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THE ORVILLE - Show Discussion


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10 minutes ago, Nick1066 said:

Sorry Quintus, but with this belligerent attitude you'd never get along on The Orville!

 

You'd be much more at home on the Discovery. 

 

 

In these sorts of shows I believe they call that a paradox! Quick, everyone start brainstorming contingency strategies around a big table with a composite backdrop of stars scrolling past. 

 

15 minutes ago, BloodBoal said:

 

Only because he hasn't seen it.

 

10 minutes ago, Nick1066 said:

 

That hasn't stopped him from hating it. :)

 

He's a precious and zealously overprotective Trekkie, what else can be expected? This is playing out exactly as it should do. Spoiler: it ends with him giving in and watching it. 

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29 minutes ago, Stefancos said:

Orvillers and a bunch of lemmings obviously! Back to Other Topics.

 

They prefer that you call them Orvillians. And they're free to use whichever bathrooms they wish.

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5 hours ago, Disco Stu said:

I'm still only 2 episodes in so maybe they get better

 

They do. Wait until episode 4. That is the one that really sold me on this being the new Star Trek. And there are a couple after that that are even better.

 

Yavar

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26 minutes ago, Yavar Moradi said:

 

They do. Wait until episode 4. That is the one that really sold me on this being the new Star Trek. And there are a couple after that that are even better.

 

I just watched it. This was an episode of The Next Generation with a different cast, it was identical to that show. It's uncanny. 

 

I hope the humour comes back into the mix much more again in the remaining episodes. It's gotten a bit stodgy and dare I say generically dull. Not a bad episode, but if I wanted to watch actual Star Trek I would do. 

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They never do away with comedy entirely but there's not as much in any later episode as there was in the first 3 episodes.  There are some great comedic bits though, like one particular karaoke bit that made me laugh out loud

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Yeah, there were some gags here and there in the most recent episode, but they're few and far between. There's a disparity between this and the all out parody of the pilot. The second episode too I thought was really amusing and sharp. I'm actually alright with the tonal shifts, because the storylines are solid and I quite like the characters, but I would prefer things to return to being a bit more silly and clever rather than drearily earnest with the odd joke thrown in. Still well onboard with it though, it's good. 

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If that's what you're hoping for you're setting yourself up for disappointment.  They abandon the laugh rate of the early episodes entirely and basically just do Star Trek stories with occasional jokes now.

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1 hour ago, Jay said:

They never do away with comedy entirely but there's not as much in any later episode as there was in the first 3 episodes.  There are some great comedic bits though, like one particular karaoke bit that made me laugh out loud

 

This is really good point Jay, and it just occurred to me that I've literally LOL'd many times while watching this show. Most TV comedies at most get kind of a half chuckle from me, so that's got to be a good thing.  Or maybe I just like McFarlane's humour (though I'm actually more of a Larry David person).

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The commradery / bickering between the two bridge guys is usually pretty good, on top of that karaoke bit I mentioned I also liked the practical joke bit with the leg... Actually the robot is good for some comedy at least once every episode.  The only thing they try that doesn't really work for me is most anything to do with Norm MacDonald's character.

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1 hour ago, Jay said:

The only thing they try that doesn't really work for me is most anything to do with Norm MacDonald's character.

 

Admit it, he had one great laugh out loud moment when he cuddled with the good doctor. 

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Actually his scenes in the Rob Lowe episode were pretty good, the best use they've made of him yet for sure.  I loved how he squared out all shallow on his bed :lol:

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Watched episode 3 last night, "About a Girl."  That was definitely a major improvement.  It's still mostly running on potential but it's nice to see it trying to get at some deeper themes in the style of Trek.  Bortus was the character that stood out to me the most from the first two episodes so it was nice to see him get a spotlight here.  I'm still having to ask my wife for character names because they're just not sticking with me yet, but I'm getting there.

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I haven't a clue what any of the characters are called in this, although that's fairly normal for me and lower tier TV shows. I'm watching The Strain and I only know the main character is called Eph. I've nearly finished season 2. I can't even remember what the old guy who was my avatar last week is called, also from that show. I've recently watched the first five episodes of The Good Place on Netflix and god knows what any of those people are all called. I know one is Ted Danson and that'll do. 

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The Orville 1x10 Firestorm

 

Damn, another week, another good episode!  I was ready to write it off about 10 minutes in as a "character development" episodes, one of those episodes these kinds of shows has to do everyone in a while that saves effects budget for grander eps, but gives nice character development for someone through doing a smaller story.


Then the clown showed up.

 

The Orville did a mystery this week, and they did it right!  I was enthralled by the whole middle of the episode as Kitan tried to figure out what was going on.  It was good, and the twist was OK I suppose, not the best but not terrible.  Was cool to see Robert Picardo, too!


Great scoring this week also!!  Lots of cues in the style of Horner's ALIENS, and I think I heard some TOTAL RECALL in there as well!

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Be careful, with some of these network shows, the earlier eps of the season drop off Hulu.


We watched Season 1 of The Good Place on netflix, then went to Hulu to start Season 2, and it only had episodes 3 forward, so i had to download episodes 1 and 2.  How stupid!

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Watched episode 4, "If the Stars Should Appear" last night.  Pretty cool!  When they whipped out their "tricorders" for the first time I thought to myself, "Boy, Paramount really could sue if they wanted to."  The concept of the episode was interesting (classic Trek stuff), but it seemed a bit underdeveloped to me, like maybe this story should've been a two-parter.  It seemed to just sort of...end after the big reveal.  But still, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

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I assume they fully own the first 10 films, after that Paramount and CBS split up as companies, with CBS getting Star Trek. 

Paramount had to license Star Trek from CBS when they made the Kelvin movies. Though I do believe they own the Kelvin Universe, with Bad Robot.

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Yes, and Paramount was involved in the lawsuit (w/CBS) vs. the creators of that Star Trek fan project...so they definitely have an IP interest in Star Trek. My guess is they'd be involved in any potential lawsuit brought against FOX for Orville. It doesn't matter that Orville is a TV show and not a movie. IP infringement is IP infringement no matter the medium.

 

Anyway, I still wonder why FOX hasn't been sued over this show, it definitely gets close to the line if not crossing it completely. I'm beginning to suspect that FOX and CBS have some sort of agreement that hasn't been made public, perhaps allowing CBS to use some FOX property.  Or maybe FOX just has really good lawyers.

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Well the Battle Of Axanar fan films involved people using the Star Trek IP including alien races, names etc in a production that looked near professional and featured some well know if oft unemployed actors. It was a very clear violation of the copyright.

 

I'm sure The Orville's isnt that blatant, and I doubt CBS wants to spend years in court. 

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I think The Orville is focused on telling the stories they want to tell and developing the characters they want to develop, they don't seek out to purpose ape some Star Trek thing every week.  It just happens cause its the exact same premise.

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I laugh that they're the Union, except between DS9, Voyager, and Star Wars, every other type of coalition was claimed. 

 

Oh snap. Nobody remembers the Cardassian Union, I guess. 

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Oh, and I'm glad they don't have transporters on the show.

 

Did you like last week's mystery episode, Wojo?

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Just want to add, The Orville is still clearly meant as big love letter and homage to Star Trek. The Orville isn't out to usurp ST. It's very much it's own thing, but I think the DNA between the two IPs are so deeply intertwined that it's impossible to not think about Star Trek while watching. 

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It is definitely a love letter to Star Trek.  At first I thought it would be one big parody, which would usually protect them from copyright infringement. But I honestly can't say this is strictly parody, especially as the show evolves.

 

It's all good though, I really like the show and I'm glad it's doing pretty well and will be around next season. How they're getting away with it just still feels like a bit of a mystery to me.  I agree that it's all being done with good intentions and they're not trying to usurp Trek or directly compete with them. 

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Yea.  The pilot felt like an attempt to parody Star Trek, but failing (too much forced humor).  Then extremely quickly it evolved into just doing its own thing, and doing so with a lot of heart and passion.  It's one of hte shows I most look forward to watching every week

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16 minutes ago, Nick1066 said:

How they're getting away with it just still feels like a bit of a mystery to me.

 

Why? They aren't calling is Star Trek, or using any of the names, designs, characters associated with that franchise. 

 

If CBS decided to sue they would have to endure a very long, public legal process against a very popular TV maker.

 

Was McFarlane ever sued for Family Guy basically being a carbon copy of The Simpsons? I don't recall if he was.

 

This is what Seth does, take a beloved property and put his own (comedy) spin on it. I'm sure him and Fox have all their legal bases covered anyway. It might be that's the reason they don't have transporters on The Orville.

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Last night's episode was a bit more average than some of the recent ones but definitely still really enjoyed some of the creativity put into the premise. I'm impressed with how frequently these episodes will show off a sci-fi concept or idea that I have either never seen before in a show or that I've never quite seen in portrayed in the light they choose to cast upon it. 

 

The scoring also continues to be really great. Blows me away how each episode has essentially had a great and unique score.

 

5 minutes ago, BloodBoal said:

CBS decided not to sue, because they know it'd be good publicity for The Orville, as people who have never heard of or never watched the show would suddenly realize how much better than Discovery it is.

There is enough humor that I feel they could always pull out the "It's a parody" card if the conflict ever reached that point, although I don't feel that is what the show really is. 

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6 minutes ago, Stefancos said:

 

Why? They aren't calling is Star Trek, or using any of the names, designs, characters associated with that franchise. 

 

 

You don't need to be that specific to infringe on copyright. 

 

6 minutes ago, Stefancos said:

 

Was McFarlane ever sued for Family Guy basically being a carbon copy of The Simpsons? I don't recall if he was.

 

This is way, way beyond any kind of homage McFarlane may have done with Family Guy. You really need to watch it to understand.

 

6 minutes ago, Stefancos said:

If CBS decided to sue they would have to endure a very long, public legal process against a very popular TV maker.

 

Very true. And this may be part of why they're just letting it go.

 

Have you I mentioned that you really need to watch this?

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7 minutes ago, Nick1066 said:

You don't need to be that specific to infringe on copyright. 

 

I know, but many TV networks and movie studios do thinly veiled versions of successful films and TV shows. Everyone would be suing each other. 

 

I mean The Voice is basically The X-Factor with swiveling chairs.

 

7 minutes ago, Nick1066 said:

This is way, way beyond any king of homage McFarlane may have done with Family Guy

 

Homage? Family Guy was basically a carbon copy of The Simpsons, but with a talking dog.

 

Nick, these things are extremely common in TV

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Suppose I have a TV series called "Galaxy Battles". It features a dark lord named Death Invader. People fly around in small ships called T-Wings and C-Wings and huge battleships called "Planet Crushers". They fight with "laser swords" and group of elite, monk like warriors use something called "The Power". The whole thing is centered around an epic interstellar conflict between the "Imperium" and the "Resistance". The main characters are accompanied by cute, robotic sidekicks called "Drones".

 

Would you regard that as copyright infringement? Yeah. That's about how close Orville is.

 

Though if they made the whole thing a parody, they'd be fine!

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4 minutes ago, Stefancos said:

Homage? Family Guy was basically a carbon copy of The Simpsons, but with a talking dog.

 

That is not true at all.

 

By your logic every single show ever made that has a husband, wife, and 3 children is a copy of the Simpsons.

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4 minutes ago, Nick1066 said:

Suppose I have a TV series called "Galaxy Battles". It features a dark lord named Death Invader. People fly around in ships called T-Wings and C-Wings. They fight with "laser swords" and group of elite, monk like warriors use something called "The Power". The whole thing is cantered around an epic interstellar conflict between the Imperium and the Resistance. The main characters are accompanied by cute, robotic sidekicks called "Drones".

 

Would you regard that as copyright infringement? Yeah. That's how close Orville is.

 

Though if they made the whole thing a parody, they'd be fine!

 

They pretty much made a lot of these back in the late 70s/80s! Starcrash, Battle Beyond the Stars, Star Odyssey...

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