I love the books, but I'm not the least bit optimistic. There's very little action in the books...it's mostly talking and discussions. I'm worried that they're going to have to add som much to make it viable as a show that anything good about it will be lost. Hope I'm wrong.
Foundation is one of those futuristic books that ages very poorly as real technology develops. Its like the book branched off one way and reality branches off the other way.
After so much dystopic post-modern crap, a bit of utopia / optimism from one of the founders of sci-fi is welcome.
I read the Foundation series in my early teens and loved it. To me, it was so well thought out and so deep! I tried to read it again as an adult and found the writing childish and the plot simplistic. However... a good director can really turn it into a fantastic series, in my opinion. I also agree that the robots series is prime material for a series, unfortunately the rights are probably all tied up with the film and sequels to the Will Smith movie. Foundation was a good pick and I can't wait to see what they come up with!
I can't say I'm excited about Apple becoming a content company as well as a hardware, software, & services company. I'd rather Tim Cook and the other executives be concerned about Mac OS & making sure software updates get proper testing before release rather than whether to stay true to a book or veer off into "creative original" plots.
Provide a platform for Netflix, Amazon, CBS, etc. to display their content on.
I'm thrilled actually. That platform will now be fed even more creative content, and not cheapened on budgets. The sooner we get out of the Cable/Satellite package monopolies the better. Apple can also push 4k and more, at an earlier and more often pace.
Large Motion Picture Studios now have to take a much closer look at all the creative ideas they buy and shelve that never see the light of day.
Considering Apple's "PG" goals this seems like a solid move.
Apples PG goals are why they will have problems in the long run. GOT isn't hot because of a PG rating, it amounts to soft porn at times.
Apple will need variety if it wants to be successful.
I agree. I give zero fucks about the language, nudity, sex, and other “adult” content of GoT, but often it doesn’t seem to help the narrative, especially the sex scenes. It seems more like a cheap ploy to attract viewers.
I’d say that Starz’s Outlander is considerably more visceral, but it seems to fit the narrative much better.
Did you ever see that SNL skit where Adam Samberg plays a 13yo script consultant responsible for all the nudity and sex? (This was oddly hard to find)
I am excited to hear this, and am looking forward to hearing/seeing more.
The original 3 books from the 50s are the gold standard of the genre. However, when Isaac went back to then in the 80s with his newly found word processor, and an editor that would print everything that came out of it, the quality declined dramatically. This happened to many authors IMO: David Weber (Honor Harrington) and Tom Clancy (Jack Ryan) to name a couple.
Foundation is one of those futuristic books that ages very poorly as real technology develops. Its like the book branched off one way and reality branches off the other way.
There's absolutely nothing about the plot of Foundation (and I've read all 6 main books + 2 extras produced later), that depends on some specific technology.
Or anything that doesn't tie well to our present society for that matter...
Foundation is one of those futuristic books that ages very poorly as real technology develops. Its like the book branched off one way and reality branches off the other way.
After so much dystopic post-modern crap, a bit of utopia / optimism from one of the founders of sci-fi is welcome.
As I recall the Foundation series was the Fall of the Roman Empire in Space, combined with the collectivist dream of scientific manipulation of the masses through mathematics. I think that has quite a bit of dystopia in it.
Read them a couple of times and I don’t think it would translate well.[spoilers]. There just isn’t nough action. It was redeemed a bit by having real life intervene with the mule, before going right off the rails with all that Gaia shit. Making glossy CGI of the glories of Trantor at its peak and then decline won’t make up for what is mostly an intellectual exercise as far as ratings go.
The robot series would be better to convert to screen.
Heck if you wanted to make binge worthy tv series of old sci fi, some Heinlein would be cool, particularly “The Moon is a Harsh Mistress*”, “Tunnel in the Sky*”, “Farmer in the Sky” or maybe even a real version of “Starship Troopers” that bears an actual relationship to the original story than just the title.
*you could probably get the sex, blood and guts some people are apparently craving for out of these two.
Asimov's Foundation series is thoughtful and slow paced, but also epic in scale. Yes, also a little dated; there were no major female characters. People had wearable nuclear reactors but computers were as big as warehouses. But it was full of big ideas, and would be a refreshing change from all of the dystopian first person shooters that get made these days. It would require a fairly major adaptation to bring it to screen, and a mini-series would be the right venue. It could be done, and it could be quite good. I'm cautiously optimistic about this!
I can't say I'm excited about Apple becoming a content company as well as a hardware, software, & services company. I'd rather Tim Cook and the other executives be concerned about Mac OS...etc
Provide a platform for Netflix, Amazon, CBS, etc. to display their content on.
a good point: Provide the best platform for Netflix, Amazon, CBS, etc. to display their content on.
More likely the risk with the current approach is temptation to adopt the current mapping or subscription music strategies. Downgrade the experience of competing services.
Foundation is one of those futuristic books that ages very poorly as real technology develops. Its like the book branched off one way and reality branches off the other way.
After so much dystopic post-modern crap, a bit of utopia / optimism from one of the founders of sci-fi is welcome.
As I recall the Foundation series was the Fall of the Roman Empire in Space, combined with the collectivist dream of scientific manipulation of the masses through mathematics. I think that has quite a bit of dystopia in it.
Read them a couple of times and I don’t think it would translate well.[spoilers]. There just isn’t nough action. It was redeemed a bit by having real life intervene with the mule, before going right off the rails with all that Gaia shit. Making glossy CGI of the glories of Trantor at its peak and then decline won’t make up for what is mostly an intellectual exercise as far as ratings go.
The robot series would be better to convert to screen.
Heck if you wanted to make binge worthy tv series of old sci fi, some Heinlein would be cool, particularly “The Moon is a Harsh Mistress*”, “Tunnel in the Sky*”, “Farmer in the Sky” or maybe even a real version of “Starship Troopers” that bears an actual relationship to the original story than just the title.
*you could probably get the sex, blood and guts some people are apparently craving for out of these two.
Agree completely, especially with the Moon is a Harsh Mistress suggestion. Frankly, I'm surprised that was never turned into a movie. The Martian was a big hit, so maybe some studio exec will sign off on it.
The Foundation series has some of the same characteristics as Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones, but I expect it will be much less marketable. Without sword and sorcery or sex or dramatic combat, there will be fewer hooks to draw people in. But yes, hard core scifi nerds (which represents few few million people, perhaps) will give it a chance--if they can find it (since it won't just show up on Netflix or network television where people stumble onto things).
The Expanse sci-if show also has characteristics of Lord of the Rings / Game of Thrones and it is successful enough to get a 3rd season. A successful Foundation series is possible.
Foundation is one of those futuristic books that ages very poorly as real technology develops. Its like the book branched off one way and reality branches off the other way.
After so much dystopic post-modern crap, a bit of utopia / optimism from one of the founders of sci-fi is welcome.
As I recall the Foundation series was the Fall of the Roman Empire in Space, combined with the collectivist dream of scientific manipulation of the masses through mathematics. I think that has quite a bit of dystopia in it.
Read them a couple of times and I don’t think it would translate well.[spoilers]. There just isn’t nough action. It was redeemed a bit by having real life intervene with the mule, before going right off the rails with all that Gaia shit. Making glossy CGI of the glories of Trantor at its peak and then decline won’t make up for what is mostly an intellectual exercise as far as ratings go.
The robot series would be better to convert to screen.
Heck if you wanted to make binge worthy tv series of old sci fi, some Heinlein would be cool, particularly “The Moon is a Harsh Mistress*”, “Tunnel in the Sky*”, “Farmer in the Sky” or maybe even a real version of “Starship Troopers” that bears an actual relationship to the original story than just the title.
*you could probably get the sex, blood and guts some people are apparently craving for out of these two.
Would love to see a lot of the Heinlein books translated to movies or a TV series... or a series of series.
Here's another author whose works should be turned into a series: Lovecraft. And get Guillermo Del Toro to write and direct.
Foundation is one of those futuristic books that ages very poorly as real technology develops. Its like the book branched off one way and reality branches off the other way.
You're certainly entitled to your opinion... But considering how far into the future the stories take place and the basic premise (second fall of the roman empire/dark ages where people forget how technology works creating a class of techno-priests), I'm struggling to agree with it.
Well this could go one of two ways: End up similar to the screen adaptation of "Dune" and because it had so many necessary characters and nuances ended up a mess, or closer to a very worthy novel-to-screen like Blade Runner.
Okay, 1) Dune wasn't a mess and is now a cult classic; it's one of my personal favorite science-fiction films. 2) My other favorite is Blade Runner, which has little to do with the novel it's based on.
Comments
Apple will need variety if it wants to be successful.
There's very little action in the books...it's mostly talking and discussions.
I'm worried that they're going to have to add som much to make it viable as a show that anything good about it will be lost.
Hope I'm wrong.
Large Motion Picture Studios now have to take a much closer look at all the creative ideas they buy and shelve that never see the light of day.
I’d say that Starz’s Outlander is considerably more visceral, but it seems to fit the narrative much better.
Did you ever see that SNL skit where Adam Samberg plays a 13yo script consultant responsible for all the nudity and sex? (This was oddly hard to find)
The original 3 books from the 50s are the gold standard of the genre. However, when Isaac went back to then in the 80s with his newly found word processor, and an editor that would print everything that came out of it, the quality declined dramatically. This happened to many authors IMO: David Weber (Honor Harrington) and Tom Clancy (Jack Ryan) to name a couple.
Or anything that doesn't tie well to our present society for that matter...
Read them a couple of times and I don’t think it would translate well.[spoilers]. There just isn’t nough action.
It was redeemed a bit by having real life intervene with the mule, before going right off the rails with all that Gaia shit. Making glossy CGI of the glories of Trantor at its peak and then decline won’t make up for what is mostly an intellectual exercise as far as ratings go.
The robot series would be better to convert to screen.
Heck if you wanted to make binge worthy tv series of old sci fi, some Heinlein would be cool, particularly “The Moon is a Harsh Mistress*”, “Tunnel in the Sky*”, “Farmer in the Sky” or maybe even a real version of “Starship Troopers” that bears an actual relationship to the original story than just the title.
*you could probably get the sex, blood and guts some people are apparently craving for out of these two.
a good point: Provide the best platform for Netflix, Amazon, CBS, etc. to display their content on.
More likely the risk with the current approach is temptation to adopt the current mapping or subscription music strategies. Downgrade the experience of competing services.
A successful Foundation series is possible.
Here's another author whose works should be turned into a series: Lovecraft. And get Guillermo Del Toro to write and direct.
Okay, 1) Dune wasn't a mess and is now a cult classic; it's one of my personal favorite science-fiction films. 2) My other favorite is Blade Runner, which has little to do with the novel it's based on.