Saturday, December 09, 2017

The Orville



               I have a love/hate relationship with The Orville.  Maybe I’ve watched too much Star Trek.  Maybe I haven’t watched enough.  I understand and I completely agree with the fact that the world needs another Star Trek-like show on television proper.  Maybe Star Trek: Discovery is a great show, but I’m not going to add CBSAllAcess to my Netflix and Hulu and Cable bill.  I pay for CBS with cable.  I don’t need to pay for it again.  If I miss out on something, I miss out.  I’m not made of money.

               That being said, The Orville is obviously a fan of Star Trek, especially, it seems, of Star Trek: The Next Generation.  I don’t mind.  On the one hand, I wish it toned down some of the Trek-concepts.  On the other, I grew up on TNG.  This is my kind of Sci-Fi.

               I don’t have a problem with the tone of the show either, though I do have trouble reacting to the shifts of the show’s tone.  It alternates between Trek and parody, between comedy and farce, between serious questions about humanity and odd-references.

               No, I like the Kermit doll.  Any show that references the Muppets in any shape or form gets a bonus in my eyes.

               I do wish the first season was longer, so the show would grow into itself more.  I think, however, that may be a blessing in disguise.  Part of me wonders if the tonal shifts in the show are a result of Fox messing with the show, like they did with Firefly.  It does offend me that The Orville gets another season than Firefly didn’t.  Seth McFarland’s star is in Fox’s orbit, I guess.

               Every time I watch the episode, I’m reminded of The Princess Bride.  “Goodnight Westley.  Good work. Sleep well.  I’ll most likely kill you in the morning.”  Really, after twelve episodes, I’m watching out of habit.  I’m not excited about the show, but I’m still waiting to figure out what the show is going to be.

               In The Orville’s defense, that’s as much the fault of Star Trek as anything else.  I was constantly disappointed by Trek, which is the final nail the in the coffin of reasons I’m not paying for CBSAllAccess.  Star Trek was full of disappointments and lost potential.  I hope The Orville does better.

               I’ll be waiting for the second season to make my mind up.

               - Jim