Is it bad? I never finished the novels and was looking forward to the show, just haven't had time to pick it up. Should I skip it entirely or is a 'it isn't great, but watchable and you will understand the story' adaptation?
The story is split in two and thus far spans some 30 - 40 years, where one part has been able to focus and develop the same characters and themes over that course owing to a quirk in how those characters work into the plot, while the other part has been hurriedly shuffling characters, motivations, and mysteries on and off the stage to keep pace with that same timespan.
I wager its harder for the writers to get the second partition down pat as they're still getting used to adapting a story that has to move quickly owing to the limitations of TV, but its clear they can write good material which the first partition makes clear. I think the first season will be rough for them but a second should be more promising as they should get a handle on working with a plot that spans space and time on a grander scale than Game of Thrones.
Probably nice if you haven't read the books, because the direction is spotless.
But if you are a fan of the original story, it's a spit in the face of a masterpiece.
The title, names and arcs are basically used for branding.
It was predictable, the Foundation cycle is mostly dialogs spanned over hundreds of years. Little details is given to action, and characters, which are superficially developed and serve mostly the purpose of a vehicle for history, die of old age every few chapters or so.
Very hard to adapt, and pretty much impossible to make money outside of the show, with the face of your actors, by selling toys or pretty symbols. Also, good luck keeping hooked the general public. There is no focus on sexuality, little humor, hardly anyone relatable, they talk a lot then goodbye.
So they made it a block buster. It sure can work, but it's not Foundation.
It is amazing, by far the best Science Fiction TV show in years. But it isn't really doing justice to the books, more using them as a lose focus point to spin their own story. They take things that are mentioned as a side note in a chapter and do a whole storyline of it.
Which is actually what I hoped for, since a) the format of the books is impossible to translate closely to a TV show or movie and b) Asimov is definitely a bit high and low in his writing. The first two books of Foundation are amazing, afterwards it gets quite meandering.
My main criticism would be the mystification of Psychohistory, which is a very serious flaw, but I'm willing to overlook it due to seriously lacking good science fiction entertainment.
I've seen nothing which amazes me in it. The last thing which came near to amaze me was the SFX in the intro of Raised by Wolves where the ship suddenly pops out of hyperspace through a suddenly appearing disc-like membrane, stretching it until it bursts, to speed down to the planet, and membrane vanishes. Just a few seconds. The rest? Utterly forgettable.
It's like having a Cheeseburger. Or a Banana. Not even an Apple.
This is a nice summary of the underlying pattern of the adaption. If they actually understand the idea, and follow the spirit, I think it's not too hard to add concrete details that substantiate the show. It is this inherent desire to not describe science precisely, but deliberately guts the details and label liberal value onto it, that causes the whole detachment of form and spirit.
I cannot judge that since I love the books so much that I already stopped watching TV series after watching episode 2.
I saw review saying "it's nice if not considering its connection to the books", i.e., by itself its quality is good. For how much that's true for someone, I guess it has to be discovered watching it.
