Yeah, it's not going to be a gag-fest at all, nor should it be at an hour long episode length. I'm still looking forward to it way, way more than the clusterfrell that will be the new Frankenstein 'star trek' discovery!
I'm surprised to hear this isn't a straight comedy and that it will be hour long episodes. The preview, and maybe partly just a pre-bias because Seth McFarlane is involved, had me thinking Galaxy Quest. I'm still looking forward to it. It's practically the ONLY network show I can say that about. I don't bother with Family Guy anymore, but I really liked both Ted movies and A Million Ways To Die In The West.
"Maid Marian", yes, although I think it's aimed more at a "family" audience (parents watching it with their kids) "Red Dwarf", definitely not [for kids]. The thing is, I've seen episodes of that multiple times (there's more due to come out this year I believe) and I think if "Maid Marian" can spoil "Robin Hood: Men In Tights" for me, I think there's a good chance that "Red Dwarf" will have spoiled "The Orville" for me. I'll give it a go, because I could easily be wrong. But humour is very subjective and I think part of it is based on what you've been subjected to over the years. Off topic, but for me Mel Brooks has been hit or miss over the years. I loved "Silent Movie" and "History Of The World" and "To Be Or Not To Be" but (probably because I was so young when I saw it) "Young Frankenstein" fell flat for me and I don't remember "Blazing Saddles" even though I know I've seen it. "Spaceballs" was fun, but only somewhat funny, I found. I'd still call it a great movie, though.
I want to like this show. It could be quite good if written properly. However, Seth McFarland is involved and I just can't get too far past his self important style.
Those are his two best. I can see how 'Young Frankenstein' might fall flat if one is not familiar with the Universal horror films of the 1930s. 'Young Frankenstein' is my favorite, it never fails to make me laugh. Gene Wilder is perfect in the film, and Madeline Kahn... what can I say, hilarious as always.
Another negative review. According to this one, it isn't a Star Trek spoof, it's just bad Star Trek. 'The Orville' Isn't A 'Star Trek' Spoof. It's Just Bad 'Star Trek'
"It would be simply impossible to name all the shows and movies that are derivatives of Star Trek and plenty of them are entertaining — Firefly and Babylon 5, just for starters. Those series took steps to distance themselves from the basic format of Star Trek and ended up with strange, alluring plots and a diverse array of complicated characters, aliens and humanoids alike. By playing it safe and showing a truly breathtaking lack of creativity, The Orville can’t even claim to be better than the myriad of Star Trek fan films that can currently be found on YouTube. If nothing else, at least those have a genuine sense of passion and adoration behind them, whereas MacFarlane’s xerox offers only empty veneer." 'The Orville' Review: Seth MacFarlane Plays It Safe in His Egregious 'Star Trek' Rip-Off
I don't have high hopes for this series. Seth MacFarlane is very hit-or-miss for me. I am usually annoyed when he uses Family Guy as a vehicle for his own self-indulgence (enough with the show tunes!), even though I appreciate some of its anarchic qualities. I was not impressed with the mediocrity of The Cleveland Show. I like American Dad when SM isn't shoehorning his self-indulgent musical numbers into it, though. The first 1-2 seasons were pretty dire, but it picked up after that. That said, even AD episodes only have so much replay value for me. The Armageddon/Antichrist episode used to be one of my favorites, but after countless reruns, I'm sick of it. Still, I find Roger the alien funny/endearing. TL;DR: I am willing to give this show a chance, but I probably will not appreciate it based on the preview I've seen and my mixed/generally unflattering opinion of Seth MacFarlane.
Seth MacFarlane is great at skit/short-form comedy, but not so much at longer forms, such as feature length comedy movies. Since this show is longer than a half hour comedy spot and isn't intended to be an outright comedy, I think it could succeed if the more serious tone can be peppered with absurdist comedy. At least it looks like TV Trek, unlike STD-JJ.
I think the fact there are a lot of Trek alum working on the show ...bodes well....if it can stick around long enough to get settled in....it might get really good...(probably my biggest concern is Seth being the captain - which sort of feels like he is at Star Trek fantasy camp or something...sort of like when they cast Scott Bakula on Enterprise)....the initial run is 13 episodes ..but.....I wonder if they will do a "full season" (or at least..closer to 20) if the ratings are good ...or ramp production back up for some more episodes in the spring.....- they built a fancy two story set for the scenes on the ship....which seems pretty elaborate if they only end up doing 13 episodes.....
I really never pay attention to any negative review. Bad reviews get more attention. In the end I will always make my own decision. So I would rather end up watching a bad film or show than missing seeing a good one.
All these brutal reviews (or reports of them, I haven't actaually read any) for some reason have me looking more forward to seeing the show that I think I would be otherwise.
Wow. That might well have been the worst thing I've seen all year. How on Earth could that script have been green-lit? Just painful. I mean, maybe it'll get better later but, as it stands, that was a mess. How could this have been written by someone in the business for this long? The dialogue sounded like something out of fanfiction written by a teenager.
I thought it was pretty decent - the dialog was a bit wonky....in parts - (the banana ray dialog felt particularly shoe-horned in....) and the shoot-outs reminded me of old Westerns (or a lot of action movies...actually) where only the bad guys get shot....(perhaps a homage of sorts)...but - I like the general feel....the characters have potential....Im assuming the ex husband/ex wife thing won't be so prominent in every episode......anyways......its only the first episode....the first season of Next Generation was pretty wonky as well.......
I watched it. I don't think this first episode was as bad as all the reviews made it out to be. Though, it's nothing to write home about either. Hopefully it gets better as it progresses.
The reviews have been haaaaaarible... "...while "The Orville" clearly demonstrates its fondness for a show that promised to boldly go where others hadn't, it feels like MacFarlane and his crew are taking a sizable step backwards." 'The Orville' review: Seth MacFarlane's 'Star Trek' spoof doesn't boldly go - CNN "One last question about “The Orville”: why bother, when “Galaxy Quest” did such a wonderful, warmhearted job of sending up the “Star Trek” cosmos almost 20 years ago? We don’t have an answer for that one." Review: Fox’s ‘The Orville’ is Star Trek, the Next Regurgitation "The best way to describe “The Orville” is “What would happen if a guy who spent years writing animated dick jokes for television got the opportunity to make his own ‘Star Trek’? Oh, and what if his parent network gave him millions to make that happen?” It is a show that will be baffling for people who have never seen an episode of “Star Trek.” And for fans of the franchise, who know intimately how a “Trek” series feels, it will be downright disturbing." ‘The Orville’ Review: Seth MacFarlane’s ‘Star Trek’ Rip-Off is Creatively, Morally, and Ethically Bankrupt / "...outside of its creator, it’s hard to know what audience this show is for. ...The Orville will likely find itself drifting alone in space until it can figure what kind of show it is supposed to be." The Orville Series Premiere Review "TV could always use more space-set shows, but “The Orville” just doesn’t boldly go anywhere worth following." TV Review: Seth MacFarlane’s ‘The Orville’ on Fox
It tried to thread a difficult needle. Satire is hard to pull off these days, most folks don't get it. It will be interesting to see how this progresses. I think they should have made the characters far more extreme. Make the security officer a complete sex addict who keeps inadvertantly injuring her lovers or something. Make the helmsman a crazy savant that refused to fly without putting on a blindfold or sitting backwards or something. Have his ex keep losing her shirt on every mission, spoof on Kirk and titilating to geek viewers.
OMG... and before you do that you ALSO have to get the complete run of the 1974 ABC(?) tv series When Things Were Rotten and THEN evaluate all three!!!
