Hopefully, you’re exaggerating, I doubt that very many will commit suicide.
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.
What number do you have in mind?
My number is, for the most part, pulled out of my nether regions, I will admit. However, my chain of thinking followed this: considering that something fundamental about their entire universe and belief systems has just been changed, from their viewpoint. Their “skies” were unchanging, stable, visibly nearby, and full of light. Now, their skies are mostly dark, mysterious, unknown, and, apparently, infinite. Even Captain Durall (who was completely familiar with the concept of space travel) called it lonely.
This change happened suddenly, and without warning, with no time to mentally or emotionally prepare themselves.
It’s got to be a pretty profound shock to the psyche. At least, it would be for humans. (Maybe these folks are more mentally adaptable or resilient. Who knows.) I mean, Christ, Trump gets elected, and significant portion of the U.S. population becomes so emotionally upset that they take to the streets in angry, sometimes violent protests, or claim to need to seek professional therapy to deal with the new found angst. I think opening that “sunroof” is a much deeper, more profound change to their universe.
Imagine if biblical crap went down today: The seas turning in to blood, the skies permanently turning to tornado, thunder and lightning storms. Weird outsiders (demons? aliens? same diff) now wandering about, with mysterious goals and values of their own. I imagine that tons of folks would not handle the change well.
Maybe 1/3 is too high, but is gotta be significant numbers. (Again, if humans are the baseline. 
)
**sidetrack: “Nick! Is that you?? Holy hell, give us a hug!!” Soooo… these newly discovered alien guys speak English? Captain Mercer doesn’t have a funny accent? How does this plan even work?! **
… And the only way they’ll be able to get inside is by force. So the natives will be faced with both a civil war AND a foreign invasion. Nice!
Seems to me Ed was very Kirk-like in “fixing” their problem and then sailing away, leaving them to their own devices. I’m reminded of that issue of Star Trek: The Comic Book back in the '80s where Kirk is finally court-martialed for violating the Prime Directive, and witnesses show up from some of the planets where he had “straightened out” what was “wrong” with their cultures. (Didn’t the Iotians show up with the Federation’s “cut” from all the years after Kirk had set them back on the path to “normal” social evolution?)
Shocking yes, all kinds of questioning of their lives and beliefs yes, but suicidal? I think disasters and wars show how resilient people can be to massive change and upheaval.
Standard Sci-Fi translation protocols seem to be in place. Clearly the Navy of The Orville have some sort of nearly magical universal translator or Babel Fish. Standard for Star Trek, Doctor Who (the TARDIS itself) and Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy and so many other Sci-Fi worlds.
The same way Kirk and company were able to penetrate Nazi HQ on Ekos by dressing up in SS uniforms and bringing along a camera crew.
With unavoidable affects on their government and society. This treads close to neo-colonialism, it seems to me. (Shades of “Manifest Destiny”.) You see no slippery slope?
I get that Mercer is pissed at Hamelac, and this may have pushed him in to wanting to give a big middle finger to that whole system, but he reached his decision in like three seconds, and didn’t ask anyone for advice. (Just like Kirk, I guess! )
Yep. Just like Kirk.
Do you know there were massive spikes in suicides in Austria and Germany after the Anschluss and Kristallnacht in 1938? Granted, these were mostly among their Jewish populations, but still… 
Actually I wasn’t aware of that, but I think the situation the Jewish population was facing was far worse than the sky opening. Uncertainty of future for the people on the ship vs. the Nazi’s are blaming us for everything and planning to destroy us.
Point taken, but if the sky opening doesn’t count as “massive change and upheaval,” I don’t know what would. 
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.
Maybe that. Maybe just a little idol worship. Sometimes authority figures come to represent the ideal. (Ideal officer, ideal dad, whatever.) We’ll see where they go with this.
I am enjoying both The Orville and Star Trek Discovery.
The shows are definitely different in tone from each other, but my tastes (and thirst for Space Opera) are broad enough that I can find either one entertaining on their own merits.
Special effects are nice, but, IMO, FX should not be a substitute for weak writing. Writing is always key, to me. (The movie Avatar, for example, IMO while pretty, was also kinda cliche plot-wise.) Make the characters interesting, at least (if not likable), make their choice of actions plausible, etc.
She certainly sprouted eyebrows between the the Pilot episode to the 2nd ep. Maybe she’s putting on some “human” prosthetics to appeal more to Ed.* It wouldn’t surprise me to work in a bit of a love triangle between her and his ex, though.
So far, I’m really looking forward to this show, week-to-week. I was always just a very casual Trek fan, but it’s sucked me in for it’s sci-fi legs, when I expected to like it more for its (at the time) ostensible parody of Trek. I like Seth’s blend of social/political comedy, even his mundane juvenile commentary mixed up in a very Trek-like world. It still needs some fine-tuning, and I really think it’ll get there, but all-in-all, the show can allow for some really fun sci-fi with his usual brand of allegory.
It feels good to visit old-school Trek again.
*But in reality, I think the actress or someone in production decided she just looked creepy as fuck without eyebrows. And they were right.
Peter David had an interesting observation about The Orville vs. Star Trek Discovery.
If you made a few small changes, The Orville would be Star Trek.
If you made a few small changes, Star Trek Discovery would NOT be Star Trek.
It explains things succinctly. The Orville is trying to be as close to Star Trek as it can be. Star Trek Discovery is more general space opera with a thin Star Trek coating.
Damn, this thread has ballooned. (I haven’t been by recently because I only saw the latest two episodes last night and didn’t want to get spoilered to death. Nor have I read about half the thread yet.) So, here are my thoughts:
“About a Girl” is a gem. Rough and unpolished, but well-written. I felt the scenes with the Moclin, especially between Bortus and Klyden, were a bit overplayed, but maybe that’s just the way Moclin are. I liked the anti-Roddenberry ending, perhaps counterintuitively, or not so much to anyone who’s ever seen “Encounter at Farpoint.” That may have been the point.
I liked “If the Stars Should Appear” a bit less. I thought that the idea needed more development, like over a couple of episodes. I’m not a huge fan of the end-of-story exposition that ties up all the loose ends in a neat little box. It’s very much the formula method (although Liam Neeson was a pleasant surprise). And the cultural references just took me out of the story; I don’t mind the characters being flip or using well-known literary quotes, but I find it hard to believe that people from a far-ish future would get some of the references that Capt. Ed makes. It’s just a device to attract Joe Shmoe viewers. We were treated to a classic Trump rally, though, something which always makes me feel right at home… :rolleyes:
I get where the series is going now, and overall I like it, which probably means it’ll get cancelled after its initial run. 
I just saw the episode today, and rushed in here to share “The World is Hollow…” observation and the “Nightfall,” Asimov parallel.
But of course I should have realized that being a day late meant zero chance that these weren’t already mentioned.
So I’ll play my last SF cred card: the idea that a multi-generational ship population gradually forgets their purpose and descends into more primitive living was done pretty well by Ben Bova in his “Exiled From Earth” trilogy.
The ratings are fair for the Orville on Thursday and they’re actually improving on their weak lead in of Gotham. With McFarlane’s Fox ties, I think The Orville has a fair chance of renewal.
And long before that in Heinlein’s Orphans of the Sky. See earlier post.
Heinlein did it first.
Has that already been mentioned?
There is a short story, perhaps Poul Anderson, where a child is brought out of suspended animation early by the ship. He watches a generation grow up with it’s trials and tribulations that get most of them killed. The ship whacks the rest and tells him is job is to be sure from this experience that the next generation works out.
sigh
I’ve read everything Heinlein ever wrote, I thought, but that one didn’t come to mind.