The Orville - Seth MacFarlane comedy Star Trek

[DodgyGeezer]

Funk said:

Oh, and the sandwich..!

Edited by DodgyGeezer on Saturday 6th August 11:09

[AlexC1981]

That felt like it could have been the last ever episode. The Kalon storyline has been concluded, hopefully the Doctor/Isaac story is also concluded now. It suggested Ed and Kelly might get back together one day, and even brought back Alara as if to say goodbye.

[Flip Martian]

AlexC1981 said:

That felt like it could have been the last ever episode. The Kalon storyline has been concluded, hopefully the Doctor/Isaac story is also concluded now. It suggested Ed and Kelly might get back together one day, and even brought back Alara as if to say goodbye.

Sensible writing when they really don't know if they will get another series, even now. Seth certainly gives the impression on Twitter he wants to do it. Ultimately down to audience response. So they left it tied up but with the possibility to do more if they get the green light.

[Evercross]

Flip Martian said:

Sensible writing when they really don't know if they will get another series, even now. Seth certainly gives the impression on Twitter he wants to do it. Ultimately down to audience response. So they left it tied up but with the possibility to do more if they get the green light.

When it was announced that series three was being moved (in the US) from broadcast channel Fox to become a (new streaming service) Hulu exclusive MacFarlane issued a guarded welcome for the move (being intelligent enough not to ps off the executives bankrolling the show) but you could tell he was not happy about it, because it was treating the show as bait to get subscribers, and such shows usually get binned off once the subscribers are on board.

Now that the exclusive run on Hulu has ended the entire three series are being released on Disney+, with the hope that it will boost the viewer ratings to the point that a forth series will be commissioned. It all hangs in the balance, but you got to feel for MacFarlane who I think is one of the most intelligent players in the entertainment industry, having achieved a hell-of-a-lot with not a lot. This show deserves a longer run for sure.

[Flip Martian]

Evercross said:

When it was announced that series three was being moved (in the US) from broadcast channel Fox to become a (new streaming service) Hulu exclusive MacFarlane issued a guarded welcome for the move (being intelligent enough not to ps off the executives bankrolling the show) but you could tell he was not happy about it, because it was treating the show as bait to get subscribers, and such shows usually get binned off once the subscribers are on board.

Now that the exclusive run on Hulu has ended the entire three series are being released on Disney+, with the hope that it will boost the viewer ratings to the point that a forth series will be commissioned. It all hangs in the balance, but you got to feel for MacFarlane who I think is one of the most intelligent players in the entertainment industry, having achieved a hell-of-a-lot with not a lot. This show deserves a longer run for sure.

Agreed. Having experienced writers like Brannon Braga on board meant they managed to deal with "current issues" rather more subtly than Discovery has ever done, and the writing is rarely clumsy or "fake". The Orville certainly deserves a longer run.

[james_TW]

I'm almost caught up and just watched episode 8 - I am and was genuinely surprised at the rollercoaster of emotions through the whole episode, Dolly Parton, the comedy crush, the speech by Klyden and others, the action scene,and more besides.

For a one and a half hour episode, it felt so much longer and delivered so much in so many different scenes and areas - the character growth is genuinely impressive

[HD Adam]

Back to Episode 10

As we, & probably Mcfarlane don't know if that's the last episode or not, it was good to tie up a few loose ends & be not so serious for the first time this season.

Highlights

The crew unease at Bortus chasing Klyden through the forrest to mate with him.

Return of the sandwich

The Kaylon stripper on the hen night

Bortus as a crap Elvis impersonator.

Issac inviting the entire Kaylon race to the wedding

The best man speech by Bortus. "All kidding aside...."

The serious side was handled well too. The perils of giving people technology they aren't ready for.

I really hope with the Disney tie up there will be a series 4.

[juggsy]

Great final episode, right mix of sci-fi, humour and trek homage (Ed’s speech mirrors a couple of trek episodes).

HD Adam said:

Return of the sandwich

I think there would have been uproar if it hadn’t returned.

Hope it continues.

[geeks]

Fantastic final episode had us in complete hysterics, I haven't laughed like that in a while! I really hope it carries on from here and keeps getting better.

As for Scott Grimes, he had a couple of singles do ok in the US charts, he sings a lot in American Dad as well as the voice of Steve.

Also Seth Macfarlane has a new album out [Blue Skies] if you like swing I would recommend it

[james_TW]

I honestly didnt realise it was him singing - If I'm honest, I've fast forwarded most of the singing numbers...

I'm rewatching the whole thing though

[Flip Martian]

The singing parts really don't do anything for me. Although he can clearly sing well, any singing is mimed on the show, of course. It's not like it's a regular thing though, so I can sit it out for the rest of it.

[smn159]

Flip Martian said:

The singing parts really don't do anything for me. Although he can clearly sing well, any singing is mimed on the show, of course. It's not like it's a regular thing though, so I can sit it out for the rest of it.

He probably can sing, but doubled / harmonised parts low down in the mix, subtle string backing and autotune could make my old mum sound just as good (probably)

[ChocolateFrog]

Fingers crossed another season or two get commissioned.

It felt like it had fully hit its stride in season 3.

[LunarOne]

I've avoided reading the thread to avoid spoilers, so sorry if I mention something which has been discussed over and over. I'm not a big TV watcher as my viewing is restricted to occasional Netflix films and YouTube content. No broadcast TV at all. I first heard of The Orville a couple of years ago, and decided that it wasn't for me as I like my Sci-Fi hard and serious. I was a big fan of Star Trek The Next Gen when it originally came out and I liked it enough that I bought it on DVD back in the day. And I still revisit it pretty frequently on Netflix. I've always disliked Star Wars as it feels like childish fantasy - lots of muppet-style aliens, very light on the sci and no cerebral stories.

The other day I was reading something about how well-received The Orville was. It's not included on any service I have access to but I have a friend who has a vast library of TV shows and films on his Plex server, to which he's given me access. So I decided to try it out.

The stories themselves are light on the sci-fi so far but there's enough to keep me engaged. The stand-out episode for me so far is S1:E4 "If the Stars Should Appear." I think this is a deep enough story that deserved much more exploration and it could have been a double episode or perhaps even more.

After 5 episodes I still don't know whether I like it or not. Some parts of it are laugh out load funny, while mostly I just hear Brian Griffin's voice coming out of Seth's smug face and it feels like it's trying far too hard. I now realise that Family Guy's Brian Griffin isn't a character at all, but just Seth being himself. And Ed Mercer doesn't feel like a character either - it's just Seth/Brian being himself.

Were any of you familiar with Family Guy able to shake off "Brian Griffin is Captain" eventually, or is that a problem you have to learn to live with? Does it become harder sci-fi later on or should I give up now?

[jagnet]

LunarOne said:

Does it become harder sci-fi later on...

Oh yeah, very much so in subsequent seasons. Keep going with it.

[smn159]

Saw this thread pop up, hoped there was a new series...

[Flip Martian]

Started almost as a TNG parody, albeit an affectionate one (Macfarlane is a ST fan). Later seasons did get rather more serious. Still with humour in there but not quite so "played for laughs".

I enjoyed it a lot but I enjoy that humour. If you don't, and you don't rate Macfarlane, then you might just end up getting annoyed with it.

Have you ever watched Star Trek Deep Space Nine? I gave up on it early on when it first came along but have watched it all in recent years and there are some excellent stories in there. It really just got better and better as time went by. I would almost say it ranks higher than TNG for me and I say that as a big TNG fan. If you can get through the inevitable early nonsense in season 1, it's excellent.

[LunarOne]

Flip Martian said:

Started almost as a TNG parody, albeit an affectionate one (Macfarlane is a ST fan). Later seasons did get rather more serious. Still with humour in there but not quite so "played for laughs".

I enjoyed it a lot but I enjoy that humour. If you don't, and you don't rate Macfarlane, then you might just end up getting annoyed with it.

I really enjoy some Family Guy episodes but it easily becomes too much sometimes. SM also did American Dad which I can't see why anyone finds funny in the slightest. His humour is completely hit or miss for me.

Flip Martian said:

Have you ever watched Star Trek Deep Space Nine? I gave up on it early on when it first came along but have watched it all in recent years and there are some excellent stories in there. It really just got better and better as time went by. I would almost say it ranks higher than TNG for me and I say that as a big TNG fan. If you can get through the inevitable early nonsense in season 1, it's excellent.

I did watch DS9 but I struggled to enjoy it. Too much hanging around in the bar with Quark. Too much Sisko raging. Too much religious nonsense. Too much wondering what the tailor knows or doesn't know. Too much not going anywhere. I didn't much care for the Dominion war storyline either. It's far too much drama and not enough sci-fi for me. I never watched it through and through. Unlike ST:TNG where there are only a few episodes I have to skip (mainly episodes that focus on Reg Barclay, Deanna, or that one where Dr. Crusher gets involved with the ghost), I found myself getting bored and skipping half of DS9. After TNG, Voyager is my next favourite. And I'm trying to force myself through TOS but every episode seems to revolve around a scantily-clad female who Kirk gets involved with. I hate them all.

Edited by LunarOne on Thursday 28th March 16:22

[C5_Steve]

Stick with it, as others have said it just gets better and better. Last two seasons were amazing and some of the best Scifi TV we've had in a long while.

I'm another Star Trek fan (as is Seth MacFarlane) and whilst the early series certainly had nods to other Star Trek shows the later ones really found their own voice and became so much more than a comedy parody.

I really hope it gets another season.

[Flip Martian]

The actress who played Kelly suggested in a recent interview that The Orville was dead. The cast could only hang around waiting for so long and have moved on to other jobs now. "The thing with Seth is he always has his fingers in so many pies" or similar, so waiting around for a couple of years for Seth wasn't really likely to be do-able.