Isaac Asimov: the first five books of my Foundation series tell how one mathematician became a legend by predicting social forces at interplanetary scales.

Also Asimov: the 6th book will be a prequel about him being dunked on for months straight for not knowing liberal arts like at all. He gets owned so badly by experts in other fields that he repeatedly nearly dies. I’ll open each chapter with an excerpt from an encyclopedia written ten thousand years later that makes this period of Seldon’s life sound historically important and mysterious, but then the actual story is about how this moron doesn’t know the word “religious” or how to use an oven or clock. The novel will stress out the same types of readers who are bothered by It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia because if Craig Mazin, Charlie Day, and Megan Ganz wrote an episode called “Dennis invents Psychohistory” that work would be functionally identical to this novel to all but the shrewdest of branch managers of a regional paper company. While this novel is a prequel, it will advance readers’ understanding of the Foundation setting as ineffective Trantorian leaders trip over themselves trying to capture Seldon, while he continuously fails upward like Bill Murray in the film The Man Who Knew too Little so preposterously and frequently that it will become inescapably thematically clear that his Foundation can only inevitably do the same. I expect this will be a great comfort to readers.

Me: huh, that was a choice.

There's a new crisis right on our doorstep.

Foundation — Official Season 2 Sneak Peek | Apple TV+

It's me, the Jared that lives in your brain (and also your artifact)

Psychohistory isn't determinism, Poly. It's not a single path, but it is a landscape that sometimes narrows into a dangerous mountain pass that can't be avoided. That's why we call it a crisis. Seldon knew that in his first crisis that success would require action. And the action we took at that time had a name. Salvor Hardin. [...] I believe in psychohistory. I believe that the Empire is going to fall. And if we're smart, we're the ones to bring it down. Humans will wallow like beasts for a very long time, unless we use what Seldon gave us and walk through that blasted mountain pass with that fucking asshole, Hober Mallow.

I'm working a theory about the Seldon Crises. They're actually about Demerzel and the Cleons.

First Crisis: Demerzel is nurturing, like a mum or big sister would, and they turn into sociopathic assholes

Second Crisis: Demerzel is sexy, and they turn into complete morons

Prediction for Third Crisis: Demerzel will stop giving a fuck and will turn murderous. She'll kill/decant Cleons faster than it takes to open a Nutella jar.

Predictive Modelling is easy you guys!

FNG (i probably should sleep)

“Decant Cleons faster than it takes to open a Nutella jar.”

Yep, yep, yep. I like your prediction, Dr Seldon.

(Because if you try to read the original, you'll get hit with a paywall. This article was originally published in 2021.)

By Paul Krugman

The blogger John Rogers once noted that there are two novels that can shape the lives of bookish 14-year-olds: "Atlas Shrugged" and "The Lord of the Rings". One of these novels, he asserted, is a childish fantasy that can leave you emotionally stunted; the other involves orcs.

Well I was a bookish 14-year-old, but my touchstones were two different novels:

Isaac Asimov’s “Foundation” and Frank Herbert’s “Dune.”

Many social scientists, it turns out, are science fiction readers. For example, quite a few experts on international relations who I know are fanatics about the TV version of “The Expanse.” I think it’s because good science fiction involves building imaginary worlds that are different from the world we know, but in interesting ways that relate to the attempt to understand why society is the way it is.

Anyway, that’s my excuse for devoting today’s newsletter not to the latest scary developments in politics and economics but to a much happier event: the U.S. release of a wonderful, satisfying film version of “Dune” — the first movie I’ve seen in a theater since the pandemic began.

Before I get there, however, a word about the new “Foundation” TV series, which is being released one episode a week on Apple TV.

The “Foundation” trilogy had a huge impact on my teenage self. For those who’ve never read it, it’s about social scientists who use their knowledge to save galactic civilization. I wanted to be Hari Seldon, the brilliant mathematician who leads the effort; this economics thing was as close as I could get.

“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. But after each crisis, Seldon’s prerecorded hologram appears to explain to everyone what just happened and why the successful resolution was inevitable given the laws of history.

So how does the Apple TV series turn this into a visually compelling tale? It doesn’t. What it does instead is remake “Star Wars” under another name. There are indispensable heroes, mystical powers, even a Death Star. These aren’t necessarily bad things to include in a TV series, but they’re completely antithetical to the spirit of Asimov’s writing. Pretending that this series has anything to do with the “Foundation” novels is fraudulent marketing, and I’ve stopped watching.

Now on to “Dune.” The book is everything “Foundation” isn’t: There’s a glittering, hierarchical society wracked by intrigue and warfare, a young hero of noble birth who may be a prophesied Messiah, a sinister but alluring sisterhood of witches, fierce desert warriors and, of course, giant worms.

And yes, it’s fun. When I was a teenager, my friends and I would engage in mock combat in which the killing blow had to be delivered slowly to penetrate your opponent’s shield — which will make sense if you read the book or watch the movie.

Now on to “Dune.” The book is everything “Foundation” isn’t: There’s a glittering, hierarchical society wracked by intrigue and warfare, a young hero of noble birth who may be a prophesied Messiah, a sinister but alluring sisterhood of witches, fierce desert warriors and, of course, giant worms.

And yes, it’s fun. When I was a teenager, my friends and I would engage in mock combat in which the killing blow had to be delivered slowly to penetrate your opponent’s shield — which will make sense if you read the book or watch the movie.

What makes “Dune” more than an ordinary space opera are two things: its subtlety and the richness of its world-building.

Thus, the Bene Gesserit derive their power not from magic but from deep self-control, awareness and understanding of human psychology. The journey of Paul Atreides is heroic but morally ambiguous; he knows that if he succeeds, war and vast slaughter will follow.

And the world Herbert created is given depth by layers of cultural references. He borrowed from Islamic and Ayurvedic traditions, from European feudalism and more — “Dune” represents cultural appropriation on a, well, interstellar scale. It’s also deeply steeped in fairly serious ecological thinking.

So why was the 1984 film a disaster? Because the director — yes, David Lynch — either didn’t grasp the subtlety and richness or decided that audiences couldn’t handle it. That is, he did to “Dune” what Apple TV has done to “Foundation.” For example, in the book there’s the “weirding way of battle,” which is about using psychology and deception to overcome foes; in Lynch’s film this was replaced with some kind of gadget.

The great thing about Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune: Part I” is that he respects the audience enough to retain the book’s spirit. He trimmed the narrative to reduce it to filmable size — and even so, his two and a half hours cover only the first half of the book — but he didn’t dumb it down. Instead, he relies on spectacle and spine-tingling action to hold our attention despite the density of the story. In so doing he made a film worthy of the source material.

I wouldn’t say that this “Dune” matches the vision I had when reading the book. It’s better. The visuals surpass my imagination — those ornithopters! The actors give the characters more depth than the book’s author previously had in my mind.

Will this labor of love sell to a mass audience (and allow Villeneuve to finish his story)? The early box office looks good, and this does seem like the kind of film people will see twice — I did — so sales may hold up longer than usual. But I guess we’ll find out.

In any case, all of us former bookish 14-year-olds finally have the “Dune” movie we always wanted to see. Sometimes, things actually do go right.

Foundation, Season 2: You Can Put The Haterade Down Now

One thing that kind of surprised me about the first season of this show was just how many haters came out of the woodwork to proclaim their disdain for it. I couldn't understand that-- the original source material covers something like a thousand years or so and had they done a page-to-screen adaptation, pure and simple, it would have been... boring, quite honestly.

No, what Apple has done is what I wish that Amazon would have done with The Wheel of Time: they've put some money behind this thing, and as a result, even if you have issues with the adaptation of the show-- which, in general, I don't, then you can at least acknowledge that it looks beautiful.

Season 2 picks up about a century after we last saw our heroes and the Second Crisis predicted by Hari Seldon (Jared Harris) is approaching. This time around, however, we get multiple Seldons. There's the one on Terminus, hanging in his vault, popping out to send mysterious messages to the waiting crowds like 'HOBER MALLOW' which people eventually figure out. It turns out, in the time jump forward, the Cleons (Lee Pace, Terrence Mann, and Cassian Bilton) have assumed that Terminus is long gone and haven't bothered to double-check, so the Foundation is now spreading the 'gospel of Seldon' as a religion to neighboring planets and is starting to attract attention. Mallow (Dmitri Leonidas)-- who isn't a priest, but a ne'er do well merchant of sorts, gets tracked down by a couple of the clerics- Poly (Kulvinder Ghir) and Constant. (Isabella Laughland)

Back on Trantor, a fresh trio of Cleons is confronted with some unusual happenings: someone sends assassins to try and kill Day, who has made the momentous decision to end the genetic dynasty and marry to produce heirs. (Also, he's sleeping with Demerzel (Laura Birn) now, which is... weird. Dusk is especially weirded out by it, but few others seem to comment on it.) Naturally, his decision to seek a bride-- in this case, Queen Sareth I (Ella Rae-Smith) of the Cloud Dominion makes Dusk and Dawn a little nervous, as once the baby is born, it sort of makes them irrelevant. Happily for them, before Day can go too much further with his plans, he catches wind of something going on in the Outer Rim and finds out that the Foundation has survived thanks to renegade General Bel Riose. (Ben Daniels)

The second one is on flooded Synnax with Gaal (Lou Llobell) and Salvor (Leah Harvey) and he's a little upset because he's been trapped inside the Prime Radiant pretty much the entire time and it hasn't been fun for him.

Gaal and Salvor do acknowledge this, but point out that they're going to need some help getting off the planet and Mobile Seldon after some reluctance- for obvious, 'you trapped me in the Prime Radiant for like a hundred years' reasons, agrees to do so. They start exploring Gaal and Salvor's mental abilities- and Gaal sees a vision from 150 years in the future where a powerful Mentalic called The Mule (Mikael Persbrandt) kills Salvor. Desperate to prevent that, they answer the mental call from the planet Ignis, where they find a colony of Mentalics, who seem welcoming at first, but their leader Tellem (Rachel House) takes them captive instead and the trio- which turns into a duo after Mobile Seldon is (seemingly) killed by Tellem have to figure out how to break free and defeat Tellem.

Eventually, they do-- but at a cost. Salvor sacrifices her life to prevent Gaal from being killed-- and proves that the future can be changed because her death now means that her vision of the future can't have come true. Gaal and Mobile Seldon agree to enter cryostasis for a century or so, waking up once a year to teach the nascent new Second Foundation.

Back with the other Seldon, the second crisis has arrived- though it doesn't go the way that Empire thinks it will though. Mallow cuts a deal with the Spacers to deny Empire the use of hyperspace and they start a chain reaction that slowly destroys the Imperial fleet, even as Empire sends the wreck of Invictus spinning down to the planet where everyone and everything is seemingly destroyed. Day is kicked out an airlock by Riose and then Mallow and Riose await their fate together while Constant is set adrift in a converted cleaning module, hoping that someone will pick her up.

On Trantor, Demerzel is outsmarted- kind of. Dusk finds out the truth about her (the standout episode, "Long Ago, Not Far Away" fills in a lot of the gaps) and her programming means that she will stay loyal to the genetic dynasty above all, so Dusk is killed to protect her secret. Sareth-- with child- and Dawn flees and Demerzel- with a copy of the Prime Radiant decants three new Emperors and just keeps on keeping on-- at least for now.

It turns out that Constant does survive and gets picked up by Seldon's vault and it turns out to be a little TARDIS-like, since it's bigger on the inside and can hold the entire populace of Terminus.

We flash forward to the future, where a crazed-looking Mule vows to find Gaal Dornick, as he senses her presence.

Overall: Look, you can put down the Haterade now, people: this is a good show. It might even wind up being a great show and-- it's not that far off from the books. It might be one of those rare adaptations that- and I realize I'm treading on some very thin ice here- improves upon the source material?

I know that's going to seem like heresy to a lot of sci-fi fans and I respect that. If Asimov is your do-or-die and you expected something closer to the books with this adaptation, I get it. You can be made-- but with adaptations, you've got to figure out how to bring new viewers in without them having to read the books first and if you're really good at what you do, you'll inspire new viewers/people who haven't read the books to maybe go check them out. Either way, I think people are going to be reading those books that maybe wouldn't have before and so, even if you disagree with it or hate the adaptation, I'm going to come down on the side of this being a good, solid adaptation-- maybe even a great one. (I mean, come on y'all: the source material did have some issues.)

That's not to say that it's not without potential problems. I don't know if you can keep leaning on Gaal Dornick if you go much beyond the next season or so. If she keeps freezing herself to jump ahead, I'm going to hope that the character at least suffers some side effects or something. It's going to start straining credibility a bit if she just keeps getting iced to go between seasons and jump ahead in time.

I'm also intrigued by the Seldon Vault and where they're going... because that is definitely not in the books either, so I'm kind of curious to see what they do with it.

My Grade: Stop hating, this is good and potentially great science fiction that while not a perfect adaptation of its source material does right by it at the very least. **** out of ****

Todos los imperios deben caer… “Fundación · Temporada 2”

Basada en las historias de Isaac Asimov, la serie gira en torno a cuatro personas cruciales que trascienden el tiempo y el espacio mientras superan obstáculos que determinarán el destino de la humanidad.

Sinopsis: Mientras los Cleon se desmoronan, una reina vengativa planea destruir el Imperio desde adentro. Hari, Gaal y Salvor descubren una colonia de mentálicos con habilidades psiónicas que amenazan con alterar la psicohistoria misma. La Fundación ha entrado en su fase religiosa, promulgando la Iglesia de Seldon en todo el Alcance Exterior e incitando a la Segunda Crisis, la guerra con el Imperio.

Estreno: 14 de julio de 2023 en Apple TV+.

La segunda temporada cuenta con las actuaciones de Lee Pace, Jared Harris, Lou Llobell, Leah Harvey, Laura Birn, Cassian Bilton, Terrence Mann, Isabella Laughland, Kulvinder Ghir, Ella Rae Smith, Holt McCallany, Rachel House, Nimrat Kaur, Ben Daniels y Dimitri Leonidas.

David S. Goyer y los protagonistas atendiendo la premiere de la segunda temporada el 29 de junio de 2023 en Londres, Inglaterra

what im gonna be up to this week:

sydney adamu from the bear fanart. shes holding a sledge hammer. shes the best!!! i want her to succeed and her star please please pleaaaase STARS OH FUCK I GOTTA ADD STARS

next is gonna a nimona fanart. i need to find a ~metal~ pose for her first tho. and fun!!! it MUST be fun!!! (spoilers stop reading for real) Those Two will not get fanart from this man, for i have yet to process their amusing fallout and ten minute divorce and then 🥺🥺

there’s this house design project that was my final 3 years ago. i almost flunked it and i am not confortable with my proposal. and for the last years, every vacation period i say ‘i’m finally redoing it!!’ and then i dont. well. im an architect now and i gotta do it or else i will live in shame of knowing i did a shit job

read foundation’s edge!! its getting gooood tbh. i think i know where this is going but wow i like the unreasonably long explanatory conversations asimov fills this book with. also: fuck the series man. i was so fucking excited when they announced it, i thought apple tv could be trusted with not butchering it and the first episodes were all right (the proposed lore about the genetic dynasty and trantor ARE interesting)… BUT!!! spoilers blahblah WHAT THE FUCK ARE DORNICK AND HARDIN LIVING AT THE SAME TIME??? these protagonists should do their part in history and then we move the fuck on. that episodic pace of the trilogy spanning 4 centuries makes it amazing and those fucking assholes just barely sorta covered the first crisis in the entire season???!!!!! gaLAXy shut UP about these peoples personal lives and get to the part in which they outsmart fucking interstellar KINGDOMS!!!!! and seldon’s vault is OUTDOORS?? fuck off man

i wanna watch the shining again! maybe carrie but the newer one (i like the murdering effects better) maybe even citizen kane or y tu mamá también! i have a letterboxd now and i gotta inform myself on the classics u know

mmm i should write a synopsis and some basic character descriptions for my death note oc’s so i can post the art i already made. i’ve been trying to make the Perfect tumblr theme to condense all that info but im probably wasting my time there. should i just do a word file and use links? i really wanna hyperlink it. thats fun

thats it:)

Isaac Asimov’s Foundation Season 2 teaser

Apple TV+ has shared a teaser trailer for Foundation Season 2 and announced that the first episode will premiere on July 14 A hundred-year time jump. That’s what we’re contending with when Foundation returns to Apple TV+ in July. The massive timeline suits the scale of the show, which stars Lee Pace (in an increasingly dramatic series of costumes) as one of a trio of clone emperors whose time has long since come.  The synopsis for the coming season is very dramatic:   More than a century after the season one finale, tension mounts throughout the galaxy in Foundation season two. As the Cleons unravel, a vengeful queen plots to destroy Empire from within. Hari, Gaal and Salvor discover a colony of Mentalics with psionic abilities that threaten to alter psychohistory itself. The Foundation has entered its religious phase, promulgating the Church of Seldon throughout the Outer Reach and inciting the Second Crisis: war with Empire. The monumental adaptation of Foundation chronicles the stories of four crucial individuals transcending space and time as they overcome deadly crises, shifting loyalties and complicated relationships that will ultimately determine the fate of humanity. Foundation also stars Jared Harris, Lou Llobell, and Leah Harvey; the returning cast includes Laura Birn (as a conflicted android), Cassian Bilton, and Terrence Mann. Season two introduces a whole new pile of characters, as seems inevitable when we’re jumping a century into the future: Ben Daniels (Bel Riose), Kulvinder Ghir (Poly Verisof), Rachel House (Tellem Bond), Nimrat Kaur (Yanna Seldon), Isabella Laughland (Brother Constant), Dimitri Leonidas (Hober Mallow), Holt McCallany (Warden Jaegger Fount), and Ella-Rae Smith (Queen Sareth of Cloud Dominion). Foundation, which is co-created and show run by David S. Goyer, returns with weekly episodes beginning July 14th on Apple TV. Read the full article

Foundation 2nd Season: Cora Buhlert, Joel McKinnon, and Paul Levinson discuss

Welcome to Light On Light Through, Episode 361, in which Cora Buhlert, Joel McKinnon, and I talk about the second season of Foundation on Apple TV+.

Relevant links:

our discussion of the first season of Foundation

my reviews of the 2nd season of Foundation (with links to reviews of the 1st)

Cora Buhlert's reviews of the 2nd season of Foundation

Joel McKinnon's Seldon Crisis podcast

Check out this episode!

The Future of Foundation with David Goyer

Thank you for checking out our Foundation Season 2 Interview with showrunner David Goyer! In this exclusive interview, we sit down with the incredibly talented writer, director, and showrunner for his work on The Dark Knight trilogy, Man of Steel, and more. Dive into the future of "Foundation" with our exclusive interview featuring the series' brilliant showrunner, David Goyer! In this in-depth conversation, Goyer unveils tantalizing hints and secrets about what lies ahead in the next seasons of the show. Get ready for a captivating journey as we explore the visionary mind behind this epic adaptation of Isaac Asimov's novels. Join us as we decode the mysteries of the series and gain unique insights into the grand narrative that's set to shape the galactic future. But that's not all! In this interview, Goyer goes beyond the screen! He offers a behind-the-scenes look at the creative process and the intricate world-building that makes "Foundation". From character development to the blending of science fiction and philosophy, this conversation delves deep into the making of the series. Whether you're a die-hard fan or new to the "Foundation" universe, this interview promises to be an enlightening and thrilling exploration of the series' past, present, and the exciting path it's forging ahead. Don't miss out on this exclusive peek into the world of "Foundation" and its exciting journey to come! Synopsis: More than a century after the season one finale, tension mounts throughout the galaxy in “Foundation” season two. As the Cleons unravel, a vengeful queen plots to destroy Empire from within. Hari, Gaal, and Salvor discover a colony of Mentalics with psionic abilities that threaten to alter psychohistory itself. The Foundation has entered its religious phase, promulgating the Church of Seldon throughout the Outer Reach and inciting the Second Crisis: war with Empire. The monumental adaptation of “Foundation” chronicles the stories of four crucial individuals transcending space and time as they overcome deadly crises, shifting loyalties, and complicated relationships that will ultimately determine the fate of humanity. Read the full article

Las grandes adaptaciones a la obra de Isaac Asimov que puedes ver si te gustó la serie ‘Fundación’

La segunda temporada de la serie Fundación no solo profundiza en el universo de la producción. También es un recorrido por la larga saga literaria de Isaac Asimov, uno de los escritores más célebres de la historia. En la segunda temporada de la serie Fundación, de Apple TV+, las predicciones más pesimistas de Hari Seldon (Jared Harris) comienzan a cumplirse. Lo que incluye la Segunda Crisis, que…

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I just finished reading the first two Foundation books by Isaac Asimov's.

I started reading these since I was curious about the Apple series and figured I should read the books first, like a good little nerd.

These books consist of stories that each have to do with a crisis that Foundation needs to overcome. The first story in Foundation sets the... foundation for the rest of the books.

There is a great galactic empire that is slowly failing. One man named Hari Seldon, using a psychology called psychohistory, can predict based on societal trends that the empire will fall into 30,000 years of war and barbarism. But he can curtail that and only have it fall into 1,000 years, if he can establish The Foundation.

During these 1,000 years the Foundation will be met with crisis they have to overcome. With each crisis, Seldon shows up in a special vault and tells them how they did a good job overcoming the said crisis and what it means.

Each story follows this pattern. We jump in time, there is a crisis where a different member of Foundation has to solve a problem. And every time they win.

And for the most part these are super interesting crises with fun characters solving the problems. But there is always an assurance that these characters will prevail since Seldon predicted it.

Then we get to the 2nd book. Only 2 stories with the second one being much longer than the first.

The first story has quite a bad ending. The problem solves itself as the main characters are traveling back home after failing horribly. It shows that Seldon and Foundation will win no matter what.

Which is a fantastic setup for the second story in which halfway through the Seldon crisis is revealed... and it's wrong, and Foundation Falls.

This second story, The Mule, is an astounding read and definitely the most interesting since it has characters struggling without Seldon's safety net. (Having a speaking female main character helps) with a really good villain and a great twist.

I'm reading another book before I read the next Foundation book, but I am honestly very excited.

I highly recommend these first 2 Foundation books as they really hold up. Aside from women barely mattering and when one is finally a man character, people attribute her confidence for a manly quality. Written in the 1950s, so, what can ya do?