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When “Foundation” Gets the Blockbuster Treatment, Asimov’s Vision Gets Lost

newyorker.com

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Re: When “Foundation” Gets the Blockbuster Treatment, Asimov’s Vision Gets Lost

#181

Post by joking »

burlesona wrote: post #159

There are a lot of people really hating on the TV show here, so I’ll offer a slightly contrarian take: I would say the biggest problem is the marketing that implies they faithfully are telling the books, when they’re not. The TV show is not faithful to the books. That said: the books are fascinating, but they are almost more like historical documentaries then narrative fiction. It works well because they are _short_…

I'm really enjoying it, and I read the books so long ago that I almost don't remember much from them, so I don't have any problem with the story not being faithful to them.

Re: When “Foundation” Gets the Blockbuster Treatment, Asimov’s Vision Gets Lost

#183

Post by serverholic »

burlesona wrote: post #159

There are a lot of people really hating on the TV show here, so I’ll offer a slightly contrarian take: I would say the biggest problem is the marketing that implies they faithfully are telling the books, when they’re not. The TV show is not faithful to the books. That said: the books are fascinating, but they are almost more like historical documentaries then narrative fiction. It works well because they are _short_…

The emperor storyline is really the only thing worth watching. The rest is just boring, low-quality sci-fi.

Re: When “Foundation” Gets the Blockbuster Treatment, Asimov’s Vision Gets Lost

#185

Post by juliangamble »

throw0101a wrote: post #150

The economist Paul Krugman of all people wrote a 'review' of Foundation versus Dune : > “Foundation” might seem unfilmable. It mostly involves people talking, and its narrative inverts the hero-saves-the-universe theme that burns many acres of CGI every year. The story spans centuries; in each episode everything appears to be on the brink, and it seems as if only desperate efforts by the protagonists can save the day…

I love that Paul Krugman implies that Foundation copied Star Wars. (Ie Foundation was the original Empire Space Opera from which many Sci Fi authors cribbed including George Lucas)

Re: When “Foundation” Gets the Blockbuster Treatment, Asimov’s Vision Gets Lost

#186

Post by vermilingua »

juliangamble wrote: post #185
throw0101a wrote: post #150

The economist Paul Krugman of all people wrote a 'review' of Foundation versus Dune : > “Foundation” might seem unfilmable. It mostly involves people talking, and its narrative inverts the hero-saves-the-universe theme that burns many acres of CGI every year. The story spans centuries; in each episode everything appears to be on the brink, and it seems as if only desperate efforts by the protagonists can save the day…

I love that Paul Krugman implies that Foundation copied Star Wars. (Ie Foundation was the original Empire Space Opera from which many Sci Fi authors cribbed including George Lucas)

I don't see how he implies that at all.

Re: When “Foundation” Gets the Blockbuster Treatment, Asimov’s Vision Gets Lost

#187

Post by saberdancer »

Apocryphon wrote: post #82

Breaking news: Hyperion by Dan Simmons will be adapted courtesy of Bradley Cooper: https://deadline.com/2021/11/bradley-cooper-set-hyperion-at-...

Explanation that they are adapting it as a feature film instead of a limited series because they want to provide more breadth feels disingenuous. Limited series should provide more screentime than a movie.

Also I feel that a tv show would work better - with all the flashbacks you need to have.

Re: When “Foundation” Gets the Blockbuster Treatment, Asimov’s Vision Gets Lost

#188

Post by tarsinge »

hardwaregeek wrote: post #13

The show feels like the creators read the back of the book and nothing else. Adaptation is never a one-to-one translation but you need to keep the spirit of the show. Also the whole emperor lineage stuff feels like an attempt to add a Game of Thrones type plot to the show. I'm not far into the show, so perhaps they address this, but I'd love a more modern commentary on how the whole ideology of the Foundation is basi…

> The show feels like the creators read the back of the book and nothing else.

To me it looks like the creators have a pretty deep understanding of the book. I have a good memory of the book and there are a lot of subtle references. What is frustrating is the choices and twist they make. Like presenting everything as pseudo magical and religious. My hope is that they are bold in the narration and mixing elements from much later in the books, setting things up for big reveals in future seasons (e.g hard to tell without spoiling but like Gaal setting things up for things that only are revealed in the third book that could explain the pseudo magic).

Re: When “Foundation” Gets the Blockbuster Treatment, Asimov’s Vision Gets Lost

#189

Post by mstade »

juliangamble wrote: post #185
throw0101a wrote: post #150

The economist Paul Krugman of all people wrote a 'review' of Foundation versus Dune : > “Foundation” might seem unfilmable. It mostly involves people talking, and its narrative inverts the hero-saves-the-universe theme that burns many acres of CGI every year. The story spans centuries; in each episode everything appears to be on the brink, and it seems as if only desperate efforts by the protagonists can save the day…

I love that Paul Krugman implies that Foundation copied Star Wars. (Ie Foundation was the original Empire Space Opera from which many Sci Fi authors cribbed including George Lucas)

I read it completely differently. To me it seems he’s saying the show Foundation is copying Star Wars, which in his opinion is completely antithetical to the novel and so therefore he’s stopped watching the show.

Re: When “Foundation” Gets the Blockbuster Treatment, Asimov’s Vision Gets Lost

#190

Post by mabub24 »

Apocryphon wrote: post #82

Breaking news: Hyperion by Dan Simmons will be adapted courtesy of Bradley Cooper: https://deadline.com/2021/11/bradley-cooper-set-hyperion-at-...

This has been in the works for years.

I had high hopes for a limited series. A feature film sounds simply awful for the structured narrative style in Hyperion. Warner Bros will not make a Pasolini style Cantebury Tales. This movie will probably be lifeless.

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