The Orville Episode 12 - Fools Rush In

We still rely on the magic of editing; still start each episode a little stilted; and my delivery is still a little disjointed; but not as much as when we started.  On a good day - like I think we had for this recording - we cover everything we wanted to say without having to hold too closely to our prepared agenda. We could undoubtedly polish the product more with scripted repartee and rehearsed personalities; but for me, the point (when feasible) is to engage with the ideas as we're recording and choose my words as I go. When I can do that well then everything else follows naturally.

...before decrying Ready Player One, I should probably consider what (if anything) distinguishes it from "The Ultimate Showdown" and "We Come Together."

...and closing with "faithful listeners?" Yeesh. This is why we need a formal sign off.

I can't find that map of the east coast and I don't remember what it was measuring. Not simple poverty, teen birth rates, brain drain or gun violence - these aren't great for South Carolina, but they're more in line with regional trends than whatever I'm remembering.

Kelly Grayson (Adrianne Palicki) has so much empathy it's a crime, and the crew ignore a thousand years of sociological studies.

Available in podcast form at anchor.fm.

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.

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.

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.

The Orville Episode 8 - Folded Away

I'm pretty happy with this conversation.

Forgot to say that Drogen's actor (Brian Thompson) was in Star Trek Generations, three episodes of Enterprise, two of Deep Space Nine, and one of The Next Generation. The Drogen character probably bears some discussion: on one hand, he isn't directly menacing and can perhaps be read sympathetically; on the other hand, none of the other rooms in his apartment seem to have locking doors or boarded up windows.

I like that the kids' role isn't to make problems but to make problems harder.

I love the aesthetic of the videogame. The simple holograms feel more analogous to Tiger Electronics than to a smart phone.

Dr Claire Finn (Penny Johnson Jerald) shows how hard it is to be a single mom and also kidnapped, while Isaac (Mark Jackson) proves the old adage that it takes a V'ger to raise a child.

Available in podcast form at anchor.fm.

The Orville Episode 7 - Wesley Get Off the Grass

It's always a little weird to hear Captain Mercer make a monetary quip, but hearing "you look like unemployed back up dancers" followed immediately by "what is money" is an exceptional whiplash. Is the Planetary Union really a post-scarcity society?

How is an economy based on reputation any different from this world governed by social media?

John Lamar (J Lee) gets thrown under the bus and his friends learn to manipulate the court of public opinion. Hosts SkilTao and VanVelding discuss 'government by reddit,' and SkilTao has a theory about Lamar.

Available in podcast form at anchor.fm.

The Orville Episode 6 - All You Need Is Krill

This episode might be the first time our introductory comparisons start to sound like organic conversation.

I don't mention it in the podcast, but there's a Voyager episode with aliens who have an afterlife as energy beings, and I'm not yet convinced the Krill don't have something like that going on.

Ed Mercer (Seth MacFarlane) and Gordon Malloy (Scott Grimes) dive into Krill culture. Hosts VanVelding and SkilTao talk about using humor as mortar, and SkilTao has a theory about space whales.

Available in podcast form at anchor.fm.

The Orville Episode 5 - Time Travel and Bullshit

I make two mistakes here. (Well, three if you count trying to record over a really bad connection without a script.) First, I got Charlize Theron mixed up with Tricia Helfer; and second, you can find a moral in the episode, in the contrast between Pria's "don't apologize" platitude and Kelly forcing Ed to apologize. 

"Time Travel and Bullshit" was the name of a peer-review science journal VanVelding and Derek joke about in their TNG podcast. The Orville's solution to time travel paradoxes is growing on me.

Star Trek scripts sometimes lived or died on the performance of their guest actors. Despite questionable temporal mechanics, the "Pria" script succeeds where "If the Stars Should Appear" stumbles, and "The Orville" gets good guests.

Available in podcast form at anchor.fm.

The Orville Episode 4 - If a Theme Should Appear

Discussion is shorter this time but, I think, on point. Still starts out staccato.

I wonder if Liam Neeson was originally meant to be the villain of the episode, and writing around that created some of the issues we talk about.

"If the Stars Should Appear" wanders from big idea to big idea without digging into them. It also pries at the characters' relationships. Hosts SkilTao and VanVelding discuss missed opportunities and speculate about the season's romantic arcs.

Available in podcast form at anchor.fm.

The Orville Episode 3 - About a Message

In our original cut of this podcast, I think I used the phrase "fundamentally different" four consecutive times. I really need to prepare my talking points better.

This is where I took over writing the blurbs. I appreciate the "reindeer games" allegory. It strikes me as something that would've been part of the writers' pitch, and I admire The Orville's restraint in keeping it to subtext instead of spelling it out explicitly.

Bortus (Peter Macon) moves viewers through the Moclan legal system and introduces a constellation of issues related to gender identity. The crew try to see their way through the reindeer games.

Available in podcast form at anchor.fm.

The Orville Episode 2 - Alara vs Television

I like "Command Performance" but not as much as I did the first time. It does a lot of things right, for sure - "woof," keeps the Krill in viewers minds... I'm not military, so I can't speak as to what having a green Lt. is like, nor as to how plausible it is that the aliens would be fooled by their own holography.

Longer comparison of Tasha Yar, Ro Laren and Kira Nerys can be found here. 

"Command Performance" leans heavily on Star Trek tropes, but makes good television with it and gives Halston Sage (Alara) great opportunities as one of the crew's most junior members.

Available in podcast form at anchor.fm. 

The Orville Episode 1 - Mercer and MacFarlane

We started recording these commentaries between seasons one and two, back in... wow, April 2018?

I start this first podcast out kind of rough. Still getting used to the sound of my recorded voice, figuring out what I want to say as I say it... I get better as the season goes on. That we have any polish at all is thanks entirely to VanVelding, who's been doing a Star Trek podcast for a while, and handled all the production on this podcast too.

Seth MacFarlane has a long, loving history with Star Trek. His new television show, "The Orville," is built on that foundation. Hosts SkilTao and VanVelding talk about those foundations, MacFarlane, and his alter ego, Ed Mercer.

Available in podcast form at anchor.fm.