A Tale of 2 Sci Fi Shows: Orville vs Discovery

One of these shows

truly captures the

spirit of Star Trek...

The other does not.

If you've been reading this blog for a while, you know that I am a huge sci fi geek. I was raised on Star Trek Original Series reruns long before Star Trek: The Next Generation came out. But, Paramount has simply not been able to get it right in a long time. These rebooted Star Trek movies are horrible, and they pulled the plug on the Enterprise series in season 4, right when the show found its stride. So, they have created an all new show, Star Trek: Discovery, set before the events of The Original Series. Yep. A prequel of all things. Now, I'm not going to sit here and gripe about how the tech of today looks different from tech created in the 60's. That's a given, and to anyone who would gripe about that, I have one word for you. "DUH!" I'm going to do you a favor, and talk about the show itself, its characters and story lines.

Discovery cast

On the other side of the coin, Family Guy creator, Seth McFarlane has created a sci fi show called The Orville. It was billed as a spoof of Star Trek, with humor and antics that you'd expect from McFarlane. Did he overdo it? Did he get it right? Read on.

Orville cast

So, let's first start talking about the 6th official Star Trek series, Star Trek: Discovery. Minor spoilers ahead. First off, the series takes place several years before The Original Series. Any trekkie knows that the Klingon War takes place during that time frame. However, this series obliterates any of the canon that was established during Enterprise. For example, the lead up to the Klingon war, and the elephant in the room, the forehead ridges on the Klingons. Enterprise brilliantly explained why they looked so different in the Original Series vs how they look in the rest of Trek. That story is not only gone, but the Klingons look nothing like (or act nothing like) the Klingons of the older series...which in my opinion were the most badass looking. And, it gets worse from there.

You're saying we now look like
THIS????

Ahh yes.
We demand honor!
If everyone politely agrees!

The story is of a first officer who committed mutiny against her captain in a standoff with the Klingons. Her mutiny failed, but had it succeeded, Starfleet likely would not be involved in a war. The captain of her first ship is such a wuss, that you are actually wanting her to get killed off. This is a major problem with this series. You can't get attached to any of these characters. There's nothing redeeming about any of them. But, our main character, (Michael Burnham...a female) the aforementioned first officer who committed mutiny is sentenced to life in prison, but is transferred to the USS Discovery, a science vessel that is no longer a science vessel. Its now a war vessel because Starfleet is at war.

YES, my name is Michael
YES, I'm a GIRL!

The whole premise is flawed. This series mentions that they have had contact with the Klingons for a while, but there is little known about them. Any Trekkie knows that this is total bullshit. Paramount and CBS are trying to show the Klingon war. And, there is nothing wrong with that, other than the fact that the writers seem to have never seen an older Trek episode in their lives. It really shows.

Personally, I liked Enterprise alot, but many critics said that it was dark and morbid...which it was, but with the exception of season 3, it really was Star Trek. Discovery seems to be just a war story with lots of over bearing CGI, lens flare, and explosions. It seems ironic that a show called "Discovery" is turning out to be yet another dystonian sci fi series where everything is WAR!

I mentioned the Klingons, and how they look nothing like the badass Klingons of previous series. I also mentioned overkill of CGI. Remember how the ships of the previous Trek series looked elegant and big? Well throw that out the window. Star Trek: Discovery has taken tips from the Transformers movies, and shown you so much CGI that you can't even tell what you're looking at. Take a look at this pic. Can you see anything???

Me either.

So, now that we have that out of the way, let's move on, shall we? The Orville.

Right off the bat, if you've watched ONE episode each of both these shows, you know that The Orville is a much brighter, and upbeat show. Its sci fi, but with fun, and honestly, its a realistic look at how Star Trek would be in real life. It has a chain of command, but its officers are allowed to be themselves. For example, in one episode, the captain calls for one of the bridge crew, who is in his quarters. The announcing officer says (paraphrasing) "Hey, Bortis, the captain says to get your ass up here." There are comedy breaks, but the feel of the show is exploration and...discovery. Hmmm!

Seth Mcfarlane takes jabs at everyone. And, speaking as a conservative, its refreshing to see that he is really giving his all to make this a great sci fi series. He could easily use this show to advance his liberal beliefs. But, he doesn't. In fact, there's an episode where he actually takes a view that opposes the liberal template. The storylines are very much Star Trek. This isn't a show (so far) that takes on an arc, like STD. Yes, I went there. Its an episodic roller coaster ride, with a fresh new story each week, with the crew learning something new after a white knuckle, brush with disaster. Sound familiar? The Orville is Star Trek!

The Orville uses a model.
Trek hasn't done that in years.
Models look SO much better than CGI.

What's not to love? Aliens, mistakes by the crew, practical jokes, and the wisdom that Gene Roddenberry made famous before his death. He would be proud of this series, and less of Star Trek: Discovery. For simply obvious reasons, the character development is MUCH better. I know more about every character of Orville in 6 episodes than I do of Discovery after the same amount of episodes.

So, while CBS is charging people to watch a crappy Star Trek series, Fox is giving you a real one for free. So, if you're unable to process the data handed out in this post, there is a new Star Trek series, however, a show that was intended as a Trek spoof is more Star Trek than an actual Star Trek series.

It pains me to say that, but its the truth. I'm still going to watch STD, but honestly, I look forward to The Orville more. Hands down, its a better show.

Live long, and prosper.

Top 10 Sci Fi TV Shows

We'll do movies next month. But now, we're talking about the TV series that have not only glued us to our seats, but also withstood the test of time as pure classics or as cult classics. But, we're going to have a simple top 10, regardless of whether or not its a cult classic or a pure classic.

Personally, I have been a Star Wars/ Trek guy all my life. I had seen all of the original Star Trek series and the movies long before Star Trek: The Next Generation came out. I saw the original Star Wars films in the theater too, when they were first released. I had also seen many Sci Fi movies. But, I never got into sci fi TV other than Star Trek and the original V, and Battlestar Galactica until very recently. Yes, I did a lot of catching up.

A tornado was responsible for taking me to a new world.
Sound familiar?

In early 2011, I lived in Chattanooga, TN. During a very dangerous storm that spawned hundreds of tornadoes throughout the region, a tornado hit my place. My satellite dish was broken, and because of the damage to the entire area, they estimated a week before they would be able to fix it. Once the power was restored, I went to Blockbuster, and was there specifically to find TV shows. I decided upon the remake of Battlestar Galactica because I had heard great things about it. I watched the 3 disks that I rented in one day, and had returned them for 3 more later that evening. I was hooked. I didn't even care when the satellite TV company fixed my dish. I didn't watch anything other than Battlestar Galactica until I had finished the series. After that, I decided to watch as many sci fi shows as I could. All of the shows listed in this list with the exception of Star Trek and V, I have seen for the first time since 2011. I have seen every single episode of all these shows except for one of them. And no, these are not just the only ones I've seen. I've seen much more in addition to these. So, enough of my yacking..Lets get on with it!

Number 10: Lexx. A dumb security guard, an assassin, a love slave, and a robot head who is obsessed with the love slave wind up in charge of an enormous bug shaped doomsday weapon, and set off to escape tyranny. But, tyranny follows, especially when you are carrying the living brains of the various tyrants from the past. This is an adult show that doesn't take itself seriously. Its a sci fi comedy that hits on all cylinders. However, it definitely isn't for everyone. NOTE: The first season is 4 full length movies. Just watch the first and fourth movies. The second and third simply are not watchable. The rest of the series? Great! Plus, the show ran 4 seasons, and was not cancelled.



Number 9: The Original V. No, not the remake in 2009. That was getting very good, but it was cancelled on a brutal cliffhanger. No, the original with Marc Singer was a masterpiece. It was scary, and the special effects were excellent for their time. It looked real, and it made you question the mental capacity of those in the human race who would sell out their own kind for a few scraps from an invading dictator's table. It showed the choice that we all would have to make should something like that happen...Fight or be a slave. The Original V was amazing. I've seen it straight through many times, and I could watch it all over again right now without being bored.

Number 8: Babylon 5. The humans picked a fight with a superior enemy. A war breaks out. Humanity is about to be wiped out, but they...win? The enemy surrendered on the eve of victory? What the hell? The humans built an outpost in neutral territory for all races to converge and do business, work out treaties, etc. But, there are of course other dangers, both from within and from a distance. Its a show that explores relationships in various species, politics, and religion, all with the threat of war hanging over everyone. The CGI looks cheesy now, but when the series aired, they represented cutting edge CGI. This is a great show that will hook you.

Number 7: Stargate. I am talking about all 3 of the shows that were created as a result of the movie. The gate that transports you to other worlds, and even galaxies using devices that create wormholes. You also get to explore the origins of Earth mythology. 3 shows. SG1, which continued where the movie left off, Atlantis, where humans find the lost city of Atlantis..in another galaxy, and meet one of the scariest villains ever shown on screen, and Universe. Humans discover a ship that is programmed on a mission to the end of the universe. A franchise that had 3 shows, 17 20+ episode seasons, and spawned 2 movies? Yeah, this has to be on the list. It would have listed higher, but some of the very early seasons didn't age very well. But, don't let that stop you from watching! You will be addicted!


Number 6: Fringe. A story of parallel universes, one of which has a bronze Statue of Liberty and a World Trade Center, mad scientists, aliens, looming Dystopian future and a secret division of the FBI. You like sci fi suspense? This is your show. Great characters, and stories. Look...If Leonard Nimoy is in it, its gotta be good right? See this one. In fact, see all of the shows listed here.


Number 5: Firefly. It only ran for one season, and its airing was botched, but it was one of the best inaugural seasons of all time. This series hits the ground running, grabs you, and refuses to let go. Its a sci-fi western for lack of a better term. Takes place in the future, where humans have migrated into deep space to escape an oppressive government, and they do what they need to do to stay alive. It has great characters, with development that doesn't take place in most series until the third season or after. It was cancelled, but the fans kept it alive, and a full length feature film was made and released. Considering how great this one season is, if this show had been allowed to continue, it would undoubtedly be the greatest sci fi TV show of all time.

Number 4: Farscape. The story of a present day astronaut who gets sucked into a distant part of space with all sorts of aliens, danger, and humor as well. This series is very well done. The main plot line is that the lead character has wormhole knowledge in his head, put there by aliens. There is a powerful villain who is chasing him from one side of the galaxy to another. This one ran 4 seasons, and was cancelled (stupidly) by SyFy. Like Firefly, the fans rallied, and a mini series was made to tie up the loose ends. A feature Farscape film is in the works as I write this.



Number 3: Battlestar Galactica Remake. The show that got me into sci fi TV shows. Although This is a re imagining of the 1978 series, the main premise is the same. A robotic race annihilates most of humanity except for a rag tag fleet of survivors; the Cylons who hunt the humans relentlessly. It does have several differences though. The Cylons look like people, and the show actually has the mood that the whole universe has been torn apart by a superior enemy. Although there are several nods to the original series, and the general premise is the same, the story is completely new, and the characters are believable. They are flawed like everyone else. The series focuses on human relationships, duty in the face of annihilation, religion and politics. BSG is also super addicting. Since 2011, I've seen it from start to finish 4 times.

Number 2: Star Trek. What can you say? 5 series, 28 20+ episode seasons, 10 movies, and a current reboot that has 2 movies, and new series in the works. Although Star Trek: The Next Generation is hard to watch these days in my opinion. Star Trek has not only influenced future sci fi, it has also influenced lots of technology. This franchise will be along for many generations to come.



And finally, Number One. If Star Trek is Number Two, there can only be one possibility for number one. And, it is none other than Doctor Who. Its the story of a man from another planet. A time lord who travels time and space, experiencing history and the future, doing good, accompanied by human companions. 13 different people have played The Doctor, and the show has been borrowed from on many different sci fi shows and movies. For example, the Borg on Star Trek? Cybermen. There have been 35 seasons, countless movies, spinoff series, etc. It has even survived a 15 year hiatus, and came back and was immediately adopted by a brand new generation of fans. Doctor Who started it all. A madman in a box. Another show that will be around for many generations to come. (Doctor Who is the show I mentioned that I haven't seen every episode, but I am working on it. At the time I write this, I have seen all of the first and second Doctors, over half of the third, some of the fourth, and everything from the ninth, tenth, and eleventh, and am eagerly awaiting the 12th Doctor next month.)

So, there you have it. My top 10. Do you agree or disagree? Let me know! Some great shows that I am currently watching or that didn't make the list are Falling Skies, Continuum, and while it may not be sci fi, The Last Ship is a pretty damn good show so far.