The Orville

[Jim Kelly]

Some more picking of nits. I know that a TV show doesn't get too deep into the science--it would be boring if it did--but Moclans are hard to figure out. Essenitally, they seem to be hermaphrodite, in how they all reproduce. So the idea that there's a male or female doesn't make a lot of sense. In their physiology, I'd assume they're all the same. So what would need to be altered to make them an opposite sex?

I thought about this when Ed said that the female sanctuary could end up as the last surviving Moclans--and it would be all female. But if the so-called females reproduce the same as the so-called males, then there's a chance they would have more males, as well as females. So in a few generations the males would also survive--unless the females made all their male babies into females.

[Kusanagi]

Some more picking of nits. I know that a TV show doesn't get too deep into the science--it would be boring if it did--but Moclans are hard to figure out. Essenitally, they seem to be hermaphrodite, in how they all reproduce. So the idea that there's a male or female doesn't make a lot of sense. In their physiology, I'd assume they're all the same. So what would need to be altered to make them an opposite sex?

I thought about this when Ed said that the female sanctuary could end up as the last surviving Moclans--and it would be all female. But if the so-called females reproduce the same as the so-called males, then there's a chance they would have more males, as well as females. So in a few generations the males would also survive--unless the females made all their male babies into females.

While they haven't gone into it, I assumed there was some degree of genetic engineering involved in pregnancies rather than the species being naturally hermaphrodites.

[MichaelC]

There's a whole conversation about that subject on TV tropes: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.p...ers/TheOrville Look under "Moclan Gender and Reproduction"

[stargazer01]

I've been too busy but I did watch it on Thurs night and loved it. This show is so fun and it also has lots of heart. And the space visuals and special effects are a treat to see on my TV. I also enjoy all the pop culture references. I'll comment more later, too busy right now.

[Jim Kelly]

It's hard to know where Ed's attitude toward Dolly Parton ends and where Seth's begins. Ed doesn't seem to have a high opinion of Dolly and is embarassed that Heveena uses "Nine To Five" for her political message. Yet the fact that the song was chosen for the episode, even though it's comedic, seems to indicate that the producers (including Seth) understood the value of Dolly's work. For myself, I think Dolly Parton is a true poet and a great musical force. And that song does have real meaning in it--it's not mere comedic fluff. When you look at her impressive output as a composer, she ranks up there with the likes of McCartney and Dylan, and I can easily see her being well regarded by future generations.

[90'sCartoonMan]

Hey, Marina Sirtis! And this episode was directed by Jonathan Frakes! Plus they brought back a bunch of the admirals, Victor Garber, Ted Danson, Kelly Hu, etc. It was great to see all of them plus a bunch of different alien species.

Yeah, Klyden is pretty terrible, but I'm glad we got to see Bortas being a parent to Topa. The Moclans are valuable allies, but they're very difficult to get along with.

No, she's Mockingbird.

She was Wonder Woman before she was Mockingbird. And she was a Kryptonian before that. Maybe she is super human.

[Jim Kelly]

The more that Victor Garber shows up and the more that he has scenes with the rest of the cast, the more it stings for me. He left LEGENDS OF TOMORROW to go back to Broadway, so Professor Stein had to be gotten rid of. Yet THE ORVILLE suggests that Garber would have had time to appear as Stein on LOT--at least as an occasional guest star (perhaps living out his life with Clarissa and Lily). It's like rubbing salt in an old wound, each time he appears on THE ORVILLE.

[Kirby101]

Yes. I don't know why they killed him instead of just leave the team.

[Vegeta]

Was kind of hoping half way during the Admirals conference debate (Guest starring Ted Danson) that Ed would suddenly say "Waaaaait a minute, holy forking shirtballs! THIS is the bad place!"

[AndrewCrossett]

Was kind of hoping half way during the Admirals conference debate (Guest starring Ted Danson) that Ed would suddenly say "Waaaaait a minute, holy forking shirtballs! THIS is the bad place!"

I would just have his aide be a woman named Janet.

I think they're building up to a breakup between Bortis and Klyden. Their relationship was used for comic effect back when the show was doing way more comedy, but there's been nothing much funny about Klyden this season.

I was also surprised that Marina Sirtis was buried so deep in the credits. And with Jonathan Frakes directing, too. She's Deanna Troi, dammit... show some respect.

I do think they have been doing too many episodes focused on the Moclans and their intolerance, though. Time to explore some of the other characters more.

I think Ed's embarrassment at the Dolly Parton song stems from his having a weird fascination with 20th century pop culture, and not realizing that he was the only person in that council chamber that recognized the song as the theme from a comedy film from 1980.

[Jim Kelly]

They probably have somewhere they want to go with the Moclans and they need to get there by the season finale. Especially since they don't know when or if the series will return.

[Osiris-Rex]

The Moclans are sort of their version of Klingons and Klingons did get a lot more air time than a lot of other races. I think Klingon may be the only published language, that's how much
a part of pop culture they are.

[AndrewCrossett]

But the Moclans have been portrayed as "good guys" and allies right from the start, unlike the Klingons.

Bortis is obviously this series' Worf, but the Krill seem more like the Klingons... mortal enemy race that seems to be headed toward better relations (maybe).

First appearance of the Klingons in "Errand of Mercy" until the Khitomer Accords in Star Trek VI took 24 years of storytelling time, whereas it took Seth about 20 episodes to get there with The Orville. Gotta compress the storytelling these days.

[MichaelC]

Is the Moclan threat to ally with the Krill even possible? The Krill are religious whackjobs who believe everyone other than themselves to be soulless abominations. Is it even possible to ally with them long-term?

[Qwerty]

Hey, Marina Sirtis! And this episode was directed by Jonathan Frakes! Plus they brought back a bunch of the admirals, Victor Garber, Ted Danson, Kelly Hu, etc. It was great to see all of them plus a bunch of different alien species.

Yeah, Klyden is pretty terrible, but I'm glad we got to see Bortas being a parent to Topa. The Moclans are valuable allies, but they're very difficult to get along with.



She was Wonder Woman before she was Mockingbird. And she was a Kryptonian before that. Maybe she is super human.

She wasn't a kryptonian she was a human that was altered by krytonians