I feel like they topped out right at the beginning with the female mutilation/gender reassignment arc in the first season... and they shouldn't have lead with that if they were going to keep going back to that well. Like, sure, the Moclan are Toxic Masculinity Personified, but maybe build to that particular moment of villainy instead of it being the introduction to the species as a whole.
Because at this point, I don't really care if Bortus and Klyden are "the good ones" (relative term), the species as a whole has shown no interest in moving forward from being horrible so anything involving them (imo) has me aggressively disinterested. Like, Bortus didn't even have a single iota of conflict about going back to that planet when he had to take a whiz. Why the heck not?
Seems like the sci-fi story in a show like this should be the "A" plot of any given episode, with relationship drama relegated to the "B" plot. With occasional exceptions, of course.
The whole dying-planet thing felt kinda phoned-in. Everyone seemed super chill despite having made first-contact with aliens mere hours before the extinction of their race and destruction of their planet.
Also with the whole "we can only fit so many in the shuttle" thing you'd think they'd have been packed in like sardines. There was so much extra room.
You can put people into an elevator and hit the weight limit while still having room for more people. The ship probably couldn't take off with more weight in it.
Seems like the sci-fi story in a show like this should be the "A" plot of any given episode, with relationship drama relegated to the "B" plot. With occasional exceptions, of course.
The whole dying-planet thing felt kinda phoned-in. Everyone seemed super chill despite having made first-contact with aliens mere hours before the extinction of their race and destruction of their planet.
Also with the whole "we can only fit so many in the shuttle" thing you'd think they'd have been packed in like sardines. There was so much extra room.
You can put people into an elevator and hit the weight limit while still having room for more people. The ship probably couldn't take off with more weight in it.
Or it could be a life support issue, even with the relatively short trip. Or, assuming they're used, an inertial dampening issue (similar to the weight issue).
Plenty of reasons why going above a certain capacity would be bad.
I feel like they topped out right at the beginning with the female mutilation/gender reassignment arc in the first season... and they shouldn't have lead with that if they were going to keep going back to that well. Like, sure, the Moclan are Toxic Masculinity Personified, but maybe build to that particular moment of villainy instead of it being the introduction to the species as a whole.
Because at this point, I don't really care if Bortus and Klyden are "the good ones" (relative term), the species as a whole has shown no interest in moving forward from being horrible so anything involving them (imo) has me aggressively disinterested. Like, Bortus didn't even have a single iota of conflict about going back to that planet when he had to take a whiz. Why the heck not?
I mean when you gotta go.
I have a podcast now. It's about video games and anime!Find it here.
Seems a little odd that an exploratory vessel would only have one shuttle, too. I mean, I know the Orville is a lot smaller than, say, the Enterprise-D, but still...
Ninja Snarl PMy helmet is my burden.Ninja Snarl: Gone, but not forgotten.Registered Userregular
edited January 2019
They've definitely shown at least two shuttles in the hangar at once, but they do explain that they have to reinforce a shuttle considerably to make the trip.
The more absurd thing is that
Isaac and Bortus are supposedly the only ones who can cross the surface safely, yet all the trapped people need to wear are some lead suits (which they all have). So why didn't they just whip up enough radiation suits for everybody and send multiple shuttles?
Felt like a pretty weak bit of writing to me, all said. At the same time, still glad they haven't gone for teleportation as a copout.
They've definitely shown at least two shuttles in the hangar at once, but they do explain that they have to reinforce a shuttle considerably to make the trip.
The more absurd thing is that
Isaac and Bortus are supposedly the only ones who can cross the surface safely, yet all the trapped people need to wear are some lead suits (which they all have). So why didn't they just whip up enough radiation suits for everybody and send multiple shuttles?
Felt like a pretty weak bit of writing to me, all said. At the same time, still glad they haven't gone for teleportation as a copout.
I think the reinforcements was for the shuttle to survive the trip. Not the passengers. I mainly thought it was odd that they had the time to hold, what appeared to be, a very slow lottery.
I zoned out 20 minutes into the season premiere. I’ll probably come back to it, but pee jokes and New Hot Girl are exactly the things I was worried about from a MacFarlane comedy.
I zoned out 20 minutes into the season premiere. I’ll probably come back to it, but pee jokes and New Hot Girl are exactly the things I was worried about from a MacFarlane comedy.
If you were on board last season there's no reason to give up now. If you weren't on board, why would you think it would be now? And if the pee joke bothers you, this probably isn't for you. I think most comedy would not be for you.
I zoned out 20 minutes into the season premiere. I’ll probably come back to it, but pee jokes and New Hot Girl are exactly the things I was worried about from a MacFarlane comedy.
If you were on board last season there's no reason to give up now. If you weren't on board, why would you think it would be now? And if the pee joke bothers you, this probably isn't for you. I think most comedy would not be for you.
I zoned out 20 minutes into the season premiere. I’ll probably come back to it, but pee jokes and New Hot Girl are exactly the things I was worried about from a MacFarlane comedy.
If you were on board last season there's no reason to give up now. If you weren't on board, why would you think it would be now? And if the pee joke bothers you, this probably isn't for you. I think most comedy would not be for you.
Me: posts reason I lost interest in the episode
You: “there’s no reason...”
I gave my reason. It’s a valid reason for me.
As I said before, if you were on board last season nothings changed, if you weren't on board. Nothings changed. And it sounds like you hate all things comedy.
I thought it was a good episode, but I really want more scifi episodes and the b plots to be the crew characterization stuff, or a mix. On top of that, I like Bortis but they need to chill on focusing on him. This episode felt like it could have been saved for a few more episodes in from now and worked better.
Trek would have dedicated the same screen time to rescuing those people from the dying planet.
Trek would spend the other 80% of the episode arguing about letting them die because Prime Directive. 50/50 they'd actually let them.
Orville didn't think twice, just like with the bioship last season. People are dying, we save them. From the episode with he downvote badges we know they have something like the Prime Directive and don't just reveal themselves to undeveloped planets just because, but they don't take it to the religious extreme that Voyager, Enterprise, and even a lot of TNG did with letting entire civilizations die horribly because "interference, even with the best intentions, is invariably catastrophic."
...so they spent the time that Trek would have spent in the magic meeting room instead faffing about with an overgrown B plot.
I zoned out 20 minutes into the season premiere. I’ll probably come back to it, but pee jokes and New Hot Girl are exactly the things I was worried about from a MacFarlane comedy.
Nothing Bortus's race does is worse than anything Klingons or Vulcans do imo.
I need to go home to have sex or beat up my friend or I die. Dealers choice
On my birthday I want 20 dudes to beat the shit out of me with pain sticks
We yell when our buddy dies. Well that one time. We kinda stopped
I have a podcast now. It's about video games and anime!Find it here.
Trek would have dedicated the same screen time to rescuing those people from the dying planet.
Trek would spend the other 80% of the episode arguing about letting them die because Prime Directive. 50/50 they'd actually let them.
Orville didn't think twice, just like with the bioship last season. People are dying, we save them. From the episode with he downvote badges we know they have something like the Prime Directive and don't just reveal themselves to undeveloped planets just because, but they don't take it to the religious extreme that Voyager, Enterprise, and even a lot of TNG did with letting entire civilizations die horribly because "interference, even with the best intentions, is invariably catastrophic."
...so they spent the time that Trek would have spent in the magic meeting room instead faffing about with an overgrown B plot.
I completely appreciate that the Union has a major goal of not interfering with races below a certain point of development, but neither are they completely up their own ass about the idea. Even with Kelley last season becoming a deity for the one planet, the Union acknowledged that what unfolded was out of her hands, whereas the Federation would've just about crucified one of their officers in the same situation.
Yeah, the Orville just
saved a completely random and unknown race of people, who might be harmless but also might have an overriding racial directive to destroy any competing life forms via their unstoppable inborn smart viruses.
But the Union is a lot more concerned about what is happening than what might possibly somebody happen. They aren't going to let a sentient species disappear completely for having the bad luck of not developing FTL travel before their sun went kaput; they'll save them now, and deal with consequences later.
I was quite pleased with the fact that the info about the planet being inhabited was "holy shit, we need to save these guys". Zero debate, jumped right to what matters.
That being said, I felt this episode was decidely weaker than the last. The stuff with Bortus was kinda long-winded, but I'm hoping the attention there means there will be some kind of payoff in his species figuring out to not be such total dicks.
The strongest subplot so far is Isaac and The doctors family. Bortus I think needed closure for the baby stuff but he works better as a straight man in a scene or just showcasing his weird biology/culture / realatively mundane married life.
I have a podcast now. It's about video games and anime!Find it here.
The strongest subplot so far is Isaac and The doctors family. Bortus I think needed closure for the baby stuff but he works better as a straight man in a scene or just showcasing his weird biology/culture / realatively mundane married life.
Halfway through whichever episode had the "Doctor's kid is being a teenager" subplot I was halfway convinced it was going to turn out she was hallucinating Isaac or something just because he was, like, always there. Random family spat and, hey, Isaac was standing in the corner the whole time off camera for some reason.
I think right now he sees them as an easy way to view a human family and different stages of human development for his study but its clear he has a growing attachment to them and likes hanging around them
King Riptor on
I have a podcast now. It's about video games and anime!Find it here.
The strongest subplot so far is Isaac and The doctors family. Bortus I think needed closure for the baby stuff but he works better as a straight man in a scene or just showcasing his weird biology/culture / realatively mundane married life.
Halfway through whichever episode had the "Doctor's kid is being a teenager" subplot I was halfway convinced it was going to turn out she was hallucinating Isaac or something just because he was, like, always there. Random family spat and, hey, Isaac was standing in the corner the whole time off camera for some reason.
I thought for sure Isaac was going to turn out to be the issue because of this. I swear there's a scene where the doc asks her kid why he's acting out, and he glances over at Isaac, implying an "I'd talk to you but the creepy-ass robot is here staring at me". Totally threw me when he's just being a jerk to be popular and Isaac had nothing to do with it.
The strongest subplot so far is Isaac and The doctors family. Bortus I think needed closure for the baby stuff but he works better as a straight man in a scene or just showcasing his weird biology/culture / realatively mundane married life.
Halfway through whichever episode had the "Doctor's kid is being a teenager" subplot I was halfway convinced it was going to turn out she was hallucinating Isaac or something just because he was, like, always there. Random family spat and, hey, Isaac was standing in the corner the whole time off camera for some reason.
I thought for sure Isaac was going to turn out to be the issue because of this. I swear there's a scene where the doc asks her kid why he's acting out, and he glances over at Isaac, implying an "I'd talk to you but the creepy-ass robot is here staring at me". Totally threw me when he's just being a jerk to be popular and Isaac had nothing to do with it.
I think that's still in the cards, the underlying problem wasn't really resolved right?
The strongest subplot so far is Isaac and The doctors family. Bortus I think needed closure for the baby stuff but he works better as a straight man in a scene or just showcasing his weird biology/culture / realatively mundane married life.
Halfway through whichever episode had the "Doctor's kid is being a teenager" subplot I was halfway convinced it was going to turn out she was hallucinating Isaac or something just because he was, like, always there. Random family spat and, hey, Isaac was standing in the corner the whole time off camera for some reason.
I thought for sure Isaac was going to turn out to be the issue because of this. I swear there's a scene where the doc asks her kid why he's acting out, and he glances over at Isaac, implying an "I'd talk to you but the creepy-ass robot is here staring at me". Totally threw me when he's just being a jerk to be popular and Isaac had nothing to do with it.
I think that's still in the cards, the underlying problem wasn't really resolved right?
I'm pretty sure the older son is picking up on stuff yeah.
I have a podcast now. It's about video games and anime!Find it here.
I think right now he sees them as an easy way to view a human family and different stages of human development for his study but its clear he has a growing attachment to them and likes hanging around them
Also seems like they're setting up a potential "romantic" subplot between the two.
The strongest subplot so far is Isaac and The doctors family. Bortus I think needed closure for the baby stuff but he works better as a straight man in a scene or just showcasing his weird biology/culture / realatively mundane married life.
Halfway through whichever episode had the "Doctor's kid is being a teenager" subplot I was halfway convinced it was going to turn out she was hallucinating Isaac or something just because he was, like, always there. Random family spat and, hey, Isaac was standing in the corner the whole time off camera for some reason.
I thought for sure Isaac was going to turn out to be the issue because of this. I swear there's a scene where the doc asks her kid why he's acting out, and he glances over at Isaac, implying an "I'd talk to you but the creepy-ass robot is here staring at me". Totally threw me when he's just being a jerk to be popular and Isaac had nothing to do with it.
I think that's still in the cards, the underlying problem wasn't really resolved right?
Well, I mean, the underlying problem is that he's a teenager. Acting out to fit in with your friends and low-grade lawbreaking like hacking a replicator to get some vodka seem 100% in line with normal teenager behavior.
The strongest subplot so far is Isaac and The doctors family. Bortus I think needed closure for the baby stuff but he works better as a straight man in a scene or just showcasing his weird biology/culture / realatively mundane married life.
Halfway through whichever episode had the "Doctor's kid is being a teenager" subplot I was halfway convinced it was going to turn out she was hallucinating Isaac or something just because he was, like, always there. Random family spat and, hey, Isaac was standing in the corner the whole time off camera for some reason.
I thought for sure Isaac was going to turn out to be the issue because of this. I swear there's a scene where the doc asks her kid why he's acting out, and he glances over at Isaac, implying an "I'd talk to you but the creepy-ass robot is here staring at me". Totally threw me when he's just being a jerk to be popular and Isaac had nothing to do with it.
I totally saw that as well. I'm even willing to bet there was a splash of this that was cut because the way the older soon acted at the end when he thanked Isaac felt a little "I don't hate you now!"
The strongest subplot so far is Isaac and The doctors family. Bortus I think needed closure for the baby stuff but he works better as a straight man in a scene or just showcasing his weird biology/culture / realatively mundane married life.
Halfway through whichever episode had the "Doctor's kid is being a teenager" subplot I was halfway convinced it was going to turn out she was hallucinating Isaac or something just because he was, like, always there. Random family spat and, hey, Isaac was standing in the corner the whole time off camera for some reason.
I thought for sure Isaac was going to turn out to be the issue because of this. I swear there's a scene where the doc asks her kid why he's acting out, and he glances over at Isaac, implying an "I'd talk to you but the creepy-ass robot is here staring at me". Totally threw me when he's just being a jerk to be popular and Isaac had nothing to do with it.
I think that's still in the cards, the underlying problem wasn't really resolved right?
Well, I mean, the underlying problem is that he's a teenager. Acting out to fit in with your friends and low-grade lawbreaking like hacking a replicator to get some vodka seem 100% in line with normal teenager behavior.
I was actually annoyed that the doctor was flustered about the whole situation. She's a well-read highly-educated highly-experienced medical doctor and even operates as a counselor to some extent. Her reaction to her teenage son acting out should not be "I don't know how this could possibly happen!", it should be something like her actually sitting him down and outlining specifically why bypassing the replicator safeties is dangerous and why it's bad for kids to consume alcohol.
That whole bit was way too much contemporary single-mom-dealing-with-kids for me to like it much. She would not at all have been fazed by the alcohol, but she for sure would've had something to say about futzing with the machine that 3D print bombs and poisons and who knows what else.
I just appreciated the scene where the "Timmy can do nothing wrong!" parents got there comeuppance.
If you told me my kid hacked a replicator to get some moonshine I'd believe you and my kid is 7.
He is, from all appearances, a great kid but I remember being a kid once. I appeared to be a good kid too but I wasn't
Yeah that subplot was very sitcom-y but it hooked this guy.
The strongest subplot so far is Isaac and The doctors family. Bortus I think needed closure for the baby stuff but he works better as a straight man in a scene or just showcasing his weird biology/culture / realatively mundane married life.
Halfway through whichever episode had the "Doctor's kid is being a teenager" subplot I was halfway convinced it was going to turn out she was hallucinating Isaac or something just because he was, like, always there. Random family spat and, hey, Isaac was standing in the corner the whole time off camera for some reason.
I thought for sure Isaac was going to turn out to be the issue because of this. I swear there's a scene where the doc asks her kid why he's acting out, and he glances over at Isaac, implying an "I'd talk to you but the creepy-ass robot is here staring at me". Totally threw me when he's just being a jerk to be popular and Isaac had nothing to do with it.
I think that's still in the cards, the underlying problem wasn't really resolved right?
Well, I mean, the underlying problem is that he's a teenager. Acting out to fit in with your friends and low-grade lawbreaking like hacking a replicator to get some vodka seem 100% in line with normal teenager behavior.
I was actually annoyed that the doctor was flustered about the whole situation. She's a well-read highly-educated highly-experienced medical doctor and even operates as a counselor to some extent. Her reaction to her teenage son acting out should not be "I don't know how this could possibly happen!", it should be something like her actually sitting him down and outlining specifically why bypassing the replicator safeties is dangerous and why it's bad for kids to consume alcohol.
That whole bit was way too much contemporary single-mom-dealing-with-kids for me to like it much. She would not at all have been fazed by the alcohol, but she for sure would've had something to say about futzing with the machine that 3D print bombs and poisons and who knows what else.
Being neither a doctor nor a parent myself, this is just a guess on my part...
I'd imagine it's a lot easier to tell other people how to deal with their problem children and be a counselor to them than it is to do that with yourself and your own kids. It;s entirely possible she's just too close to the problem to get a proper perspective on it to see what's going on and realize "Oh, shit. He's a teenager stuck on board a ship the size of a football field with nothing to do and a peer group of a half dozen kids.".
The strongest subplot so far is Isaac and The doctors family. Bortus I think needed closure for the baby stuff but he works better as a straight man in a scene or just showcasing his weird biology/culture / realatively mundane married life.
Halfway through whichever episode had the "Doctor's kid is being a teenager" subplot I was halfway convinced it was going to turn out she was hallucinating Isaac or something just because he was, like, always there. Random family spat and, hey, Isaac was standing in the corner the whole time off camera for some reason.
I thought for sure Isaac was going to turn out to be the issue because of this. I swear there's a scene where the doc asks her kid why he's acting out, and he glances over at Isaac, implying an "I'd talk to you but the creepy-ass robot is here staring at me". Totally threw me when he's just being a jerk to be popular and Isaac had nothing to do with it.
I took the kid looking at Isaac more as "I would talk to Isaac, but not Mom, because Isaac is not emotional and won't yell at me."
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Because at this point, I don't really care if Bortus and Klyden are "the good ones" (relative term), the species as a whole has shown no interest in moving forward from being horrible so anything involving them (imo) has me aggressively disinterested. Like, Bortus didn't even have a single iota of conflict about going back to that planet when he had to take a whiz. Why the heck not?
You can put people into an elevator and hit the weight limit while still having room for more people. The ship probably couldn't take off with more weight in it.
Or it could be a life support issue, even with the relatively short trip. Or, assuming they're used, an inertial dampening issue (similar to the weight issue).
Plenty of reasons why going above a certain capacity would be bad.
I mean when you gotta go.
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The more absurd thing is that
Felt like a pretty weak bit of writing to me, all said. At the same time, still glad they haven't gone for teleportation as a copout.
Which reminds me, where has Yaphit been? What happened to that creepy little blob?
He was in the background once or twice. I wonder if Norm was just busy because of his netflix show.
Alternately the writers seem to realize there's stuff people didnt like from last season and maybe hes better as a one-off joke from time to time
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If you were on board last season there's no reason to give up now. If you weren't on board, why would you think it would be now? And if the pee joke bothers you, this probably isn't for you. I think most comedy would not be for you.
Me: posts reason I lost interest in the episode
You: “there’s no reason...”
I gave my reason. It’s a valid reason for me.
As I said before, if you were on board last season nothings changed, if you weren't on board. Nothings changed. And it sounds like you hate all things comedy.
If nothing has changed for you, cool. For *me*, what I saw was different and worse.
Trek would have dedicated the same screen time to rescuing those people from the dying planet.
Trek would spend the other 80% of the episode arguing about letting them die because Prime Directive. 50/50 they'd actually let them.
Orville didn't think twice, just like with the bioship last season. People are dying, we save them. From the episode with he downvote badges we know they have something like the Prime Directive and don't just reveal themselves to undeveloped planets just because, but they don't take it to the religious extreme that Voyager, Enterprise, and even a lot of TNG did with letting entire civilizations die horribly because "interference, even with the best intentions, is invariably catastrophic."
...so they spent the time that Trek would have spent in the magic meeting room instead faffing about with an overgrown B plot.
Nothing Bortus's race does is worse than anything Klingons or Vulcans do imo.
I need to go home to have sex or beat up my friend or I die. Dealers choice
On my birthday I want 20 dudes to beat the shit out of me with pain sticks
We yell when our buddy dies. Well that one time. We kinda stopped
I completely appreciate that the Union has a major goal of not interfering with races below a certain point of development, but neither are they completely up their own ass about the idea. Even with Kelley last season becoming a deity for the one planet, the Union acknowledged that what unfolded was out of her hands, whereas the Federation would've just about crucified one of their officers in the same situation.
Yeah, the Orville just
But the Union is a lot more concerned about what is happening than what might possibly somebody happen. They aren't going to let a sentient species disappear completely for having the bad luck of not developing FTL travel before their sun went kaput; they'll save them now, and deal with consequences later.
I was quite pleased with the fact that the info about the planet being inhabited was "holy shit, we need to save these guys". Zero debate, jumped right to what matters.
That being said, I felt this episode was decidely weaker than the last. The stuff with Bortus was kinda long-winded, but I'm hoping the attention there means there will be some kind of payoff in his species figuring out to not be such total dicks.
Pun intended.
Halfway through whichever episode had the "Doctor's kid is being a teenager" subplot I was halfway convinced it was going to turn out she was hallucinating Isaac or something just because he was, like, always there. Random family spat and, hey, Isaac was standing in the corner the whole time off camera for some reason.
I thought for sure Isaac was going to turn out to be the issue because of this. I swear there's a scene where the doc asks her kid why he's acting out, and he glances over at Isaac, implying an "I'd talk to you but the creepy-ass robot is here staring at me". Totally threw me when he's just being a jerk to be popular and Isaac had nothing to do with it.
I think that's still in the cards, the underlying problem wasn't really resolved right?
I'm pretty sure the older son is picking up on stuff yeah.
Penny Arcade Rockstar Social Club / This is why I despise cyclists
Well, I mean, the underlying problem is that he's a teenager. Acting out to fit in with your friends and low-grade lawbreaking like hacking a replicator to get some vodka seem 100% in line with normal teenager behavior.
I totally saw that as well. I'm even willing to bet there was a splash of this that was cut because the way the older soon acted at the end when he thanked Isaac felt a little "I don't hate you now!"
I was actually annoyed that the doctor was flustered about the whole situation. She's a well-read highly-educated highly-experienced medical doctor and even operates as a counselor to some extent. Her reaction to her teenage son acting out should not be "I don't know how this could possibly happen!", it should be something like her actually sitting him down and outlining specifically why bypassing the replicator safeties is dangerous and why it's bad for kids to consume alcohol.
That whole bit was way too much contemporary single-mom-dealing-with-kids for me to like it much. She would not at all have been fazed by the alcohol, but she for sure would've had something to say about futzing with the machine that 3D print bombs and poisons and who knows what else.
If you told me my kid hacked a replicator to get some moonshine I'd believe you and my kid is 7.
He is, from all appearances, a great kid but I remember being a kid once. I appeared to be a good kid too but I wasn't
Yeah that subplot was very sitcom-y but it hooked this guy.
Being neither a doctor nor a parent myself, this is just a guess on my part...
I'd imagine it's a lot easier to tell other people how to deal with their problem children and be a counselor to them than it is to do that with yourself and your own kids. It;s entirely possible she's just too close to the problem to get a proper perspective on it to see what's going on and realize "Oh, shit. He's a teenager stuck on board a ship the size of a football field with nothing to do and a peer group of a half dozen kids.".