I. Tell Me a Story
I was worried right away last night when the new Star Trek: Discovery lingered lovingly on a spacesuit, and the crew explained in detail how they had located an object in space. Oh, no, I thought---is this going to be high-tech, low-story?
Yes, it is.
And the storytelling was bad--besides all the time spent on special effects, many minutes are wasted on Klingons giving speeches (everyone knows Klingons mostly harp on one theme: "die with honor"),
and a lot more time is wasted on developing a character the audience knows is going to die ("guest star [famous person*]" is a tip, folks).
What there was of the story could hardly advance because it was stuffed with so many ads, the show itself was maybe … 35? minutes.
Maybe the worst thing: OH SO SERIOUS.
Where's the silliness of the original Trek?
Even Klingons have another side...
Behind the scenes shot [via]:
Klingon Worf (Michael Dorn) with "Emmi-Lou, a Russian wild boar that doubled as a Klingon targ".
Still, L&M and I were willing to sign on for the free-week-trial of CBS All Access, to give Discovery's second episode a chance. We couldn't:
the site must have been swamped.
I don't know how this tech works, but wouldn't you think CBS would have prepared for viewers all trying to sign on at once after the first episode?
They lost me--I'm not going to bother to try again, and I'm certainly not going to pay $6/month for "limited ad experience.
When the entire show comes out on DVD, I might watch it then.
II. The Wright Stuff
I LOVED IT!!!
Right away, I was laughing out loud. I don't know how it would strike people who don't know sci-fi television, but it's a loving spoof of that genre, along the lines of Galaxy Quest. There are oodles of tips o' the pen to Star Trek, but I'd say that like GQ, The Orville stands alone as well.
The Orville is obviously and delightfully the work of the type of fans who are always groaning in frustration,
"Why didn't they just . . . [fill in the missing obvious thing real people would do]?!?!"
Finally, here are the missing seat belts, a bathroom break (maybe a little too much bathroom humor, but whatever), eavesdropping with the ship's intercom, etc.---but they're not thrown in gratuitously--they're neatly woven into the plot.
OK, some are gratuitous, but they're so fun & satisfying.
My favorite line was when the new captain, Ed Mercer (MacFarlane), introduces himself to his bridge crew, and the navigator John Lamarr (J Lee) asks:
But as someone who actually quit a volunteer job over the issue of pop, I was deeply gratified.
Presenting the ship as a real workplace is brilliant: I can relate when crew members are annoyed to encounter aliens because it means they won't get off work on time.
I felt among my own, as someone who loves SFX that rely on clever handmade and camera-made effects, like in the old Dr Who and Blakes 7 (whose budget was so low, they borrowed Dr Who supplies from the set next door) and 1960s Star Trek with its styrofoam rocks and the like.
(Or the movie Be Kind, Rewind, a tribute to in-camera effects.)
Ideas move a story along, not gadgets---if the ideas are good, we'll accept that the gadgets are held together with hot glue;
and we see the Captain Mercer and his first officer (Adrianne Palicki) [they're an unhappily divorced couple] literally hot-glueing the cunning gadget that saves them.
Speaking of low-tech ingenuity---you can see Orville & Wilbur Wright's Flyer on the captain's desk. Also a Kermit the Frog toy, and a plant.
A plant. This touches my heart so much--there were always these low-light plants on Captain Kirk's Enterprise too. And Kirk's bookshelf always held a few antique hard-copy books too.
I found this photo ^ on Reddit, whose users seem to agree with me it's a terrific show so far:
Finally, while Discovery took us about ten minutes into one story, the Orville resolved their plot all in one episode. Thank you.
I'm glad to see someone else in the mainstream press agrees with me too. From Forbes: "The Critics Must Be Crazy: Seth MacFarlane's 'The Orville' Captures The Spirit Of 'Star Trek'"
______________________
* famous person = Michelle Yeoh, I know her from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon:
I was worried right away last night when the new Star Trek: Discovery lingered lovingly on a spacesuit, and the crew explained in detail how they had located an object in space. Oh, no, I thought---is this going to be high-tech, low-story?
Yes, it is.
And the storytelling was bad--besides all the time spent on special effects, many minutes are wasted on Klingons giving speeches (everyone knows Klingons mostly harp on one theme: "die with honor"),
and a lot more time is wasted on developing a character the audience knows is going to die ("guest star [famous person*]" is a tip, folks).
What there was of the story could hardly advance because it was stuffed with so many ads, the show itself was maybe … 35? minutes.
Maybe the worst thing: OH SO SERIOUS.
Even Klingons have another side...
Behind the scenes shot [via]:
Klingon Worf (Michael Dorn) with "Emmi-Lou, a Russian wild boar that doubled as a Klingon targ".
Still, L&M and I were willing to sign on for the free-week-trial of CBS All Access, to give Discovery's second episode a chance. We couldn't:
the site must have been swamped.
I don't know how this tech works, but wouldn't you think CBS would have prepared for viewers all trying to sign on at once after the first episode?
They lost me--I'm not going to bother to try again, and I'm certainly not going to pay $6/month for "limited ad experience.
When the entire show comes out on DVD, I might watch it then.
II. The Wright Stuff
"We finally got our Star Trek series. It's called The Orville. This is the stuff that sci-fi, at least for me, is all about."Disappointed, we decided to risk the new Star Trek-ish spoof, The Orville, by Seth MacFarlane (creator of Family Guy) despite its bad reviews, streaming on Fox TV.
--Reddit.com/r/TheOrville
I LOVED IT!!!
Right away, I was laughing out loud. I don't know how it would strike people who don't know sci-fi television, but it's a loving spoof of that genre, along the lines of Galaxy Quest. There are oodles of tips o' the pen to Star Trek, but I'd say that like GQ, The Orville stands alone as well.
The Orville is obviously and delightfully the work of the type of fans who are always groaning in frustration,
"Why didn't they just . . . [fill in the missing obvious thing real people would do]?!?!"
Finally, here are the missing seat belts, a bathroom break (maybe a little too much bathroom humor, but whatever), eavesdropping with the ship's intercom, etc.---but they're not thrown in gratuitously--they're neatly woven into the plot.
OK, some are gratuitous, but they're so fun & satisfying.
My favorite line was when the new captain, Ed Mercer (MacFarlane), introduces himself to his bridge crew, and the navigator John Lamarr (J Lee) asks:
"Uh, so, our last captain let us have soda on the bridge while we were working, and I just want to make sure that's still okay.Later we see Lamarr drinking his pop from a straw--for no reason.
Ed: "Uh, yeah, if you keep it below the equipment and don't spill any, sure."
[transcript here]
But as someone who actually quit a volunteer job over the issue of pop, I was deeply gratified.
Presenting the ship as a real workplace is brilliant: I can relate when crew members are annoyed to encounter aliens because it means they won't get off work on time.
I felt among my own, as someone who loves SFX that rely on clever handmade and camera-made effects, like in the old Dr Who and Blakes 7 (whose budget was so low, they borrowed Dr Who supplies from the set next door) and 1960s Star Trek with its styrofoam rocks and the like.
(Or the movie Be Kind, Rewind, a tribute to in-camera effects.)
Ideas move a story along, not gadgets---if the ideas are good, we'll accept that the gadgets are held together with hot glue;
and we see the Captain Mercer and his first officer (Adrianne Palicki) [they're an unhappily divorced couple] literally hot-glueing the cunning gadget that saves them.
Speaking of low-tech ingenuity---you can see Orville & Wilbur Wright's Flyer on the captain's desk. Also a Kermit the Frog toy, and a plant.
A plant. This touches my heart so much--there were always these low-light plants on Captain Kirk's Enterprise too. And Kirk's bookshelf always held a few antique hard-copy books too.
I found this photo ^ on Reddit, whose users seem to agree with me it's a terrific show so far:
"This really does feel like classic TNG or TOS star trek. I'm so glad I decided to give this show a watch. I'm absolutely astounded that critics blasted this show and gave star trek discovery such high marks. "And it's funny. Reddit says, "The Orville is the perfect foil to the angsty sci-fi that we are getting lately."
Finally, while Discovery took us about ten minutes into one story, the Orville resolved their plot all in one episode. Thank you.
I'm glad to see someone else in the mainstream press agrees with me too. From Forbes: "The Critics Must Be Crazy: Seth MacFarlane's 'The Orville' Captures The Spirit Of 'Star Trek'"
______________________
* famous person = Michelle Yeoh, I know her from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon:
Here's Yeoh, below right, as captain of the Federation Starship Shenzou; MacFarlane as captain of the Orville, left:
3 comments:
NOTE TO SELF: Look up New Yorker article,
"Seth MacFarlane Discusses “The Orville,” “Star Trek,” and the Struggle to Make Science Fiction Funny"
Looking forward to seeing more of The Orville. It seems to capture much of the energy, imagination and fun of the original Star Trek--even while being goofier. Plus I love the low tech props and effects: it's creatively inspiring and heartening to feel like I could make the alien life, ray gun, or space ship on my own, with a little help from Ace Hardware.
BINK: I watched the second episode of the Orville and liked it a lot too---not as funny, but raised some ethical questions--just like the original ST!
And I agree, it makes you think "I could make Starship 379!"
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