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I've read the Foundation trilogy and its two sequels, but none of the prequels.

The new tv show has a lot of elements which weren't in the original Foundation novellas. Are these things taken from the prequel books or are they newly invented for the show?

If possible please try to minimize or hide any actual spoilers for the prequel novels in your answer.

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    mashable.com/article/foundation-book-vs-show
    – Valorum
    Sep 27, 2021 at 6:00
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    As the series is still airing, please be aware that any answers may need updating as new information comes out!
    – AncientSwordRage ♦
    Sep 27, 2021 at 11:52
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    Which books do you consider "prequels"? Asimov eventually linked most of his major franchises together. Do you include the Galactic Empire books, which were written well before Foundation (I'm looking at you, Pebble in the Sky), the Robot stories and novels, or is it just the later linking books such as Robots and Empire or Foundation and Earth?
    – Spencer
    Sep 27, 2021 at 13:02
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    @Spencer - Mainly asking about Forward and Prelude, but I guess the Robot/Empire stuff would count too, as well as any of the later authorized extensions.
    – ibid
    Sep 27, 2021 at 13:11
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    “To a certain extent, we're dealing with the trilogy, the prequels, and the sequels,” Goyer says. “But I've remixed them. Some of the elements from the sequels will be showing up in Season 1, and some of the elements from the prequels will be showing up in Season 2.” interview (may contain spoilers)
    – Kitkat
    Sep 27, 2021 at 13:46

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Yes, some of the changes in the TV adaptation are taken from the two prequels ("Prelude to Foundation" and "Forward the Foundation"), but with some significant differences.

  1. The robot assistant to the Emperor-Triad is adapted from the prequels. In those books, the name is "Eto Demerzel" (at least, to the Emperor, that's how it's known).

However, in the books, the Emperor does not know it's a robot (actually, it's R. Daneel Olivaw, as the young Hari Seldon eventually works out – the only person ever to do so).

  1. Raych is also a character in the prequels: A young (orphan?) ruffian from the Heat Sinks who is adopted by Hari Seldon.

However, in the books, Raych is no longer around by the time of the Exile to Terminus (but his daughter – Hari's granddaughter, Wanda Seldon – becomes an important player in the establishment of the Second Foundation).

  1. The various religious groups – such as that on Synnax (Gaal Dornick's home-world) and the Luminist Faith (with its bald, female Zephyrs) – may be very loosely based on the Mycogenians of Trantor in the prequels – an isolationist, ritually depilated tribe, with no real love of (or loyalty towards) the Empire/Emperor.
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    As AncientSwordRange has stated, the TV Series is still in its early days, so I shall try to update this answer as and when other references to the prequels pop up, or if I should remember any others. Feel free to comment and/or edit if you want to add other references that I have omitted.
    – Adrian Mole
    Oct 28, 2021 at 21:11

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