Foundation

:

Season 1
  • Network: Apple TV
  • Series Premiere Date: Sep 24, 2021
Season #: 3, 2, 1
User Score
5.5

Mixed or average reviews- based on 86 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 41 out of 86
  2. Mixed: 11 out of 86
  3. Negative: 34 out of 86
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User Reviews

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  1. LunaticInk
    Sep 26, 2021
    2
    This show is hot garbage. It has nothing to do with the Azimov books aside from the basic premise. The main character is a Mary Sue that counts numbers when stressed, and it is heavily implied she’s autistic. They even indicate she has solved Hari’s incomplete math calculations. I cannot stress enough how annoying the character is, especially with the counting. The actress herself isThis show is hot garbage. It has nothing to do with the Azimov books aside from the basic premise. The main character is a Mary Sue that counts numbers when stressed, and it is heavily implied she’s autistic. They even indicate she has solved Hari’s incomplete math calculations. I cannot stress enough how annoying the character is, especially with the counting. The actress herself is fine.

    The second episode managed to squeeze in a lecture about diversity and inclusion, in a galaxy composed of a fascist empire that is 12,000 years old. The dialogue is immature and cartoonish and the “villains” are caricatures with no depth. The costumes look like leftovers from a crappy SYFY film.

    I only watched the second episode because I was hoping the first one was just a rough start. So far this watches like some knob’s Twitter feed and is full of hot takes. Get better writers, and stop throwing in buzzwords like “agency” all the time. It’s overplayed and lame.    … Expand
  2. VirgilReality
    Sep 29, 2021
    2
    They never read the books and it shows. If they did read the books they didn't get any of it. Several in universe violations (that will come back to haunt the show) in the first 20 mins. Empire character made sense as an addition and was well acted. Jared Harris excellent as usual and wasted. If I did not get AppleTV Free for a year for buying my latest Mac I never would have watched it.They never read the books and it shows. If they did read the books they didn't get any of it. Several in universe violations (that will come back to haunt the show) in the first 20 mins. Empire character made sense as an addition and was well acted. Jared Harris excellent as usual and wasted. If I did not get AppleTV Free for a year for buying my latest Mac I never would have watched it. Yes there may be need to extend, update or adapt something written first in 1940s, however the cliché tropes chosen, dumbed down what is excellent source material. I'm completely out after two episodes as it isn't going anywhere good.… Expand
  3. Akira_
    Sep 24, 2021
    3
    It looks amazing. The production budget must be huge. The writing budget however was not. The writing is quite bad and the story is simplistic given the premise of the books. The idea to cast a totally inexperienced girl who has barely acted before as lead backfired big time. The romance elements feel very out of place. It is preachy in the worst ways. I haven't read the novels, but thisIt looks amazing. The production budget must be huge. The writing budget however was not. The writing is quite bad and the story is simplistic given the premise of the books. The idea to cast a totally inexperienced girl who has barely acted before as lead backfired big time. The romance elements feel very out of place. It is preachy in the worst ways. I haven't read the novels, but this feel very different from the summaries and commentaries I have seen.… Expand
  4. metacritiqueur
    Sep 24, 2021
    1
    Another woke cast swap adaptation, with strong woman, good black peoples and bad whites men. Since two years, there are only politicized series produced by GAFAM. Series are intended to provide escapism and enjoyment, not lock us into the ideology of the American minorities from the 21st century. Buy the books and boycott Apple+.
  5. paketep
    Oct 31, 2021
    0
    Utter **** I have no problem with them deviating from the books, I do have a problem with the plot and most characters being incredibly stupid. A total wreck.
  6. RedPlammer
    Oct 15, 2021
    3
    God I wish they'd just get on with the story. Five episodes in and they're still using flashbacks to set the stage, I can barely tell what's happening and when
  7. Blade-Runner
    Oct 4, 2021
    5
    The Foundation is yet another example for the mediocrity of pretty much anything coming out from AppleTV, just goes to show that tons of money alone can't assure quality. This show in particular tries but fails to engage the viewers into the story or characters. I bet Jared Harris wishes he would have done something else for HBO or Netflix, studios who really know what their doing...
  8. YukiRuu
    Aug 27, 2022
    0
    Ужас! В первой же серии бреда хватит на весь сезон. Диалоги полностью противоположны оригиналу. Фильм - отражение книги в кривом зеркале. Над ВЕЛИКИМ произведением надругались!
  9. lorddcee
    Nov 5, 2021
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. It could have been a Game of thrones in space, but the shows stumbles and breaks all the good ideas of the book while trying to implement others that make no sense in the Foundation universe. Characters are magical or superhuman, the seldom plan is failing as fast as it's created, the robot is acting like no robots should in an Asimov universe...

    All the surprises that makes the 5 foundation books interesting cannot happen in the show as the foundation (sic) of these surprises are either not present, or have already been broken. The Mule? He won't be special. The second foundation? You won't be surprised as we already have 2-3 characters that have powers... As for the created arcs, the empire could be a good show on itself, not top material, but watchable. I'm so sad this epic has been adapted so badly. I can't imagine how this show will go beyond season 2 or if it does, its budget will probably be slashed.    … Expand
  10. norbertosica
    Sep 24, 2021
    5
    If you read just one book of Isaac Asimov, could die after watching Foundation on Apple TV+.
  11. IgrokU
    Sep 27, 2021
    2
    Other than the name and some of the Characters...this has nothing to do with the books, I just kept going- uh what is this? Kind of thought this is the way it would turn out. Looks really good, big budget effects......but if you were looking to watch the books put on the screen....go else where. I will be generous with my score.
  12. RidingHood
    Nov 12, 2021
    1
    The novels offer a great story even though they are somewhat limited in style. This show however is a disaster in both writing quality and story. The characters come across as self-indulgent; Hari Seldon is tolerable, Gaal Dornick is unwatchable. Very disappointed as an Asimov fan.
  13. Elthor
    Sep 24, 2021
    0
    Not Asimov's Foundation. They took the title, a couple character names, and read the book jacket.
    If you are a fan of the source material, skip this or you will cry.
  14. Chaosthierry
    Sep 27, 2021
    0
    There is enough commentary about how this series isn't really Foundation but something different, I think Rob Bricken says it best.

    The greater crime is that it isn't even good drama at a basic level. Since Socrates' first observations all stories need characters to attach to; for every Luke there should be a Leia; for Leonard a Penny; for Jon Snow an Arya/Sansa/Daenerys. Arguably some    There is enough commentary about how this series isn't really Foundation but something different, I think Rob Bricken says it best.

    The greater crime is that it isn't even good drama at a basic level. Since Socrates' first observations all stories need characters to attach to; for every Luke there should be a Leia; for Leonard a Penny; for Jon Snow an Arya/Sansa/Daenerys. Arguably some series are all heroines or all heroes and are intended to be for that audience.

    It is a colossal failure that Goyer and Apple have delivered two full hours of strong women and no male lead in sight, maybe it is the intention for the audience of the series, usually that would signal a Lifetime movie. It is admittedly in a complete reversal of the original works. Likewise the original mentor figure is recast as an angry victim, and his beloved protege worse. His life's masterpiece is recast as vague and incomplete.    … Expand
  15. clemente
    Oct 17, 2021
    3
    The Politically Correct Empire is dominating the galaxy. They couldn't even keep the main characters close to the source material. Luckily we are one light click away from watching something else.
  16. blaws
    Sep 28, 2021
    1
    It's bad. If you're a fan of the series, it will be unrecognizable. A couple of major issues and one non-issue:

    First, what is it that makes Foundation sci-fi? I would argue that it is sci-fi in its purest form - taking human characters and exposing them to science fiction situations, requiring them to make decisions in a world far removed from our own, but based on our current    It's bad. If you're a fan of the series, it will be unrecognizable. A couple of major issues and one non-issue:

    First, what is it that makes Foundation sci-fi? I would argue that it is sci-fi in its purest form - taking human characters and exposing them to science fiction situations, requiring them to make decisions in a world far removed from our own, but based on our current understanding. In other words it asks the reader, "How would you solve this problem our character is facing?" Foundation is not a fast-paced thriller, it's a slow-burn chess match. It's sci-fi sociology. Instead, the first two episodes of this adaptation are filled with explosions, laser fights, attacking space creatures... Salvor Hardin (a stand in for Asimov) would role in his grave to see how these characters "... [men] of action to the end..." behave.

    Second, backstory actually detracts from the overarching narrative. We don't need to know how the empire falls or see the origin of the main character we're following - the series jumps around important vignettes as the Foundation follows a path to a new empire. As soon as you get attached to one character, their story ends and it's on to the next. This affords the writers of an awesome opportunity: no season needs to be remotely similar to any other. They are practically unrelated, apart from being within the same universe. Unfortunately, it looks like we're going to get an entire season about Cleon (a character barely mentioned in the series) being the big, bad villain.

    Finally, there are several reviews here lamenting the gender-swapping of characters in the spirit of inclusion and "wokeness." This criticism is total nonsense. Asimov's series is an overwhelmingly male and slightly misogynistic sausage fest. Strong, female characters in the books are few and far between and rarely display their own agency. Hating this series because they flipped the script by adding women is dumb and completely misses the point.

    TL;DR: Foundation should be House of Cards, not Game of Thrones. The inclusion of a diverse cast is a good thing, but isn't being properly utilized.    … Expand
  17. Saul2021
    Oct 8, 2021
    0
    This supposedly "futuristic" TV show leaves you wondering whether there's any point to the story other than advertising woke narratives of today. Has no similarity with actual Foundation.
  18. viroodiem
    Sep 24, 2021
    9
    Obviously only a review of the first two episodes.

    There is a weight here. Perhaps the weight of an entire galaxy. Everything about this is monumental in scope. With the weight of skydance behind it, everything about this feels like big budget and full when considering the scope of a TV series. Like Altered carbon (at least season 1) before it but on a much grander scale. The    Obviously only a review of the first two episodes.

    There is a weight here. Perhaps the weight of an entire galaxy.

    Everything about this is monumental in scope. With the weight of skydance behind it, everything about this feels like big budget and full when considering the scope of a TV series. Like Altered carbon (at least season 1) before it but on a much grander scale.

    The performances are full with what you would normally reserve for a film. The CGI is perhaps one of its weaker elements but still remains visually stunning. The writing is much harder to gauge at this point because this will be a long, plodding plot. Working its way through the story it means to tell. So far it has been mostly faithful to the plot at least for the setting and laying out the players. The pacing is great for how big and ambitious it is.

    This feels like it could be not only a major hit but a "killer app" show to drive people to getting Apple TV. It has all the potential and peices so far to become something on par with Game Of Thrones as long as they demonstrate patience with the subject.

    Again hard to grade on 2 episodes but there is so much polish and potential here that its hard to give it any less than a 9 at this point because there has not been a critical flaw so far.

    It leaves me NEEDING more NOW and impatiently waiting, which is as good of a sign for a new grand space opera that feels like in about a month we will be comparing to the upcoming Dune film and so far it seems like this might be the better of the two. We will have to wait and see on both fronts.

    For now, definitely need more of this. Perhaps one if not the best sci fi of the year. Even with big names like various Treks, and the expanse about. Definitely make it a point to see this when you can. What ever this universes future may indeed hold.    … Expand
  19. kevscorner
    Sep 24, 2021
    10
    The first two episodes are exactly what sci-fi fans have been craving for. It's not always action pact but the world-building and intrigue are amazing. It's a real privilege to see Asimov's vision on the TV screen.
  20. shoulderoforion
    Sep 27, 2021
    9
    A feast for the eyes, and thoroughly enjoyable scifi excellence through 2 episodes. Getting a bit tired of the washed out grey new world thing a la raised by wolves, but I guess that's how it was written. Enormous world building I can follow and appreciate. On my rotations now.
  21. UncleWillard
    Sep 24, 2021
    9
    Love it. And yes, I read the original Foundation books (though I'll admit it was a while ago; little hazy). I kinda like the choices they've made thus far as it streamlines the plot. This is TV after all. Having said that, the production values and cast are astounding. This is the bestowing sci-fi show I've seen in a while. Early days though, but I'm impressed.
  22. tuwalua
    Sep 24, 2021
    9
    Awesome show! But i fear it will die the "Mainstream" Death. The Story and characters are complex and the 0815 viewer will loose interest soon! But if the show is not streched over several seasons an millenia (in show) it will be pointless to tell Asimovs Epic Story! I hope for the best!
  23. sangordon
    Sep 29, 2021
    10
    I am really impressed with this series so far. A friend recommended it to me, knowing I'm not a huge sci-fi fan, and she was right. It's intellectually stimulating, very well acted, and the visuals are nothing short of magnificent.
    The plot is interesting; the subject matter (explosive scientific prediction of the eventual demise of a basically fascist-run world--hello--can anyone    I am really impressed with this series so far. A friend recommended it to me, knowing I'm not a huge sci-fi fan, and she was right. It's intellectually stimulating, very well acted, and the visuals are nothing short of magnificent.
    The plot is interesting; the subject matter (explosive scientific prediction of the eventual demise of a basically fascist-run world--hello--can anyone besides me
    relate?) is timely and lends itself well to a story-telling journey I'm on board with.
    The Me Too movement has made its mark here, as the updated diversity from the original Asimov male characters is what I would expect. This version, while apparently not true to the book, stands alone; making the question of which is better, the book or the show, a thankfully moot point, but I'll take the show.
    After the first two episodes, I am completely hooked. Finally a sci-fi show I'm actually enjoying enough to write a review of! I am stunned that anyone with an ounce of brain matter could rate this less than 5 stars, given its rich complexity, but the show does require a certain amount of concentration...not one for multi-tasking when watching.    … Expand
  24. bertobellamy
    Sep 24, 2021
    7
    Seems interesting. Wonder what they will do adapting the rest of the stories. Production design and visual effects look great. Understandably, they had to incorporate a little more action in the story. Hope they've done it right to see how everything unfolds until the very end. We've waited so long to see this classic on the screen.
  25. stratos_au
    Sep 30, 2021
    10
    First episodes are great, the cast, the acting the production values and the script is fantastic. A bit hard to follow at the beginning, there is a complexity but the scale is palpable. Great story and whilest not Asimov exact book to TV adaptation is definetly worth your time.
  26. krikaoli
    Oct 13, 2021
    10
    This series is a must-have for anyone claiming to be a science fiction fan. Isac Asimov is one of the fathers of sci-fi. Apple went all out in everything. Don't mind the negative reviews, it's haters. It is one of the most extraordinary and difficult adaptations ever made. It is a long story, centuries old, with several characters, without focus on any one of them. The series coversThis series is a must-have for anyone claiming to be a science fiction fan. Isac Asimov is one of the fathers of sci-fi. Apple went all out in everything. Don't mind the negative reviews, it's haters. It is one of the most extraordinary and difficult adaptations ever made. It is a long story, centuries old, with several characters, without focus on any one of them. The series covers several interesting points, such as artificial intelligence, future of humanity, forecasting the future, possibilities, revolutions, evolution and problem solving, and geopolitics.… Expand
  27. geewah
    Feb 11, 2022
    8
    An ambitious project that for the most part is a success due to is beautifully crafted galaxy, and it's broad and intriguing story.
    Asimov fans may nitpick over it's faithfulness to the novels but as someone who hasn't read them, I enjoyed this show.
  28. redrush
    May 20, 2023
    10
    LOve the series, great characters, vfx and lore, the story is complex and entertainemnt
  29. Heywoody
    Dec 9, 2021
    8
    The show pulls you in with an excellent set up. The world building/galaxy is vaguely fleshed out. Empire as a character/concept is most captivating to me. The other characters are mediocre. People giving this a 0 for not being like the books, have an agenda I guess... This is a better than average sci-fi mystery fantasy. How could you give it a 0?? C'mon Ya'll!!! lol
  30. skywalker333
    Jan 12, 2023
    5
    While you normally expect a TV show to not follow the original material completely, here we have a unique phenomenon where the showrunners are literally only using a few names of characters and planets and just the idea of psychohistory and then they simply ignore absolutely everything about this legendary series and write something completely different. It is like Peter Jackson took a fewWhile you normally expect a TV show to not follow the original material completely, here we have a unique phenomenon where the showrunners are literally only using a few names of characters and planets and just the idea of psychohistory and then they simply ignore absolutely everything about this legendary series and write something completely different. It is like Peter Jackson took a few of the names from LotR but in the end the trilogy he made was The Godfather but with Tolkien's names for the characters.

    And it is a pity because the production values are incredibly good. But there is absolutely no respect to the original material whatsoever and it is simply taking advantage of its famous name, thats all.
    Not even 1% of the original book series has been translated here.
    And to add insult to injury, the huge reveal at the end of the books, a reveal towards which Isaac Asimov built up over 44 years of writing the series, is casually disregarded and revealed within the first few episodes of the show, and of course with a lacklustre and zero impact way...    … Expand
  31. DaveAus
    Aug 29, 2023
    1
    Its clear from the casting, dialogue and story changes they weren't interesting in telling the story of Foundation.
  32. Ededed
    Dec 29, 2021
    5
    Foundation is very loosely based on the novels. Frankly I’d like it much better if it were more closely aligned to the books.

    The visuals are impressive as is most of the acting, but the scripts, character makeovers, and overall plot design is wanting. The revised plots are disjointed and hard to follow. The relationships they are trying to sell us are painful to endure. Having two    Foundation is very loosely based on the novels. Frankly I’d like it much better if it were more closely aligned to the books.

    The visuals are impressive as is most of the acting, but the scripts, character makeovers, and overall plot design is wanting.

    The revised plots are disjointed and hard to follow. The relationships they are trying to sell us are painful to endure. Having two of the main characters jump timelines with suspended animation tech is just too crude of a plot line when you are expecting us to suspend reality.

    Yes, I understand the original Foundation trilogy was written long ago and needed enhancements for a 21st century audience, but putting soap opera style relationships in a masterwork is cheesy drivel.

    I’m giving this a middle of the road rating for the visual spectacle, but the clumsy writing is an utter failure.    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

17
#17 Most Discussed TV Season of 2021

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
62

Generally favorable reviews - based on 25 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 25
  2. Mixed: 15 out of 25
  3. Negative: 0 out of 25
  1. Radio Times
    Reviewed by: Stephen Kelly
    Dec 2, 2021
    60
    It’s an interesting approach, although some of these micro stories are stronger than others.
    Read full review
  2. The New Yorker
    Reviewed by: Julian Lucas
    Nov 2, 2021
    40
    The series attempts to rescue the novels from their atomic-age limitations but largely squanders its material on a clone of every other blockbuster fantasy quest. ... The larger problem is that Goyer’s “Foundation” seems bored with its source material.
    Read full review
  3. TV Guide Magazine
    Reviewed by: Matt Roush
    Oct 11, 2021
    50
    You might need an antacid - or whatever would remedy the tonal whiplash as Foundation meanders from cerebral contemplation of mankind's fate to a standard-issue shoot-'em-ups involving warring planets. [11 - 24 Oct 2021, p.11]
See all critic reviews »