Brazil
Does witty banter translate well? I only speak English, with a smattering of French, Spanish, and Indonesian. My uncle and I once spoke French with a John Wayne accent, which blew my aunt's mind, but it wasn't exactly witty banter.
This show is like some weird live-action version of Family Guy set in a Star Trek-esque universe.
It seems like it's having issues trying to decide whether it's a sci-fi show with comedic elements or a comedy show with sci-fi elements.
The first two episodes completely over-used the failed marriage gags. We still have them now, but thankfully they are fading into the background. With each new episode we move ever so slightly away from the comedy more toward the sci-fi elements. Which is good, because maybe the unintentional comedy will go away too (hello six+ people running through ankle deep water with no cover not getting mowed down by 16 warrior aliens in cover.... or just Hugging The Donkey).
Episode Three seemed to be some sort of backwards social commentary on Transgenderism where the writers weren't quite sure which side they were on, if any. It's good to see the main characters reach an ending that's not 100% comfortable for them, even if the entire conflict is meaningless in the end (it can be resolved with 12 seconds in med bay).
Episode Four could have been a particularly humorous episode of Star Trek TOS and I loved it. If this is their goal and not just a transitory state, I would be perfectly happy. This is better Star Trek than Star Wars Discovery has been.
A major plus is the characterization. Seth is good at this sort of thing, and while I may not remember all their names perfectly, there are at least six characters that I like... and that's impressive being that I hate his and the wife character. Each has their quirks and vastly different personalities.
Other minor good things are that they didn't go with the best of the best. The ship is a smaller no-name vessel people haven't heard of, the crew are either misfits or the few hyper competent people there to keep the others from dying in stupid ways. The reactions of the non-silly side characters who expect the Orville crew to be professionals before realizing they are fools is a treat, too.
Will definitely keep up with this show.
EDIT: Non-SILLY. Not sure what autocorrect was thinking.
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On Trek, when it was good, the writers tried to represent both sides as fairly and equally as possible, or at least in such a way as you can legitimately understand and appreciate the motives of the side they disagree with, even if they've carried it to the point of being ridiculous. In many cases, some weird oppressive thing turns out to be some useful advice or command from the past that's become some religious-like truth over time as its origins were forgotten.
In Orville Ep.3, they didn't even bother to ask "Wait, why does your culture do this?" until halfway through the episode. We never get a good answer other than "Guess Moclans are just sexist for no reason, lol". There's so many ways they could have given them some legitimate reason where the viewer could be like "Hmmm, they have a point" but instead they use silly arguments and make them into caricatures... and then have the end decision go the opposite way you'd expect.
I don't expect much better because "comedy show" but also because Ep.4 was so much better that it seems like they are improving.
On Trek, when it was good, the writers tried to represent both sides as fairly and equally as possible, or at least in such a way as you can legitimately understand and appreciate the motives of the side they disagree with, even if they've carried it to the point of being ridiculous. In many cases, some weird oppressive thing turns out to be some useful advice or command from the past that's become some religious-like truth over time as its origins were forgotten.
In Orville Ep.3, they didn't even bother to ask "Wait, why does your culture do this?" until halfway through the episode. We never get a good answer other than "Guess Moclans are just sexist for no reason, lol". There's so many ways they could have given them some legitimate reason where the viewer could be like "Hmmm, they have a point" but instead they use silly arguments and make them into caricatures... and then have the end decision go the opposite way you'd expect.
I don't expect much better because "comedy show" but also because Ep.4 was so much better that it seems like they are improving.
That's not at all what happend
That's exactly what happened.
Looking forward to tonight, though. Still more fun than ST:D.
Another good episode in my opinion.
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He can complain but the leg thing was the best practical joke ever. I'm glad in the end he recognized it.
He can complain but the leg thing was the best practical joke ever. I'm glad in the end he recognized it.
Usually, actual physical harm is considered "beyond the pale" in practical jokes. (... unless you're this guy.)
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He can complain but the leg thing was the best practical joke ever. I'm glad in the end he recognized it.Usually, actual physical harm is considered "beyond the pale" in practical jokes. (... unless you're this guy.)
Their was no permanent harm done. Also hiding the leg made it even better. Now if you don't have regeneration tech then yes too far.
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"Do you want us to take the leg?"
"Yeah, take the leg with you"
"Do you want us to take the leg?"
"Yeah, take the leg with you"
The leg was also a clever way for Isaac to signal the captain that "it" was ready. (Not sure what pronoun to use for a sentient robot.)
Beyond that subplot, it was a very ST:TNG episode in feel. :)
I really feel like I personally would of been ok with jumping ahead into the future. The idea of going back and grabbing people when they are about to die anyways is kind of an interesting thing.
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I really feel like I personally would of been ok with jumping ahead into the future. The idea of going back and grabbing people when they are about to die anyways is kind of an interesting thing.
It's been used as a plot in movies like Millenium and Freejack and Time Cop. (Freejack was fun. Millenium and Time Cop, eh.)
I'm sure there are many other examples. A story in which someone jumps back and kills Hitler as a baby is common as dirt, but one in which someone jumps back to save some documents from being destroyed in the fire at the library of Alexandria, because the information in them is vital to something going on in the future? That could be new.
I really feel like I personally would of been ok with jumping ahead into the future. The idea of going back and grabbing people when they are about to die anyways is kind of an interesting thing.
We only ever had her word on that. And if she started out lying, she could just as easily switched to another lie as decide to tell the truth. Furthermore, didn’t they first divert to save her and then, only after saving her, encounter the dark matter storm? As far as I could tell, even if they were going to die, it’s because she engineered her presence in the past to put them in the situation where they would die.
I really feel like I personally would of been ok with jumping ahead into the future. The idea of going back and grabbing people when they are about to die anyways is kind of an interesting thing.It's been used as a plot in movies like Millenium and Freejack and Time Cop. (Freejack was fun. Millenium and Time Cop, eh.)
I'm sure there are many other examples. A story in which someone jumps back and kills Hitler as a baby is common as dirt, but one in which someone jumps back to save some documents from being destroyed in the fire at the library of Alexandria, because the information in them is vital to something going on in the future? That could be new.
Like a spell scroll of time traveling! The Papyrus Paradox.
Or what if you ran into all the other time travelers going back in time to kill baby Hitler? Or just kidnap baby Hitler and giving baby Hitler a good art education? Or just ring the doorbell when Hitler's parents are about to do it?
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Or what if you ran into all the other time travelers going back in time to kill baby Hitler?
That sounds like a hilarious comedy of errors, all the assassins getting confused and killing each other, while the baby sort of skates through it unharmed, complicated by the fact that at least one of the time travelers came back in time to *protect* him...
Or what if you ran into all the other time travelers going back in time to kill baby Hitler?That sounds like a hilarious comedy of errors, all the assassins getting confused and killing each other, while the baby sort of skates through it unharmed, complicated by the fact that at least one of the time travelers came back in time to *protect* him...
Or many protectors, and it transitions into a courtroom drama at time traveling CPS family court.
He was pretty terrible at perspectives. Which is ironic, all things considered.
This episode was much more Star Trek than goofball comedy, even though we had that with the leg. The leg joke was funny, even more so when you realize how much effort Isaac went in hiding the thing in a completely random location. Knowing that they could regenerate the leg with contemptuous ease sort of reduced the impact of Episode 3, but it seems we are well past that now. I hope this 'prank war' isn't just a one-off.
It was also really nice going almost half the episode before the ever-required divorce jokes came up.
This 'felt' like one of the time travel caper episodes of STNG. I liked Seth's character's approach to dealing with temporal paradoxes, because usually they try to treat it with kid gloves and only end up making it worse.
Just ignore it! its the futures problem not ours!
The leg thing is rather fascinating when you consider Isaac’s cultural background. He’s an artificial lifeform in a robot body. That is to say, he arguably does not need a physical body (I mean, we know he can survive outside it in another mainframe on at least a temporary basis and for all we know indefinitely). He uses a robotic body, but would his kind have the same emotional (well, his species’ equivalent) attachment to it or any of its parts as we do ours?
Put it this way: I wear glasses. I need them, and I am very inconvenienced when I don’t have them. But at the end of the day, if I ever lost them, I have backups and getting a new pair is a trip to Sears Optical and a waiting period of a few weeks. I would never feel the need to scream bloody murder if they were lost. So it makes perfect sense that Isaac would escalate the prank war to dismemberment; from his perspective, he didn’t escalate a thing.
So I gave The Orville a 5 episode chance and its not working for me. The B squad ST appeal would be better served in a comedy series. I believe Mel Brooks said that to parody something you have to love it. This was a real missed opportunity for McFarlane who is great at parody and clearly loves ST. We could have had Spaceballs the series with captain Ed Mercer a Roger Wilco type character. The crew would be delegated to menial tasks, yet somehow always find their way into galaxy changing conflicts and barely surviving by the skin of their appendages. Instead, we get ST reruns with a new Maaco ambassador quality paint job.
I do think once The Orville establishes itself, the writing may loosen up and get more creative. Until then, I'll be tuning out and checking back in later seasons for improvement. Even if The Orville is not for me, I am glad to see some Science fiction on the networks for folks who are digging it.
So I gave The Orville a 5 episode chance and its not working for me. The B squad ST appeal would be better served in a comedy series. I believe Mel Brooks said that to parody something you have to love it. This was a real missed opportunity for McFarlane who is great at parody and clearly loves ST. We could have had Spaceballs the series with captain Ed Mercer a Roger Wilco type character. The crew would be delegated to menial tasks, yet somehow always find their way into galaxy changing conflicts and barely surviving by the skin of their appendages. Instead, we get ST reruns with a new Maaco ambassador quality paint job.
Sounds like this is what you are looking for.
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Frankly i'm enjoying it more then discovery.
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Sounds like this is what you are looking for.
I was thinking the same thing.
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Frankly i'm enjoying it more then discovery.
Agreed and seconded. It seems that the writers have yet to learn the mistakes of what was done with past Trek series. Nothing says good storytelling like
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So the episode "Krill" gives us more on the backstory of the Krill and their religion and thoughts, as well as introducing us to a familiar adventurer's problem:
Ed and Gordon's solution was interesting once they realized what the Krill basically are.
The jokes were sprinkled throughout the episode and only cringe worthy in a few places. The opening with the crew learning about Bortus' ability to eat was funny and what people would likely do. No mention of Ed and Kelly's divorce either, which is good.
Overall I liked the episode and was glad it didn't end on a happy note, but rather a more somber one.
So the episode "Krill" gives us more on the backstory of the Krill and their religion and thoughts, as well as introducing us to a familiar adventurer's problem:
** spoiler omitted **
Ed and Gordon's solution was interesting once they realized what the Krill basically are.
That actually caused me a couple of issues with the episode.
Does it not occur to Ed Mercer that while me may be saving the children on that ship - he was killing their parents? (Which is what the school teacher pointed out to him.)
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Good: No tidy ending; the Krill female doesn't suddenly realize that maybe humans have souls.
Bad: Way too many AVIS jokes.
No divorce jokes?!? I can't wait to see this tonight. It only took them like six episodes, but still.
I havent seen it yet, and want to avoid spoilers, so I'll just ask indirectly. Is the enemy ship a warship? Does it have large weapons and go picking fights? Because if it does, then it morally doesn't matter who is on board it, it is a valid target in a fight. If there are special circumstances (it's stolen, the crew committed mutiny, etc) it can get hazy, but I won't know that yet until I see it
No divorce jokes?!? I can't wait to see this tonight. It only took them like six episodes, but still.
I havent seen it yet, and want to avoid spoilers, so I'll just ask indirectly. Is the enemy ship a warship? Does it have large weapons and go picking fights? Because if it does, then it morally doesn't matter who is on board it, it is a valid target in a fight. If there are special circumstances (it's stolen, the crew committed mutiny, etc) it can get hazy, but I won't know that yet until I see it
It is.
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The jokes were sprinkled throughout the episode and only cringe worthy in a few places.
Eh. The jokes were certainly frontloaded, but the dialogue was cringe worthy largely every time the 'intrepid duo' talked. (The mission made no sense- these people had no chance of
This is my second attempt at watching this show, and I can't get past the innate anachronism. These are 21st century Americans pretending to be part of a space fleet, with no adjustment for changes in culture, history or the realities of space travel and meeting other species.
It's like watching someone assume that modern Brits would be die-hard Shakespearean in manner and dialect.
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I just view it as a translation convention. They're translating the jokes into the 21st century equivilant.
I just view it as a translation convention. They're translating the jokes into the 21st century equivilant.
And yet Gordon specifically referenced Avis as a "20th Century car rental company."
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The jokes were sprinkled throughout the episode and only cringe worthy in a few places.Eh. The jokes were certainly frontloaded, but the dialogue was cringe worthy largely every time the 'intrepid duo' talked. (The mission made no sense- these people had no chance of ** spoiler omitted **
This is my second attempt at watching this show, and I can't get past the innate anachronism. These are 21st century Americans pretending to be part of a space fleet, with no adjustment for changes in culture, history or the realities of space travel and meeting other species.
It's like watching someone assume that modern Brits would be die-hard Shakespearean in manner and dialect.
I imagine given that Seth is a rabid fan of Star Trek the fact that the pair were bad at infiltrating the Krill was a play on Star Trek constantly shoving the crew of the Enterprise into whatever situation of the week that they came across or that the Federation needed done, regardless of how inane it might be. I'm looking at you, Only Kirk Could Go To The Klingons as a prime example.
The Avis jokes may have been a sly play against the name Enterprise, another car rental place, considering they specifically mentioned Hertz as well.
I don't find the show very funny at all, but I'm not a fan of Seth McFarlane's other shows, either. And they need to stop referencing the 20th Century all the time. It's like the intervening centuries never existed. I still watch it for the serious moments, though.
Nothings been remotely as bad as voyager finding a dodge in the delta quadrant.
For all we know those insurance companies are still around.
I just want to know if they at least paid Avis for all the negative advertising they got from this episode.
I imagine given that Seth is a rabid fan of Star Trek the fact that the pair were bad at infiltrating the Krill was a play on Star Trek constantly shoving the crew of the Enterprise into whatever situation of the week that they came across or that the Federation needed done, regardless of how inane it might be.
Eh. I can't speak to his rabid fandom or not, it just seemed like more 'dude-bros at playtime,' which is the only overarching theme I've found to the show so far. My point is, they were so amazingly bad at interacting with even a modicum of seriousness that they should have been searched and shot in short order- by the aliens who met them at the airlock.
Eh. I can't speak to his rabid fandom or not, it just seemed like more 'dude-bros at playtime,' which is the only overarching theme I've found to the show so far. My point is, they were so amazingly bad at interacting with even a modicum of seriousness that they should have been searched and shot in short order- by the aliens who met them at the airlock.
I imagine given that Seth is a rabid fan of Star Trek the fact that the pair were bad at infiltrating the Krill was a play on Star Trek constantly shoving the crew of the Enterprise into whatever situation of the week that they came across or that the Federation needed done, regardless of how inane it might be.
Can I ask your opinion of episode 4? There was a lot of nerdy Star Trek parody stuff going on, but I thought that "dude-bros at playtime" became a non issue the instant Grayson and Kitan were arrested and shot. I like the way sharing meals has been used to illustrate functional multiculturalism in several episodes, as an example of a different overarching theme.
1. I liked the call back to
2. Gordon reminded me A LOT of Hoban Wash this episode.
3. Is the Union really new? These people know nothing about each other's planets and species and cultures and stuff.
4. When are they going to come in contact with the Roger species? And will Patrick Stewart be reporting for duty soon?
5. I just said doodie.
2. Wash is not an imbecile who is good at flying.
I was thinking particularly of "War Stories" where Mal and Wash go on "an away mission" by themselves, and hijinx ensue. Some torture. But mostly the fish out of cockpit reactions.