****UNION STARSHIP-SIZED SPOILERS!!**** Once again, The Orville takes a familiar Star Trek-trope, in this case the event of first contact between a sophisticated spacefaring race and a less-developed planet. Star Trek has long held to its ‘prime directive’ that forbids revealing the existence of spacefaring civilizations to such planets unless they have asked for help,…
Tag: #TheOrville
The Orville, S2.4: “Nothing Left On Earth Excepting Fishes”…
The Orville’s latest episode, “Nothing Left On Earth Excepting Fishes” (a direct quote from “The King And I”) shines a spotlight on Captain Ed Mercer (series creator/producer/star Seth MacFarlane), while the subplot focuses on the captain’s best friend, the less-than-genius Lt. Gordon Malloy (Scott Grimes). While Gordon’s subplot is primarily played for laughs (with just…
The Orville S2.3, “Home” is both reunion and farewell…
**** UNION CRUISER-SIZED SPOILERS!! ***** In the tradition of Denise Crosby’s “Tasha Yar” from Star Trek: The Next Generation, the Orville saw the departure of one its own in the latest episode from Seth MacFarlane’s retro-but-fresh sci-fi dramedy Fox series. Though not quite the tragedy of TNG’s “Skin of Evil,” Orville’s “Home” still managed to…
The Orville S2.2: Really feeling “Primal Urges”…
As The Orville’s stock continues to rise, it’s increasingly clear that this ‘dramedy’ sci-fi series from star/creator Seth MacFarlane is rapidly eclipsing Star Trek: Discovery in the hearts and minds of some (if not many) fans. Personally, I hate to stoke competition (why not enjoy them both?) but if I had to say which series…
“Star Trek” and “The Orville” are well-represented at this year’s IMATS Los Angeles Convention…
A few years ago, my wife clued me into a convention in Pasadena called IMATS (I know; it’s called IMATS Los Angeles, but it’s actually in Pasadena). IMATS is the International Makeup Artists Trade Show, and a majority of the convention space is devoted to cosmetic/glamour makeup (which my wife and our friend eagerly capitalize…
Personal Favorites of 2017
Just want to begin by saying that for this year’s favorites list, I’m going to get away from numerical or other arbitrary values (same way I won’t give ‘thumbs up’ or 1-5 star ratings, etc). So unlike last year’s list, I’m not going to do rankings. Just a list. I also recognize that there are many…
“Star Trek: Discovery” and “The Orville”; two versions of the same show?
Blade Runner’s Tyrell Corporation (in the 1982 original) had an interesting slogan for its humanoid ‘replicants’; “More human than human.” In a way, Fox’s Star-Trek-by-any-other-name TV series “The Orville” is the Tyrell answer to Star Trek’s latest (and arguably least familiar feeling) incarnation, “Discovery.” It’s been over 12 years since the previous Trek TV series “Enterprise” was…
“The Orville” is on a smoother trajectory, with just a bit of turbulence…
Seth McFarlane’s sci-fi series “The Orville” got off to a rocky start. I have to admit, I wasn’t sure if I was going to like it based on the pilot “Old Wounds.” Now, the show is (at the time of this blog) about two episodes from the end of the first season, and its leveled off…
“The Orville” launches…but isn’t quite firing on all thrusters yet.
This past Sunday (Sept. 10th) marked the debut of Seth McFarlane’s new Fox sci-fi comedy series, “The Orville”; a gently (perhaps too gently) parodying Star Trek-style series that has all of the tropes and visual aesthetics of “Star Trek: The Next Generation” while attempting some “Galaxy Quest”-style mockery of the space opera genre itself. However,…