**Warning, Spoilers!**
A WORLD CONSUMED BY RISING TIDES is now eerily at peace, giant manta rays swimming among submerged
ruins; above, dramatic planetary rings arch through the sky like rainbows. This
image is just one of the many sensory treasures that awaits you in Apple TV’s
ambitious adaptation of Isaac Asimov's Foundation series. It’s a
slow-moving epic that spans centuries. Characters go to sleep in space pods and
wake up light-years from where they began, space-jumping ghost ships can be
harnessed as planet-destroying weapons, and a small collective toils on the
Outer Reach, striving to protect the knowledge of civilization before the
prophesized thirty-thousand years of darkness falls—foretold not be a priest,
but by psychohistory professor Hari Seldon, who can, through the galaxy’s most
complicated math problem, predict actions of the masses.
I am a newcomer to Asimov, and from word ‘round the net,
series creators David S. Goyer and Josh Friedman introduced many of their own
elements, such as the Galactic Empire being ruled by the Genetic Dynasty,
clones of the original Emperor Cleon, so that stability may always be
preserved. There are three clones awake at any given time: the young boy
“Dawn,” the middle-aged “Day,” and the elder “Dusk,” who rule with an iron
fist. Early on, they punish perceived terrorists who destroy the Star Bridge by
destroying half of their home worlds. “Must we choose this?” young Dawn Cleon
asks Demerzel, the last intelligent robot in the galaxy sworn to protect Empire
at all costs.
“No,” she replies, played with eerie icy brilliance by Finnish
actress Laura Birn, “but you always do.”
Lee Pace gives a captivating performance as middle-aged Brother
Day, the Cleon at the height of his power. We get to see him play various clone
versions throughout the years, and despite being a stone-cold bastard, Pace wins
sympathy through his journey in the hellish Spiral and his redeeming relationship
with teenage Dawn, whom he comes to see as a son despite signs that Dawn’s
genetic code has been tampered with.
The rebellion against the Genetic Dynasty is led by Hari
Seldon (Jared Harris) and his unknowing accomplices, genius mathematician Gaal
Dornick (gender-swapped from the books, played by Lou Llobell) and Seldon’s
adopted son Raych (Alfred Enoch). It’s really cool to see a character like Gaal
have a math superpower, and there’s one neat scene where she wakes up on a
strange ship that won’t tell her their destination and yet through a series of
“twenty questions,” she’s able to use astronomy to figure out where she is.
Layered on top of Hari’s prophecy that the collapse of
civilization is imminent is a futuristic plot where Hari’s followers, exiled to
the Outer Reach world Terminus, try to preserve society’s knowledge. However, a
mysterious vault hangs in the sky, spreading a “null” field that paralyzes
anyone who comes too close. The only one who can withstand the null field is
Salvor Hardin (Leah Harvey), the warden of Terminus who possesses the uncanny
ability to predict events. The vault’s true purpose, Hari’s secrets, and Salvor’s
heritage all collide with the Galactic Empire’s past war crimes against the
Outer Reach planets when vengeance-seeking Anacreons take Terminus by storm.
Again, we get a riveting performance from Grand Huntress Phara (Kubbra Sait), furious
at being framed for past terrorism that shattered her family and home world.
It's a television series that you really have to pay
attention to, but those who do will be rewarded with the rich world-building, twists,
and entangled plots. The series doesn’t answer some questions like who really
destroyed the Star Bridge (my money is on Demerzel) and what Hari is up to on
his home world with the second Foundation, but I loved the creativity and vivid
scenery. You really feel like you’re on a space adventure, and although some
efforts fall flat (hard to get invested in the romances), there’s so many cool
snippets of worlds, creatures, and the details of traveling in space that it’s
utterly immersive. Now that the groundwork has been laid out, I predict the
ensuing seasons will be unstoppable!
