Foundation: The Leap

 "It's time the dynasty bent..."

Oh my. That was an eventful finale and, ultimately, a rather good one. This season hasn't been excellent but it has, I think, been very good, as much where is departs from canon- inevitable and sensible- as where it follows it.

The big set piece of Hari Seldon in the Vault works well, despite necessary changes- this is not a hologram, but a resurrection, courtesy of magic nanobits, who will awaken only for each Seldon Crisis and then, presumably, live in the new civilisation created by both Foundations. Everything the people of Terminus knew was wrong but, although hurt, they accept it. They, Thespis and Anacreon plausibly unite. So far, so broadly similar to the novel.

But then we turn to the three Cleons. Brother Day's punishment for Azura is truly horrific, proving him to be a tyrant and symbol of a dynasty that must fall. His mercy for Dawn, to the fury of Dusk, is predictable after his religious experiences; we must not have stagnation.

Less predictable, yet utterly logical, is Demerzel's sudden killing of Dawn. She is loyal to the dynasty.

Yet there is a sting in the tale; the rebels have affected the genetics of all future Cleons, starting generations ago. The emperors will evolve. Will this assist their survival? Time will tell.

Both Day and Demerzel have lost a beloved child, although the reaction of Demerzel is more.,.. human. Parenthood is a big theme here, not least for Salvor Hardin, who discovers her genetic heritage. And meets her genetic mother. Yeah, bombshell upon bombshells.

What next?

Foundation: The Missing Piece

 "I would not wish that emptiness on anyone..."

Again, we are moving away from the novels here-although there's some interesting use of the mythology here- what is the history of the Spacers here? Were they the first to leave Earth, with their robots? Did we have the fifty Spacer worlds? Time will tell. Certainly, Demerzel is the last sentient robot.

As we see in the A plot, with the middle Cleon taking the extreme pilgrimage- a true sacrifice for one who has never known physical discomfort- for clear politcal gain, there's a contrast between the Emperor and his positronic assistant. She, a robot, has a soul. He, ironically in more ways than one, does not. The whole theme is dealt with superbly, from Demerzel's tears at the murder she must perform, to the fact that she, a robot, saw a vision... and he did not.

Gaal eventually gets to escape Hari and will get home... in 138 years. But we get some exposition. The Second Foundation, still "Star's End", is on Seldon's native Helicon and is to remain secret even to Terminus... but we are told no more than this, just tantalised.

Salvor's victory over the Anacreonians is clever, if desperate. But the ancient ship Invictus is fascinationg. Before Spacers... or, perhaps, before the Spacer worlds had been rediscovered?- navigators were surgically wired to the ship. Wow.

It is, I suppose, too soon to judge how far we are moving from the novels. But I'm enjoying this.

Foundation: Mysteries and Martyrs

 "The Empire must be protected from mistakes. Like me."

This is an extraprdinary episode, full of revelation and, as good dramas do, wrapping up all the copious exposition in character development and drama.

Hari, it seems, uploaded himself to an AI afterlife at the point of death. Raych knew everything and was in on it; his execution is truly tragic. And Gaal was supposed to lead the Foundation on Terminus... the "First" Foundation. Those of us who have read the novels realise the implications of this.

It's a great scene, with a furious clash between the two geniuses and a realisation that Gaal is... different. With precognitive instincts. This is huge. 

Meanwhile, we learn more of Brother Dawn's horrible gilded cage. It's not the colour blindness; there are other differences. And he must expend effort to hide them every waking second, or he will be killed and replaced with one of many spare Cleons, grown in a vat. It's the perfect metaphor for monarchy- a monarch cannot be an individual and is not free. They all live in gilded cages. They live lives of luxury, but all of them are slaves.

And then we have Salvor and her ever-decreasing number of friends- she mourned her father lastvepisode, now she loses Hugo too, who had such faith in her- as the Anacreonians force them to repair the legendary ghost ship Invictus, with its randomised jump drive. The concept is blilliant.

And then there's Brother Day, concerned by Demerzel's conflicted loyalties with her religion, and with a problem of religious politics to solve, of a type Seldon predicted. So he, the Emperor, resolves to undertake the most arduous pilgrimage possible...

This is superb, the best episode yet, however much it may diverge.

Foundation: Death and the Maiden

 "Hari said an entire galaxy can pivot around the actions of an individual."

Hmm. Not sure he did, love. Psychohistory sees only multitudes, not individuals. That's sort of the point. But never mind. The episode, and the series, are awesome regardless.

I mean, we actuallly meet some Spacers; this is indeed the wider Asimov universe. They are clearly enhanced, spacefaring humans. We get a flashback to Hari persuading Raych to kill him, as part of a pre-ordained plan. He being happy with Gaal would destroy the future- individuals again- so the plan is to split them up. The escape pod is meant for Him. Gaal was never meant to be involved. This makes sense.

We're also meant to see Salvor as destinred by the Great Plan. She gets a lot of development and a lot of heroism here. She kicks arse. She bonds with, and loses, her father. Yet Hugo not only loves her but has total faith in her.

And yet the tale of the three Cleons takes precedence. Brother Day fails to stop a very fascinating religious heresy which verges on treason in nhinting that cloning is decadent stasis that cannot evolve. Yet more fascinatring is that Eto Demerzel- an ageless robot- is an adherent of this religion, a fascinating character point.

And then there's Brother Dawn, who continues and makes explicit his romance with ther gardener. And.. he's the first colour blind Cleon. In contrast to the religious adherents, it seems that even clones eventually mutate. What does this mean?

This is utterly fascinating and deep. Faithful to Asimov not in a banal, literal sense but with real conceptual though. It's superb.

Foundation: Barbarians at the Gate

 "Violence is the last refuge..."

"Of the incompetent. I know. That's an old man's doctrine."

As the above line shoews, this is a different Salvor Hardin in more than gender, while also similar in many ways. But Gaal's narration tells us that this is the tale of a legendary figure as a seriuous and huge Anacreonian assault threatens all Terminus stands for. Yet Hardin is an "outlier"- or is she? As Gaal tells us, Hari's plan accounts not for individuals. Is Salvor an exception to threaten the plan? Or is she its fulfilment?

Certainly things are breaking down in the galactic periphery, as well as unrest on Trantor and religious strife, with an heretical doctrine being promulgated that may indicate that clones do not have souls. Whatever the spin of imperial mathematicians, all is not well in the empire. Nor are things well between the imperial brothers. (Day, it seems, sits on the "middle throne" and is in charge). But were they ever? It appears that the empire is, unsurprisingly, too complex for a single monarch, or even three, echoing Rome after Diocletian- no doubt with intent.

All seems grim.Yet there is plenty to hint that Salvor will bring salvation. Also, those of us who have read the novels suspect what is likely within the Vault...

Foundation: The Mathematician's Ghost

 "It's just that you always leave me..."

Time passes. We see nothing of Gaal (though she narrates; we shall see her again)  or Raych, as decades have passed and a tenuous settement is set up on Terminus. Hari Seldon, statues aside, is not in this episode, yet his legend permeates everything.

We begin, though, with a fascinating examination of Cleons I through to XIV, all with Eto Demerzel and all very much knowing what she is. We see the life cycle of an emperor, from an embryo grown in a vat to the final "ascension", a kind of dignified execution. For each birth, there must be a ritualised death. Only three brothers may exist at once.

It's just as fasciniating to see Terminus, its frontier existence with its Encyclopaedia as contrast.There is a mysterious artifact, the Vault, which only Salvor Hardin can approach. Wde get to know Salvor, her active, thinking mind in a society of ossified fatalists who see no need to act as the Seldon Plan will save them. So when Anacreon seems to be invading they know not what to do.

There are so many nice little touches, too... Salvor's lover is pushing seventy but seems half that age from spending decades on "cryo-ships". No one on Terminus now understands the mathematics of Psychohistory; they're acting blind. And it's fascinating to see the dynamic between Salvor and her parents. This is absolutely brilliant.

Foundation: Preparing to Live

 "The more human I act, the more human I am."

Here we begin to branch out from the original novel. There are divergences, the four or five year trip to Terminus beuing the most obvious, a good way of establishing characters and the dynamics amongst the proto-Foundation. Yet there are also elements from later retcons in the novels- I now remember who Raych is, for a start. And it's startling to hear Hari mention the "Robot Wars" and, all the more so, to have it revealed- not only to us but Brother Dawn- that Eto Demerzel is a robot, apparently the only one. Why, then, does the share this knowledge with Dawn?

There is utter horror in this episode. The Cleons, or certainly Dusk, know the two ambassadors and their worlds are innocent... but their entire retinues are judicially killed anyway, by slow, tortuous hanging. And their worlds are bombed to bits. All for the sake of a scapegoat for the satisfaction of the masses. Such is the Empire.

We see the Foundation develop and grow, with Hari Seldon revered. We also see Gaal and Raych grow closer and plan life together, yet Raych and Hari seem to grow apart. And the end is seemingly shocking. With the maths of psychohistory seemingly unfinished, Raych stabs Seldon and forces Gaal into an escape pod, ejecting her into space after, er, telling her he loves her. Why? What happens next?

The dynamics between the three clone emperors are fascinating too. This is superb, deep telly.

Foundation: The Emperor's Peace

 "Oh, it's not a theory. It's the destiny of the human race, expressed in numbers."

You may have noticed I've blogged the original three Foundation novels from the wonderful mind of Isaac Asimov. I've also read the others, plus all linked novels, although admittedly it was some decades ago. But let's say I broadly know how the story pans out in the novels. I shall endeavour to keep these blog posts free of any potential spoilers from the novels.

I've wanted to see this for some time, but wasn't sure whether Apple TV was worth subscribing to as it doesn't look as though there's much else on there I particularly want to see, especially with the lack of archive content. But now I randomly seem to have three free months, so I might as well watch this while I can. It's intriguing; an adaptation of a series of novels that absolutely needs the expansiveness and seriality of TV rather than two hours at the pictures. David S. Goyer is showrunning, so hopes are high.

And rightly so, This is a fairly faithful adaptation of the opening of the first novel. The framing sequence on Terminus features Salvor Hardin. The main flashback to Trantor, perfectly realised, gives us Hari Seldon, Gaal Dornick and Eto Demerzel. There are changes, of course. The novels are a sausage fest, so certain characters need to made female. And the world is fleshed out a little. Gaal's background from an anti-science, religious culture gives her a hinterland. We have the character of Raych. And, intriguing, the empire is ruled by Cleon I... and has been for centuries, with three differently aged  clones at one time, a perfect example of the cultural stasis of a Galactic Empire that no longer grows nor changes. These added bits of depth work well.

This is a superbly made and written piece of television. More please.

Captain Marvel (2019)

" If toast is cut diagonally, I can't eat it."

I should say fromthe start that I love this film, more so than most Marvel films and you can see (look at the Marvel Index) that I have a pretty damn high opinion of most of them. Partly, that's because the is a damn good blockbuster film of a science fiction nature. Partly it's the feminist message, even if it is a bit vague and "girl power" (how very '90s). Partly, though, it's because this film scratches my Marvel fan itch in a way few others have.

Let's take it as read that this works well as the first Marvel film with a female lead (rather late), and that Brie Larsen is xcellent. Let us enjoy the '90s setting, the awesome soundtrack, the impressive CGI that turns Samuel L. Jackson, with a pretty damn large part, into his '90s self with perfection. Oh, and let us briefy stop to note that, fo a Marvel zombie of my age, Captain Marvel is not Carol Danvers (Binary!), or Mar-Vell, and certainly not Billy Bloody Batson. It's Monica Rambeau. and, if you don't get that, read some '80s Avengers when Roger Stern was writing and Jim Shooter was the best boss Marvel ever had. Ah, nostalgia.

So let us, er, marvel at the tribute to Stan at the start, and then at the faithful recreation of both the Kree- we see Hala, Yon-Rogg (an excellent Jude Law), in a variation of the origin of Mar-Vell (female here, a nice touch), Dr Minerva (Gemma Chan of Humans), Captain Atlas, and of course Ronan the Accuser. But let us also enjoy the twist of the Skrulls (whose design is very Fantastic Four #2) being not only thgoodies but also just refugees, victims of the evil Kree, and not a galaxy-spanning empire.  Let us also marvel as the design of all things Kree, which is excitingly faithful to the comics.

This is right up there with the best Marvel films. Can we see Carol anvers agaon, please? And the Monica Rambeau of the present day?

Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)

"I don't believe that anybody could be 100% dick..."

I'm an old-fashioned Marvel geek in that I bought a ridiculous number of titles up until around 1994, when most of my favourite runs were winding down, Mark Gruenwald died and I started building up my record collection, which left less budgetary room for comic books. I know an awful lot about Marvel up to that point (I had a lot of back issues going way back) but I'm patchy thereafter. I do, however, remember Jim Valentino's run on Guardians of the Galaxy, a title set a thousand years on the future and with characters called things like Vance Astro and Charlie 27. This film isn't based on any of that, but a load of Marvel's cosmic characters, many of them associated with the great Jim Starlin.

We have fanwanky Marvel goodness aplenty. There is Drax the Destroyer, Rocket Raccoon(!), Ronan the Accuser, Thanos(!), a strange cyborg version of Nebula who hears no relation to the character as written by Roger Stern in The Avengers back in the mid-'80s, the Collector, the best Stan Lee cameo yet and even footage of a Celestial!

But this isn't a po-faced epic film; it's  witty, fun action film full of funny and charismatic rogues turned heroes, a cross between Star Wars and Firefly. Chris Pratt stars as Peter, a transplanted human with mysterious parentage and the Han Solo of the film. Karen Gillan disappoints vaguely as Nebula. But the best thing in it is Bradley Cooper's Rocket.

This is a superbly plotted and scripted sci-go action film with wit, action, top tuneage (we get Bowie's "Moonage Daydream" and the Runaways' "Cherry Bomb"!) and an amazingly realised space opera world with some of the best CGI I've ever seen. If you haven't seen it, do so now. It'll be on at cinemas for a good while. 

Oh, and remember, this is a Marvel film. Stay to the end.