# The Orville Season 2

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-season-2/826966>\
**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:** 24

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**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 4, 2019, 11:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-season-2/826966/461 "2019-02-04T11:18:31Z")

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That’s correct, yes.

Edit: Fine. The crew was obsessing over the minute to minute details of Isaac and Claire’s relationship. When they realized that Isaac had called Claire to the bridge, they were probably expecting some grand romantic gesture. Then Isaac explicitly called in an environmental program, so they wouldn’t be confused as to where the rain came from. And they probably know all their equipment is waterproof, so there’s no danger there. I think it’s plausible to be caught up in the moment. Sure, maybe they could’ve filmed the crew with a half-second of mild shock, but it’s really not a big deal that it’s absent nor implausible, and certainly doesn’t rise to the level of plot hole.

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**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 4, 2019, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-season-2/826966/462 "2019-02-04T12:17:13Z")

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> [@SenorBeef](#):
>
> Sure, maybe they could’ve filmed the crew with a half-second of mild shock,[…]

…or react like humans do when suddenly soaked with water.

> [@](#):
>
> but it’s really not a big deal that it’s absent nor implausible, and certainly doesn’t rise to the level of plot hole.

I did not call it a plot hole. It just was a minor negative in an otherwise great episode. For a minute there everyone was acting quite unnaturally, which spoiled the scene IMO.

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**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 4, 2019, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-season-2/826966/463 "2019-02-04T12:25:17Z")

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> [@Mijin](#):
>
> …or react like humans do when suddenly soaked with water.

I said [mild shock!](https://i.imgur.com/KR93TA2.mp4)

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**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\
**Post date:** [February 4, 2019, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-season-2/826966/464 "2019-02-04T12:38:10Z")

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> [@Mijin](#):
>
> …or react like humans do when suddenly soaked with water.
> 
> I did not call it a plot hole. It just was a minor negative in an otherwise great episode. For a minute there everyone was acting quite unnaturally, which spoiled the scene IMO.

I don’t particularly react to being soaked with water. After all, I do it most every day. I’ve never figured having it happen while clothed made much difference. :rolleyes:

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**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\
**Post date:** [February 4, 2019, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-season-2/826966/465 "2019-02-04T13:02:05Z")

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> [@SenorBeef](#):
>
> So I hadn’t ever heard of Flickchart before. Sounded interesting. I signed up. My like, 8th choice was Schrek vs Schindler’s list. I don’t even know how to go about making that choice.
> 
> “Ahh, I have a saturday afternoon with nothing to do but watch movies all day. Let me recline here, pick up the remote… Hmm… Schrek… yeah that’s always enjoyable… or… Schindler’s list. Well, tha’t’s uh… Oh I don’t know, it’s so close.”

My daughter was assigned to watch Saving Private Ryan and Schindler’s List for a school report. She decided to watch them one right after the other despite my suggestion she give herself time to decompress in between. After Schindler’s List she realized I was right.

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**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 4, 2019, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-season-2/826966/466 "2019-02-04T13:08:50Z")

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> [@DSYoungEsq](#):
>
> I don’t particularly react to being soaked with water. After all, I do it most every day. I’ve never figured having it happen while clothed made much difference. :rolleyes:

Well you are very much atypical in that case.

Obviously we are at the point with this where we should just say let’s agree to disagree (although incidentally I was saying “IMO” right from the start; I was not the one trying to correct anyone here), but if you’re implying that people in general in the real world are nonchalant about getting a soaking you’re just…wrong.

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**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 4, 2019, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-season-2/826966/467 "2019-02-04T13:12:18Z")

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One time the aquarium above my office burst and my office was filled floor to ceiling with water. I didn’t even notice it until I’d already drowned 20 minutes ago.

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**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\
**Post date:** [February 4, 2019, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-season-2/826966/468 "2019-02-04T13:47:17Z")

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> [@Postariti](#):
>
> I also thought having real rain was very weird. Why exactly is the bridge wired for that?

For the same reason Krill ships are wired so the room lighting can instantly murder everyone on the ship?

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**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 4, 2019, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-season-2/826966/469 "2019-02-04T16:59:49Z")

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Regarding the rain on the bridge:

This being a Seth Macfarlane show, I expect there to be some visual gags that are unrealistic, just for the humor or spectacle of it. Overall, I don’t think we’re meant to take this show too seriously or literally–even though it may explore serious topics. The rain on the bridge works for the scene on an emotional level, not on a realistic level. Sure, you can fanwank reasons why it’s possible (as some of us have done in this thread), but ultimately the reason why there was rain on the bridge is because it was fun and romantic and that was the point of the scene, realism be damned!

If you get stuck on the implausibility of rain on the bridge and MUST find a reasonable explanation for it, I have a feeling there will be many such situations in this show that are going to drive you crazy. I mean, do you remember the episode in season 1 where Isaac amputated Malloy’s leg as a prank? Technically possible, but highly implausible that Isaac would not realize how extreme this was, or that there wouldn’t be severe repercussions for it. But it was funny!

I just think expecting rigid realism or even completely consistent internal logic from this show is going to lead to disappointment.

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**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\
**Post date:** [February 4, 2019, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-season-2/826966/470 "2019-02-04T18:29:35Z")

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> [@Johnny\_Bravo](#):
>
> Gordon and LaMarr running shoulder-to-shoulder through the ship had me laughing

_Timing_ is one of the most important elements of comedy. The instant switch to the running scene was perfectly timed and my wife and I instantly burst into laughter. Great gag.

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**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\
**Post date:** [February 4, 2019, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-season-2/826966/471 "2019-02-04T21:18:01Z")

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> [@Tangent](#):
>
> Regarding the rain on the bridge:
> 
> This being a Seth Macfarlane show, I expect there to be some visual gags that are unrealistic, just for the humor or spectacle of it.

Environmental controls probably provide for the humidity of the ship, and Issac would know how to over ride safeties to prevent condensation.

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**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\
**Post date:** [February 4, 2019, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-season-2/826966/472 "2019-02-04T21:26:57Z")

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> [@Tangent](#):
>
> This being a Seth Macfarlane show, I expect there to be some visual gags that are unrealistic,

One little thing about this episode that I appreciated, which is actually more realistic than _Star Trek_: that the concert was performed by what seems to be a touring professional orchestra that apparently travels from ship to ship.

On _TNG_, it would have been a bunch of random crew members who just happen to be professional-quality classical musicians in their spare time.

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**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\
**Post date:** [February 4, 2019, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-season-2/826966/473 "2019-02-04T21:41:21Z")

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> [@MrAtoz](#):
>
> One little thing about this episode that I appreciated, which is actually more realistic than _Star Trek_: that the concert was performed by what seems to be a touring professional orchestra that apparently travels from ship to ship.
> 
> On _TNG_, it would have been a bunch of random crew members who just happen to be professional-quality classical musicians in their spare time.

I never found the TNG way to be unrealistic. Post-industrialization but before the advent of recorded music, it was the norm for families (at least, those who weren’t desperately poor) to purchase musical instruments and cultivate musical talent. And in a post-capitalist society whose “currency” is personal achievement and reputation, I think it would be extremely common for people to have both ample time and interest for creative pursuits, such as learning to perform music to a high level. Heck, this sort of thing is common even today. Pick a random sample of 1000 people (the complement of the Enterprise-D) and I’m pretty sure you’ll find among them enough amateur or professional musicians to throw together a decent rock band, jazz ensemble, or classical quartet.

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**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 4, 2019, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-season-2/826966/474 "2019-02-04T21:43:20Z")

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> [@carnivorousplant](#):
>
> Environmental controls probably provide for the humidity of the ship, and Issac would know how to over ride safeties to prevent condensation.

> [@Tangent](#):
>
> Sure, you can fanwank reasons why it’s possible (as some of us have done in this thread), but ultimately the reason why there was rain on the bridge is because it was fun and romantic and that was the point of the scene, realism be damned!

Like I said, you can fanwank… but how likely is it that overriding condensation controls would result in a torrent of rain? :dubious: That’s some serious humidity!

This isn’t TNG. It was reasonable to nitpick the science and internal consistency in that show because they were playing it straight. _The Orville_ is not playing it straight.

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**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\
**Post date:** [February 4, 2019, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-season-2/826966/475 "2019-02-04T22:15:23Z")

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> [@psychonaut](#):
>
> Pick a random sample of 1000 people (the complement of the Enterprise-D) and I’m pretty sure you’ll find among them enough amateur or professional musicians to throw together a decent rock band, jazz ensemble, or classical quartet.

Especially when you can bop over to the holodeck and get private lessons from [the legendary musician of your choice] on your leisure time.

When \*The Orville \*is taking itself seriously, it gets a lot of stuff ‘right’ in the way we’d expect \*TNG _to get stuff ‘right.’ But it’s not always taking itself seriously and, when it’s not, we can expect realism and consistency to take a backseat to humor._ That’s why we’ll never be able to nitpick this show like we can nitpick Trek, and I say this as somebody who recognizes that nitpicking a franchise is its own kind of love language.

\*Though not thrown out of the car altogether. That’s one of the pleasant surprises about _The Orville_ - it’s a scifi show which is funny, not a funny show which happens to be science fiction. Not at all what anybody was expecting from MacFarlane, I think.

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**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\
**Post date:** [February 4, 2019, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-season-2/826966/476 "2019-02-04T22:26:19Z")

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> [@MrAtoz](#):
>
> One little thing about this episode that I appreciated, which is actually more realistic than _Star Trek_: that the concert was performed by what seems to be a touring professional orchestra that apparently travels from ship to ship.
> 
> On _TNG_, it would have been a bunch of random crew members who just happen to be professional-quality classical musicians in their spare time.

Whereas on _Star Trek_ TOS budget limitations would have made it a small group of performers doing Shakespeare on a bare stage. . . and their leader would be a disgraced former governor who had massacred his own people. . . and his daughter would be a psychopathic murderer.

And that’s why I can deal with a rain shower on the bridge.😛

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<div class="post-metadata">

**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 5, 2019, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-season-2/826966/477 "2019-02-05T00:05:12Z")

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> [@kunilou](#):
>
> Whereas on _Star Trek_ TOS budget limitations would have made it a small group of performers doing Shakespeare on a bare stage. . . and their leader would be a disgraced former governor who had massacred his own people. . . and his daughter would be a psychopathic murderer.
> 
> And that’s why I can deal with a rain shower on the bridge.😛

Well said.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**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 5, 2019, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-season-2/826966/478 "2019-02-05T03:36:57Z")

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> [@Tangent](#):
>
> If you get stuck on the implausibility of rain on the bridge and MUST find a reasonable explanation for it, I have a feeling there will be many such situations in this show that are going to drive you crazy. I mean, do you remember the episode in season 1 where Isaac amputated Malloy’s leg as a prank? Technically possible, but highly implausible that Isaac would not realize how extreme this was, or that there wouldn’t be severe repercussions for it. But it was funny!
> 
> I just think expecting rigid realism or even completely consistent internal logic from this show is going to lead to disappointment.

FTR I never had any issue whatsoever with there being rain on the bridge. I was saying the (non-)reaction of the crew was the thing that spoiled the scene IMO.  
I didn’t understand what they were doing. Their reactions were just about believable if rain on the bridge was something that happens weekly.

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**Author:** ![Biffster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biffster/32/339_2.png) [@Biffster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffster)\
**Post date:** [February 5, 2019, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-season-2/826966/479 "2019-02-05T03:58:28Z")

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It’s nice that “Singin’ in the Rain” might now be associated with more than just A Clockwork Orange.

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**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\
**Post date:** [February 5, 2019, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-season-2/826966/480 "2019-02-05T05:20:32Z")

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> [@psychonaut](#):
>
> Pick a random sample of 1000 people (the complement of the Enterprise-D) and I’m pretty sure you’ll find among them enough amateur or professional musicians to throw together a decent rock band, jazz ensemble, or classical quartet.

Jimmy Fallon used to do that with 200 people. They weren’t pros but they could put together a rando group from the audience that could put a few chords and a drum line together in an hour.

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