Review by dunks58-615-955316

The second that the timey-wimey machine re-appeared, I sensed we were in trouble. When its awesome new abilities were then used to send a sandwich back in time, I knew the episode was doomed, and it indeed proved so bad that I would rather that we had followed the adventures of the sandwich. Appalling dialogue, ST:Voyager-level paint-by-numbers plotting, this is just trite, trivial filler. Just about every single aspect of this episode stunk. Even if one grits one's teeth and accepts this piffle on its own ridiculous terms, how the hell does the Orville manage to make its escape from the attacking Kaylons when their "navigational array" has gone offline? With a magnetic compass?? Aarrgh. Just, NO. In a time where "The Expanse" bestrides the TV space sci fi genre like the colossus it is, nonsense like this cannot help but come off looking like just what it is -- silly, juvenile and trivial. The new series has been a major disappointment thus far, veering wildly between mawkish sentimentality and risible space opera clichés. The primary charm of the preceding seasons was that it never took itself too seriously, but if Season 3 continues in this vein, I'll be warping the hell out and re-watching "The Expanse".