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Post by the light works on Sept 21, 2017 15:54:08 GMT
Finally got to watch the entire second episode of Orville. My DVR recording of it was mostly football but I was able to stream it from FOX. Only problem was I had to watch all the commercials. They'd let me fast forward through the show, but not through the commercials. That could actually turn into a decent show if they'd get a little more serious and stop trying to make it a comedy. So far, it's not funny enough to be a comedy and not serious enough not to be. Tonight is episode 3, if Fox doesn't screw something up. which is entirely possible. |
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Post by Cybermortis on Sept 21, 2017 16:26:24 GMT
Finally got to watch the entire second episode of Orville. My DVR recording of it was mostly football but I was able to stream it from FOX. Only problem was I had to watch all the commercials. They'd let me fast forward through the show, but not through the commercials. That could actually turn into a decent show if they'd get a little more serious and stop trying to make it a comedy. So far, it's not funny enough to be a comedy and not serious enough not to be. Tonight is episode 3, if Fox doesn't screw something up. Like I said it takes a while for a series to find the right tone and pacing. If you look at practically all successful TV series the first season is usually weaker as they have to experiment with what works and what doesn't. TNG's first season for example is actually a little too serious and full of itself, not helped by bad scripts in general. With The Orville they might suffer from only having a half season, since making major changes to a series can only usually start taking effect around halfway through a full season. Although having said that if Fox has the guts to give the series a second season (which I hope they do) the writers and producers will have a lot longer to settle on the right balance. |
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Post by GTCGreg on Sept 21, 2017 16:57:05 GMT
Finally got to watch the entire second episode of Orville. My DVR recording of it was mostly football but I was able to stream it from FOX. Only problem was I had to watch all the commercials. They'd let me fast forward through the show, but not through the commercials. That could actually turn into a decent show if they'd get a little more serious and stop trying to make it a comedy. So far, it's not funny enough to be a comedy and not serious enough not to be. Tonight is episode 3, if Fox doesn't screw something up. Like I said it takes a while for a series to find the right tone and pacing. If you look at practically all successful TV series the first season is usually weaker as they have to experiment with what works and what doesn't. TNG's first season for example is actually a little too serious and full of itself, not helped by bad scripts in general. With The Orville they might suffer from only having a half season, since making major changes to a series can only usually start taking effect around halfway through a full season. Although having said that if Fox has the guts to give the series a second season (which I hope they do) the writers and producers will have a lot longer to settle on the right balance. I hope they give it a chance and try. As I said, I think the show has potential, but not without some tweeking. |
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Post by WhutScreenName on Sept 21, 2017 17:36:50 GMT
Back to actual star trek news/discussion (Although I admit I enjoy reading the Orville discussion and agree it fits here as well). Early Star Trek: Discovery Premiere Reactions Are...I'm going to make you go to the link to read the story. But it does give some good details. Hopefully the page works for everyone, if not, I can copy the actual article info below, just let me know. |
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Post by GTCGreg on Sept 21, 2017 18:28:42 GMT
Back to actual star trek news/discussion (Although I admit I enjoy reading the Orville discussion and agree it fits here as well). Early Star Trek: Discovery Premiere Reactions Are...I'm going to make you go to the link to read the story. But it does give some good details. Hopefully the page works for everyone, if not, I can copy the actual article info below, just let me know. Well, the rest of us will know next Sunday. Don't care how good it is, I won't be subscribing to anything for just one show. Nothing else on CBS paid access I want to see. I'm already paying for cable and Netflix. That's the extent of my TV entertainment budget. And I'm seriously considering dropping Netflix. |
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Post by the light works on Sept 22, 2017 3:10:57 GMT
Back to actual star trek news/discussion (Although I admit I enjoy reading the Orville discussion and agree it fits here as well). Early Star Trek: Discovery Premiere Reactions Are...I'm going to make you go to the link to read the story. But it does give some good details. Hopefully the page works for everyone, if not, I can copy the actual article info below, just let me know. Well, the rest of us will know next Sunday. Don't care how good it is, I won't be subscribing to anything for just one show. Nothing else on CBS paid access I want to see. I'm already paying for cable and Netflix. That's the extent of my TV entertainment budget. And I'm seriously considering dropping Netflix. after raising the satellite bill $20.00 to upgrade the DVR, I'll see the new star trek if it goes to netflix. |
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Post by GTCGreg on Sept 22, 2017 4:25:25 GMT
Hope it does end up on Netflix. It's the only way I'll be watching.
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Post by mrfatso on Sept 22, 2017 5:25:33 GMT
I'll be watching it on Netflix too, roll on Monday night.
Well it will probably be Tuesday got a Shadowrun game with mates on Monday.
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Post by Lokifan on Sept 22, 2017 8:18:57 GMT
Finally got to watch the entire second episode of Orville. My DVR recording of it was mostly football but I was able to stream it from FOX. Only problem was I had to watch all the commercials. They'd let me fast forward through the show, but not through the commercials. That could actually turn into a decent show if they'd get a little more serious and stop trying to make it a comedy. So far, it's not funny enough to be a comedy and not serious enough not to be. Tonight is episode 3, if Fox doesn't screw something up. Just saw the third episode. Your comment is very apt. Had some funny bits (even made me laugh) but the serious bits were...serious. Frankly, I hope it survives. I'm curious to see where it goes. |
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Post by Cybermortis on Sept 23, 2017 14:30:59 GMT
I managed to find The Orville to watch, do not ask how because I'm not saying.
Impressions, using Trek to compare;
The pilot does its job, but doesn't quite work. It is stronger than TNG's pilot, but not quite as good as the pilots for the other Trek series.
Episodes 2&3 are much better, showing minor changes to the pilot and a somewhat toned down level of humor. They also have some fun, and seriousness, by taking standard Trek tropes and twisting them slightly but in a realistic way; A minor minimal spoiler example is when the Captain turns down a request in favor of someone who is actually more qualified for that task. Both episodes have a fairly strong Trek feel, and in fact both could have been scripts adapted from Trek. To me these two episodes stand up as equal if not better than the second and third episodes of most of the Trek series.
We also get a better look at some of the characters, and what the actors are capable of doing. Maybe just as importantly none of the characters at this point are annoying to the point of being unlikable. (Your millage may vary of course)
Overall; The series hasn't quite found its balance yet, but shows considerable promise and is clearly heading in the right direction. They have not written themselves into a corner by focusing too much on one tone or script type, which moving forwards would allow them the creative freedom to write stories in any genre they like; A strength of Trek, if one they didn't always take advantage of. (This would make sense as Seth is a huge Trek fan, and I'd assume noted that TOS could go from outright comedy with Tribbles, to horror in 'Demon in the Dark' (?) to a thriller with 'The Neutral Zone')
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Post by Lokifan on Sept 23, 2017 16:04:09 GMT
Did you know Seth was actually in two Star Trek: Enterprise episodes? memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/Seth_MacFarlaneYeah, he's a monster fan. I can't help wondering if the parody bits are there just to avoid the massive lawsuit that would have resulted if it wasn't parody. I'm not attributing ill intent, by the way. I'm also sure that the tone of the show must have been influenced by Brannon Braga, who has a producer credit. I also saw some other Trek names, such as director Jonathan Frakes (Riker from TNG) and Robert Duncan Oneill (Paris from Voyager) in the credits on IMDB. There's also some big money behind the show. Each episode has had lots of effects shots, a remote location, lots of extras, and multiple single scene sets that will probably not be used again. It's really impressive when you consider that D. C. Fontana (veteran of TOS and TNG production) once said that when they were first writing TNG, they were given the limits of "Two rooms and three guys". They were only allowed to have three guest speaking roles per episode, and two additional sets besides the standing ship sets. This accounts for the number of "Ship in a Bottle" scripts--shows where all the scenes take place on the ship, and not on a planet. They were cheaper to shoot, so they could use the budget elsewhere. |
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Post by Cybermortis on Sept 23, 2017 18:20:10 GMT
There are a lot of Trek veterans involved in The Orville, and from the looks of it a lot of big fans.
Several of the set scenes will have used swinging sets (meaning sets that are designed to be reworked to be multiple locations). One example is in the third episode, where the 'mess room' conversation between the two main characters is actually a redress of one of the main corridor set. (Trek did this a lot as well - all of the crew quarters in TNG were the same redressed set. And almost every area on the Enterprise in the 5th and 6th films were actually TNG sets redressed for the older ship)
One of the things that I've seen commented on is how The Orville is actually a character, rather than an effects, driven series. In one of the episodes they are dealing with a situation that on Trek would have (and in fact actually was, twice) a B-story. Here they solve this situation in less than a minute in a professional manner (Which also shows that the crew does actually know what they are doing) and move onto the main story.
In this regards it seems that The Orville has avoided the mistake Enterprise and Voyager made in focusing on visuals and effects. Instead they seem to be using the visuals and effects as they are needed as part of the story, rather than just for their own sake. I'd say that in this regards The Orville has found the right balance.
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Post by the light works on Sept 23, 2017 18:40:46 GMT
I preferred the balance of episode 3 more over the balance of episode 2 or 1, your results may vary.
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Post by Lokifan on Sept 23, 2017 18:46:04 GMT
In a way, the comedy bits may actually free them up structurally.
Like "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"--even the title of that show was absurd. But, because they aren't trying so hard to be constantly Serious Drama, they can get away with being serious when they want to--the contrast makes for interesting drama.
I'm starting to like that contrast. It may get old, as the comedy is somewhat ham-fisted at times, but I'm still willing to give it a shot.
I'm really starting to see the resemblance to "Galaxy Quest".
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Post by GTCGreg on Sept 25, 2017 3:11:16 GMT
Just watched Star Trek Discovery. Pretty good. At $60 per year (commercials included), don't think I'll be watching episode two.
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Post by the light works on Sept 25, 2017 3:38:35 GMT
not sure I'm even going to watch the premiere. forgot to program the DVR, and don't know if I want to look for a repeat or not.
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Post by GTCGreg on Sept 25, 2017 3:54:39 GMT
not sure I'm even going to watch the premiere. forgot to program the DVR, and don't know if I want to look for a repeat or not. CBS screwed up my DVR recording anyway. They did a cast interview type show for the first 15 minutes and then started the actual first episode 15 minutes late. So my DVR missed recording the last 15 minutes. I wasn't going to watch it until tomorrow but had the TV on in the background while I was working and saw what was happening. So I stopped working on the new shower and watched the whole show. |
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Post by Lokifan on Sept 25, 2017 4:03:39 GMT
Just watched Star Trek Discovery. Pretty good. At $60 per year (commercials included), don't think I'll be watching episode two. To be honest, I found it kind of slow, and a little off. I'd like to see another episode, but for much less than $60 I'll probably rent it in a few months. |
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Post by GTCGreg on Sept 25, 2017 4:11:04 GMT
Just watched Star Trek Discovery. Pretty good. At $60 per year (commercials included), don't think I'll be watching episode two. To be honest, I found it kind of slow, and a little off. I'd like to see another episode, but for much less than $60 I'll probably rent it in a few months. Right. Too much time on Klingon burial rituals. That said, I'd still watch episode two if it was on free TV or on one of the other streaming services I'm already paying for. Even if there was something else on CBS access that I wanted to see I might be able to justify it, but for just Discovery? No. |
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Post by WhutScreenName on Sept 25, 2017 19:14:15 GMT
**Caution** Not necessarily spoilers, but not trying to shy away from them either **
I saw it and was disappointed. I didn't have high hopes to start with, and they didn't even meet my low expectations. First, I hated the new Klingons, didn't care for any part of them. In addition to the new look of them, they are pompous windbags who seem to mumble. WAY too much talk and not enough action for a race that is known for "It's a good day to die". They also redesigned the Klingon ships. I'm not sure about those, the different styles are okay, as long as they also keep the ones we've all come to know and like.
I also didn't care for the scale of the whole show/episode. I felt as though they tried to make it be some grand event, but fell short. "My species was bread for 1 thing and 1 thing alone. That was to sense death, and I sense it now" comes to mind. It just had the feel of trying too hard.
Oh, and another thing I didn't like was the cliff hanger ending. I understand they are trying to get you to purchase their streaming service, but a cliff hanger, leaving the episode like they did, is nothing more than a cheap ploy.
Getting those things I didn't like out of the way (there's more, but not worth mentioning) one of the things I did like is the Michael character, (played by Sonequa Green) who is supposed to be Spock's step sister. Loved her role and the way she was portrayed. I thought Sonequa did an excellent job with her. She's a good mix of logic, and human emotion. She has passion, humor, excitement and fear, while also possessing a strong ability to be analytical. I would prefer if she was just some human raised on Vulcan rather than Spocks step sister, but the character is strong.
Overall, IF it was on 'free' TV, I would continue to watch it because I like Star Trek, but will not pay to watch it, especially since Orvill has more potential already.
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