THE ORVILLE: S1, E7: "MAJORITY RULE"

[WarpFactorZ]

By trying to cram it into the Prime timeline, they sucked all the possible drama out of the story before they ever started. They could've balanced that by creating characters that I cared about, but there is really very little there to care about.

The premise of Discovery is very similar to that of Rogue One: i.e. a prequel tale involving new characters who have an (in)direct connection to the future Enterprise crew. Their mission is critical and will contribute in some special way to Klingon/Federation relations, and hence the backbone of TOS. Most of the DISC characters will likely die over the course of the series, explaining their absence from the 2260s-2290s Trekverse we've seen.

Tech-wise, they've already made it quite clear the Spore Drive ain't gonna work without some significant ethics violation (harming / killing sentient living beings to use it).

I'm enjoying the ride exactly the same as I enjoyed Rogue One.

 

[BillJ]

I'm enjoying the ride exactly the same as I enjoyed Rogue One.

I wasn't a big fan of Rogue One. My wife was though, but she's a bigger Star Wars fan than I am.

 

[Mudd]

Yes, given that we know that nothing here makes any difference to stories that we've already seen, the point of a story like this is in engagement with the characters and the adventures that they're having. If we care about Ensign X and enjoy watching what the writers put her through there's no reason that a prequel series can't be as entertaining as a story set on a battlefield during World War II - we know how the war turned out, but not how this turns out for her.

It is in these respects that Discovery utterly fails.

 

[slappy]

If it is the Prime universe, then they can't be anything important. The spore drive will have a defect preventing it from being used, the Klingon war at best ends in a stalemate. Just like nothing important can happen to Sarek or Mudd.

First of all, it's about the characters, not what time they exist in. Second of all, you have no idea how any of this is going to turn out. You still don't know if this is the actual Prime Universe or a third tangent universe or the mirror version of the Abrams universe. That's what happens when you assume instead of letting the story play out. Something important has already happened to Sarek. A pretty major regretful decision that affected the rest of his life took place. You're just focused on whether or not he's alive or dead.

By trying to cram it into the Prime timeline, they sucked all the possible drama out of the story before they ever started. They could've balanced that by creating characters that I cared about, but there is really very little there to care about.

I'm not at all convinced this is in the Prime Timeline or any we've seen before. I think there are many surprises left to be revealed.

I find all the characters quite compelling. If you don't dig Michael for some reason, you have Saru. If for whatever reason you find to hate Saru, you have the adorable Tilly. If you somehow for God's sake hate Tilly, there's Stamets who's the breakout star IMO, the complex Lorca, and whoever the hell Ash Tyler really is.

 

[BillJ]

I'm not at all convinced this is in the Prime Timeline or any we've seen before. I think there are many surprises left to be revealed.

The writers, producers and CBS all say it is in the Prime timeline. Be careful, you'll get a lashing from some folks for daring to speak such thoughts.

 

[Photoman15]

"The Orville" thread, not Discovery

 

[BillJ]

"The Orville" thread, not Discovery

Okay? You sometimes see crossover between threads and forums during discussions.

 

[slappy]

The writers, producers and CBS all say it is in the Prime timeline. Be careful, you'll get a lashing from some folks for daring to speak such thoughts.

Yes, but the Prime Timeline....but perhaps not the Prime Universe. Or vice versa. Words are important and whatnot

 

[Prax]

I really liked this episode. I'd like to see more episodes like this(In any show) that can use Art, not to criticize the power structure, or ideological enemies, but ourselves, and our own societal tendencies.

Social Media gives people a sense of power, and having the power to destroy someone is seductive. And the herd mentality that's always existed in every society is overwhelming, compelling, and instinctive.

It's like when someone is getting beat up by a few people, and a bunch of other people see, and join in, and those who feel empathy look the other way. They don't want to join the one getting destroyed. This kinda thing happens every day in the world.

Can YOU think of any real life Lamarrs, who were judged harshly, convicted in the kangaroo court of public opinion, and swiftly destroyed? And all before a disclosure of evidence, or a fair trial in court. And if someone did err, or the public thinks they did, no apology will earn them sympathy, or appease those who are joyously destroying them.

Can you think of any Lamarrs who's guilt in a matter became commonly accepted wisdom?

(By "you," I mean in the personal plural pronoun sense)

 

[theenglish]

The writers, producers and CBS all say it is in the Prime timeline. Be careful, you'll get a lashing from some folks for daring to speak such thoughts.

Guess I have to go visit the Discover threads to find out how the Klingon's are using Romulan cloaking technology in front of the Federation without this information being passed to Kirk and Spock.

 

[imdbrefugee]

Not sure if anyone here follows college football, but the drama surrounding the University of Tennessee's football hiring reminded me of this episode.

Here's a good primer on what happened:

http://www.mydaytondailynews.com/sp...gitimately-terrifying/C5ySEpYc5rFQ7KTmju1V9H/

 

[BillJ]

Not sure if anyone here follows college football, but the drama surrounding the University of Tennessee's football hiring reminded me of this episode.

Here's a good primer on what happened:

http://www.mydaytondailynews.com/sp...gitimately-terrifying/C5ySEpYc5rFQ7KTmju1V9H/

The aborted Schiano hire? Yeah, but I wonder if the public outcry mattered or if it was more of the boosters not liking the hire and the AD is using the outcry to cover it up?

 

[Mudd]

 

[JD]

Not sure if anyone here follows college football, but the drama surrounding the University of Tennessee's football hiring reminded me of this episode.

Here's a good primer on what happened:

http://www.mydaytondailynews.com/sp...gitimately-terrifying/C5ySEpYc5rFQ7KTmju1V9H/

I have to admit, I was a bit surprised when JK Rowling and David Yates actually didn't give in and fire Johnny Depp. From what I've read it sounds like there's some question how legit the accusations against him are, so I'm a actually glad they didn't.

 

[Mudd]

It's two people in an angry divorce. Believe nothing.

 

[Mudd]

These people are pushing their podcast, which is always an idea that sucks. That said, the quotes in the article are interesting. Melinda Snodgrass, who worked on TNG:

“I loved [‘Majority Rule’]—the Black Mirror-style episode—and I would really like to take Brannon [Braga] out and buy him a margarita, because I felt like this was actually also an answer to one of the things that Gene had in his head about how crime and punishment would work in the future. Because when I was doing ‘Measure of a Man,’ Gene said, ‘There are no lawyers in the 24th century,’ and I said, ‘There have to be lawyers, because you’ve got crime, you’ve got punishments, you have trials, contracts. You can’t have a functioning society without a legal system.’ And he said, ‘No, no, there is no crime, because if somebody commits a crime, we make their minds right,’ which I found to be absolutely terrifying. And I wondered if Brannon was reacting to that kind of background that we all had on Star Trek, by doing an episode where if you fail to meet societal expectations they’re going to ‘make your mind right.'”

Link

This was, indeed one of the stupid and creepy notions that Roddenberry had which apparently made him a "futurist and visionary."

 

[Photoman15]

Wasn't he friends with L.Ron Hubbard?

 

[Mudd]

Not really.

 

[Prax]

That's super terrifying, and makes my mind wander to "What dark secrets hide beneath the mid 24th century utopia?" I would say they found a better balance of Gene's "vision" and a practical, moral society as Gene became less of a micromanager.

 

[JD]

What exactly did he mean by "make your mind right"? Actually going in and screwing around with someone's head, or just therapy?