10 Cloverfield Lane came to mind too.
THE ORVILLE S1, E8: "INTO THE FOLD"
- Thread starter Mudd
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10 Cloverfield Lane came to mind too.
Unless Kronos is closer than twelve light-years to Earth, the NX-01 is faster than the fastest of 24th century starships. Starcharts lists it as 112 light-years away, which means the NX-01 can cover 28 light-years per day
If I am honest, the story was nothing special. However, the performances were strong, giving an earnestness to the episode that could have been lacking. Penny Johnson Jerald played off Mark Johnson's effectively deadpan delivery. In some ways, this was the Polaski-Data episode that never quite materialized.
I think that Johnson Jerald was quite good as Kasidy Yates, but was woefully under-utilized. She was wonderful in Rapture and Far Beyond the Stars. The problem was that the bulk of her appearances were saved up for the ending arc, wherein she was little more than the "captain's wife" and was being set up to be killed off. (What they should have done was elevate her to the regular cast to replace Farrell.)
I think that Johnson Jerald was quite good as Kasidy Yates, but was woefully under-utilized. She was wonderful in Rapture and Far Beyond the Stars. The problem was that the bulk of her appearances were saved up for the ending arc, wherein she was little more than the "captain's wife" and was being set up to be killed off. (What they should have done was elevate her to the regular cast to replace Farrell.)
You know, the pilot episode of this show completely sold me. Not that anyone ought to care, but I think if you found my posts regarding The Orville a month before the premiere they were probably pretty dismissive. The show itself turned me around, and quickly.
Oh, here:
Now you can scratch out "The Orville" and pencil in "Discovery," right? I mean, I just never improve a bit.
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6/10 enjoyable episode, loved the premise and the main plotline, the lone doomsday prepper was my favorite aspect of the episode. I did not, however, like the B plot with the children, just didn't do it for me, I'd rather have preferred if they covered more of what led to this war and maybe have the Union help them rebuild in the long term. More adult/philosophical conversations would have been preferable to the children misbehaving.
The main plotline gets an 8/10, while the children B plot was 3/10
If STD can deliver another stand alone 7/10 episode this Sunday, it'll be the first time STD is going to overtake The Orville for the week. Which would be nice, as I want both shows to be enjoyable.
The main plotline gets an 8/10, while the children B plot was 3/10
If STD can deliver another stand alone 7/10 episode this Sunday, it'll be the first time STD is going to overtake The Orville for the week. Which would be nice, as I want both shows to be enjoyable.
Maybe I'll give this one another shot, I turned it off half way in as I just lost interest.
I enjoyed this episode, but not quite as much as the previous ones. Definitely a paint by numbers, more straight up TNG episode. Hit all the same notes TNG would have. It wasn't bad, but clearly a retread. Braga and Bormanis may have had this script leftover from TNG days.
Penny Johnson is great as Claire! Highlight of the episode by far!
Revisiting old SF tropes is fine for the nostalgia factor, but did they really need to do the annoying kids in SF trope? Ugh. Really hated the kids. Yes, I know they were supposed to be annoying, but it was too much.
Penny Johnson is great as Claire! Highlight of the episode by far!
Revisiting old SF tropes is fine for the nostalgia factor, but did they really need to do the annoying kids in SF trope? Ugh. Really hated the kids. Yes, I know they were supposed to be annoying, but it was too much.
Eh, not the best this show has done. It was alright, and it certain held my interest throughout, but I don't know. I guess my main problem is that the majority of it is just Dr. Finn, her kids and Isaac with the rest of the cast not really involved. It's not that I have anything against those characters, and indeed it's great we're getting some focus on characters who weren't so prominent in the first few episodes. However, the whole cast of this show works well as an ensemble, so it was kind of a downer only really focusing on two characters this week. That all being said, I do like the idea we see at the end that Isaac could perhaps become a sort of "father figure" to Finn's kids. That seems a neat idea. Also, it was nice to see Star Trek veteran Brian Thompson.
Now the stuff with the rest of the Orville crew was top-notch as usual. The scene in engineering with the Barry Manilow music was awesome, and Yaphit's line to John about seeing him floating in space to that music being "so peaceful" was hilarious. The Glory Hole stuff was equally hilarious, and I liked the bit about the ensign spilling soya sauce on his pants being included in the official damage report.
And once again, I am impressed with how streamlined this show is able to make its plots. Where Star Trek would have wasted time going on about inverse doo-dads and de-polarizations to explain why the shuttle was taking on damage and crashed, here's it's just because a child threw a tantrum and damage the console. Likewise, Star Trek would have made trying to find a cure to the ailment a priority to the script, but here, a cure is a simple matter, and that returning to the ship is the priority.
Now the stuff with the rest of the Orville crew was top-notch as usual. The scene in engineering with the Barry Manilow music was awesome, and Yaphit's line to John about seeing him floating in space to that music being "so peaceful" was hilarious. The Glory Hole stuff was equally hilarious, and I liked the bit about the ensign spilling soya sauce on his pants being included in the official damage report.
And once again, I am impressed with how streamlined this show is able to make its plots. Where Star Trek would have wasted time going on about inverse doo-dads and de-polarizations to explain why the shuttle was taking on damage and crashed, here's it's just because a child threw a tantrum and damage the console. Likewise, Star Trek would have made trying to find a cure to the ailment a priority to the script, but here, a cure is a simple matter, and that returning to the ship is the priority.
I thought that for an sf show about family dynamics, featuring two child actors, this was remarkably good and successful. It danced up to the edge of sentimentality and only strayed to an understandable degree into cliche. If you've watched more than a little skiffy stuff you know that's pretty high praise for this genre.
I never bought the Siskos any more than I did the Crushers...or the Robinsons. For one episode, the Finns were a believable clan.
Absolutely. The discipline and focus of the scripting on this show is first-rate. I'm surprised every week at how unvarying that aspect of the storytelling is. They know what they're doing there, the show's style is clear, and they just execute.
I never bought the Siskos any more than I did the Crushers...or the Robinsons. For one episode, the Finns were a believable clan.
Absolutely. The discipline and focus of the scripting on this show is first-rate. I'm surprised every week at how unvarying that aspect of the storytelling is. They know what they're doing there, the show's style is clear, and they just execute.
I took her delay in filing her report to show that she herself is conflicted about what happened on the moon rather than ambivalent.
Remember the rules in this guy's world say that if she goes outside she will probably be killed and eaten. Were his actions the equivalent of preventing someone from running into a burning building to save someone else?
One other poster made the statement the "the guys intentions for her were clear.". Were they? Remember the writers included a scene where Finn gently places her hand on his arm while smiling and giving him the puppy dog eyed look, He just walks away. Was this scene included to show his intentions were not physical?
They cast an actor with a gruff and mean look, would the story be the same is it were a young blond woman? Were they counting on the viewers reaction to his appearance.
The writers also seem to like a story where a character does all the right things for all the right reasons and the results are not good. Look at the ending of "Krill" or "About a Girl" the end result is not what anyone planned.
I thought this was one of the best so far, and one where the Trek (and other) antecedents weren't haunting my enjoyment of the show. The one weak spot for me (and it was very minor) was how Claire said "we don't kill" after just killing a couple of locals. That could have been written better to help justify her actions. As far as her actually killing them, it may have been more aggressive than necessary, especially with her ambivalently portrayed captor, but not an issue to me. Ditto with how annoying the kids were: probably the most realistic portrayal of regular children I've ever seen, and that includes how they actually caused the accident.
Exactly.
I had no problem with Finn killing the guy. You don't get between Mama Bear and her cubs.
My wife and I both laughed out loud at the part where Isaac uses the kid's game for target practice! Really wish we could do that with our own kids' games/phones on occasion.
When Finn was being held captive, did she say something about maybe her translator not working right? If so, that would explain all the planets speaking perfect English. It's a little tougher explaining how various aliens hear their own language, but I'm willing to make the assumption that the translator "just works that way".
Since Isaac was focused on in this episode, it really put on display something that's been bothering me the whole time. Is it just me, or are his eyes not quite symmetric? They look just a tad.... off, and it's bugging the crap out of me every time I see him!
My wife and I both laughed out loud at the part where Isaac uses the kid's game for target practice!
Really wish we could do that with our own kids' games/phones on occasion.When Finn was being held captive, did she say something about maybe her translator not working right? If so, that would explain all the planets speaking perfect English. It's a little tougher explaining how various aliens hear their own language, but I'm willing to make the assumption that the translator "just works that way".
Since Isaac was focused on in this episode, it really put on display something that's been bothering me the whole time. Is it just me, or are his eyes not quite symmetric? They look just a tad.... off, and it's bugging the crap out of me every time I see him!
He walks away to do what she asked. It showed that her sense of him was right and that she could use his interest in her to persuade him.
I don't think the guy's intentions were clear at all. He may very well have had no intention of sexually assaulting her, but he had every intention of holding her captive against her wishes, for unknown reasons. He kept telling her to eat. Hell, I can't even be sure he isn't a cannibal trying to fatten her up, & only got her meds so he wouldn't have spoiled dinner lol. I have doubts that such is the case, but nothing solid. Ambivalent feelings are conflicted feelings. They're synonyms in this context. She has doubts about what she did, even if she knows she had to act accordingly
A
Amaris
Guest
I enjoyed this episode. Great character moments, including some much needed character development of Isaac as well as Claire. The plot doesn't matter so much to me, but I think it's a solid workmanlike plot, and it gets the job done.
"We are now entering glory hole."
"No, Bortus... it's... it's..."
"Sir?"
"It's fine, forget it."
This one gets an "Excellent" from me. Also, yay, the show is renewed for a second season!
"We are now entering glory hole."
"No, Bortus... it's... it's..."
"Sir?"
"It's fine, forget it."
This one gets an "Excellent" from me. Also, yay, the show is renewed for a second season!
In my opinion this is the best episode so far. It has it's weak aspects, but for me it was eight out of tn stars (which is what I gave it on IMDb).
For a bit in there I thought: If the shuttle got damaged and cant' get back, then the Orville might get damaged enough to where it has to stay in uncharted space for a while as repairs as made, leading to the danger of no re-enforcements and a better version of "Star Trek: Voyager". But I suspect they will not be in uncharted space the next episode.
I'm starting to wonder if Seth is building to something for the end of the season. It kind of seems like he's laying a foundation to do something: cloaked shuttles, a hand-held transporter device (which I bet is still in that fraking desk drawer!), and now a mysterious void. All stuff that could come in handy.
Also, a solid score from Joel McNeely.
Bortus: "Now entering gloryhole."
For a bit in there I thought: If the shuttle got damaged and cant' get back, then the Orville might get damaged enough to where it has to stay in uncharted space for a while as repairs as made, leading to the danger of no re-enforcements and a better version of "Star Trek: Voyager". But I suspect they will not be in uncharted space the next episode.
I'm starting to wonder if Seth is building to something for the end of the season. It kind of seems like he's laying a foundation to do something: cloaked shuttles, a hand-held transporter device (which I bet is still in that fraking desk drawer!), and now a mysterious void. All stuff that could come in handy.
Also, a solid score from Joel McNeely.
Bortus: "Now entering gloryhole."
The mother-children interaction between Dr. Finn and her two sons was quite organic, which is one of the things I liked about the episode. Then again, a lot of the aspects of Orville reflect 21st century values, perspectives, and pop culture, such as references to contemporary TV shows. Who knew moms/parents still struggled with their squabbling kids in the 25th century? 
Isaac seems to be a likable character, though he's essentially a carbon copy of TNG's Data. The only difference is that he comes from a race of artificial beings who perceive themselves as superior to organic lifeforms. While his sense of superiority comes off as arrogance to the crew, I think it can be overlooked, given that he's not hostile or aggressive toward other races, like the Krill.
Isaac seems to be a likable character, though he's essentially a carbon copy of TNG's Data. The only difference is that he comes from a race of artificial beings who perceive themselves as superior to organic lifeforms. While his sense of superiority comes off as arrogance to the crew, I think it can be overlooked, given that he's not hostile or aggressive toward other races, like the Krill.
"Manilow was a genius"
n-times better than 'After Earth' at a fraction of the cost. Yes, felt in places like an old TNG outline/script repurposed...but part of its Braga-esque charm. It would have have been nice if Penny Johnson had got a similar opportunity to stretch on DS9. But understandable.
n-times better than 'After Earth' at a fraction of the cost. Yes, felt in places like an old TNG outline/script repurposed...but part of its Braga-esque charm. It would have have been nice if Penny Johnson had got a similar opportunity to stretch on DS9. But understandable.
It wouldn't surprise me if rejected Trek script ideas were re-purposed for the show. It would be welcomed, too.
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