# 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:** 44
**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:** [October 9, 2017, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/861 "2017-10-09T23:27:47Z")
> [@mikecurtis](#): > > There was an off-Broadway play a few years ago that touched on this idea. In _[Mr. Burns, a Post-Electric Play](http://nypost.com/2013/09/15/play-uses-the-simpsons-to-tell-of-life-in-dystopian-future/),_ the Simpsons episode _Cape Feare_ keeps getting retold over a span of 75 years after a disaster wipes out all forms of electronic entertainment. It explores how people’s memories change over time and how traditions get stated and morph into something all its own. very interesting. > > mc That sounds great! Is there a video of it somewhere? > [@Uosdwis\_R.Dewoh](#): > > There’s a pretty forgettable post-apocalypse movie, with Christian Bale and Matthew McConaughey, Reign of Fire that has a scene where adults recreate Star Wars for a bunch of children. The adults are playing out the “Luke, I am your father” moment and kids react with surprise and delight. It’s a really cute scene that deserved a better movie. I always kinda thought that movie was underrated. Not like it’s a masterpiece or anything, but it’s not as bad as most people seem to think. > [@Chimera](#): > > If you’re going to live on that ship for years, you literally need the space for basic sanity purposes. There’s a psychological cost to small spaces and dense crowding. This. > [@E-DUB](#): > > My god, I just had the image of a guy getting it on with a holobimbo and having her, and the bed under her, disappear. That’d ruin your whole day. LOL! Hopefully the computer would lower you slowly as part of the shutdown protocol. But still, yeah: that’s a \*Leftovers \*moment. > [@alphaboi867](#): > > I’m gay and he is, but his voice is a mood killer for me. His acting voice or his singing voice? Actingwise, he sounds like Brian which is kind of weird. But I really like his singing, and though I’m straight, he does seem like a decent looking guy. ---
**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:** [October 9, 2017, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/862 "2017-10-09T23:27:50Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > On reflection, I suppose it was _meant_ to be funny when the gelatinous character says Charlize Theron’s character is the first attractive _white_ woman he’s ever seen. I think it would have been funnier still if he was indifferent to Theron _because_ he specifically likes black women, though it still makes little sense that he (if “he” as a pronoun even applies) would find _any_ human sexually attractive. I think he favors the green range of the spectrum. 😃 ---
**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 9, 2017, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/863 "2017-10-09T23:38:07Z")
Maybe Yaphet, like Worf, was raised by humans and has human standards of beauty. ---
**Author:** ![mikecurtis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikecurtis/32/3284_2.png) [@mikecurtis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mikecurtis)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2017, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/864 "2017-10-09T23:57:14Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > That sounds great! Is there a video of it somewhere? I have been unable to find a video of the entire production - there are some 1 or 2 minute clips advertising the various productions and [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UW8f5TI5ZA) is the playwright talking bout it. ---
**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 10, 2017, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/865 "2017-10-10T00:08:44Z")
> [@E-DUB](#): > > Maybe Yaphet, like Worf, was raised by humans and has human standards of beauty. Maybe he could have said he didn’t like Theron’s character because her knees were too sharp, and to him knee-curvature actually is a major element of attraction. ---
**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:** [October 10, 2017, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/866 "2017-10-10T14:00:45Z")
Clearly I got here _very_ late, having just watched s01e01, but my opinion counts too, dammit! Enjoyed it; certainly closer to the core concept of trek than discovery. I think the humor works well enough: a setting like this, most closely related to TNG and Voyager, could not be played straight in 2017. (Also, all the trek series have also tried to include humor; we tend not to focus on that though as frankly it was never the strong suit) Only gripe was watching them knock out the enemy soldiers whack-a-mole, and then Seth getting shot just gave him a minor pain in the shoulder; so zero sense of peril going forwards. Probably the show has been cancelled by the time I’m writing this. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2017, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/867 "2017-10-10T14:57:02Z")
We are really enjoying the show, for the same reasons everyone else is - it’s the most ‘Star Trek’ science fiction show on the air. I sure hope it lasts, but I am having doubts. The ratings fell dramatically when it moved to Thursday, and so far it has fallen every week since. The show seems to be shedding audience for some reason. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2017, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/868 "2017-10-10T16:21:14Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > I sure hope it lasts, but I am having doubts. The ratings fell dramatically when it moved to Thursday, and so far it has fallen every week since. The show seems to be shedding audience for some reason. They’ll give it at least a full season; a lull after a time slot move isn’t surprising. Fox gives MacFarlane a lot of rope. It’ll be interesting to see where the ratings go in the next few weeks; the time slot change cost the show over a third of its viewers. The drops the following two weeks were in single digits. If it’s hit a floor there will be a Season 2; if not, there may not be. ---
**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 10, 2017, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/869 "2017-10-10T19:02:56Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > The drops the following two weeks were in single digits. If it’s hit a floor there will be a Season 2; if not, there may not be. G-d hates me, and I like it, so I imagine that _Orvill_e will tank. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2017, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/870 "2017-10-10T19:26:25Z")
I found sites that said the live plus seven day viewership for this show was pretty good. One said it matched one of those dancing shows as the top-rated non-sports program for the week. ---
**Author:** ![Paintcharge](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/paintcharge/32/7946_2.png) [@Paintcharge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paintcharge)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2017, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/871 "2017-10-10T19:37:50Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > You know what your problem is, silenus? > You [confuse people with the damn facts](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M58aP5DtNqY), silenus, that is your problem. I always thought “Guy killed me with a sword, Mal.” from Serenity sounded familiar. He said it just like Uhura. I was waiting for her to say “How weird is that?” ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2017, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/872 "2017-10-10T21:25:41Z")
The leg falling from the ceiling reminded me of an old _Sports Night_ episode, where Felicity Huffman is trying to thaw a Thanksgiving turkey up in the catwalks by the studio lights. At one particularly dramatic moment at the anchor desk, a half-frozen turkey falls from the sky and lands with a thud. ---
**Author:** ![Cayuga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@Cayuga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cayuga)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2017, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/873 "2017-10-10T22:01:27Z")
FWIW, I went to an Orville panel at New York Comic Con last weekend. MacFarlane talked of episodes planned for next season, including one set on Isaac’s planet that’s already been written. When asked if season 2 was a go, he said something along the lines of, “There are indications that it might be happening. Let me put it this way: I’m exhaling for the first time.” ---
**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:** [October 11, 2017, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/874 "2017-10-11T04:07:44Z")
Yay! ---
**Author:** ![drmark7](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ba8739/32.png) [@drmark7](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drmark7)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/875 "2017-10-11T06:05:12Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > We are really enjoying the show, for the same reasons everyone else is - it’s the most ‘Star Trek’ science fiction show on the air. // I sure hope it lasts, but I am having doubts. The ratings fell dramatically when it moved to Thursday, and so far it has fallen every week since. The show seems to be shedding audience for some reason. \>\>\>it’s the most ‘Star Trek’ science fiction show on the air. YES!!! I am LOVING “The Orville!” For that very reason. I have no doubt THE ORVILLE will be with us for a LONG time!!! As for Thursdays… Fox, PLEASE move it away from going head to head with WILL AND GRACE on NBC. That will help. Surely there are overlapping fans? I’m one. Still on OTA/rabbit ears and VHS(!) I have to tape W&G at my folks house since in these days they make it harder to watch one channel and tape another on VHS at the same time. ---
**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:** [October 11, 2017, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/876 "2017-10-11T07:19:24Z")
That’s an interesting point about how technology has made TV worse in certain ways. I had a rooftop antenna that got me four channels; after the digital switchover, I got zero. And the “SAP button” that gives you Spanish audio doesn’t work, bizarrely, for modern digital transmissions. ---
**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 11, 2017, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/877 "2017-10-11T12:30:43Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > That’s an interesting point about how technology has made TV worse in certain ways. I had a rooftop antenna that got me four channels; after the digital switchover, I got zero. Same here. ---
**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:** [October 11, 2017, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/878 "2017-10-11T12:43:31Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > That’s an interesting point about how technology has made TV worse in certain ways. I had a rooftop antenna that got me four channels; after the digital switchover, I got zero. Yeah, the advantage of analog is that even if you can’t get a really clear signal, you might can get a watchable fuzzy one. With digital, it is all or nothing. I have rabbit ears for my non-cable connected TV, and while I could pick up ABC in analog, I very rarely can in digital. (But the total number of available channels has increased dramatically with all the available sub-channels. Of course they mostly show reruns of TV and older movies.) ---
**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 11, 2017, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/879 "2017-10-11T12:57:26Z")
You need to buy or build a Hi-Def Antenna, Sometimes it is as simple as a pie plate and some wire. Once you get it working you should pick up more channels than you used to. For more info Google: homemade hi def antenna ---
**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:** [October 11, 2017, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/880 "2017-10-11T13:50:37Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > You need to buy or build a Hi-Def Antenna, Sometimes it is as simple as a pie plate and some wire. Once you get it working you should pick up more channels than you used to. I bought an antenna designed for just digital TV although it was not a rooftop antenna. Nothing, though the same antenna worked great at my moms house in Duluth. But then, only one of the four stations I used to get was less than 60 miles away. I’m just not convinced those digital signals travel to outlying areas as well. But I never did get one to put up on the roof so I can’t say for sure. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814.md?page=43) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814.md?page=45)