News Seth MacFarlane’s The Orville
- Thread starter Kai "the spy"
- Start date
I've been reminded of one of the original criticisms of Orville that kind of faded out as the season went on.
Not enough comedy to be a comedy, too much comedy to be a serious drama.
Orville never really did get unstuck between genres. It's the reason I think the show will be always good but never great. It's amusing, comfy, and nostalgic. But any emotional gravity is undercut by the ridiculousness, and it can never rank as a great comedy because the main premises are only semi-comedic.
Not enough comedy to be a comedy, too much comedy to be a serious drama.
Orville never really did get unstuck between genres. It's the reason I think the show will be always good but never great. It's amusing, comfy, and nostalgic. But any emotional gravity is undercut by the ridiculousness, and it can never rank as a great comedy because the main premises are only semi-comedic.
Why does a show have to confine itself to only one genre?
To use two Nathan Fillion examples, Castle was equally at home as a cop drama as it was as a comedy. Firefly bounced back and forth between sci-fi action-adventure and comedy and drama.
To use two Nathan Fillion examples, Castle was equally at home as a cop drama as it was as a comedy. Firefly bounced back and forth between sci-fi action-adventure and comedy and drama.
This is a criticism that never made sense to me. I love MASH but it has some truly ridiculous plot lines that strained the edges of believability with its comedy in war zone antics. Yet, it could take some moments and make them very high drama.
I haven't kept up on Orville, but there have been plenty of dramatic moments in that show that I was genuinely impressed by. The show could balance both. And, in my opinion, has attempted to do so, rather than just be defined as a comedy or a drama.
I feel so many shows today are trying so very hard at heavy-handed drama, I really want "comfy" and "amusing" from a show like The Orville, and I'm totally watching it for that. I like a science fiction show I can just turn on and enjoy for an hour and see "what are they up to this week?" instead of some really deep and dark doom and gloom thinking going on.
That's a good point too.
Ever since 9/11 and the subsequent political fallout, American scifi and drama has understandably taken on a much darker and more cynical tone to match what's felt by a lot of Americans. And don't get me wrong, when it's done well (like BSG) I can appreciate that kind of show a great deal.
But The Orville is a nice throwback to 80s skiffy, and especially TNG which is its obvious spiritual forerunner, where it's just good people trying to do good things while working for a good institution that's part of a good government, which is a refreshing change of pace from both the current television landscape and sadly, real life.
It's not highbrow entertainment by any means, and sometimes the mix of humor and drama can be a little disjointed in close proximity (though I think that can be improved upon with better timing rather than limiting itself to one genre), but that inherent optimism and trust in your people and having institutions you can count on to do the right thing will always keep me coming back for more, because it's such a contrasting style to other scifi these days.
Actually, I feel that's exactly why the show is great. You never know quite what to expect out of it. Shit is funny when you least expect it. Besides, they never claimed to be either straight comedy or drama. That's fully on those early expectations and early reviews, reviews I add that ended up missing the mark by a mile.
Yes! It's great to just be able to sit down and watch and be entertained. There's a light-hearted honesty to it. And It always surprises me how insightful it can be at times.
The light comedic bent to the show means that on the one hand they're not too likely to ever produce a "City On The Edge Of Forever," but on the other hand if they ever do "Spock's Brain" they'll really commit to it. 
Somewhat more likely is that it will continue to keep them away from the solemn self-regard with which Trek writers so often have treated superficial or ham-handed attempts to be topical.
Somewhat more likely is that it will continue to keep them away from the solemn self-regard with which Trek writers so often have treated superficial or ham-handed attempts to be topical.
I prefer a mix so I am ok with this.
as well as Buffy. Super funny at times and incredibly dramatic at others.
Ah, no. "Spock's Brain" wasn't a comedic episode. It was just pathetic. Nothing funny about it at all.
I remember liking "Spock's Brain" as a kid. Then again, I also liked Knight Rider as a kid too...
Why am I not surprised?
Well, you never know. That episode where they go down to a planet's surface that ends up living inside a bubble was surprisingly in-depth, and it was the first episode of the series that made me realize it can hit quite deep when it wants to. So while it might not quite get to that level, I think it has moments where it can definitely stand on its own.
I liked the episode, but the emotional engagement still doesn't go beyond a little melodrama. For all that I love the show, i doubt their ability within the format to tell a personal story with any depth or pathos.
And no, the story about the female child didn't approach it - that was pure TNG, emotionally distanced.
And no, the story about the female child didn't approach it - that was pure TNG, emotionally distanced.
You don't have to get people to think about issues though just through character development. You can do through humor and also by simply exploring idea's. I think their episode about social media had lots to say and was very relevant to the modern world. I'm still waiting to find out why Issac's robot people are suppose to be really racists. I would like to see how humanity evolved but is still basically very much like us, today as well. Showing how WE can be better might even be more important than TNG where human nature seems to almost have changed to some degree.
Jason
Jason