Question Discovery vs The Orville

I have not seen Discovery, but have read that a lot of people are trashing it, but I've watched the first four episodes of the Orville and have been surprised by it.

I expected a lot of cheap jokes, maybe poking fun at standard Star Trek tropes, but they have actually had a couple of episodes that would not have been out of place on the original Trek.

They've visited the concept of parents changing a new born's sex, with a very unexpected end.

A closed society where the leaders would rather risk certain death rather than give up power over the population. With torture and one of the crew members being shot and nearly killed.

Maybe there is more hand-waving over hard science, but for someone who is not a fan of Seth Macfarlane's humor it's been surprisingly well done.

Sure there are stupid jokes, but a lot of them are the sort of things you'd expect in a closed environment between close individuals. Not a spit and polished military crew here.

Any opinions on the merits of the two shows?

Well since CBS chose to lock Discovery behind a 'pay wall' I will wait for that dumpster fire to burn out and watch it when I am VERY sure it becomes free!
I will say one thing about it--please someone fire captain 'lens flare' the camera guy soon!!! that 'lens flare' all the time look is old and sucks!

But Orville needs help fast IMO
ep1 was 'okay-ish'
2 was very good and the ending was really funny
3 was a rehash of the news day IMO
4 was the writers falling asleep watching old star trek and turning in that script after the dog ate theirs?

the show needs new writers fast!!!!
the 'we got divorced' bit is already old in only 2 episodes and some of the cast seems to be 'phoning' the job in=no love for it, its just a paycheck.
If they had just done a good paced version of Galaxy Quest? the show would be fine IMO

Ohh and I find the initials for star trek discovery funny====STD!!!! lol

I haven't watched discovery at all so can only comment on The Orville, That said, I concur with Kristin, in fact I only watched about 20 minutes of episode 1 before I closed the window. I doubt I'll try any of the other episodes. I don't much like parody unless it is very carefully done, and in my maybe not so humble opinion, this was not done well. It seemed very ham-handed to me.

I've only seen Discovery. In the episodes released here, they only discovered
. That was not the trek I was hoping for. But it all looks nice.

Let's see... Orville has made an attempt to replicate the types of stories that we associate with Star Trek. the problem is that while it has some good comedic moments, much as the original trek series all did at times, they're hitting you over the head with one-liners and crude humor for the rest of the comedy and that detracts from the rest too much.



Now... Star Trek Discovery, on the other hand, has come out of the gate swinging with some movie-level effects and cinematography as well as some pretty solid acting. I've heard a number of detractors and most of what I'm hearing is that it's not the same as previous Treks... which is both a good thing as well as bad. It's good in that it's trying to set itself apart and not mimic the previous ones. unfortunately, since they've stated that it's set in the original Trek universe (versus the Kelvin timeline started with the JJ Abrams Movies) it's going to run into some continuity issues. They were bound to when they started catching-up to a closer time-frame to the original series and tried to give their own take to things. This is true of the interactions between the races as well as Technology.

The thing it doesn't have yet is that "Star Trek Feel" but it's only a few episodes in and I'm expecting we'll see more of that as the series progresses.



Overall, I'll keep watching both but I'm fairly certain I'll end-up enjoying Star Trek Discovery more.

I have watched both, and I must say that each has its own good qualities. Discovery is much more polished story-wise, but The Orville is getting there, and in my opinion could be quite decent if it continues to improve in quality. It does take some time to create a universe and characters that you care about, and they seem to be doing a decent job. The jokes are quite weak at times, though.

Also, with regards to the latest episode of Discovery, I found just one jarring note.

Just to be clear, I haven't seen either show and I doubt I will see either.

This evening on Youtube, I noticed that there were a bunch of "reviews" of STD and Orville. I found it humorous that the biggest complaint about STD is that the main character is named Michael. You would think, from those "reviews" that they had named the character "Jesus Sucks."

I haven't had a chance to see the Orville yet. As for Discovery, I watched the first episode and I think I'm done. I hated the set design, I hated the reimage Klingons, who looked more like Jem'hadar. And I really wasn't all that keen on the characters. The protagonist I'm breaking the rules and being a dick for your own good thing was just annoying.

Now that I have seen Orville, I have to say it was pretty good. Not amazing, but far more Watchable then Discovery, and with far more interesting characters. Sure some of the humour is rather forced and infantile, but I still see myself watching more of it.

I think reactions to The Orville are closely tied to expectations leading up to it, and that some expectations were unrealistic.

Kristin Darken wrote: I feel that The Orville decided not to go full on parody humor mode... and unfortunately put themselves in a neutral ground of not having a real purpose. It's not serious enough to be sci fi. It's not adventure/action oriented enough to be space opera. It's not funny enough to be a comedy. At the moment, it's a weak sit com with a gimmick of trying to paint itself as a sci-fi parody.

So... its hard to see how its going to appeal to an audience... because it don't know which one to try to lure in. And is too 'central' to reach all of them..

Actually, I see it as a moderately strong sitcom with a sustainable premise. From the ads leading up to its debut, I expected the humor of Family Guy or American Dad (neither exactly my favorite) set in a Star Trek kind of universe. My expectations were not high, but I gave it a chance. I was pleasantly surprised. The production values were unexpectedly high, and the humor was somewhat toned down from the animated shows. It was not advertised as sci fi adventure, and it wasn't. It wasn't advertised as a parody, and it isn't.

The premise is designed well for a long lasting series. The title vessel is a middle of the line exploration vessel in a fleet of 3000, neither top of the line like the Enterprise nor a garbage scow like the Red Dwarf. The bridge crew is diverse and competent, but most are flawed or unusual in terms of their own cultures - neither the paragons of ST nor the complete misfits of RD. Their missions are mostly routine, leaving plenty of room for interaction. The show could go several seasons without even stretching the premise.

So far, the episodes have not disappointed me.

Ahimsa wrote: I have watched both, and I must say that each has its own good qualities. Discovery is much more polished story-wise, but The Orville is getting there, and in my opinion could be quite decent if it continues to improve in quality. It does take some time to create a universe and characters that you care about, and they seem to be doing a decent job. The jokes are quite weak at times, though.

Also, with regards to the latest episode of Discovery, I found just one jarring note.

Warning: Spoiler! [ Click to expand ] [ Click to hide ]

The ships run on Microsoft Windows! This shows a screen of code that Burnham is supposed to be working with... and it's all function calls that exist within Windows

Borg plot.

I think the Orville is starting to settle into it's groove. maybe. The latest episode are very original trek and the humor is not as jarring, and fan response has led to Fox renewing it for three more seasons.

I'd take that with a grain of salt mind you.

I don't know... the last episode I saw where they infiltrated an alien ship was a great story ruined by too much humor shoe-horned in too often.

DanZilla wrote: I don't know... the last episode I saw where they infiltrated an alien ship was a great story ruined by too much humor shoe-horned in too often.

But the ending was a bit of a gut punch.

At least for me.

Rotten Tomatoes is giving it 18% from the critics, but the people actually watching it are giving it in the 80% range.

I'm not sure how long I'll watch. Takes a pretty special show to hook me for more than a season or two.

only one really managing it right now is Lucifer. I'm also watching a lot of classic sixties TV when I get the chance.

A screw up in an order from Amazon had me registered as a prime member. I only agreed to a trial membership, but they didn't bother to inform me that after thirty days they'd sign me up for real.

I was going to raise hell, because I only thought I was getting free shipping. Turns out I also get all their prime streaming TV shows, and while the library is not that big they have some great old TV. Some of it with the original commericals.

Did you know that the opening theme for the Beverly Hillbillies used to include a verse about how great Winston cigarettes are?

I didn't see any reference to music or books on my membership. The Canadian version might not have it. The video access is worth the eighty dollars a year, for now. I'll have to see how often they add material.

Right now they only have a single season of some of the classic shows I'm most interested in watching. And they don't have that many of them.

It's nice to take a trip back in time and watch those old black and white shows.

peter wrote: I didn't see any reference to music or books on my membership. The Canadian version might not have it. The video access is worth the eighty dollars a year, for now. I'll have to see how often they add material.

Right now they only have a single season of some of the classic shows I'm most interested in watching. And they don't have that many of them.

It's nice to take a trip back in time and watch those old black and white shows.

Amazon Prime is usually a season or to behind like Netflix, especially if the company has there own paid streaming service. Also Star Trek: Discovery may never come to Hulu, Netflix, or Amazon Prime since it is an incentive to subscribe to the CBS streaming service; Think House of Cards, Orang is the New Black, daredevil, etc... these will only probably ever stream on Netflix. Amazon provides Music streaming with Prime, kindle books are different that is a separate service like amazons anime streaming service, so a separate bill. Also who has the streaming rights in Canada might be different than the US market.

MadTechOne wrote:

peter wrote: I didn't see any reference to music or books on my membership. The Canadian version might not have it. The video access is worth the eighty dollars a year, for now. I'll have to see how often they add material.

Right now they only have a single season of some of the classic shows I'm most interested in watching. And they don't have that many of them.

It's nice to take a trip back in time and watch those old black and white shows.

Amazon Prime is usually a season or to behind like Netflix, especially if the company has there own paid streaming service. Also Star Trek: Discovery may never come to Hulu, Netflix, or Amazon Prime since it is an incentive to subscribe to the CBS streaming service; Think House of Cards, Orang is the New Black, daredevil, etc... these will only probably ever stream on Netflix. Amazon provides Music streaming with Prime, kindle books are different that is a separate service like amazons anime streaming service, so a separate bill. Also who has the streaming rights in Canada might be different than the US market.

I don't get books, but I do get Anime streaming. And Star Trek Discovery shows on "Space" My cable service Science fiction channel which I already get. Haven't watched any episodes yet.

Right now there is enough classic material to keep me busy for a good long time.

Funny thing is that two months ago I had this big yen to see "The Doris Day Show" which I had vague memories of from my childhood. Could not find any episodes on You Tube but Amazon Prime has all the seasons.

Along with "The Real McCoys" "That Girl" "John Gunn" etc.

The CBS streaming thing appears to be US-only. I think it's in Netflix here in Brazil.

The announcement I read initially re: where Discovery would be available...

CBS and Netflix announced today that the streaming service will make the series available within 24 hours of its airing on CBS All Access in 188 countries around the world, including the U.K. The catch, though, is that CBS All Access is still the only way for Americans to see the new series; there will be no Netflix airing of the show here or in Canada. The only reprieve we get is with the premiere episode, which will also air on the regular CBS network, while Canadians will get the opportunity to watch the series on the Space and Z cable networks, with CraveTV having the exclusive streaming rights.

let my just say I'm a massive trekkie. I thought enterprise was the worst we'd ever see. I was wronger than Fubar. Discovery is by FAR the worst series. If you bring movies in, worse than the ugly scar that was ST: TMP V: The Final Frontier. Godawful frakkin klingons, a gorram tribble that doesn't eat all the fortune cookies, a shitty, cockfaced writer with a name that starts with A and ends with Kurtzman, and...my non-existant god (sorry for the religion violation)...the universe is aparantly a mushroom. WTF On Steroids On Steroids On Crack On Meth On Meth Turned Up To 11??? Even the frakkin Warp Drive has some basis in real science??? I nearly threw up when they said 'Biology and Physics are exactly the same thing. I mean, who was writing it??? A two year old child on crack???? I mean, I was surprised when Jar Jar Binks didn't walk in and start goofing off!!! Why do the Warsians get a great new installment FROM DISENY OF ALL PEOPLE, and us Trekkies don't. Oh wait...probably because of the lack of brains at putting someone who can't look up stuff of wikipedia OR ASK SOMEONE WIT H HALF A BRAIN CELL whether you can 'propell a starship on the power of a extinct fungi'. That isn't science fiction. That's pure fantasy. What's next, beaming down to Arabia and riding round on a magic carpet??? Going to Space Hogwarts??? Having a away mission to find a magic ring that can be used to cloak a starship, before having to fly though the universes new stalk to find a convienint volcano to drop it inot??? I mean, I'd be happy if they hadn't F****d us over to this degree!!! Even another enterprise is preferable!!!

On the other hand, the Orville is great. Just like TNG, except without the goddamm Worf Effect (so far). At leats they've had less F Bombs than Discovery.

Of course there are unofficial streaming services, I don't feel bad about using them because it is wrong to hide something behind an $80 pay wall and if all you want out it is one show, it doesn't make sense. It is a good show but I would rather deal with 15min of commercials each episode