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Reviews
The Orville: If the Stars Should Appear (2017)
Fun homage to sci fi tropes
This is about episode 4. I think this show is really hitting its stride the last 2 episodes, with an interesting mix of themes and humor. Toning down the potty humor and keeping things "contextual" goes a long way, and is actually more funny.
*** spoilers (plot/content discussion) ***
In addition to the similarities to the 60s episodes ("... touched the sky" with a dash of impending celestial collision), there was also a nice nod to the (Isaac) Asimov "Nightfall" story, I think.
The robot's name is Isaac. Tell me that's not a nod to the classics :-)
Well done, sirs.
The Orville: Old Wounds (2017)
I want it to work.
Overall, I actually enjoyed it.
Most of the humor was lame, though. Get an editor to strip out the potty humor, and just leave in the parts that use the situation - joking about the use of a tree as a weapon, or arguing about the divorce to stall - those schticks actually worked for me.
I do like the premise of "enough with the 'dark, and EDGY!!!'" - keep it upbeat. I would like to see the show evolve into an old school comic book kind of style, with both an action plot, but still lighthearted. But they need to work on subtlety.
As for the cheap production values - good! If they keep the budget down, they may be able to use the money to hire/keep some better writers and actually keep the show on for a few seasons, if it earns more than it costs.
Arrow: Lian Yu (2017)
An excellent ending to a season that dragged on a bit
I guess I have gotten a bit tired of the thing in the last 2 seasons where Arrow finds out who the villain is fairly early in the season, but just can't touch him, again and again. Please stop doing that. (that goes double for the last season of Flash)
That said, I've been gradually slogging through this season on Netflix, UNTIL I got to the last 2 episodes. For those, I was on the edge of my seat, and really loved how it finally played out, particular the rogues gallery of unlikely allies.
Hopefully the episodes in season 6 have more of a "forward motion" feel, and don't get stuck in the "Mr X has outsmarted us AGAIN (...)" rut for so long. I hope they spend more time of some of the side characters' back stories or other current events, not just "had him and lost him" over and over.
And yes, I loved seeing a "cleaned up", penitent Slade.