# Foundation: TV series discussion (open spoilers; comparison to the books allowed) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** tv-shows-scripted, apple\ **Created:** [September 25, 2021, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foundation-tv-series-discussion-open-spoilers-comparison-to-the-books-allowed/951328 "2021-09-25T13:28:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 15
**Author:** ![OttoDaFe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ottodafe/32/356_2.png) [@OttoDaFe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OttoDaFe)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2025, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foundation-tv-series-discussion-open-spoilers-comparison-to-the-books-allowed/951328/281 "2025-08-31T21:59:12Z")
Yet another factor (since we’re piling on the subject, even though it isn’t related to the series): along with resentment, knowledge of the Second Foundation and its role created a sense of complacency in the First — “Whatever happens, the Second Foundation will bail us out” — which was totally at odds with its responsibility to create the physical infrastructure for the new Galactic Empire (that the Second would use its mental science to manage). ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2025, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foundation-tv-series-discussion-open-spoilers-comparison-to-the-books-allowed/951328/282 "2025-09-12T04:27:25Z")
Not quite where I was expecting this inspired by thing to go … Not quite sure what all just happened. Can’t say it makes much sense to me? But of course @zbuzz be smart. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2025, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foundation-tv-series-discussion-open-spoilers-comparison-to-the-books-allowed/951328/283 "2025-09-12T15:20:08Z")
Keeping all your critical backups in a single location isn’t particularly good security. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2025, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foundation-tv-series-discussion-open-spoilers-comparison-to-the-books-allowed/951328/284 "2025-09-12T16:39:15Z")
I have liked the show. I am not at all bothered that it is only loosely inspired by the books. But the sad thing is that that specific idiocy is relatively minor in the scale of WTF at this point. ---
**Author:** ![OttoDaFe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ottodafe/32/356_2.png) [@OttoDaFe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OttoDaFe)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2025, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foundation-tv-series-discussion-open-spoilers-comparison-to-the-books-allowed/951328/285 "2025-09-12T20:17:58Z")
Looks to me like they’re skipping _Second Foundation_ completely and going to the fourth (or fifth, I’m kinda fuzzy after the original trilogy). ---
**Author:** ![SunUp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SunUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SunUp)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2025, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foundation-tv-series-discussion-open-spoilers-comparison-to-the-books-allowed/951328/286 "2025-09-15T04:13:05Z")
Fifth (_Foundation and Earth_, with robots on the moon). Although with the Foundation ambassador going to the Library on Trantor and finding the Second Foundation, you’ve got to figure _something_ is going to happen there. I think it’s a shame, though, that one of the only two strong female characters of the original trilogy gets turned into an antagonist in the series. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2025, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foundation-tv-series-discussion-open-spoilers-comparison-to-the-books-allowed/951328/287 "2025-09-15T18:50:31Z")
Yeah, Bayta Darrell is the Mule? I’m now utterly convinced the writer had his heart broken and/or family murdered by an Asimov super-fan. ---
**Author:** ![duality72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duality72/32/3910_2.png) [@duality72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duality72)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2025, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foundation-tv-series-discussion-open-spoilers-comparison-to-the-books-allowed/951328/288 "2025-09-15T19:19:35Z")
I flagged your post because that detail should probably be spoilered, but…yeah…ugh. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2025, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foundation-tv-series-discussion-open-spoilers-comparison-to-the-books-allowed/951328/289 "2025-09-15T19:47:30Z")
The thread title says open spoilers, and it’s been 3 days since it aired. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2025, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foundation-tv-series-discussion-open-spoilers-comparison-to-the-books-allowed/951328/290 "2025-09-15T19:48:48Z")
Neither is wiring them with explosives. Seriously, what was the point of that? ---
**Author:** ![duality72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duality72/32/3910_2.png) [@duality72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duality72)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2025, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foundation-tv-series-discussion-open-spoilers-comparison-to-the-books-allowed/951328/291 "2025-09-15T20:13:53Z")
Doh, my bad on the open spoilers. About the show…ugh again. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2025, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foundation-tv-series-discussion-open-spoilers-comparison-to-the-books-allowed/951328/292 "2025-09-15T20:16:38Z")
Open spoilers are allowed per the OP but you can still spoiler tag something (also per the OP) to be cool. Up to you. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2025, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foundation-tv-series-discussion-open-spoilers-comparison-to-the-books-allowed/951328/293 "2025-09-15T21:13:36Z")
Will Demrezel return? ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2025, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foundation-tv-series-discussion-open-spoilers-comparison-to-the-books-allowed/951328/294 "2025-09-15T21:20:32Z")
[Probably](https://www.reddit.com/r/FoundationTV/comments/1nexfxg/demerzel_eye_blink_hidden_message/). ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2025, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foundation-tv-series-discussion-open-spoilers-comparison-to-the-books-allowed/951328/295 "2025-09-15T22:42:59Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > Open spoilers are allowed per the OP but you can still spoiler tag something (also per the OP) to be cool. Up to you. It’s been 3 days since the episode dropped, in many other open spoiler threads about weekly shows the unwritten policy has been it’s OK to post unblurred spoilers 24 hours after a new episode. So I’m cool as the Fonz. ---
**Author:** ![ASL\_v2.0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asl_v2.0/32/3525_2.png) [@ASL\_v2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASL_v2.0)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2025, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foundation-tv-series-discussion-open-spoilers-comparison-to-the-books-allowed/951328/296 "2025-09-15T23:14:33Z")
I figure they left just enough of her skull behind for a restoration. Anyway, having never read the books or the stories, I’m liking the series just fine. ---
**Author:** ![zbuzz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e19b73/32.png) [@zbuzz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zbuzz)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2025, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foundation-tv-series-discussion-open-spoilers-comparison-to-the-books-allowed/951328/297 "2025-09-16T03:33:50Z")
> [@ASL\_v2.0](#): > > I figure they left just enough of her skull behind for a restoration. Either that or Lee Pacebot can print her out a new body on the Moon. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2025, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foundation-tv-series-discussion-open-spoilers-comparison-to-the-books-allowed/951328/298 "2025-10-12T15:13:28Z")
Finally caught up on the show. What an ending to the season! > [@msmith537](#): > > Yeah seriously. Can we talk about Emperor Lebowski? Reddit calls him “Brother Dude” instead of “Brother Day” 🤣 ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2025, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foundation-tv-series-discussion-open-spoilers-comparison-to-the-books-allowed/951328/299 "2025-10-12T15:22:00Z")
> [@OttoDaFe](#): > > I don’t recall anything in _The Caves of Steel_ (where we first encounter R. Daneel) that gives a timeframe, but [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Caves_of_Steel) says it takes place “roughly three millennia in Earth’s future, a time when hyperspace travel has been discovered and a few worlds relatively close to Earth have been colonized.” And planet Earth is groaning under the strain of the massive, dumbfounding large human population - there are so many people that the ecosystem has been completely destroyed and humans can only live long term under domes, in the titular _Caves of Steel_. The massive, unimaginable population level that causes such ridiculous stress on the global environment? Eight billion. Unlike others in the thread, I _am_ a pretty big Asimov fan, but this (like the microfilm of the future) was pretty silly. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2025, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foundation-tv-series-discussion-open-spoilers-comparison-to-the-books-allowed/951328/300 "2025-10-12T15:46:33Z")
> [@zbuzz](#): > > She isn’t bound by the three laws anymore, right? She was a general in a war against humans, so I assume she used more than harsh language against them. OG Cleon brings up that she “used” to be bound by laws and the first law was you can’t harm humans, and she replies “That used to be the case.” That’s when he upgraded her with the protect-the-genetic-dynasty-above-all-else chip. She (and the other robots) were bound by the Three Laws throughout the entire war. They had just also figured out that protecting _humanity_ as a whole is a higher order task than protecting any individual human life. In the timeline of the show, she has been hacked to no longer be bound by the Three Laws and instead be bound to protect Empire. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foundation-tv-series-discussion-open-spoilers-comparison-to-the-books-allowed/951328.md?page=14) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foundation-tv-series-discussion-open-spoilers-comparison-to-the-books-allowed/951328.md?page=16)