Discuss The Orville
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It's a Remix
posted by Siobhan17STAFFMOD on September 30, 2017 at 3:18 PM
Orville is moderately entertaining. Good fare for young children, family entertainment, and those that mostly like PG fare. The writing is not great, the jokes are flat and it's still better than most anything FOX has on the air. That being said, I do take issue that Seth MacFarlane either knows his audience is ignorant or is just banking on that. We are 4 episodes into the Orville and he has used major plots (virtually exact plots) from episodes of Star Trek, TNG, AND old radio shows like the Whistler and Suspense. He isn't even really trying to be original, so I wish he'd stop saying that the Orville is something that hasn't been done before. What is it that hasn't been done before? I don't think he's able to. He's the Puff Daddy of TV. He makes a decent dance club remix but some other creative author has to have done the majority of the work else he doesn't have anything. That has been the basis of his career and what he's most successful at doing. This is why so many of his peers have little to no respect for him. MacFarlane's in ability to create original fare is why the show has some really flat parts and subpar dialogue. This is when he trying to work around his borrowed story lines. Fortunately for him, his audience seems to be in the dark and/or doesn't know every episode of old sci-fi tv and radio shows. I recommend he stop writing the majority of the episodes (think he wrote 8 or 9 of the 13 episodes) come season 2 and employ better writers.
Reply by Midi-chlorian_Count
on October 20, 2017 at 7:11 AM
Well that would absolutely not be a requirement because - as any self respecting parent surely would - I'd have made sure any children I had were already watching Seth Macfarlane's family friendly fun cartoon Family Guy. So no need to teach them anything (bonus!) and they could already enjoy and understand the ejaculation gag, as well as the family fun recurring adultery jokes 😉
Reply by ScorpionQ2
on October 20, 2017 at 10:58 AM
@bratface said:
Exactly this!
It was an alien , who knows where they would ejaculate from? But no matter what part of the alien's body it came from,
the point being that it was an obvious ejaculation from having sex (which would not be considered "good fare for young children") - and not the defense kind as in that of a squid or octopus, squirting ink when discovered by a predator.
Reply by Patrick E. Abe
on October 27, 2017 at 3:02 PM
The "It's been done already" problem has been with television since the days of Rod Serling's "The Twilight Zone." My expectations for "The Orville" were subterranean, but I've since come to regard it as "Star Trek: TNG redux," which is OK for now. Should "The Orville" be more of a fart storm comedy or a semi-serious look at worlds beyond Earth? I'm all for "going boldly where no one (else) has gone before," even if the jokes aren't up to "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home" level.
Reply by Knixon
on October 28, 2017 at 6:45 AM
Six episodes in, especially if they expect to only have a season of 13, isn't a bad time to introduce possibly new viewers to the overall setup/premise of the show.
Reply by ScorpionQ2
on October 28, 2017 at 10:45 AM
@Knixon said:
Who says "possibly new viewers" were even watching to see a repeat of the pilot? Possibly new viewers could have and most likely have already seen it other places- on line, DVR or On Demand,etc. I think it is a dumb and lazy move. Whenever networks do this, I believe they are only trying to stretch the season out to make it last longer-while also pre-empting that same show for sports.
And a season of 13 is actually long, many series are only 10.
Reply by Knixon
on October 28, 2017 at 6:40 PM
Kids these days...
Original Star Trek, season 1? 29 episodes.
Perry Mason, season 1? 39 episodes.
Heck, even Beverly Hills, 90210 had 30- and 32-episode seasons. It wasn't THAT long ago.
Reply by lantzn
on October 29, 2017 at 3:11 AM
I rather like it. It’s like the Star Trek crew talking to each other like real people. The two helmsman crack me up. The Worf character gets a good one liner now and then. I’m glad there are more serious scenes then comical.
My favorite is still the leg practical joke. Ha...Ha
Reply by ScorpionQ2
on October 29, 2017 at 10:02 AM
@Knixon said:
But , you're speaking of past series, I was speaking of present day.
Thanks for the lesson
I was unaware that old TV series had so many episodes per season, but I still stand by my statement, a season of 13 is actually long, many series today are only 10.
Reply by bratface
on October 29, 2017 at 1:30 PM
I suppose it's true of 'cable' shows but most network shows have at least 20 episodes (usually 23), unless it's a show that is in danger of being cancelled.
Reply by CharlesTheBold
on October 29, 2017 at 4:27 PM
Dazzling TV shows are more expensive to make nowadays -- GAME OF THRONES being the ultimate example. I've heard that the 7 top character's actors ( Khaleesi, Jaime, Cersei, Tyrion, Jon Snow, Sansa, and Arya) each earn $ 1Million EACH EPISODE they're in -- so naturally they don't make a lot of episodes.
Reply by Rickers
on October 29, 2017 at 6:06 PM
A Million Ways to Die in the West was UNWATCHABLE. Family Guy and American Dad (which are basically the same show) he got lucky with...everything else fell flat.
Reply by ScorpionQ2
on October 30, 2017 at 11:32 AM
@bratface said:
What are you watching on network TV that has that many episodes per season?
Reply by ScorpionQ2
on October 30, 2017 at 11:36 AM
@Rickers said:
Reply by bratface
on October 30, 2017 at 3:05 PM
Here is just a sample of 9 hour long shows (dramas) & 2 half hour comedies, I'm using last season because this one isn't over.
NCIS - 24
NCIS: LA - 24
NCIS: NO - 24
Criminal Minds - 22
Hawaii 5-0 - 25
Blue Bloods - 22
Chicago PD - 23
Grey's Anatomy - 24
Scorpion - 25
The Big Bang Theory - 24
Modern Family - 22
Reply by Costumers
on October 30, 2017 at 5:34 PM
More precisely its been a "problem" for the last 3000 years. There are only 7 stories. There are only so many motivations and McGuffins. What makes shows, books, movies etc. interesting is how they are combined.