How to Make a Foundation HBO Series

[Son of Valhalla]

How would anyone actually pull this off? A series that spans several thousand years just seems very difficult to accomplish. I mean, I suppose it could take place similarly to Star Trek in the form of individual episodes, but I'm not even sure that would work.

So let's problem solve here. If HBO were to make a Foundation Series show, where would it begin, and how? How can they introduce each character and keep them on just long enough to develop them? For starters, flashbacks will probably be needed. Where the series would start? I would start at the moment Seldon conceives the Foundations, before segueing into the first years of the 1st Foundation. While I would like to include iRobot or The Galactic Empire Series, I really just want HBO to make the novels into a series as long as possible.

Not that I don't want people to read the series, just that I'd rather have them take their time with the whole thing and really flesh it out. Maybe get Anthony Hopkins on board to be the late Seldon. That's like the only actor I know now. Sorry, I don't keep up with most movie stars or shenanigans.

 

[BAYLOR]

You need a really good writer and producer who knows how toad pat the martial to the small screen.

 

[JoanDrake]

How do the books do it? As it was explained to me the trilogy is an examination of the Great Man theory of history vs the Cultural Determinism concept.

One appallingly obvious way to present it would be to have each season being on one of the 3 books. I don't think trying to make it go any longer than 3 seasons would be wise as I think you'd have to do to much violence to Asimov's original theme to make that work.

 

[mohitdolas]

I have thought about it a lot, mainly because I think Foundation series is a real challenge to make. It is largely non protagonist story line and the audience will eventually be bored with the lack of a 'hero'. I feel that the novels also misses a genuine surprise element, apart from the Mule and Second Foundation stories. What I mean is that we always know the Foundation will win. So the plans of Mallow and Sardin are difficult to portray with suspense on the screen.

The only way, I could imagine adapting the series into an insatiable desire of plot twists and suspenses for the TV audience, without a single protagonist, is to do a non-liner time line story. HBO did this marvellously with WestWorld. And there are similarities between the boarder story lines, like multiple main characters, and a few brilliant twists.

Also, the cinematography will have to be spectacular in every sense. Otherwise it will miss the point of larger than a single life of psychohistory. Lots of CGI.

 

[picklematrix]

If the characters were well written and acted, the tension may come from the uncertainy concerning their individual fates.
For instance, we know that the foundation will persevere, in theory, but that wouldn't stop an individual character from being killed.