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The Orville (TV show)

I can only think of Buck Rogers, from 1980, where they changed the show from "defend the Earth" in the first season to "second-rate Star Trek clone" in the second season. Anyway, The Orville is already a complete and total Star Trek ripoff from episode 1, or homage if you'd rather, and quite deliberately so. (The only thing missing is transporters, but since transporters are actually a really bad idea from a drama/writing perspective, that's for the best.)

--Eric
 
Looks like the season finale is a good old "prime directive" story with an "alternate universe" thrown in with some indirect "time travel". Reminds me of a Voyager episode and a TNG episode (among a few others). I think we are just missing a "holodeck malfunction".
 
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I think they're going to avoid that, for the same reason they avoided having transporters.

--Eric
 
MadeTheSwitch said:
Farscape. Until they screwed it up and cut the planned 5th season. SyFy screws up everything. Farscape was an amazing show with excellent writing and deserved better. Never have forgived them for that.
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Oh hellz yea. Farscape was amazing! One of my favorites ever.

The Orville has done well in its first short season. I went from luke-warm, to fully loving it. Still not a Seth McFarlane fan, but the show is maturing nicely.
 
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Eric5h5 said:
Anyway, The Orville is already a complete and total Star Trek ripoff from episode 1, or homage if you'd rather, and quite deliberately so.
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At the risk of sounding like a pedant, or an apologist for this show, I'd say there is an important distinction between the two. A ripoff takes another show's ideas ideas and presents them as original, without acknowledging the source, whereas an homage consciously and transparently reflects the feel and features of other work. I think The Orville is an example of the latter rather than the former.

At first I thought this would make me dislike the show, but it actually makes for a pleasing contrast with the dark, gritty turn recent ST efforts have adopted, which I am not too big a fan of. There is plenty of gritty Sci-Fi out there, Star Trek has always been one of the more upbeat Sci-Fi shows and I prefer it that way.
 
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That's true, ripoff does have negative connotations. On another note, I find it pretty amusing they're (apparently intentionally) doing the "captain repeatedly puts himself in danger" thing from TOS that TNG deliberately stopped doing.

--Eric
 
Eric5h5 said:
That's true, ripoff does have negative connotations. On another note, I find it pretty amusing they're (apparently intentionally) doing the "captain repeatedly puts himself in danger" thing from TOS that TNG deliberately stopped doing.

--Eric
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Not just that, but following standard Star Trek Landing Party Procedure: always send the top four or five ranking officers on risky away missions.
 
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Eric5h5 said:
That's true, ripoff does have negative connotations. On another note, I find it pretty amusing they're (apparently intentionally) doing the "captain repeatedly puts himself in danger" thing from TOS that TNG deliberately stopped doing.

--Eric
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Lord Blackadder said:
Not just that, but following standard Star Trek Landing Party Procedure: always send the top for or five ranking officers on risky away missions.
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At least they are avoiding the cliche of an extraneous "redshirt"/ensign of some sort also being there to take the fall when something happens.
 
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C DM said:
At least they are avoiding the cliche of an extraneous "redshirt"/ensign of some sort also being there to take the fall when something happens.
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Oh, I love that part!

Actually, what they should do is incorporate a running joke whereby the redshirts consistently survive seemingly fatal accidents or attacks.
 
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Lord Blackadder said:
At first I thought this would make me dislike the show, but it actually makes for a pleasing contrast with the dark, gritty turn recent ST efforts have adopted, which I am not too big a fan of. There is plenty of gritty Sci-Fi out there, Star Trek has always been one of the more upbeat Sci-Fi shows and I prefer it that way.
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With that said, Quentin Tarantino will be working on the next ST movie...

(latest news - surprise, it will be "Rated R"... )

http://deadline.com/2017/12/quentin...rew-pearce-lindsay-beer-jj-abrams-1202222161/

Meanwhile, elsewhere on the web, the "new" Star Trek fans are all over this. Down with the "Nostalgia Blind"... :eek:
 
gkarris said:
With that said, Quentin Tarantino will be working on the next ST movie...

(latest news - surprise, it will be "Rated R"... )

http://deadline.com/2017/12/quentin...rew-pearce-lindsay-beer-jj-abrams-1202222161/

Meanwhile, elsewhere on the web, the "new" Star Trek fans are all over this. Down with the "Nostalgia Blind"... :eek:
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Depressing news. Star Trek is just going to become Inglorious Basterds meets Sci-Fi.

I like the casting on the current ST films, but not the plots, pacing or tone. It's all pitched to a modern audience - violent, dark, ultra fast-paced, with smug little asides at inappropriate times and plenty of in-jokes...just like every other film out there these days.
 
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Lord Blackadder said:
Depressing news. Star Trek is just going to become Inglorious Basterds meets Sci-Fi.

I like the casting on the current ST films, but not the plots, pacing or tone. It's all pitched to a modern audience - violent, dark, ultra fast-paced, with smug little asides at inappropriate times and plenty of in-jokes...just like every other film out there these days.
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I think Disney will do Seth's shows fine, especially The Orville....

Disney will be all over Seth - who is an Animator:


(Ship models, oh please, oh please, oh please...)

Meanwhile, I thought the final episode was incredible - the best of the season.
 
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MadeTheSwitch said:
Farscape. Until they screwed it up and cut the planned 5th season. SyFy screws up everything. Farscape was an amazing show with excellent writing and deserved better. Never have forgived them for that.
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Farscape was amazing! I loved that show.

So far, I'm liking The Orville. It's not great, but I do enjoy watching it.
 
C DM said:
Which ones became rip-offs of Star Trek, out of curiosity?
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Perhaps I misworded my post. What I meant to say was I don't want The Orville to become a ripoff of Star Trek like how current shows are ripoffs of other shows.
 
It's already as much of a ri—er, homage as it could be without violating copyright laws, so if it doesn't bother you now I guess it never will.

--Eric
 
Eric5h5 said:
It's already as much of a ri—er, homage as it could be without violating copyright laws, so if it doesn't bother you now I guess it never will.

--Eric
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You're right and that is one of the things that I don't like about The Orville.
 
USAFA2008 said:
Perhaps I misworded my post. What I meant to say was I don't want The Orville to become a ripoff of Star Trek like how current shows are ripoffs of other shows.
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Seth is a huge Star Trek Fan so that's the point of the show.

Plus you start to wonder if he knew about the re-imagining of Star Trek going on right now (thus leaving previous Fans behind) so he put this show together for them.

Hence the whole discrepancy between Critics likes and Fan likes.
 
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gkarris said:
Seth is a huge Star Trek fan so that the point of the show.

Plus you start to wonder if he knew about the re-imagining of Star Trek going on right now (thus leaving previous Fans behind) so he put this show together for them.

Hence the whole discrepancy between Critics likes and Fan likes.
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That makes sense. Is your avatar the logo that the actors in The Orville have on their uniforms?
 
I just watched the “Binars” episode of Startrek Next Generation, and at my most generous, The Orville is worth some chuckles, is watchable, but is a sad imitation of STNG. Sorry... but I am still watching it. :D
 
gkarris said:
Behind MGM's new Stargate pay-wall - it already has... :(
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If I was not stationed overseas I would agree with you but I have learned to use other means to watch my TV shows. Hopefully Stargate Origins will be available to watch.
 
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