"You're gonna need a bigger TV." That was my initial response to the very first episode of "Foundation" back in 2021. The big-budget adaptation of Isaac Asimov's novels (which has just returned to Apple TV+) delivered space opera sequences on a truly epic scale, and was visually ambitious in a way no sci-fi show would — or even could — have attempted just a decade ago.

In fact, it's not that long since describing a TV show as "cinematic" felt like the ultimate compliment, reserved for the blockbuster likes of "Game of Thrones" and "Westworld". But as streaming has evolved into the dominant species in the TV ecosystem, cinema-quality production values have become the norm.

Disney+'s ever-expanding stable of "Star Wars" and Marvel TV series are effectively movies cut into bite-sized chunks

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