The Orville

[Darth Wedgius]

The ending felt a bit cheap, and in general terms could be seen coming a megaparsec away, but I think they justified it decently well. I thought Picardo was wasted, but it was just a quick cameo.
I thought the directing was well-done, and was surprised to find Brandon Braga was the director. Then again, SfDebris has said that he's good with WTF stories, though he didn't write this one.
The humor seemed a bit more hit or miss this time around, though.

[Morgaine]

Well, it's a typical Braga story one way or another. People say it's too much like TNG, I'd say that's the point.
With Discovery over there trying to be Battlestar Galactica there's an audience for stories like this.

I'm fine with the ending and the predictability of it, I just feel the timing of the reveal was way off.
While I appreciate the scene was there to explain something other than the typical holodeck malfunction premise, it happened too soon right before the climactic scene and thus robbed it of all tension.
Yes Alara is still in danger, but she's no longer alone with an evil possessed robot, she's playing a videogame and we know she is.

[Deledrius]

I'm fine with the ending and the predictability of it, I just feel the timing of the reveal was way off.
While I appreciate the scene was there to explain something other than the typical holodeck malfunction premise, it happened too soon right before the climactic scene and thus robbed it of all tension.
Yes Alara is still in danger, but she's no longer alone with an evil possessed robot, she's playing a videogame and we know she is.

I think that illustrates the weakness in the story. If they show it too soon, it removes the tension from her experience. Too late, and it comes out of nowhere in the final act and feels like a cop-out. I suspect they were trying to balance those. It didn't quite work for me.

Good idea, but the execution was disappointing.

[Robovski]

I think the reveal should have been after the ad break, not before. Otherwise this was such a Star Trek episode it was crazy.

[Redem]

I think the reveal should have been after the ad break, not before. Otherwise this was such a Star Trek episode it was crazy.

BY having it just before the ad actually was a bit good, cause it made me wonder about Ed's motivation a bit more

[Archanubis]

Orville's first season has been cut by one episode. Ep. 13 will air during the series' second season.
http://comicbook.com/startrek/2017/11/1 ... -episodes/

[TGLS]

Ah, a blood sacrifice to the dark gods behind Fox...

[LittleRaven]

While the cut is unfortunate, we're getting season 2, so it's all good in the hood.

[TheNewTeddy]

While I've been a bit sad on the overall quality of episodes, when I compare it to TNG's early seasons, I think that this show could become amazing if they really worked hard at it.

The problem is I dont know if they are willing to put in what is needed.

[Paul Walker]

Discovery isn't trying to be the new Battlestar Galactica. It's trying to be the new Deep Space Nine.

BSG was about a hopeless situation which got worse every time you looked at it more closely, and only had the occasional act of humanity to make it feel less bleak and depressing.

Discovery (like Deep Space Nine) has long running arcs, in which both the protagonists and antagonists get some time to have their victories. Unlike in BSG, there are more victories shown to us (the viewer) than defeats, and the end of the episode is normally similar or an improvement on the situation from the last one (with the oobvious exception of the two-part prologue).

Discovery is Star Trek attempting to do long-form story telling, and bring the viewer into the story. Look at the "Thoughts on Discovery" sections here and across the internet. The fans are watching it and trying to pick apart images that are on the screen for a fraction of a second to try and guess what's happening next. BSG didn't allow for that. In fact I don't think any Sci-Fi franchise has been able to pull this off yet. Discovery in irrefutably Star Trek due to it's focus on character, redemption, and the willingness to be open to new ideas.

Consider this scene with slightly different dialogue:

https://youtu.be/oeLrqLP1DJk?t=17

Star Trek Discovery about Orville: I gave you something most franchises never experience: a second chance at life. And now all you can do is complain?

Star Trek about Orville: I can't live out my days as that show. That series is bereft of passion... and imagination! That is not who *I* am!

Star Trek Discovery about Orville: Au contraire. It's the show you wanted me to be: one where characters were more disciplined and have less passion, one who was less like me... The Star Trek *you* wanted to be, the one who did *not* have internal conflicts, had quite a different path from the one you want. That show never had a brush with death, never came face to face with his own mortality, never realized how fragile time is or how important each moment must be. So that show never came into focus. It drifted through a number of series, with no plan or agenda, going from one episode to the next, never seizing the opportunities that presented themselves. Orville learned to play it safe - and it never, ever, got remembered by anyone.

*all hands, brace for the storm!*

(I should say, that I do like Orville, I just like Discovery more).