Anybody watch The Orville? I taped the first two. I was utterly underwhelmed by the pilot and thought maybe I misunderstood when it was billed as a comedy. I didn't laugh once. It seemed like a fan-fiction ripoff of Star Trek: The New Generation except even brander. But since pilots oftentimes have to spend too much time explaining their world and who the characters are, I gave it a second shot with another episode yet again it was not funny at all and played like a poor man's Star Trek: The New Generation with the serial numbers filed off. Not a single laugh or even appreciative smile was earned. Did anybody think this show was any good? I can't imagine it will last much longer. I expect it has only gotten this far because Seth McFarlane has a lot of clout with the network. About the only thing I found watchable was the captain's hot ex-wife executive officer:
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Didn't she play Wonder Woman as a brunette?
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I guess I was thinking it would be a little more fun (and funny) like Galaxy Quest without the conceit of actors being caught up in their roles for real.

I haven't seen it yet, but I imagined it would be Seth McFarlane's nostalgia for 80's sci-fi (TNG in particular) made into a TV show, so I'm not surprised by your impression.

It seems a bit serious for a comedy. But since quite a bit of the comedy in the first two episodes fell flat with me, I'm OK with that. The third episode had relatively little comedy.

It does follow the American TV Trope of the women being smart/competent and most of the men being tools/fools.

Quote from: Tod13;995726It seems a bit serious for a comedy. But since quite a bit of the comedy in the first two episodes fell flat with me, I'm OK with that. The third episode had relatively little comedy.

It does follow the American TV Trope of the women being smart/competent and most of the men being tools/fools.

I haven't seen the third episode. It's taped and waiting but whether I get around to it depends on time. After the first two being dull, I may not even bother. I was hoping it would be funny. Coming from The Family Guy guy, it's surprisingly unfunny and surprisingly PC.

I saw the first three episodes and didn't fall asleep which makes it better than Star Trek Discovery, otherwise it looks like a Seth McFarlane vanity project.

Quality program. My problem is that I don't need another Star Trek. And if you are going to spoof Star Trek, let's at least make it hilarious.

Yeah, it's not exactly funny. Seth McFarlane is a comic genius, great voice actor, and musical talent, but he's not an actor. All I ever see is Seth in a Star Trek uniform. Still, the "it's comedy" let's me overlook goofiness, which drove me nuts in the Star Trek Discovery pilot (which wasn't anywhere near as terrible as I worried it might be). I'd like to have a thread about the new Star Trek show...I think it's fair to discuss both of these shows in context to each other, too.

I am sad to hear Orville is not a comedy. GalaxyQuest: the TV show is a no brainer.

I actually still can't understand why Ghostbusters isn't a live TV show.

Quote from: Dumarest;995770I haven't seen the third episode. It's taped and waiting but whether I get around to it depends on time. After the first two being dull, I may not even bother. I was hoping it would be funny. Coming from The Family Guy guy, it's surprisingly unfunny and surprisingly PC.

For the bolded portion, as a bioinformatician, I know correlation isn't causation, but it's a good place to start looking. LOL

I liked it , thought it was fun and was pleasantly surprised it wasn't "comedy all the time" - but had actual science fiction drama for at least 50% or more of each episode.

Oh, and Seth McFarlane? For years I have his animated shows on Fox and mostly disliked him in general. If this show reflects something close to his real personality then he should have done this sooner. I can forgive all the money making obnoxious cartoons he did for 'Fox' - if that was what gained him enough clout to be able to get the green light for this show.

Its fun and on the optimistic side of Sci Fi  - many days people need a little bit of that.

- Ed C.

Watched the 3rd episode. It's basically turned into Star Trek: The New Generation with a different cast and the serial numbers filed off. Note for note. Not sure why this was billed as a comedy. Three episodes, zero laughs. I've deleted it from the "to record" queue. I didn't like The New Generation 30 years ago; I don't need a remake.

Quote from: Dumarest;995770it's surprisingly unfunny and surprisingly PC.

I laughed quite a few times, but other times the humor felt reeeeealy forced. The effects though and the "look" of the show has been great (IMO) and it feels more "Star Trek" than Discovery so far.

The 3rd episode though when full SJW which really turned me off, but I'll keep giving it a chance, at least for the rest of the season.

Based on the reviews of Orville and Discovery, I am sure to...just play Starcraft instead.

Quote from: Gwarh;996349The 3rd episode though when full SJW which really turned me off, but I'll keep giving it a chance, at least for the rest of the season.

Really?? I didn't see any so-called "SJW" material in that episode - and I'm supposedly a conservative asshole according to many on here.
It is a Fun Sci Fi show.
 We kind of need that these days.

- Ed C.

Quote from: Gwarh;996349The 3rd episode though when full SJW which really turned me off, but I'll keep giving it a chance, at least for the rest of the season.

I actually thought it could be read either way, since the protagonists were opposing a sex change operation, but it was poorly written so who knows? The courtroom scene was idiotic; the "big reveal" about the writer came from nowhere and made no sense. But I stopped recording the show mainly because it was boring rather than anything to do with any supposed political content.