Foundation (TV Series) Mysteries and Martyrs (2021) User Reviews

The Paradox of This Terrible Adaptation

[tomatdotcom · 7/10 · 31 October 2021]

There is a central paradox that has dogged my enjoyment of this show since the second episode.

The first one was fantastic, an interesting and straightforward adaptation of the first story in the first book of the Foundation trilogy. It set up the general concepts and themes and, most importantly, gave us a great insight into Harris Seldon, the mad genius at the heart of a millennia of turmoil.

It also did... a whole bunch of other stuff.

Conservatively, I would estimate that approximately 75% of what's been written so far is completely made up for the show - fanfiction with an Apple's worth of money thrown at it. The quick-stop, long-jump style of storytelling that the books employed wasn't suited for television (I guess?), so instead we get some characters and plots that are easier to cling on to and easier to digest (heaven forbid the novels that challenge stortelling convention be adapted in a similar way). The latest significant change from the books is the revelation from this episode: that Gaal (and presumably Saldor) can feel the future.

I truly, *truly*, cannot imagine a more significant way to derail an adaptation of the Foundation saga than to inject it with a contrived Chosen One narrative about the ability of an individual to change the fate of the galaxy. That is such a fundamental misreading of the text that I'm truly questioning what the writers were even discussing in the room where this was thrown up on the whiteboard.

Foundation is a story about systems, about the cycles of power and influence that govern the lives of populations on small and large scales. Civilisation-ending catastrophes are solved by political machinations a thousand lightyears away; crises are overcome through the construction and abandonment of sociological organisations like religions. It is a narrative experiment where all of the problems were solved a millennia ago by a man with a calculator and the galaxy just has to hang on for dear life as his predictions come to pass.

The only time an individual's actions matter in the original trilogy is when the Mule subverts the entire Plan, through an astronomically small stroke of genetic luck that allows him to contend with those systems. This is BAD. This is the antithesis colliding with the thesis in Asimov's work. He is not THE PROTAGONIST.

The paradox, though, is that some of the additions in this show really work! The Genetic Dynasty is a stroke of sci-fi genius, and one of the most compelling ideas I've seen explored in the genre in years. Completely made up for the show, but fits beautifully amongst Asimov's work as a thematic representation of the Empire's decay.

The challenge then, for me, is balancing this show as a fundamentally intriguing (and gorgeous) TV experience and as a fundamentally broken adaptation of my favourite books. I truly enjoy the big ideas that I'm being exposed to every week (usually through poorly written and acted exposition, layered over scenes of uninteresting melodrama, to be sure) - but I'm also continuously shocked at how this emerged from Foundation.

For better and for worse, these are simply not the same stories - and the gulf between them is getting wider.

(Seriously though, 'feeling the future?' In FOUNDATION?)

Lee Pace and the emperors carrying the show

[bobetjo · 6/10 · 30 October 2021]

This show should be about the emperors. Lose Salvor Hardin and the Poundshop Foundation. Lose Gaal Dornick. Maybe even lose Sheldon since the show is a travesty of the books anyway. But Lee Pace is very watchable. The secrets of the three emperors, who are all clones of Cleon the First, would make a better story.

Sorry to say, most of the actors are not that charismatic. A few stand out but most would not be missed.

The emperor is the reason to watch!

[zoeyzoco-51741 · 8/10 · 8 November 2021]

The episode started off boring. Seems like there is 3 story lines. Gaal Dornicks/Hardins/The emperor... BUT the emperors story line is why I'm still watching! The power dynamic between his reign and the religion that challenges it, is very compelling to watch! Not a fan of the other story lines!

Worsening physics

[sundman · 29 October 2021]

This 1990s level of space physics in TV is really quite unacceptable now after we have seen The Expanse. Now everyone is getting used to somewhat accurate physics, so this episode's ridiculously bad physics sticks out like a sore thumb.

Only 84 pages for ASIMOV

[moviesfilmsreviewsinc · 9/10 · 22 June 2023]

The Homer vs. Patty and Selma Principle is a common narrative device in entertainment where viewers feel their sympathies shift towards an objectively terrible person when they face a newer, more aggressive opponent. This principle occurs when Homer is always wrong, but when Patty and Selma witness his buffoonery, they call him out in a cruel and cutting way, shifting the viewer's sympathies back to Homer despite his selfish behavior. Brother Day's verbal sparring with Zephyr Halima creates a dissonance in the viewer, as Day is seen as a narcissistic ruler incapable of envisioning the galaxy's thriving without him. Halima, on the other hand, condescendingly informs "Cleon" that he has no soul, implying that his myopic vision and self-preservation will likely lead to the destruction of the galactic empire. Halima's true-believer zealotry lacks a better alternative for the galaxy. Her speech in the previous episode solidified her position as the front-runner for Luminarians. Day's bargaining is hindered by Hari's promise of a religious defection, and he is willing to undergo a brutal ritual pilgrimage to quell it. This is done to alleviate his ego. "Mysteries And Martyrs" features Salvor and the Anacreons at the Invictus, a 700-year-old "crown jewel of the Galactic Fleet." The ship's defenses are still functioning, and two Anacreon corvettes have been destroyed. However, the cannons protecting the ship from assault are unable to lock onto smaller targets, so everyone must suit up and individually propel onto the ship's surface. The scene is beautiful, with the diffuse light of a nearby sun filtering through the asteroid field. Salvor drifts through space before being placed on the hull in a superhero crouch. Everyone else follows her, except for Hugo, who makes a sudden descent and goes idly catapulting off into space. The interior of the Invictus is filled with floating desiccated corpses and ice-crusted debris, and the ship's stillness is disturbed by pulsating lights. One of Terminus' tech experts brings aboard to repair the ship deduces it's a signal indicating when the ship will make another interstellar jump. A thousand years ago, a ship's jump drive malfunctioned, causing the crew to starve to death. Salvor and her captors have four hours to fix the drive before the next jump occurs, potentially sending them into the heart of a sun or never being heard from again. Phara's plan is to get the ship working to kamikaze the Invictus into the surface of Trantor, but Saldor and the Anacreons are determined to take the center of the galactic empire with them. Saldor wreangles the aged, non-combatants to fight back against their captors, but they are quickly subdued. The catwalks on the ship are closed to the bubbling, toxic liquid, making for a tense fight scene. Hugo is hoping Hugo is finding help and not just pulverized against an asteroid. This episode introduces digital ghosts, Hari, who lives as a sophisticated digital package of his memories and experiences. He reacts unexpectedly to events and deduces answers to suspected ones. Hari can also change his clothes, but this speculative technology is broad and not convincing. Hari confesses to Gaal that Raych murdered him due to a neurological disorder causing rapid mental degradation. The device of someone learning of their own mortality and becoming more willing to sacrifice their life is a bit too pat, but Hari understands the tenuous nature of his vision and is unwilling to contribute to its harm. The conversation between Hari and Gaal about the power of myth to drive people forward is maddening due to the show's insistence on avoiding the religious nature of Hari's plan. When Gaal mentions that the Foundation isn't a religion and Hari isn't a god, Hari weakly responds that gods are impervious to knives, which is a weak response, as gods die all the time. This tension is the fulcrum the show balances on, acting like they don't know it.

Building and building as more of Asimov's universe is pulled in

[ShippersAreEvil · 9/10 · 8 November 2022]

This series is building and building, drawing in from all of the lore of Asimov's combined universes - a lost ship, an attempted attack, and 3D Geopolitics. If only the "This Isn't Asimov Exclamation Mark Exclamation Mark" crew had actually bothered to read the books.

For the first time. I think, we hear the word "First Foundation" and see that Seldon had planned the Second, but his plan has gone somewhat awry. But its key component - the "mental sciences" and the rise of Mentalics are front and centre. Because of the way the source material was written this had to be retconned in the books, but can be introduced organically here

Meanwhile Empire still thinks he is playing poker, and is backed into a corner when he discovers Halima isn't engaged in a game of bluff.

And the Anacreon chess pieces still think they are the player....

Terrific, rich and complex, withholding what we want to know but don't need to just yet. Just fab.

A lot of missed opportunities

[KoenDrx · 6/10 · 29 October 2021]

Towards the end of the episode Jared Harris and Lou Llobell manage to elevate what was mostly a very bland episode that set out to check boxes to advance the story.

A lot of little small world building continuity details that could have been added to a more profound execution of set pieces and story make the characters feel empty for most of the episode.

Finally the big and intriguing answers.

[arthuroliveira-65367 · 10/10 · 29 October 2021]

The seventh episode was certainly as good as the pilot, as the show finally starts to show its circle closing and giving good and intriguing answers from the circle of the first season.

For those who complained that the series was not going anywhere, this episode finally shows what the series came to. Giving lots and lots of answers.

And for books purists, sincere question:

Did you really want the first book to be literally adapted? Because it's the driest and shortest in terms of character development. And if they literally adapted as in book 1, it would be a maximum of 5 episodes, because the stories are very short within the first novel. So what I mean is, yes, a lot of changes are needed.

It's getting engaging

[sribinqeacks · 7/10 · 30 October 2021]

This show was going so weak after the 2 episodes but this 7th episode will be a turning point.

Bcs the show just started to show the actual story lines.

Instead of building up thing for aalmost 6 ep finally it's on track so this is a better episode with engaging things happening!

But still lot yo improve.

Interesting

[kodak255 · 10/10 · 29 October 2021]

It was a pretty cool episode, we found out a lot. I love the vibe the episode gave , and keep me 48 min frozen in my TV . Only thing that i found a little confusing is making Gaal seeing the future lol. They should had stuck with numbers/mathematics probabilities. But anyway the episode was really good , hopefully we get a better explanation why she can see the future in the next episodes.

My wife hates Sci-fi but has fallen in love with the show

[tony07841709011 · 7/10 · 31 October 2021]

My wife who hasn't read any of the foundation books, didn't like the show until this episode.

She kept asking me whether the show mirrored the books and I didn't answer mainly because if I started to talk about the books her eyes would of rolled into the back of her head.

Me myself I love it.

- Superc...i mean Michael Burnham al rescate !!!

[batmanforever-93249 · 10/10 · 6 November 2021]

-This episode is better than the previous one,(only the second and the sixth episode were boring ) and even if i still don't get the religious part, i consider this as being good,even if the story looks now like some of the episodes from Star Trek Discovery season 2 mixed with Event Horizon (until now they copied Star Trek Discovery season 3 and Lost in Space season 2 ). Well, that is not so important,if the results are good enough and i have nothing to complain about this episode (excepting Michael Burnham's and her boyfriend's haircut , ofcourse ). I hope that is not sounding too ruff because i really recommend this episode and this show is pretty neat.

Cinematically good, but terrible plot

[configmgmt · 3/10 · 30 October 2021]

This episode reminds me of the Star Trek: The Next Generation where Weasley is a young boy genius on the Enterprise where he's working on creating a small scale tractor beam as a school experiment. Meanwhile the ship needs to be able to tractor something huge and the ship's chief engineer says it can't be done. Don't forget that tractor beams were part of the original Star Trek technology, but somehow it's gone now.

Weasley, boy genius that he is, is able to step up to a console and press a dozen buttons and, viola, suddenly the Enterprise has a working large scale tractor beam and the day is saved. So much for the memory of the greatest ships Chief Engineer Montgomery Scott.

Jump to Foundation, and some Foundation Environmental engineer after entering a derelict Empire ship says the ship's atmosphere is frozen and that there must me a hull breach somewhere. If there's a hull breach, wouldn't the atmosphere have escaped into the vacuum of space to equalize the difference in atmospheric pressure that humans live in? 14.7 force-pounds per sq inch is a lot of pressure.

So she states that the environmental systems must be off. When it's found, she steps up to the console and says it's archaic. Like Weasley, she punches a few buttons "to input manual code" and manages to seal the breach. Next she restores the atmosphere--from where??? It should have vented out the hull breach. But, let's not forget that the ship's crew suffocated and/or froze to death when the hull breached. Why didn't one of them quickly press some buttons to seal the hull breach?

She then states that they might have weather in the ship as the atmosphere regulates, but you see no signs of a sudden rush of air to fill a huge ship with 1 atm. The sheer fact of going from a vacuum to having 14.7 lbs of pressure hitting you suddenly staggers nobody? None of the floating bodies of the dead crew even twitch? The atmosphere was frozen, the ship is apparently cold, yet they are able to breath the new replacement atmosphere within a few seconds and no one's breath is producing fog as they exhale?

And, if the Empire's technology is so great as to be able to replace 1 atm of pressure that is apparently warm in just seconds without hurricane force winds, why isn't it advanced enough to automatically seal a hull breach without someone having to input manual instructions at a console?!

I get that the director/producers can't waste air time with waiting for physics, but how about a scenario where the ship suddenly vented and killed everyone, then the automatics sealed the ship and replaced the atmosphere?

Please, get some writers who've done SF television shows or get an SF advisor on the staff to review the writer's plots before filming.

Enjoyable and close.

[jeffdntx · 9/10 · 30 October 2021]

I read books a long time ago. I remember the basic story. The stories were inspiring at the time and the show is enjoyable and i keep watching it as a standalone vision of the show writers based on the books. Is it an exact copy, no. Can i enjoy this show yes. If you have watch a show up to seven episode (7 hours) and rate it a 1 or 2 or 3 etc., i would suggest find another show or re-read the books. Me i will continue watch and hope for more and other visions of foundational (sorry) tales.

Pseudoscience-Fiction

[corpusdza · 4/10 · 30 October 2021]

Issac Asimov, he must be rolling in his grave if he could see the Foundation series.

I have always thought that a televised series can be inspired by a book, making radical transformations in the story. What's more, I think that making some characters like Gaal Dornick, Salvor Hardin and Demerzel now women is really a positive achievement. The fundamental problem is not in the "modified history", but in the scientific substance of all Asimov's work. Considering that intuition and sudden emotional reactions are "superior" and more effective than mathematics and that a robot like Demerzel is guided by religion and dogmatism, rather than Asimov's famous Robotics Laws, presents me with a pseudoscientific vision. Unrelated to all the work of a scientist like Isaac Asimov, (including his works on the Old and New Testaments)

There's no hope left

[anthony-drogon · 3/10 · 29 October 2021]

That's it, I can now pinpoint the moment the show lost me.

I cannot for the love of me begin to understand why you'd kill a hostage Imperial Commander. You introduced the Great Huntress of Anachreon as highly intelligent, outsmarting her opponents, scheming her revenge for decades. And in 5 seconds she makes the dumbest move possible, putting her people's entire mission at risk.

How can anybody - let alone her - know this guy won't be needed 5 minutes later, for another door, or a system to grant access to? Or for his knowledge of Imperial ships? Or as a bargain in the future? Or as... meat if you're stranded. One airlock is apparently the only problem they're ever going to face; and that she'll of course end up being right is Dany-kind-of-forgot-about-the-Iron-Fleet level of stupidity. And on top of that, now the other hostages know they're killed as soon as they complete their mission, so why would they still help?

This farcical scene makes no sense in regards to any of the characters we've been introduced to, and its sole purpose is to create drama. And drama there was for sure: my hopes for this series to be salvaged are now dramatically exhausted.

Half of the show so far has been about the Anachreons attacking the Foundation so they could capture an Imperial Commander. And now we know why: so he could open an airlock and die.

Let that sink in for a good minute.

If that's the level of writing we should expect from now on, then I'm done.

mhm... its not getting better

[waltercarlucci · 5/10 · 29 October 2021]

I still have hopes for this saga, but this episode did not raise them. They basically abandon the books completely, this is not necessary that bad. Its gives them a lot of freedom... Well I hoped for more... The Invictus story is kind of weak, and we know what will happen. They will manage to fix and run a ship the size of a small country with 3 people... The worst is of course the end... " I can feel the future".... Yes of course that makes all kind of sense in book focused on logic and math. Sorry, I call BS...

Sci-Fi masterpiece turned into fantasy garbage.

[rbugnone · 1/10 · 30 October 2021]

What was supposed to be a transposition of one of the greatest masterpieces of Sci-Fi ever written has been turned into a garbage fire, which not only betrays the original premise of the show but now even failed at being part of its literary genre!

Ladies & gentlemen, with episode 7 Foundation is now officially a fantasy show since we have characters who can predict the future!

No, I'm not talking about "original Foundation" mathematical way of predicting the future, I'm talking about straight magical power future prediction!

Apparently Gaal Dornick wasn't enough of a Mary Sue, so they gave her a superpower!

And I'm pretty sure the same thing will be revealed for Salvor Hardin considering what we saw in the previous episodes!

Again, it's a pity because they had the budget to make something great, but they wasted it on this lame joke of a show instead. I feel sorry for the technicians who worked on this.

Disappointed

[hannes-gudjonsson · 3/10 · 30 October 2021]

This show just makes me sad.

As a sci-fi fan, having read the Foundation and Robot series, I've been looking forward for this show for years. In addition, I really like Jared Harris and Lee Pace so this show should really work for me but it doesn't!

After the first two episodes I realised that this was a flop and deviated too much from the books so I tried watching it as a stand alone sci-fi, focusing on the Cleon clones (which is a interesting plot but should not be applied here). But it's still bad sci-fi, poorly written, bad acting except for Lee, Harris and a few more. It's messy and stupid and just disappointing.

Harding's character is just ridiculous and that whole plot is pure stupidity. Also getting Seldon back as an electronic ghost is idiotic. I'm guessing Gaal will now be sent to start up the second foundation since she has 100 times more intuition than anyone in the books...

My rating so far has been 7-6-5-4-7-4-3 so who knows? With a bit of luck it will go uphill again.

I should stop watching but I guess I can't and will finish the season.

The reasons the haters are still watching is because

[Saadsak · 5/10 · 29 October 2021]

(a) we aren't haters. A lot of us signed up to see Asimov's classic thriller/adventure story. Instead we have gotten something like a preteens school play, albeit with worse acting and script. We are like the Advocate at Hari Seldon's trial, we can't believe that Asimov's masterpiece has vanished into Apple's soggy paws and been turned into this uninspiring mush. We don't know if the TV series will continue to decay for thirty thousand years, but the recent shows don't hold out much hope.

(b) We have a dream, without Seldon's mathematics as support but we still hope, that instead of sending its PR team to blindly award the series 10/10 every week, the showrunners will spend the money on some decent writers instead.

What??? Now it's a mystical thriller??? :))))))))

[athirn · 1/10 · 1 November 2021]

The hell was that?! Is it the highest level of storytelling we can get here? A banal vengeance story with a Wunderwaffe starship to destroy an entire planet and die as a hero. A religious battle for the hearts of some unknown planet. An astonishingly surprising gift of seeing the future with a circus tricks of catching a micrometeorite with a piece of glass. A defective Emperor clone who just wants to live a simple life. Nanobots and neurochips. Intelligent holograms and egoistic teenager scientists. Biohackers and anti-color-blindness lenses. An imprisoned nation and the Scar as a way to see the real sky and feel freedom. Useless fights with useless deaths.

Wow. Just freaking wow.

I have the same main question: why the hell did you drag Asimov's name into this nonsence?

Assimov wouldn't like this

[fmmarzoa · 3/10 · 30 October 2021]

As a random TV series, it could be entertaining if it didn't look so much like a remake of the already mediocre Star Trek Discovery, but definitely as an adaptation of Assimov's Foundation is an insult.

It took Asimov 84 pages

[vfduque · 4/10 · 2 November 2021]

It took Isaac Asimov 84 pages to cover the material supposedly handled in the first season, over 10 (!) chapters.

The showrunners bloated the material with background stories, not really making sense in the context of Foundation, and a bloated fantasy/action story, completely opposed to the original story, where intellect, not action wins the day....

Very, very disappointing.

I really don't care about the books and source material

[kamen-kunchev · 2/10 · 31 October 2021]

Very few things make sense now in this 7th episode. At this point it's all about wasting a unique opportunity to make TV history. Usually it takes a couple of seasons before a show gets unwatchable or simply boring, but here thing worsen by the episode.

First of all, everyone seems to be making irrational decisions but the good guys get away with it. Second, knowing and doing stuff right is just taken for granted. Third, somehow it's all part of some grand plan which is unraveling before our eyes regardless of what decisions are being made. Fourth and final, how did the Empire last for so many generations or even was established in the first place if everyone was so unhappy with it? It can't be all that bad if the Empire is willing to negotiate first with every faction and giving them what they want with just one word. Seems like a pretty cool regime to me. "We don't have enough water." - "OK, we will just build some planetary irrigation and water distribution system" - "Thanks, Empire!" - The end!

Sooooo boring

[moonelf-663-571610 · 3/10 · 30 October 2021]

Useless characters, nonsense dialogues, unbearable love stories. Plus all the more usual horrific stupid behaviors and terrible acting.

And in the end everything comes down to this boring, boring, boring show.