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The Orville |OT| MacFarlane's sci-fi com-, wait it's a drama!? That can't be right

W

watership

Member
jb1234 said:
I tolerate the aspects I don't like because it reminds me of a different era of storytelling, one that I miss. But I wouldn't ever claim it's a particularly great show.
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Yeah, the problem is that it's a copy, not even a spiritual successor or a tribute. A straight up, TNG clone. The editing alone makes me cringe.

I could forgive the TNG parallels if they tried to be a little more creative. Otherwise this is a fanfic.
 
L

LyleLanley

Banned
I'm not entirely sure why but I'm enjoying this show a lot more than I expected. They just need to cut out like 90% of Seth's jokes.
 
S

soqquatto

Member
I like this more than I like Discovery. it's not a good show, but it's a pretty good TNG and I missed that. also, it's getting better by the episode.
 
U

UnnecessaryTodd

Member
I love that this show is so willing to display ... 'stupidity' isn't the right word but... sup-competence(?) as a normal and accepted thing. My partner was cringing every time Malloy said something dumb and I love that his naivete wasn't ever the cause of their being discovered. At least not overtly.

Another fantastic episode. I wonder if it can keep up this level of quality, although unless the show just goes on a downward spiral or starts to rely on too many similar tropes I don't see myself not wanting season after season of this.
 
lunchtoast

lunchtoast

Member
soqquatto said:
I like this more than I like Discovery. it's not a good show, but it's a pretty good TNG and I missed that. also, it's getting better by the episode.
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Same. Looking forward to to this show every week. Haven't had the desire to finish ep 3 of discovery yet.


Anyone notice how much Seth reuses a lot of his jokes? Someone here earlier mentioned the leg joke being stolen from deadpool but a similar joke was used in You Debt Your Life American Dad episode from 2011.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBsbTchxGGU
 
L

Lonewolf_92

Member
My thoughts on the most recent ep:

If capturing a single Krill shuttle was a major boon, imagine how big capturing one of their destroyers would be?

Wasn't expecting the ending, I was thinking he would get the teacher on his side and maybe reveal to her that he was actually a Human, play on that whole "judging by the sword rather than the sheath" commandment from the Krill holy book to win her over. They went darker.

As always, the humor was the worst part. The bit with Bortus at the start was fine, but the Avis jokes and the helmsman's constant banter started to annoy me by the end.
 
K

Kevin

Member
lunchtoast said:
Same. Looking forward to to this show every week. Haven't had the desire to finish ep 3 of discovery yet.


Anyone notice how much Seth reuses a lot of his jokes? Someone here earlier mentioned the leg joke being stolen from deadpool but a similar joke was used in You Debt Your Life American Dad episode from 2011.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBsbTchxGGU
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I mean the guy has done like hundreds of tv episodes and thousands of jokes... does everyone actually expect him to come up with new jokes every single time? I'm surprised he has been able to produce as much funny material as he has over the years. Sure his jokes may have worn a bit thin over time but the man has produced a LOT of humor over the years. I think he's earned the ability to reuse some jokes in newer shows.
 
R

radios shipping overview

Member
The writing is still really messy. This ep felt kind of half-baked to me. If the show could try just a little bit harder than it is, as far as the writing and characters are concerned, it could really start to be a Trek contender. I think at this point, it's pretty clear how the time taken for comedy cuts into time that would be used for character development in older Trek series. And, sure, there's room for character development in comedy, but in Orville's case it's like a bunch of frat humor and alien quirks.

The actor who played the priest has been on four different Trek series. He and the Krill captain reminded me of Cardassians, with their make up and acting.

Ratings seem to be holding steady. https://tvseriesfinale.com/tv-show/the-orville-season-one-ratings/
 
G

golem

Member
Yeah I dont know if this show is being rushed in production or what but I feel like if they just gave it that extra effort it could be something pretty good. Maybe Brannon Braga really is the ruiner of all things *shrug*
 
Q

Quixzlizx

Member
I just watched the first three episodes.

This show feels like a counterfeit knockoff of TNG. But it's still watchable so far.
 
A

Apt101

Member
Just caught the most recent. What a ride, lots of fun with a conclusion that sets up a hell of a rivalry without being too heavy on the modern day metaphors.
 
PleaseDontBanMe

PleaseDontBanMe

Banned
Apt101 said:
Just caught the most recent. What a ride, lots of fun with a conclusion that sets up a hell of a rivalry without being too heavy on the modern day metaphors.
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"Most species drop their faith once they reach the stage of intergalactic space travel yet for some reason they haven't"


I understand the Krill are supposed to represent religious extremist like Isis or Taliban but when that statement was made Ben Carson's image is the only thing that kept popping into my head.

Loved that guy as a kid and I can't rationalize how someone as intelligent as he is can take on some of the stances/opinions he does.

Was shocked the moment I found out he didn't think Evolution was true.
 
R

Romars202129

Member
PleaseDontBanMe said:
"Most species drop their faith once they reach the stage of intergalactic space travel yet for some reason they haven't"


I understand the Krill are supposed to represent religious extremist like Isis or Taliban but when that statement was made Ben Carson's image is the only thing that kept popping into my head.

Loved that guy as a kid and I can't rationalize how someone as intelligent as he is can take on some of the stances/opinions he does.

Was shocked the moment I found out he didn't think Evolution was true.
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Hyper specialization is often accompanied by certain deficiencies.
I'm with you though, I was incredibly impressed with him as a kid.
 
C

Chie Satonaka91

Neo Member
I haven't gotten to watch the latest episode yet, but im loving the show so far. Way better than Discovery. I wonder how long until they inevitably do a mirror universe episode.
 
H

HP_Wuvcraft

Banned
Holy shit, this show is just one huge shameless Trek rip-off. Wow. I'm just.... wow.

The jokes pretty much land in the later episodes. I like that the humor is played off realistically.
 
Tevious

Tevious

Member
I'm loving this show. I look forward to it every week now. Sometimes the jokes don't land, but it's fun. Kind of a mix of TNG and Star Gate SG1. As for Star Trek Discovery, I watched every episode so far and I'm already kind of bored with it. I'm just not finding any of those characters (except maybe Saru) or the story to be all that interesting so far.
 
xBladeM6x

xBladeM6x

Member
If someone told me that Seth MacFarlane was going to make a completely serious Star Trek reboot (actually Trek, not a knock-off) and it was going to feature episode structure and the core production philosophy of the previous shows, I would trust him with it. That's what this series has showed me.
 
Jag

Jag

Member
xBladeM6x said:
If someone told me that Seth MacFarlane was going to make a completely serious Star Trek reboot (actually Trek, not a knock-off) and it was going to feature episode structure and the core production philosophy of the previous shows, I would trust him with it. That's what this series has showed me.
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Think Fox took a risk here with the Trek comparisons. While Paramount doesn't have a lock on a futuristic space Federation (err, Union) there are enough similarities at least for Paramount to have a cause of action. We saw them recently flex their muscles with Axanar. While that was direct Trek fan fiction gone big, it shows that Paramount will aggressively protect their franchise.

Like others, I thought Orville was going to be satire, which would put them on a strong legal foundation, but it is also a drama that is very derivative of Trek. I think there is a fine line they are treading and its not clear that there isn't an argument for infringement.
 
M

mm04

Member
I loved this episode. It had the good moral dilemma, but the humor was making me laugh out loud. I hope we get a second season as I'm really starting to enjoy the show now.
 
N

Nightfall

Member
I don't really like Seth McFarlane and I thought this'd be some sort of spoof. I actually watched the first 4 episodes in one sitting last evening. I'm so in! It's funny but not overly relying on the comedy. More like TNG, which imho mostly didn't take itself seriously at all. I started watching TNG on Netflix a couple of weeks ago and it's goofy as hell most of the time.
So Orville is more Star Trek than Discovery, which really gets on my nerves. There's not one single character that I like. They're all a bunch of idiots.
 
H

Himynameischris

Member
superdeluxe said:
Without reading too much, is the early consensus that this is horrible, no longer true?
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It's settling into this weird Star Trek homage but it's starting to find it's own path and the comedy isn't as forced as in the first few episodes. Plus the characters are getting better.

I'm really enjoying it and I've never been a fan of any of Seths work.
 
K

KojiKnight

Member
Glass Shark said:
Just started watching and I'm surprised at how much I like it and just how much of a Star Trek send-up that it is. I think it could be genuinely great if they'd just cut some more of the overt pop culture reference jokes and revel in the humor of the situations.
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The only difference between this and voyager is the inclusion of aught references instead of 1930 serials.
 
M

Mindlog

Member
I wan't going to watch this show at all, but then I take a step back and remember that almost all of my favorite shows (especially sci-fi) have awful first seasons. I have an enormous backlog of shows, but will give this a chance.
 
D

DBT85

Member
superdeluxe said:
Without reading too much, is the early consensus that this is horrible, no longer true?
Click to expand...

If you like TNG and Seths humour and acting then you'll probably enjoy it. Still feels a bit hollow for me.

If you don't want dick jokes in your Trek then its another matter.
 
A

Aiii

So not worth it
superdeluxe said:
Without reading too much, is the early consensus that this is horrible, no longer true?
Click to expand...

I think only the critics said this, and most viewers either were mweh about it, or liked it.

The critics fucked up, they were misled by the marketing and were expecting a parody, not a good Trek copy.
 
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