# 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:** 18
**Author:** ![Declan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Declan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Declan)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2017, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/341 "2017-09-19T00:06:32Z")
Turned it off about 1/3 of the way through the second ep, gonna go back to it tommorow maybe and see if it improves. Part of the problem may be that I watched it after watching the last ship, so may not be mentally prepped for warp stupid. Plus the Big Oh, looks like a baby pacifier to me. ---
**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:** [September 19, 2017, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/342 "2017-09-19T00:25:02Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > I only saw the first half of epi 2, and it is not on Spectrum TW On Demand. I watched it this morning on Spectrum On Demand. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2017, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/343 "2017-09-19T00:27:12Z")
After the second show, it reminds me of ST:TNG, which also was pretty mediocre through most of the first season. The second episode of _The Orville_ was derivative, of course, but the second episode of ST:TNG was “The Naked Now,” which was just a remake of “The Naked Time” from TOS. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2017, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/344 "2017-09-19T00:30:38Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > The second episode of _The Orville_ was derivative, of course, but the second episode of ST:TNG was “The Naked Now,” which was just a remake of “The Naked Time” from TOS. \*\*\*TOS \*\*\*had no “fully functional” android. 😃 ---
**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 19, 2017, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/345 "2017-09-19T00:49:34Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > _The Orville_ is important. > > Football isn’t. I’m on board with any opinion declaring football to be unimportant, but I’m not on #TeamOrville just yet. First episode was better than I thought it would be, haven’t had a chance to see the second yet. ---
**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:** [September 19, 2017, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/346 "2017-09-19T01:02:59Z")
I think the second episode was much, much stronger than the first. Yeah, they’re still running the cliche train, but on the other hand it’s been _years_ since Star Trek was in its prime. It’s kind of nice. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2017, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/347 "2017-09-19T01:11:08Z")
Did anyone else notice on the opening credits one of the people listed had 18 letters in his or her last name? I think it was Thai. Stretched right across the screen. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2017, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/348 "2017-09-19T01:22:45Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > \*\*\*TOS \*\*\*had no “fully functional” android. 😃 It was implied the androids in the _I,Mudd_ episode were pretty close, to the extent 1960s television would allow. Anyway, I already like _Orville_ more than I liked the first season of _ST: TNG_ so I’m in for a while, at least. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2017, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/349 "2017-09-19T01:23:24Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > \*\*\*TOS \*\*\*had no “fully functional” android. 😃 Actually it had several. surly you have not forgotten [Andrea](https://www.google.com/search?q=Star+Trek+Andrea&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiPwLOXi7DWAhUm_IMKHQZSDiUQ_AUICigB&biw=1225&bih=1036)? ---
**Author:** ![Tinker\_Grey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tinker_grey/32/8136_2.png) [@Tinker\_Grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tinker_Grey)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2017, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/350 "2017-09-19T01:34:58Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > I was a little put off by how many modern-day pop culture references got thrown around. I can see Kermit the Frog or Star Wars still being popular centuries from now, but Dora the Explorer? Shamu? Keeping Up with the Kardashians? I can’t imagine that ephemera being well-known enough that you could pop off a reference to it and expect other people to get it. The lady/gent doth protest too much, methinks. ---
**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:** [September 19, 2017, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/351 "2017-09-19T01:36:40Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > Did anyone else notice on the opening credits one of the people listed had 18 letters in his or her last name? I think it was Thai. Stretched right across the screen. Cherry Chevapravatdumrong. She’s worked on Family Guy forever. ---
**Author:** ![Tinker\_Grey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tinker_grey/32/8136_2.png) [@Tinker\_Grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tinker_Grey)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2017, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/352 "2017-09-19T01:36:58Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > After the second show, it reminds me of ST:TNG, **which also was pretty mediocre through most of the first season.** The second episode of _The Orville_ was derivative, of course, but the second episode of ST:TNG was “The Naked Now,” which was just a remake of “The Naked Time” from TOS. {Emphasis added} Pretty mediocre? Most? It was bloody awful. I learned to love it anyway. ---
**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:** [September 19, 2017, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/353 "2017-09-19T02:02:25Z")
I enjoyed the second episode a lot! Shades of TNG in all the right ways. I don’t understand people being surprised that sports gets priority over taped shows. It’s been that way for decades. Or, better yet, news shows. I was working at my local CBS station in high school and manning the phones between news shows when Dallas was interrupted for the Tiananmen Square incident. The lines lit up like a Christmas tree. I think they gave it five minutes before complaining that they were saying the same thing, over and over. Further, not sure that shows got repeats back then? Even if they did, those did have some continuity, so people wouldn’t want to watch the next one and be spoiled as to what come up. I guess as a geek, I’m used to my shows being late or preempted and having to buy a single episode from Amazon if we missed it. Fortunately, my TiVo lets me record hours later and I have the room to do so! Thanks for the conversation! ---
**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 19, 2017, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/354 "2017-09-19T02:05:18Z")
Our Comcast box recorded the sporting event from _Orville’s_ start time, and all of _Orville_ afterwards. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2017, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/355 "2017-09-19T02:21:45Z")
Before it finally died, my series I Tivo allowed me to pad the end of recordings with up to two hours of extra time. If there was something I wanted to record on Sunday nights during football season, I padded the end of it with an hour or two to be certain I got it all. That Tivo also had the option of VCR-like functionality, where I could tell it to record channel X for Y minutes without regard to the program. That would have worked as well. I no longer have a working DVR, On Demand has largely removed the need for it, but I’d be surprised if modern DVRs don’t have the same functionality as the very first TIVOs. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2017, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/356 "2017-09-19T02:27:33Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > It was implied the androids in the _I,Mudd_ episode were pretty close, to the extent 1960s television would allow. I was referring specifically to the episode “The Naked Time.” As in, “Spock did not bang Chapel like Data banged Yar.” I have forgotten neither the multiple twins in “I, Mudd” nor Andrea in “What Are Little Girls Made Of?” Twins, mmmmmmmmmmmmm! Sherry Jackson, **OMG!!!** :o ---
**Author:** ![ssgenius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5ac83/32.png) [@ssgenius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ssgenius)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2017, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/357 "2017-09-19T02:47:06Z")
I caught a lot of references to The Cage (original Star Trek Pilot) and the 2 part episode that they used the footage in. The sub plot of the little young lady becoming the temporary captain was actually very entertaining as well as her conflicts with the crew that was actually well done. When she goes to sit in the Captain’s chair and it dwarfs her, that was quite the visual gag and representation of her dilemma. ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2017, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/358 "2017-09-19T03:06:50Z")
> [@Tinker\_Grey](#): > > {Emphasis added} > > Pretty mediocre? Most? It was bloody awful. I learned to love it anyway. Pretty meta in that, I would watch the eps and despite their awfulness, I would like them anyway cause i was starved for Trek.\* It’s meta in that i can’t be sure if I’m liking Orville for the same reasons. \*They’re so unlike the later seasons they are enjoyable now just for being so odd (Guys in skirts??) Watched that first Traveller ep today. Really, it would have been fine without Wesley being Mozart of the Warp Drive. They could have kept the same concept and just toned it wayyyyyyy down for Wesley. ex: “For a couple of seconds I understood what he was doing.” ---
**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 19, 2017, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/359 "2017-09-19T03:19:40Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > Gotta say these repair crew guys are pretty awesome. Last week, we saw the ship get big ass chunks of the hull get blasted out, this week all shiny new…until they get big ass chunks of the hull blasted out, and again all shiny new by the end of the ep no less. NASCAR needs to sign these guys… They returned to Earth at the end of the last episode; Kelly had an entire conversation with the Admiral were it was revealed she used her family connections to get Ed his command. > [@Smapti](#): > > And speaking of Bortus - if it took Michael Dorn 2 hours to get his Klingon face makeup on, I don’t even want to _know_ how long it took to get him into full-body makeup for those gestation scenes. So if Bortus’s species is all male how would he even be able to recognize his offspring as female? :dubious: > [@Smapti](#): > > Avara seemed pretty impressed that the Calavon(?) had transporters, and we haven’t seen any evidence of PU ships having it yet, so I’d guess it’s either way beyond their capabilities or something that’s not cost-effective yet. Well they have replicators & holodecks; 2 out of 3 ain’t bad. Transporters cause more plot holes than they plug anyway. ---
**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:** [September 19, 2017, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/360 "2017-09-19T03:42:54Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > So if Bortus’s species is all male how would he even be able to recognize his offspring as female? :dubious: I think the clue is that they refer to themselves as ‘males.’ A monogendered species might not do that - males imply the existence of females. I imagine we’ll learn that their absence is a relatively recent development. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814.md?page=17) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814.md?page=19)