The Orville Episode 11 - These Dimensions

Kirk-era Star Trek carried an almost Darwinian imperative for humanity to test itself against the greatest challenges available. The Next Generation refined that philosophy from a cosmic manifest destiny into a constant personal improvement. The Orville primarily casts such striving as a source of social capital.

It's an interesting inversion of the Next Generation episode "Tapestry." Star Trek doesn't often address career issues or office politics, and I'm glad we get some depth to Yaphit's perspective and get to see how the Captain and Executive Officer handle disagreement.

John Lamar (J Lee) and Ed Mercer (Seth McFarlane) prove themselves as leaders as they explore a piece of two-dimensional sci-fi. Hosts VanVelding and SkilTao discuss the comedic dimensions of the cast.

Available in podcast form at anchor.fm.

Third look at 3025 Lyran 'Mech Production

[TL;DR: Hesperus builds a heavy 100 'Mechs, Coventry builds a light 139 'Mechs, Furillo builds 39, Carlisle and Sudeten make a combined 55, Tharkad makes 55, Twycross makes a heavy 53, Pandora makes 18, and there's another 41 I have yet to account for.]

Basics: The Lyrans build 500 'Mechs/yr, of which 230 are uncommon, including 109 Commandos, 33 Zeuses and 5 Firestarters.

Defiance Industries and Coventry Metal Works - being the Commonwealth's first (HS:LC p122) and second (p165) biggest manufacturers, and each listing their primary products (p136) first - set a precedent for HS:LC's manufacturing page listing everything from biggest to smallest.

Key insight this time around is that many of HS:LC's manufacturers are new, that P1e's manufacturing pages look like they were cut from an early draft of HS:LC, and that the Periphery states build 167 'Mechs/yr.

The Orville Episode 10 - Circ du Fear

This was a fun discussion. "Firestorm" is jam packed with Star Trek references, and it may be the first time the Orville centers an episode on a single character instead of a team-up or ensemble.

Kelly telling Alara that "she made the responsible command decision" is a nice callback (and ironic foreshadowing) that helps distinguish this conflict from her previous one. Alara's self-confidence is hard-won and I'm sure we will never again question it. 

The "plasma storm" is an interesting choice. Sure, the Orville has run into other occasional bits of strange space weather, but for the most part the show seems to favor more realistic astronomy.

Alara (Halston Sage) triumphs over a nightmare of her own making. Hosts SkilTao and VanVelding discuss Halloween episodes, the mystery of rewatchability, and what to do when it's all a dream.

Available in podcast form at anchor.fm.

Second Look at Federated Suns 3025 'Mech Production

[TL;DR?
157 Wolverines and Griffins;
130 Valkyries;
122 Enforcers;
88 Locusts, Phoenix Hawks and Wasps;
64 JagerMechs;
29 Dervishes;
28 Blackjacks;
20 Marauders;
20 Victors;
14 Ostsols;
11 Ostscouts;
7 Javelins;
5 Atlases; and
5 Riflemen.]

This calls up memories and shadows of memories from fourteen or fifteen years ago. I'm sure people were trying to work it out fourteen or fifteen years before that, too.

29 Phoenix Hawks would put the Suns 830 tons shy of a 49 ton national average. That's 17 'Mechs' worth - maybe to make up for saddling Liao and Kurita with 17 Chargers.

Interestingly, when HD:FS (p125) talks about which 'Mechs are most common in lances of different weight, it mentions Shadow Hawks instead of Wolverines. Wonder if that's an error (like the Centurions on Panpour) or deliberate.

The Orville Episode 9 - Sweet Muzak

I like this one despite my staccato delivery.

Mercer's pitch for an informal talk between the two sides was pretty good. I love those little moments in this show.

Somehow missed the Israel/Palestine allegory here, that the way to end the conflict is for people to start intermarrying. I think I saw a New York Times article proposing much the same thing a decade ago.

Darulio (Rob Lowe) learns an important lesson about making everyone around him lose their heads. Hosts VanVelding and SkilTao praise Yaphit and the supporting cast.

Available in podcast form at anchor.fm.

Legacy Antitrust Decrees Ending?

[Unusual post today. I don't plan to make a habit of it. Orville post Thursday, BattleTech post next Sunday.]

Apparently, the Department of Justice's Antitrust Division has filed to end the Paramount Consent Decrees (and other similar decrees across other industries).

It's disconcerting to see the body responsible for combating anti-competitive practices try to argue that anti-competitive practices will benefit consumers, or to say out one corner of their mouth that the Decrees no longer serve a purpose while admitting from the other corner that these tools could allow the studios to force some theaters out of business.

I'm reluctant to dispute their reasoning without knowing more about the body of antitrust law. Ultimately though they rest their argument on what the grand purpose of antitrust is, and... isn't innovation associated with ecosystems which favor lots of little guys over a handful of monoliths? Ditto, resilience? If lifting the Decrees does turn out to be a mistake, are there provisions to reinstate them, and protect the most vulnerable theaters until that happens?

I don't know. The Department may be right to let the pendulum try to swing somewhere new. I would be more comfortable with it if their press release had been able to cite similar historical examples from comparable industries, and if all the guilds weren't disagreeing with them.

Personal Update

I don't mean to be uncommunicative. A malfunction over the winter holidays has limited my productivity. In theory I'm better off now, but in practice it's a side grade which doesn't address the root problems.

I regret if anyone's been put out. 

Immediate upshots:

• I remain unlikely to record video in my current environs.
• Twitch remains unfeasible for me. 

I appreciate that YouTube allows double-speed playback but I wish it wouldn't keep bumping the quality up to where the video starts getting choppy. I notice the updated Terms of Service include an item about not using third party services to evade YouTube's controls - I assume that's directed at Facebook and the like, yet I can't help thinking how useful it would have been to have a service which allows playback at triple and quadruple speed.