Build Date: Fri Jul 11 12:10:39 2025 UTC
God I hope I never have to stop drinking - even after I die.
-- Johnnie Royale
Eavesdropping on Geeks: 'Star Trek: Discovery' vs 'The Orville'
2017-10-19 16:40:36
If you broke into Pigdog's top sekrit headquarters, spying on their mysterious mix of weird science and old-skool geekiness, you'd overhear this conversation:
Feeling left out, and wanting to get back to talking about Star Trek, El Destino brought the conversation to an abrupt halt by blurting out:
El Destino: So it anyone actually watching Star Trek: Discovery? Or maybe a better question is, have you gone to the trouble of registering for CBS's super-sekrit premium site to watch more than just that first free episode? Or did you just stream it on your favorite pirate site?Splicer: The first two episodes left me pretty cold. The third episode gave me hope I hadn't had before.
Thom 'Starky' Stark: We're four episodes in - and, like V'ger and Deep Throat 9, Discovery takes itself WAY too seriously.
El Destino: I finally watched the first episode last night. It looks expensive. Best-looking Klingons ever! (And people whizzing through space with a jetpack...) Er, but ol' man Destino says he misses William Shatner. That epic playfulness, camaraderie, hope... Maybe I just wish this new crew liked each other more.
Thom 'Starky' Stark: The actual new crew - which you don't meet until episode 3 - is worse. And the captain is a straight-up asshole.
It's just Berman, all the way down ...
Lenny Tuberose:: Has anyone given The Orville a watch? I assumed it was going to be all fart jokes but it seems like they are shooting for genuine science fiction.
'Tricky' Rick Moen: The Orville is weirdly wonderful. Basically, it's Next-Gen with the serial numbers filed off, and a mild ongoing dose of rollicking McFarlane humour. The most recent-but-one had a guest appearance by Charlize Theron, who was really good (though you kept wanting her to do the Atomic Blonde apocalyptic-fight thing). You keep thinking the show ought to make up its mind whether it wants to be comedy or drama, and eventually realise "Well, OK, I _guess_ it can be both at the same time."
Who knew that TNG fanfic would work in the 2010s? It's a sincere and loving tribute to/pastiche of the Picard show, plus fairly mild ribald humour and lots of pop-culture jokes. One online commenter said "ST:TNG with an Office overlay." They also lift from TOS, as in the recent ep that was a straight-out copy of the TOS episode "For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky".
Jonathan Frakes and Brannon Braga are involved in making it, and so its seems like Old Home Week for Next-Gen people.
Lenny Tuberose:: That's sort of how I feel about it too. It's clearly lovingly derived from the Star Trek sensibility, but instead of coming off as hacky it's kind of endearing. (It leaves the impression that McFarlane is a genuine Star Trek fan and The Orville is more an homage than a ripoff). The episode about the baby sex change thing was actually rock solid science fiction writing -- messy complex issue and no happy ending. It's clearly not the wacky parody I expected, but there is enough humor that it doesn't seem to take itself too seriously.
Thom 'Starky' Stark: We've watched every episode but the most recent one - and it's in the queue for this weekend.
The critics uniformly panned it for not knowing what it wants to be when it grows up. I can't say they're entirely wrong about that, but the record shows that Seth MacFarlane's shows usually take a season or so to find their groove. That was certainly true of Family Guy, and equally true of American Dad. So I expect The Orville to steadily improve as it goes along.
In the meantime, despite the jokeyness that pretty much goes with the MacFarlane territory, The Orville as it stands isn't half bad. The standing jokes ("Open this pickle jar for me.") work, the plots, for the most part, also work (the Moculan baby gender reassignment episode notwithstanding), and the sets, costumes, and effects are all industry-standard grade for a 21st century TV science fiction series. The casting works (Norm Macdonald as Yaphit, the gelatinous cube, is hilarious) and the characters are distinct and well-realized.
El Destino: Hey, did you know William Shatner and Adam West finally reunited in cartoon Batman heaven?
This concludes today's episode of Eavesdropping on Geeks.
T O P S T O R I E S
California Glory Hole attracts huge crowds
A glory hole at Napa's Lake Berryessa is drawing huge crowds. According to Chris Lee, the general manager for the Solano County Water Agency, the glory hole hasn't been active since 2019, and only restarted operations on Feb 4. (More...)
Republican State Senator busted after soliciting a teenage girl
Republican State Senator Justin Eichorn of Minnesota was arrested for soliciting a teen girl on Monday just hours after he introduced a bill proposing "Trump derangement syndrome" (TDS) as a form of mental illness. (More...)
Parents claim measles is not that bad after having only one child die
The parents of a Texas girl who died from the measles are defending their decision not to vaccinate their daughter. "She says they would still say 'Don't do the shots,'" an unidentified translator for the parents said. "They think it’s not as bad as the media is making it out to be." (More...)
Delusional rich man tries to fire town staff
"I'm mayor now" said write-in mayoral candidate and founder of Pirate’s Booty Snacks Robert Ehrlich after losing the election for Mayor of Sea Cliff, NY. Then he tried to take over the Village Hall and fire everyone. (More...)
Musk claims Xitter security is staffed by idiots
Earlier this month Xitter experienced a massive outage. In an interview, Musk told Fox Business that he believes the attack came from "IP addresses originating in the Ukraine area." (More...)
The Future Ain't What It Used To Be
Ideas have taken horrifying shape and rooted into our modern reality. (More...)
C L A S S I C P I G D O G
An innocent trip to the Central Market resulted in a severe attack of arachnophobia (and a meal) when a depraved street kid set her vicious pet spider on an unsuspecting shopper. (More...)
Songs Of Love And Special Things
Well, dear reader, there's no denying it: Spring has sprung. The air is pungent with the fertile aroma of Romance. And you know what goes with Romance, don't you? That's right, Lover, porn. And not just any porn, but the kind you can sing along to. (More...)
Paranoid Strippers & Psychotic Crack Dealers (Tales of Christmas Eve)
Christmas day, for the last 17 or so years has bored me. I find that the real fun and excitement always takes place on Christmas Eve. Every other year, it's the excitement of the metaphorical hunt instead of the kill. Otherwise, it's just plain bad craziness. (More...)
It’s election night. My wife and I are holed-up in this hotel that my political party has rented out for the evening. Outside, people are being violently beaten for whom they voted for. Is this South Africa? Perhaps we’re in Haiti or some Southern state during the 60’s. Of all the places where this sort of thing happens, it’s mind-boggling that we are in Portland, Maine. (More...)
The Deep Dark Underbelly of the Star Wars Myth, or Ramayana Remembered
It's a fact: Star Wars is a blatant plagiarism of an ancient Asian legend, and the long lines of devout Star Wars freaks are really unscrupulous Asian copyright busters. From Indonesia to Thailand to Nepal, videos are available for sale or rent before they're even released in the US and UK due to this nerdy camcorder-clutching bunch. (More...)
Australian Troops Set for Days of Debauchery to the Tunes of Kylie Minogue
This weekend Australian troops in East Timor will be able to put their feet up and push all the images of mass graves and charred remains from their minds as they relax to the giddy melodies of Kylie Minogue - including exclusive unplugged performances in the militia-ravaged and blood-spattered border towns of Balibo and Suai. (More...)
