Foundation

With so many big ideas and complicated storylines involved, Foundation does at times feel a little muddled, because the drawback to having a number of simultaneously running narratives. ... But that ultimately serves as a compliment to the series as a whole; that as big as its scope is, the viewer still gets hooked into individual characters, wanting to know their fate.

“Foundation” sometimes falls short of that same lofty ambition, but there’s more than enough here to make it a universe well worth occupying beyond this initial season-long glimpse.

Foundation’s debut season is a breathtakingly bold undertaking that will dazzle just as much as it confounds, and lays its own foundation for what may prove the most ambitious television yet.

Yes, it can be self-indulgent, meandering and more complicated than need be. But that feels somewhat inevitable, given the scope of the task at hand. That “Foundation” is otherwise nimble and engaging, even for those unfamiliar with the work that first inspired it, is down to its willingness to buck the Cleons’ line of wisdom and change with the times.

Even as Foundation stumbles throughout its execution, it still maintains a grip on the unconditional hope of its characters. But with an inconsistent timeline and innumerable technicalities, this epic series may take more than mathematical prophecies to grip viewers into watching week to week.

In spite of its sporadic shortcomings, the ambition of the series is exciting itself. If it finds the audience that it was made for, could very well become another landmark series for Apple TV+.

By the end of the eight episodes provided for review, Foundation has very much started to reward the effort and developed a habit of ending episodes with breathless cliffhangers that practically dare viewers to stop watching.

For the uninitiated, early episodes of Foundation can be a chore to get through, let alone understand. (Be prepared to replay scenes in order to catch snatches of rushed, whispery or conceptually opaque dialogue.) Which is a particular shame considering how beautiful every single frame looks. ... The storytelling improves markedly beginning in the fourth episode. ... We shouldn’t have to sit through hours of TV that makes our heads spin to get to stuff like this, that entertains and challenges us. But in this case, the patience does pay off.