Sunday, February 24, 2019

I've enjoyed watching season 2 of 'The Orville'.

When it comes to my television viewing habits, currently I don't watch almost any of the scripted shows that are out there. I just don't think that almost any of these shows are really worth my time or worth my attention.

After all, since most of the shows are badly written and simply awful, there's no reason to watch them. I don't want to watch depressing stuff that doesn't have anything real to say about anything and that doesn't make me feel better about life. 

Still, just because most of the stuff on tv is horrible, thankfully there is at least one exception. Seth McFarlane's sci-fi series 'The Orville' has been the kind of show that has made me feel better about life and has lifted my spirits.

So when it comes to the show, the biggest reason that 'The Orville' has been such a pleasant surprise is that it has given the audience what it wants. Unlike just about every other show, this series is uplifting and doesn't take its audience for granted.

This uplifting aspect of 'The Orville' has been especially true with its second season. Even though the first season wasn't bad by all means, the show has matured during its second season and has delivered episodes that have felt more believable and authentic.

For example, as a fan of 'socially conscious' episodes, from this season I especially liked episode 2x06 (a happy refrain). In this episode, in which the ship's doctor falls in a low with Isaac the robot, the show handled the storylines with integrity and compassion.

Another really solid episode was the one that aired a couple of weeks ago. The episode that handled sexual discrimination (Bortus' storyline) was creative in a serious way (on planet Moclan you're not allowed to be a heterosexual) and was well made.

In comparison, during its first season, the show was trying too hard to cram in jokes and crude humour instead of being real. The writers tried to use too many jokes, even thought they didn't fit in with the scenes and the show's universe.

Fortunately, this season those forced jokes are gone and haven't been a problem anymore. 'The Orville' has managed to pay a lot more attention to making sure that the storylines in the episodes are solid and that the characters are relatable.

In that sense, when you think about the series as a whole, even though 'The Orville' could still get better, I'm still glad that the show exists. It's obvious that Seth MacFarlane has managed to create a series that respects the legacy of the original Star Trek series.

After all, unlike the official 'Star Trek - Discovery', a pretty horrible show (liked by the critics), 'The Orville' actually works. MacFarlane's uplifting series genuinely understands how to create a show that has actual merit.

In the end, even though critics might say otherwise, creating good sci-fi is not about being nihilistic and having a premise that is completely hopeless. It's not about spending millions per episode on special effects and thinking that money is all that it takes.

After all, even though critics seem to think that a 'Star Trek' series needs to be as 'edgy' and as 'dark' as possible, that's not how it goes. We shouldn't be thinking that being extra depressing or nihilistic is the way to produce these shows.

On the contrary, creating good shows will always be about coming up with stuff that makes sense. It will always be about creating stuff that is genuinely relatable and making sure that your show respects your audience without ever taking them for granted. 

No comments:

Post a Comment