Seth McFarlane's "The Orville"

[sueb1863]

One of their best episodes I thought, it was great to see Gordon get a serious storyline, and the subplot with Bortus and Klyden addicted to cigarettes was hilarious.

Hopefully the quality trend will continue!

 

[Dark Raven]

It was a sweet episode, heartwarming episode, but at the same time bittersweet. We've had 2 dramatic and serious Gordon episodes in a row. Nice to see Leighton Meester featuring. She seemed interesting and cool.

Although in real life she got back with Greg, is the outcome of the simulation fixed? Does it have to turn out that way? Couldn't the random element of Gordon being introduced into her life alter the outcome and path her life takes according to the simulation, especially if it has no set parameters?

Cool to get a Tuvok guest appearance.

Here's the Leighton Meester song



There seems to be a 3 week break now which sucks. Why the long break?

 

[sueb1863]

I was sort of expecting it to turn out that someone on the ship was distantly related to Laura (or maybe Gordon himself could have found out that she was one of his ancestors).

 

[Dark Raven]

I was sort of expecting it to turn out that someone on the ship was distantly related to Laura (or maybe Gordon himself could have found out that she was one of his ancestors).

That's what I was wondering.

I don't know if maybe they could've introduced the phone and time capsule plot in an earlier episode and let it play out over time where Malloy was getting to know Laura. Then it could all culminate in this episode where it had gotten out of hand and was affecting his work.

Also, it would be cool if in a future episode they went back in time to 2015 and he somehow met up with the real version of her. Maybe she might turn out to be different than the simulation, a bit like how Geordi La Forge fell in love with a simulation of a scientist in TNG, but then met the real version later on and she was nothing like the simulation.

Or if Laura was like the simulation, imagine if it were a kind of "City on the Edge of Forever" type of episode.

 

[terry78]

So seth says on Twitter they're taking a month hiatus.

 

[flickchick85]

I haven't been impressed with this series. But calls 'em as I sees 'em: I thought last night's episode was quite excellent.

It was definitely one of their best eps, imo.

 

[Dark Raven]

No word yet on a Season 3 renewal, but if they're having an Orville comic, are they planning to cancel the whole series? Is the delay because of the Disney-Fox acquisition?

 

[flickchick85]

The Cancel Bear currently has it at somewhat decent odds for renewal. While its ratings are worse than The Passage, the show has the network's relationship with Seth AND a rather hefty California tax credit on its side, so it's a toss-up. I don't think the acquisition has any relation to its odds.

 

[Dark Raven]

The Cancel Bear currently has it at somewhat decent odds for renewal. While its ratings are worse than The Passage, the show has the network's relationship with Seth AND a rather hefty California tax credit on its side, so it's a toss-up. I don't think the acquisition has any relation to its odds.

That says toss up between renewal and cancellation. I am a little nervous about those odds as it could go either way. I'd prefer 4 or 5 bears.

If it is cancelled, can't McFarlane take it elsewhere? It doesn't have to be at Fox necessarily. Wouldn't another studio want to take it on, given that it is a hit among audiences? The 2nd season also has a very high RT score compared to the 1st.

 

[flickchick85]

If it is cancelled, can't McFarlane take it elsewhere? It doesn't have to be at Fox necessarily. Wouldn't another studio want to take it on, given that it is a hit among audiences? The 2nd season also has a very high RT score compared to the 1st.

I mean, there's always a chance they could shop it around, but given McFarlane's long-standing relationship with Fox, I can't imagine it having any better odds elsewhere.

 

[Dark Raven]

How did the original series of Star Trek get so many episodes per season? They were double the number. That's the equivalent of 6 seasons of the Orville.

If it did get cancelled, I am sure many Trek fans would be up in arms and would try to get it saved like they did for the original series. They weren't too successful with Enterprise though, but maybe they didn't care as much.

 

[flickchick85]

TV was very different back then, lol. No scripted dramas get as many episodes per season today as many did back then. Which can be traced to TV being more like radio back then and having fewer networks to compete with for advertisers, viewers, budgets, etc.

 

[SPO2 Dalisay]

How did the original series of Star Trek get so many episodes per season? They were double the number. That's the equivalent of 6 seasons of the Orville.

If it did get cancelled, I am sure many Trek fans would be up in arms and would try to get it saved like they did for the original series. They weren't too successful with Enterprise though, but maybe they didn't care as much.

There is no maybe about it. It was a sure thing. Star Trek Enterprise was a prequel that broke the prime Trekker directive and broke the continuity of the original 79 episodes. I doubt if we, as a group would have fought for DS9 during its first 3 seasons, or Voyager during its entire run if the syndication package or UPN fell apart either

 

[Dark Raven]

It would be cool if the Holodeck did really contain a whole different world in there which weren't full of simulated people. Maybe if it were just a doorway to another time or place or alternate dimension.

But as far as the Holodeck goes, what if the timeline weren't fixed and Gordon could alter events just by his mere presence and interaction with Laura? Would their relationship have continued? I think if it had, Gordon would eventually have to tell her the truth, and she might find that hard to accept. It would've been interesting to explore that side of things and have her question her own existence, because as far as she would be concerned, she would be real. If she suddenly found out she was only a simulation and that the real version of her was long dead, that could pose some interesting philosophical questions.

And then what if she somehow got a mobile holo emitter like the EMH in Voyager and was able to wander around on the ship?

Of course, it might start touching on similar ideas to the Framework in Agents of SHIELD. Didn't AIDA/ Ophelia try to create for herself a real body so she could exist outside of the framework and without being an LMD? Was that destroyed somehow?

At some point, if Laura continued to exist and the timeline was malleable in the simulation, then wouldn't she become a different person to the version that existed on earth 300 years ago?

 

[sueb1863]

All good questions!! I guess it depends on the capacity of the holodeck to formulate scenarios based on the information it had. Could it create new scenarios or was it stuck with what was on the phone? It would have only gone so far in Laura's life and wouldn't have any information past 2015. I wonder if Gordon could have looked up the rest of her life somewhere.

I did like the point that Malloy made about people who lived in the past, that their time to them was just like our time is to us.

A hundred years from now people will wonder what life was like in 2019, just like we might wonder about life in 1919, or any other past time period. Their view of day to day life was just like ours.

 

[Dark Raven]

All good questions!! I guess it depends on the capacity of the holodeck to formulate scenarios based on the information it had. Could it create new scenarios or was it stuck with what was on the phone? It would have only gone so far in Laura's life and wouldn't have any information past 2015. I wonder if Gordon could have looked up the rest of her life somewhere.

I did like the point that Malloy made about people who lived in the past, that their time to them was just like our time is to us.

A hundred years from now people will wonder what life was like in 2019, just like we might wonder about life in 1919, or any other past time period. Their view of day to day life was just like ours.

If Malloy looked up the rest of her life (which he could have), then wouldn't the rest of the simulation play out exactly as it did on earth?

But if the holodeck could create new scenarios, then it could be like an alternate timeline. After all, the events that Malloy attended were extrapolated from the phone data and they weren't exactly as it happened on Earth. Laura never had some dates with Gordon or slept with him.

In DS9, when Vic Fontaine's program was continually running, it took on a life of its own and anything could've happened. Even in Voyager, the Doctor effectively gained sentience and had a life of his own and experienced emotions. He was very different both from the original Dr Zimmerman on whom he was based, and the other EMHs on other ships.

Although we compare this to previous Star Trek episodes, this episode was actually quite similar to a Twilight Zone episode as well. Particularly the bit where Gordon deletes Greg and then thinks he can finally have the life he wanted with Laura, but realises that it was Greg who encouraged her to come out of her shell and perform in front of others. So she was no longer the person Gordon fell in love with and he realised he had to give it up and put it all back to what it was. That's just the sort of thing that the Twilight Zone would've done.

But then many of the best Star Trek episodes (particularly the original series) are very similar to the Twilight Zone anyway, especially with all their social commentary and plot twists. That's what I feel is severely lacking in Star Trek Discovery. There's never been any episode that has felt like the Twilight Zone.

 

[TheVileOne]

FYI, Disney technically owns The Orville now. It's a 20th Century Fox TV production.

 

[Dark Raven]

The plot between Gordon and Laura actually reminded me a bit of some of the best episodes of How I Met Your Mother when it was really on point in the early seasons before it went downhill towards the end. It had the same thoughtfulness, poignancy and heartwarming feel about it.

BTW, there are apparently some Orville action figures coming out.

 

[Dark Raven]

Damn. They've removed the video for Leighton Meester's song from YouTube now. So no more of the full performance.

Maybe the Orville should have a spin-off about Leighton's character Laura set in present day. I know it would probably be no different from something like the OC, but still.

 

[KevTravels]

i read somewhere that the budget of this series is quite similar to that of Discovery. is that remotely true?

 

[Ozbridge]

i read somewhere that the budget of this series is quite similar to that of Discovery. is that remotely true?

Even with my untrained eyes I think that Discovery looks much more expensive than Orville. If what you read isn't from trades (THR, Variety, etc.) it's likely fake. According to Variety budget of Discovery is 8-8.5 million per episode. That's nearly the budget of early GoT episodes. I don't know how much Orville costs, but I would guess its budget is around 4 million per episode, similar to Gotham or Daredevil (which are both considered expensive).

Can ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Help CBS Boldly Go Into a Streaming Future?

 

[KevTravels]

Even with my untrained eyes I think that Discovery looks much more expensive than Orville. If what you read isn't from trades (THR, Variety, etc.) it's likely fake. According to Variety budget of Discovery is 8-8.5 million per episode. That's nearly the budget of early GoT episodes. I don't know how much Orville costs, but I would guess its budget is around 4 million per episode, similar to Gotham or Daredevil (which are both considered expensive).

Can ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Help CBS Boldly Go Into a Streaming Future?

Yeah. I kinda disputed that claim. But supposedly The Orville is quite expensive with Visual effects as well as set design; so it must be a bit pricy by network standards but still far less than Discovery.

I read that the Netflix series (MCU) tend to be so costly due to shooting in NY. Maybe the same reason for Gotham.

 

[Dark Raven]

Yeah. I kinda disputed that claim. But supposedly The Orville is quite expensive with Visual effects as well as set design; so it must be a bit pricy by network standards but still far less than Discovery.

I read that the Netflix series (MCU) tend to be so costly due to shooting in NY. Maybe the same reason for Gotham.

One of the reasons STD looks more expensive is also the way they shoot it - their whole visual, cinematic style. But the Orville is purposely shot and lit in the way it is to evoke the feeling of TNG or all the 90s Trek shows. At the time, they had to light it brightly in order for it to show up clearly on camera otherwise it would be very dark. But that also contributed to the Trek look.

McFarlane is going for that look here rather than the movie look of STD. He is a huge Trek fan and wants to recreate everything he loved about it. And I prefer the look of the Orville and of 90s Trek than the cinematography and lighting of STD. It is a more inviting world that I would want to live in and adds to the optimism and bright future full of exploration and actual discovery.

On another note, now that we've had her for almost a season, what do people think of Talla? How does she compare with Alara? And who do people prefer?

I think Talla fits in nicely and I haven't missed Alara that much. But I like Alara just that little bit more with her softer and more innocent personality. Still, Talla has been good.

 

[Dr.]

On another note, now that we've had her for almost a season, what do people think of Talla? How does she compare with Alara? And who do people prefer?

This species has forehead ridges above each eye. With Halston, I didn’t give the look much thought. And I think it was because there was symmetry to the design. But the new lady styles her hair to obscure half her forehead. And with only one set of ridges visible, I interpret this as a “raised eyebrow” - and a perpetual expression of surprise.

 

[sueb1863]

Talla's fine but I wish they had used a different, new species. Won't Talla eventually have the same physical issues that Alara did, losing bone mass and strength etc.? Won't she have to leave as well?