THE ORVILLE - S1, E5: "PRIA"

Discussion in 'Science Fiction & Fantasy' started by Serveaux, Oct 4, 2017.

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Rate the episode:

  1. ***** Excellent

    23 vote(s)
    26.7%
  2. ****

    36 vote(s)
    41.9%
  3. ***

    19 vote(s)
    22.1%
  4. **

    7 vote(s)
    8.1%
  5. * Fear the banana

    1 vote(s)
    1.2%
  1. Bgt

    Bgt Commander Red Shirt

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    there was something off with this one, but still, it was entertaining.

    It would be really something if they dared to stay in the 29th century for at least a few episodes or even the rest of the series.
     
  2. Guy Gardener

    Guy Gardener Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    You saw Ferris Beuller.

    You can't roll back an odometer by just putting the engine in reverse.

    The entire crew is 300 years older.
     
  3. BillJ

    BillJ The King of Kings Premium Member

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    I get a definite LaForge/Data vibe in the developing relationship between Malloy and Isaac. Except it looks like Malloy/Isaac may be a bit more lively.
     
  4. unigolyn

    unigolyn Ensign Red Shirt

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    I had no problem with the time travel resolution.

    It was simply the the point of least paradox. Destroying the wormhole made it impossible for Pria to exist in the past, yet if that had just reset the Orville's timeline to the beginning of the episode, they would have never destroyed the wormhole.

    Since destroying the wormhole is the point in linear time where they change future events, that is the point where the paradox correction happens. And the correction is "create two universes". The Orville keeps existing in a new, no-wormhole universe, and Pria never existed (or at least never came back) in that universe, so she vanishes from it.

    Prior to the wormhole's destruction, there was only one timeline and Pria was always a part of it. It's no more absurd than movies like Looper, where one character travels back in time, gets killed by his younger self, and then both vanish from existence, yet letting an already altered timeline continue.

    The rest of the episode was great, the humor was meshed well with the drama and was the funniest it's been yet. Isaac not noticing harmless pieces of plastic on his "head" makes perfect sense for an AI inhabiting a purely functional humanoid body, as does his clandestine surgical alteration of Malloy - he has no reason to think we would have a visceral reaction to losing an easily replaceable part of our bodies - as he literally has no viscera.

    Both of the big action sequences were really exciting, visually stunning and kinetic yet easy to follow as a viewer (no neo-BSG style shakycam and fast zooms required). Great score as well.

    Yes, this show is very derivative of pre-JJ Trek. But I don't see that as an issue at all. If Enterprise had been this consistently good at sticking to this formula from the beginning instead of introducing convoluted story arcs (Temporal Cold War, ugh), it would have probably lasted beyond 4 seasons. And I say this as someone who liked Enterprise quite a lot despite its rocky start and occasionally horrific missteps (Dear Doctor). After nearly 15 years of no real Trek, whatever franchise fatigue may have set in is gone and I'm very happy this kind of show is back on the air.
     
  5. Serveaux

    Serveaux Fleet Admiral Premium Member

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    Amen to all that.

    "The point of least paradox" should totally be a thing.
     
  6. JirinPanthosa

    JirinPanthosa Admiral Admiral

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    I have no problem with the time travel resolution because frankly, it's no worse than the time travel resolutions in better science fiction shows that I would defend.

    I can't criticize Orville for the way the timeline worked out without criticizing every time travel episode in Star Trek history equally.

    But let's not pretend it makes any sense. :)
     
  7. Forbin

    Forbin Admiral Admiral

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    I said out, dammit!
    Come on, nobody got a screen grab of Adrienne Palicki in that party dress?? :adore:
     
  8. Ovation

    Ovation Admiral Admiral

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    So, it's like every time travel story.
     
  9. tharpdevenport

    tharpdevenport Admiral Admiral

    That's not Trek=specific -- that's been a staple of television series for decades. Other staples include but not limited to:

    * An old love comes back, but will break his or her hart or try to kill them.
    * An old friend comes back and is now evil or has to do some evil deed.
    * Some friendly stranger turns out to have bad intentions (that was also part of "Pria").
    * A main character dies but later turns out to no have died (done with "Pria" as well, but no doubt we'll get a bigger one later)
    * A whacky set of circumstances leads them on a wild goose chase. It's whacky!
    * A member of the crew is accused of killing somebody or breaking some law, and is arrested, taken to trial, and sentenced to death. So the crew rushes to untangle the mystery and clear the person's name.
     
  10. kitik

    kitik Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    Cool, best episode yet!

    While I'm also quickly growing weary of the "jar of pickles" line, I hope they're going somewhere with that, setting up something for a future episode.

    The weird thing though is not that Mercer keeps encountering super heavy doors, it's that he decides that he's going to try to open them first. Why not just start with Alara? If you're going to include her on an away team and bring her along, then simply have her try the door first. Especially since they were up against the clock in this particular episode.
     
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  11. The Nth Doctor

    The Nth Doctor Infinite Possibilities... Premium Member

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    Yeah, same here. It was funny the first two times, but now it's just showing that Mercer is an idiot (or worse) and should tell Alara to open the door right away instead of wasting time trying himself. Unless that becomes part of the joke, just drop it.
     
  12. Photoman15

    Photoman15 Commodore Commodore

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    First, He's gotta at least try. It might be an easy door to open.
    Second, the payoff will be that he will actually struggle to open a jar of pickles and Alara will go to help but he will open it himself.
     
  13. Nerys Myk

    Nerys Myk A Spock and a smile Premium Member

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    Road kill is more lively than Data/LaForge.
     
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  14. UssGlenn

    UssGlenn Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Pria disappearing at the end of the episode works and long as we don't find the transporter gizmo in Ed's desk in a later episode. It should have disappeared with her.
     
  15. Phoenix219

    Phoenix219 Commodore Commodore

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    So they all should be destined to die in that "dark matter" storm.

    Or she was lying, and just kidnapping whoever she wanted.


    But if she was telling the truth, then Ed just selfishly slaughtered every rescued person from Amelia Earhart onward, and any of their resulting progeny. They could have been living quite productive lives in the 29th century.

    Or they could be in a zoo.
     
  16. LJones41

    LJones41 Commodore Commodore

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    The crew is watching an episode " Seinfeld" . . . on the bridge?
     
  17. tharpdevenport

    tharpdevenport Admiral Admiral

    And they randomly turn it off and don't finish watching it. Who does that? Further more, who does that as a collective group of people? Maybe somebody wanted to finish watching it.
     
  18. Serveaux

    Serveaux Fleet Admiral Premium Member

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    Why not?
     
  19. The Wormhole

    The Wormhole Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    I can't imagine what the point of that would be. The show just started, and you already want to completely change the premise despite the fact the current premise is just fine and the show is firing on all cylinders with the current premise?

    If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
    Was recently talking about this in the real world, it's very likely Pria was lying about the whole thing. First of all, how could the Orville be destined to be destroyed in the dark matter storm if the only reason they were flying through it was because of events Pria set into motion herself? Indeed, the fact that the Orville isn't automatically destroyed despite the fact that Pria apparently never visited them would lean towards proof she was lying. Hell for all we know, the squids she was selling the Orville to didn't actually have an intention of leaving the crew alive anyway.
    Yes.
    Happens all the time in TV land.
     
  20. Photoman15

    Photoman15 Commodore Commodore

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    They wouldn't have been there if they didn't go to "rescue" Pria's ship and bring her where she wanted to go.
    She's a con-artist