The Orville: Seth MacFarlane's new TV series in space!

[JasonEvans]

The first trailer for Seth's new TV series just dropped... and I think I love the premise! Seth is consistently funny (even A Million Ways to Die in the West had plenty of funny moments) and Star Trek is certainly fertile ground for spoofing.


-Jason "I won't be even mildly surprised if this turns into a hit. It could use a bit more star power in the cast, but I'll certainly check it out this fall" Evans

[CameronBornAndBred]

Galaxy Quest was in the works to be a TV series (on Amazon) but the death of Alan Rickman forced them to pull the plug. Looks like this one can be a worthy replacement.

[CameronBornAndBred]

Oh cool! I looked at IMDB, and noticed some familiar director names.

Jonathan Frakes (Will Riker/TNG) and Robert Duncan McNeill (Lt. Tom Paris/Voyager) are both on board. Both have been mostly directing since their Star Trek days, will be fun to see what they do. Braga also has an extensive Star Trek resume. Plus Jon Favreau, bonus!

Series Directed by

Brannon Braga	...	(1 episode, 2017)
James L. Conway	...	(1 episode, 2017)
Jon Favreau	...	(1 episode, 2017)
Jonathan Frakes	...	(1 episode, 2017)
Seth MacFarlane	...	(1 episode, 2017)
Robert Duncan McNeill	...	(1 episode, 2017)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5691552/...=tt_cl_sm#cast

[CameronBornAndBred]

Anyone watch it? I pulled it up on our DVR tonight, and we both liked it, at least a lot more than the critics. It wasn't quite the humor loaded satire I expected; in fact I'd say it's not satire at all. It's simply sci-fi with humorous moments tossed in. I was thinking it would be more in the vein of Galaxy Quest, which did an awesome job of making fun of the genre.
The Orville doesn't do that at all, but plays more like any standard humor driven drama that simply happens to be set in space in the 2400s.
One favorite moment was when someone apologized for getting a name wrong. The reply was basically "that happens with a new crew". I thought back to the first time McFarlane got on board and met his officers, introducing themselves one by one. I thought to myself "I'll never remember all of them". I still don't!

Long story short, screw the critics. I thought it was lots of fun, although a bit clunky at time as it balanced that satire vs comedy element. Looking forward to the rest of the season.

(PS...I loved how the Orville took actual damage as opposed to every other ship in every other show getting shot to hell and coming out unscathed.)

Season premiere was directed by Favreau.

[brevity]

Anyone watch it? I pulled it up on our DVR tonight, and we both liked it, at least a lot more than the critics. It wasn't quite the humor loaded satire I expected; in fact I'd say it's not satire at all. It's simply sci-fi with humorous moments tossed in.

Yeah, I feel like the people who are most disappointed are the ones who built some unilateral expectation based on "Star Trek" and "Seth MacFarlane". It's occasionally irreverent, but the funniest parts to me were the Next Generation mimicry when the drama gets heightened just a bit and the music swells before each commercial break. It was remarkably, unabashedly NOT original. It was the opposite of a gritty reboot. And it was spot on.

[LasVegas]

Yeah, I feel like the people who are most disappointed are the ones who built some unilateral expectation based on "Star Trek" and "Seth MacFarlane". It's occasionally irreverent, but the funniest parts to me were the Next Generation mimicry when the drama gets heightened just a bit and the music swells before each commercial break. It was remarkably, unabashedly NOT original. It was the opposite of a gritty reboot. And it was spot on.

It currently has a 17% rating on rotten tomatoes by the critics. The audience gives it a 90%. Every so often you see movies that are like this too. Does anyone have any idea why there can be such a huge difference? I feel like critics just hate a lot of stuff. The Sandlot is certified rotten too!

[BD80]

I liked it. A bit predictable, but clever in parts. It is clear there is a Star Trek hand (Brannon Braga) guiding the production. More a spoof of Next Gen, whereas Galaxy Quest was aimed at Trekkies and the original series.

I was worried that MacFarlane would overwhelm the series, he has taken himself too seriously as an actor in past productions, but so far, so good.

[camion]

I watched it and thought it was a pleasant diversion. Nothing earth/space shattering, but I would turn it on before the great majority of tv offerings.

[JasonEvans]

I too enjoyed it and found the mix of sci-fi drama (we need to keep this powerful aging device from falling into enemy hands) and humor (I'm loving the casual attitude of the pilot and navigator, "aww, there's no way we are getting off by 5 today") worked for me. I know the critics are killing it because it is not original in any way, and they are right. But, through 1 episode, I don't really mind that. I'll certainly be watching a few more and I think it has real potential. I think there is a ton of potential for humor in the varied members of the crew and experience tells me that Seth MacFarlane deserves the benefit of the doubt when it comes to making something funny.

-Jason "not all critics hate it-- Forbes wrote a glowing review titled, 'The Critics are Crazy'" Evans

[PackMan97]

It currently has a 17% rating on rotten tomatoes by the critics. The audience gives it a 90%. Every so often you see movies that are like this too. Does anyone have any idea why there can be such a huge difference? I feel like critics just hate a lot of stuff. The Sandlot is certified rotten too!

Critics value different things in a production than the masses. They might be looking at the editing, the sound quality, the composition of the scene, the finer points of acting, the originality of the dialogue, the musical score, etc.

The masses only care about one thing:
B8tKPPUCQAAJdnU.jpg

[BD80]

Doesn't look like The Orville has a transporter.

A hallmark of good Sci-Fi has been plausibility. Many concepts in the original series were based on reputable Sci-Fi writers' imaginings, but the transporter has long been the target of derision in the science and Sci-Fi worlds.

[jimsumner]

I was disappointed that the Krill didn't look more crustacean-like.

[CameronBornAndBred]

(PS...I loved how the Orville took actual damage as opposed to every other ship in every other show getting shot to hell and coming out unscathed.)

Well, I was wrong about that. I've been watching all of the post TNG shows on Netflix, and am now on the third season (2004) of the last one, Enterprise. In the 18th episode, the ship gets shot to hell, crew goes flying out hull breaches into space, they lose warp drive, and look like swiss cheese.
They are patching things up through at least the next two episodes, and one of the engineers lending a hand is a young Seth Macfarlane. Had no idea he was on any of the ST shows. The episode (#20, The Forgotten) was directed by Levar Burton. Gotta wonder if The Orville sticks around if Burton won't sit in the director's chair in a future season.

[camion]

I was disappointed that the Krill didn't look more crustacean-like.

They were also much larger than I expected.

[JasonEvans]

Well, I was wrong about that. I've been watching all of the post TNG shows on Netflix, and am now on the third season (2004) of the last one, Enterprise. In the 18th episode, the ship gets shot to hell, crew goes flying out hull breaches into space, they lose warp drive, and look like swiss cheese.
They are patching things up through at least the next two episodes, and one of the engineers lending a hand is a young Seth Macfarlane. Had no idea he was on any of the ST shows.

He actually appears in 2 episodes, both very briefly as a low-level engine repair guy who appears in a grand total of 1 scene in each episode. He gets berated in one of them. Apparently, his character even has a name -- Ensign Rivers.



-Jason "this was not MacFarlane's first live acting appearance. He was on a couple episodes of Gilmore Girls before he appeared on Enterprise" Evans

[weezie]

What is it about McFarlane? He can sing beautifully, he's good looking, black Irish/Scots hair and all, but the guy just makes me want to swing a large smelly fish into the side of his dome.

[OldPhiKap]

What is it about McFarlane? He can sing beautifully, he's good looking, black Irish/Scots hair and all, but the guy just makes me want to swing a large smelly fish into the side of his dome.

Not to rile up an aquatic craniate-wielding woman, but . . . perhaps it says more about you than him?

(Actually, I'm not a big fan either -- something about that smug puss of his I guess)

[CameronBornAndBred]

What is it about McFarlane? He can sing beautifully, he's good looking, black Irish/Scots hair and all, but the guy just makes me want to swing a large smelly fish into the side of his dome.

Not to rile up an aquatic craniate-wielding woman, but . . . perhaps it says more about you than him?

(Actually, I'm not a big fan either -- something about that smug puss of his I guess)

On NPR today, they had a segment with TV critics talking about new shows. The Orville came up briefly. The first critic's reply was "Well, I really don't like Seth MacFarlane, so..." and it was all downhill from there.

[weezie]

On NPR today, they had a segment with TV critics talking about new shows. The Orville came up briefly. The first critic's reply was "Well, I really don't like Seth MacFarlane, so..." and it was all downhill from there.

Lol, so, I guess I will now start liking him. Always swim against the majority.

[JasonEvans]

Lol, so, I guess I will now start liking him. Always swim against the majority.

Well, you'd be swimming against the critics perhaps, but not he general public. Seth is very successful and seems to have a pretty good sense of what common folks like. Aside from Once Upon A Time In The West, he's largely had hits everywhere he has gone.