Seth MacFarlane's "The Orville"

[emeraldknight47]

Watched it and it was okay. Can't seem to decide if it wants to be a science fiction show or a comedy, but the comedy bits felt really forced and shoe-horned in, very unnatural. Shows like Buffy/Angel, X-Files, Supernatural and even Ash vs. Evil Dead have found a way to balance the humor and the drama without either feeling forced. Even "GalaxyQuest" was able to bring humor and drama together much more naturally, but a large portion of that could have been due to the cast. The whole "we're a divorced couple; let's interject that into everything" schtick got old pretty fast. I'll watch a few more episodes to see if they're able to smooth it out.

Ship designs were OK, although The Orville itself seems a bit to fragile for much of anything beyond simple exploration. As was evidenced from the premiere episode, it's definitely not a ship designed for battle, especially with something that clearly outclasses it. Can't say much for the uniforms or weaponry; both unoriginal and, of course, blantantly derivative of other sci-fi shows.

[pmwasson]

I thought it was okay. I'll watch some more episodes.

[fallensaviour]

I'm actually glad to hear it isn't super jokey.

Same here,actually really looking forward to this show.

[palitoy]

yeah, they seem to be struggling with how to promote it. I'm actually glad to hear it isn't super jokey.

[Goblin19]

They are setting it up for failure if they keep promoting it as a straight up comedy. People hate when their expectations aren't met, regardless of quality. I ran a movie theatre for years and the most hated movies had one thing in common, they were promoted as something they're not (Drive, Our Idiot Brother are the two best examples I can think of).

[Hedji]

On the other side of the coin, it's a 9/10:

http://www.joblo.com/movie-news/tv-r...1-pilot-486-02

I think the common thread with both reviews is that viewers may be expecting a raunchy Seth McFarlane comedy, but the show is actually a straightforward sci-fi drama with some comedy elements. They may want to be careful how it is marketed, because people immediately associate McFarlane's name with comedy silliness.

Don't forget, the man recorded a 100% straightforward crooner style Christmas Album.

[Makernaut]

I still have hope for this and have my fingers crossed that the reviewer told us of the sh*tty sunset he witnessed ....while facing EAST.

[palitoy]

Not a great start but I can't remember how many "disasters" I've ended up enjoying.

[Sideshow Spock]

Ouch.

http://tvline.com/2017/09/05/the-orville-review-fox-seth-macfarlane-sci-fi-outer-space/

[thunderbolt]

I think the point the video was making (not very clearly) was that for licensed merchandise the Paramount/Abrams things have to look different than the classic TOS so that they can be differentiated (action figures, Halloween costumes, etc.), not so it;s different on screen.

Yes, it sounds like a bunch of lawyers running up the billable hours to create complicated arrangements, and then making the arrangements complicated to generate more billable hours later.

Yep, I got that too. Lonnie is the one that didn't get it.

[Hector]

I hope BOTH shows don't fail......I really don't get why people want one or the other to fail miserably,they both look like fun,lol. Just hope STD doen't go too dark and gritty,I'm so bloody bored with those shows these days.

And it'd be great if McFarlane got the rights to McFarlane's show too,lol! I'd love some Orville merch!

I agree too. I'm watching both Discovery and The Orville.

[pmwasson]

I hope BOTH shows don't fail......I really don't get why people want one or the other to fail miserably,they both look like fun,lol. Just hope STD doen't go too dark and gritty,I'm so bloody bored with those shows these days.

I agree. I'm looking forward to both.

[JRT!]

I hope BOTH shows don't fail......I really don't get why people want one or the other to fail miserably,they both look like fun,lol. Just hope STD doen't go too dark and gritty,I'm so bloody bored with those shows these days.

And it'd be great if McFarlane got the rights to McFarlane's show too,lol! I'd love some Orville merch!

[knight errant00]

Spock? Zach Quinto is the perfect Nimoy replacement. Then there is original Spock played by Nimoy, suppose that was ok, too. I don't see the uniform material being altered for copyright issues, its just overly detailed like everything else these days. See Superman or Spider-Man for more of that nonsense.

I think the point the video was making (not very clearly) was that for licensed merchandise the Paramount/Abrams things have to look different than the classic TOS so that they can be differentiated (action figures, Halloween costumes, etc.), not so it;s different on screen.

Yes, it sounds like a bunch of lawyers running up the billable hours to create complicated arrangements, and then making the arrangements complicated to generate more billable hours later.

[The Bat]

Spock? Zach Quinto is the perfect Nimoy replacement. Then there is original Spock played by Nimoy, suppose that was ok, too. I don't see the uniform material being altered for copyright issues, its just overly detailed like everything else these days. See Superman or Spider-Man for more of that nonsense.

BINGO!!