Foundation (2021) (TV)

Based on Isaac Asimov's most demanding series of books of the same name, Apple TV has created what many had imagined un-filmable. The same has been said of Frank Herbert's Dune some time ago, and look, it's been done twice already, Alejandro Jodorowsky's incomplete version notwithstanding.

And with reference to the outstanding Director Denis Villeneuve's stab at Herbert's classic that left me somewhat colder than the David Lynch version of Dune in 1984, Foundation is what the new version of what Dune should have become - roaming operatic story arcs stretching throughout time and the cosmos with deftly handled portrayals of Asimov's characters and due reverence to the stories and philosophies that make them.

True, there is a widespread belief that this is a mere pale shadow of the texts from which it was inspired and it veers off in directions that readers of the Foundation series may not recognise, but compared to what it could have been, the wringing of hands is nowhere near as sweaty as it may have been. If you ask lovers of Frank Herbert's opus whether they think the films are honest to the books, they will almost entirely disagree and what Apple makes of Asimov's work for the purposes of entertainment requires no more imagination than what is presented to you though your eyes, and this is still quite a feat.

Nine episodes in so far of the ten already made and you can imagine that the season will not end well for completionists and that many, if not all of the questions that have been raised, will probably not be answered by the culmination of its televised telling. To ardently hope for a second season is what I and many others will wish for. Whether we get our wish, however, only time will tell.