News Seth MacFarlane’s The Orville

Yep. I said this elsewhere as well. It was obvious early on. I know why Discovery didn't fully sit well with me. Granted it's a pilot, and should always get a little leeway to play around with things, that wasn't it. It's on CBS All Access, and that is part of it though I understand why they're doing it. So do I dislike Discovery? Nope. What happened was The Orville got to me first. I watched a brightly lit, futuristic, optimistic sci-fi show with heavy Trek themes take on semi-serious to very serious issues with humor, and humanity. It has the aesthetic of TNG, with the fun and adventure of TOS.

So yeah, The Orville became my Star Trek a few weeks before the current darker, grittier Star Trek arrived. That's not to say I won't like Discovery, but I know which one I need more of right now, and it's not the one currently asking for my $6-$9 a month to watch.

 

How about this then?

 

Orville's first 3>>Disco's first 2

 

I disagree.

Discovery is building something new.

Orville is pretending that it's set half way through TNG.

 

I don't know. I'm sure Bortus's nude scenes have been posted online by now, though.

 

Eh. Discovery is pretending that it's set half way through nBSG.

 

Or Bablyon 5 if you look at the date.

It's 2256 here, and B5 starts in 2257.

 

I have an honest question. Why does everyone constantly liken The Orville to TNG? The reason I ask is because I see as many or more similarities to the other series. I think the look and feel has more in common with TOS, Voyager, and Enterprise. Mercer is earnest but inexperienced like Archer, Malloy is a lot like Paris, Alara like Hoshi. The guy with the egg is kind of like Worf, but even more like Tuvok. Even DS9 comes to mind, because by golly, Dr. Claire really reminds me of Sisko's love interest, Kassidy. She also has a McCoy thing going on to some degree. The Robut (that's how you say robot on TOS) is as much or more like Spock than Data.

There are no Picards, Rikers, Trois, Crushers, etc on this show. The ship itself reminds me more of Voyager, inside and out. For instance, The Captain and 1st Officer sit side by side on the bridge.

Anyways, is this some kind of groupthink happening? From the first trailer, everyone kept saying "TNG!" and when all the reviews came out, they all likened it to a TNG throwback, and maybe that's why the comparison is so oft repeated on here? I can see why "general audience" reviewers might hone in on the TNG comparison, but the more sophisticated Trek fans here on the BBS?

 

I think some of the professional reviews made the comparison to TNG and Seth McFarlane is a TNG fan so I think there is where the comparison came from. You are right that the show has similarities to other Trek shows, not just TNG. The morality play we got in the last episode was very TNG though.

 

TNG is also shorthand, aesthetically, for TNG/DS9/VOY and I think that informs much of the commentary.

 

Society in general leads me to think we're heading for a dystopian, rather than utopian, future. Penis jokes top the list of reasons.

 

It looks most like TNG, and Isaac and Bortus superficially resemble Data and Worf.

The show reminds me most of TOS.

 

In TNG timeframe, people would've evolved beyond the need to be a specific game piece!

 

Would they even play Monopoly on the Enterprise D? I mean it's a game all about capitalism and the accumulation of wealth. It's doubtful anyone on board would know the first thing about building a hotel on Vermont Avenue.

 

If you come from a society like that you would be in trouble as soon as you find yourself in a survival situation where resources are scarce (strandet on a planet, for instance). So I think Starfleet Academy is going to teach the Cadets quite a bit early on about that. Maybe with... games (like Poker )

 

One of the big aspects of Poker is lying to get more money. I would think they could understand Monopoly pretty well.

 

"Zooty-zoot!" (Okay, not the best example....)

Everyone's been comparing Bortus to Worf, but I'm not seeing it. He reminds me a lot more of Teal'c's personality crossed with the looks of a Tamarian (Darmok).

And backtracking to the pilot for a moment....
Several fandoms have various "holidays" they celebrate (Trek - First Contact Day, Federation Day; Firefly - Unification Day), so I decided to look up when exactly Arbor Day is celebrated. Not only is does it differ from country to country, but also from state to state in the US!

 

If you've got wood, every day is Arbor day.

 

Agreed. Bortus is more sedate like Teal'c, until he needs to be more agressive.

I wonder when we'll start seeing some crewmen in sickbay after dates with Alara. I don't know about anyone else, but I think it might be worth it.

 

Discovery has all the things Orville is missing and Orville has all the things Discovery is missing.

Space opera needs both the serious and the silly. The two shows are two halves of one complete whole.