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The Orville

#345
Gorn said:
This last episode is a combo ripoff of the Voyager episode Blink of an Eye and the TNG episode Who Watches the Watchers. A little bit of Meridian from DS9 too.
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I had to look them up, as I only have a vague recollection of the TNG episode - I only remember(ed) the holographically-hidden observation post, an idea they reused in Insurrection - and the Brigadoon episode from DS9. "Blink of an Eye" I did remember, though. It was one of the really good episodes in the series IMO (I've already expressed my dislike of VOY in another thread, but also admitted that there was some good material in it all the same), and watching "Mad Idolatry" I too was reminded of it. Among other things, it too had the only crew member suitable for the mission be sent on the planet to spend some forcedly non-negligible time on it.
 
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#348
Watching the last episode of this season, after figuring out where they
were going with all of it, kept expecting to see George Tsoukalos...

aliens did it.png


And I KNOW this joker will be in there next year :D
Mollari-Tsoukalos.jpg


And probably him too...
vir.jpg
 
#349
I don't have much of a problem with ripped off ideas at this point. It's become acceptable. This last episode struck me as especially ripped off. I know he's familiar with the episodes. Who Watches the Watchers is one of my all time favorite hours of television. Not only the idea that a technologically advanced being can be perceived as a god but uh oh, it happened and maybe we should play the god roll to fix what we screwed up. Captain Picard handled it a bit better I think. The way MacFarlane combined the ideas from the DS9 episode and Voyager episode was actually kinda interesting. I still like the show but some original ideas would be nice.
 
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#350
Gorn said:
I don't have much of a problem with ripped off ideas at this point. It's become acceptable. This last episode struck me as especially ripped off. I know he's familiar with the episodes. Who Watches the Watchers is one of my all time favorite hours of television. Not only the idea that a technologically advanced being can be perceived as a god but uh oh, it happened and maybe we should play the god roll to fix what we screwed up. Captain Picard handled it a bit better I think. The way MacFarlane combined the ideas from the DS9 episode and Voyager episode was actually kinda interesting. I still like the show but some original ideas would be nice.
Click to expand...

Brannon Braga is the Big Dog on this project...he's setting it up better than
what was done on Marvel's Agents of Shield.
You'll see a fair amount of old & new coming through...

That first renewal was the hardest, now they can get on with some
fun storytelling :) Nearly every show's 2nd & 3rd seasons are better
than the first!
 
#351
Big Shrek said:
Brannon Braga is the Big Dog on this project...he's setting it up better than
what was done on Marvel's Agents of Shield.
You'll see a fair amount of old & new coming through...

That first renewal was the hardest, now they can get on with some
fun storytelling :) Nearly every show's 2nd & 3rd seasons are better
than the first!
Click to expand...
I forgot he's involved. So it's more recycling than ripping off.
 
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#356
Gorn said:
Who Watches the Watchers is one of my all time favorite hours of television. Not only the idea that a technologically advanced being can be perceived as a god but uh oh, it happened and maybe we should play the god roll to fix what we screwed up. Captain Picard handled it a bit better I think.
Click to expand...

I remember watching that episode when it first aired and thinking that the series was really starting to get good. Not just as basic entertainment, but as a legitimate commentary on society. It was more than a TV drama set in space - it was taking television to areas where genuine science fiction novels and stories had staked out as important to the human condition.

I had to look this up because I only vaguely remembered a TOS episode where Kirk is mistaken for a God.
The Paradise Syndrome - Wikipedia

So far, I like The Orville a lot more than I thought I would. It doesn't rely on Family Guy type humor and it's far more drama than comedy - and that's a good thing. The stories themselves are much better written than I expected. It's obvious a lot of thought went into the writing.
 
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#357
hbarcat said:
I remember watching that episode when it first aired and thinking that the series was really starting to get good. Not just as basic entertainment, but as a legitimate commentary on society. It was more than a TV drama set in space - it was taking television to areas where genuine science fiction novels and stories had staked out as important to the human condition.

I had to look this up because I only vaguely remembered a TOS episode where Kirk is mistaken for a God.
The Paradise Syndrome - Wikipedia

So far, I like The Orville a lot more than I thought I would. It doesn't rely on Family Guy type humor and it's far more drama than comedy - and that's a good thing. The stories themselves are much better written than I expected. It's obvious a lot of thought went into the writing.
Click to expand...
I remember Who Watches the Watchers from when I was a kid before I had a certain viewpoint I have now. Now it has a whole new meaning for me. Picard's "I will not take away this achievement and send them back into the dark ages" speech gives me goosebumps.
 
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#358
I've seen very few Voyager episodes but was intrigued enough by references to it's influence on Mad Idolatry to look up the episode, Blink of an Eye.

It seems that Blink of an Eye was itself inspired by the SF novel Dragon's Egg by Robert Forward. It is considered a pioneering work in the genre of hard SF and I've reread it 3 times since I first experienced it at age 12.

Dragon's Egg is an excellent example of top shelf science fiction writing that isn't by one of the big names like Asimov, Bradbury, Clark, etc.. I often recommend it to beginners who want to get into serious SF, but with a nearly effortless reading style on a scientifically advanced topic somehow made accessible to a non-technical reader.

Dragon's Egg - Wikipedia
 
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