# 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:** 56
**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 29, 2017, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/1101 "2017-10-29T18:37:30Z")
> [@simster](#): > > Its not like this particular social issue - social media, etc - is not a current phenomenon or even one that hasn’t been brewing for some time now. it’s entirely plausible for various writers and shows to come up with similar plotlines without any awareness of others. This happens quite often these days. And even if they were aware, so what? There’s only something like seven story lines that exist that cover all stories anyway. Just another variation on a theme. ---
**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 29, 2017, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/1102 "2017-10-29T20:14:12Z")
Just watched it. That’s an hour of my life I’ll never get back. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2017, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/1103 "2017-10-29T20:46:55Z")
Wow! Fucking loved I! ---
**Author:** ![BobBitchin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7ea924/32.png) [@BobBitchin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobBitchin)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2017, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/1104 "2017-10-29T22:19:17Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > I haven’t watched it yet. > Apparently no one else liked it. > They are going to beat you up and steal your lunch money. > Just sayin’. 😃 Nah, my mommie will protect me. Just a thought, but did this remind anyone else of the concept of “kudos” used by the Dwellers in the book the Algebraist? ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2017, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/1105 "2017-10-29T23:33:32Z")
Thought I replied earlier. I liked the episode but had the same problems 1. They researched fashions but NOT their culture/political system? No reports at all from the anthropologists? (and no monitoring broadcasts beforehand?) 1a) They probably should have researched the statue lady after the arrest 2. I also wondered about hacking votes 3. We know there is an ethnic minority (Kelvin?) would it be possible to claim something like that (I’ll give this a pass as we don’t know) 4. Also wondering about acquittals. If he bumped into 4 people would he then be brainwashed (having hit 10,000,000)? Lewis did get zapped and he did have some upvotes so it isn’t a 1-1 deal Brian ---
**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:** [October 29, 2017, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/1106 "2017-10-29T23:55:47Z")
Also in the previous episode they had personal holographic projects that let Mercer & Malloy pass as Krill, but this episode Kitan had to make do w/ a hat in order to pass as Sargasian. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2017, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/1107 "2017-10-30T00:05:53Z")
A couple of other things to wonder about: people get their badges at 18; do the upvotes of children (like the little girl who got ice cream from Grandma) count, or was that little girl just practicing adult duties? If the video of Kitan with the hat had been posted, would both she and the fellow who was offended get downvotes? It would have been interesting to see an apology-tour with two opposing people each trying to represent the other’s behavior as bad, and their own as good. ---
**Author:** ![BobBitchin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7ea924/32.png) [@BobBitchin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobBitchin)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2017, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/1108 "2017-10-30T01:39:46Z")
> [@Andy\_L](#): > > A couple of other things to wonder about: people get their badges at 18; do the upvotes of children (like the little girl who got ice cream from Grandma) count, or was that little girl just practicing adult duties? > > If the video of Kitan with the hat had been posted, would both she and the fellow who was offended get downvotes? It would have been interesting to see an apology-tour with two opposing people each trying to represent the other’s behavior as bad, and their own as good. I have no answers, but I like your questions:D. This is what I like about shows like this, nobody wants to talk about how cool the explosions were. They want to discuss story telling, narrative, how societies function and reason. If you like the show or not, if it puts your brain in gear there must be some value in it. ---
**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 30, 2017, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/1109 "2017-10-30T01:50:38Z")
> [@N9IWP](#): > > 1a) They probably should have researched the statue lady after the arrest I wondered about that, Surely they would have thought, “Gee, they were really offended at how he behaved around that statue. Maybe we should learn more about it.” ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2017, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/1110 "2017-10-30T03:17:02Z")
> [@BobBitchin](#): > > If you like the show or not, if it puts your brain in gear there must be some value in it. The only gear my brain engaged was the one that asks, “How f’n stupid and incompetent does the crew have to be to make the story work?” Which is the same question that normally rises in explosion-y shows. Is The Orville just the _Starship Titanic_ re-imagined? ---
**Author:** ![gonzoron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a6a055/32.png) [@gonzoron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzoron)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2017, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/1111 "2017-10-30T14:02:35Z")
A valiant effort, but fell short a bit. Too many unanswered questions. Too much went the obvious way. Too much idiot-ball. But I liked where they were going. I would have loved at least a throw-away moment where Kelly tried hitting his upvote button a bunch of times (getting told she can only upvote once per day or something). Also, would have wanted to see what the upvotes were for at all. They couldn’t have just cancelled out downvotes, otherwise you could only have one or the other, not both. Or if they registered both, then we should have seen the difference, not the downvotes only, make the sentence. But it felt like classic Trek’s take on Social Media, which didn’t exist when classic Trek aired, so it was something that was uniquely 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:** [October 30, 2017, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/1112 "2017-10-30T14:35:18Z")
> [@gonzoron](#): > > Also, would have wanted to see what the upvotes were for at all. They couldn’t have just cancelled out downvotes, otherwise you could only have one or the other, not both. Or if they registered both, then we should have seen the difference, not the downvotes only, make the sentence. Perhaps people were rewarded for doing Good Deeds. Rescuing children and pets from wells, for example. Good Samaritan acts at auto accidents. ---
**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 30, 2017, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/1113 "2017-10-30T14:53:06Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Perhaps people were rewarded for doing Good Deeds. > Rescuing children and pets from wells, for example. Good Samaritan acts at auto accidents. I’m picturing people with signs: WILL UPVOTE FOR FOOD. ---
**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 30, 2017, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/1114 "2017-10-30T15:02:24Z")
> [@Dendarii\_Dame](#): > > I’m picturing people with signs: WILL UPVOTE FOR FOOD. 🙂 ---
**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:** [October 30, 2017, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/1115 "2017-10-30T16:16:01Z")
Based on the ATMB threads about whether to implement upvoting here, it’s probably for the best Dopers don’t run the Orville. Bridge Officer: “Captain, it seems that this society is based on some sort of… upvoting system. I recommend that w-” Captain: “Nuke it from orbit.” ---
**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 30, 2017, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/1116 "2017-10-30T16:57:33Z")
It’s the only way to be sure! 😃 > [@Lightray](#): > > That’s not at all what he means, as you well know. > > I’m on board with the show ripping plotlines from Star Trek TOS and TNG: it’s been a long time since those aired, and there’s an opportunity to re-present those ideas as relevant to the current times. Even if it’s done as a quasi-humorous sketch, rather than an in-depth treatment. > > However, it is f\*ing stupid to rip off ideas that _Black Mirror_ just did, and did masterfully. It just highlights _The Orville_ as shallow and bereft of originality. This episode would probably have been written soon after the _Black Mirror_ season that “Nosedive” was in; it’s fairly obvious where Seth stole the idea from. He says he actually got the idea from the Jon Ronson book _So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed_ and that makes sense to me. And as **Dr Deth** pointed out, why is _Black Mirror_ not presumed guilty of stealing the idea from _Community_, which clearly did it first? ---
**Author:** ![Lightray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightray/32/391_2.png) [@Lightray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightray)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2017, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/1117 "2017-10-30T17:27:51Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > And as **Dr Deth** pointed out, why is _Black Mirror_ not presumed guilty of stealing the idea from _Community_, which clearly did it first? Because _Community_ is a relatively obscure American show that was not broadcast in the UK, and hence would have been obscure to Charlie Brooker. Whereas _Black Mirror_ is a critically-acclaimed darling of the sci-fi community, almost impossible to escape mention of if you’re involved in the industry like Seth MacFarland is. And Charlie Brooker [stated](https://decider.com/2016/10/27/black-mirror-nosedive-did-not-steal-from-community-interview/) he wasn’t aware of Community. ---
**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 30, 2017, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/1118 "2017-10-30T17:30:57Z")
> [@Lightray](#): > > Because _Community_ is a relatively obscure American show that was not broadcast in the UK, and hence would have been obscure to Charlie Brooker. Whereas _Black Mirror_ is a critically-acclaimed darling of the sci-fi community, almost impossible to escape mention of if you’re involved in the industry like Seth MacFarland is. > > And Charlie Brooker [stated](https://decider.com/2016/10/27/black-mirror-nosedive-did-not-steal-from-community-interview/) he wasn’t aware of Community. Charlie Brooker COULD be lying. And also because internet. ---
**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 30, 2017, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/1119 "2017-10-30T18:02:50Z")
> [@Lightray](#): > > Because _Community_ is a relatively obscure American show that was not broadcast in the UK, and hence would have been obscure to Charlie Brooker. Whereas _Black Mirror_ is a critically-acclaimed darling of the sci-fi community, almost impossible to escape mention of if you’re involved in the industry like Seth MacFarland is. > > And Charlie Brooker [stated](https://decider.com/2016/10/27/black-mirror-nosedive-did-not-steal-from-community-interview/) he wasn’t aware of Community. Funny as viewership for _Black Mirror_ is significantly lower than _Community_, but whatever. I can barely make it through the episodes they are so slow and ponderous. Give me a repeat of the _Twilight Zone_ anyday. ---
**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 30, 2017, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/1120 "2017-10-30T18:24:06Z")
> [@simster](#): > > …Time travel always gives me a headache. “My advice in making sense of temporal paradoxes is simple: Don’t even try.” - Capt. Kathryn Janeway, USS _Voyager_ > [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > [Have you seen Worf](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LnwLn9vnKo)? He defines bad security officer. He’s like the reverse of the “hero’s death exemption” - he gets trashed even if there’s no reason. > **[The Worf Effect - TV Tropes](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheWorfEffect)** > > Want a quick way to show how dangerous one of your unknown characters is? Simple, make them do well or win in a fight with a character that the audience already knows is tough. This establishes them as willing to fight and marks them as … > [@Smapti](#): > > What, you never heard of Rebo and Zooty? See also: [The Adventures of Flotter | Memory Alpha | Fandom](http://memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/The_Adventures_of_Flotter) > [@Andy\_L](#): > > …By the way, what’s the deal with everyone’s prejudice about mining company’s record-keeping practices? Tell me about it. I hear the Union Mining Association is mulling over a defamation lawsuit. > [@Tangent](#): > > I expect one of these days there will be some pickle-shaped aliens behind the door. That’d be _great!_ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814.md?page=55) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814.md?page=57)