Not to mention that the plot description of practically every episode could just replace "Mercer" with "Picard", "Isaac" with "Data", "Bortus" with "Worf" and "Finn" with "Crusher" and they'd just be average TNG episodes.
Let's talk about the elephant in the room, this series violates Roddenberry's vision big time
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That isn't a remake. If you'd watch the actual episode you'd know that. Next you'll be telling me any episode that takes place on a planet or in space is a remake of Star Trek.
It ain't just a river in Egypt.That isn't a remake. If you'd watch the actual episode you'd know that. Next you'll be telling me any episode that takes place on a planet or in space is a remake of Star Trek.
Sorry, this is a place that I agree with Ricky on. Lots of things are "roughly similar" but the idea that Orville just "rips off" stories, beyond surface details is about as firm as the comparisons that he made.
Orville makes it unique through, especially with its characters and world building.
Enjoy it if you will, but I am tired of this idea that it's somehow "more like real Star Trek" or that this is the kind of thing new Trek series should be doing. If I wanted another TNG or VGR, I'd just watch TNG or VGR, or even ENT. I wanted the next Trek series to break down some doors, and I mean in terms of storytelling and character approach as well as setting. DSC has done that. Orville has not. It's just TNG lite at best with dick jokes.
It seems like a lot of complaints about DSC (though I'm not saying Ricky or Dennis are saying this) begin with phrases like "Star Trek has never needed to do X before" where X is anything DSC has done that Trek hasn't done in the past, such as use entirely serialized storytelling or have a gay couple (clutches pearls against the end of civilization as we know it) or have a character use profanity. I say "Star Trek has never done X before, so let's do it."
I'm tired of that discussion to. Its frustrating, and a cheapening of both properties, in my opinion, to reduce them to their bare bones for comparison sake.
I don't necessarily want every entertainment piece to "break down some doors." In my opinion, the characters of the Orville are unique, charming, and interesting in terms of their exploration of the world.
Similarly, DISCO has its own unique characters and setting. I like both, but for different reasons.
And, honestly, few of them have to do with "Star Trek."
No. The story setting was similar (megastructure intended as a generation ship faced with doom, religious inhabitants didn't know they weren't on a planet) but the plotline is entirely different. There was no Oracle, no instruments of obedience, and no romantic B plot.
Do you know why it feels more like real Star Trek to me? It is because the characters are likable and out exploring space because they want to. They want to learn about the universe.
War and unlikable characters were about the easiest dramatic thing Discovery could do after Trek's twelve year absence from TV. And that's exactly what they did.
Sounds like Trek lifted the idea of a generational ship from others...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generation_ship
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generation_ship
They still have to compete in a contemporary market.
Oh, yeah. Real likable.
Has anyone noticed that the war is really the backdrop of DSC and not the focus, except me? And "likable" does not necessarily translate into "a perfect person" or even a "good" person. I love Burnham, Stamets, Lorca, Saru, Tilly, and even though I think he's I like Tyler, too. Orville's characters, when they're not unimaginative "generic Starfleet officers" could populate almost any sitcom.
But so does The Orville.
Sound familiar to anyone? It is Robert Heinlein's Orphans from the Sky. Published in 1963.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orphans_of_the_Sky
Orville is billed as a comedy, with dramatic moments. DISCO is a drama, designed to launch a streaming platform and in a different market.
Orville is hitting one niche, and DISCO another.
And as I said, I wanted to like Orville. But I watched it and it's stupid as fuck.
YMMV. My wife is intolerant of stupid humor, but even she finds enjoyment in the Orville. So, I don't even know what to tell you.
"Command Performance" = TOS - "The Cage"
"About a Girl" = TNG - "The Outcast"
"If the Stars Should Appear" = TOS - "For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky".
"Pria" = TNG - "A Matter of Time".
And yes, I watched and liked every Orville ep. so far to a degree, but those already felt like repeats for me for the most part. No, the show really wasn't meant to be original, it is a homage to Star Trek - but I have enjoyed more, the two episodes that haven't aped other Star Trek episodes so closely. YMMV.
None of them play the same way. I say that as someone who has seen all the above episodes numerous times over the years.
