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News Seth MacFarlane’s The Orville

Chancellor M'rek said:
Peter David actaully thinks Seth macfarlane read his crappy new frontier books

http://www.peterdavid.net/2017/05/17/the-orville/comment-page-1/#comment-947033

The part I like the most is that the ship’s captain (MacFarlane) has, as his first officer, his ex. All I could think of is, Wow, I wish I had thought of that twenty years ago when I created the crew for the Excalibur in “New Frontier.” Would that I had made Calhoun’s first officer his ex.

Oh. Wait.

PAD
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I liked some of those. Who knows what he did or didn't read, and whether that was the source of his idea or not?
The famous comedy trope of having to work with your ex is not something new or invented by Peter David. Scrubs played with it on plenty of occasions as well.
 
The Orville looks great because of what it is: A lighthearted spoof. If it was intending to be a grounded drama like Discovery, it would look corny and out of date. It all comes down to context.
 
Coloratura said:
No, because I recall the design aesthetic of the 1990s going out of style several decades ago. They work in a sci-fi comedy lampooning shows like Star Trek, but actual Star Trek? No, I prefer the show be taken a little more seriously than that, just as I prefer modern visuals be incorporated into modern Star Trek. I guess we could keep the tan walls and carpet, along with the red, yellow, and blue spandex, though. Just my two bits.
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Agreed. They both look equally good, for their own reasons.
 
Jedman67 said:
I liked some of those. Who knows what he did or didn't read, and whether that was the source of his idea or not?
The famous comedy trope of having to work with your ex is not something new or invented by Peter David. Scrubs played with it on plenty of occasions as well.
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"New Frontier" had some great ideas, but left somewhat to be desired.

That said, it's hardly like being stuck in awkward situations with your ex isn't already "comedy gold" in the Hollywood roles. That said, the comments on that article have a great suggestion for a new show "A million ways to die in space." Also known as, McCoy's ship logs.
 
fireproof78 said:
"New Frontier" had some great ideas, but left somewhat to be desired.

That said, it's hardly like being stuck in awkward situations with your ex isn't already "comedy gold" in the Hollywood roles. That said, the comments on that article have a great suggestion for a new show "A million ways to die in space." Also known as, McCoy's ship logs.
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I'd pay money to see this, especially if someone can do a good impression of DeForest Kelly's Mcoy. That would be gold.
"Chief Medical Officer's Log, Stardate 12345: Computer, please record, Last Will And Testament, by Leanord Mcoy, CMO Enterprise: I can feel the end coming, as inevitable as the death of the sun. How, I cannot say, but the surety is certain."
<Kirk walks in>
"Bones? It's just a stubbed toe."
 
FormerLurker said:
It's probably named for 'Orrible Orvy. I wouldn't put it past Seth McFarlane to do that.
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tenmei said:
It was named after Orville Wright - I saw an interview with MacFarlane that said he was reading a biography of the Wright brothers when he was writing the pilot episode.
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So the rogue bad guy's ship will be called the Curtis or the Langley ?

Hiss!!!

137th Gebirg said:
I'm just looking forward to the fan-made technical manuals that will invariably be written on the content of this show. :D
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I can't see how this show is going to work for long. OK, so what we're looking at is a 'Galaxy Quest' style TV series. Right?
That might sound funny in principle, but there are only so many sci-fi conceits you can send up and spoof. What's going to happen then? Without some proper stories and characterisation I can imagine 'The Orville' getting very tired, very quickly.
 
Looks like Chad L. Coleman is involved in some capacity.

Don't know if this will be successful or not but it does look like MacFarlane and company seem enthusiastic. It might seem odd to say but not every project seems to have full effort being put into it.
 
Four Lights said:
I can't see how this show is going to work for long. OK, so what we're looking at is a 'Galaxy Quest' style TV series. Right?
That might sound funny in principle, but there are only so many sci-fi conceits you can send up and spoof. What's going to happen then? Without some proper stories and characterisation I can imagine 'The Orville' getting very tired, very quickly.
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That's what happened 40 years ago with Quark, which was at its heart a TOS spoof, and didn't last long.
 
They used only Oriville Wright's first name? So other ships of the line would be named USS Wilbur, Amelia, Charles, Manfred, John, Neil..?

Mark
 
USS Triumphant said:
There are a lot of people that put Galaxy Quest at second or third on their list of the best Trek movies.
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What makes Galaxy Quest function as a good Trek movie isn't the comedy. The underlying theme of the movie is that the childlike wonder and high idealism that Trek represents is a good thing and not something to simply be mocked for a quick laugh. So in the end it functions as sort of an apologia for Trek and Trek fandom where the uninitiated can go "Oh, nooow I get what all the fuss is about!" Fist pump!

That kind of honest sincerity and sentimentality is not Seth's strong suit. He always goes for the laugh, not the pathos. And so The Orville might be a rather shallow affair.

He just can't do a scene like...this:
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Four Lights said:
I can't see how this show is going to work for long. OK, so what we're looking at is a 'Galaxy Quest' style TV series. Right?
That might sound funny in principle, but there are only so many sci-fi conceits you can send up and spoof. What's going to happen then? Without some proper stories and characterisation I can imagine 'The Orville' getting very tired, very quickly.
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That is why they are doing it as a comedic drama and not as a "Spaceballs"-style parody. The heart of the show will still be the characters and storytelling, they'll just try to make it also funny.
 
mos6507 said:
What makes Galaxy Quest function as a good Trek movie isn't the comedy. The underlying theme of the movie is that the childlike wonder and high idealism that Trek represents is a good thing and not something to simply be mocked for a quick laugh. So in the end it functions as sort of an apologia for Trek and Trek fandom where the uninitiated can go "Oh, nooow I get what all the fuss is about!" Fist pump!

That kind of honest sincerity and sentimentality is not Seth's strong suit. He always goes for the laugh, not the pathos. And so The Orville might be a rather shallow affair.

He just can't do a scene like...this:
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I disagree. There are times when Seth's comedy can be downright poignant. He has the ability, and while he often does go for the laugh, or the clever riff, he can make you cry when he wants.
 
Venardhi said:
That is why they are doing it as a comedic drama and not as a "Spaceballs"-style parody. The heart of the show will still be the characters and storytelling, they'll just try to make it also funny.
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If that is to be the case then I will give it a go. TNG did comedy from time to time and did it rather well. So long as they don't over do it. This show has to be more than just endless yucks to last long term.
 
Coloratura said:
I disagree. There are times when Seth's comedy can be downright poignant. He has the ability, and while he often does go for the laugh, or the clever riff, he can make you cry when he wants.
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I feel somewhere halfway in between your two points of view - I think MacFarlane CAN do what you're saying, but I also think that he generally doesn't care to if some stupid sex or body humor can get the job done for him.

But... I'm also bearing in mind that there will be other writers on the show. So... ???
 
USS Triumphant said:
I feel somewhere halfway in between your two points of view - I think MacFarlane CAN do what you're saying, but I also think that he generally doesn't care to if some stupid sex or body humor can get the job done for him.

But... I'm also bearing in mind that there will be other writers on the show. So... ???
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Really, it's just too soon to tell. I just believe Seth can hit the right notes.
 
I just saw the trailer. I know I'm late, but....it resonated with me more than Discovery's trailer did. I'm not saying that to be edgy or anything...I just liked it. It made me smile.

Sure, it probably will get old fast. It'll likely be cancelled, since Fox cancels everything. But I think it'll be lots of fun while it lasts. And the TNG-ish design is cool.
 
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