Bel Riose

Last updated

Bel Riose
Foundation character
Bel Riose (Astounding Science Fiction - April 1945).png
Bel Riose as depicted in "Dead Hand" ( Astounding Science Fiction , April 1945)
First appearance"Dead Hand" (1945)
Created by Isaac Asimov
Portrayed by
Voiced by
In-universe information
SpeciesHuman
GenderMale
OccupationGeneral
Affiliation Galactic Empire
Spouse

Bel Riose is a fictional character in the Foundation series by Isaac Asimov. In the 1945 novella "Dead Hand", he is the last great general of the declining Galactic Empire. He targets the Foundation both as a perceived threat to the Empire and to further his own ambitions, but is outmaneuvered by its agents.

Contents

Riose is voiced by Dinsdale Landen in the 1973 BBC Radio 4 adaptation The Foundation Trilogy . He is portrayed by Ben Daniels in season two of the 2021 Apple TV+ television series adaptation Foundation .

Literature

Bel Riose appears in the novella "Dead Hand", published in the April 1945 issue of Astounding Science Fiction . It was later retitled "The General" and paired with the November/December 1945 novella "The Mule", and published as Foundation and Empire in 1952. [1] : 26–29 

Description

Riose is loosely based on Belisarius, a great general of the Roman Empire who served Justinian I during the 6th century AD. [2] [3] : 56–57  Josh Wimmer and Alasdair Wilkins of Gizmodo wrote:

Bel Riose might be the best example I've seen of an anti-villain—his goal is the destruction of the Foundation and the defeat of the Seldon Plan, and he can be quite brutal in his means, but he's fundamentally honorable, honest, and really rather brilliant. You might even call him the tragic hero of the Foundation series, struggling in vain against the forces of history for no greater reason than to prove that he can. He certainly gets an appropriately tragic ending. [4]

James E. Gunn saw Riose as "the only character who stares in the face of determinism". While his failure against the forces of historic necessity might seem depressing, the fact that he is not the viewpoint character changes the impact of the story: The reader sympathizes with the Foundation. Riose's failure is depicted as desirable, as it ensures the Foundation's survival. [5] : 42 

Plot

In "Dead Hand", Imperial General Bel Riose governs the planet Siwenna. He investigates the Foundation and is soon determined to destroy it, both as a perceived threat to the Empire and to further his own ambitions. Foundation trader Lathan Devers lets himself be captured by Riose to disrupt his overtures against the Foundation from the inside. With Emperor Cleon II's Privy Secretary Ammel Brodrig present to observe Riose, Devers attempts to implicate Riose in a nonexistent attempt to overthrow Cleon. His machinations are exposed, but Ducem Barr, a Foundation sympathizer forced to aid Riose, helps him escape further interrogation by knocking Riose unconscious and fleeing the planet with Devers in tow. They travel to the Imperial capital planet, Trantor, and plot to influence Cleon directly with Devers' invented conspiracy, implicating both Riose and Brodrig. Though they are caught by the Secret Police, they escape and later learn that Riose and Brodrig have been arrested for treason and executed. Asimov later explains the political dynamics of why Riose would never have been able to defeat the Foundation: a strong emperor's sense of self-preservation would never allow him to tolerate a subordinate who develops potentially threatening power. [1] : 26  [6] [7]

Adaptations

Radio

Riose is voiced by Dinsdale Landen in episode four "The General" of the 1973 BBC Radio 4 adaptation The Foundation Trilogy . [8] [9]

Television

Ben Daniels portrays Bel Riose in the 2021 TV series. 10.8.17BenDanielsByLuigiNovi1.jpg
Ben Daniels portrays Bel Riose in the 2021 TV series.

Riose is portrayed by Ben Daniels in season two of the 2021 Apple TV+ television series adaptation Foundation . [10] He is the last great general of the Superliminal Fleet, imprisoned by Emperor Cleon for breaking orders to save troops, despite still achieving a victory. [7] [11] Riose is described as "noble to a fault, but his fealty to the Galactic Empire is waning." [10] The Empire has learned that the Foundation has not been destroyed as had been previously believed, and is in fact flourishing and amassing influence. Riose, known to be ruthless and unpredictable, seems the perfect military leader to set upon the Foundation, but he is also bitter toward the Empire. [12] Sean T. Collins of Decider wrote, "I enjoyed Bel Riose's case for rejoining the government that destroyed him even though Empire clearly fears his strength: As the only human whom Cleon does not see as dispensable, it's his responsibility to protect the citizens of the Empire, since Empire himself cannot and will not." [11]

Storyline

In the 2023 episode "King and Commoner", Cleon's emissary Lady Demerzel visits Riose at the Lepsis penal colony, offering him his freedom to investigate the Foundation on behalf of the Empire. He is also reunited with his husband and former second-in-command, Glawen Curr, both men having been previously told that the other was executed. [7] [11] In "Where the Stars are Scattered Thinly", Riose and Curr visit Imperial informant Ducem Barr on Siwenna and learn that the Foundation, and by extension their propagandists the Church of the Galactic Spirit, possess auras, protective force shield technology forbidden to everyone except the Emperors, and whisper-ships, a Foundation-created type of jumpship which can perform faster-than-light travel without requiring an enhanced human Spacer to navigate. As Riose and Curr flee an anti-Imperial mob, Riose mercy kills Barr at his request. [13] Riose and Curr debate their options for turning against Empire in "A Necessary Death", but Riose ultimately declares any such action to be too great a risk. [14]

The Imperial fleet faces off against the Foundation in "Long Ago, Not Far Away", and Riose believes he can end the conflict without violence. But the Emperor clone Brother Day, baited by Hari Seldon, orders Riose to crash the Invictus, an ancient Imperial warship commandeered by the Foundation, into Terminus to devastate the planet and destroy the Foundation. Riose reluctantly does so, even though he knows Curr is on the surface. [15] [16] In the season two finale "Creation Myths", She-Bends-Light, a Spacer on Riose's flagship Shining Destiny, uses a jump sequence smuggled onboard by con man Hober Mallow to program the fleet's warships to jump into one another, which will inevitably consume the entire fleet and free the remaining Spacers from Empire. Riose battles Day in hand-to-hand combat, and uses Mallow's castling device to switch places with Day via teleportation, venting the Emperor into space and killing him. Trapped on the doomed flagship, Riose and Mallow share a toast as the Shining Destiny explodes. Meanwhile, Curr and the population of Terminus have escaped the planet's destruction via Seldon's Vault. [17]

Reception

Collins wrote, "Ben Daniels, who goes from a hermit of the wastes to one of the handsomest men on TV with a shave and a haircut, has a great deal of screen presence as Bel". [11] Series executive producer David S. Goyer called Riose his favorite Foundation character. [18] He said that the deaths of Riose and Mallow were always planned for season two, adding that "I like that they meet their fates twinned together". [18] Gary Grimes of Attitude described the emotional reunion of Riose and Curr as "a cornerstone moment in the high-octane series." [19] The series depicts their homosexuality as a non-issue. Curr's portrayer, Dino Fetscher, said "It was so refreshing that our characters' sexualities were just incidental ... In this world, sexuality is very different. It's just the same as you have blue eyes and I have brown eyes. In lots of ways, it's really inspiring because it's not so far in the future." [19]

Related Research Articles

<i>Prelude to Foundation</i> 1988 novel by Isaac Asimov

Prelude to Foundation is a novel by American writer Isaac Asimov, published in 1988. It is one of two prequels to the Foundation series. For the first time, Asimov chronicles the fictional life of Hari Seldon, the man who invented psychohistory and the intellectual hero of the series. The novel was nominated for the Locus Award.

<i>Foundation</i> series Science-fiction books by Isaac Asimov

The Foundation series is a science fiction book series written by American author Isaac Asimov. First published as a series of short stories and novellas in 1942–50, and subsequently in three collections in 1951–53, for nearly thirty years the series was a trilogy: Foundation (1951); Foundation and Empire (1952); and Second Foundation (1953). It won the one-time Hugo Award for "Best All-Time Series" in 1966. Asimov later added new volumes, with two sequels: Foundation's Edge (1982) and Foundation and Earth (1986), and two prequels: Prelude to Foundation (1988) and Forward the Foundation (1993).

<i>Nemesis</i> (Asimov novel) 1989 science-fiction novel by Isaac Asimov

Nemesis is a science fiction novel by American writer Isaac Asimov. One of his later science fiction novels, it was published in 1989, three years before his death. The novel is loosely related to the future history of his Robot Series, Empire Series, and Foundation Series, into which Asimov attempted to integrate his science fiction output. This novel is connected to Asimov's other works by several ideas from earlier and later novels, including non-human intelligence, sentient astronomical bodies ("Hallucination"), and rotor engines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hari Seldon</span> Fictional character from the Foundation series by Isaac Asimov

Hari Seldon is a fictional character in the Foundation series of novels by Isaac Asimov. In his capacity as mathematics professor at Streeling University on the planet Trantor, Seldon develops psychohistory, an algorithmic science that allows him to predict the future in probabilistic terms. On the basis of his psychohistory he is able to predict the eventual fall of the Galactic Empire and to develop a means to shorten the millennia of chaos to follow.

The Encyclopedia Galactica is the name of a number of fictional or hypothetical encyclopedias containing all the knowledge accumulated by a galaxy-spanning civilization, most notably in Isaac Asimov's Foundation series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">R. Daneel Olivaw</span> Fictional character from the Foundation Universe by Isaac Asimov

R. Daneel Olivaw is a fictional robot created by Isaac Asimov. The "R" initial in his name stands for "Robot," a naming convention in Asimov's future society during Earth's early period of space colonization. Daneel is introduced in The Caves of Steel, a serialized story published in Galaxy magazine vol. 7 #1-3 from October to December 1953. The full story was published by Doubleday as a hardcover book in 1954.

<i>Foundation</i> (Asimov novel) 1951 science fiction novel by Isaac Asimov

Foundation is a science fiction novel by American writer Isaac Asimov. It is the first published in his Foundation Trilogy. Foundation is a cycle of five interrelated short stories, first published as a single book by Gnome Press in 1951. Collectively they tell the early story of the Foundation, an institute founded by psychohistorian Hari Seldon to preserve the best of galactic civilization after the collapse of the Galactic Empire.

<i>Second Foundation</i> 1953 novel by Isaac Asimov

Second Foundation is the third novel published of the Foundation Series by American writer Isaac Asimov, and the fifth in the in-universe chronology. It was first published in 1953 by Gnome Press.

<i>Foundation and Empire</i> 1952 novel by Isaac Asimov

Foundation and Empire is a science fiction novel by American writer Isaac Asimov originally published by Gnome Press in 1952. It is the second book in the Foundation series, and the fourth in the in-universe chronology. It takes place in two parts, originally published as separate novellas. The second part, "The Mule," won a Retro Hugo Award in 1996.

<i>Forward the Foundation</i> Novel by Isaac Asimov

Forward the Foundation is a novel by American writer Isaac Asimov, published posthumously in 1993. It is the second of two prequels to the Foundation Series. It is written in a format similar to that of the original book, Foundation, composed of chapters with long intervals in between, although Forward takes place within only one lifetime. Both books were first published as independent short stories in science fiction magazines.

<i>Foundation and Chaos</i> 1998 novel by Greg Bear

Foundation and Chaos (1998) is a science fiction novel by Greg Bear, set in Isaac Asimov's Foundation universe. It is the second book of the Second Foundation trilogy, which was written after Asimov's death by three authors, authorized by the Asimov estate.

Psychohistory is a fictional science in Isaac Asimov's Foundation universe which combines history, sociology, and mathematical statistics to make general predictions about the future behavior of very large groups of people, such as the Galactic Empire. It was first introduced in the four short stories (1942–1944) which would later be collected as the 1951 novel Foundation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Galactic Empire (Asimov)</span> Fictional interstellar empire

The Galactic Empire is an interstellar empire featured in Isaac Asimov's Robot, Galactic Empire, and Foundation series. The Empire is spread across the Milky Way galaxy and consists of almost 25 million planets settled exclusively by humans. For over 12 millennia the seat of imperial authority was located on the ecumenopolis of Trantor, whose population exceeded 40 billion, until it was sacked in the year 12,328. The official symbol of the empire is the Spaceship-and-Sun. Cleon II was the last Emperor to hold significant authority. The fall of the empire, modelled on the fall of the Roman Empire, is the subject of many of Asimov's novels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hober Mallow</span> Fictional character from the Foundation series by Isaac Asimov

Hober Mallow is a fictional character in the Foundation series by Isaac Asimov. In the 1944 novella "The Big and the Little", he is a Master Trader for the Foundation who pioneers the use of commerce to increase the Foundation's power and influence across the galaxy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gaal Dornick</span> Fictional character from the Foundation series by Isaac Asimov

Gaal Dornick is a fictional character in the Foundation series by Isaac Asimov. Introduced in Foundation (1951), he is a gifted young mathematician from a remote world who becomes embroiled in the conflict surrounding famed mathematician and psychologist Hari Seldon and his predictive science of psychohistory.

Isaac Asimov's The Foundation Trilogy was adapted for the BBC Radio 4 in eight hour-long episodes by Patrick Tull and Mike Stott, directed by David Cain, first broadcast in 1973, and repeated in 1977 and 2002.

The Foundation universe is the future history of humanity's colonization of the galaxy, spanning nearly 25,000 years, created through the gradual fusion of the Robot, Galactic Empire, and Foundation book series written by American author Isaac Asimov.

Foundation is an American science fiction television series created by David S. Goyer and Josh Friedman for Apple TV+, loosely based on the Foundation series of stories by Isaac Asimov. It features an ensemble cast led by Jared Harris, Lee Pace, Lou Llobell and Leah Harvey. The series premiered on September 24, 2021. In October 2021, the series was renewed for a second season, which premiered on July 14, 2023. In December 2023, the series was renewed for a third season.

The Mule (<i>Foundation</i>) Fictional character from the Foundation series by Isaac Asimov

The Mule is a fictional character in the Foundation series by Isaac Asimov. First appearing in the 1945 novella "The Mule", he is a mutant and telepath who seizes control of the galaxy as a dictator after the fall of the Galactic Empire. Though he conquers the Foundation, his obsession with destroying the Second Foundation proves to be his undoing in the 1948 novella "Now You See It...".

References

  1. 1 2 Gunn, James (1982). Isaac Asimov: The Foundations of Science Fiction (2005 Revised ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN   0-8108-5420-1. Archived from the original on March 8, 2024. Retrieved March 26, 2024.
  2. ↑ Elkins, Charles (March 1976). "Isaac Asimov's Foundation Novels: Historical Materialism Distorted into Cyclical Psycho-History". Science Fiction Studies . Archived from the original on November 1, 2023. Retrieved February 25, 2024.
  3. ↑ Gevers, Nicholas David (August 1997). Mirrors of the Past: Versions of History in Science Fiction and Fantasy (PhD). University of Cape Town. Archived from the original on October 7, 2021. Retrieved October 7, 2021.
  4. ↑ Wimmer, Josh; Wilkins, Alasdair (May 10, 2011). "In Which Events Take a Generally Darker Turn: Foundation and Empire by Isaac Asimov". Gizmodo . Archived from the original on February 26, 2024. Retrieved February 26, 2024.
  5. ↑ Gunn, James (1982). Isaac Asimov: The Foundations of Science Fiction. Oxford University Press. ISBN   0-19-503060-5.
  6. ↑ Folk-Williams, John (October 24, 2023). "Re-Reading Foundation and Empire by Isaac Asimov". SciFi Mind. Archived from the original on February 27, 2024. Retrieved February 27, 2024.
  7. 1 2 3 Lealos, Shawn S.; Bacon, Thomas (September 26, 2021). "Foundation: All Major Changes the Show Makes to Isaac Asimov's Books". Screen Rant . Archived from the original on September 25, 2023. Retrieved February 27, 2024.
  8. ↑ "The Foundation Trilogy". SciFiMike. Archived from the original on February 25, 2024. Retrieved February 26, 2024.
  9. ↑ Willis, Jesse (April 21, 2011). "BBC Radio 3: Isaac Asimov's The Foundation Trilogy". SFF Audio. Archived from the original on February 25, 2024. Retrieved February 25, 2024.
  10. 1 2 Del Rosario, Alexandra (February 1, 2022). "Foundation: Apple TV+ Sci-Fi Drama Adds 10 to Season 2 Cast, Unveils First Look". Deadline Hollywood . Archived from the original on January 5, 2023. Retrieved January 5, 2023.
  11. 1 2 3 4 Collins, Sean T. (July 28, 2023). "Foundation Season 2 Episode 3 Recap: 'King and Commoner'". Decider . Archived from the original on August 1, 2023. Retrieved March 5, 2024.
  12. ↑ Cannon, Nicholas (July 18, 2023). "Ben Daniels on Playing Bel Riose in Foundation Season 2: 'He's Based on a Real-life Roman General'". What to Watch. Archived from the original on October 31, 2023. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  13. ↑ Collins, Sean T. (August 4, 2023). "Foundation Season 2 Episode 4 Recap: 'Where the Stars Are Scattered Thinly'". Decider . Archived from the original on March 1, 2024. Retrieved March 1, 2024.
  14. ↑ Collins, Sean T. (August 25, 2023). "Foundation Season 2 Episode 7 Recap: 'A Necessary Death'". Decider . Archived from the original on September 10, 2023. Retrieved March 5, 2024.
  15. ↑ Motamayor, Rafael (September 8, 2023). "Foundation Recap: Robot and Empire" . Vulture . Archived from the original on February 29, 2024. Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  16. ↑ Collins, Sean T. (September 8, 2023). "Foundation Season 2 Episode 9 Recap: 'Long Ago, Not Far Away'". Decider . Archived from the original on October 14, 2023. Retrieved March 5, 2024.
  17. ↑ Collins, Sean T. (September 15, 2023). "Foundation Season 2 Finale Recap: 'Creation Myths'". Decider . Archived from the original on September 29, 2023. Retrieved March 5, 2024.
  18. 1 2 Massoto, Erick (September 23, 2023). "Foundation's David S. Goyer Reveals That Killing [SPOILER] Was Always the Plan". Collider . Archived from the original on September 30, 2023. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  19. 1 2 Grimes, Gary (August 21, 2023). "Foundation star Dino Fetscher: 'We need to raise queer actors up'". Attitude . Archived from the original on February 21, 2024. Retrieved March 20, 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.