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By Boffo97 (Dave Hines)
 - Gamma Quadrant
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Retired Moderator
#451968
I could have sworn there was a previous thread on this show, but for some reason, the Search function here doesn't search the buzz, and I couldn't find it after doing some digging, so here we are.

And YMMV as to whether this should really be in All Things Trek anyway. ;)

Some bullet point thoughts on each of the 6 episodes of the new season so far now that I've caught up.

"Ja'loja":

* The overarching plot premise is, of course, transparently silly and we're probably doomed to get a lot of that with the Moclans. It really seems The Orville divided the Klingons into the Krill (the implacable enemy) and the Moclans (REALLY alien culture that we see through Bortus, much like Worf).

* I admit to not being good at spotting someone without their makeup, so the setup for "Nothing Left On Earth Excepting Fishes" managed to go right over my head until I saw that episode.

* There is simply no way that Kelly doesn't realize that it was Ed who gave Cassius the tip to use "Open Arms". That's not something (especially a few centuries after the band was alive) that a new guy just stumbles upon. She's probably taking it as an unspoken peace offering from Ed.

* They were a little less than subtle with the idea of Kelly refusing to answer the question of whether or not she still loves Ed.

"Primal Urges":

* Two episodes in a row with such a focus on Bortus? Probably should have been avoided.

* That said, I do like that what happened to Topa last season hasn't just gone away and been accepted by everyone.

* I'm actually a little sad that viruses are still such a problem in the future, especially since this isn't some trap set by an ancient civilization, but just installing suspicious software.

* It really seems that Bortus should have faced harsher consequences for being perhaps THE cause of why half the remaining population of the planet couldn't be saved.

"Home":

* I haven't kept up with all the gossip, but I hope that the relationship that Seth McFarlane and Halston Sage had during the first season wasn't THE reason Sage left the show.

* I appreciate good Star Trek stunt casting, and Phlox wanting to kill The Doctor amused me.

* If this and the next episode is all we see of Tharl, he certainly just felt like "Look how kooky this alien guy is! Moving on!"

* Picardo's "I don't know you! I never even tried to know you!" moment got you in the feels, especially for those who've had difficult family members.

* The jar of pickles on the desk was just as poignant to me as Sisko leaving the baseball in his office.

"Nothing Left on Earth Excepting Fishes":

* This is my new pick for best episode of The Orville yet. It's also the best example that the show went beyond Trek parody to just being Trek.

* It was pretty much the second I saw Teleya again that I realized what was up.

* While the Krill can be problematic as their backstory can really tie into McFarlane's issues with religion, it kind of cuts to the essence of Trek: "Here are these guys that are just plain evil. There's no reasoning with them. If we don't kill them, they kill us. Now, that said, here's some hope of reasoning with them."

* "Janelle" apparently did a really good job avoiding UV radiation while on The Orville. What would she have done if Ed selected her for a landing party?

* This episode in particular shows how it's a shame how Trek as a whole (except for Tom Paris kinda sorta) rejected our modern culture. The soundtrack here is DEAD FREAKING ON. Especially "She's Always A Woman To Me".

"All the World is a Birthday Cake":

* Hopefully Talla ends up being more than just Alara 2.0. I hope Ed never asks her to open a jar of pickles for him. That should be for Alara.

* The whole plot does require the population to ignore that Kelly and Bortus were aliens from different planets with different constellations and different year lengths. Thus, they weren't Giliac.

* Also, except for that meaning the episode ends early, why do the natives insist on putting them in their camps and not just telling Ed to take his Giliacs and go? While the episode explains why it didn't happen, they had to worry that armed response would be a definite possibility and they would lose.

* The "fake star" seemed to be a bit of a special effects failure. Being that close to the planet shouldn't fool anyone, even with the satellites being hacked. Kind of convenient that that instantly worked too.

* It ended up being a very interesting ethical question at the end.

"A Happy Refrain":

* I actually liked the "Bortus tries a mustache" sideplot, such as it was.

* The "Let's flip the table" gag made me chuckle, as did LaMarr and Gordon running to the Bridge like teenagers to tell everyone the news.

* It was probably in previous episodes, but I just noticed that Kelly, the huge Journey fan, had the album artwork from Escape hanging as art on her office wall. As a fellow big fan. I approve. Don't stop believin', Kelly...

* On a side note to this, having the first officer have her own office makes sense, and I'm surprised Trek didn't do this, even if it wasn't a Ready Room.

* Poor Yaphit.

* Isaac's actor got to exhibit some chops he probably doesn't get to exercise much wearing the full face mask.

* One would think that the whole thing of it raining on the bridge would be problematic. Apparently not.

* I would not be surprised if this ends up a major plot point later, as Isaac has now arguably been more "infected" by humanity than Hugh ever was. Him trying to share that data might cause massive problems for his planet.
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By Boffo97 (Dave Hines)
 - Gamma Quadrant
 -  
Retired Moderator
#452944
"Deflectors":

* If the intent of the episode were to make real world social comparisons, I think it failed in that regard. Nobody sane would agree with Klyden and the rest of the Moclans here.

* In fact, the end of the episode ends of making a great point. Bortus is borderline okay, but the rest of the Moclans seem to have no business being on the same side as the Union.

* Talla and Locar falling in love seemed to happen pretty quickly, but that's a peril of jamming what should be a longer term story into a one hour episode.

* The mystery ended up being really easy to solve.

* Wow, Cassius went from being a nice guy to crossing the line to creepy stalker pretty quickly. It might have been a better ending for Ed, Kelly or someone else to order his transfer rather than taking it voluntarily. There's a certain point at which a dude needs to take a hint.

* Gordon and LaMarr going over all the strangeness on the Orville that Talla missed is a funny moment.

* There is a genuine ethics debate in the frame job. Does what happened to Locar excuse what he tried to do to Klyden?

* Again, and more pointedly than before, we see Kelly refuse to definitively answer whether or not she still loves Ed.

* Basically, this episode is a rehash of TNG's "The Outcast" in a lot of ways. It's BETTER than "The Outcast", but still quite a bit of a rehash IMO.
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By BCSWowbagger (James Heaney)
 - First Edition Rules Master
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Community Contributor
#453606
T-Ricks wrote:I'm enjoying the series but there seems to be a lot of attention given to bad relationships.
Just relationships in general. I'm exhausted. I was willing to put up with the Cassius relationship being a B-plot in "Deflectors," but, when Bortus's "old boyfriend" showed up, I gave up. Turned it off, went to do something else.

Star Trek does well with B-plots, but the show isn't about the B-plots. Orville can't seem to figure that out, and its B-plots have sprawled from "indulgent" to "all-consuming."
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First Edition Rules Master
By BCSWowbagger (James Heaney)
 - First Edition Rules Master
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Community Contributor
#454827
Well, THIS week was a cut above what we've been seeing lately. So many
skulls
!
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First Edition Rules Master
By BCSWowbagger (James Heaney)
 - First Edition Rules Master
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Community Contributor
#456198
I finally get why they spent sooooooo much time on the Isaac/Kasidy relationship. Had to get everything set up for the two-parter... which just about made it all worth it!
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By Boffo97 (Dave Hines)
 - Gamma Quadrant
 -  
Retired Moderator
#456200
With so much recent focus on relationships, I was half surprised they didn't bring
Talla
back as a regular character in the aftermath of the two parter just for relationship angst.
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