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Ep 11 : New Dimensions

Posted: Fri Dec 01, 2017 11:31 pm
by Graham Kennedy
So, here we go... the penultimate episode!

Awww, we're losing Newton? I really liked Newton, I was hoping he would be the Chief O'Brien of the Orville! Boooo!

Okay, I know pranks can go far on this ship, but wow. Cutting a piece of Yaphit and sticking it in the buffet is harsh! Especially coming from Malloy, given how badly he reacted to having his leg cut off.

I wonder how this works with Yaphit, exactly. What if the piece had been destroyed? Does he just feel bad forever, or does it slowly heal like a minor human injury would? Also interesting that he can still sense the piece at a distance... are his species mildly telepathic or something?

And how far can this cutting pieces off go? What happens if he's cut in half? Do we end up with two Yaphits? Are they each half as smart? Do they each have half their memories?

Hmm, for this consequences are threatened. But not for Isaac cutting Malloy's leg off? Or was that only because Malloy didn't press charges?

Ahhhh, we're getting a LaMarr episode! About time! I gotta say, I have generally found the depiction of LaMarr to be just a little bit... kinda racist. He's very stereotypically "black" in a way that we don't see that much nowadays. It's nothing overbearing, just a bit off to me. So he's about the smartest guy on the ship, huh? I hope they're going to regenerate him.

...and they might well be! Oh wow, they're going to do a Geordi LaForge on him and stick him in Engineering! I like that. It always bothered me a bit that he and Malloy were basically on the bridge to do the same job. I know they called Malloy helmsman and LaMarr navigator, and I'm sure that in real life those are two big important jobs, but in terms of writing a scene, what does a navigator do? He basically points the ship, and then sits there until it needs to be pointed in a different direction. It's not the most thrilling of jobs, yes? Engineering is a much bigger role for the character.

He makes a good point about how some people are not driven types, too. Though I suspect that he's not going to be allowed to really be that. That will be an excuse.

Oooo, they hit a space whatsit. Those seem common in the Orville universe, just like in Trek. Maybe even more so.

Ahhhh, Kelly's big secret is finally out of the bag, and Mercer isn't reacting well to it. The man does take personal things seriously to heart, doesn't he?

Man, LaMarr really screws up his first impression with his team.

And Yaphit thinks he's being passed over for anti-blob bigotry. Interesting, it seems it isn't taken for granted that "there's no such primitive thinking" in the Union - I guess we knew that, with Isaac's people being considered big racists. (Are we ever going to actually see that? Or is it just that he considers himself stronger/smarter than most and everyone else thinks of that as racist?)

So an alien captain shows up... I really like the aliens on The Orville. They're a real step up from the TNG Rubber Foreheads, which is to be expected thirty years on I guess. But they do a lot of full heads, bodysuits, etc. It works very well.

Ohh, space thingy is all weird! Flat ship, interesting.

Okay, they say the space thingy has length and width but no height. Yet when the cargo ship runs into it, it doesn't flatten in the height direction but in the length direction. I know there's no true direction in space so this isn't really a nit as such. It just kind of jarred me.

Love the joke about cats. They should totally have a bridge cat! Ian's cat would be perfect, because she looks very cute and cuddly, and also would be handy for intruder alerts since she shreds the skin of anybody who comes within five yards whilst tearing the living souls from their bodies throwing them into hell for the glory of her master, Satan. I woke up one night to find that animal sitting on the bedside table, staring at me. I still have nightmares.

Oh my god, Isaac stroking Malloy was absolutely hilarious! The humour high point of the show!

Okay, minor point but why is the cargo ship hauling crates of Krill rifles? The Krill are basically xenophobic assholes, right? I don't see them buying guns from another species, or hiring alien cargo ships to ship their guns around. This would have worked better if there were some other bad guy race for it to be - the Orville Romulans compared to the Orville Klingons, so to speak. Again, a small thing that bugged me a little.

Oooo, I like the idea of hiding in the anomaly, and I like the depiction of the 2-D civilisation. It's weird and psychedelic and really interesting to look at. Nice! Also like Mercer talking about Flatland, the show recognising that this isn't an original idea. (What is?)

Ha, loooove LaMarr's slapping down his team about Yaphit. "It was his idea by my decision, so if you want to blame somebody, blame me." Right on! And then he caps it by asking Isaac if he understands yet why some people aren't leaders. Um, dude? What you just said and how you said it demonstrates that you ARE a leader.

I like Kelly's non-apology apology. Yeah, she put in a good word for him. But like she points out, Ed was a good officer - top of his class. And as the Admiral points out, he sure has vindicated the decision since then. Nice to see that recognised, Mercer has pulled off some pretty amazing stuff in year one - that Krill destroyer capture alone was the stuff of legend. We really shouldn't see "scraping the barrel" comments any more, and start getting some "one of our best" comments.

Okay, gotta say it... LaMarr's line about nausea made me think the cut would show Mercer puking. I LOLed when it was LaMarr.

And wow, LOTS of technobabble this week. I hope that doesn't become a habit.

Hmm, Yaphit took LaMarr's promotion well in the end. Too well, really - he could have just pressed charges for the prank and ended LaMarr's promotion right there, yes? But he didn't, he just suddenly accepted it. Actually you could have fixed this quite easily - when LaMarr made his speech in defence of Yaphit to the rest of the team, why not cut to Yaphit outside the shuttle, obviously hearing it? Five second shot, and we would have all the reason we need for Yaphit to stand aside.

All in all, a good episode I thought. Niggles here and there, but we get serious character development for LaMarr, some for Ed and Kelly, couple of good jokes, an interesting sci-fi idea... what more could one want!

Re: Ep 11 : New Dimensions

Posted: Sat Dec 02, 2017 12:52 am
by Monroe
I really loved this episode. Flatland is my favorite book that I haven't read (I've seen the movie, read tons of scientific books that mention it, etc.)

I liked Newton too but he was kind of forgettable. I'd rather have Yaphit be the chief engineer but damn captain had to be racist. I don't think LaMarr is good for the engineer position. I like the character but I'm not sold on the guy's acting skills. I think he fits better as navigator. As a navigator he doesn't have many scenes alone, whereas the engineering he'd have to do more techno babble, leading scenes, etc because he's in charge of a group. Though I really like the science department guys. That guy and his pancakes...

Yaphit said they reproduce by dividing and making two unique creatures. I'm not sure how their intelligence passes on but in theory it would be two unique individuals and the original destroyed. This raises questions about how much of him has to break apart for this to happen and for how long? I'm guessing the show will go into that in the future. This also means they're probably going to do a story line with Yaphit dying and creating two children.

I don't think Isaac is racist. I think he just states facts without any tact so comes across as that. And he freely admits he's superior (Due to higher intelligence, durability and strength). But he wishes to understand humans, if someone is truly racist they don't care about another's society or culture.

I hope they get a bridge cat. I can imagine it jumping on the controls and launching a torpedo or something. And Isaac 'bonding' with Malloy had me laughing all day. I knew something funny was coming the way Malloy said that sentence but it was still brilliantly done.

So I guess this means season 2 we'll get a brand new navigator. I hope it's another alien. I love the Bortus character, he may be my favorite... but Isaac cracks me up every time I see him. It's really a great cast how they all interact on the bridge-- another reason I'm not sure moving LaMarr to the engineering section is the best idea.

Re: Ep 11 : New Dimensions

Posted: Sat Dec 02, 2017 1:29 am
by Graham Kennedy
I really don't think we've seen enough of LaMarr to judge the actor properly. I suspect he's been encouraged to "go big" a lot so far - that's kind of what I meant when I said I find the character so far a little bit racist.

It's notable that chief engineer hasn't been a big role up to now, I think in large part because Orville hasn't really done the kind of "here's a tech problem and here's how we tweak the deflector dish to sort it out" plots that Trek did so often. I hope that they aren't going to go in that direction. Or perhaps they have decided they don't like the character and are giving him a more supporting role?

For his bridge seat, I suspect they're going to just stick an ND crewmember in the seat.

I guess we will see next year...

Oh, another thing! They actually have a crewmember whose job is to water all the plants. I just find that wonderful. I really hope it's his only job on the ship. I love the idea that there's a guy who spends like half an hour each morning wandering around watering all the plants, then heads off to the bar and chills out for the rest of the day.

Re: Ep 11 : New Dimensions

Posted: Sat Dec 02, 2017 3:20 am
by Monroe
The plant watering is actually fairly realistic (if they don't have an automatic system that does it). Big office buildings have a guy that only changes light bulbs all day every day. I think, while funny, it's actually pretty accurate.

Re: Ep 11 : New Dimensions

Posted: Sat Dec 02, 2017 3:48 am
by Graham Kennedy
I would have guessed that it would be something that the people working in each space would be in charge of. Like if the plant is in your quarters, you water it. If it's in the lounge, the bar staff assign it to somebody. Etc.

I just find it amusing that there's a guy who does nothing all day long but water the plants. The exciting life of the Union Navy officer!!!

Actually that makes me wonder how many rooms there are on the Orville... which makes me realise, we actually know very little about the ship. Like, how big is it? I have no idea of the length, or how many decks.

Re: Ep 11 : New Dimensions

Posted: Sat Dec 02, 2017 6:43 am
by Talondor
I liked the episode. The 2D civilization reminded me of a animated circuit board. Cool concept.

If I recall correctly, the post of chief engineer on the TNG Enterprise was at most a recurring role until LaForge took over. In fact, I think more then one person played it. Perhaps it will be the same thing with the Orville.

I agree that Yaphit hearing the conversation on board the shuttle would have been great. Would totally explain his turn around support.

As for the navigator, perhaps we'll see a new character next season. Either that it will become a revolving door like the pilot's seat when Wesley Crusher left for the Academy.