there's a lot there for a good tv show/movie, but it's also totally NOT Space Opera, so I wouldn't expect it to go against Dune.

[GreyICE]

I really was referring more to the starting conceit that a really smart person could sit down and using the best possible science plot out the entire future of all of human civilization for 30,000 years so perfectly that he provided an absolute blueprint for future peace and prosperity for those tens of thousands of years. It's so 40s/50s science fiction it hurts - mathematics and science will save us all thanks to our amazing smart man! We can do it all!

Meanwhile in 2020 a virus originating from bats in China has sparked a global depression.

I dunno, I just don't see psychohistory actually translating well in 2020. It was fantastic in 1942, in 2020 it's just fantasy.

[LittleRaven]

I dunno, I just don't see psychohistory actually translating well in 2020. It was fantastic in 1942, in 2020 it's just fantasy.

The most popular movie genre right now is literally men and women flying around in pajamas. Until very recently, the biggest show on TV was about battling zombies with dragons. Fantasy isn't exactly a deal breaker with modern audiences.

[Zargon]

Eh, I guess it could work.

Pshchyohistory was pure fantasy when it was written......but in 2020? Well, we sure are a lot closer. In 2020 we do have computers that can get somewhat close to predicting the future. With the right programing and information, computers can predict lots of things about "people". And when we get to the point of a Super Intelligent Artificial Intelligence doing that sort of thing.......

[Fianna]

I really was referring more to the starting conceit that a really smart person could sit down and using the best possible science plot out the entire future of all of human civilization for 30,000 years so perfectly that he provided an absolute blueprint for future peace and prosperity for those tens of thousands of years. It's so 40s/50s science fiction it hurts - mathematics and science will save us all thanks to our amazing smart man! We can do it all!

Meanwhile in 2020 a virus originating from bats in China has sparked a global depression.

I dunno, I just don't see psychohistory actually translating well in 2020. It was fantastic in 1942, in 2020 it's just fantasy.

Psychohistory wasn't designed to work on present day Earth. Not only is our current population too small of a sample size, but the fact that we're still developing new technologies and making new discoveries (like discovering how this particular virus spreads) makes the future inherently unpredictable. The setup for Foundation is a far-future civilization where humanity has reached the peak of its technological advancement; presumably, diseases and natural disasters and other unpredictable phenomena have been controlled or eliminated, so the only thing left that can pose a threat to humanity is humanity itself.

[TGLS]

I really was referring more to the starting conceit that a really smart person could sit down and using the best possible science plot out the entire future of all of human civilization for 30,000 years so perfectly that he provided an absolute blueprint for future peace and prosperity for those tens of thousands of years. It's so 40s/50s science fiction it hurts - mathematics and science will save us all thanks to our amazing smart man! We can do it all!

Meanwhile in 2020 a virus originating from bats in China has sparked a global depression.

I dunno, I just don't see psychohistory actually translating well in 2020. It was fantastic in 1942, in 2020 it's just fantasy.

Psychohistory wasn't designed to work on present day Earth. Not only is our current population too small of a sample size, but the fact that we're still developing new technologies and making new discoveries (like discovering how this particular virus spreads) makes the future inherently unpredictable. The setup for Foundation is a far-future civilization where humanity has reached the peak of its technological advancement; presumably, diseases and natural disasters and other unpredictable phenomena have been controlled or eliminated, so the only thing left that can pose a threat to humanity is humanity itself.

It's also fictious, and ends up making mistakes because of unaccounted X factors.

--

In all honesty, I'm fairly sure that this is going to be a fairly loose adaptation based on what I've read.

[GreyICE]

If it doesn't have psychohistory, it's just the name. You can say "Seinfeld is unfunny", but Seldon's psychohistory was the core conceit of the entire series.

You could go for Known Space, the Imperial Radch, the Vorkosian Saga, the Xeelee Sequence, Revelation Space, god there's so many good space operas that you could play with. I hear Culture is getting adapted.

This feels like a name grab honestly. I'm not even sure a well-timed one, how many people actually know what Foundation is?