New Series--The Orville

[slikmar]

I think I mentioned before, reminded me a lot of B5's episode Believers. I liked that they made every argument at the trial correctly and still "lost". I also liked Bortus's reaction after was done - We will love this child regardless.

I actually spent most of the episode thinking to myself - the doctor and the captain are wrong. In their position, you can't go against a races belief, no matter that you disagree with it. That is basically what the Prime directive is about, though of course they ignored it often.

[sinanju]

I think I mentioned before, reminded me a lot of B5's episode Believers. I liked that they made every argument at the trial correctly and still "lost". I also liked Bortus's reaction after was done - We will love this child regardless.

I actually spent most of the episode thinking to myself - the doctor and the captain are wrong. In their position, you can't go against a races belief, no matter that you disagree with it. That is basically what the Prime directive is about, though of course they ignored it often.

 

I disagree. You should do what you think is right--which was the whole issue. Everyone in the episode was doing what he or she thought was right. The question then becomes: who decides? Aboard the Orville, the Captain decides. But when Bortus appealed to his homeworld and they took the child there, the authority to decide fell to the local tribunal. Mercer and company argued as strongly as they could for their position, but ultimately they accepted the decision by the local authorities. Nobody got punched or shot or threatened with either. It was all very civilized.

 

Also, I don't think we've seen any evidence that the Union has a Prime Directive in any case. 

[zslane]

I actually thought it was awkward watching humans trying to apply logic born out of human legal traditions to a trial governed strictly by Maclan laws and Maclan cultural traditions.

 

And you just know that the most likely outcome of the revelation that their most revered literary mind is female will be to restrict all future females (those rare few who are allowed to remain that way) to purely literary functions in society. The episode pretty much thumbed its nose at all the SJWs out there who might have been watching and hoping to see the principles of sexual self-determinism and gender equality emerge victorious.

[slikmar]

Actually, one thing that was passed over but I wonder if they won't come back to it later is Bortus mentioned it happens only once every 75 years or so, but they found the writer female, his mate was born female, they had a daughter. I think the Maclan's are being lied to about those statistics. I was actually surprised no one brought it up during trial. How many actually have been born in last 75 years.

[Hermit]

Well, while folks are saying it's about Gender Identity, I think the Maclans real problem maybe gender inequality and flat out misogyny .  

 

it actually reminded me of China's one child policy leading to selective female abortions for a time as much if not more than it did LGBT discussions

 

maybe its just me.

[Pattern Ghost]

it actually reminded me of China's one child policy leading to selective female abortions for a time as much if not more than it did LGBT discussions

 

maybe its just me.

 

Not just you. There was a Chinese Redditer who drew a whole slew of comparisons to his country. So, maybe there was some subtle (or unintended) commentary there.

[Pattern Ghost]

Well, while folks are saying it's about Gender Identity, I think the Maclans real problem maybe gender inequality and flat out misogyny . 

 

On the surface, it looks like the baby's situation was a reference to the problem faced by intersex children. If that was the intent, they missed the mark badly.

 

I think the key problem was that they were trying to tackle a whole slew of issues and have it centered around the one situation.

[bigdamnhero]

So far, I find the drama mostly uncompelling and the humor not very funny. The storylines so far all feel like rejected TNG scripts punched up with potty jokes. I'm glad some of y'all are enjoying it, but I think I'm done. Call me if it gets significantly better.

 

One thing I did think was interesting. While TNG had a very utopian view of a more evolved & enlightened humanity,

Roddenberry' original concept for TOS was specifically "20th Century man in outer space." So the concept of doing TNG, but with 20th century foibles & slang played for laughs could've been an interesting idea. But for me, it's not cutting it.

[Hermit]

So far, I find the drama mostly uncompelling and the humor not very funny. The storylines so far all feel like rejected TNG scripts punched up with potty jokes. I'm glad some of y'all are enjoying it, but I think I'm done. Call me if it gets significantly better.

 

One thing I did think was interesting. While TNG had a very utopian view of a more evolved & enlightened humanity,

Roddenberry' original concept for TOS was specifically "20th Century man in outer space." So the concept of doing TNG, but with 20th century foibles & slang played for laughs could've been an interesting idea. But for me, it's not cutting it.

 

Totally fair. 

 

I think whether we like the Orville or not, there is a commonality we can all agree on

 

 

We all miss Firefly

 

*Sigh*

 

[Hermit]

Not just you. There was a Chinese Redditer who drew a whole slew of comparisons to his country. So, maybe there was some subtle (or unintended) commentary there.

 

Okay, good to hear of that from someone who would  certainly know better than I.

[zslane]

Actually, one thing that was passed over but I wonder if they won't come back to it later is Bortus mentioned it happens only once every 75 years or so, but they found the writer female, his mate was born female, they had a daughter. I think the Maclan's are being lied to about those statistics. I was actually surprised no one brought it up during trial. How many actually have been born in last 75 years.

 

First of all, we don't know how long a Maclin solar year is. We also don't know how old Klydus is, nor how old Heveena is. There could be roughly 75 Maclin years between each of them (and the newborn).

[Cassandra]

First of all, we don't know how long a Maclin solar year is. We also don't know how old Klydus is, nor how old Heveena is. There could be roughly 75 Maclin years between each of them (and the newborn).

 

On Star Trek: Deep Space Nine it was revealed that unlike what the government said millions would be joined.

 

And on Babylon 5 the Mimbari hid the number of their people who turned out to have human DNA.

 

It makes sense that the Maclin might be hiding the true number of Females being born per year.  Especially considering their have a surgical procedure all ready to go and with strict laws enforcing it.

[Cassandra]

Totally fair. 

 

I think whether we like the Orville or not, there is a commonality we can all agree on

 

 

We all miss Firefly

 

*Sigh*

 

 

Never really got into Firefly.  The cast seemed too much like an attempt to recreate the "Scooby Gang", and Summer Glau was a poor substitute for Allyson Hannigan.

[Hermit]

Honestly, at one moment in that episode I was expecting the equivalent of a bio scan to be done and them discovering a third of the Maclins in the court room had been born female

 

It's probably best they didn't go that route but I would have laughed

[Cassandra]

Honestly, at one moment in that episode I was expecting the equivalent of a bio scan to be done and them discovering a third of the Maclins in the court room had been born female

 

It's probably best they didn't go that route but I would have laughed

 

Can't have everything.

[Hermit]

Can't have everything.

 

I ..can't?

 

WHY HASN'T ANYONE TOLD ME THIS BEFORE NOW???

 

[Cassandra]

"You can't have everything.  Where would you put it."

 

Steven Wright

[Hermit]

"You can't have everything.  Where would you put it."

 

Steven Wright

 

 

Ok. I was told. *hangs head*

[zslane]

It makes sense that the Maclin might be hiding the true number of Females being born per year.  Especially considering their have a surgical procedure all ready to go and with strict laws enforcing it.

 

Sure, but such a conspiratorial element isn't necessary to explain a birth-rate discrepancy since such a discrepancy hasn't actually been demonstrated.

[Spence]

So far, I find the drama mostly uncompelling and the humor not very funny. The storylines so far all feel like rejected TNG scripts punched up with potty jokes. I'm glad some of y'all are enjoying it, but I think I'm done. Call me if it gets significantly better.

 

One thing I did think was interesting. While TNG had a very utopian view of a more evolved & enlightened humanity,

Roddenberry' original concept for TOS was specifically "20th Century man in outer space." So the concept of doing TNG, but with 20th century foibles & slang played for laughs could've been an interesting idea. But for me, it's not cutting it.

Cool

 

for me it is more of the only game in town. Orville is the only "non-grim scifi in space" show on TV that I know of.

[Hermit]

Cool

 

for me it is more of the only game in town. Orville is the only "non-grim scifi in space" show on TV that I know of.

 

 

That does make it stand out a lot these days.

 

If it is popular enough long enough maybe we'll see other networks try for something akin.

[Cassandra]

Sure, but such a conspiratorial element isn't necessary to explain a birth-rate discrepancy since such a discrepancy hasn't actually been demonstrated.

 

Perhaps, but a lot of TV shows stay on the air to get the public used to certain ideas.

 

That's how Stargate SG-1 lasted for 10 year.

[DShomshak]

I think I mentioned before, reminded me a lot of B5's episode Believers. I liked that they made every argument at the trial correctly and still "lost". I also liked Bortus's reaction after was done - We will love this child regardless.

Yes. I liked that cultural tradition won. Not because I'm a fan of cultural tradition, but changing them is slow and hard. The work of decades, or centuries, with a lot of people fighting you every step of the way. For the tribunal to say, "Sure, let the kid stay female" just because of a little logic and a single shock revelation would have been just so phony.

 

And it was good that we saw Bortus valued his child more than any political point.

 

As has been mentioned, the first two episodes ended in punchlines. This was more moving than I expected. Not great -- there were some hiccups nd awkward bits -- but it shows promise.

 

Dean Shomshak

[Pattern Ghost]

The ending was definitely the strong point of the episode. Unexpected, and sorta hits ya in the feels.

[Jagged]

That really seemed like a traditional STNG episode. I thought it pretty good and again the jokes are few and light and I am enjoying it.

 

I do wonder if by the end of the series the jokes might have vanished entirely.