Because that's not the way it works IRL?
THE ORVILLE: S1, E7: "MAJORITY RULE"
- Thread starter Mudd
- Start date
Because that's not the way it works IRL?
I thought it might be an allusion to cultural appropriation.
You do realize that both shows were mimicking Internet behavior?
A
Amaris
Guest
Yep. He even said she was “literally pissing all over” his culture.
Yep.
I do. I guess I liked the part how they expose majority rule allows propaganda to rule. If I wouldn't have seen the Black Mirror episode already I would have liked it more.
The way I interpreted that was the woman was someone so well known in their history that Steven Culp just assumed John was aware of her. His reaction when it's brought up in the interview was an "oh, shit, I should have thought of that" moment. Kind of like how you just assume someone in the US knows who George Washington is.
If this were a Trek series, the transporter would somehow need to be removed as a rescue option, which of course would have seemed quite contrived. The lack of transporter technology in this universe actually makes this story better, we don't have to buy into some technobabble-based reason about why it won't work this time.
Early on there was discussion about whether the Union had a Prime Directive.
The coment from McFarlane was that no it didn't and things were handled on a case by case basis and this week I think we saw that.
Picard would mull over the PD, Mercer got creative and took action.
The coment from McFarlane was that no it didn't and things were handled on a case by case basis and this week I think we saw that.
Picard would mull over the PD, Mercer got creative and took action.
Interestingly enough, while we don't always have a prime directive type condition in this Union, this week also established they also depart from Trek in that they allow cloaking tech for their ships. However, they do have a "No money" condition going on like Star Trek
This was another wonderful episode, a perfect example of what episodic and allegorical storytelling should be. There were certainly weaknesses and plot holes in the storytelling-- the characters have a tendency to blunder about in unknown environments, which was particularly odd in a case where they had been receiving reports from a couple of anthropologists-- but the comedic format is more forgiving of this kind of conceit than a straight drama would be.
The satire of contemporary social media was perfect (and they even managed to sneak in a jab at the current cultural appropriation meme) and Isaac's comment, ironically, reminded me of Asimov's quote about "the false notion that my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge." And the sense of wonder experienced by the native girl when she was brought aboard the Orville was nice to see, and a pleasant reversal of the airheaded characterization that she was given at the start of the story.
The greatest weakness of the story, unfortunately, was John himself. Aside from the racial stereotyping that has been there since the beginning (which is probably considered cultural correctness by the current generation), he was really portrayed as wrong, unrepentant, and generally unlikable here. Flaws in the system aside, the public was right to give him down votes. Also, he wasn't very wise to mouth off at the guards or his publicity guy, because just four more votes would have gotten him brain fried.
Other than that, the characters and their interactions were terrific, as usual. This is a group of likeable and interesting people that I really enjoy visiting with.
The satire of contemporary social media was perfect (and they even managed to sneak in a jab at the current cultural appropriation meme) and Isaac's comment, ironically, reminded me of Asimov's quote about "the false notion that my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge." And the sense of wonder experienced by the native girl when she was brought aboard the Orville was nice to see, and a pleasant reversal of the airheaded characterization that she was given at the start of the story.
The greatest weakness of the story, unfortunately, was John himself. Aside from the racial stereotyping that has been there since the beginning (which is probably considered cultural correctness by the current generation), he was really portrayed as wrong, unrepentant, and generally unlikable here. Flaws in the system aside, the public was right to give him down votes. Also, he wasn't very wise to mouth off at the guards or his publicity guy, because just four more votes would have gotten him brain fried.
Other than that, the characters and their interactions were terrific, as usual. This is a group of likeable and interesting people that I really enjoy visiting with.
Giving this one a soft four. I had a few minor issues with the relevancy of up votes and how stupid the offensive act was. But, overall, I loved the episode. Solid above-than-average StarTrek.
There's just no comparison that can be made with STD, the Orville isin a whole league above and you actually look forward to watching it.
There's just no comparison that can be made with STD, the Orville isin a whole league above and you actually look forward to watching it.
Meh, I don't really look forward to watching either. I agree comparisons should stop though but I think they are in side by side leagues. Comparing a silly show to a serious show, both failing to succeed in different ways. Orville is more fun but not nearly as fun as straight comedies, Discovery is interesting but not nearly as interesting as better dramas. Both are okay shows that are lacking something crucial, equally good overall.
You know the show The Good Place, where there's that one woman who is in the Medium Place, where everything is okay but not so great? In the Medium Place, there are probably full series box sets of both The Orville and Discovery.
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IMHO The Orville succeeds as a serious show but fails as a comedy. It's not amazing, but very few shows are. It tries to be good StarTrek and mostly succeeds.
STD tried to be yet another popular gritty show and failed.
My second TBBS post about The Orville. My first on an episode review thread. I'm a casual Trek fan, but I have got to say this is pretty darn good. The show is able to keep the humor and satire while at the same dealing with a socio-cultural issue of the times and provide a serious message or commentary. The visuals are great as usual. There's not a bit of fat to trim here.
This episode reminded me of Danial Suarez's Daemon and Freedom (TM). To those who would like to explore this concept further and would like to know how such a system can be brought about for us in the 21st century using technology and having it based on a lot of reality and lot less ignorance, I would recommend these two excellent techno-thriller novels. It's a lot more complex and subtle than the episode obviously because of the written medium.
I can't put my finger on why I gave the episode a 4 instead of a 5. But great episode.
This episode reminded me of Danial Suarez's Daemon and Freedom (TM). To those who would like to explore this concept further and would like to know how such a system can be brought about for us in the 21st century using technology and having it based on a lot of reality and lot less ignorance, I would recommend these two excellent techno-thriller novels. It's a lot more complex and subtle than the episode obviously because of the written medium.
I can't put my finger on why I gave the episode a 4 instead of a 5. But great episode.
Has it been pointed out that they had little trouble turning two humans into Krill but needed to resort to funny hats and bandages to turn a Xeleyan into a human?
I hated this society so much that it was difficult to enjoy the episode. I am glad that they did a Lamarr centric episode but I was not pleased to see him in prison garb and being made a fool of on these talk shows.
I hated this society so much that it was difficult to enjoy the episode. I am glad that they did a Lamarr centric episode but I was not pleased to see him in prison garb and being made a fool of on these talk shows.
Considering how different Krill are from humans, a holographic disguise is the simplest method to disguise a human as Krill. Xeleyans are similar enough to humans anyway, why use a holographic disguise and risk it failing at an inopportune moment when you can just cover the forehead and ears with a hat and the nose with a bandage?
