# The Orville-Seth McFarlane **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 17, 2017, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814 "2017-05-17T03:28:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 13
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2017, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/241 "2017-09-16T17:46:11Z")
> [@Arkcon](#): > > Or is this just a “What?” moment thrown in to keep us talking about it? I think the most obvious and logical explanation is that they plan on making a lot of episodes, and are setting up his character for future references to the “most confident and popular guy on the ship who’s really good at his job” idea; note that Mercer was visibly impressed with his resume. John LaMarr seems largely concerned with how he gets along with other people; the only other real interaction we have with him is when he scopes our Gordon, and later encourages him when he has to save the shuttle. There’s not much else to it. They can’t dig into every character in 42 minutes without the show being hardly anything else. > [@Darren Garrison](#): > > Also, they have more than 3,000 ships to fill (how many ships were supposed to be in Starfleet) and The Orville isn’t an especially significant one. This isn’t a flagship crew, these are the leftovers. Starfleet is smaller than any sort of logic would dictate, by virtue of anything we’re told. For instance, at the Battle of Wolf-359, the Borg cube destroys 39 ships; this is presented as being the best the Federation could pull together to face the Borg ship, though they had substantial advance notice. I have to point out that Wolf-359 is not in the Federation boondocks; it’s the fifth-closest star to the Earth besides the Sun. This battle is suggested to be a significant blow to the Federation’s battle capability. Considering how frigging big space is, a fleet of thousands of ships would seem to make more sense for a large interstellar empire than a fleet that is severely mauled by the loss of 39 ships. ---
**Author:** ![Arkcon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Arkcon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arkcon)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2017, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/242 "2017-09-16T19:30:04Z")
> [@](#): > > There’s not much else to it. They can’t dig into every character in 42 minutes without the show being hardly anything else. Whoo…careful, there were many such episodes in NextGen and later Treks. I guess trying to compensate for letting Shatner get all the focus in ToS, we were often treated to a Tom Paris episode, or a Geordi episode, or the like. That said, focusing on a character can be lots of fun – Worf episodes always good, DS9 Ferengi episodes are mostly good (I stopped watching before Quark’s short term sex change) those episodes really tell a story that fills you in on something in the background of the race. Thing is, maybe you’ve got it right. Maybe the only thing about Lamar is that he drinks soda in the job. Heck, he’s doing what we’re doing – sitting in a comfy chair and watching a screen to see what people are doing. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2017, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/243 "2017-09-16T19:39:40Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > Oh geez, is that all? That is an actual conversation many of us have had or heard working in office environments. Some firms back in the dark ages of the 90s did not want people eating or drinking at their desks. Most commonly as the computer equipment was considered a major expense at the time and sensitive to spills and crumbs. Less commonly was just a general concern about people with poor house keeping skills and the resultant vermin they might attract. > > Places seem to be far more lax about these concerns, but it was a thing. Yeah, the joke is that the transfer of power to a new captain on a 25th century starship is basically the same as having a new middle manager show up in the office. The manager has a bunch of big plans for the department. Everyone else just wonders if they get to keep the same unofficial “perks” that they got from the last guy, like drinking soda at your desk, or getting off ten minutes early on Tuesday so you can pick up your kid from soccer practice, or if the new guy will be bringing in bagels on Fridays like the old guy did? ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2017, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/244 "2017-09-16T21:04:30Z")
I liked it, but I would NOT characterize it as a comedy, or even a dromedy. It is just a space show where the people are a little more normal than on most shows, acting informal and joking around. I called it (to myself) “Hipsters In Space.” I doubt McFarlane even thinks he is being funny. He’s just being himself. (He would have said “I loosened it for you” without even expecting to get a laugh out of anyone.) Loved seeing Kassidy Yates pop up as the Doc, and the designer of Titanic as the Admiral. And did anyone else think the Krill look a lot like Jem’Hadar soldiers? ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2017, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/245 "2017-09-16T21:53:13Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Also, they have more than 3,000 ships to fill (how many ships were supposed to be in Starfleet) and The Orville isn’t an especially significant one. This isn’t a flagship crew, these are the leftovers. I was wondering about this… did I miss something where they explained why they built so many ships they couldn’t crew that they were literally scraping the bottom of the barrel to find a captain for this one? It was kind of implied with the final conversation with the Commander that she got the captain the posting, but they were talking earlier in the show about having so many ships to fill. Did they find a sudden cache of hidden ships, or did somebody win the lottery? And, about the insignificant part… every time they showed us the huge docking station in space, I had to look to see where the ship was. That terminal was built for ships waaaayyyy larger than the Orville. ---
**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:** [September 16, 2017, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/246 "2017-09-16T22:04:42Z")
Perhaps they are counting the equivalent of PT boats, tugs and garbage scows. ---
**Author:** ![Arkcon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Arkcon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arkcon)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2017, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/247 "2017-09-16T22:41:14Z")
Many of those “Science of Star Trek”-type books,blogs, message board posting, etc. point some variation of this out. The more carefully we study it,the more unfeasible and implausible the entire concept becomes. DS9, urm Terak Nor, had those huge pylons that didn’t do anything also. Seth MacFarlane decided to hang a lampshade on it, pointing out how big the quadrant is, and how few ships the really have to cover the whole thickness of the galactic disk, even if its just a quarter. Personally, I’d say that they had a federation covering a bit of one spiral arm that happened to contain Earth and be done with it. Who wants to claim the empty bits between the spiral arms in each quadrant? Meh. Maybe later the Orville will claim that’s what they mean by “quadrant.” There should be millions of robot probes, automated telescopes and other things I can’t envision doing the grunt work of managing space. And why is the advanced time manipulation science done on a space station far from Earth. Is rent too high on Earth? I saw it, it didn’t look as built up as Courscant. And are there colonies on other planets, because cynical people are always ripping up that concept. But this is what’s fun for me. Just how many lampshades will Seth MacFarlane hang on Trek and sci-fi in general. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2017, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/248 "2017-09-16T22:48:59Z")
> [@Arkcon](#): > > Many of those “Science of Star Trek”-type books,blogs, message board posting, etc. point some variation of this out. The more carefully we study it,the more unfeasible and implausible the entire concept becomes. DS9, urm Terak Nor, had those huge pylons that didn’t do anything also. The docking pylons were made for [docking](http://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/memoryalpha/images/6/66/Galaxy_class_docked_at_DS9.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20140806221821&path-prefix=en). Of course, Cardassian design does tend to be a bit grandiose. Maybe the Orville’s Planetary Union shares the same architects. ---
**Author:** ![Arkcon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Arkcon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arkcon)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2017, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/249 "2017-09-16T23:10:04Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > The docking pylons were made for [docking](http://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/memoryalpha/images/6/66/Galaxy_class_docked_at_DS9.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20140806221821&path-prefix=en). Annnddd, when did a ship dock there? The Defiant? The Enterprise on the first episode? Every other ship is tiny relative to the pylons. What’s in the pylons? Giant empty space? Crew elevators for a bazilion crew to disembark at once? Cargo lifters? Refueling batteries? > [@](#): > > Of course, Cardassian design does tend to be a bit grandiose. Maybe the Orville’s Planetary Union shares the same architects. Place to stick a lampshade? ---
**Author:** ![OttoDaFe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ottodafe/32/356_2.png) [@OttoDaFe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OttoDaFe)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2017, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/250 "2017-09-16T23:22:04Z")
> [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > \<…\> > > And did anyone else think the Krill look a lot like Jem’Hadar soldiers? My daughter’s boyfriend and I were speculating that they might be an albino offshoot of the Jem’Hadar. And that whatever their origin, they apparently got their shooting skills from the Imperial Stormtroopers. Regarding Admiral Halsey, there’s an aviation link with him as well: he was offered command of the USS Saratoga in 1934, subject to completion of training as an air observer (traditionally only aviators can command USN carriers). Instead, he opted for pilot training and won his wings at the age of 52 — the oldest newly-hatched pilot in USN history, a record highly unlikely to be broken. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2017, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/251 "2017-09-16T23:41:24Z")
Saw it today. Thought it was kind of fun - a bit better than the negative reviews I’d been reading. I doubt I’d stick with it if it weren’t a Trek like show, but hopefully it will improve. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2017, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/252 "2017-09-17T00:24:27Z")
> [@Arkcon](#): > > Annnddd, when did a ship dock there? The Defiant? Not the _Defiant_. That docked on one of the smaller ports on the outer ring. The runabouts also had interior docking bays. The docking pylons were made for large starships and you do see them there, such as the _Enterprise_ during the DS9 pilot and TNG: _Birthright_, and other large starships during the Dominion war. > [@](#): > > What’s in the pylons? Giant empty space? Crew elevators for a bazilion crew to disembark at once? Cargo lifters? Refueling batteries? There are crew quarters and other miscellaneous facilities there. Of course, a lot of it is unused because the station was built by the Cardassians for vastly more people and traffic than the Federation ever put there. My point is just that the design of DS9 isn’t as arbitrary as you seem to imply. They did put a little thought into it. ---
**Author:** ![Arkcon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Arkcon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arkcon)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2017, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/253 "2017-09-17T00:29:14Z")
And _The Orville_ coped it, 'cause why not, really. Except why in the first place, really. This is getting circular. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2017, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/254 "2017-09-17T00:33:20Z")
> [@Arkcon](#): > > And _The Orville_ coped it, 'cause why not, really. Except why in the first place, really. This is getting circular. Like DS9! ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2017, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/255 "2017-09-17T01:46:44Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > …Of course, Cardassian design does tend to be a bit grandiose. Maybe the Orville’s Planetary Union shares the same architects. Does anyone else find the name Planetary Union a little odd? Union of Planets or even _Inter_planetary Union suggest an organization composed of multiple planets; Planetary Union sounds like a planet wide government. :smack: It’d be like if the United Nations evolved into a world government and was renamed National Union. ---
**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:** [September 17, 2017, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/256 "2017-09-17T01:56:35Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > Like DS9! Like Orville! ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2017, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/257 "2017-09-17T02:05:16Z")
> [@Arkcon](#): > > And _The Orville_ coped it, 'cause why not, really. Except why in the first place, really. This is getting circular. I honestly have no idea what point you’re trying to make now. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2017, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/258 "2017-09-17T02:38:45Z")
> [@Arkcon](#): > > Annnddd, when did a ship dock there? Virtually every episode, before the war. Not always shown (because a TV budget wouldn’t allow that much use of expensive FX), but frequently mentioned, and often plot-relevant. ---
**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:** [September 17, 2017, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/259 "2017-09-17T03:35:36Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > Does anyone else find the name Planetary Union a little odd? Union of Planets or even _Inter_planetary Union suggest an organization composed of multiple planets; Planetary Union sounds like a planet wide government. :smack: It’d be like if the United Nations evolved into a world government and was renamed National Union. Probably so they can call it PU. ---
**Author:** ![Reluctant\_A](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/839c29/32.png) [@Reluctant\_A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reluctant_A)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2017, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/260 "2017-09-17T06:31:41Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > > [@ekedolphin](#): > > > > I liked the first episode. “Happy Arbor Day”, hee. > > > > Anyone else notice that DS9’s Kasidy Yates is the doctor? > > I recognized her as Sherry Palmer, myself. Are you guys talking about Captain Gates? > [@Declan](#): > > So far of all the cast, only Adrienne Paliki really appeals to me and thats the prob. I would prefer this show tanks, so that she goes back to Agent of Shield. Indeed: I first heard about the existence of this show after I heard that Nick Blood was returning to _AoS_, and my kneejerk reaction was, “_This_ is the reason we can’t get Bobbie back?!” > [@That\_Don\_Guy](#): > > While a number of those were quick cancellations - girls club lasted only about 3 episodes - Titus actually had more episodes air up to that point than FG did. Also, Fox hasn’t been as hasty pulling shows as it used to be; the last show I can think of that was cancelled “early” was _Utopia_ (the reality show about people living in a self-contained ecosystem of some sort). How are you defining ‘early’ in this context? I know I wasn’t the _only_ person in the world who was watching _APB_? And then, there was also _Almost Human_… Fox has hardly kicked the habit. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814.md?page=12) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814.md?page=14)