It would help a little bit if MacFarlane didn't have such a punchable face. He just doesn't have the necessary acting chops to show any sort of command presence among the crew. The show has quite a few problems, but in my opinion he's the worst character of them all.

If he wanted to write and act in his own Star Trek playpen fanfic show, he should have cast himself as just an average bridge officer and let someone else do the heavy lifting of being the captain. Maybe he should have been the loud-mouthed helmsman instead of that dude from Band of Brothers. Then at least the informal way he approaches his characters wouldn't seem so strange.

He needs to write the captain to be more serious, and he's got to take some ****ing acting lessons. All the previous Star Trek captains had that larger-than-life quality about them, and he's just... average. Like he's just some dude in a Star Trek fan film.

Absolutely correct

Sounds like I shouldn’t even bother watching the latest one. :shake:

Older lady ****ing a robot. What's not to watch.

We don't need the future and spaceships for that!

Ok that was the worst episode of either season so far, I barely made it to the end. The only good thing about it was the brief Norm Macdonald appearance.

It was a poor man's version of this

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I saw the premier last year and got busy with work and it piled up on DVR. Keep checking in on this thread to see if I need to watch and it’s making me feel glad I passed.

Poor mans? More like slums. Season is going down the shitter and only had 2 decent eps.

I thought this last episode was great.. overall though this season has definitely been down.

I thought I was gonna hate the last episode but it ended up being really good.

I am curious if Isaac is SM's version of Odo and if we will get a future season similar to when the Founders appeared in DS9. Why is a planet of AI studying biological beings?

One of my problems with the show is that I keep hearing Seth talk about this as a "love letter" to Star Trek.

Try "complete ****ing ripoff."

From the very beginning of that episode it felt like I was watching a reboot version of the TNG episode where Data dates that random ensign. Yeah, I knew it would go different directions and it would probably end differently, but even those different directions it took felt like threads lifted from other Star Trek episodes (like Data's Day or as you pointed to-- The Naked Now). And I sadly feel like this when I watch half of these Orville episodes.

Yes, I understand there are HUNDREDS of Star Trek episodes. There are only so many plot points you can cover with the same basic premise (good guy federation of humans and other aliens exploring the galaxy, many of them comparable to the characters and aliens of Star Trek's longest running series) but shouldn't that mean that you DON'T make everything comparable to Star Trek? Why can't it be a sci-fi show about a space exploration vessel... and then you start going in a different direction?

Or even... like... I know this is what people were expecting... why can't you make it dick jokes in space? Like... where that's the entire point. A funnier version of Red Dwarf?

Just write some ****ing episodes where I DON'T roll my eyes because I can recall the Star Trek episode idea its lifted from before the title sequence even occurs.

Orville has officially lost me. Unlikable characters and plots that range from silly to stupid to offensive.

No mas.

My Wife started watching (and sort of pulled me in) to Star Trek "Enterprise"...never been a fan of the genre' but damn! That actress that plays "T Pol"....Holy Shit....

Quality dropped drastically this year, and it gets worse with each episode. Chick that got wrote out was just the first rat fleeing a sinking ship.

She's hot as hell.


Enterprise doesn't get consistently good until season 4. At which point UPN cancelled it. There is no place in the UPN lineup for a show that doesn't suck.

They wasted Blalock by giving her bad material and obviously making her a fanservice addition in forcing the catsuit as her 24/7 costume.

One of my friends deals in movie/TV memorabilia. He's had some really cool stuff over the years, including one of Blalock's orange costumes from Enterprise. He's long since sold it, but for a time he displayed it on a female mannequin.

And yes, I did cop a feel. :D

Yeah, I agree 100%. She really improved as an actress as the series progressed. The biggest issue with Enterprise was writer fatigue. They were running on fumes after TNG and were on empty by the time ENT started. They desperately needed fresh blood in the writing room.w

Seven of Nine was eye candy for sure, but she also got great scripts. Jeri Ryan was also a surprisingly good actress, too.

Okay, that was a cool episode. Didn't expect a turn like that. Very Best of Both Worlds.

yeah, almost a ripoff really. Wish they could be more original.

My god the actress who plays the doctor single-handedly ruined what could have been the best story by far this season. Seriously. It's like watching an 80 year old drama queen that hasn't changed since high school. At this point I want the bad guys to win just so she dies.

The story line with the doctor is/was getting a bit thin. The latest episode did go in a different direction than I had thought. At least they have diverted away from the Bortus story line. There are only so many ways you can keep telling the same story. I find it mildly annoying that advertising diversity seems to be main focus point.

Just like humans, these races are apparently all too stupid to really exist with the technology they have developed.

yep, didn’t expect that. Now Seth has his version of the Borg threat to humans. The show should get better now.

Best episode yet. I like this direction way better than this crap of visiting the weird home worlds of crew members.

Last two episodes have completely redeemed this show for me.

I mean, to be fair... this last two parter DID involve visiting the weird home world of one of the crew members :D

I stopped recording this because everyone one here said it sucked out loud. Then, the last two episodes! Of course, Spectrum only has part one available for On Demand so far.

Went to watch the second half of the latest story arc and found it didn't record because DirecTV is having a pissing match with the local FOX station. :facepalm: Hopefully there will be some way to download the show when they get this resolved. Have the same problem with the latest 'The Passage".

Same shit happened with Spectrum during the NFL playoffs.

yeah it’s a night and day stark difference. Something finally clicked or someone got their way in the direction of the series.

ROFL touché well played sir. :thumb:

Major battle at the end of the last Orville episode. Sorry not embedded to avoid spoilers

This shit is still on the air? I couldn't get through episode 1.

One of the best space battles I've ever seen, and without a huge Hollywood budget like SW.

Yeah, it was cool. Just like the Dominion War battles in Deep Space Nine were cool. 25 years ago.

Watch the last 2 episodes and get back to us.

Uh yeah, no. It's still not worth your time-- this show is on life support.

OK I watched the last two episodes that I forgot I had Tivoed. My take the Nazies of robots but still the same message they keep trying to hit us with. I know why I quit watching this and while they added battle and action scenes they still have to hit us with lame messages. Can't we have aliens and robots that have no reasons why they want to kill us other than they can. I dont need to be beat down with some mamby pamby message the writer seems hell bent on driving home to us.

I'll have to get back to watching, I guess.

Two episodes that were, at best, better than the rest of the entire season aren't enough for me to keep watching.
I've been trying to like it. I was hoping it would fill the void on regular TV when it comes to this kind of program. But it just doesn't do it.

Shaddup noob. Who asked ya. :)

Thursday's episode was a wet fart. Not unexpected, since it looked like they spent their entire season's budget on the two-parter

They need to increase the budget. Keep up the quality of the two-parter. Go to HBO/Netflix etc, if necessary. This show only seems to work if they spend more money.

That episode had no business being as good as it was.

They're really fleshing out intimate relationships on all scopes

yeah WTF :hmmm: I wa thinking the same thing. I found it more enjoyable than it merited. The stupid cigarette thing actually worked. The 2015 love interest was hot and a good actress. It was a by the numbers story but it seemed to work. Maybe the director?

This show has pretty much captured the Next Generation feel now. The last few felt like they could've been pulled right out of 1988. In a good way. I think spreading the focus beyond just Ed Mercer has been key, as has almost entirely losing the bad jokes. When there is humor now it mostly works (the dance club this week) and none of the main cast are just relegated to comic relief now.

I've gone from the start of the season where I wasn't sure I'd watch week to week to looking forward to the finale and hoping it gets renewed again.

It's just enjoyable. I don't put any more thought into it than that.

I've enjoyed it since the beginning. Sure there's a few turds, but overall it's a good show.

yeah less Family Guy humor and more Star Trek TNG type of shows is a good path. That works better.

I think my wife still watches it.

Perhaps it has gotten more like Next Generation. But if I want to watch Next Generation, I'll just watch Next Generation.

So... Just watched Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow... What happened? The problem with time travel is ... everything.

Officially Official Fox renews for a 3rd season.
https://deadline.com/2019/05/the-orv...202612705/amp/

Not really sure why

the article points to tax breaks. Also if they can make it to 5 seasons, there is syndication money. Also, it was clear it would have been picked up by another network. Most of these deals with producers are right of first refusal deals. Netflix was all over this if Fox cancelled.

This show has gotten better with its turn I to Star Trek TNG track than a Family Guy in space. I’m curious now that we see what works and what doesn’t what direction they take the series.

It has its own niche, in addition to the tax breaks. Discovery is all serious. Expanse is Game of Thrones in space. Whereas Orville is like a throwback, dramatic at times but mostly light and easy to enjoy.

I'm glad they did. This show has really changed, starting with the 2-part "Identity" episode. I thought the last half of season 2 was fantastic.

THIS! I was a big fan of Star Trek TNG back in the day. TNG really took off with mainstream popularity with the appearance of the Borg. It seems they found their sweet spot on the show.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">‘The Orville’ Moves To Hulu From Fox For Season 3 In 2020 <a href="https://t.co/KrU9xmPT5c">https://t.co/KrU9xmPT5c</a> <a href="https://t.co/EbqI7Yl9cg">pic.twitter.com/EbqI7Yl9cg</a></p>&mdash; Deadline Hollywood (@DEADLINE) <a href="https://twitter.com/DEADLINE/status/1152696964229693441?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 20, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Disney is going to own everything? Geeezzzz

Glad to see it’s going to continue. It finally figured out what works for the series. I’ll watch season 3.

Just dropped Hulu. Oh well.

NORDVPN will have record breaking subscribers in the future because of the saturation of streaming services.

Capitalism at its worst. Individual companies make more money. The consumer pays more and benefits less.


Yeah, we are all going to have an issue with trying to watch the shows we want to watch. Every new channel wants $10-$15 and you really only want to watch one show on that channel. It's going to get worse, thats for sure. People are not going to pay $70-$100 a month to watch the 5-6 shows they really want to watch.


Eventually its going to be something like Prime when you log in you can access the majority of the channels a la cart. Can't download. Only view once. Specific time available. Charge you $20 to watch that one show but you can view it forever.

I'm awaiting the inevitable rise of a third party group that will be a single subscription service for $70-100 a month that allows you access to X streaming services. It would have to be a company with a ton of money to negotiate with all the streaming services so that narrows it quite a bit. Google or Apple? They missed out on the streaming industry. Maybe Amazon finds a way since they probably host half their competitors on Amazon Cloud services.

After many years as a law abiding citizen I am prepping my home for when I take the seas as a pirate once again.

June 2nd on Hulu!

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This isn't true capitalism. Often times, only one company (provider) has the program(s) that you want to see. You either have to fork over the dough or you can't see it. It's similar to utilities in this way. But at least with things like phone providers, you usually have several options. That is true capitalism. Competition for your money.

Looking forward to it. How long has it been? 3 years?

Iit's been damn good, though I'd like to see MacFarlane's iteration of a Jedi/Sith Lord since it shouldn't be a carbon copy of the Star Trek franchise

Holy shit! Just finished episode 9. That was epic. Just about as good as star trek. And Charlie's sacrifice, man....

A lot of preachy stuff in most of the season, and episodes were far too long in many instances.

Episode 9 though. Outstanding.

Yeah, I got a vibe one way and then they would do something to make me think they are trying to push the other side of a particular view. I think they did a fairly good job of walking that tightrope.

Episode 9 kicked ass. Seriously stepped up the quality and action. Well done. :thumb:

My thoughts too. I feel like they could cut out 30 minutes off episodes just by cutting all the useless banter and moral statements.

The season was good but that finale was a turd.

As I told my sister recently, Strange New Worlds blows it away now but for a while The Orville was the best Star Trek show under production.