The Orville: THE NIGHT IS OURS! Renewed for S3

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The Bloop: Jul 5, 2004; by Fluffdaddy

Ground floor for thread and show.

I'm actually quite excited and optimistic about it because I am a huge sucker

# ¿ Aug 11, 2017 22:56

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# ¿ Apr 16, 2024 22:01

The Bloop: Jul 5, 2004; by Fluffdaddy

CAPTAIN CAPSLOCK posted:

Seems to be missing the comedy part

I hope the thread isn't full of insufferable posts acting like comedy isn't subjective but nonetheless recognizable.

# ¿ Aug 12, 2017 01:01

The Bloop: Jul 5, 2004; by Fluffdaddy

Hipster_Doofus posted:

I honestly don't get all the McFarlane hate

I'm sorry but you aren't allowed to be an internet cool kid

# ¿ Aug 26, 2017 05:50

The Bloop: Jul 5, 2004; by Fluffdaddy

Davros1 posted:

Seth McFarlane is actually just a persona of Roger the Alien.

Surprisingly plausible

# ¿ Aug 28, 2017 04:54

The Bloop: Jul 5, 2004; by Fluffdaddy

Rhyno posted:

What?

He is a huge Star Wars fan and gave no particular shits about Trek and used his making a Trek movie as resume building to get to make a Star Wars movie.

That's the story.

# ¿ Sep 1, 2017 18:04

The Bloop: Jul 5, 2004; by Fluffdaddy

There is an Orville review out which starts:

quote:

Consider this a red alert to TV fans everywhere: Are you expecting Seth MacFarlane�s new Fox series The Orville to be a fun Star Trek parody packed with wall-to-wall jokes? Two words of advice: Abandon ship.

That seems... good. The reviewer is probably an idiot, but they do say it is overly preachy and somber, which is the opposite of what people have worried about. Also complaints of Sci-Fi cliches but whatever.

I stopped reading when it was obvious there were plot summaries of several episodes and I didn't want to read them.

# ¿ Sep 5, 2017 20:16

The Bloop: Jul 5, 2004; by Fluffdaddy

The Unlife Aquatic posted:

As someone who enjoys media more with spoilers I would appreciate a link.

Oh yeah, sorry I mean to post it
https://www.yahoo.com/tv/orville-review-seth-macfarlane-apos-130022178.html

Why the preference for spoilers, though, If I may ask? Stress reduction?

# ¿ Sep 5, 2017 20:21

The Bloop: Jul 5, 2004; by Fluffdaddy

The Unlife Aquatic posted:

The way stories end isn't important, it's how they get there. If you know where you're going you can appreciate the journey more. At least that's how it works for me. I can think less about putting together the plot and more about enjoying all the little incidental details, how everything fits together.

Doesn't this bother you when the author intends some things to be unknown, or a twist/surprise?

I mean, The Sixth Sense is still a good movie on a rewatch (for the reasons you mention) but not getting to experience the twist blind feels like, at the very least, a missed opportunity for a major shared experience. Obviously, this doesn't apply to everything, but you wouldn't know that if you hadn't had it spoiled yet.

Different strokes, I guess.

# ¿ Sep 5, 2017 20:52

The Bloop: Jul 5, 2004; by Fluffdaddy

The Unlife Aquatic posted:

A good twist works even if you know it's coming. It means it's not just relying on surprise, but emotional investment in the work.

Sure, but why not both? Surprise is a legitimate human emotion to write toward. Totally anecdotal but I know a number of people who saw the sixth sense with and without knowing ahead of time, and those who didn't know the twist universally reported enjoying the surprise. You can still watch it again, knowing. It seems like you cut your viewing experience in half, with spoilers.

Al Borland Corp. posted:

The sucker doesn't even do anything close to revealing any twists. It just says "Episode 2 deals with issue X" and "Episode 3 deals with issue Y"

Ok cool. Again, not wanting spoilers, I stopped reading when they seemed they might appear. Lots of tools on the internet have no filter or decency.

# ¿ Sep 5, 2017 21:04

The Bloop: Jul 5, 2004; by Fluffdaddy

Baronjutter posted:

The twist is that every episode ends with an extremely aged and chubby Will Riker in bad "young makeup" walking off the holodeck.

Still would.

# ¿ Sep 5, 2017 21:47

The Bloop: Jul 5, 2004; by Fluffdaddy

8one6 posted:

Just ok got Agents of Shield 3 seasons so far.

And the third season was pretty amazing stuff compared to the first two. Just like TNG.

# ¿ Sep 6, 2017 12:50

The Bloop: Jul 5, 2004; by Fluffdaddy

Oh right, I meant fourth. The last one. Ghost Rider and Agents of Hydra. Good fun TV.

# ¿ Sep 6, 2017 12:59

The Bloop: Jul 5, 2004; by Fluffdaddy

I smiled a few times and actually laughed at the last(?) joke.

The characters seem interesting enough and have potential.

The show is pretty.

It was pretty good. I'll be watching more.

# ¿ Sep 11, 2017 04:35

The Bloop: Jul 5, 2004; by Fluffdaddy

I do wish fewer of the jokes were literally balls and penis because as it stands I can't see recommending it to my parents.

Cojawfee posted:

I love everyone being all "it was trash and I shan't be watching it again." It's the first loving episode, of course it's rough. At least give it a few before you relegate it to the trash can.

Shhh the cool kids are talking, nerd.

# ¿ Sep 11, 2017 13:59

The Bloop: Jul 5, 2004; by Fluffdaddy

On reflection, I was smiling most of the time and happy to be watching something trekkish and reasonably competent so I'd have to say that was a thouroughly enjoyable hour spent.

JeremoudCorbynejad posted:

The only joke I didn't like is the "I'm gonna pee and look up a word but not in that order!" one, that was just pointless. Otherwise the helmsman was ok and I hope they don't try to up his game throughout the season.

Eh, it wasn't Laugh Out Loud but felt realistic enough for that awkward conversation.

I know you said you liked it a lot.

# ¿ Sep 11, 2017 17:47

The Bloop: Jul 5, 2004; by Fluffdaddy

Kazinsal posted:

It may be the best Star Trek we've had in close to 20 years, but it's still written by Seth MacFarlane.

Don't get me wrong, the banter and joking about dog balls and penis drawings felt real and relatable enough but it just narrows the audience for the show.

Just like in Kingsman. I would recommend that movie to certain people that would be OK with the over the top violence but the one dumb, graphic joke about buttsex at the end narrows that audience.

# ¿ Sep 11, 2017 19:20

The Bloop: Jul 5, 2004; by Fluffdaddy

Jeb! Repetition posted:

Yep. Also they've seen one episode and the reviewers saw the whole season.

They've apparently seen three episodes?

Either way, I often enjoy things reviewers hate and in this case they all seemed to have various preconceptions that weren't lived up to but were probably unfair.

The show can be way less good than TNG and it might not be a generational cultural touchstone, but still well worth watching.

# ¿ Sep 11, 2017 20:48

The Bloop: Jul 5, 2004; by Fluffdaddy

Maelstache posted:

I had no problem with the violence or buttsex, just the lovely politics and class issues.

Sure but again that's a different issue. I mentioned the graphic sex joke because it was alone and out of place and (I think) a mistake, however small, that has kept others from seeing their franchise.

I think the dog balls thing is the same, albeit less so.

# ¿ Sep 11, 2017 21:27

The Bloop: Jul 5, 2004; by Fluffdaddy

Gynovore posted:

diarrhea soup

Tomato Bisque!

Unironic MacFarlane jokes ITT

# ¿ Sep 11, 2017 22:44

The Bloop: Jul 5, 2004; by Fluffdaddy

turn left hillary!! noo posted:

Fifth Element

So, you loved it?

I can't figure out how else to interpret this post since Fifth Element is like the very best B movie ever ever

# ¿ Sep 12, 2017 05:05

The Bloop: Jul 5, 2004; by Fluffdaddy

Comrade Fakename posted:

So this was loving dire.

I understand the impulse - I remember watching the various TNG-era Trek shows when I was younger and imagining that I - or a super cool version of me, anyway - would somehow appear on the show and crack jokes and make everyone chill out a little. It was a stupid Mary Sue-esque fantasy of course, but it was also drawn out of a desire to see people acting naturally in an otherwise outlandish sci-if show. Obviously McFarlane (along with plenty of other people) had the same idea.

So how is The Orville as an interpersonal drama/comedy? The answer is: loving terrible. Somehow they actually managed to have dialogue more stilted than in early TNG, a show that was specifically intended to be filled with unrealistic post-conflict paragon weirdos. It has some of the clunkiest exposition I have ever seen on film or TV. Every character other than the two forehead aliens are extremely unlikeable. The two forehead aliens are instead just boring. The point of a wacky "says inappropriate things" character is the responses he illicit from other characters - but no other characters are either upset by him or enjoy his quips. We're told the robot is a racist, and the he fails to say anything racist, or refute being racist either. It seems insane that the ex-wife would believe that forcing her way onto her ex's crew would be acceptable in any way, or even helpful.

I think there's something uniquely self-centred about producing a show with yourself as the main character and making yourself unambiguously wronged by a beautiful woman who still thinks you're wonderful and clearly wants to get back together. And it goes without saying that almost every single joke fell completely flat, one was maybe OK.

But of course The Orville isn't just meant to be a dramedy - it's a new frontier in utopian sci-fi! But is it? McFarlane talked a good utopian game in the pre-show publicity but there's not a hint of it in the pilot. New York at the start looked nice and clean, and I suppose the mere fact that humanity exists in the far future and has spaceships could be considered utopian but that's it. There's nothing about society, or "The Union's" mission.

Instead, The Orville hopes it will communicate these ideas simply by looking like Star Trek. But it doesn't understand Trek at all. There's no real sci-fi concept in The Orville. There's nothing about humanity's place in the universe, or what it should be. It's just a glowy grey bulbous spaceship, primary colour uniforms and beige corridors (and somehow it looks worse than a show made in 1987). TNG and its sister shows had a unique aesthetic because they wanted to communicate something about what a utopian quasi-military life might be like. The Orville has a similar aesthetic because it wants to look like Star Trek. Even when TNG hosed up, their antagonist aliens still had a concept and an idea of a culture (like the Ferengi). In the Orville the Krill appear to just be cartoon evil aliens.

In fact, it just seems like there's a huge missed opportunity here - if you want to make Star Trek, make Star Trek. If you can't, take the opportunity to rethink what utopian sci-fi can be. The foundations of Trek are dated in a lot of ways. You could make something with more realistic ideas about how AI might work. Deal with issues of finding purpose in a post-scarcity world that might be relevant sooner than many think. Maybe take inspiration from Iain M. Bank's The Culture. But there's not a single new idea here. Just making TNG again.

Some people in this thread have said that at least this pilot is better than Encounter at Farpoint. I disagree. For all its many, many flaws, Encounter is about broadening your mind to comprehend ideas you had never considered. The pilot of The Orville was about "Star Trek, but with drama and jokes". It failed at all of them.

Sir, this is a replimat.

Ok ok, your overall point about humanity and sci fi might and up being true, but there is no way you know that yet, and Farpoint was a pilot but it was also more than twice the runtime AND had three seasons and, what, four or five movies plus cartoon, comics, and twenty years of cultural consciouseness behind it. It was more about differentiation from TOS and introducing characters (especially the EntD) than it was about world building.

# ¿ Sep 12, 2017 15:39

The Bloop: Jul 5, 2004; by Fluffdaddy

Al Borland Corp. posted:

Yeah, simply not having transporters led to the program's best action sequence, which was really fun. Love "threading the needle" type starship maneuvers.

I think you mean "hugging the donkey"

# ¿ Sep 12, 2017 17:30

The Bloop: Jul 5, 2004; by Fluffdaddy

Comrade Fakename posted:

I compared it to the pilot episode of the show it's ripping off.

You are maybe just being goonily hyperbolic, but this phrasing kind of makes me think you didn't really give it a fair shake.

# ¿ Sep 12, 2017 22:03

The Bloop: Jul 5, 2004; by Fluffdaddy

Comrade Fakename posted:

Yeah, this show has nothing to do with TNG. In fact I doubt McFarlane has even seen it.

So you are claiming not to be hyperbolic but rather to simply not know what words mean?

It's clearly an homage to TNG. It clearly is inspired by earlier works (as all things are) and, yes, heavily - but that doesn't make it a ripoff. The entire mood and tone is intentionally different for one thing.

It's not trying to do the same thing TNG was. It is trying to appeal to TNG fans obviously, but that's not the same thing.

# ¿ Sep 13, 2017 02:09

The Bloop: Jul 5, 2004; by Fluffdaddy

Is that one of your experiments?

No you racist idiot that's a scientist with seven PhDs

also, young peppy security chief is most like Ezri maybe, but I generally agree with the VOY comparisons. The captain and first officer are even vaguely opposed forces like Janeway and ACOOCHYMOYA and it will be all but ignored soon enough probably except when a writer wants to plot around it and then they will be stranded on a planet and gently caress.

# ¿ Sep 13, 2017 16:58

The Bloop: Jul 5, 2004; by Fluffdaddy

bull3964 posted:

Well, The Orville itself is a physical model, so it's going to look good.

Not while it was Hugging the Donkey. That was CG.

They're doing both.

# ¿ Sep 13, 2017 18:48

The Bloop: Jul 5, 2004; by Fluffdaddy

Sir Kodiak posted:

Another bit I don't remember: do we know whether all of the characters are new to the ship or not? The captain, his ex, the helmsman, and the doctor are all new, and the soda guy was explicitly a holdover, but don't remember if it came up for the robot, the strong lady, or the infrequent urinator.

I'm pretty sure the crew was all onboard together already except the new characters you mentioned.

# ¿ Sep 13, 2017 19:38

The Bloop: Jul 5, 2004; by Fluffdaddy

Drink-Mix Man posted:

While that's one believable prediction of where the show could go, I'd be shocked if the creators actually thought that far ahead.

Oh, I'm sure they've given due consideration to tentacle sex.

# ¿ Sep 13, 2017 20:37

The Bloop: Jul 5, 2004; by Fluffdaddy

Al Borland Corp. posted:

I know people tend to have not liked the penis jokes, but when the blue alien comes up, see Mercer, is shocked, then a beat of silence, then his head ejaculates blue goo everywhere, I laughed super hard. The timing was just superb and was a well executed visual gag.

The penis jokes were fine. I just argued that they reduce the potential audience and I'm not sure they're good enough to be worth the tradeoff

Also, I really took that more as zoidberg panic ink than sex spooge but the mystery is part of the joke I guess

# ¿ Sep 13, 2017 20:58

The Bloop: Jul 5, 2004; by Fluffdaddy

Arglebargle III posted:

more space to explore.

# ¿ Sep 14, 2017 01:02

The Bloop: Jul 5, 2004; by Fluffdaddy

Al Borland Corp. posted:

In Babylon 5 you saw Londo's penis, which he used to cheat at cards.

The one scene I remember clearly from my older brother watching that show.

# ¿ Sep 14, 2017 19:00

The Bloop: Jul 5, 2004; by Fluffdaddy

FOX PRESENTS THE PREMIER OF THE ORVILLE

what

# ¿ Sep 18, 2017 01:50

The Bloop: Jul 5, 2004; by Fluffdaddy

lol "COMPUTER, 420"

# ¿ Sep 18, 2017 01:57

The Bloop: Jul 5, 2004; by Fluffdaddy

Seriously gently caress University of Pheonix for having good commercials that give me feels and then slap you with GET AN EXPENSIVE FAKE DEGREE

# ¿ Sep 18, 2017 01:59

The Bloop: Jul 5, 2004; by Fluffdaddy

The forehead aliens are better than the new klingons and 90% of trek critters

# ¿ Sep 18, 2017 02:22

The Bloop: Jul 5, 2004; by Fluffdaddy

Sinistral posted:

I'm pretty confident that no matter how bad Discovery is, it will at least be better then McFarlane's warmed over TNG self insert fan fiction.

EDIT: Also lol why am I not surprised that goons are lapping up the show starring a mediocre as gently caress white dude while actively wishing for the failure of the show led by two women of color

This is literally the worst post I've read in over a week and I mostly read D&D and games.

Beachcomber posted:

If they go with "sometimes poo poo just happens" that would be amazing, though

Bortus' daughter is reverse Gannondorf

# ¿ Sep 19, 2017 02:14

The Bloop: Jul 5, 2004; by Fluffdaddy

It's an anachronism. Shakespeare was full of them and held in high regard.

It would be kind of interesting to have all indecipherable references like "ripe play, Zarlox" and "get a load of Cruppa the Coder over here" but it wouldn't be funny in the same way or accessible to the masses.

# ¿ Sep 19, 2017 15:58

The Bloop: Jul 5, 2004; by Fluffdaddy

3 DONG HORSE posted:

Do you guys really think any of these pop culture things will actually fade away now that we have endleas ways to store and use data? It makes perfect sense to me.

Dora ends up being the most evergreen meme of all time

Al Borland Corp. posted:

I really liked that he had Kermit on his desk. When he was describing how he admired him as a leader it really didn't come off as a joke and felt very earnest.

100% agreed and it was also funny thinking of how to describe a muppet you admire to a stoic alien

# ¿ Sep 19, 2017 16:44

The Bloop: Jul 5, 2004; by Fluffdaddy

3 DONG HORSE posted:

e: if I was living in a post-scarcity world, I would be a huge piece of poo poo

You've made this so easy it isn't worth it

# ¿ Sep 19, 2017 17:46

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# ¿ Apr 16, 2024 22:01

The Bloop: Jul 5, 2004; by Fluffdaddy

Snak posted:

Yeah, because he's Tom Paris. Like, literally. He's the ace pilot who was on the shitlist for some crap he pulled, but got the assignment because the captain wanted the best. Instead of classic cartoons, he watches 20th century reality tv.

He also fights polite ogres on the deckogram

# ¿ Sep 19, 2017 18:03

The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > TV IV > The Orville: THE NIGHT IS OURS! Renewed for S3

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