My Cultural Diet

Make no mistake, Foundation looks and feels as epic as anything streaming today. Every single dollar in the series’ budget is on screen in terms of effects and production design, so it’s pretty easy on the eyes. (The same goes for Lee Pace’s flowing locks.) But I find the storyline less compelling. Some of that has to do with the fact that each season so far is set a century or more after its predecessor, essentially rebooting things while still holding to the overarching storyline about galactic decline. Which, on the one hand, makes sense given the epic scope, but it also makes for a jarring transition. That’s especially so in season three, which finds both the Foundation and the Galactic Empire battling a powerful psychic known only as The Mule. But the season’s narrative feels fractured and prone to revelations that make no sense whatsoever. Granted, it ends on a cliffhanger to set up season four, and I’ll be watching. But less for the story, and more the ambitious scope and elaborate production.

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