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I don’t know how you can call her uninteresting. I think her backstory is pretty fascinating at the least, and she’s been put into a position that could prove compelling.
Where were you in '77?
All Things Star Trek — Page 149
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I agree with a lot of what you’re saying but I do think you need to give Discovery a few more episodes to find its footing. It would be nice if that wasn’t the case but it seems like it is.
And I just saw the second episode of Orville last night and I think I mostly agree with what you have to say about that as well.
I don’t really laugh at much of the attempt at slapstick humor in the Orville , but I do find the overall pacing and theme of the episodes to be more of the track I like than Discovery has been.
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Different strokes and all. I didn’t find anything interesting about the Orville in the two episodes I watched.
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I don’t know how you can call her uninteresting. I think her backstory is pretty fascinating at the least, and she’s been put into a position that could prove compelling.
On paper perhaps. It really should have been fascinating if you break everything down, and they might turn it around still, but for the time being, as a viewer, I’m in a position of having to force myself to watch any more of Discovery. They sacrificed storytelling for meaningless spectacle and it paid off going by the overall positive reviews/buzz, but I feel whatever good intentions or ideas might be buried in there - on paper - are wholly let down by their execution.
I agree with a lot of what you’re saying but I do think you need to give Discovery a few more episodes to find its footing. It would be nice if that wasn’t the case but it seems like it is.
Yes, I’m far from judging the entire show on the basis of the first two episodes alone, especially given the story structure, but man, I am not excited to continue watching at this point. Here’s hoping Jason Isaacs (hello) will be more than a bit player in the background. I guess that’s the one thing I can latch on to.
I don’t really laugh at much of the attempt at slapstick humor in the Orville , but I do find the overall pacing and theme of the episodes to be more of the track I like than Discovery has been.
One good thing I can say is that there are genuinely clever riffs on Trek tropes peppered throughout the episodes. Often they get dragged out in typical Family Guy fashion (Shakespeare in ep. 4) to the point where they lose their impact somewhat, but they are there. Ideally, The Orville could evolve, cut back on the cringe and gain restraint in the humor (‘humor’) department, but I don’t think it will.
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Revisited Encounter At Farpoint last night, a day late for the 30th anniversary. An enjoyable 90 minutes, seeing Picard and crew for the first time, but knowing where they’re headed.
Even though I initially thought Q was Trelane 2.0, he almost steals the show. John De Lancie is just great. I still think he looks like Boy George in the judge outfit though. 😉
The saucer separation scene was stunning for tv in 1987 and still holds up.
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pointless overuse of dutch angles
Roger Christian’s the director?
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The Orville actually has a whole bunch of Trek alums working on it, including Brannon Braga, cinematographer Marvin Rush, and directors Frakes, Robert McNeil and James Conway. If you’re willing to suffer through McFarlane’s penchant for stupid dick and weed jokes, the show itself is a surprisingly serious Trek-riff in places. It’s acrually been dealing with stuff like LBGT gender identity and theocracy. It’s not really the Galaxy Quest comedy that the marketing is selling it as.
“What Orwell feared were those who would ban books. What Huxley feared was that there would be no reason to ban a book, for there would be no one who wanted to read one.”
Neil Postman, Amusing Ourselves to Death
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If you’re willing to suffer through McFarlane’s penchant for stupid dick and weed jokes
I’m not.
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If you’re willing to suffer through McFarlane’s penchant for stupid dick and weed jokes
I’m not.
At least not until Mark Hamill does a guest shot. 😉
Where were you in '77?
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The Orville actually has a whole bunch of Trek alums working on it, including Brannon Braga
Oh yay.
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The Orville’s actually been dealing with stuff like LGBT gender identity and theocracy.
For those who haven’t caught up yet, that’s in episode 3. It’s really really good.
chyron just put a big Ric pic in your sig and be done with it.
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I LOVE The Orville. It looks and feels like TNG. The episodes are actually about something. The third episode actually feels like a Braga script (and that’s meant as a compliment), which may have something to do with the fact he directed it. Now Frakes is directing, people like Liam Neesom and Sir Patrick have cameos… This feels like Trek. Wish I could say the same about Discovery 😦
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Oh, no. Please, no more. Let it end. Make it stop.
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Perhaps we should make an Orville thread before the kvetching really starts?
Where were you in '77?
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It’s extremely obviously derivative of Trek though.
Just with toilet humor.
IMO, it would be like creating a Galaxy Quest thread. *shrug* Sure, I guess, but not really necessary.
chyron just put a big Ric pic in your sig and be done with it.
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Like there’s never been a toilet joke in Star Trek. 😛
Where were you in '77?
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I’m sorry. I haven’t seen that movie in ages. It’s so irretrievably awful.
No amount of fan editing can fix it, and that’s saying a lot considering the improvements made to other severely panned films like the Star Wars prequels.
chyron just put a big Ric pic in your sig and be done with it.
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There’s a Trek V edit over at Fanedit that shows much promise. Even the FX sequences are being rebuilt. I don’t think it’s had an update in a while though.
And I did show those frames out of sequence and context. Kirk does not actually use the head in the film. 😉
Where were you in '77?
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Perhaps we should make an Orville thread before the kvetching really starts?
I was referring to episode 3 of Discovery. Raw reaction, sorry if it wasn’t clear.
The Orville is flawed, but it has heart. Discovery is just… desperately, pointlessly contrarian, I guess? Also terribly written. And to think I thought the first two episodes were bad…
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I wish I could justify the six bucks to see this trainwreck. I was curious as to how a certain TOS rogue was going to figure into the plot, but I fear they’ll mess him up.
Where were you in '77?
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My desire to watch Discovery is now about the same as my desire to watch Voyager and Enterprise – nil.
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But can Discovery top the Voyager masterpiece that is Threshold? 😉
Where were you in '77?
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Perhaps we should make an Orville thread before the kvetching really starts?
I was referring to episode 3 of Discovery. Raw reaction, sorry if it wasn’t clear.
The Orville is flawed, but it has heart. Discovery is just… desperately, pointlessly contrarian, I guess? Also terribly written. And to think I thought the first two episodes were bad…
Yeah, episode 3 of Discovery, directed by Akiva Batman & Robin Goldsman, was not good. This dour, dark military sci-fi is like Battlestar Galactica, not Star Trek.
My desire to watch Discovery is now about the same as my desire to watch Voyager and Enterprise – nil.
Both series did have some good episodes and good material. Hopefully when it’s all said and done, we can say the same for Discovery. Hopefully.
The Orville, though full of annoying McFarlane dick jokes, has so far been surprisingly good. It’s warmer and feels more like actual classic Trek, weirdly. Even the cast is more likeable than I’d have ever thought, especially after the weak pilot.
“What Orwell feared were those who would ban books. What Huxley feared was that there would be no reason to ban a book, for there would be no one who wanted to read one.”
Neil Postman, Amusing Ourselves to Death
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Yeah, episode 3 of Discovery, directed by Akiva Batman & Robin Goldsman, was not good. This dour, dark military sci-fi is like Battlestar Galactica, not Star Trek.
I hated, hated, HATED all that “Starfleet’s just one, big, happy family” utopianist crap TNG fostered upon us, but I don’t like this grimdark junk any better.
TOS & DS9 managed to strike a balance between extremes. Why is it so hard for modern writers to do the same?
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Yeah, we have that dark edgy BSG to blame for Stargate Universe. And the frakking thing ended on a cliffhanger that’s never going to be resolved unless the new SG show addresses it.
Where were you in '77?