# 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:** 67
**Author:** ![standingwave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@standingwave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/standingwave)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2017, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/1321 "2017-11-20T06:40:43Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > I thought it was a great episode. I didn’t like her running down the hallway for what seemed like hours as they were discussing her situation. Interesting. I thought that was a great visual. ---
**Author:** ![drmark7](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ba8739/32.png) [@drmark7](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drmark7)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2017, 8:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/1322 "2017-11-20T08:20:01Z")
> [@E-DUB](#): > > And if I got on an elevator and they were playing Bobby Goldsboro, I’d wait for the next car. The Bobby Goldsboro song they were playing in the elevator was “Straight Life” (Lyric: “Leaving the straight life behind…”) It struck me as double entendre as Seth as Mercer (presumably “straight”) was “leaving the straight life behind…” in his pursuit of Darullo/Rob Lowe. ---
**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:** [November 20, 2017, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/1323 "2017-11-20T13:24:33Z")
That “emptiness of space” and “You don’t know what’s coming for you” speech reminded me of Cordwainer Smith’s stories “Scanners Live in Vain” and “The Game of Rat and Dragon”. Best part of the episode. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2017, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/1324 "2017-11-20T13:45:44Z")
> [@standingwave](#): > > Interesting. I thought that was a great visual. Yeah, it was a great visual. Just went on too long to be real. How long was the hallway she was running down? ---
**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:** [November 20, 2017, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/1325 "2017-11-20T13:57:01Z")
> [@Uosdwis\_R.Dewoh](#): > > Going into scifi nitpick mode: > > There’s no way a military ship like the Orville doesn’t have some kind of command log. If ‘protocol 38’ is such a powerful command, and a career killer if misused, it has to show up as a high-level log entry. At some point, probably during a performance review, a ‘protocol 38’ order has to come to the attention of Mercer’s superiors and has to be explained. And the way to deal with the fact that the CO might go nuts or get drunk is not to make the system vulnerable to a security chief who gets drunk or goes nuts - it’s to create a system that allows a group of lower officers (say, any two of the ship’s doctor, the ship’s XO and the ship’s security officer) to override the CO. ---
**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:** [November 20, 2017, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/1326 "2017-11-20T14:18:58Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > Yeah, it was a great visual. Just went on too long to be real. How long was the hallway she was running down? Well, using the standard metric for hallway length, the Sorkin-Conversation unit, I estimate that hallway as 3.2 SC, at least. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2017, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/1327 "2017-11-20T14:36:27Z")
> [@Andy\_L](#): > > And the way to deal with the fact that the CO might go nuts or get drunk is not to make the system vulnerable to a security chief who gets drunk or goes nuts - it’s to create a system that allows a group of lower officers (say, any two of the ship’s doctor, the ship’s XO and the ship’s security officer) to override the CO. “Order 38” or whatever was a totally unnecessary end around to a problem that did not exist, to my mind, and created more problems than it solved. The entire concept of it could have simply been dumped; don’t mention it, and just don’t have Mercer demand the simulation be stopped. Or have him say “this is crazy, we have to get her out of this thing” and have any other character convince him that it needed to be carried out to its conclusion. I generally liked the episode but that plot point was extremely ill advised, as it just was not at all necessary and then pokes at our suspension of disbelief in the silliness of it - why she would invoke such a serious order for her own personal gain, why the order would be written allow a single person to supersede the authority captain of a ship, and, as someone has already pointed out, the fact that this would be a recorded event and even if Ed shrugs and says “that went well” someone at some point is going to ask some tough questions. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2017, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/1328 "2017-11-20T15:52:21Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > … and even if Ed shrugs and says “that went well” someone at some point is going to ask some tough questions. To which he can answer, “Well, I _was_ pretty drunk that day…” It’s clear that drinking on the ship isn’t against regulations, so it’s not like the Captain tying one on would automatically be a major offense. Heck, it apparently happens often enough that they have a rule to cover it! ---
**Author:** ![gonzoron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a6a055/32.png) [@gonzoron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzoron)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2017, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/1329 "2017-11-20T16:02:36Z")
Yes, “It was a dream” is a cop-out cliche, and yet [some of the most beloved of stories use it.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wizard_of_Oz_(1939_film)) It can be used well, and here the point was Alara’s character growth, so I’m OK with it. Better that than it being some anomaly-of-the-week pulling scary stuff from their minds. It’s ironic that one episode after I panned Penny Johnson’s acting, she hit it out of the park. Who knew she could play crazy/evil so well? (especially when her crazy/jealous was so bad last week.) Nice to see Robert Picardo there. I knew I recognized Molly Hagan from somewhere, but couldn’t place her. My wife thought it was Maureen McCormick, and I shrugged and went with it. But now I see it. Yet another Trek alum. Also this episode had the funniest line of the series thus far: “This is going to sound like I’m talking out of my ass.” “Then please try to enunciate.” My wife and I had to pause for like 10 minutes while we got the giggles out of our system. Overall an enjoyable one. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2017, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/1330 "2017-11-20T16:41:50Z")
Did anyone pick up on that standout classic line where the captain is trying to compose a letter of condolence, “_I am not a writer_,” or something to that effect? ---
**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:** [November 20, 2017, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/1331 "2017-11-20T17:05:58Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > Did anyone pick up on that standout classic line where the captain is trying to compose a letter of condolence, “_I am not a writer_,” or something to that effect? A fine bit of irony. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2017, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/1332 "2017-11-20T17:09:30Z")
I do not know. Regardless, it is crushed. ---
**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:** [November 20, 2017, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/1333 "2017-11-20T18:13:42Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > I do not know. Regardless, it is crushed. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2017, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/1334 "2017-11-20T18:54:21Z")
“Ah yes, the humans. The hillbillies of the galaxy.” ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2017, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/1335 "2017-11-20T19:05:21Z")
Bortis is by far my favorite character and the source of most of the humor that works for me in the show. Between Bortis and Isaac there’s kind of a redundancy in the straight man who misunderstands human idioms/customs/jokes role, but of the two I find Bortis consistently funnier. In general, I find that the humor that works based on an outsider taking a look at the oddness of human behavior, idioms, and customs to be a better source of humor than humans who generate humor by acting really stupidly. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2017, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/1336 "2017-11-20T21:08:18Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Penny Johnson was scary being crazy. She had a standard crazy character to play, and standard lines, but she brought it off. In _DS9_ she had a standard, campy line to deliver when she realized that her husband had died and returned as prophet, or “worm hole alien”; “Oh My God.” But she brought it off. > On the bad side, she was much more attractive on _DS9_ than _Orville_. Yes. Even tho I dont like spiders or clowns, she was the only really scary bit. Altho the clown did startle me. ---
**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:** [November 21, 2017, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/1337 "2017-11-21T16:15:36Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Penny Johnson was scary being crazy. She had a standard crazy character to play, and standard lines, but she brought it off. In _DS9_ she had a standard, campy line to deliver when she realized that her husband had died and returned as prophet, or “worm hole alien”; “Oh My God.” But she brought it off. > **On the bad side, she was much more attractive on _DS9_ than _Orville_.** Weren’t most people, when they were 18 years younger? I mean, I would say that Penny Johnson Jerald is a pretty good looking woman in general, but how many people look better at 56 than they did at 38? ---
**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:** [November 21, 2017, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/1338 "2017-11-21T17:29:14Z")
Is it me, or did they never reveal where Isaac got the idea for the Evil Doctor? ---
**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:** [November 21, 2017, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/1339 "2017-11-21T17:31:06Z")
> [@Kamino\_Neko](#): > > Is it me, or did they never reveal where Isaac got the idea for the Evil Doctor? They got that from Gordon - he said he hated surgery (Isaac must have extrapolated a bit there). ---
**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:** [November 21, 2017, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814/1340 "2017-11-21T17:34:19Z")
> [@Reluctant\_A](#): > > Weren’t most people, when they were 18 years younger? I mean, I would say that Penny Johnson Jerald is a pretty good looking woman in general, but how many people look better at 56 than they did at 38? Good point. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814.md?page=66) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orville-seth-mcfarlane/786814.md?page=68)