MacFarlane thrives in absurdist spaces and I wish he took part in smaller projects that would let him really go all out. I'd love to see him make a horror comedy short film where he got final cut privilege
I was absolutely flabbergasted at how good Ted (TV show) was. It's not some gamechanger or anything, but it is a super solid show that had me cackling at several points
Agreed. I have to admit I'm enjoying ST: Strange New Worlds. IMO it's like The Orville but without the in your face comedy. Still has too much sap, for me, but at least it's not as bad as ST: Discovery.
Lower decks was soooo good. Strange New Worlds has been great because they have the freedom to to explore some of the weirder ideas, like what if they find a cosmic anomaly that makes everyone break out into song and dance?
I am enjoying SNW as well but it's ... almost a little TOO fan servicey? Like early on Spock sits in the captains chair and the characters literally have a conversation, like fans would, about "what's your THING gonna be? The THING you say? When you want the ship to go?"
That was horrible. I'm sure certain kinds of fans liked it but it was so out of place.
I see you're point it was a bit corny but also the "thing" a captain says when they want the ship to go has been referenced a few times before, in other series'. So it's not a totally oddball thing to have a conversation about. How the show presented it was the problem. They almost did a full nod and a wink to the forth wall in that scene.
Off the top of my head [totally going on my poor memory here] I think DS9 had a moment when O'brian was in charge of the Defiant, then afterwards he mentions he didn't like it and/or couldn't continue doing it because he couldn't think of a "thing" to say [it might have been Bashir].
There was a cringe worthy moment on Disco where Micheal gets to say her "thing" for the first time [damn thing took forever, there might have been an episode in between her sitting down and saying the line].
I seem to recall something in Next Gen where Data has a moment of contemplation when deciding what to say. I also have a vague memory of someone mocking Cpt. Piccard's "make it so" I don't remember who or the context. There are more but my memory is clutching at straws as it is.
I think you’re exactly right that it’s how it was presented. It wasn’t two crew members asking Spock a question. It was two fans of the show speaking to the audience, like you said winking at the fourth wall.
Give it a few episodes but it's worth the watch. And after Disco/Piccard it's a breath of fresh air to see some real "monster of the week" type stuff again. I think it tries to stay close to the Original series in terms of having a serious tone but doing it in a lighthearted way, at times. But it's definitely not all doom and gloom, like Disco; nor oh no, it's the borg again... yawn, like in Piccard.
The first season especially has the problem that they are mostly doing Star Trek but then every episode has that one over-the-top usually fairly unfunny gag just to make sure it reads as a parody and not just a clone.
They even out and become less out-of-place over time.
I feel like Orville has mostly dropped its comedy in the latest season, and much to its benefit. What comedy is there feels like a light touch when it happens
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u/TempleMade_MeBroke 2d ago
MacFarlane thrives in absurdist spaces and I wish he took part in smaller projects that would let him really go all out. I'd love to see him make a horror comedy short film where he got final cut privilege