“Foundation” 2nd Trailer Review!

You’d think Apple TV+ would do a better job of promoting a show like Foundation. In a world where every new streaming service needs at least one or two major franchises to lure in subscribers and keep them around in expectation of sequels and spinoffs, Apple TV+ is still on the search for even one that has that potential. Foundation, meanwhile, is (loosely) based on one of the most successful science-fiction novels of all time, giving it the benefit of brand recognition and mainstream appeal. Lee Pace’s involvement certainly doesn’t hurt either, as the actor has recently become quite popular on social media.

Foundation
Foundation | indiewire.com

Ultimately, the big question will be whether or not Asimov’s Foundation – a collection of short stories first published as a single book seventy years ago – has staying power in the 21st Century, when there is simply so much sci-fi media available for consumption. And Apple’s Foundation isn’t even adapting all five of the short stories in Asimov’s original collection, further diluting the fanbase; instead, a mostly original plot has been constructed around the events of the first and possibly second stories, but padded out to series length by reams of new content based on Asimov’s two prequel novels to Foundation, which he published much later in life. At this point, most fantasy and sci-fi plots are less convoluted and confusing than the meta narrative of what’s being adapted from what, and what’s wholly original.

Though that being said, the plot of the original Foundation is not exactly easy to wrap one’s head around, either – and I know no more about Prelude To Foundation or Forward The Foundation, Asimov’s Foundation prequels, than I did back when I reviewed the first trailer for this upcoming series. I’ve never read either book, unfortunately, so all I can say with absolute certainty is that the sprawling, multi-generational story of the saga begins near the very end of a 12,000 year Galactic Empire, which legendary psychohistorian Hari Seldon has determined will collapse in just 300 years, bringing about a dark age lasting 30,000 years. Foundation itself (which I have read; it’s fantastic, by the way) picks up with Seldon as he’s on trial for his theories. He informs the Empire that the best they can hope to do, since the present is unsalvageable and destined for ruin, is to compile all human knowledge into an Encyclopedia – the construction of which Seldon offers to begin, along with a group of loyal devotees. They become the titular Foundation.

Foundation
Hari Seldon | collider.com

There’s also a Second Foundation that gets set up in secret along the way, and it turns out that Seldon wasn’t entirely telling the truth about his motives, but I’m trying to avoid spoilers because I want general audiences to be surprised by whichever direction the show takes with the source material. I appreciate that the new trailer really hammers home the idea of not being able to save one’s present, only the promise of a future. That feels very genuine to the spirit of the books, and gives me hope that the series won’t just be a bunch of action scenes, and space battles, and political intrigue. Fascinating as those things all may be, they’re not what Asimov was really interested in exploring. On the other hand, I understand the need for structural changes: Foundation‘s first segment is basically a lot of exposition-heavy dialogue between Seldon and the mathematician Gaal Dornick, so it makes sense to disperse that exposition across the series and give Dornick a more active role as a protagonist.

I also really like that Dornick and several other major characters, some original and some from the books, are people – and particularly women – of color in this adaptation, diversifying what was originally a very white, and very male, story. For instance, both Dornick and the Foundation’s first Mayor, Salvor Hardin, are Black women, played by Lou Llobell and Leah Harvey, respectively. T’Nia Miller and Alfred Enoch also have large roles, although their characters seem to have been created for the show. Most of the characters are original, to be honest: even the main villain, the immortal emperor Brother Day, has no clear precedent in the books.

But Brother Day will be portrayed by Lee Pace – the biggest star attached to the series and the one most likely to lure in audiences unfamiliar with the actual source material (although I’d wager Enoch’s name still carries some weight with Harry Potter fans, and viewers of The Crown might tune in just for Jarred Harris’ Hari Seldon). Pace is very popular with a lot of people who know him from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Hobbit trilogy, and from his role in Pushing Daisies, and Twitter recently came to the consensus that he’s criminally underrated and doesn’t get enough work, so Foundation could be a good opportunity for fans to turn that noble sentiment into Apple TV+ subscriptions and streaming numbers.

Pace is also exceptionally good at playing villains, so this role is pretty much tailor-made for him – although to be honest, I totally get that he’s the “bad guy” because he’s trying to suppress Hari Seldon’s research and that his tyrannical rule is what’s causing the rapid descent of the Galactic Empire into chaos and ceaseless violence, but how bad can a 30,000 dark age really be, if it’s 30,000 more years of Lee Pace’s eyebrows? I just think we should consider what we’d be losing if we chose intergalactic peace and prosperity.

Foundation
Brother Dawn, Brother Day, and Brother Dusk | collider.com

Brother Day’s ability to regenerate every so often means Lee Pace could easily bypass the infamous time-jumps between Foundation segments and become a recurring villain for future generations of Encylopedists. Call me a casual fan, but I wouldn’t have a problem with that – as long we still get to see The Mule at some point, because honestly Foundation And Empire is the entire reason I love the saga as a whole.

Trailer Rating: 7/10

“Foundation” First Trailer Review!

We’ve known for quite some time that Apple TV is planning to produce a massive, multi-season adaptation of the Foundation trilogy, one of the greatest works of science-fiction ever written and certainly Isaac Asimov’s magnum opus. But apparently they filmed a whole bunch of this series without me ever catching on, because suddenly there’s a Foundation trailer out for the first season today – and it looks brilliant, though also shockingly different from the books.

For one thing, the trailer definitely makes it seem as if we’ll be following one protagonist throughout the entirety of the first season at least: that protagonist being psychohistorian and biographer Gaal Dornick, who in the Foundation books is a very minor character whose only role in the story is essentially to introduce the reader to the actual protagonist, Hari Seldon. For the adaptation, it appears that Gaal (who has been gender-bent, and will be played by actress Lou Llobell) is going to stick around much longer, and probably have a crucial role in the story. Seldon himself, here played by Jared Harris, also seems to have a larger role than he does in the books.

Foundation
mobilesyrup.com

But now for a little background on Foundation, for those who haven’t read the novels – and, to be clear, even I’ve only read the original trilogy: I know there’s prequels, and it appears the series is drawing some stuff from those, but I don’t know much about them so I won’t be referencing them. The story follows Hari Seldon, and later his team of talented intellectuals known as psychohistorians, as they attempt to save the universe from being plunged into a dark age that could last for up to 30,000 years – Seldon’s belief, based on his very accurate calculations, is that, while it would be impossible to prevent it entirely, he can “shorten the darkness”, to quote the trailer narration, to just one thousand years. The books quickly jump ahead, switching protagonists and time periods rapidly: in the first book, we also follow the journey of one Salvor Hardin (whom we see briefly in the trailer, played by Leah Harvey) who, years after Hari Seldon’s death, is tasked with protecting the First Foundation which was set up on the planet Terminus to subtly preserve Seldon’s original plan and prevent it from coming apart – and there are many threats to the plan over the course of the series, from telepathic mutants to bureaucratic politicians. Despite how large the story is, however, many of the heroes of the first book have only very vague characterizations, so I don’t mind the fact that the show is expanding on them – though it does confuse me why so many new characters have been included to fill out the cast.

Then again, even though I don’t know exactly who “Brother Day” is supposed to be – I’ve checked and double-checked: he’s not in the books, not even in the prequels – I do know that he’s played by Lee Pace, who is criminally underrated and definitely deserves another big role like this: he appears several times in the trailer, appears to be a villain, and, most importantly, isn’t hidden under any alien makeup (have I told you lately that it’s a travesty how Marvel costumed and designed his character Ronan the Accuser? No? Well then, here’s your reminder: it was a travesty). There’s also a “Brother Dawn” and “Brother Dusk” – the latter played by another actor I adore, Terrence Mann from Netflix’s Sense8. All three are described as being members of royalty vying for power in the Galactic Empire – in the books, the Empire is already collapsing when the story opens and its impending fall is what Hari Seldon believes will start the dark age: I’m sure Pace’s character and much of his supporting cast have been invented to give us a clearer idea of that.

Foundation
Lee Pace as Brother Day | comingsoon.net

The trailer, which is partly comprised of footage shot before coronavirus concerns shut down filming back in March and partly constructed from behind-the-scenes material and interviews with showrunner David Goyer, highlights the massive amounts of money that Apple TV have poured into this show. The production design looks incredible, and clearly borrows inspiration from Amazon Prime’s The Expanse, another major sci-fi series; the special effects are extraordinary and already look complete, despite the fact that Foundation doesn’t come out until next year; the level of detail put into everything is inspiring. All in all, while I’m slightly disappointed that I only definitely recognize one scene and less than a handful of characters from the books, I’m at the very least intrigued by what else the show has to offer. Their original content probably won’t ever match the deeply philosophical tone of Asimov’s writing, but if it can come remotely close, then I’ll be impressed.

Trailer Rating: 7.8/10