The Orville is Overrated Nostalgic Trek Fans

[ISS-Magnum]

I have to admit, I absolutely love The Orville. Characters, stories, adventures, everything. My cup of tea. Perfect like 99 percent of the time.

But I don't like the name of the show. And I know people, both online and offline, who love all this stuff - space adventures, space opera, but almost passed by because of the name. Like ... what is it? The Orville? What is this supposed to mean? It's about Wright brothers? About pizza elephant? Why not more proper name? Something like Star Trek Orville, Battlestar Orville, Spaceship Orville, Starship Orville?

 

[BillJ]

And I know people, both online and offline, who love all this stuff - space adventures, space opera, but almost passed by because of the name. Like ... what is it? The Orville? What is this supposed to mean? It's about Wright brothers? About pizza elephant? Why not more proper name?

They would only really need a commercial or two to figure out what it is. I don't think the name represents any kind of barrier.

 

[Mudd]

STD isn't fun and it isn't smart. It's a waste of an hour.

 

[BillJ]

STD isn't fun and it isn't smart. It's a waste of an hour.

And the $11 I just spent to resubscribe. Desperately hoping the show gets better. I did notice from the trailers that they seem to be trying to up the fun factor a bit.

 

[WarpFactorZ]

Agreed completely. When I'm watching the Orville, I generally wish I was watching The Next Generation.

When I'm watching the Orville, I feel like I'm watching TNG -- which is great. I enjoy the look, the feel, the characters, and the stories.

 

[Mudd]

And the $11 I just spent to resubscribe. Desperately hoping the show gets better.

Yeah...I don't really care now whether it does or not. It's not important.

 

[BillJ]

It's not important.

Definitely not important, though I hate to openly dislike Star Trek.

 

[ISS-Magnum]

I don’t see why nobody seems capable of defending Orville without dissing Discovery in contrast.

It's like DS9 vs Babylon-5 all over again. I feel young. Maybe we need more wars like this!

 

[PlainSimpleJoel]

I think it's okay. I watched the first two episodes of season 2, but looking forward to Discovery more.

 

[Styleset]

As I have said here many times, I watch both shows. I am an avid consumer of television, with an undergraduate degree in Electronic Media (Broadcasting) interested in media studies, i.e., the ways in which these contemporary "fireside" stories and myths shape and reflect our culture. Plus, I have been a full-on Trekkie for as long as I can remember. There might be one episode of TAS that I have not seen (holding out for a rainy day). I know Trek history, both real world and in universe at a very significant level. I am definitely one of 'those' Star Trek fans.

I think The Orville is an interesting take, but has less potential to stand on its own. I think DSC is an ambitious show trying to give us a contemporary take on Roddenberry's creations and I really enjoy it, even when it isn't at it's best.

 

[The Realist]

STD isn't fun and it isn't smart. It's a waste of an hour.

I'm amazed at your constant hostility toward Discovery, since I well remember the days when you were a tireless one-man cheerleading squad for Enterprise, quite possibly the absolute nadir of all human dramatic endeavor throughout recorded history.

 

[Marynator]

I enjoy watching both shows, I feel each has something unique to offer. I enjoy Discovery because I feel it's a fascinating drama with an engaging story and interesting characters, and I love the Orville because it's optimistic and fun. With Discovery, I'm really looking forward to seeing the next episode and see how things turn out, and I want to know what happens to these characters, especially Michael. I don't care for individual people so much on the Orville, but I love seeing how they react to different situations they find themselves in, I think it's just enjoyable to see them bouncing off each other.

I just don't understand some peoples' reactions to these programs .. I mean, not everything is made for everyone. I have many television shows and movies I don't like: I never liked Deep Space Nine, Voyager, or Enterprise. I don't like The Last Jedi, or the Hobbit movies, or the new X-Files season. But I understand those aren't being made for me, and just because I don't like them doesn't mean they're bad or they don't have value, it just means the world doesn't revolve around me and my tastes, but obviously other people find great enjoyment, so I'm happy for you if you do.

I respect if you don't like the Orville or Discovery, you most certainly don't have to, but what do you gain by negativity? Really, no one cares if you think it's bad, you're not going to convince people who do like it, you only look bitter and angry, and also incredibly self-absorbed thinking something's only good if you like it.

For me, I'm just sad both have to be on late on Thursday evenings! Tomorrow I'll be watching Discovery for my Star Trek story, I think the first time I've really enjoyed new Star Trek since TNG, and then the Orville for comfort!

 

[marsh8472]

I enjoyed season 1 of Orville more than I enjoyed season 1 of Discovery. But... I don't care much for season 2 of Orville so far and Discovery looks more promising with Pike on there.

Spoiler: orville season 2 episode summaries

episode 1: Bortus taking a piss with teenage family drama backstory
episode 2: Bortus doing gay porn
episode 3: Alara finding excuses to leave the series

 

[Kane_Steel]

Orville isn't my thing, but you can tell the people behind it love Star Trek and it's basically Seth's Star Trek fanfilm. I appreciate that.

You can tell the creatives behind STD and CBS are more interested in exploiting the Star Trek brand than doing justice to the spirit of the series.

An ideal Trek show would have Orville's love for the source material, with STD's vast budget and SFX.

 

[The Wormhole]

But I will say that Seth McFarlane's humor is very specific, very adolescent boyish, self-depracating. It's not situational as most humor in Star Trek is. Meaning most of the time the humor feels as if it just comes up from the situation.

I don't really give a shit where the humour "comes from." As long as its funny, it has succeeded in my book.

Some people enjoy being immersed in their fiction. They think drama is more fun if you’re able to suspend disbelief while you’re watching it. And things that remind you it’s fiction prevent that.

But it is fiction. Whether you're immersed in it or not doesn't change that.

 

[Mudd]

It's like DS9 vs Babylon-5 all over again. I feel young. Maybe we need more wars like this!

The what versus what?

 

[Mudd]

Enterprise, quite possibly the absolute nadir of all human dramatic endeavor throughout recorded history.

And yet, still a smarter television series than STD.

 

[Turtletrekker]

When I'm watching the Orville, I feel like I'm watching TNG -- which is great. I enjoy the look, the feel, the characters, and the stories.

That's fine that you feel that way. Personally, I don't see any of the characters or performers on the Orville ever being in the same league as Patrick Stewart's Jean-Luc Picard, Brent Spiner's Data or Michael Dorn's Worf. (I'm talking about regulars of course, not guest appearances.) Personally, I think that Orville compares more closely to Voyager that it does to TNG. YMMV. As for the look of the show, I feel that it looks cheap even by Next Generation standards.

 

[Owain Taggart]

The thing that makes me like the Orville is the humour. I admit to not being as much into Trek as I was in the past, so the fact that it pokes fun at some of the things I used to take so seriously is what makes it fun. It's a Trek-like show that puts its hair down, but still manages to tackle topics in interesting and thought-provoking ways that I find refreshing. In this way, I feel it's often subverting what we've come to expect, and this is why I think so many of us find the show intriguing.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

I'm still having trouble parsing the thread title:

"The Orville is Overrated Nostalgic Trek Fans"