Foundation (Season 1) – Apple TV – TV Series Review

**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!

Foundation is streaming on Apple TV.