When Apple announced that it has purchased the rights to develop Isaac Asimov’s Foundation series into a TV show we were cautiously optimistic.
The source material is considered one of the best works of science fiction ever by many and you can see its influence in many modern day movies, books and series. However, translating a well-loved series of books into a movie or a TV series doesn’t always go over well. Thankfully, that isn’t the case here.
The first two episodes premiered on Apple TV+ on 24th September and creators David S. Goyer and Josh Friedman have done a rather good job so far.
The first two episodes serve as an introduction to the Galactic Empire and the Foundation itself which can predict the future of humanity using psychohistory and mathematics. That’s a rather broad description but we’re trying to avoid spoilers. The prediction that serves as the jumping off point is dire and unless humanity can preserve the knowledge it has accumulated, an age of darkness lasting tens of thousands of years will descend.
In an age where lightspeed travel and buildings that stretch into space are a reality, this is concerning for the Empire.
Speaking of which, the roles of Cleon’s clones are incredibly well casted. Brother Dawn or Cleon XIII is played by Cassian Bilton and the performance is outstanding albeit a bit disturbing at times. Brother Dusk or Cleon XI is played by Terrence Man and we’re intrigued with the character even though we’re not entirely sold on the arch that is developing.
Our favourite of the show so far though is Lee Pace as Brother Day or Cleon XII. As the Emperor of the Galactic Empire, Day oversees much of what is happening and rules with what we’d describe as righteous might. For now the Emperor seems to be in afraid of losing control and we jump into the story as things are seemingly starting to unravel.
The series is off to an intriguing start and it looks like we will be jumping back and forth through timelines quite a bit over the course of the series. The CGI on display here is fantastic, so much so that even when you know something has been added in post-production, you believe that it’s real.
Foundation is fantastic so far and we can’t wait for the next eight episodes in the first season. The final episode is set to be released on 19th November so if you want to binge it all in one go that’s the day to subscribe to Apple TV+ or make use of the seven-day trial.
Apple TV+ needs some work
The weakness of Foundation is that it is exclusively available on Apple TV+ which needs some serious work from a user experience perspective.
Upon signing up and having my account debited (I had already used my free trial when Apple TV+ launched) I was still seeing a message telling me “Sign up for a free trial now”. After signing out and back in again I was able to access content.
After finding Foundation easily enough I clicked the title card and the screen went black. Expecting the episode to start I clicked away to do something else. It was after a few moments of silence that I realised nothing was playing so I clicked the window and saw that I had to scroll down and manually select the episode.
After clicking “Play Episode” and no button animation occurred I clicked again, and again only to realise that the episode was starting to play after a delay of roughly five seconds. Why Apple’s UI doesn’t show the user their click has been registered is frankly bizarre but perhaps this is an oddity of the web player.
At the end of the first episode I expected to see a “Next Episode” alert with an easy way to play said episode. That isn’t the case with Apple TV+. Instead you will have to close the player window, go back one page, scroll down, click the episode you want to watch, wait, click “Play Episode” and then wait five seconds for the show to start.
Frankly, I have seen better solutions from websites with pirated content than what Apple has created here.
As far as subtitles and dubbed audio goes there are a range of options but the menus feature white text, on a white background. Who at Apple thought this was a good idea?
We have also experienced a range of issues while watching content including massive drops in quality, stuttering and frame rate drops. While this could be our internet we were able to stream content from other platforms at FullHD with no issue while Apple TV+ stuttered along.
Of course, our issues could be related to the fact that we are not using an Apple device but that’s simply not good enough, especially when Apple brags about how many non-Apple devices the service is available on.
There is a solution to all of this though but it requires an Apple TV+ subscription.
That solution is Ted Lasso. The sitcom about an American Football coach going to England to coach football is light-hearted, hilarious and best of all, it makes every hoop you have to jump through worth it.
While Apple TV+ may leave you wanting from a user experience perspective, the content makes up for it.
With some interface improvements and continued investment in great content like Ted Lasso and Foundation, Apple could be one of the top streaming platforms in a few years.
Apple TV+ costs R84.99 per month and there is a free seven-day trial available.
https://youtu.be/0_qRyDCh2TE
