Now available on Apple TV.

I'm enjoying it so far. Great series.

Invasion is back next month. And the new Alien TV series on the 12th.

 

 

Is this based on Issac Asimov's "Foundation" series?  I've seen this series yet.  Looks interesting.

Yep, it is indeed. Fantastic series in my opinion.

 

Wow, I'm going to have to watch this then.  Thanks Martin.  I read the series probably ~40 yrs ago, really enjoyed it😃  Good old Hari Seldon.

High praise from The Guardian on the new Alien:Earth show. I'm intrigued. How much can they squeeze out of that old chestnut?

9 hours ago, tdflightsim said:

Is this based on Issac Asimov's "Foundation" series?  I've seen this series yet.  Looks interesting.

It takes the name, waves the book at the audience and then goes on to completely do its own thing. You may or may not enjoy that thing, but it has little to do with the novels.

5 hours ago, HiFlyer said:

It takes the name, waves the book at the audience and then goes on to completely do its own thing. You may or may not enjoy that thing, but it has little to do with the novels.

 

I have no issue with it not accurately following the book. Its a well made, well written, well acted series. That's all I require. For me, if I want the book, I'll read the book. 😏

In a time of nonsense like the new Star Trek attempts, where they run around singing through an entire episode and have to say cringe worthy lines, its a refreshing change. 😁

 

5 hours ago, speedyTC said:

High praise from The Guardian on the new Alien:Earth show. I'm intrigued. How much can they squeeze out of that old chestnut?

 

Starts on the 12th, I believe. The critics have praised it. Let's hope we agree with the critics, which isn't always the case.

Old chestnut is an apt description. Its the Predator series that annoys me, in that they seem to have little courage and just stick to the same old theme. 

10 minutes ago, martin-w said:

I have no issue with it not accurately following the book. Its a well made, well written, well acted series. That's all I require. For me, if I want the book, I'll read the book. 😏

I just hate the falseness of advertising something to draw in the fans of that thing, and then pulling a bait and switch with something completely different from showrunners who take a studios money, then go ahead and make something of their own that likely never would have been funded except for the pretense that they were developing an established property with a built-in audience.

10 minutes ago, HiFlyer said:

I just hate the falseness of advertising something to draw in the fans of that thing, and then pulling a bait and switch with something completely different from showrunners who take a studios money, then go ahead and make something of their own that likely never would have been funded except for the pretense that they were developing an established property with a built-in audience.

 

I get what you are saying. Advertising ploys like that are commonplace. Annoying, as you say but  I just watch the series and judge it on how good it is.

Has that annoyance stopped you from watching the series? 

9 hours ago, martin-w said:

Has that annoyance stopped you from watching the series? 

Yes. Love the special effects, but cant really get into the melodrama of the story with a robot that seems to always be in tears..... And the whole genetic dynasty... well, if they wanted to do all that, they should have made their own show about it and called it something else, then waited to see if it could draw any viewers on its own merits.

17 hours ago, HiFlyer said:

It takes the name, waves the book at the audience and then goes on to completely do its own thing. You may or may not enjoy that thing, but it has little to do with the novels.

Is this a case of "Foundation", based on characters created by Isaac Asimov?  🙂 

There's a market for that kind of thing.  Not everyone will like it though.  How close is it to fan fiction?

Hook

27 minutes ago, LHookins said:

s this a case of "Foundation", based on characters created by Isaac Asimov?  🙂 

There's a market for that kind of thing.  Not everyone will like it though.  How close is it to fan fiction?

Its not horrible science fiction. Its probably even pretty good. But its terrible as a representation of the Foundation novels. This is foundation via people who really wanted to be doing something of their own, but are being paid to do Foundation.

They've settled for high science fiction that is Foundation-ish.

Call it Dune-Foundation.

EDIT: (interjection) That video of the destruction of the Space Elevator is why I think it will be a long time, if ever, before we have one in reality. Crazy people means human beings can't have nice things.

Edited August 11, 2025Aug 11 by HiFlyer

2 hours ago, HiFlyer said:

with a robot that seems to always be in tears..... And the whole genetic dynasty... well, if they wanted to do all that, they should have made their own show about it 

 

I dont recall the robot always being in tears.

If you think they should have made their own show, then pretend they have, watch it, and enjoy it. I feel that if you actually watched it you might enjoy it.

I mean it does say "based" on Asimov's Foundation. 

Anyway, viewing figures are high, so hopefully we'll get a season 4.

3 hours ago, LHookins said:

Is this a case of "Foundation", based on characters created by Isaac Asimov?  🙂 

41 minutes ago, martin-w said:

I mean it does say "based" on Asimov's Foundation. 

Well, there you have it. 🙂

I've pretty much given up on having expectations.  "Lord of the Rings" really was Tolkien.  "Dune" was Herbert, best I can remember.  "Starship Troopers" was not Heinlein, but was an amusing bit of fluff and worth watching.  "Master and Commander" was passable O'Brien.  "John Dies at the End" was as insane as Pargin's book.  The various James Bond movies usually followed the books, but not always.  Mostly pretty good.  The first "Casino Royale" movie wasn't good, barely based on the book, but got me started reading the entire series.

You expected "Foundation" and got something else.  Maybe we should have gotten "Foundation" first, then gone off to stories set in the Foundation universe.  Look at Star Wars and Star Trek.  Or don't. 🙂 

Hook

TV is a different  medium to a book, of course. Books are usually broud in scope with lots of subplots, adapting that to a one hour episode isn't always easy or appropriate.