MovieChat Forums > The Orville (2017) Discussion > Lasting Impressions.

Lasting Impressions.

posted 6 years ago by wrecche (631)
23 replies | jump to latest

How can the guy who writes such inane, yet still hilarious, cartoons, be responsible for something so.. wonderfully melancholy.

I may just be drunk, which is absolutely the most obvious observation, because no one ever thought I drank, till they saw me post sober, but that episode was great.

How we see the past, we always distance it. Yet, it is only numerous sleeps behind today, that is the measure of distance.

Anyhoo, surprised there was no mention of it. so there. Now it's back to supergirl, the one DC thing I've been so reluctant to commit to.

[–] AmeriGirl26 (14382) 6 years ago

I was kind of bored and disappointed, but the episode does tell several lessons that people still don't get at times.

Just like TNG and other Star Trek series have shown, you can't really have a relationship with a hologram because they are little more than a fantasy you can touch. It definitely isn't healthy, and very unproductive. I can understand Gordon being lonely and attracted to this girl from the past, but she's been dead for over 400 years. I'm just glad the situation worked itself out, rather than him getting a forced intervention from his crew mates.

It brings up another subject that bothered me about the girl from 2015. The only reason we know so much about her life is because she did almost EVERYTHING with her phone, which meant she was one of those tech addicts that was glued to her phone and used it for a lot of stuff. While it was insightful, many people don't do that much on their smartphones, and it still does not illustrate a person's complete and entire life.

And yes, a lot of people don't understand this about the past, but human beings actually haven't changed much in the past 5,000 years of written history. The only things that change are location, culture, and technology. You look back on the life of someone in the past who isn't forgotten, and you soon realize that they had to deal with a lot of the same things people in the present still deal with, just in a more primitive form.

It also was funny with the subplot of Bortus and Klyden smoking cigarettes and discovering that Moclans are even more prone to nicotine addiction than humans. Although, I do wish they would focus on OTHER crew members in the subplots besides Bortus. I'm starting to get the feeling he's a Creator's Pet, someone that isn't entirely likeable, but they keep showing him in a lot of episodes anyway.

[–] strntz (12225) 6 years ago

It also was funny with the subplot of Bortus and Klyden smoking cigarettes and discovering that Moclans are even more prone to nicotine addiction than humans. Although, I do wish they would focus on OTHER crew members in the subplots besides Bortus.

I was literally laughing out loud at the cigarette subplot. IMO, Bortus is best used as a stiff straight man for all sorts of hijinks. As long as he doesn't become over-used (like Fonzie), he can actually become a character I like. Between the cigarettes and his wanting a corner piece of birthday cake, I'm starting to not dislike him.

[–] AmeriGirl26 (14382) 6 years ago

500 Cigarettes, please.

[–] strntz (12225) 6 years ago

yep... great stuff

[–] wrecche (631) 6 years ago

Haha, same. A kind of comical and convoluted mix of worf and data.

I honestly thought this show would have follow more of McFarlaine's other things, but it's actually developing into something of it's own, despite still being a parody.

[–] Moonglum9 (11267) 6 years ago

a lot of people don't understand this about the past, but human beings actually haven't changed much in the past 5,000 years of written history

This is more true than anyone knows if you've seen the ancient Sumerian cuneiform tablets that show some guy holding what looks like a smart phone in his hand. Even back then, they'd text things like "Gilgamesh totally threw shade at the gods, brah!"

[–] AmeriGirl26 (14382) 6 years ago

Oh yeah! Or you see groups of people gossiping online about stuff, and before the internet, they would physically gather in groups in real public forums (like someone's house, a coffee shop, etc.) to do the same thing! Or if you look at ancient Greek schoolchildren, they were using wooden tablets with a sheet of wax, and a stylus to learn how to write. They could rub out mistakes on the wax if necessary. Now we have schoolchildren with computer tablets and styli in classrooms.

One of the funnier ones is men not wanting to stop and ask for directions, even in ancient times when maps were crappy, or people stopping in a town (or village) to ask for directions to a place, hehe. Or if you look at graffiti from ancient Rome, it appears a lot of jokes have not changed one bit, nor insults for that matter. It's just the language and structure that changed.

[–] wrecche (631) 6 years ago

The tech part, recreating an entire life, has been used in a few things which all lead to misery. Caprica was the first time I saw something that used it to create the backstory for the entire thing, recreating his daughter who died in the terrorist attack, her waking up in the VR world, but existing as a chip, leading to the creation of the cylons.

And there was a Black Mirror episode that did the same, recreating a loved one from their online presence, after death. Ultimately to be put into a robotic human shape, and all is well, till it all falls apart, and she kept him in the attic.

What struck me the most is that you could put aside the reality that she had been dead near 400 years, and see someone. Not just videos and photos, texts and messages. I've looked at old photos and you see the people in them, their surroundings, their life. To them, it's the same as us, now, with all we have and take for granted. Yet, nothing is familiar. And everything in those photos is gone. The cat on the chair, the pigeons, the horse that the little kid is riding while smiling, the car that the old fella is so proud of. Those moments captured forever, long gone.

I'd absolutely partake in recreating that in some vr or hologram deal. But then, I get super melancholy over things like that.

:)

[–] strntz (12225) 6 years ago

I enjoyed this episode.

My only gripe is the weak handling of technical matters.

Tupac shows up with a cell phone that wouldn't operate because it has badly "degraded circuitry", yet Orville's engineering department puts in a 10 year battery and coax it to life and it operates flawlessly.

Once operational, they also spent time trying to download the phone's information to no effect, yet the holographic simulator easily accomplishes this *and* replicates one for Gordon upon request.

Sloppy.

[–] Moonglum9 (11267) 6 years ago

Tupac shows up with a cell phone

Damn, he's still alive even then!

[–] AmeriGirl26 (14382) 6 years ago

Uh, I think you mean Tuvok. And in this story, he's just a human museum curator in his middle age, not a Vulcan, hehe.

[–] wrecche (631) 6 years ago

Haha maybe he was just a hologram. No wait, that was Tupac also..

Well, I say hologram, more a projection onto a glass plate, on a stage, really..

Didn't stop all the tin foilers though "Zomg, if they can do that, what else are they hiding from us!!!!11"

:)

[–] AmeriGirl26 (14382) 6 years ago

It is true that the tech handling was very sloppy.

[–] wrecche (631) 6 years ago

I think they're still working out the edges of something that is a pretty new concept, Seth is a very low brow comedian, and as this evolves, they'll either grow it with those edges rounded off, or leave them in to keep it just off center.

I mean, when I first heard of The Orville, and read the premised, I groaned a little inside. But it was kinda polished, and there were serious moments, but underneath was a space fart joke waiting to happen. I feel it's still finding it's legs.. great potential. But if they go full on Star Trek Discovery on us, it will lose the viewers that came on for the humor, and be another cancelled show.

Time will tell, I mean, there are no rules to rule out having both.. suspension of disbelief. Gotta ignore the bits that don't matter, sometimes.

[–] Xcalat3 (3748) 6 years ago

That was a beautiful episode. And I cant say i blame Gordon for falling in love with Laura Even if she wasnt real.

[–] wrecche (631) 6 years ago

Haha some could say, she was just as real as any flesh and blood person.

Someone you see online, who goes away when you turn the PC off..

Oo

[–] Alex (1503) 6 years ago

Damn, that was deep.

[–] Rorikon (17855) 6 years ago

Surprised no one noticed Tuvok (Voyager) there as well.

[–] Satan2016 (25525) 6 years ago

Tupac Shakur was on Voyager! Which episode?

[–] wrecche (631) 6 years ago

I knew it was going to be something else as soon as I heard his voice.

I mean, he's the guy that did the May the Fourth be with you skit, talking about the Star Wars.. lol

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_ZRsf9sneQ

[–] TylerAArse (2871) 6 years ago

Ummm…..it was mentioned.

[–] Jes' Sayin' (6349) 6 years ago

People profile others way too often, don't we. Rather than pegging people we should always be asking, what else can they do or become?

[–] wrecche (631) 6 years ago

If the shoe fits... go barefoot, I always say!!