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The first few episodes of the new Apple TV+ series \u201cFoundation\u201d are a mesmerizing prologue. Sprawling, shimmering, and meditative, they set into motion a centuries-spanning tale of individuals from divergent walks of life, all trying to master their own fate.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s the mathematician Hari Seldon (Jared Harris), whose complex behavioral models may hold the key to understanding the future. There are the leaders on the ruling capital city-planet Trantor, governing an empire of trillions as a triad, made from the same genetic material as their single ancestor \u2014 through various incarnations they are represented as Dawn (played at different ages by Cooper Carter and Cassian Bilton), Day (Lee Pace), and Dusk (Terrence Mann). There\u2019s the would-be Seldon protege Gaal Dornick (Lou Llobell), who forsakes the pious, orthodox ways of her home planet for a life spent in pursuit of science. And on a distant world, there\u2019s Salvor Hardin (Leah Harvey), introduced as a legend in the making, though her history isn\u2019t yet written.<\/p>\n
All of these ideas are introduced in tantalizing fashion. Jumping around in a near-abstract disregard for chronology, \u201cFoundation\u201d flowers as the same kind of collected-works reality that characterizes the wide-reaching Isaac Asimov book series the show draws from. It\u2019s thrilling to see a show embrace that approach to source material so dense, creating a kind of anthology in miniature. In that early going, showrunner David S. Goyer and co-writer\/co-creator Josh Friedman create a sense that these plotlines are all of a piece, but not beholden to each other. Piecing together the scale and implications of events in each fragment of the whole is, in this case, a satisfying way to be dropped into a universe of vibrant detail, even in the more barren landscapes at the outer reaches of the empire.<\/p>\n
In some sense, it\u2019s an introduction that\u2019s too good to be true. Maybe it\u2019s possible that no series-length adaptation of a beloved, totemic work of science fiction, itself a series of doorstop installments with its own far-reaching lore, was ever going to keep itself pinned to the heady contemplations and minute parsing that give these early episodes their distinct feel. Seldon\u2019s prognostications bring warnings of warfare, collapse, and ruin for the imperial civilization. The \u201cFoundation\u201d of the series\u2019 title doesn\u2019t refer to the stronghold of Trantor, but a theoretical self-contained society, where Seldon and his acolytes can preserve all the cherished elements of their world while the one they\u2019ve left behind crumbles light years away.<\/p>\n
Foundation Apple Lee Pace Empire
\n\u201cFoundation\u201d<\/p>\n
Apple TV+<\/p>\n
So before long, there are gun battles and mutinous plots and fledgling rebellions, the kind of developments you expect from something labeled a \u201csaga,\u201d regardless of what genre it embraces. What \u201cFoundation\u201d becomes is something more recognizable to fans of franchises already familiar with dense convoluted webs of tribal alliances and space jargon meant to shrink the universe. On some level, that\u2019s likely by design, given that the longterm survival of the series is built on attracting the kind of invested (and sometimes rabid) audience that has followed the handful of shows, film trilogies, and impending remakes you could easily rattle off.<\/p>\n
But the value of \u201cFoundation\u201d (and what occasionally gives it a leg up on some of those other dormant fictional universes) is that it salvages the potential from those opening hours, even if it doesn\u2019t always capitalize on it. It\u2019s a show that effectively has multiple spinoffs generating inside itself at any given time. There\u2019s no need for a separate series or even a bottle episode to jump across centuries to find some long-dead character operating in their prime. Those avenues are open, casually traced to fit the need of looking at some thematic connection or galactic precedent.<\/p>\n
A major part of this freedom is understandably budgetary. There\u2019s the obvious grandeur and detailed realization of Trantor, a triumph of spectacle all by itself. The gradual progression from new set to new ship to new planet to new representation of space-folding travel demonstrates just how many moving parts \u201cFoundation\u201d is juggling. The show is at its best when it matches the specificity of its character work with the frequent opulence of its set design. (Even the most minimalist of rooms on the grounds of the imperial palace have a certain lavishness to them, if only in the sheer amount of space it can imply.)<\/p>\n
Maybe unavoidably, some shagginess comes with that splendor. It\u2019s not that \u201cFoundation\u201d is burdened by its elaborate visual flourishes, hopping between a capital touched by art-deco influences and ship designs of all functioning geometrical shapes. It\u2019s that the writing of \u201cFoundation\u201d \u2014 particularly in its middle episodes \u2014 can sometimes feel caught between matching that same sense of scope while also being accessible. In trying to connect to the literary origins of the story, the voiceovers that open nearly every episode end up straining for the kind of profound insights that are usually present when the camera simply turns to what is already there. To open a series like \u201cFoundation\u201d does, with minimal overt guidance through this prism of galactic history, only makes the season\u2019s later, more telegraphed turns feel like a return to expectations.<\/p>\n
And there\u2019s always the genre danger that trying too hard to remove all phrases and idioms that come from modern-day, well, Earth could render every conversation unintelligible. But for a show with so much attention to detail elsewhere, it\u2019s surprising how casual its approach is to the \u201cLooks like meat\u2019s back on the menu, boys!\u201d paradox. (Of note: We\u2019re shown plenty of ripples caused by religious movements specific to this universe, but when one character says, \u201cOh geez!\u201d it\u2019s hard not to wonder about the existence of some unmentioned Space Jesus.) As \u201cFoundation\u201d pulls back to reveal worlds and peoples beyond those seen on Trantor, and the fights become more physical than ideological, there\u2019s a relative flattening that sees less of that valuable specificity.<\/p>\n
Foundation Apple Hari Seldon Gaal Dornick
\n\u201cFoundation\u201d<\/p>\n
Apple TV+<\/p>\n
Still, the cast, filled with seasoned veterans and commanding newcomers, largely renders those quibbles moot. As various versions of Empire Day, Pace becomes the ideal embodiment of a faux-magnanimous, entitled autocrat whose steely exterior rarely betrays his internal misgivings. He dispenses judgment, while burnishing the idea those decisions carry the weight of innate wisdom. Pace\u2019s ability to wield phrases from \u201cstarbridge\u201d to \u201cmausoleum of calculus\u201d with his own particular gravitas becomes a key special effect all its own. That projected assuredness makes a nice contrast with Gail and Salvor, two characters who have the potential of generation-defining skills, but come by their own sense of confidence along a decidedly different path. Llobell and Harvey each carry those respective journeys of discovery, ably handling long stretches where these potential leaders of tomorrow are left to find out answers all on their own.<\/p>\n
Through it all, Seldon remains a focal point, haunting individuals who never met him and molding the trajectories of those that have. Harris brings an easy charm to the role, as a beloved professor whose fame stretches far across his chosen campus. The project that Seldon\u2019s plan leads to (and all the resultant threads that spin out from pivotal moments and decisions along the way) becomes a fun bit of meta-commentary for \u201cFoundation.\u201d What is building a brand new civilization if not \u201cworld-building\u201d in the strictest sense? Seldon effectively assembles his own fledgling cast, becoming a showrunner with the highest stakes imaginable. He aims for trust from his collaborators, which \u201cFoundation\u201d at least attempts to show him earning.<\/p>\n
There are times when Seldon\u2019s revolutionary theories function as a MathGuffin, even despite the early discussions of unsolved theoretical problems and the merits of different numeral systems. Still, it\u2019s the most compelling idea both in the world of the series and in \u201cFoundation\u201d itself, partly because it most feels like it exists outside the genre feedback loop that the titanic influence of Asimov\u2019s work helped to generate in the first place. Even if the central premise of the series hadn\u2019t tipped its hand, this was always going to be a show rooted in questions of free will, autonomy, and collective obligation, that ripple throughout the author\u2019s vast bibliography.<\/p>\n
When \u201cFoundation\u201d draws on that core, and manages to make discussions of those questions more intuitive than didactic, it\u2019s invigorating to see so many component parts work in tandem. Seldon\u2019s stated aim isn\u2019t to make a new world in his image, but to be humanity\u2019s informational and institutional bulwark against an empire in decline. It\u2019s not to create a replica, but to take elements worth saving and use them as the core for something singular and lasting. \u201cFoundation\u201d sometimes falls short of that same lofty ambition, but there\u2019s more than enough here to make it a universe well worth occupying beyond this initial season-long glimpse.<\/p>\n
Grade: B+
\n\u201cFoundation\u201d premiered its first two episodes Friday, September 24 on Apple TV+. New episodes will be released weekly.<\/p>\n
View this article at IndieWire<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u2018Foundation\u2019 Review: Apple TV+ Series Is a Dazzling Asimov Adaptation with Room to Reach Even Higher: The first few episodes of the new Apple TV+ series \u201cFoundation\u201d are a mesmerizing prologue. Sprawling, shimmering, and meditative, they set into motion a centuries-spanning tale of individuals from divergent walks of life, all trying to master their own
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