Ja'loja

Heard so many good things about this show in light of the Star Trek demise. This show would be great if I was still in high school. This was the first time I watched this show and probably the last. Okay, for the record I turned it off after 20 minutes.

This was a fine episode and while I see many people complain on its dramatic nature I have to say I have no complaints. This is exactly the episode we needed considering that it had been a year since the first season aired, we needed to get reacquainted with the Orville crew. This obviously wasn't the greatest episode the Orville had to offer but I certainly don't thinks it's bad enough for some of these harsh reviews.

This was a rocky start in my book. Unless you are a teen or a preteen you probably did not love this episode either. Is this the new target audience...teenagers? I hope not. You had the kids acting out and the adults acting like teenagers. I was kind hoping Isaac's "sarcastic" comment about there being a disease on board were actually true. That would have at least redeemed the episode as a space exploration themed show. But No. We had officers acting like they had never been on a date before and the captain acting like a heartbroken prom date. All so we could go watch an alien urinate. That is a rocky start in my book. Not to mention. Didn't they already kinda foreshadow Alara and the captain in the first season. So why are they going through this long thing setting this up this season?

Yes, I can see why some does not like the lack of actual science fiction in this episode. Should we start giving bad critics to ST:TNG as well then, because the show had a ton of non-scifi episodes? No, of course not. In fact, some of the strongest episodes were exactly that. Exploring the people.

That said I won't say this is a masterpiece. But it's funny. VERY funny. It has good development of the characters. It has some heartfelt moments. It's well written, well acted.

Again, no masterpiece, but to say this is a bad episode?

Prrrrrrf, give me a break. I will in fact say it's a GREAT way to start off the season! Give me that development! It's not even rushed, just an easing in, and doing it well.

Far from a bad episode, not a fantastic episode, but I think it was great. I laughed, I smiled, enjoy every bit of it. Wonderful start to the season.

Remember "Captain Picard Day" from TNG? This is where they got the balance between awkwardness and comedy right, while still keeping believable characters that live in a future reality.

The Orville writers might have have screwed this up by tipping the balance into cringeworthy embarrasement or latrine comedy. But they didn't, and started season 2 with a whole episode observing human behavior. As always, not being predictable might not appeal to everyone.

The Orville keeps being more Trek than the current official movies or series. Good Star Trek always was a people show, and defining the crew's personalities is a good start for the season.