Foundation — Everything To Know About Apple’s Series
Foundation is a classic science-fiction book series which originally began as a trilogy in 1951 and later was succeed by some prequel books. The story details about the fall and rise of a galactic empire based on the scientist Hari Seldon, who predicted such a calamity based on an advanced and complex mathematical formula known as ‘Psychohistory’. This interwoven storyline takes places over a thousand years, exploring the history of the galactic empire/s. The following article talk about the background of the story before delving into the specifics of the Apple series and finally jumping deep into lore of the book.
Background
The Foundation series was created by Isaac Asimov. He has also previously created other science-fiction series, including the Robot and Empire series. Born in Russia at 1920, he was considered one of the “Big Three” science-fiction writers of his time, alongside Robert A. Heinlein (Starship Troopers, Stranger in a Strange Land) and Arthur C. Clarke (2001: A Space Odyssey). In 1966, his trilogy won the ‘Best All-Time Series’ at the Hugo Awards. His series beated Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Barsoom series, i.e. John Carter and Tolkien’s Lord of the Ring series, which later was adapted into a successful film franchise, unlike its counterpart.
Ironically, this was the same year Frank Herbert’s Dune tied to win the best novel of the year alongside Roger Zelazny’s This Immortal at the 1966 Hugo Awards, the former of which is to be adapted into a movie and is expected to be released on December 2020.
Story
This has been briefly mentioned in the introduction of the article. Specifically, the scientist Hari Seldon, through the use of psychohistory, predicts that the collapse of the current galactic empire is imminent, which will be proceeded by 30,000 years of darkness. Hari Seldon attempts to direct humanity towards a path which will limit this dark age to a mere 1000 years. A central figure guiding humanity towards a golden path is highly reminiscent of God Emperor of Dune.
Influences and Legacy
Isaac Asimov’s Foundation book has been regarded as one of the most influential books of all time. This was one of the influences of Dune, of which itself has inspired various other films, shows, books and comics. The trailer itself states that this (Foundation) was the direct inspiration to Star Wars, but that was much more likely to be Dune.
The lasting influence of Foundation are not always limited to the entertainment media either:
In terms of sci-fi books, I think Isaac Asimov is really great. I like the Foundation series, probably one of the all-time best — Elon Musk
In terms of the book itself, this was most likely influenced by The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon after being originally published in 1774. The growth and destruction of the galactic empire bears striking similarities to the history of the Roman Empire.
And this is not the only source of influence. Asimov was also huge fan of Tolkien’s Lord of the Ring series, which inspired the Tales of the Black Widowers and its subsequent volumes. He also used works of Agatha Christie in his stories:
I make no secret of the fact that in my mysteries I use Agatha Christie as my model. In my opinion, her mysteries are the best ever written, far better than the Sherlock Holmes stories, and Hercule Poirot is the best detective fiction has seen. Why should I not use as my model what I consider the best? — Isaac Asimov
Adaptation
The long timeline is what might actually make the adaption difficult. TV shows and films typically follow central characters and the stories are driven through their journey. However, the original book alone takes place over the course of 200 years, where the series as a whole covers around 600 years. Consequently, the book follows different characters per generation. Whilst this might work in a written format, it might be difficult to follow the story if there are different sets of character each time for a TV series. There are also limited action sequences, similar to Dune.
Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent — Isaac Asimov
However, some cast members are reportedly in all 10 episodes of the season, so only time will tell how the material will actually be adapted.
Expanded Structure
There are hints to suggest that it’s not only the original book which will be adapted. Laura Birn plays a character called Demerzel. However, this character is not present in the original trilogy and is only found in the prequel books. Perhaps Apple will incorporate elements of the prequel to properly streamline the show, as the prequels are almost biographical of the scientist and hence more structured as oppose to the original trilogy where characters continuously die (off-screen) and are replaced over the course of many centuries.
Apple Series
The series itself is expected to release at some point on 2021. A trailer has already been released, which bears some similarities with Dune. Judging by the trailer, there appears to be a lot of budget invested into the show. If the show were successful, one can expect the adaption of the remainder of the book series. The first season will air 10 episodes.
The series will be produced by Josh Friedman and David S. Goyer. Josh Friedman acted as a screenwriter for War Of The Worlds and the rebooted Snowpiercer show, whilst David S. Goyer was responsible for some great films, including Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Blade series, Christopher Nolan’s Batman series, Dark City, FlashForward, Terminator: Dark Fate and was indirectly responsible for Annihilation, Gemini Man, Star Trek Into Darkness and World War Z, as well as Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation and Mission Impossible: Fallout.
The filming itself began in mid-2019 at the Troy Studios in Limmick, Ireland. This is the same area where the Syfy series Nightflyers was filmed, which was based on a novella written by the great George R. R. Martin himself back in the 1980s. If somebody, for whatever reason, does not recognise the author, he is the creator of the Game of Thrones book series. As of the publication of this article, he still hasn’t released Winds of Winter.
Cast List
The titular scientist Hari Seldon will be played by none other than the famed actor Jared Harris, who recently appeared HBO’s Chernobyl, Amazon’s Carnival Row and the Syfy-turned Amazon series Expanse. Other cast members include:
- Laura Birn as Eto Demerzel.
- Leah Harvey as Salvor Hardin.
- Lou Llobell as Gaal Dornick.
- Cassian Bilton as Brother Dawn.
- Terrence Mann as Brother Dusk.
- Lee Pace as Brother Day.
- Buddy Skelton as Keir.
- Mido Hamada as Master Shadow Obrecht.
- Isaiah Joshua Chambers as Mystery Boy.
- Johanna O’Brien as Shivaughn.
- Jade Harrison as Bayla Darell.
- Geoffrey Cantor as Ambassador Thanwall.
- Brian F. Mulveyas as Travik.
Majority of these cast members are unknowns, which is quite similar to the premier of Game of Thrones. Due to the high investment into the series, one can expect great performances and aesthetics. Let’s hope the adaptation is as accurate as it can be and successful and God willing there will be eventual adaptations of the rest of the book series, similar to Dune.
Controversy
Everything about the production and trailer seems great. This series has a lot of potential. However, the Foundation trailer on Youtube has significant dislikes and the comment section is disabled. With such a high quality preview, this should not really happen. There are two possible sources of controversy: The first being the gender swap. Three significant male characters are now portrayed as females. These include Eto Demerzel, Salvor Hardin and Gaal Dornick. If there are established significant characters from previous materials, the characteristics of these people should not be changed. The source material should be respected. Occasionally, there are good reasons to change certain elements as the book is being translated into the big screen, but such adaptations should be accurate where possible. The second reason might just be because some people have a lack of confidence on David S. Goyer and Apple in general.
Book Series
The Foundation series are made up of a total of 7 books. These books, in chronological order, are as followed:
- Prelude to Foundation (1988) — Chronicles of Hari Seldon.
- Forward The Foundation (1993) — Further chronicles of Hari Seldon.
- Foundation (1951) — The original book, explained below.
- Foundation and Empire (1952) — The rise of the Mule.
- Second Foundation (1953) — Search of a Foundation and the fall of the Mule.
- Foundation’s Edge (1982) — Search for a Foundation and a conspiracy.
- Foundation and Earth (1986) — A journey to rediscover Earth.
The timeline created by Isaac Asimov is vast and diverse. The books are full of intriguing stories. The series as a whole covers almost a millennium, excluding the Robot and Empire series. The original book itself covers 2 centuries and is further divided into 5 five segments. These include:
The Psychohistorians
This is when Hari Seldon discovers that the interstellar empire is about to end, followed by a dark age which will last 30 millenniums. To avoid such a disastrous outcome, he creates a project with the assistance of Gaal Dornick, who recently arrived in Trantor, in an effort to guide humanity towards a ‘safer’ path with the creation of the Encyclopedia Galatica. Due to political interference, his team is later exiled to the planet Terminus.
The Encyopledists
50 years after the previous segment will mark the first of the Seldon Crisis. Four nearby provinces have rebelled and formed into violent kingdoms. They want to invade the planet Terminus for their own gain. The mayor of Terminus City, Salvor Hardin, is aware of the potential danger, but lacks any significant power to do anything about it. This is because the power lies within the board of Trustees.
The Mayors
30 years later, a new religion is formed which is called Scientism. This religion views technology as a mythical objects, rejecting any scientific rationale behind them. This is an effort to control the technology of the surrounding systems and only the priests are aware on how to functionalise the technology. At the same time, mayor Salvor Hardin is being targeted by ‘The Actionist Party’ to take direct action against the military might of the four surrounding kingdoms.
The Traders
75 years later (or 155 years since the beginning of the Foundation), the story now focuses on the planet Askone. This place is full of useful raw material which would be quite beneficial for the Foundation, but trade is outlawed due to the societal ban and their religion. This segment focuses on the character Limmar Ponyets who attempts to dismantle this structure and allow trade to flourish between the Askonians and the Foundation.
The Merchant Princes
Years later, the influence of the economics and religion is becoming stronger. At the same time, three atomic-powered ships are now missing. They disappeared near Korell, a republic which has been rumoured to host secret advanced technology. The master trader Hober_Mallow is sent on a covert operation to the planet to discover the truth.
Additional Trivia
- The Galactic Empire is made up of 25 million planets.
- The Galactic Empire has existed for 12,000 years.
- The location of Earth is unknown.
- The capital of the Galactic Empire is known as the Planet Trantor.
- The Planet Trantor is inhabited by around 40 billion people.
- The Mule is seen as the greatest threat to the plan of Hari Seldon.
- There are no significant alien intelligence life in this universe.
- Foundation was initially published as four short stories.
- Another science-fiction book series of note, aside from Dune, is the Hyperion Cantos.
Final Say
This series has huge potential. After the catastrophic ending of Game of Thrones, many fantasy series will attempt to become the new big hit. In terms of science-fiction, Foundation and Dune: The Sisterhood are the ones I am the most looking forward for, especially in a post Star Wars world. It is also ironic that there is a trailer for Foundation with a 2021 release, but there is none for the 2020 Dune movie, aside from speculation.
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