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‘The Orville’ finds a really big ship, but not big ideas
The Orville encounters a massive ship adrift that actually turns out to be a huge alien bio-dome — carrying passengers who think they’re living on an actual world. This spaceship, whose engines have failed, is now on a collision course with star.
If that premise sounds familiar, it is. I lifted the paragraph above directly from my review of TOS‘s "For the World Is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky" and made a few minor tweaks. This seems to be the approach MacFarlane takes with the broad ideas in "If the Stars Should Appear," which takes familiar Trekkian staples — including the world-ship and alien dictatorships acting out on ancient information that has been misinterpreted over generations — and recycles them without adding anything in terms of emotion or inspiration.
‘Discovery’ is here; should you pay for CBS All Access to watch it?
Star Trek: Discovery is here. (Go read my review of the first two episodes, but beware spoilers.) Should you pay for CBS All Access to watch it? If you’re in the United States, the answer to that question depends on one thing: Do you want to see Star Trek: Discovery as it is released? I do, for obvious reasons. I am reviewing the show and I want to discuss it in real time with my readers. Even if I weren’t reviewing it or discussing it online, I’d probably want to see it on the release schedule to avoid spoilers. I’m one of those suckers CBS is exploiting.
Your mileage may vary. You might not care. If you don’t care, you can and should adjust your thinking. You could wait until all the episodes are available and then binge it during a trial period or pay for a single month. If you can hold off, then by all means do so. You could also skip Discovery altogether or wait until it’s finally released another way. That’s certainly an option.
I will say this: I hate that I have to pay for CBS All Access in order to see this show. I hate that I have to use it at all. I will do it, but I don’t like it. (Read more…)
‘Orville’ reveals more serious ambitions with ‘About a Girl’
When Bortus’ and Klyden’s child is unexpectedly born female (something infinitesimally rare), Bortus asks Dr. Finn to perform a sex change to make the baby male so the child can thus lead a "normal" life as a Moclan. Finn refuses on moral grounds, Bortus appeals to Mercer, who also refuses, thus bringing to full boil a debate of gender identity from the Moclan point of view.
"About a Girl" is the best and most interesting episode of The Orville so far, even while it offers further proof — even more so than the first two episodes — that it’s the product of a past generation (1967? 1997?) transplanted to 2017, as if through a time machine. This is, for all intents and purposes, a Star Trek episode from another era — or a spiritual step-heir, or something. Is it a good one? Yes, although maybe not a great one.
‘Command Performance’ takes a few steps in the right direction
"Command Performance" improves upon the Orville pilot while also doubling down on several of its problems. It’s an improvement in that the tonal clash, while still present, is less frequently obvious. It also jettisons the mindless action and cartoon villainy that caused the last act of "Old Wounds" to completely fall apart. And it features an A/B-story structure that proves the supporting characters on this show will eventually get their due.
On the other hand, one of the biggest problems remains and is not likely to go away anytime soon: This show is such a blatant rip-off of the Rick Berman Trek era that it’s distracting and counterproductive. It’s one thing to pay homage, but when you claim to be in a different universe (wink, wink) and then proceed to make everything such a Trek clone — from the music to the story beats to the jargon to the photography and shot selection — the whole thing just comes off feeling like a weak pretender, no matter how expertly produced.
Uninspired ‘Orville’ premiere features tonal war with itself
Oh, crew of the Orville — how I know how you feel. (Fox)When you’re a guy with the clout of Seth MacFarlane, sometimes you just get to have your way. Sometimes that means spinning Family Guy into an animation empire. Sometimes that means you get to reboot Cosmos and have it hosted by Neil deGrasse Tyson. And other times, I guess, that means you get to make the most expensive and unbalanced mishmash of a fan production of Star Trek ever conceived.
Don’t get me wrong: I think MacFarlane is a versatile and often funny talent. (The guy has made mountains of cash for Fox and seems like he should be making Broadway musicals, although apparently he has no desire to.) But continuing to churn out Family Guy episodes — in what looks like a life sentence — is probably not the most personally rewarding thing after so many years.
MacFarlane’s affection for Trek, particularly The Next Generation, would be clear to anyone who has watched his other shows or movies. (He’s sprinkled countless references into them, featured the cast members in voice and acting roles, and apparently has Patrick Stewart on speed dial for whatever MacFarlane happens to be working on.) Making his own Star Trek show was apparently the one thing he always wanted to do. Well, he didn’t get to make Trek exactly, because CBS had its own thing it wanted to do (and, oh, by the way, it premieres in a couple weeks). But he has made a TNG clone called The Orville. I hope making it was everything he hoped it would be, because watching it is, well … not.
A modest proposal for ‘Discovery’ and ‘The Orville’
Before the month is over, we’ll have two new shows set on starships, and I might even be reviewing them both. (CBS/Fox)
A mere 24 hours ago, I didn’t even know what the plan was, or if there would be one. Now I think I might have a plan. Whether I can stick to the plan is another question entirely. Whether the plan will make sense in even a few weeks I can’t even begin to guess. But I am going to press ahead with this plan, perhaps foolishly.
Here is the plan: I will attempt to review both Star Trek: Discovery and The Orville beginning this fall (starting this Sunday or shortly thereafter with The Orville, and Sept. 24 with Discovery). In my circles, there seems to be a good deal of interest in both.
This plan might very well be completely stupid and quickly abandoned. My wife, kids, and desire for sleep will help me decide that. (Read more…)
Jamie Lee Curtis and Jason
Jamie Lee Curtis is stalked by About a decade ago, at a former employer of mine, there was this guy in middle-management who was the epitome of milquetoast unhipness. Let’s call him Bob. His sense of humor had no inspiration or edge to it whatsoever. At best, he had a limited range of bland and safe Dad Humor, and he laughed at the things you’d imagine the Bobs in Office Space would’ve laughed at. Hell, he probably thought the comic strip B.C. was hilarious.
Anyway, one year there were some employee rumblings, and a unionization organization effort began to take shape in a department that was not unionized. The company, in its infinite wisdom, rather than just leaving it alone and keeping quiet, poured gasoline on the fire and went into propaganda overdrive to try to discourage employees from joining. (Read more…)
Trailer proves the existence of ‘Star Trek: Discovery’
After many, many months of vague press and departing showrunners, we finally have a trailer with actual footage from the forthcoming Star Trek: Discovery to be streamed on CBS All Access. We also have a date, or at least a season, for its release: Fall 2017.
My initial thoughts: Like many trailers, this is a very generic offering that teases the show, gives the title, displays some sci-fi visuals, and provides next to nothing in terms of story information. Par for the course. If you were hoping for something awesome or informative, you are going to be disappointed. It at least features some actors, including Michelle Yeoh and series lead Sonequa Martin-Green.
But we now have a committed time frame for the release of the show, and proof that it exists. Which, after all these reports of delays and a lack of new information aside from those delays, is something.
‘Rogue One’ prioritizes the war in ‘Star Wars’
As usual, everything happens on my own delayed timetable, and this review, which was mostly written three months ago, got put on the back burner until I could finally get around to finishing it. With it coming out on Blu-ray and DVD this week, it felt like a good time to get it done already.
Rogue One is a highly entertaining example of what might be the true long-term future of Star Wars. A year after a successful rebooting via the first entry in a sequel trilogy that went to painstaking efforts to live and breathe the same sensibilities of Lucas’ original trilogy (to the point that it essentially retold A New Hope), we now have our first “stand-alone” anthology outing — which might serve as the answer to the question of what Star Wars unmoored from the Skywalker family name might actually look like. The answer: It looks and feels exactly like we’re in the Star Wars universe, but it inhabits a noticeably altered take and tone. For the first time, it seems, under director Gareth Edwards, we have a new owner turned loose in the store.
More ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ details emerge
More information has been emerging about Star Trek: Discovery, scheduled to premiere in January 2017, so I thought I’d take the opportunity to reframe the discussion and offer up some of my own musings about what we have been hearing so far.
The show is being run by Bryan Fuller, of Hannibal and Pushing Daisies fame. Also on board are high-profile Trek veterans Nicholas Meyer, Joe Menosky, and others.
This is, obviously, great news. While I have not seen Hannibal or Fuller’s other shows, I am aware of them and their ambitious creative visions. I’m glad that a showrunner was selected who has both previous experience with Star Trek and also has been distinguished creatively in the auteur vein in the ensuing years since his Trek tenure. That’s probably exactly what this franchise needs — a balance between Trek knowledge/experience and creative visions that are more individually driven. Bringing on Meyer as a consultant will hopefully ground the series in the sort of humanity seen in The Wrath of Khan while also being allegorically relevant like The Undiscovered Country. And, of course, Menosky strikes me as a writer that knows the Trek universe but also has his own individually unique ideas. So this looks like a promising team of Trek-specific writers.