# The Orville Season 2 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** tv-shows-scripted\ **Created:** [December 31, 2018, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-season-2/826966 "2018-12-31T06:20:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 22
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2019, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-season-2/826966/421 "2019-02-02T23:05:08Z")
I also quite liked it. Best this season (not that that is saying much). Brian ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2019, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-season-2/826966/422 "2019-02-02T23:52:05Z")
> [@Kamino\_Neko](#): > > The problem with Talla for me, is they just seem to have plugged her into Alara’s role in this episode, including unearned intimacy with the rest of the crew. The ‘girl talk’ scenes were, as a result, the weakest parts of the episode. I agree. It may be that, as some have suggested, the actor who plays Alara left when they already had scripts featuring her written, and replacing her with another woman from her same planet allowed them to avoid rewrites, with some awkward shoehorning as we see here. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2019, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-season-2/826966/423 "2019-02-03T01:07:29Z")
> [@Helena330](#): > > I can believe it. There are only a couple of female senior crew members, so they probably spent at least several meals together already, even if it’s been only a week. If things click right that’s enough time to develop the beginnings of a trusting friendship. I agree it would’ve been nice to have one bonding-type scene, but it’s certainly plausible for Talla to be in on the more private conversations. The previous episode, in which the character was introduced, covers a period of more than a month, so yeah, she’s had plenty of time to forge relationships with the other crew. ---
**Author:** ![vislor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vislor/32/5933_2.png) [@vislor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vislor)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2019, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-season-2/826966/424 "2019-02-03T04:25:05Z")
> [@psychonaut](#): > > Sure it is. I, for one, am perfectly content to enjoy _The Orville_ as a thinly-veiled continuation of the TNG series I so loved in my youth. And I’m certainly not alone in this respect; it’s a sentiment I’ve seen expressed time and time again on other web forums. My wife and I were commenting on this same thing. TNG came out when I was in high school and was a bit part of my life. We re-watched them when the DVDs first came out and will watch an episode here or there. And we have liked The Orville for the same reason. It’s nostalgia. It’s like finding a lost season of TNG but somehow updated to today. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2019, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-season-2/826966/425 "2019-02-03T04:54:17Z")
Seeing the actor playing Isaac out of costume made me realize how good his robotic / “outsider” mannerisms are. There was something of the uncanny valley even though it’s just a regular human without even any makeup. Better than Data I’d say, but that’s not a slight against Brent Spiner; Data was great and it’s good we can build on that performance. Only negative for me was the ending. I mean, it’s nice to have the romantic thing but I didn’t buy that the whole crew is nonchelant about the bridge and their clothes getting soaked (they could be “in on” the surprise…but if so, why would they pretend to not know who called the doctor to the bridge?) ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2019, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-season-2/826966/426 "2019-02-03T05:28:41Z")
> [@Mijin](#): > > … > > Only negative for me was the ending. I mean, it’s nice to have the romantic thing but I didn’t buy that the whole crew is nonchelant about the bridge and their clothes getting soaked (they could be “in on” the surprise…but if so, why would they pretend to not know who called the doctor to the bridge?) Are they _really_ getting wet? ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2019, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-season-2/826966/427 "2019-02-03T07:14:16Z")
I thought they were really getting wet. > [@El\_Kabong](#): > > The previous episode, in which the character was introduced, covers a period of more than a month, so yeah, she’s had plenty of time to forge relationships with the other crew. Oh, that’s right. Good point. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2019, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-season-2/826966/428 "2019-02-03T11:58:25Z")
Yes. It wasn’t the simulator. He called in an environmental program, not a simulation. The bridge was rained on. If you mean the actors, they got wet too, but the bridge was green screen. ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2019, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-season-2/826966/429 "2019-02-03T16:12:47Z")
So why are we getting a repeat this Thu? (Same for Gotham) Seems a little early in the season. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2019, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-season-2/826966/430 "2019-02-03T16:18:13Z")
Given the context of witnessing a superintelligent robotic life form serenading a human love interest, who they all care about, to win her back? I cannot see any of them being upset over getting wet. It would have been _out of character_ for any of them tom care about that relative to what was going on. The ending made perfect sense, was well foreshadowed, showed huge character and relationship growth, yet I for one did not see it coming. Not sure how I feel about the variation of the theme with the Bortus 'stache. Is the idea another play with an alien experimenting with a human characteristic? Or the willingness to change (in this case give up the 'stache) for the sake of a relationship? ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2019, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-season-2/826966/431 "2019-02-03T16:21:31Z")
I’m pretty sure it’s just a gag, without much else to read into it. But… in the event that the show gets consistently better after this episode, Bortus growing the stache will be referred to along with Riker’s growing the beard as the turning point when the show became good. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2019, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-season-2/826966/432 "2019-02-03T16:33:13Z")
The episode had a few really funny bits (the doctor talking about how in love she was, then cut to Isaac trying to figure out how to break up after having sex; Isaac in his underwear) but there are a few older tropes in sci fi that I just don’t like. For one, any truly intelligent machine will probably have amazing social skills. Seeing how there are millions of books and scientific papers on the social sciences, any advanced AI would read and understand all of them, giving it very advanced social skills. I think humans just want to feel there is something unique and different about us, so we always portray intelligent machines as autistic because social skills make us feel unique and human. Other than that, it was an ok episode. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2019, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-season-2/826966/433 "2019-02-03T16:48:40Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > Given the context of witnessing a superintelligent robotic life form serenading a human love interest, who they all care about, to win her back? I cannot see any of them being upset over getting wet. It would have been _out of character_ for any of them tom care about that relative to what was going on. Let me clarify my objection. I’m not saying anyone would be upset or angry. Say in my office I somehow turn on the fire sprinklers as some romantic gesture. Initially, everyone is going to be shocked / alarmed: over getting wet, over equipment getting wet and generally being stopped from doing whatever they were doing. Now let’s say it’s common knowledge among people on the Orville that there are machines that can instantly dry everything on the bridge and that nothing is vulnerable to water damage, and there are no aliens that are sensitive to external water, and that the Captain wouldn’t mind something like that happening on the bridge, I still don’t buy that that eliminates 100% of the shock of being suddenly soaked. But sure, if _after_ jumping up out of their seats or whatever they then calm down and watch the romantic scene between their two good friends play out, I would have had no problem with it. IMO YMMV ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2019, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-season-2/826966/434 "2019-02-03T16:57:28Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > For one, any truly intelligent machine will probably have amazing social skills. Seeing how there are millions of books and scientific papers on the social sciences, any advanced AI would read and understand all of them, giving it very advanced social skills. I think humans just want to feel there is something unique and different about us, so we always portray intelligent machines as autistic because social skills make us feel unique and human. Agree with that: IME while individuals are unique, being better generally socially and conversationally is absolutely something that can be learned, and for the most part follows straightforward “rules”. But the reuse of these tropes is hardly unique to AI. Aliens, technology, how the crew work, conflicts…all of it has to be largely dumbed down to established tropes, with just a tiny sprinkling of “makes you think”. Otherwise no-one would be able to follow the show. If Isaac is just essentially better than everyone else in pretty much every way he’s a pretty useless character for storytelling purposes. ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2019, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-season-2/826966/435 "2019-02-03T17:26:51Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > Not sure how I feel about the variation of the theme with the Bortus 'stache. To get nitpicky - how did he actually grow that? I know that the doctor ‘stimulated the follicles’ on his lip, but we’ve seen no evidence that Moclans have any hair anywhere (and we see a lot of Moclan skin), so why would there be follicles to stimulate. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2019, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-season-2/826966/436 "2019-02-03T17:33:36Z")
Yeah, “follicle injector” would’ve made a lot more sense there. But they’re both plausibly future tech, so it’s not a big deal. ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2019, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-season-2/826966/437 "2019-02-03T17:58:27Z")
> [@E-DUB](#): > > So why are we getting a repeat this Thu? (Same for Gotham) Seems a little early in the season. The only reason I can think of is, they don’t want to put a repeat too close to the pre-emption on 3/14 for the iHeart Music Awards, and they can’t really hold off until April as _Gotham_ ends in March (and it probably makes more sense to air repeats for both shows rather than just one). ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2019, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-season-2/826966/438 "2019-02-03T18:06:24Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > For one, any truly intelligent machine will probably have amazing social skills. Seeing how there are millions of books and scientific papers on the social sciences, any advanced AI would read and understand all of them, giving it very advanced social skills. I think humans just want to feel there is something unique and different about us, so we always portray intelligent machines as autistic because social skills make us feel unique and human. Worse than that–remember, Isaac spent centuries with those “overlapping dimension” humans last season. (Okay, humans with maybe a little putty somewhere on their faces or something.) ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2019, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-season-2/826966/439 "2019-02-03T18:33:42Z")
> [@El\_Kabong](#): > > The previous episode, in which the character was introduced, covers a period of more than a month, so yeah, she’s had plenty of time to forge relationships with the other crew. Well, yeah, except that one crew member that was in prison on the planet’s surface during that time - what was her name again? ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2019, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-season-2/826966/440 "2019-02-03T19:46:34Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > For one, any truly intelligent machine will probably have amazing social skills. Seeing how there are millions of books and scientific papers on the social sciences, any advanced AI would read and understand all of them, giving it very advanced social skills. I think humans just want to feel there is something unique and different about us, so we always portray intelligent machines as autistic because social skills make us feel unique and human. I agree. The movie _ **Her** _ is a good exploration of the idea. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-season-2/826966.md?page=21) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-season-2/826966.md?page=23)