# 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:** 35
**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:** [October 1, 2017, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/681 "2017-10-01T00:33:34Z")
The Orville is Star Trek for people who don’t want to pay for Star Trek. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2017, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/682 "2017-10-01T01:05:07Z")
> [@E-DUB](#): > > The Orville is Star Trek for people who don’t want to pay for Star Trek. I already have the boxed sets. that crap CBS is putting out aint Star trek. ---
**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:** [October 1, 2017, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/683 "2017-10-01T01:19:53Z")
I’ve got the TOS box sets. No bloody A, B, C, D, E, or remastered! ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2017, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/684 "2017-10-01T01:43:32Z")
Klyden is lonely. Gelatinous alien is lonely. Hope this doesn’t go where I think it’s going… ---
**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:** [October 1, 2017, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/685 "2017-10-01T02:11:36Z")
> [@E-DUB](#): > > I’ve got the TOS box sets. No bloody A, B, C, D, E, or remastered! Damn right. Wait, the Gorn blinks! ---
**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:** [October 1, 2017, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/686 "2017-10-01T02:15:02Z")
> [@Dendarii\_Dame](#): > > Klyden is lonely. Gelatinous alien is lonely. Hope this doesn’t go where I think it’s going… Don’t go there. I will pay money not to go there. How does an all male species have this men are from Mars, women are from Venus thing? I like Klingon males serenading Klingon women while the women throw furniture at them better. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2017, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/687 "2017-10-01T02:20:19Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > It’s Emerson; “Nightfall” attributes the quote to him immediately. But Macfarland probably came across it there. Yes, he did, just like me. But the added layers of reference of SF have always made it more for the smart and less for the stupid. ---
**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:** [October 1, 2017, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/688 "2017-10-01T02:36:35Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > Yes, he did, just like me. But the added layers of reference of SF have always made it more for the smart and less for the stupid. The stupid people read poetry? ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2017, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/689 "2017-10-01T02:43:25Z")
Without starting a fight, and based on my experience, complex poetry? No. Hallmark cards? Not really. Much more like, “That’s nice! Where’s the money?” ---
**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:** [October 1, 2017, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/690 "2017-10-01T02:50:54Z")
> [@Dendarii\_Dame](#): > > Klyden is lonely. Gelatinous alien is lonely. Hope this doesn’t go where I think it’s going… Klyden was Tyreese on the Walking Dead. And the Orville is more like Star Trek than Star Trek is right now. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2017, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/691 "2017-10-01T04:13:00Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > I read somewhere he wore a rug when asked to meet with Paramount executives prior to being confirmed as Picard. It was so ratty that Roddenberry and Justman made him take it off. ☹ He ended up wearing it in a ST:TNG flashback (or maybe a nightmare) scene: [http://lobablanca.com/blog09/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/7longandstraight.jpg](http://lobablanca.com/blog09/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/7longandstraight.jpg) > [@DrDeth](#): > > Except not on the Union ship Orville. The Orville wasnt messing with what the Moclins did on their own planet, but they were arguing about a Union born child, one of whose parents didnt want the operation. For all we know, a Moclin child is a Moclin citizen no matter where it’s born, and Moclin law still applies. > [@RealityChuck](#): > > …I loved the use of the Emerson quote that gave the episode its name. It’s the same quote that Asimov used as a basis for “Nightfall”… Good catch! Thought I recognized it. > [@What\_Exit](#): > > … As to a stronger and more repressive government, apparently **the Federation** will be sending a large group to teach the “natives” how to operate and maintain their ship. The Union. But an understandable mistake! > [@Tangent](#): > > Does anyone else think Alara is developing a bit of a crush on Ed? The way she was talking about him with Kelly gave me that impression a little. It could just be admiration for her captain, but it was in the context of talking about other romantic relationships. Yes, I think we’ll be seeing a Mercer/Alara romance episode sometime. Likely plot points: the Captain frets about the propriety of dating a subordinate, we hear some jokes about life-threatening rough sex, and the XO finds herself unexpectedly jealous. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2017, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/692 "2017-10-01T04:58:27Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > For all we know, a Moclin child is a Moclin citizen no matter where it’s born, and Moclin law still applies. No, The Captain checked with the Admiralty and etc, and he made it clear that changing that kids sex on the ship would be very illegal. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2017, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/693 "2017-10-01T07:47:29Z")
The likeliest answer is that _it simply hadn’t come up before_. Moclan females, according to Isaac, are only born about once every 75 Earth years, and it appears likely that they haven’t been members of the Union for that long, with Mercer saying Bortus was the first Moclan he’d met, and the Moclan being unfamiliar enough with Earth culture to assume that Kermit the Frog was a real person. This was probably the first time a Moclan female had ever been born on a Union vessel and there was no settled way to deal with it. ---
**Author:** ![Unintentionally\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unintentionally_blank/32/5418_2.png) [@Unintentionally\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unintentionally_Blank)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2017, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/694 "2017-10-01T15:13:57Z")
I’m a bit late to the party… I like it. It’s nearly exactly like TNG, down to the episode structure, music at commercial breaks. It’s an alternate universe TNG and it’s filling a void in my life I didn’t know I had (don’t read too deeply into that). Which means at some point Paramount is going to sue the pants off FOX. I don’t know if the series has legs or not, but I’m enjoying it while it lasts. ---
**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:** [October 1, 2017, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/695 "2017-10-01T16:28:52Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > The Union. But an understandable mistake! I knew Federation was wrong but quickly decided it would work anyway and didn’t feel like looking up the correct term. It does appear to be the Federation in all but name. ---
**Author:** ![Unintentionally\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unintentionally_blank/32/5418_2.png) [@Unintentionally\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unintentionally_Blank)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2017, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/696 "2017-10-01T16:55:04Z")
And a whole lot more spaceships. ---
**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:** [October 1, 2017, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/697 "2017-10-01T18:15:56Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > At first I thought the drug was going to have the opposite effect on humans and send Grayson into an orgasmic state. At first I thought it _should_ have no effect on her; she would just sneer at them at say “I’m an _alien_, you idiots!” and the leader would get a few nervous glances from his subordinates at this suspension of business as usual. Then later when the rescue party shows up, they’d untie her and she’d immediate grab the “antidote” and try to inject it, but her hands would be shaking too much, so she’d order the doctor to do it, who would be hesitant but would comply. Only then would Grayson relax - it turns out the drug _did_ work, somewhat, but she wasn’t going to give this primitive son-of-a-bitch the satisfaction. ---
**Author:** ![Cayuga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@Cayuga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cayuga)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2017, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/698 "2017-10-01T19:01:15Z")
That is freakin’ brilliant. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2017, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/699 "2017-10-01T19:34:46Z")
Liking the series so far. I think they missed a good line on the generation ship. When somebody said “it was beautiful” another crew member should have said “yeah, looks a lot like southern California”. The reality series thing was a hoot (and would probably be true as well). Damn, got to get my computer fixed. I hate typing on this thing. ---
**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:** [October 1, 2017, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/700 "2017-10-01T23:17:13Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > At first I thought it _should_ have no effect on her; she would just sneer at them at say “I’m an _alien_, you idiots!” and the leader would get a few nervous glances from his subordinates at this suspension of business as usual. Then later when the rescue party shows up, they’d untie her and she’d immediate grab the “antidote” and try to inject it, but her hands would be shaking too much, so she’d order the doctor to do it, who would be hesitant but would comply. Only then would Grayson relax - it turns out the drug _did_ work, somewhat, but she wasn’t going to give this primitive son-of-a-bitch the satisfaction. That is really good! Good thinking! I enjoyed this episode but can also nit pick and I wanted something like that as well. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814.md?page=34) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814.md?page=36)