Isaac Asimov's The Foundation Trilogy was adapted in eight hour-long episodes by the BBC, first broadcast in 1973, and repeated in 1977 and 2002. It comprises the narrative found in Asimov's original trilogy of novels, Foundation, Foundation and Empire, and Second Foundation.
Episodes[]
Originally broadcast in 8 parts, between 6 May and 24 June 1973.
| Episode Number | Title | Date | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Psychohistory and Encyclopedia" | The opening episode begins on Trantor, capital of the Galactic Empire, with the meeting of Seldon and Dornick, their trial, and their exile to Terminus.
The action then jumps forward fifty years, to the first Seldon Crisis, where the repercussions of the recent independence of the Four Kingdoms of the Periphery are being felt on Terminus, and are handled by the first Mayor, Salvor Hardin. | |
| 2 | "The Mayors" | The scene moves forward a further twenty years, as Mayor Hardin faces down the domination of the nearby and most powerful Kingdom, Anacreon. | |
| 3 | "The Merchant Princes" | 150 years after the Foundation was established, the now powerful trading nation faces its greatest threat to date, guided by master trader Hober Mallow. | |
| 4 | "The General" | Two hundred years after its creation, the Foundation battles Bel Riose, the last powerful General of the dying Galactic Empire. | |
| "The Mule" | A further hundred years have passed, and the Foundation is challenged by an unexpected threat named The Mule. | ||
| 6 | "Flight from the Mule" | During the war against The Mule, with things going badly for the Foundation, some key figures under the leadership of the Foundation's greatest scientist, Ebling Mis, flee Terminus in search of the Second Foundation, to warn it of the danger from The Mule. | |
| 7 | "The Mule Finds" | The Mule attempts to find and overthrow the Second Foundation. | |
| 8 | "Star's End" | Sixty years later, and a teenage girl is at the centre of the Foundation's renewed search for the Second Foundation. |
Changes From The Written Trilogy[]
- The conflict between The Foundation and Anacreon takes place 70 years into the Foundation era; in the novels it occurs at 80 F.E.
- A small segment in Foundation titled "Traders" has been removed entirely
- General editing for time has been done throughout
- A large, rather comedic section on farming on Rossem has been added to "The Mule Finds"
Principal Cast[]
- Geoffrey Beevers as Gaal Dornick
- Lee Montague as Salvor Hardin
- Julian Glover as Hober Mallow
- Dinsdale Landen as Bel Riose
- Maurice Denham as Ebling Mis
- Angela Pleasence as Bayta
- Prunella Scales as Lady Callia