The Orville

Venom

Yggr of Asgard wrote: »

I have no idea what i just watched.

It's not a spoof, it's not a real star trek, it's not a comedy, it's not a drama, what was this?

It's super cheap looking bad TV and not even close to it's so bad it's good TV either

What hit me the most watching this episode, was just how utterly crap the sets looked and overall feel of the show. This looked more like something fans would make for Youtube!

Skerries

it's too on the nose for Trek, it needed to have it's own shtick
everything was TNG from the music to the fade aways with only a smattering of the funny
definitely a wasted effort where it could have been it's own thing but has failed

squonk

I was a little disappointed. From the trailers I expected a bit more. On the other hand when it wasn’t terrible, it wasnt fantastic either. Very much stealing from Trek and like others have said, the visuals are a little cheap looking.

What kills it for me is the bickering between the captain and his wife. I don’t know, I kind of want to like it but it’s a little hard.

That being said, it’s the pilot So there is plenty of time for it to improve. Given that this is Seth McFarlane, I don’t think it’s wrong to expect very average TV. I do like family guy But all of his other efforts have been lost on me. The biggest problem with it Is that all that CGI Has to be costing money even if it looks fairly cheap. I think they might cut back on that in future episodes. I’m willing to give it a chance. I think it deserves A run. TNG Took the best part of the season to get into its stride.

To put things in perspective, I wrote off scorpion when I saw the pilot. That show has been retooled And developed over time and now it’s one of my favourite guilty pleasure shows. I’m willing to give this a chance. I might decide by episode six whether I’m in or out.

CastorTroy

Have it on the hard drive, but probably won't bother with it. Bright side is we may get Bobbi back on Agents of SHIELD.

It actually feels like it would play better without the attempted humour.

The sets are killing it. There is still potential there though, kinda unfair to write it off at pilot

TerrorFirmer

Thought the same, the actual effects are pretty good but the sets are horrible, but perhaps they're actually going for that tacky 90's vibe intentionally to tap into that 'Star Trek' vein.

I sorta liked the pilot, but it's a weird one - feels more like a normal episode of Star Trek that Seth McFarlene scribbled a few jokes into rather than an actual original comedy modelled on Star Trek. Not what I was expecting but I'd happily watch more all the same.

pixelburp

Deleted User wrote: »

[...] There is still potential there though, kinda unfair to write it off at pilot

When has that ever stopped the internet? And not like there aren't people queuing up to dump on Discovery before it has even aired...

I said 'vanity project' earlier & having actually watched the first episode, there's no doubt that's precisely what it was conceived as; and beyond a chance for McFarlane to lead in his own personal Fan Trek from the 90s, I really don't see what the point of the show is, or indeed what the demographic is.

If I want to watch Star Trek - I'll watch Star Trek, not a slavish pastiche or knock-off that obviously doesn't have access to the licenses, but is undaunted in painfully trying to copy every-single-facet of Trek lore on the sly. I mean, charming, they've recreated the TNG era music, and look there's Penny Johnson, but so what? Again, I'd rather be watching Johnson flirt with Captain Sisko than play straight-women to a bunch of whacky goofs.

And it wasn't just the riffs on Trek that was dated, the comedy was too; ho-boy, the comedy stunk. Really insipid sitcom clichés; bickering exes, men-children behaving like idiots, etc. etc., all the while McFarlane trying to be both leading man & comic sidekick at the same time. That man needs a tight leash, but clearly Fox aren't interested in reigning him in...

Unless I read here of a significant uptick, I'd say it's a hard pass & I await a fairly deserved cancellation. The epitome of pointlessness.

OU812

I'll be honest, I kinda liked it.

The bad:
Some of the gags didn't land
Some of the characters dont work (robot type guy)
The bridge set is WAY too big - the Command chair looks lost in it.

The good:
Likeable characters for the most part
Pretty decent sfx
A coherent story

But I think it's biggest problem is it's too long. It should be a half hour show, it'd be much tighter then. That & McFarlane shouldn't have taken the lead role. It would be better if the roles were reversed & he was the XO & she was the captain.

I'll give it another couple of episodes, but I reckon it'll be cancelled as it's probably too expensive to produce for the relitively small numbers it'll pull.

marcbrophy

I watched it last night and I liked it!
It was exactly as I expected it to be, and I wasn't surprised in anyway. That's both the best and worst thing I can say about it.

I think the critics are being very harsh on this, just my opinion of course.
All I'm saying is, that by season 5 everyone will love it

James Brown

I thought it was decent. Not always going for the obvious parody gag. It's a slower pace than the average U.S. sitcom, which is refreshing but might not bode well for the mainstream U.S. market that needs keys jangled in it's face on a consistent basis.

I'm really not sure about this.

_Kaiser_

As I said in the Trek forum..

Re watched it there and it's actually pretty decent.

Sure some of the jokes don't land but they're pretty well-spaced and even the crew scene in the shuttle bay works if you take it in context of a new, not quite ready Captain trying somewhat awkwardly to bond with his senior officers.

I honestly think it's getting too much of a slating in the "pro" reviews - it's by no means perfect, but it's S01 E01 and it's definitely very watchable I think.

The music is VERY trek as I said before.. when the Krill ship arrives for example is very DS9 during the Dominion War era.

Agent Coulson

This is considered a Drama!

‘The Orville’ Lands Broadcast’s Top Drama Premiere Since ‘This Is Us’

http://www.thewrap.com/seth-macfarlane-the-orville-premiere-best-drama-ratings-since-this-is-us/

_Kaiser_

It seems to me like the "establishment" in Hollywood/TV critic land have panned it more because they don't like MacFarlane and Family Guy, rather than judging the show itself. The audience reaction on sites like IMDB and Rotten Tomatoes seems extremely positive

I watched it again and liked it. Think that the bridge is a mistake, too big and characters get lost in it

jimmycrackcorm

I was very disappointed in the pilot. Maybe I had high expectations as I'm a fan of Seth.

I was electing it to be more of a comedic spoof but it appears to be bordering on 80% star trek alternative with a few comedic lines thrown in.

The whole ex wife thing was just totally lame. Some light hearted blue squishy early on followed by the intentional tussle between the personalities of the two exes and finally she is the serious hero who got him the job.

But then when do pilots really work? Case in point: The BBT pilot is atrocious compared to the series now.

Mr E

The premier had the highest numbers for a new drama on Fox since Empire, with 11.3m viewers.

Any prediction as to how far that falls for Episode 2?

Interesting to see that it's billed as a drama and not comedy too.

http://www.comingsoon.net/tv/news/888037-the-orville-is-foxs-largest-drama-premiere-since-empire#/slide/1

Yggr of Asgard

Mr E wrote: »

The premier had the highest numbers for a new drama on Fox since Empire, with 11.3m viewers.

Any prediction as to how far that falls for Episode 2?

Interesting to see that it's billed as a drama and not comedy too.

http://www.comingsoon.net/tv/news/888037-the-orville-is-foxs-largest-drama-premiere-since-empire#/slide/1

65%

_Kaiser_

Just watched episode 2 and after a bit of a ropey start

with Alara

, it picked up pretty well I thought though

the scene with his parents on the viewscreen went on too long

Title sequence is straight out of Voyager. Reviews seem pretty positive as well.

James Brown

Saw the second. It's decent, not great but I'll keep giving it a go.

TerrorFirmer

I actually really enjoyed that second episode. It's starting to find a pretty good groove for itself - basically Star Trek with injected humor, not as overdone as you would expect from a Seth McFarlene show either. He's actually showing huge restraint with the gags all things considered.

Yeah....really liked that one. Will definitely keep watching now.

squonk

Yeah I liked that too. Pretty good second episode. I was quite surprised after last week. It really felt like Star Trek this time. Some extra humour but the base story was actually pretty ok. It gets a thumbs up from me. Next week we have the Orville and the Real Thing back on our screens with Star Trek: Discivery. Monday nights are looking pretty good!

Agent Coulson

Moves to Thursday night from this Thursday coming.

Much better second episode. Felt closer to Star Gate than Star Trek though, just with a lot of the campiness and tone.

OK that was actually very frikken good. My only worry is they will have McFarlane as overly central. It'll work with him as the anchor but don't know if he will work as sole primary

_Kaiser_

Deleted User wrote: »

Much better second episode. Felt closer to Star Gate than Star Trek though, just with a lot of the campiness and tone.

Yea, Bortas is definitely more Teal'C than Worf I think.

expectationlost

is so lifeless and boring so much dead air

Also Starring LeVar Burton

Having seen the reviews, I went in with no expectations, and thought the first episode was 'meh', but I decided to give it another chance and I actually quite enjoyed the second episode. It's essentially Star Trek Lite, but the supporting cast are quite good and given a chance I can see this becoming half decent fare.

SB_Part2

I watched the first episode last night. I thought it was supposed to be a comedy but was happy enough with it being more of a 'drama'.

I think the jokes that I found funny were the ones that only people who've watched Star Trek would get.

Them fighting and everyone on the bridge being able to hear

Your man asking could he have a drink on the bridge

The other guy going to the toilet

They are all things I remember thinking to myself about the original series of Star Trek so they gave me a giggle.

humanji

Yeah, I'm also kind of happy that it's a homage to Star Trek rather than spoof. I did laugh out loud at a few of the little jokes that took me by surprise. But it does feel like it's not sure whether to be a Seth McFarlene comedy or a straight Star Trek ripoff, and so can feel pretty uneven.

It's not the greatest show in the world, but it's an easy watch.