THE ORVILLE - Show Discussion

[Jay 37,281]

Have you watched episode 7 and 8 yet Wojo?  If so, what did you think?

 

What did @El Jefe think of them, too?

[Disco Stu 15,495]

5 minutes ago, Woj said:

He likes Kermit. He can't be all that bad. 

 

And a certain composer...

[Jay 37,281]

Speaking of music, I enjoy the scores that Broughton, McNeely, and Debney bring to the show a lot.  Sure, they aren't remotely breaking any new ground or introducing any amazing new melodies that will get stuck in your head, but they move the show along great and its fun to recognize when they are hommaging a classic scifi score.

[Disco Stu 15,495]

Waitin' for that LLL soundtrack announcement!

[Yavar Moradi 2,585]

I find Broughton's main theme to be a pretty memorable new melody, for what it's worth. (Very Galaxy Quest-eque though.)  And I found the ending of And If the Stars Should Appear quite memorable too, though it is a clear Goldsmith homage.

 

 

RE: Seth MacFarlane reducing his screen time -- I think he sees it as an ensemble show in the vein of TNG. Yes, some characters certainly got shortchanged in that show (anyone want to defend the character development of Beverly Crusher?) but it wasn't that rare that Captain Picard would largely sit an episode out (5 min or less) because it was focused on one of the other characters. Very different approach from TOS when Kirk was clearly the main character (with some occasional concessions to his best friends Spock and McCoy).

 

Yavar

[Wojo 2,453]

8 hours ago, Jay said:

Have you watched episode 7 and 8 yet Wojo?  If so, what did you think?

 

What did @El Jefe think of them, too?

 

Was 7 the social media allegory? It was good. I feel bad for the lobotomized guy but oh well. We didn't watch 8 yet. 

[Nick Parker 3,040]

All of the positivity for the show in this thread is really warming me up to persist through my disdain for McFarlane and watch it!

[Jay 37,281]

Do it Nick!

[Yavar Moradi 2,585]

5 hours ago, Nick Parker said:

All of the positivity for the show in this thread is really warming me up to persist through my disdain for McFarlane and watch it!

 

I wasn't a fan until The Orville either. Give it a try!

[Wojo 2,453]

Yay, Brian Thompson! 

 

"Gagh is always best when served live." 

 

Wait a minute. She tells her son to use the gun on stun because we value life, but she stabs her captor and shoots him in the belly? Wow. 

[Jay 37,281]

Totally different to use violence as a means to escape to go help your child, than him losing his innocence at a young age if he doesn't have to.

[Quintus 5,399]

On 03/11/2017 at 3:49 PM, Stefancos said:

Good! I should try it. 

 

It's Breaking Bad all over again! The Steef TV ritual

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Rubbish!

 

The trailer looked stupid. 

[Wojo 2,453]

7 hours ago, Jay said:

Totally different to use violence as a means to escape to go help your child, than him losing his innocence at anyoug age if he doesn't have to.

 

True, and my wife said about the same thing. 

 

I was just thinking that if this was a Star Trek episode, the doctor and captor would have seen the optimism of the situation, rushed back to the shuttle, and they would have cured the disease before help arrived. 

 

I guess in this case, it's the fact her captor stole her communicator that told her she couldn't trust him. Fair enough. 

[Jay 37,281]

The Orville 1x09 Cupid's Dagger

 

Another good one!  A bit slower-paced than recent eps, but I liked the slow pace as it fit the story.  Rob Lowe was really good, kind of playing a variant of his Parks and Rec character in a way.  Probably the best Norm McDonald / Yaphet stuff so far too.

 

Seth MacFarlane's acting was certainly the weak point of the episode, but luckily they had the rest of the cast all involved in the story so it didn't center around him as much.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

So it's Seth's acting really of putting of doesn't it affect the show much? Like how Jerry Seinfeld never really acted in Seinfeld, just delivered his lines like a bit.

[Wojo 2,453]

When I'm not watching the screen and Seth speaks, I think it's just Brian the dog. 

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

That's bad 

[Nick1Ø66 4,688]

1 hour ago, Stefancos said:

So it's Seth's acting really of putting of doesn't it affect the show much? Like how Jerry Seinfeld never really acted in Seinfeld, just delivered his lines like a bit.

 

That's pretty much it, Seinfeld is a good example.

 

I don't mind it, and it doesn't really take me out of the show.  Which is growing on me and at this point I like it more than Discovery.

[Wojo 2,453]

We're watching Ep 9 right now. I like how it's pushed the big interplanetary conflict story to the back burner to concentrate on the bridge characters. 

[Nick1Ø66 4,688]

It's a character driven show, which is one of the things I like about it.

[Jay 37,281]

On 11/11/2017 at 11:37 AM, Stefancos said:

So it's Seth's acting really of putting of doesn't it affect the show much? Like how Jerry Seinfeld never really acted in Seinfeld, just delivered his lines like a bit.

 

Pretty much, yea.  It's not that he's really BAD, he's just kind of OK but everyone else in the main cast and the guest actors of the week are generally all better than him.  But he isn't even the focus point of the show any more, they diversify and basically focus on a different crew member or two each week not.  There was 2 episodes back to back recently that Seth couldn't have been on screen for more than 5 minutes total between them

[Disco Stu 15,495]

Hey, the wife and I finally got around to watching the 1st episode.  I liked it!  Fun comfort food television for Next Generation fans basically.  I'm in.

[Disco Stu 15,495]

It’s certainly not great, best if you don’t expect that though.  The ex-wife XO angle was awful, makes both characters look bad.  If they’re the core of the show... oof.

 

 

Also: hey cool Kasidy Yates is on this show

[Cerebral Cortex 3,357]

It gets quite a bit better after the pilot. The first episode is probably my least-favorite one by quite a bit. 

[Quintus 5,399]

So first the special effects and now it's MacFarlane? I think he's pretty good in this actually, only last night I was taking a moment during an episode to notice he has a decent amount of charisma as the [unlikely] captain and he shares proper chemistry with his second in command (and love interest). 

 

I did notice the Family Guy thing when I first watched the pilot of this, but I soon got past that inevitable aspect of MacFarlane's inclusion. I personally don't find it distracting in the slightest. Maybe if it wasn't a comedic show set in space but instead Rescue Dawn with Seth taking Christian's role it would then be much more of an issue. 

[Disco Stu 15,495]

We also watched episode 2 last night and it was absolutely awful.  We'll stick with it of course but I hope episode 2 is the bottom.

 

6 hours ago, Quintus said:

 and he shares proper chemistry with his second in command (and love interest). 

 

This I couldn't disagree with more.  I find all of their scenes together absolutely excruciating and icky to watch.

[Quintus 5,399]

Yeah but you're a bit like that aren't you. 

[Disco Stu 15,495]

He just took the most eyerolling shitty CBS-style sitcom relationship tropes and transplanted them into a Star Trek show.  It's bad.

 

I'm more interested in every character who is not the captain or XO.

[Jay 37,281]

Don't worry, Stu!  The first 3 episodes are the worst of the entire run, with episode 2 being the low point, yes.  And they move away from the Family Guy-style humor after 3-4 episodes too.   

 

And yea, I agree Macfarlane is the least interesting character out of the initial cast, and hte worst actor of the bunch too.  It's a true ensemble show, though: He isn't the main role of every episode, they basically rotate through the cast making everyone the center of an episode eventually.

 

There's two episodes back to back somewhere in the middle of the run that Macfarlane can't appear on screen for more than 5 minutes total between them.

[Disco Stu 15,495]

Oh and I do like the score, even if they use that main theme a bit too often at times.  I will definitely buy an OST release.  I'm actually surprised one hasn't been announced yet.  I bet Intrada will release it next year.

[Nick1Ø66 4,688]

I agree with Quintus. I actually think the chemistry between the Captain & XO is great.  And I enjoy watching them together onscreen.

 

Actually, all the characters are good, and one of the ways its better than Discovery is that this feels like a real crew with camaraderie. It's a well-casted show and the dynamic between the characters mostly works.

[Disco Stu 15,495]

Yes, the secret of the previous Trek shows is that they were fundamentally "workplace as surrogate family" dramedies, a tried and true formula.  People who like being with each other going on adventures.

 

I don't hold it against Discovery for wanting to do something different, but it doesn't scratch the same itch.

[Jay 37,281]

I don't think Macfarlane and Palicki have good chemistry.  He had way more with Charlize Theron and she had way more with Rob Lowe (and so did he).

[Disco Stu 15,495]

I'm still only 2 episodes in so maybe they get better, but we just couldn't stop rolling our eyes at their tired old cliche ex-husband/wife arguments that I think are meant to be funny?

 

Like, there's a way to do that storyline that could be interesting if they wanted to really explore how captain/xo as exes could play out, but instead it was jokes that were tired 40 years ago.

[Jay 37,281]

Most episodes don't mention their past history whatsoever.  It's probably come up in either 4 or 5 of the 10 episodes aired.

[Quintus 5,399]

The OTT drama in this thread is weird. If the first three are supposed to be the worst of this run then it must be a really bloody good debut season overall, because so far I'm completely impressed with the episodes I've seen, with the third episode in particular being pleasantly surprising as tonal shifts and genuinely thoughtful storylines go. 

 

3 hours ago, Disco Stu said:

He just took the most eyerolling shitty CBS-style sitcom relationship tropes and transplanted them into a Star Trek show.  It's bad.

 

 

From where I'm sitting, that's clearly the whole point. Stop watching, you're taking this far too seriously. 

[Disco Stu 15,495]

6 minutes ago, Quintus said:

Stop watching, you're taking this far too seriously. 

 

As the great Robyn once said.....

 

 

[Quintus 5,399]

2 hours ago, Jay said:

And yea, I agree Macfarlane is the least interesting character out of the initial cast, and hte worst actor of the bunch too.  It's a true ensemble show, though: He isn't the main role of every episode, they basically rotate through the cast making everyone the center of an episode eventually.

 

There's two episodes back to back somewhere in the middle of the run that Macfarlane can't appear on screen for more than 5 minutes total between them.

 

Sounds like a pointless exercise to watch this as if trying to work around and avoid the main character of the show if you aren't keen on the actor playing him, though. That'd be like watching The Walking Dead and hating Rick. I began to hate Rick myself actually, so now I don't watch The Walking Dead anymore. The alternative would be to stick with it and act like a moaning fuck about him online all the time. 

[Jay 37,281]

I don't know why you're spewing so much venom in this thread Quint.  Everyone in here likes the show and we are certainly welcome to share our most favorite and least favorite aspects of this show we all like.

 

Some people have different opinions than you do about things, that doesn't mean you should tell them they're wrong or post so much negativity.  Why not catch up on the show and then share what you think instead of telling others how they should feel and what they should do?

[Quintus 5,399]

Spewing venom? I used the term "moaning fuck" to describe the incessant, whiny complaint generally found a lot on the internet about things which nobody is forced to watch, and suddenly you're all touchy and sensitive about it? Sorry mate, but it's just how I talk. Get a thicker skin. Negativity? I'm one of the more positive non moany Orville commentators on here. 

[Jay 37,281]

It's great that you like this great show being made that we already were enjoying, and its great that you enjoy Macfarlane's acting and the scenes that are about his broken marriage more than the average person in this thread might be enjoying those aspects.  All viewpoints are welcome and you are free to share yours and comment on others.  I don't know why you need to complain about those who have a different viewpoint than you do.  Does it bother you so much that not everyone feels the exact same way about the show as you do?  Shouldn't you be happy that everyone watching likes and dislikes various aspects and we all discuss them here?  Wouldn't it be boring if every single one of us liked and disliked the same thing, and as each episode aired the first person to see it posted about it and then everyone else just said "me too"?

 

Nobody is complaining that you like Marfarlane's acting, so why should you complain that others might not?  Aren't we all entitled to our own opinions ? It's not moaning - its discussion.

[Disco Stu 15,495]

Right now I like what the show is trying to be (I'd describe it as "good time, warmly optimistic, throwback space adventures") but is only mostly accomplishing.  I'm only two episodes in so I'm going to keep watching and see how it goes!

[Jay 37,281]

I like the optimism the show has too - seen too many pessimistic shows lately and its a welcome change.

[Nick1Ø66 4,688]

25 minutes ago, Jay said:

Everyone in here likes the show

 

 

Steef doesn't!

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

I haven't seen it yet!

[BloodBoal 7,538]

[Quintus 5,399]

10 minutes ago, Jay said:

Does it bother you so much that not everyone feels the exact same way about the show as you do?  

 

That would be the exact opposite of what I'd want from an online discussion group. I enjoy disagreeing with people or having people disagree with me, it's what makes me get involved. What you're taking issue with is my style and approach to these disagreements, but that's just my personality. You could just ignore my posts you know. 

[Disco Stu 15,495]

I'm certainly reminded of the first season of TNG when the characters didn't feel fully formed and their chemistry almost non-existent.  I'll stick with The Orville to see if it can get there.  The announcement that it was getting a second season is what convinced me to hop on board.

[Nick1Ø66 4,688]

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. 

 

6 minutes ago, BloodBoal said:

 

Only because he hasn't seen it.

 

That hasn't stopped him from hating it.