Foundation: The First Season

A couple of months ago, I provided a preview of this new show: Foundation, a television adaptation of Isaac Asimov's classic series. Now that the first season is done, I will give this update with very mild spoilers -- stuff that should be evident early on in the season.

Overall, I'm impressed, and I'm happy to hear that Season 2 has been green-lit. This first season covers the first two sections of the first book (also called Foundation), covering roughly the first 50 years of the 1000. It also hints at later happenings. If you would like a quick overview of the plot, you can check out my preview, but otherwise, I'm just going to keep on going.

As I stated before, the Emperor clones (Dawn, Day, and Dusk) are just not in the book at all. These people are 99% created in addition to what Asimov wrote. At one point I was concerned, but in the end, I don't think it detracted at all from the main story. It's because Goyer and company did a good job at keeping it interesting. As the Empire begins its decline, we can explore how they react -- should they believe Hari Seldon's predictions? Should they try to stop the decline? Should they ignore it? We watch as four generations of emperors progress, all reacting differently.

The events around Terminus are also mostly fabricated (that is, they are not in the book), and some main actors are in the wrong place, but I didn't mind too much. Some events did get some eye rolls, but on the most part it was interesting. The main thing that's supposed to happen -- the First Crisis -- pretty much happens as it's supposed to.

But there is one glaring error -- or maybe not an error -- that I think would anger many Asimov fans. I'm still hoping there's an explanation. Very early on, we learn that a robot has the ability to harm a human, or allow a human to be harmed. And I'm not understating this -- this is a VERY BIG ISSUE.

The Foundation series and the Robots series happen in the same universe, and all robots are instilled with the three Laws of Robotics:

1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.

2. A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.

3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.

In the TV series, the robot explains that it must harm humans because it's ordered to do so. But wait just a minute, Dr. Eggman. The Second Law states that no one can order a robot to harm a human.

And I know -- Asimov fans know that there are a couple of exceptions to these laws -- under extenuating circumstances. It could be that this robot has a very good reason for hurting that person -- but I'll go ahead and let you know now -- this is NOT resolved in Season 1.

But hey -- I'm actually looking forward to Season 2. This is evidently one of these shows where it's best to sit back and relax, divorce it from the book, and enjoy it as its own entity. The parts that so happen to match the books are added bonuses. I strongly recommend this to anyone looking for a different and interesting perspective on the Foundation series.