Basic Instructions by Scott Meyer for October 23, 2023

Small stuff — “A Selden Crisis In A Teapot.”

They really messed up “I Robot” so where’s the surprise?

After the 1998 movie that was named “Godzilla”, I started wishing there was a way to sue the entertainment industry. The Foundation series just reinforces that desire.

The movie World War Z was described as being faithful to the title of the novel.

It’s difficult to know if the writing or the science was worse in Foundation (the Asimov version, I’ve not seen the series).

It’s such a treat when the Apple Foundation series does serve up a tidbit of the story from the book. Kind of like spotting a heavily-madeup celebrity in a cameo role.

Asimov was interesting; he could visualize psychohistory & a world in which humankind had metastasized throughout galaxies – but in which atomic energy was still the end-all, everyone smoked tobacco, and everyone was shocked when a woman worked outside the home……..

He spoke at the college my dad taught at; as Dad was Chair of the Chemistry Dept., and Isaac was a chemist, my folks hosted the reception, He spent the whole evening talking to my my – who was quite charmed by him.

It came from Hollywood? ’Nuff said…

I was really excited to see Foundation was being made into a series. Watched one episode; what a sad joke.

Hollywood putting out “in name only” adaptations is an old thing. Why do people keep falling for it? I guess nostalgia is one heck of a drug.

Let’s not forget that Asimov was limited by what was both futuristic and would sell. He couldn’t go too far from society norms or he’d never sell a story. The concept of psychohistory was a huge leap, keeping the rest of the story grounded in the time in which Asimov wrote (nuclear power being all the rage, men in all the important roles), was the touchstone that kept people grounded.

Since then society has changed. Art evolves with society. There’s no telling what Asimov would have written today.

Personally, I like Apple’s fresh take on the concept.

This sort of thing makes me glad I don’t have time for television.

Modern Disney, Amazon and Netflix are certainly huge offenders in this category. Fortunately, they don’t have the rights to change the original material.

I never watch shows based on books I’ve already read. If they’re faithful, I feel like I’m wasting my time. If not, they’re rarely better.

The books didn’t need a “plucky teenage sidekick”… yet somehow for this series to get greenlighted…

Well, as they could not recast the whole series every few episodes – when the story jumps 50 years or more – it was NEVER going to be the same series. Even if they did, there would have to be interminable voice overs and introductions to explain what had happened.

There was a reason it was considered ‘Unfilmable’.

The answer is simple: people not buying their “product.”

Read a book, for gosh sakes!!!

I gave up on American television 20 years ago, turning my tv watching to Britbox and DeutscheWelle

Asimov’s Foundation books were boring af! Any TV series was bound to be worse.

I recently re-read the fifteen or so books in the Foundation series. So you can assume I’m a fan, but the tv series was one of the most disappointing adaptations I have ever seen.