For over twelve thousand years the known galaxy has been ruled by the Galactic Empire, ruled for the past four hundred years by a constantly rotating series of clones of the last Emperor never to father an heir. With the Cleons at the centre of millions of worlds, one mathematician has developed anew science that predicts the Empires fall.
Using socio-political history merged with a series of sophisticated equations, Hari Seldon has found a way to predict societies most likely future. Through developing a Quantum Computer, Seldon see’s the fall of the Empire coming and where he see’s science, other’s see prophecy. Empire – a single ruling force consisting of three Cleon’s at different ages – a young Brother Dawn as Emperor in Training, Brother Dusk as the retired guardian and Brother Day as the strong ruler – considers his predictions herasy.
With the aid of a mathematical genius born from a world thats rejected science, Seldon convinces Empire to build a Foundation of knowledge to help protect the future form the fallout of the Empires collapse. But convincing the Cleon’s is just the beginning of his plan to usher in a new era for the human race…
Based loosely on Isaac Asimov’s Foundation series, Foundation focuses on the fall of the Empire and the rise of Seldon’s vision through several era’s (and several Cleon’s!) through Seldon’s predictions and the challenge of elements beyond his algorithm. Season one sets the stage of the Foundations origins and it’s first crisis, while season two see’s it’s influence reach beyond it’s exile as the Empire struggles to deal with change.
Foundation as a series does something remarkably well with the concept. It’s tremendous presentation aside, it uses all the best of Asimov’s sci fi version of the fall of the Roman Empire and throws in new ideas and directions, reimagining the stories in ways that helps to elevate the world for a new audience. With an incredible cast and outstanding presentation, the show really delivers it’s finest through intricate and incredible world building without getting lost in the details of each corner of the galaxy.
Whether through the calculating mind of Hari Seldon, the emotional struggle of his protege Gaal, or even the desperation to remain in control shown by the various iterations of Brother Day, the grand and wonderful vision is all told through these small stories and personal moments with huige sweeping events all having a strong sense of humanity behind them while the overall intricate story of the Empire’s demise gives a fascinating and enthralling experience.
Developing and expanding in just two seasons, the third jumps ahead to another crisis point for the Foundation and a threat not only to them, but to the Empire itself. A threat that may mean the two will eventually have to collide as allies to save them both.
A hidden gem in modern sci fi, Foundation is one of AppleTV’s best offerings as the platform continues to expand and explore some of the best television in the streaming market right now. The third season launches on July 11th and is available to watch alongside the first two seasons exclusively on AppleTV.
About the author
It’s Not Easy Being Green Blooded: ‘Level Five Transporter Accident’, Strange New Worlds S4E05
Spock's going through a bit of a personal crisis and Scotty's become madly competitive with an old Academy rival. These two separate threads collide in the weirdest way when Spock finds himself as the only person who can control the ship as Scotty's transporter antics turn everyone into puppets... Writers: Henry Alonso Myers & Dana HorganDirector: Jordan Canning Spock's not quite feeling himself and he hasn't quite been himself since the Griffin Incident. And things are getting worse. Leaning heavily towards logic over his exploration of his human side, and in the wake of La'an deciding their relationship had reached it's 'natural conclusion', he's spiraling. Well, as much as a Vulcan would allow themselves to. Desperately trying to balance himself, he's leaning into logic and reaching out to his scorned ex-fiancee for help in re-establishing his Vulcan side.While thats happening, Scotty's on a […]
1701 Shades of Grey: ‘A Case of Chiaroscuro’, Strange New Worlds S4E04
It's been a stressful few months for the Enterprise crew and they want, well, demand, shore leave. Choosing a tech-free planet with natural psychedelics in the atmosphere, the command crew take a shuttle down, take in all the wonders the world provides. And then it all goes a bit wonky... Writers: Skylar Ojeda & Dana Horgan Director: Meera Menon Aside from orbiting a star who's radiation gives an altered perspective of light, Mat'aar XII is a world occupied by Klingon overlords. Having taken control of the population, and implemented strict monitoring and restrictions on movement, the Klingon's rule with fear, torture and by creating division. Like any good occupiers, they've given cushy jobs to some locals including their top Lieutenant, Navatte, a local who proudly wears her silver Klingon armband and interrogates anyone who oppose the Empire. Or so […]
[Departmental] Introducing General Board
The General Board is a relatively new concept and the next evolution of Fleet Support. Mirroring the Captains Table, the General Board is constructed to help overall fleet operations and to contribute more voices and ideas to the clubs operation. Based very loosely on the political 'two house' structure, and named after the real-world General Board within the US Navy in the first half of the 20th century, the starting point was to appoint two sets of voices within the fleet. The Captains represent their unit and their members need within that unit, each representing an area or group that makes up the whole. To contrast and add to the Captains Table, Fleet Support – and now the expanded General Board – allows to give both opinions of fleet leadership and fleet membership equal standing and ensure we hear a […]
Welcoming Our New Fleet Development Officer
To quote Heraclitus, the only constant in life is change. Quadrant 2 has been through many changes before and with the recent appointment of a new Admiralty Board, we're looking ahead with more changes to the fleet structure. With Piers Drinkall joining the board alongside David Shires, there were some discussions about what to do with Piers' Fleet Development role and after some serious thinking, a decision was made. After aiding in Piers' efforts within the Command Training Program, and being a solid right hand on the USS Sovereign, we're pleased to welcome Karl Drinkall to the Fleet Development position. Karl is a sharp mind with a lot to give to the fleet and a clear grasp of our aims and goals in the coming months and years. With his dedication and string mindset, it was an easy decision to […]
[Retro Review] Errand of Mercy
Relations between the Federation and the Klingons are in tatters and the prospect of an all out war casts a shadow over the region. To help prepare for the worst, Kirk and the Enterprise are sent to Organia, a planet populated by inherent pushovers right on the border between Federation and Klingon space. With the prospect of the Klingons getting a foothold that would help their war efforts, Kirk's job is to negotiate a protection order, getting the Organians on their side before the Klingons annexe the planet as a launching pad for conflict. Problem is, the Organians are hardcore pacifists and their native tech is limited. They don't want to be part of any war, and they don't want to change their values to resist. Which becomes a bit of a problem when the Klingons arrive ready to occupy the […]
Dude, Where’s Your Shuttle? Human Best Friend; Strange New Worlds S4E03
It's been a stressful few months for the Enterprise crew and they want, well, demand, shore leave. Choosing a tech-free planet with natural psychedelics in the atmosphere, the command crew take a shuttle down, take in all the wonders the world provides. And then it all goes a bit wonky... Writers: Kathryn LynDirector: Yana Gorskaya Engineers and pilots hate each other. It's the rules. Scotty and Ortegas have been following those rules to the letter, with the bickering pair opening with a dual monologue highlighting how irritating they are to each other between Scotty setting up alerts and alarms to keep the engines in check, and Ortegas duct tapping over the console to get rid of them so she can push the limits freely.While they're constantly irritating each other, the rest of the Alpha shift command team are exhausted. Months […]
Related
Relay Recap: July 2024
All Features Universe Categories Fleet Alert Comms GORN GIRL recap; july 2025 Picking up on the Season 2 cliff-hanger, Strange New Worlds returned to our screens this month to find Captain Pike and his crew on the edge of war with the Gorn as Season 3 was finally released!Exploring new worlds and new problems, the Enterprise crew are back in action on Paramount Plus and we're keeping ourselves up to date with weekly episode discussion threads on our FB Continuing Mission Group & Weekly episode reviews from Admin ! Explore... Episode Reviews Spoilers Group ACROSS THE UNIVERSE As we look back on Pike's adventures on the Enterprise in the prequel series, Paramount also gave us a look at whats to come next as Entertainment Weekly and SDCC's Star Trek Universe panel gave us a sneak peek at the reopening of […]
[Sci Fi Sunday] Quantum Leap Season 2 on Paramount+
Returning to an old classic can be a mixed bag. Especially when the ideas a revival of a cult classic without any of the original stars returning. Quantum Leap was one of several of those shows to dip back into an old idea and give it a new life to modern audiences and in it's first season it was a surprise hit thanks in part to being a next chapter for the government funded time travel project that mixed the old theme with new ideas.
[Sci Fi Sunday] Twenty Years Waiting in the Winchester: Shaun Of The Dead
Back in the 90s we'd learn all about the cool, wacky lives of 20-something's through the adventures of a mysteriously close group of Friends; following the will they-won't they off Ross and Rachael, Joey's zany antics.... it was an ideal life filled with drama, joy, laughs and coffee!
[Retro Review] Everybody’s Dead, Dave. Red Dwarf (1988)
Some people have lofty ambitions. Become rich, famous, the best in your field. Others just want something simple. Like buying a small farm, getting a sheep and a cow and breeding horses. Red Dwarf was the story of the man with the simple dream. There's just one problem. Everybody's dead.
Sci Fi Sunday: The Matrix 20 Years Later…
Most people have had moments where they doubt their surroundings. Where they look all around them and wonder what they feel, what they experience is actually real. Or if it's all an illusion. What would we do if we learned that everything we know was a lie. The world we knew may not be perfect, but it's stable, reliable. Imagine being told that underneath that it was an illusion masking a future where the world was in ruins, where no hope was left? Sci Fi Sunday: The Matrix 20 Years Later... That was the basis of the Matrix. A films where the protagonist, Neo, was given a choice. Take a blue pill and return to his average, normal and safe life within a digital reality, or take the red pill and awaken from a slumber he never knew […]
Sci Fi Sunday: Get Ready For The OA Season 2 (Comms Highlights)
Appearing from nowhere without any promotional efforts, the OA was a weird experiment from Netflix to just drop a show into it's line up and see what happened. As people tuned in to scroll through their library, they'd stumble upon the supernatural sci fi mystery and as a young girl who'd been missing for years sat a group of strangers down to tell them her story, viewers were captivated by the weird tale of finding the space between life and death. After being missing for years, Prairie returned home a completely different person. She was seasoned, tough, and despite being blind when she vanished, she could now see perfectly. It's hard to get into specifics without spoiling it for anyone who hasn't seen the mystery, but as she returns to her home town under the careful supervision of her parents, […]
