The Orville - Season One - SPOILERS!

[RJDiogenes]

Yeah, he's pretty much got it. Just like the older Trek shows, you want to go live on the Orville with those people-- if I had to live on Discovery, I'd jump out an airlock.

[scottydog]

Great video and I agree with what he says. Thanks, Lupy

[Orpheus]

My artistic license supersedes your medical license.

Touché. As they say: ars longa, vita brevis.

[RJDiogenes]

[Jim Gamma]

Oh, man, THAT is how you do an opening episode to a space opera. Fantastic! They got the humour maybe a little too juvenile, the science was a little off but still broadly made sense, and I liked the Chekhov's Gun of the seed. Looking forward to episode 2!

[Orpheus]

I agree. They sure got off to a better start than ST:TNG. In fact, I'd say that. despite the heavy homage to the TNG look-and-feel, this show would have worked just as well if TNG had never aired.

I remember when Quark was the comedy SF genre darling among geeks and college students. Even in that pre-TNG era, Orville would've smashed it into the dirt. Even though I've always been a Hard SF overanalyzer (It's a game some scientists play, but for me, bad science really did hamper my enjoyment of many shows), I completely concede that Orville hits the philosophical high points that make SF so very valuable. I predict you'll like it even more over the next several episodes.

It's clearly a labor of love by real fans of shiny Trek optimism, and I sure can use some of that -- but it makes you think, too, if you're so inclined, as Jesus noted in his "Parable of the Mustard Seed".

What? A scientist can't have studied theology in their youth?

I look forward to your future comments so I can relive the season.

[Jim Gamma]

^OK, I'll admit I googled that parable...

Episode 2 was brilliant, I completely got where Lieutenant Kitan was throughout. I've been in the "Oh shit, I'm in charge of a crisis situation with no manager around" situation a few times, it never gets any easier - you just have to trust the advice you've got available and hope. I loved the pop culture references, though I thought Kitan might have traded them Kermit for a minute.

The whole zoo thing has been done a few times before (notably Menagerie from TOS) but they definitely had a spin on it I've not seen before. I like how matter transmission is something that's out there but Earth hasn't discovered yet, it makes it clear there's still stuff they can't do, stuff they have to research.

I hope we get to see more of Kitan in command, she needs practice to get her confidence up.

Episode 3 was a great morality play, though I kind of wish Bortas had won in the end. I guess it shows how hard it is to change a society, and how thorny these issues are - I particularly liked Kelly's comment about what humans would do if someone were born with three legs.

Episode 4 will be up within a few days here.

[RJDiogenes]

Oh, man, THAT is how you do an opening episode to a space opera. Fantastic! They got the humour maybe a little too juvenile, the science was a little off but still broadly made sense, and I liked the Chekhov's Gun of the seed. Looking forward to episode 2!

The balance gets better as they go along, I think.

I agree. They sure got off to a better start than ST:TNG. In fact, I'd say that. despite the heavy homage to the TNG look-and-feel, this show would have worked just as well if TNG had never aired.

I liked "Encounter At Farpoint" a lot. The first season generally was troubled and uneven, but it really felt like TOS.

I remember when Quark was the comedy SF genre darling among geeks and college students.

I had no interest in that when it was on the air, but now it's in my Shopping Cart at Amazon.

It's clearly a labor of love by real fans of shiny Trek optimism, and I sure can use some of that -- but it makes you think, too, if you're so inclined, as Jesus noted in his "Parable of the Mustard Seed".

Indeed. It's pretty much what I wished for Discovery to be, more or less.

The whole zoo thing has been done a few times before (notably Menagerie from TOS) but they definitely had a spin on it I've not seen before.

Yeah, it was definitely an homage to TOS and TZ (although I missed the TZ part the first time around), but with a good dose of originality.

I hope we get to see more of Kitan in command, she needs practice to get her confidence up.

You'll get your wish.

Episode 3 was a great morality play, though I kind of wish Bortas had won in the end. I guess it shows how hard it is to change a society, and how thorny these issues are - I particularly liked Kelly's comment about what humans would do if someone were born with three legs.

It was a sad ending, but more realistic. It is hard to change a culture, but you can plant the seeds. This episode was an example of Star Trek done better than Star Trek. Really nice. It's not the last of the sad endings, though.

[Jim Gamma]

No, I don't doubt it... this doesn't seem like a series that pulls its punches, for all that it's labelled as comedy.

[RJDiogenes]

Indeed. It's got levels.

[Orpheus]

^OK, I'll admit I googled that parable...

I wish I had. At some point over the decades I started calling it the Parable of the Mustard Seed, which is a different parable. I meant the Parable of the Sower.

Yikes, I think I've been making that mistake for 10-15 years now. I can recall some very confused debates back then. Now I know why. I usually fact-check myself better than that.

Episode 2 was brilliant, I completely got where Lieutenant Kitan was throughout. I've been in the "Oh shit, I'm in charge of a crisis situation with no manager around" situation a few times, it never gets any easier - you just have to trust the advice you've got available and hope. I loved the pop culture references, though I thought Kitan might have traded them Kermit for a minute.

The whole zoo thing has been done a few times before (notably Menagerie from TOS) but they definitely had a spin on it I've not seen before. I like how matter transmission is something that's out there but Earth hasn't discovered yet, it makes it clear there's still stuff they can't do, stuff they have to research.

I hope we get to see more of Kitan in command, she needs practice to get her confidence up.

Episode 3 was a great morality play, though I kind of wish Bortas had won in the end. I guess it shows how hard it is to change a society, and how thorny these issues are - I particularly liked Kelly's comment about what humans would do if someone were born with three legs.

I think I like this episode even better on re-viewing (with added context/familiarity) than I did the first time around, when I was distracted by the newness of everything

[scottydog]

I agree. They sure got off to a better start than ST:TNG. In fact, I'd say that. despite the heavy homage to the TNG look-and-feel, this show would have worked just as well if TNG had never aired.

I agree, and I'm finding The Orville to hold up to multiple re-viewings. They seemed to have assembled a terrific ensemble cast. At first, I didn't like the fact that Bortus is so much like Worf, but they've taken Bortus in some interesting directions that go well beyond Worf.

[RJDiogenes]

Yikes, I think I've been making that mistake for 10-15 years now. I can recall some very confused debates back then. Now I know why. I usually fact-check myself better than that.

Imagine how I feel. I've been calling it the Parable of the Piccalilli Seed.

[RJDiogenes]

Looks like Seth MacFarlane read our minds about what works for Orville.

The bad news is that the new season probably won't show up for a year....

[RJDiogenes]

Bad news revoked. Looks like Orville will indeed be here for the Fall season.