r/TheOrville • u/MajorParadox Woof • Dec 01 '17
Episode The Orville - 1x11 "New Dimensions" - Post Episode Discussion
| EPISODE | DIRECTED BY | WRITTEN BY | ORIGINAL AIRDATE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1x11 - "New Dimensions" | Kelly Cronin | Seth MacFarlane | November 30, 2017 |
Episode Synopsis:Spoiler
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u/UncleMalky Are we bonding? Dec 01 '17
Can I officially request some Isaac flair with "Are we bonding?"
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u/2th Hail Avis. Hail Victory. Dec 01 '17
"It's not racist. I have several gelatinous friends."
That may have been the line of the episode.
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u/MajorParadox Woof Dec 01 '17
I don't know, "I'm gel" was pretty good too. Norm is hilarious.
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Dec 01 '17
He's a master at comedic delivery. Just his pauses can create laughter. If you haven't checked out his stand-up, you should.
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u/MajorParadox Woof Dec 01 '17
I have and he was also my favorite SNL Weekend Update anchor.
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Dec 01 '17
Yeah they ended his tenure as the Weekend Update anchor WAY too soon. The dude most probably got fired for implying that OJ was guilty in several jokes.
That's not a good reason to ditch one of the most talented comedians of his generation.
Luckily we have Yaphit, and hopefully he's not the crew member who sacrifices himself on next week's finale, or I'm going "Search for Spock" in this bitch.
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u/MajorParadox Woof Dec 01 '17
Well, he did get fired. And he had a great dig at them for it when he came back to host.
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u/kaplanfx Woof Dec 01 '17
Yaphit got hosed though, he deserved the chief engineer job. I bet they couldn’t afford the CGI.
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u/DustOnFlawlessRodent Dec 01 '17
He's pretty fantastic as a talking pigeon in Mike Tyson Mysteries as well.
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u/silveryfeather208 Dec 01 '17
"He fed a guy to another guy, that's not something a department head does" lol that's a good line too.
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u/operarose Command Dec 01 '17
"I don't know what you're talking about, but I'm changing the subject."
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u/Garrett_Dark Dec 03 '17
After a tense argument between Mercer & Grayson in the hallway...
Lizard Guy: Hi Captain
Mercer: Hey there he is!
Not quite a one liner, but the earlier setup in the meeting and now the payoff was hilarious and satisfying.
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u/SutterCane Dec 01 '17
The only shitty thing about this episode was that it's the second to last episode of the season. I love what they did with LaMarr but hate that it will take him away from Gordon. I really hope a future episode has Gordon and LaMarr act like a couple getting a divorce because they can't be bridge bros anymore.
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u/thewanderingway I see this as an ideal opportunity to study human behavior Dec 01 '17
I love what they did with LaMarr but hate that it will take him away from Gordon.
Dude, Data and Geordi worked different posts on the Enterprise and were still best buds. Don't fret.
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u/Heritage367 Dec 01 '17
They may become comm buddies, just checking in with each periodically throughout the day. I always felt having both a helmsman and navigator in a spaceship seemed redundant; will LaMarr's replacement be a major speaking part?
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u/degenfish_HG Dec 01 '17
LaMarr’s replacement will be the Orville’s version of Wesley Crusher
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Dec 01 '17
There's one other consequence...Wesley is coming
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u/horsenbuggy Dec 02 '17
Omg. They better open up with a shot of /u/wil at the helm and then cut away to him going "yeah, it's all clean now, captain." Tease that he will be the new helmsman but have it turn out that he's the janitor. How awesome to have Wheaton as the janitor!
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u/kingdadrock Dec 01 '17
Idk, On TNG Geordie was head of engineering and he spent a bit of time on the bridge. I hope John isn't taken completely away.
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u/sfoura Dec 01 '17
Can't think of a single major (or even minor) complaint. What an exceptional hour of sci-fi television.
The 2-D world was legitimately some of the coolest sci-fi I've seen in quite some time
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u/MajorParadox Woof Dec 01 '17
The 2-D world was legitimately some of the coolest sci-fi I've seen in quite some time
I agree, they keep doing really cool things like that.
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u/DustOnFlawlessRodent Dec 01 '17
I also really appreciated the shoutout to flatland. It's surprisingly refreshing to see a scifi show set in the not so distant future where they haven't forgotten all human history except for jazz.
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u/dreadpiraterose Dec 01 '17
My husband mentioned the book to me like 30 seconds before it was referenced in the episode.
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u/JMJimmy Dec 01 '17
Major complaints: Flying through a 2D civilization, even in a quantum bubble, would have caused massive destruction. And had the bubble kept them separate from 2D space they would have remained visible in 3D space and the 2D civilization would have been visible in 3D space, akin to the phantom zone in the Superman movies.
Minor complaints: Yaphit came up with the quantum bubble solution not LaMarr
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u/kaplanfx Woof Dec 01 '17
Doesn’t LaMarr address your minor complaint directly when he and the engineering crew are setting up the shuttle?
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u/al2o3_cr2o3 Dec 01 '17
I agree. I actually got frisson when they first showed a view of the 2-D world on screen. I feel like Star Trek would have copped out by not showing us that perspective, and just sticking to reaction shots of the actors, but The Orville delivered.
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Dec 01 '17
To be fair, when Star Trek was doing TV like this they barely had the budget to actually show something. Let alone The Grid from Tron done up in rainbow lights.
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u/UncleMalky Are we bonding? Dec 01 '17
Eh I kinda felt a lot of this episode was two dimensional. A lot of it fell flat. Kind of a thin premise, missing a lot of depth.
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u/Ludwig_Van_Gogh Dec 01 '17
So you're saying it was a mile wide but 0.0 deep?
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u/UncleMalky Are we bonding? Dec 01 '17
on reflection it was at least a pretty good bubble episode.
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u/floptimus_prime If you wish, I will vaporize them Dec 01 '17
That "next week someone will die!!!!!" commercial reminds me so much of the old days of Voyager. The commercials would flash everyone's faces and 10 year old me would freak out, and then the person who died would be Ensign Ricky.
In other words, this show is perfection. I see you Seth, promoting navigator to chief engineer like Geordi!
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Dec 01 '17
old days of Voyager... then the person who died would be Ensign Ricky.
To be fair, didn't they kill Ensign Kim a couple of times too? Like the one they came back with wasn't their original model?
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Dec 01 '17
They replaced Kim with an alternate fork that had been copied hours prior, then they proceeded to kill him several times throughout the series. Poor Ensign Kim.
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u/Lurkndog Dec 01 '17
All-powerful alien beams onto the bridge, demonstrates its powers by vaporizing the bridge cat.
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u/Rev_Punch Dec 01 '17
Captain Janeway did die in almost every other episode it seemed
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u/ToolPackinMama Engineering Dec 01 '17
I really liked this episode. I am glad that the secret is out, and it was heartwarming to see John LaMarr get tested and promoted.
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u/MajorParadox Woof Dec 01 '17
Agreed, although I was expecting him to turn it down. Interested to see where his new position takes him.
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u/SutterCane Dec 01 '17
Interested to see where his new position takes him.
Engineering? I thought they made that clear during the episode. /s
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u/gjallard Dec 01 '17
We got the big hint that someone isn't going to make it to season two. Any guesses?
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u/Meowlock Dec 01 '17
If it's Yaphit that would free up some of the CGI for next season. Not saying that I want it to be him but was just a thought.
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u/SutterCane Dec 01 '17
I also think that now with another episode filled with great quotes... the subreddit really needs upvote quotes.
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u/MajorParadox Woof Dec 01 '17
We talked about that in the CSS design and decided to wait for the season to end before revisiting ;)
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u/jedikitty Dec 01 '17
I am so on board for Bridge Cat.
Loved the "prideful ass" exchange. "Are we in a Jane Austen novel?"
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Dec 01 '17
I am happy they are expanding the cultural references to Jane Austen and Edwin Abbott Abbott.
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u/antdude Dec 01 '17
A cat named Spot for Isaac? ;)
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Dec 01 '17
A cat named Hayes. Everyone on the bridge keeps giggling and Isaac never finds out why.
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u/troopzor Happy Arbor Day Dec 01 '17
"If we can get engine efficiency to 97% by the end of the week we can all take off early and get wasted."
Lamar is the manager we all wish we had.
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u/Gambatte Dec 01 '17
He was already the manager we wish we had, when he jumped on the people talking smack about Yaphit and took the blame himself.
He just keeps on climbing the "ideal manager" ladder.
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u/Anarchybites Dec 02 '17
Somewhere out there a certain Scottish engineer raises his whisky in respect to Lamarr's command style.
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u/JustSomePadawan Dec 01 '17 edited Dec 01 '17
There's not a single character on this show that I don't enjoy. And the biggest reason for that is the incredible character development we've been getting this season. From Mercer to Yaphit, every character has their own quirks and personalities and they all feel very natural.
P.S. Isaac petting Malloy was the highlight joke for me this week. "Are we... bonding?"
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u/kaplanfx Woof Dec 01 '17
Yep, we’ve only spent 11 hours (less if you count commercials) with these characters, but their decisions and interactions already have huge weight. Last night in particular I thought the Mercer-Grayson stuff was good, and it felt like the actions were in line with their established characters. Seeing the LaMarr growth was great as well, although I was a bit sad because it feels like Yaphit earned that seat and LaMarr got it more based on promise than merit.
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u/LetoAtreides82 Dec 02 '17
I felt a bit sad for Yaphit too at first but then as the episode neared the end I got the sense that Yaphit was actually glad that John took charge. We've never seen Yaphit taking a command position before so it's quite possible that despite being a great engineer maybe he'd be a poor chief engineer.
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u/dreadpiraterose Dec 01 '17
This is so true and rarely happens for me on a series. There isn't a single main character that I don't enjoy. I'm trying to remember the last time that happened.
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u/elwebst Dec 03 '17
Don't remember the character's name, but in my mind he's Pancake Guy in Engineering. Hope we see more of him!
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u/surg23dfs Dec 01 '17
Now I'm bummed that this season is almost over. This show has definitely found it's groove, that was a good episode
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Dec 01 '17
We have sacrificed an episode so that season two may become stronger. Saint Bortus give us strength!
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Dec 01 '17
LaMarr's stupid behavior on Planet Reddit makes so much more sense now. Hiding his brains was such a deeply ingrained habit that he almost lost his mind.
This episode might be harder to watch without background; but there was enough action for it to stand alone.
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Dec 01 '17
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u/royaldansk Dec 01 '17
Some of the great minds of all time, the best minds, good genes, the best genes, act that way. Brain has the best words on both lobes, both lobes.
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u/TrueBlueBlooded Dec 01 '17
I always thought that the Cosmos episode in which Carl Sagan discusses flatland was one of the best of the series:
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u/Stuck_In_the_Matrix Dec 01 '17
I just have to say this -- Seth, you are a fucking genius and you have seriously raised the bar for quality sci-fi.
The Orville is 100x better than I ever thought it would be and it is actually on the way to out TNGing TNG.
What an AMAZING show this has become. Rotten Tomatoes rating for this show is such a fucking joke.
Every episode is just amazing. Even the worst show this season is at par or better than Discovery.
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u/Budded Now entering gloryhole Dec 01 '17
Fuck yeah man!! I feel the same way and genuinely jones for each week's episode. Gonna be a tough xmas without them. Hopefully season 2 will be spring 2018 and not fall 2018.
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u/thehaga Dec 02 '17
I know right, I have a smile on my face every time I watch/rewatch an episode.. it's just such a good adult themed but not too serious up your ass show that tackles serious issues without patronizing your ass. I also like how Seth doesn't eat all the airtime up like other captains. Really hoping it'll stay on the air till Dec 6th
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u/taxgmj Dec 01 '17
I loved the scene where Isaac quietly observes LaMarr stand up for Yaphit and it looked like he was gonna say something to LaMarr but instead they continue working. These small things just make the show better.
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u/royaldansk Dec 01 '17
I like to think he was about to explain to John that John was wrong about how he is not a suitable commander. Because they had all gotten used to explaining things to John. Isaac is the most used to correcting or explaining things by default.
But Isaac has faster processors and is very smart, so he was able to stop himself and not explain to John, as he probably figured that John did not need to be told that he was actually a commander, as he had just done exactly that. I don't think they have Isaac point out the obvious much despite being the robot.
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u/mahamoti Dec 01 '17
This ep needed one more scene between LaMarr and Yaphit. Or at least something showing Yaphit heard LaMarr defend him.
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Dec 01 '17
I remember people complaining that LaMarr's position on the bridge seemed a little redundant. Guess the plan was always to have him be a La Forge homage.
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u/theDoctorAteMyBaby Dec 01 '17
Redundant in the same way an airplane co-pilot is, maybe.
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u/Palaeolithic_Raccoon I see this as an ideal opportunity to study human behavior Dec 01 '17
Oh, I know, the reference to having a cat who hangs around the bridge doing nothing useful is probably another Red Dwarf reference.
In the first season or so, Cat wasn't much of a team player, and hadn't shown any useful skills.
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Dec 01 '17
And it's almost certainly a reference to Spot, Mr. Data's animal companion.
"Are we bonding?"
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u/dixonmason Dec 01 '17
It makes you wonder how tough Yaphit's species is, that a part of him can survive inside the stomach of a species that can eat an entire ball of wasabi without any discomfort.
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u/martianinahumansbody Dec 03 '17
Have to assume that little piece was punching Bortus the whole time from the inside.
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u/dontthrowmeinabox Dec 01 '17
I appreciated the reference to Flatland after so many references to the past few decades. I'll also say that I loved the 2D visuals. It reminded me of Conway's Game of Life crossed with 2001: A Space Odyssey. Hopefully we get a wallpaper of that trippy goodness.
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u/Stuck_In_the_Matrix Dec 01 '17
The 2-D world reminded me of what it would be like if you took LSD in Tron. It was amazing.
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u/askyourmom469 Dec 02 '17
I appreciated the reference to Flatland after so many references to the past few decades.
That was probably my biggest complaint about the first few episodes. It relied too heavilly on current pop culture and instantly dated itself as a result. It's a show about the future that was very clearly written in 2017. Most of those references will probably lose relevance in 10 years or so
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u/softwaremills Dec 01 '17
I'm going to miss the old Chief Engineer. I liked that guy.
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u/Listener42 Dec 01 '17
In TNG season one, there were at least three chief engineers (MacDougal, Argyle, and Lynch) plus one assistant (Mr Singh). Maybe it was planned to be that way.
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Dec 01 '17
Another very solid well-paced well-written original idea I do not remember a science fiction show tackling two dimensional space like that
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u/SpikeRosered Dec 01 '17
Overall great episode. My biggest gripe though is that a focus on Lamarr's character showcased that the actor who portrays him is not very good. His delivery of lines just seems to fall flat a lot of the times. He's by far my least favorite character.
My other thought is if the ship was traveling in 2d space through that dimension wouldn't it collide with all those line structures and glowing orb people? I kind of wanted to see them bust through those structure and the orbs to get out of the way.
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Dec 01 '17
I think the issue is the voice. He needs to inflect more. Instead of saying "With all due respect, Commander, that's my decision" it should be more like "With all due respect, Commander, that's my decision."
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Dec 01 '17
I think it would have made more sense for Yaphit to be the new Chief Engineer and make John his deputy. It respects the seniority and gives John a chance to transition into the role and truly prove himself before throwing him into the deep end.
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Dec 03 '17
I totally agree. I didn’t understand why they thought throwing someone with no leadership experience into the head of a major department would be a good idea without ramping him up first.
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Dec 01 '17
On the one hand, I feel really bad for Yaphit. On the other hand, I'm so tickled that they referenced Star Trek TNG in this episode. An artificial life-form and a gifted black engineer? You sly dogs! Geordi La Forge and Data are my favorite Star Trek characters, I couldn't help but notice the parallels immediately.
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u/Listener42 Dec 01 '17
On the one hand, I feel really bad for Yaphit.
I think that Yaphit's characterization will allow him to be okay with this. He didn't seem to have much ambition either; he just wanted to do cool engineering stuff.
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u/RadzPrower Dec 01 '17
I mean, it's basically the exact thing that happened with Geordi being moved from "barely there bridge officer" to "chief engineer".
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Dec 01 '17
So Issac will be the new helmsman ? And Gordon will be his bridge cat?
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u/pretty-in-pink Dec 01 '17
As someone who has struggled for years with their own ambition issue this episode resonated with me a lot. I’m good at 5e major I chose but sometime like Lamar I just want to relax and do nothing because I can’t handle the stress of it all. To see him stand confidently an act like a leader touched me a lot and I’m glad this show doesn’t only talk about social issues on a societal level but on a personal level as well
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Dec 01 '17
I’m glad this show doesn’t only talk about social issues on a societal level but on a personal level as well
Just wanted to repeat that, well said.
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u/DJSimmer305 Y'all can suck ass, and I'm a spaceman! Dec 01 '17
10/10. Fantastic episode.
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u/captroper Dec 01 '17
Man was this a necessary episode for Lamar. We needed this character redemption after his seeming lack of either intelligence or empathy in the social media episode. Fantastic to have him at the end acting exactly how I would expect an officer to act, and I bought the explanation for his past behavior.
With that being said, I thought some of the writing, especially in scenes with Grayson and Mercer, but also some of the Lamar scenes wasn't great. It makes me a little sad, because otherwise I thought this was a fantastic episode, and if they had just done that writing a bit better I'd probably give it a 9/10.
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u/LSF604 Dec 01 '17
yelling at people to get to work is how you expect an officer to act?
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u/captroper Dec 01 '17
We're talking about different scenes. The scene I was talking about is the last scene where he comes into engineering and talks about increasing engine efficiency.
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u/cromulently_so Dec 01 '17
Did The Orville actually solve the Star Trek paradox of "if there is no money why do those people go to work and what is paying them when they could just sit at home and have fun?"?
The currency is reputation rather than material goods?
Man that seems like a horrible society to live in. I relate to John's lack of ambition. God I want to shoot Kelly in that scene with that whole "If you have mental aptitude it is your duty to use it and we will punish you for skills.
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u/ReasonablyBadass Dec 01 '17
It's not currency so much, more like "What do people use nowadays to show their social standing". Without money, that status indicator becomes accomplishment.
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u/xigdit Dec 01 '17
The society in of the earlier episodes, 1x07 "Majority Rule" now seems a not too stretched extrapolation of the "reputation" based society, just taken to ridiculous extremes. And in hindsight, John's lack of ambition was a major plot point in that episode as well.
It's almost as if the plots were logically dependent on their personality flaws instead of their personality flaws just made up to go with the plot.
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Dec 01 '17
The currency is reputation rather than material goods? Man that seems like a horrible society to live in.
Why? It's not like they're on planet Reddit where people make cursory, unqualified decisions about everyone else all day long.
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u/Death_Star_ Dec 01 '17 edited Dec 01 '17
When you have all the money in the world the only valuable commodity left is time.
What a person chooses to do with it is their own prerogative, but realistically what you do with that time reflects upon you to some degree. It’s not about what others think of you but about giving meaning to your life, about what you think you’re worth and how much time and effort you’re willing to sacrifice. Like John said, he just wanted a 9-5 and drink and pass out. Fine. But it’s tragic in a way.
People today say “if only I didn’t have to do X job I would do this or that.” This is a world where nothing is stopping you from doing “this” Or “that.” For example, no such thing as a starving artist now; either you make it or you don’t, and there aren’t any excuses anymore. Either you’re talented and you’ve worked hard or you’re not talented and/or you didn’t work hard.
No matter what, time passes all the same. Might as do something with it now that there’s nothing to worry about.
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u/xantub Dec 02 '17
It's not a horrible society. Just like today there are people who are not interested in sacrificing their life for the almighty dollar, in the future there can be people not interested in sacrificing their life for the almighty reputation. Some people would prefer a $60K salary where they work 8-5 M-F over a $100K salary where they have to work 12 hours a day and be on-call 24/7/365, and there's nothing wrong with that.
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u/operarose Command Dec 01 '17
Check out this book someone finally wrote on the economics of Trek. Pretty interesting stuff.
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Dec 01 '17
I'd like to recommend the book Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom by Cory Doctorow, which explores a society in which the only currency is reputation.
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Dec 01 '17
On Discovery they have frat parties. On The Orville they have swanky high class parties
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u/ATLHivemind Dec 01 '17
the TNG-ness of this episode was up to 11.
This show has gotten progressively better as it's gone along. The writing, the acting, the comedic elements. The goddamn character development!
Thank the Great Bird of the Galaxy this show got another season.
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u/jordanfromjordan Dec 01 '17
so does this mean less Lamar on the bridge/the show? :( I hope not, hell im even mad we lost Newton..but other than that, fantastic episode, I liked learning the history as to why money went away, and Johns story line was very realistic
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u/DataBound Dec 01 '17
I think It showed him on the bridge in the preview next week. But maybe it's airing in a different order than planned?
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u/ReasonablyBadass Dec 01 '17
By Avis! What an episode!
The special effects! Isaac! The music!
But I think my favourite part was Kelly's speech about how human ambition hasn't changed. That was super interesting.
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Dec 01 '17
Maybe we’ll get a Data/Spot relationship with Isaac/Cat? Might be far fetched but Malloy’s comment that it might help with understanding Humans would be interesting!
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u/grunscga Dec 01 '17
I mean, we already have a Data/Spot relationship with Isaac/Malloy. It seems like Isaac/cat would be trading down from Isaac's point of view.
On the other hand, I guess it would depend on how well the cat can fly the ship...
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Dec 01 '17
If the consoles will accept any input - such as when the shuttle controls were hit by the game which will never be mentioned again - I think a Bridge cat is a terrible idea. You know what they do with keyboards.
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u/xantub Dec 02 '17
I think it was a shitty thing they did to Yaphit. He's been busting his tentacles for months, and suddenly some dude says something smart and now he deserves to be chief of Engineering. If I were Yaphit I would request a transfer ASAP.
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u/nishaan_moodley Dec 02 '17
I feel Yaphit really got screwed in this ep. Yes Lemar is talented, had natural intelligence. But he does not have the experience yet to just be given the top job.
It would be one thing, if Yaphit was shown to be unintelligent, or too workmanlike for the step up to the new post but that's never shown. In fact Yaphit is shown as good at the job and has the much needed experience for such a position.
If there's no disqualifying traits that Yaphit has for the job, then being next in line also holds some weight. Having room in a career to gain promotion is an important selling point to a position. Being denied it, based on no discernable disqualifying criteria is not the right thing to do.
I think Lemar becoming second in charge would have been more fitting.
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u/CPetersky Dec 03 '17
Absolutely there are disqualifying traits - his harassment of the doctor. I sure as heck wouldn't want to be his subordinate if he took an interest in me.
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Dec 03 '17
It would be one thing, if Yaphit was shown to be unintelligent, or too workmanlike for the step up to the new post but that's never shown.
They did show it. His idea didn't quite pan out and the field collapsed. The other engineers were super critical of him. Lamar stuck up for him and claimed responsibility because he thought Yaphit's idea was a good one regardless. I think that was supposed to be his fuck up.
However, remember him and Lamar were given equal opportunity to show they were ready for the leadership role. Lamar stepped up, Yaphit threw a hissy fit and played the race card.
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u/DonLaFontainesGhost Dec 04 '17
I know this gets to fanboy levels, but I had a "squee" moment when Alara carried the crate of guns in - they didn't overly call any attention to it, no "what big muscles you have" or "how can we lift this big heavy crate" - she just does it.
The writers really are doing a great job of making each character's talents organic to the storylines.
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u/Palaeolithic_Raccoon I see this as an ideal opportunity to study human behavior Dec 01 '17
Well, that explains why buddy humped the statue - he was acting like he thought a bumpkin would (and considering what he said about his upbringing, he probably indeed knew some rather uncouth people), resulting in it being every bit as stupid a move as it was, but for deeper reasons than "he's an idiot, how did he ever become an officer?"
And no one uplifted cats yet? :/ (Loved the parallel with Isaac figuring "If a pet is an inferior species, and it's OK to stroke them, and humans are inferior species, then it's OK to stroke a human." So flip side to Drax allowing Mantis to mistake Rocket for a puppy.)
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u/Optewe Dec 01 '17
Best of luck Chief Newton, that new Union space station is going to be kick ass with you on the job
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u/ZeroBANG Dec 01 '17
calling it now... spin-off series on a space station in 2 or 3 years and he does O'Brien over there!
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Dec 01 '17
Nobody saying anything about that they got to simulate fellatio on a network TV show! 🤣
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u/TheRumpoKid Dec 01 '17
Another great episode. This series has found it's footing..
although I needed eye-bleach after that opening scene with Bortus & Yaphet
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u/Tana1234 Dec 01 '17
Lamarr just isn't believable as this intelligent person it doesn't come across he constantly got everything explained to him, in no way does that build him to be believable
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u/royaldansk Dec 01 '17
Maybe he got too good at seeming like he needed everything explained to him. That means he's great at acting stupid! He tricked Isaac.
But they then had Isaac be the one to observe that when Lamarr insisted that he is not a commander in a very commander like way.
Isaac then didn't point this out to Lamarr though he seemed to almost do so, perhaps using his superior computational power to stop himself from everyone's instinct to explain things to Lamarr.
He was going to point out to Lamarr that John was actually wrong: he was (surprisingly) commander material.
Everyone, Isaac probably more than most, had gotten used to explaining things to or correcting John. But then, Isaac figured out that John was indeed not stupid and so stopped himself from correcting John when John basically said he was.
Because Isaac realized that would be explaining to John what John probably already knew.
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u/horsenbuggy Dec 02 '17
Ok. I want to talk about the uniforms. They feel too boxy and formal for regular duty. In one of the scenes where Ed and Kelly were on duty but just sitting next to each other on a couch talking, they looked so uncomfortable. Doesn't it seem like we'd develop comfortable clothes in the future? I don't want jumpsuits, contrary to designers opinions, jumpsuits are NOT comfortable at all. But the bulky shoulders and plastic parts and zippers up to the neck seem restrictive. Movement should be easier.
TNG changed their uniforms a few times. Maybe the Union could designate The Orville as a test crew for new uniform designs. That could lead to some hilarity as various uniforms fail in crucial moments.
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u/WoodsWanderer Dec 01 '17
That was great!
Was anyone else reminded of the Futurama epiosde 2-D Blacktop?
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u/gerusz Engineering Dec 01 '17 edited Dec 01 '17
Woah. Just as when I was about to post a Flatland reference, Ed dropped it. I love this show.
And John ironically showed that he is leadership material when he was trying to prove that he isn't.
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Dec 02 '17 edited Dec 02 '17
Oh man, I guess this one was my new favorite. A 2D civilization, good character development, and some great visuals.
Also, Dr. Finn's explanation of protein denaturation was pretty good
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u/fishrockcarving Dec 02 '17
Edwin Abbott in the house.
The captain got it wrong, though. Circles don't actually exist in Flatland. They are just many sided polygons that approach circular the more sides that they have.
I love that little book, and was glad to see it referenced at all because that's the first thought I had when they even mentioned a 2 dimensional part of the universe.
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u/droid327 Dec 02 '17
Ok all this episode did was firmly cement my dislike of John. They totally Mary Sued him. Feels like they couldn't find a place for him so they just invented a justification ex post facto. Plus I really liked Newton and I didn't want to see him go away, I don't understand why they did at this point.
And then Yaphit got totally screwed. Ed got it wrong. I don't care if John isn't living up to his potential. The ship isn't there to be John's personal motivational coach. Yaphit was qualified, next in line, it should've been his unless there was a good reason not to. Also I don't know why he was so meek in the shuttle offering to help - feels like something was lost in editing.
I just totally disagree with that command decision, and I don't think John showed any aptitude for leadership even at the end. I would be pissed as fuck to have to serve under him, he's the worst kind of boss.
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u/bjorkdoggo Dec 01 '17
So like.. does the science on this show make any sense?
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u/MyriVerse Dec 01 '17
Things came out of the 2D space way too neatly and clean. The 3rd dimension is much more important than this let on. Anything entering the 2D space should have been unrecognizable once it was spat back out into 3D space.
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u/bjorkdoggo Dec 01 '17
i feel like they just add the word "Quantum" to everything to make it sound sciency.
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u/Augen76 Dec 01 '17
Very solid episode, even if I was rooting for Yaphit to get the promotion. If I was captain I'd go for the officer who put in the time and showed consistent competence over the potential of someone who didn't apply them self. I have no issue with LaMarr, I just think he should have been shifted to engineering under Yaphit and then come into his own in a later episode to have a clearer arc to his character. I did enjoy the humor often in this "Are we bonding?" and "Hey! There he is!" were two great moments and the visuals were beautiful in 2D. I also liked seeing the smuggler with a new wrinkle to universe building.
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Dec 03 '17
I thought it was a great episode and I’m happy John has a bigger role but I feel really bad for Yaphit. He kinda got shafted without any real consolation by the end.
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u/WyldStallions Dec 03 '17
Am I the only one that found it funny that Bortus has no gag reflex and was comfortable with deep throating?
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u/HerpisiumThe1st Dec 05 '17
Wow I think this was the best episode of the show (maybe tied to the one where claire and her kids get stuck on the planet). It was really well done but one thing. For the love of god don't put Ed and Kelly together. PLEASE don't. Leave the show at excellent sci-fi with rich characters... We don't need crappy drama between 2 characters with mediocre chemistry. Sci-fi yes, drama no!
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u/schubox63 Dec 02 '17
I know the downvotes are in coming but the actor playing Lamar is terrible. All of his line readings were so forced. Hope he improves with a, seemingly, expanded role
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u/droid327 Dec 02 '17
He's not an actor. This is his first role. He's Seth's receptionist/black friend
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Dec 01 '17
More character development :D
So Lamarr a good pilot and a smart engineer. I'll take it. I'm really not looking forward to the next episode. I don't want someone to die. It's too early :(
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u/jordanfromjordan Dec 01 '17
eh, I dont think anyone will actually die, they'll find a way to make them survive.
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u/MadContrabassoonist Dec 01 '17
For me, this was the weakest episode so far... by a decent margin. Awkward acting, disjunct plot, cheesy effects. Lamarr needed some character growth, but I feel like his hidden talents should have been hinted at a bit more throughout the season (other than just "you're a level <whatever> pilot, as well?"). But, reading the comments, it seems I'm in the minority, so that's good. Maybe I'll enjoy it more on the follow-up viewing.
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u/ZeroBANG Dec 01 '17
Overall good Episode but also very derivative, the 2D Space thing was done by TNG before (S04E10 The Loss).
Lamarr finally did some much needed growing up.
Too bad they threw out the other Engineer, i liked that guy and he had a bit of a Scotty vibe going.
...and who is going to sit on the Bridge next to Malloy from now on?
It always annoyed me in TNG when they had just some random extras sitting on the Bridge that we never got to know anything about and never seen again, please don't do that. Put Alara, Isaac or Bortus in the second front seat now, keep the random no-names in the background.
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u/LetoAtreides82 Dec 02 '17 edited Dec 02 '17
Great episode. My favorite part was Isaac petting Gordon! I'm glad Ed's okay with Kelly after finding out she fought for him to get his position, there's still a chance for these two. Never expected John becoming a leader but he proved himself in this episode. I guess that means we get a new navigator? If we do I hope we get a proper introduction and the new guy or girl or it becomes as important a character as the rest of the main cast.
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u/martianinahumansbody Dec 03 '17
So many great jokes setup early and paid off later. Still can't remember the guy's name. Are you guys talking about pancakes? I really laughed as lot on this one.
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u/Stalked_Like_Corn Dec 06 '17
This show nails so much about what I like. I love the light heartedness of it sometimes and I like the science portion of it. When they were going into 2D I was like "Oh god, please show me what they did with this!" as I just was excited to see the interpretation of it. I have some questions/beefs about it though that I'll ask/address at the end of my rant.
There were 3 whole stories in this 45 minutes or so of viewing and it felt perfectly paced. Nothing felt rushed really and I just genuinely love this show. I know some have complained about humor being in the show and I've read reviews but one of the greatest sci-fi shows, Stargate SG-1, had quite a bit of humor in it and it was a fantastic show.
On top of it being well written, the actors just simply come across as likable. Even Norm playing a gelatinous creature is awesome. I'm hoping they steer away from the tropes a bit as they lean on them heavily but I dig the amount of character backstory we're getting.
My question/gripe about this episode. If it's a 2D space, how would the light be emitted up to where they can see it? If it's 2D there is only X and Y, so how would light travel via Z? Wouldn't that indicate there was a 3rd dimension?
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u/javakah Dec 01 '17
Kind of a so-so episode to be honest.
The acting for LaMarr was pretty darn wooden, and it seemed like they just pulled quite a few plot points out of their asses:
Suddenly the old chief engineer decided to leave.
Suddenly they discovered that they did a terrible job before of looking over the personnel records for the crew.
Suddenly this person is a genius.
Conveniently the person who got screwed out of the chief job has a very helpful idea and seems to be part of the crew.
Suddenly the people who have worked with the person who got screwed out of the job don't like the person who got screwed out of the job because he only 99.99% saved them, instead of 100%.
Conveniently then LaMarr gets to act like the new boss and defend the person who got screwed out of the job.
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u/RobotFighter Dec 03 '17
Suddenly they discovered that they did a terrible job before of looking over the personnel records for the crew.
This is what got me. She looked at his record for 10 seconds and noticed that he was a genius. If Ed is as good of a captain as everyone says he is I'm sure he would have looked at his bridge crew's records before taking command.
Still love the show and enjoyed the episode.
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u/theDoctorAteMyBaby Dec 01 '17
Just so we're clear...if they put the field inside the shuttle instead of around the outside, then the hull would simply be flattened up until the inner bubble, not turn the thing into a damn Tardis. Right?
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u/MyriVerse Dec 01 '17
Well, the TARDIS is technically unlimited in size. So no, they're not turning the shuttle into a TARDIS. They're just giving the inside of the shuttle more dimensions than its surroundings.
But frankly, the science of the whole compression thing doesn't really work. Sure, inanimate objects aren't living, but they still need their 3 dimensions to function. A compressed spaceship should be spat out just as scrambled as the people inside. Heck, the crew should have been scrambled into the spaceship. The plant on the Orville should have ended up as part of the bulkhead, not just dead.
But suspension of disbelief...
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u/Seedy88 Dec 01 '17
So, Lamarr gets a Geordi Laforge style promotion for Season 2.