The Orville
 

Who watched "The Orville," and what did you think?

Got it recorded. I'll watch it the first chance I get.

Finally watched it. It has potential, however it could be a lot better with someone other than Seth McFarlane as the main character. His acting is mediocre at best.

I wasn't impressed. I'll give it one more show to win me over.

McFarlane made mildly amusing scenes seem dull. The helmsman was the only guy remotely funny. Because of McFarlane's dull acting and the mediocre writing, it doesn't stand up as a comedy. As sci-fi, it's just a *******ized Star Trek with modern cgi. Unless something drastically changes, what's already in the can is all there will ever be.

I'm still trying to figure out if it is supposed to be "real" Sci-Fi with humor, or if it is a spoof of all Sci-Fi as a whole.
Seems to be a whacky LO-BRID mix of both....

Yep, and it could be really good with one or two actor changes and some better comedy writing. After only one episode, I'd call it a ST spoof because the mood music was supposed to sound like Star Trek, the starships were very much like ST, uniforms were STish, and the "Krill" ship was even green like many of the Klingon ships. They even went the ST route with the navy jobs... XO/1st officer, helmsman, navigator, etc. and used navy ranks. The only thing missing from it was that no red shirts died.

I enjoyed it. But ... and a big but ...
I'm so sick of 24/7 hurricane coverage and Hillary's whining that it is a most welcome alternative. A REALLY welcome alternative. :)

McFarlane is a voiceover guy trying to get a series deal. I wish him the best. :)

More like he's a big Star Trek fan and he found a way to get the network to pay for his fantasy to be a starship captain in a Star Trekesque universe.

I'm thinking that Navy ranks would be used as they are 'ships'" whether in space or otherwise. Somehow I don't see The "Captain" of a ship being called Colonel and his XO Lt Co.

Navy nomenclature is used more often, but there are plenty of movies/shows that have extended the air force into space so the ranks and such are used. You are right that odds are navy nomenclature would be used in most. However, the rest of the stuff is more than enough to call it a Star Trek spoof.

One show that jumped into my head quickly was Battlestar Galactica (original series as I didn't care much for the reboot) with Commander Adama, Capt. Apollo and Lt. Starbuck. The reboot turned it into a mix of navy, marines, AF, and army stuff with Admiral Adama along with captains, sargents, colonels, chiefs, corporals, specialists, etc. The XO was Colonel Tigh.

Well, we just watched the premiere... interesting. Might have some promise, hard to tell from the first episode. Certainly has a great look.

I don't think the casting is too bad. The XO is certainly easy on the eyes. Seth McFarlane isn't bad as the captain... in fact I think he's supposed to be the "wanna-be" Kirk, and is playing it thus...

Anyway, I guess we'll see how it turns out. Certainly seems more interesting and probably better put together and makes better sense that Star Trek Discovery, which by all appearances and accounts is an absolute basket case... but I guess we'll see...

Later! OL J R :)

Loved it St with reject crew, that doesn't take itself too seriously.

Use of the Navy "ranking system" was a minus for me on the show.

In reality it makes far more sense to use the USAF/USMC/US Army ranking system...with a few exceptions to enlisted ranks, those three are the same.
The Navy has messed-up Officer ranks, and a totally INSANE rank system for enlisted.
Let them have their kiddy-like enlisted sailor-suits, but make them (and USCG) come aboard the other ranking system.

I am sure they are just following the Star Trek example.

I liked the second episode better than the first. I think it might turn out to be good enough that I will be disappointed when Fox bails on it after one season.

Speaking of Navy ranks ... I once worked with a guy who had enlisted in the Navy, but later became an officer in the Army. Because of his Navy experience, he got assigned to work on a Navy base. He was a Captain at the time and said that he was treated really well on the Navy base - much better than he would have at an Army post.

I too liked the 2nd episode better. Very clever ending. All I'll say so that I don't spoilt it for anyone that has not watched is that it concerns reality TV.

I only saw the second episode. It overtly resembles TNG. The humor is a bit corny. I raised an eyebrow when the first officer got a hash brownie to go, just in case. I'll watch it again. My 21 year old son liked it better than I did.

The pilot has to do character development and set the stage. Typically light on story.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvZXaF-k2XM

Ok. I finally watched the second episode.

It is a knockoff of the Star Trek pilot episode, "The Cage", or the two parter it was turned into, "The Menagerie", if you like regular season episodes. It's a complete and total ripoff of Star Trek. The only thing missing are transporters and good writing. I'm going to walk away from it and come back to episode three with the most open mind I can muster.

It's still not funny and it hasn't done anything else well enough to sustain itself at this point. Almost all of the supporting cast members are considerably better actors. Shatner, Stewart, and Bakula are orders of magnitude better than McFarlane, with or without a good script. Heck, even Vic Mignogna from the ST web series is a much better actor. At least Palicki is a decent actor and should have a lot of screen time as the first officer.


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I was very impressed with the third episode. They went THERE and ended up doing a pretty good job of respecting each side of the argument. Good TV makes you think.

Me too. I kinda groaned when I realized the subject matter, but it was treated respectfully. And I was not expecting the ending. I thought it was well done.

If you wanted to lampoon the Star Trek franchise, the Orville is it. I watch it and think that these people are not being serious about anything from the second it first appears on the screen. It's a farce. But fifty years of Star Trek have conditioned its audiences that it's supposed to be serious. Someone is having a little fun with us I think.

Pay attention one time to the obligatory into. The over-long introduction with the generic "soaring" music and images of the Orville plying it's way through excessively fantastic "space scenery" reminds me of Star Trek Voyager. If someone wanted to poke-fun of the intro scenes of Star Trek (and IMHO someone should) then the Orville is it.

That's just it. I think it is supposed to poke-fun/lampoon, but it's just not funny. I chuckled a couple times and thought a better lead actor would have made a couple more lines pop a little, but otherwise, I've been bored with it.

it's just not funny
a better lead actor

agree,
Galaxy Quest with Tim Allen: thats the way to do it, hilarious parody of ST.

McFarlane has been noted to saying that the trailers were very misleading -- The Orville is *not* an all-out comedy, but a dramedy.

I'm apt to look at The Orville as being ST:TNG "Lite" edition (note: ST:TNG -- "Star Trek: The Next Generation"). From the second episode onward, the episodes have pretty much played out like a TNG episode (though lighter in tone). I do find it amusing that the opening credits for The Orville pretty much mirrors the one for Star Trek: Voyager.

Scott Bakula stunk in ST:Enterprise; in FACT that entire series SUCKED.
I far prefer "The Orville" to that series.

Scott Bakula is far better in NCIS: New Orleans

IMHO, "The Orville" is possibly the most entertaining Sci-Fi series since Star Trek TOS. Bear in mind though, I never got into Battlestar Galactica, Dr. Who, or Babylon 5, so I can't compare it to those three.

It's like Star Trek for adults!

Again, IMHO, GH is right: "Enterprise" was unwatchable.

I really enjoyed him in Quantum Leap. (Does anyone think Al may have been the prototype for cell phone addicted millenials?)



Doug

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I’m just pleased to have a show I can watch to escape all the crap we are bombarded with, and be reasonably entertained, with a few laughs thrown in, too.

I've always liked Charlize Theron, so the last episode was much better even with her hair chopped off. I may even watch Hancock again in a day or two. ;)

Star Trek has a long tradition of “soaring” music, mostly written by Jerry Goldsmith. As a french horn player, I’ve always appreciated his epic, horn-heavy composition style (and yes, Voyager is my favorite of themes, featuring the melody played by eight horns in unison in the low range). I cheered when I saw that The Orville featured music by Bruce Broughton, who writes in the Goldsmith style.

In the third episode of The Orville, when they are flying over the huge spaceship, the music is an obvious tip of the hat to Star Trek: The Motion Picture, also written by Goldsmith.

One of Broughton’s best soundtracks (and a favorite of horn players) is this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhZ...198093540FB2A62

Did you see her in the last Mad Max movie? Chopped off arm, and a buzz cut with black roots. Wow, didn’t realize it was her until credit roll. Looks like the arm reattachment after the movie was filmed was successful ...

LOL, no. I'd rather her have both arms and long hair. :cool:

True... OL J R :)

I find it to be along the lines of ST-TOS in that there is some moralizing without being too in your face.

Also the interaction between the crew members was pushed from the very first episode instead of being allowed to grow naturally from episode to episode. Could you imagine Bones making quips about Spock from the first episode without having seen any interaction between them? It would be like making a joke about some one being bald the first time you met them- awkward.

MMMM YUMMY..... Charlize Theron !