THE ORVILLE S2, E6: "A HAPPY REFRAIN"

[JD]

But it is funny when Bortus does it.

No, I saw that too. If you read the first comment, it says that they also built a bit of a mock-up stage and then combined all the things. So that one panel might have been real and included by CGI.

That would explain it. I was thinking that seemed like a lot of work for something so simple, but in the long run all of this was probably easier than actually soaking the set.

I'm also leaving this here...

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I wonder how much longer it will be before they give us a musical episode?

Also, I feel stupid for saying this, but I only just realized why the robot is named Isaac.

Oh my god, I honestly didn't put that together until I saw this post.

 

[Amaris]

It was right in front of us the entire time! *headdesk*

 

[Romulan_spy]

Does anyone else feel like the USS Orville is the wacky ship in the Union fleet? I imagine the other ships are probably super serious and professional. But the orville crew are kinda wacky. Just look at some of the things we've seen. They play pranks on each other. In this ep, Isaac, a robot, makes plays music and makes rain pour down on the bridge in front of the whole bridge crew during a work shift to serenade Claire back. We had the captain get a little stalker on his 1st officer when she starts dating someone on the ship. And of course the premise of the 1st officer being the captain's ex. let's face it. The ship is not your normal union fleet ship. LOL.

 

[Jayson1]

I thought this was maybe the best episode of the series. I also thought the last Discovery episode might be their best episode as well so I was very entertained my both new Trek and old Trek. The episode was just oozing with charm and romantic feelings. Very well capturing the magical feeling of falling in love. PLus the jokes were all great from mean Issac in his underwear to see Norm McDonald to just about everything. There was no bad scenes in the episode.

It also represents what I love most about Seth MCFarlande stuff. He isn't just some edgelord trying to shock you. He is a uplifting edgelord with tons of heart. He isn't afraid to embrace things people might not think are cool like "Singing in the Rain" or old musicals or Star Trek when you get down to it. He can blend being edgy and sometimes even in bad taste with being sweet and having warm fuzzy feelings about stuff.

Jason

 

[tomalak301]

Does anyone else feel like the USS Orville is the wacky ship in the Union fleet? I imagine the other ships are probably super serious and professional. But the orville crew are kinda wacky. Just look at some of the things we've seen. They play pranks on each other. In this ep, Isaac, a robot, makes plays music and makes rain pour down on the bridge in front of the whole bridge crew during a work shift to serenade Claire back. We had the captain get a little stalker on his 1st officer when she starts dating someone on the ship. And of course the premise of the 1st officer being the captain's ex. let's face it. The ship is not your normal union fleet ship. LOL.

Didn't Gordon say they were the weirdest ship in the union fleet. Also, the Admiral in the first episode said this was a mid-class vessel, or something to that effect.

 

[Mojochi]

To be fair "Orville" has a run time of about 48 minutes when "TNG" would only have 42 minutes I tihnk to tell their story.

Jason

Actually, I was looking at some run times after I posted on this. Orville's last 3 episodes were 44 minutes, the 1st three this season were around 48. All of last season was around the 44 minute mark.

TNG was pretty consistently around the 45 minute mark. So basically, Orville has negotiated to have a similar run time to the Star Trek shows they emulate, which is no small feat, considering most of them are over 20 year old television standards. Only 3 episodes so far exceed that by 2 or 3 minutes. However, it really does seem like they break things up much more frequently, & cripple the flow, contrary to Trek's simple 4 or 5 acts formula.

 

[Firebird]

However, it really does seem like they break things up much more frequently, & cripple the flow, contrary to Trek's simple 4 or 5 acts formula.

That isn't a creative choice - it's imposed on shows by the network due to the ad breaks they foist onto the viewers. That ad time has increased over time, as you mentioned - an episode of M*A*S*H was 25 minutes/5 minutes of ads, an episode of The Good Place is 19-21 minutes of story/11-9 minutes of ads.

 

[Mudd]

At the time of TNG, four acts were network standard. TNG was a couple of minutes shorter than a network hour-long and had an extra commercial break so Paramount could make more money.

 

[c0rnedfr0g]

I was a little surprised how all the future humans and even aliens treated the concept of having a relationship w/ a machine as so foreign.

 

[CaptainMurdock]

This was a really nice and touching episode. I absolutely adored it. It was nice to see "human" Issac. I burst out laughing when I saw "human" Yaphit. I was almost thrown off by the lack of action but at the same time found it refreshing. Season 2 has been a great character building episode. I really liked Tallia as well. The opening music sounded like the classic TOS episode opener music. Great episode.

 

[Guy Gardener]

At the time of TNG, four acts were network standard. TNG was a couple of minutes shorter than a network hour-long and had an extra commercial break so Paramount could make more money.

Paramount gave TNG away for free to anyone that would take it. They also wouldn't let affiliates buy the more popular and more profitable TOS reruns, unless they also bought TNG for free. How Paramount made money was splitting the add time with the affiliates, which may explain why TNG had more ads than other shows that the affiliates paid for outright and didn't have to share the ad time with... But you probably know all this. Sorry.

 

[Awesome Possum]

That was a nice episode, almost sweet in a weird way.

 

[guyute03]

Halfway through and I've begun to adore this show. It's warm, funny, serious when it should be and very human. I hope it continues for many more seasons.

 

[RJDiogenes]

Does anyone else feel like the USS Orville is the wacky ship in the Union fleet?

It's the McHale's Navy of Sci Fi.

 

[Mr. Adventure]

I have complained about The Orville being too domestic before but this was like as good as a domestic episode could be and hit it out of the park. I also liked the amount of humor in the episode, it was hilarious at moments but never seemed inappropriately so or at the expense of the story. There was also a nice build up to her relationship with Isaac, it didn't all just happen suddenly in one episode.

I'm seeing the value in anchoring the drama with Penny Johnson. By playing it straight and always giving a solid straight performance she gives weight to what happens in the show that undercuts the silliness and sells the dramatic elements.

 

[Mojochi]

That isn't a creative choice - it's imposed on shows by the network due to the ad breaks they foist onto the viewers.

Oh... I absolutely know that. When I say "They break things up" I mean the broadcasters... who, btw, are the ones frontloading every episode with the announced disclaimer that they're presenting the show with "Limited commercials". I'm just saying that's a bit of a empty claim. At best, they're maybe dialing back the ad content to what it might've been in the 90s, when all the Star Trek shows this one emulates were airing.

However, to be fair, while it has changed quite a bit since the 60s & 70s, it hasn't changed all that much since the mid-90s. Episodes of M*A*S*H were 25 min, & The Good Place is 21, but Seinfeld was right in the middle at 23. Plus, though they might be dialing back a minute or 2 per half hour, they aren't the only ones doing it. Many hour shows are running between 44-48 minutes

Besides, my point is, I'd like us all to finally admit it's gotten short enough. As I just illustrated, we've lost 2 minutes per half hour every other decade. What's a half hour show going to be like in 2032, 16-18 minutes of actual content? Jesus, it's that kind of realization that makes me think maybe the medium should just die out altogether

That said, it's not so much the overall time of commercials that hinder the show. It's the amount of breaks they drop them in, which is more than was being done a decade or so ago. Shorter commercial breaks in higher frequency is much more distracting imho. You have a hard time getting comfortable in the show, & let's face it, one of this show's selling points is in trying to capture the comfort food aspect that 90's Trek had, especially an episode like this week's.

I'd rather they just have 3-4 hefty breaks. The problem is, in upping hourly ad time over the years, they're hindering themselves too, because they don't like doing it in big blocks, in that we'll turn away. Believe me, if they could get away with it, they'd prefer having a minute or so of commercials for every 3-4. I wouldn't even be surprised if it came to that.

 

[Nakita Akita]

I was a little surprised how all the future humans and even aliens treated the concept of having a relationship w/ a machine as so foreign.

If humans are still around in 20 + years watching these episodes and other futuristic Trek style shows things will be cute and antiquated.
That's already happening with Deep Soace Nine and Star Trek Next Generation.

 

[YellowSubmarine]

It seems I haven't seen TNG: In Theory, and it doesn't seem like I want to.

But that was absolutely incredible. I admit, I have a strong bias for Claire, so I will love any Claire-centric episode regardless (and, somehow, for Isaac since their interaction during their landing on that planet), but this still was truly unexpectedly good.

I don't remember recently laughing, crying and being in deep contemplation like that, while also not having any idea where the story would take us. Isaac is – and has always been – frighteningly opaque to me. I never know what to expect of him. At times I see him as a emotionless near-psychopathic Kaylon spy on their bridge, who has self-admitted to having no regards or loyalty for his crew and crewmates, beyond running a study over them. He's definitely not Data – Data who was incorrectly convinced he lacked human compassion and that made him adorable, silly and funny; Isaac has the arrogance and a genuine attitude to prove it. Claire looking past that was unusually open minded, while simultaneously risky in that she knowingly entertained what could just be a projection of emotion onto a being that was completely incompatible with that.

Isaac simulating a human figure was unexpected, ingenious, and altered my perception of him so much it made me aware of my own prejudice to his character. At the same time it felt possibly deceptive in that it furthered any illusion of humanity that Claire might be having. Isaac first proving the doubters right first, then going all the way back and discovering that he actually had developed genuine emotional attachment, was done so convincingly I was at the edge of my seat.

Amazing stuff.

Also: Loved that her attitude to Yaffit didn't change one bit when he tried to look human.

 

[Mudd]

Well, he made the mistake of choosing to look like Norm MacDonald. That gets no one laid.

I don't remember recently laughing, crying and being in deep contemplation like that, while also not having any idea where the story would take us.

Those were my responses while watching it. I was surprised. Jackson is good, but it was absolutely Jerald's show.

 

[1001001]

"This week on The Orville: Nothing Happens. Again!"



Yes, yes it was very sweet in a weird way. A few good laughs. The idiot brothers running through the halls... "turn the table"...Norm MacDonald...

The travelling space symphony? What a delightful galaxy. They could have rock bands go on tour like that (could the Head of Billy Joel be far behind?).

Most of it was right out of In Theory, they just changed the ending with that scene on the bridge (which was pretty stupid). Them walking into the holodeck at the end was nice I guess.

I think Bortus' mustache drama was more entertaining. They should have done a whole episode on that. Maybe a whole arc.