Discovery and "The Orville" Comparisons

Indeed, so for 95% of the world it doesn't exist. Discovery on the other hand is available to over 80% of the world - 16 times as many people.

 

All I'm worried about is the US, honestly.

 

Episode 4 of Orville felt just like a Star Trek episode. Some cool sic-fi tech, a nice moral dilemma and an alien of the week. Plus we get some relationship drama, what is going on with Bortus and his partner? Bortus was upset and went to work early. Oh and his partner is gay. So we get some diversity. Oh and Orville did this without going on every TV talk show screaming about how diverse they are.

Plus i can watch this show online without paying for it.

Right now The Orville is doing enough of Trek to feel like old Trek but enough new stuff to keep it fresh. No dark gritty lighting, a little bit of humor and some interesting characters. I am anxious to see where this show is going.

 

FOX UK picked up The Orville and will be transmitting it soon from what I've read.

 

It's really hard to genuinely compare a sci fi comedy adventure with a sci fi drama adventure.

Orville gets the comedy right, nails it IMO. but when it tries to tackle a dramatic issue, it really falls flat on the drama and issue part.

The entire episode with Bortis' kid was just... so much bad logic, so many things not well thought out that didn't make much sense. There were some things that made a lot of sense but way too much of the logic involved was just... poor.

That being said, we haven't gotten a Discovery episode like that for me to compare yet but I have a funny feeling that the writers here are going to make a script that makes a little more sense, albeit far less funny.

 

One of the shows has senior officers call prisoners "garbage" and "animals", the other doesn't. I want explorers, not Rampart with lasers.

 

I am liking the Orville, the 3rd episode of Discovery was a great improvement so I guess I will just have to watch both.

It's a hard life really.

 

Oh, that's just Trek wrtiers trying to write "tough dialogue" for their Sparkle-Spandex clad 'Fleeters.

Kind of like Sheldon Cooper doing an impression of Dirty Harry.

 

I don't see Orville and DSC as competing shows because they're trying to do two completely different things. They're not playing the same game.

That said, I watched like half of the first episode of Orville and turned it off to go to bed. Haven't felt a need to return to it. "Eh" is about all I can say for it. It's not bad, but I just don't care.

DSC though? I have a lot to look forward to on Sunday nights now.

 

There was some Youtube critics who made a video apologizing for misjudging Orville in their review of the pilot, after seeing a few more episodes. I've only seen the first two episodes, and there are 4 out now, but apparently it's beginning to get rave reviews.

Edit: Something else to look forward to on The Orville, both Patrick Stewart and Scott Bakula are going to be making guest appearances, and I heard Liam Neeson recently made a cameo.

 

I was pleasantly surprised by that episode. My wife and I thoroughly enjoyed it, discussed it for a while afterwards, and thought the plot made perfect sense.

And the latest episode is fun science fiction, with a lot of heart. I think it gets drama just fine.

 

Given your obvious and long-standing hatred for many of the tropes and standards of Star Trek, why are you even here any more?

 

The Orville is a Comedy show trying to be Star Trek and in many ways succeeding. Discovery is a Star Trek show trying to be Game of Thones'ish? With maybe a touch nuGalactica? It's also as humorless as a Mime Convention.

 

Personally, when I watch Discovery, my first thought is Star Trek, followed by Fringe, then nuBSG, then The Expanse, then maybe Game of Thrones.

 

Mimes are fucking hilarious.

 

While I continue to be charmed by The Orville....and I've thoroughly enjoyed the last two episodes...they are massively unoriginal and derivative of previous Trek outings.

It's as much part of the appeal as it is a significant weakness.

 

Count me as someone who enjoyed the first 3 episodes, but couldn't make it through the 4th episode. I couldn't get passed the aliens of the week and their little house on the prairie so i switched it off. It just emulated the part of 90's trek that I have grown to hate the most, but i'll probably try watching it again at some point.

 

Little house on the Prairie? Sorry, I thought it was a nice mix and an interesting and entertaining tale on a pretty classic sci fi story.

 

I'm enjoying the Orville, but the dry humor can be hit or miss. It's enjoyable TV but not something that drives me to watch it as soon as the next episode lands. It reminds me a lot of Voyager with maybe a touch of TNG. Good Cast chemistry. I like the characters. The humor has an almost British SciFi humor feel to it. That dry flat dry but a bit biting tone. The Pilot was on par with the other main broadcast Trek pilots which we compare these sorts of things to. It's a get the band together and introduce everyone show. It's servicable but not something you are going to come back to much besides completeness.

ST Discovery is still fighting to win me over. The third episode almost did it. Almost. If this had been the pilot and we hadn't gotten that bleak performance of bad decisions, criminal actions and outright stupidity for 2 episodes I might be better hooked. I still hate the main character. Can we toss her out an airlock again? Please?. Whereas the morally ambiguous and mysterious Captain I like. He has my attention. My biggest complaint is why oh why is this a prequel series? Nothing here would need to be prequel. So much of it would work better as a post Voyager/Nemesis show. They are a dark experimental ship testing the new drive to go beyond were even Voyager went. They should have made the bad guys something else. Maybe something that Voyager or DS9 just barely touched a little. I think the biggest problem with Discovery for me is you can see too many cooks behind it. You can see where it could have been fantastic with just a bit less meddling. Kurtzman and Orsi were involved. That means every idea ever proposed in brainstorming a new show, all gets put up on the wall and all gets built into the show.
That post ity note that says "fastest ship ever new super warp drive" is next to "Section 31 show" is next to "Prequel" is next to "Axanar and Klingon War" is next to "Spocks Human Sister" is next to "Reality Warping and Bending" etc etc amd they never trim an idea they fight to put it all on screen, even the stuff that contradicts the other stuff. It's like they get bonus points for using all the little yellow post it notes.

 

It was basically a remake of "For the World is Hollow, And I have Touched The Sky" and it was great. There's a hilarious moment in the beginning when Bortus and his mate give each other this look. The music was really good in this one. LaMarr and Malarkey are starting to grow on me. Captain Mercer is funny when he's not trying to be, but he ruins jokes. There's one moment where the first officer girl says "we'll meet here at 1300," and Mercer says "wait..." and she says "That's 1300."
Then Mercer says something about "I always have trouble with that." If she had said 1300, and he just looked at the ground like he was thinking, then she (knowing him so well) could tell him "that's 1 o'clock" it would have been funny! That's a pretty good example of how Mcfarlane often ruins his own jokes, but this is definitely my favorite so far. I still need to watch the 3rd episode.

It's not 90's Trek. It's a new show. People keep comparing it to TNG, or 90's Trek, or "Berman Trek" as a way to deride it, but it is it's own series.