The Orville hits its groove, this week. If Episode 2 felt like it borrowed from from familiar Star Trek formulas, then this week felt like a premise Star Trek wished they'd thought of. I mean, we're not talking Star Trek Voyager anymore, this could've been an episode of The Next Generation, and a good one, too. "If the Stars Should Appear"
The Story The crew stumbles upon a giant "bio-ship" the size of New York City, an entire rural world complete with artificial sky and sunlight shining over expansive plains and grassy hills and towns. Think The Truman Show but in space. And bigger. The show also finally felt comfortable in its jokes. I don't know if that's because I'm getting used to the style, or the writers are finally writing second drafts to integrate them. The opening couple's spat between Bortus and Klyden had some charm, and the weird gelatinous blob played by Norm MacDonald finally got weird enough to catch me off guard with a punchline about toothpaste. Even the dick-joke of the week actually had some thought put into it this time: Lt Malloy to the robot after he says he's a better pilot: "You don't have to be a dick about it." The robot says, "Explain dick?" The Captain downloads him some data and after clarifying that human males often brag about their sexual organs thus concludes, "So Lt Malloy has complimented me?" But the joke I found funniest was a few minutes later when the Captain introduces himself, "Hi, I'm Captain Mercer of the--" (door slams in his face) "...Jehovah's Witnesses." What's making these dumb throwaway gags work is the continued casualness with which their wielded. This show is really just like hanging out with your dumb, Gen-X college friends while watching Star Trek -- or worse! -- like if you all got thrown into the future and just decided to go with it. They get awkward in elevators. They gossip about each other's relationships at work. And they contradict each other. Captain Mercer again: "We mean you no harm." The Doctor: "You just shot his father!" Mercer: "Besides that." Of course, the people they encounter in this world have no clue they're in a space ship and wouldn't ya know it? They've evolved a culture of religious dictatorship to enforce a contrived God and suppress the Reformers who suspect they're being kept in the dark. I can think of half a dozen episodes of the original Star Trek that play out this exact way. And even though they're basically insulting organized religion for its ongoing history of butting up against science (remember Galileo?) it's as inoffensive as classic rock elevator music. It may be about drugs and sex but even your gramma can't help bobbing her head to the thoughtless familiarity. Conclusion: I used to say this show didn't know whether to be funny or Star Trek. Today it got better at being both. It's a stupid show, I won't deny it, but I guess I'm in for the long haul, now. Here's to whatever hijinks these crazy cats will get into next week! Star Trek Discovery is out, and you can check out my review by clicking on the yellow-orange letters. It makes The Orville look like cheap TV. On the other hand, the two couldn't be more different. Where Discovery was dark and serious and psychological with layered acting and nuanced dialogue, The Orville is bright and upbeat and straightforward. And silly. There's room for both! ...just not on Sunday nights. Just in time to avoid actually having to compete with Star Trek, The Orville has moved to Thursdays. And though this means I don't have to write two reviews on Monday morning, I fear it will probably spell the end of The Orville after season one. Lest anyone forget that other great Sci-Fi show from a few years ago on Fox, (Firefly) which got canceled after being shuffled around too fast for viewers to find it. Episode 1 Episode 2 Episode 3 Episode 7-12 Don't forget to Like and Subscribe!
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Captain's Blog
|