The Orville

[Hamish]

While I know I must have been introduced to the concept at some point in my life, just seeing a reference to Arbour Day here did not immediately register it in my head.

Maybe it would have registered in the context of the show though. I have never seen it.

[Ben Saunders]

WHAT’S ARBOR DAY?!

[(deleted)]

Never heard of Arbor Day.

[Hamish]

I guess we must be the audience the Orville wishes to attract.

[Moonlight]

Arbor Day is an American thing. It might not be as obvious to people in the UK, but they didn’t need to fucking explain that joke to Americans.

[Moonlight]

OK, it’s not an American thing. It’s a worldwide thing. Now I get to look like a dumbass because this forum doesn’t have a functional post editor.

[Hamish]

It’s okay, I am a Canadian anyway.

[Hamish]

I perfectly accept that I could just be wildly ignorant though.

[Ben Saunders]

I’m only going to ask one more time

[Lily]

“Arbor Day (or Arbour; from the Latin arbor, meaning tree) is a holiday in which individuals and groups are encouraged to plant trees. Today, many countries observe such a holiday. Though usually observed in the spring, the date varies, depending on climate and suitable planting season.”

Although in the UK it’s not a single day and is ‘National Tree Week’ instead.

Never fucking heard of either.

[Ben Saunders]

Thanks. I’m aware I could have just googled it but this was more fun.

i think we planted trees in primary school for national tree week

[flanl3]

I think there’s actually a good deal of people who thought arbor day and labor day were the same. You never realize what real dumbasses people can be until you talk to them.

[(deleted)]

What’s Labor Day?

Is it when everyone has to deny the Holocaust and make threats on the safety of Laura Kuennsberg?

[Moonlight]

I’m still fairly certain Arbor Day is well known in America. We had that whole Save the Rainforest obsession from the late ’80s through the early 2000s, where they’d go on and on about how we need to save the rainforest without ever mentioning a single solitary useful thing we as kids could actually do to make a difference.

Anyway, we’d always make a big deal out of Arbor Day. Or rather, we’d hear about how swell trees are, we’d wheel in the TV and the teacher would slap on the Ferngully VHS again. I still hate the fucking rainforest after having to sit through all that propaganda.

[Ben Saunders]

Tbh I don’t know what Labour Day is, either. So explaining the joke is necessary for a non-US audience. God knows that Americans could do good for themselves by remembering that other countries exist too and not everybody is American.

[Jason aka Smeg4Brains]

How many more holidays than us do american’s need? Then again we do get one night a year where we get to burn effigies so maybe it balances out.

[Ben Saunders]

Ascension Sunday, Ascension Sunday

[Phil]

> God knows that Americans could do good for themselves by remembering that other countries exist too and not everybody is American.

I…

…

I mean…what?

Yes, that’s correct, and yet also idiotic. Explaining the joke would help a number of potential overseas viewers but would actively interfere with the enjoyment of the show’s actual primary audience in its home nation. (Or did I misunderstand all the bitching we’ve done about VIII and explaining jokes?)

I like British shows. British shows don’t bother to explain their holidays or unique social quirks when they refer to them (unless that explanation is itself the joke). Life goes on. I can complain that people making television shows in another country don’t care whether or not I understand a reference, or I can look it up and move on with my life.

[flanl3]

It’s been nearly three months here and we’ve only had about one holiday. Things start to get dreary. It’s everyone to their own devices for survival. Would the apocalypse leave us worse than this? ‘Perhaps not,’ I think, as dust billows in large clouds off my now unused holiday decorations.

[Ben Saunders]

Correct but idiotic is my favourite kind of correct

[Hamish]

> What’s Labor Day? Is it when everyone has to deny the Holocaust and make threats on the safety of Laura Kuennsberg?

You know, if you are going to post an inflammatory UK political comment, you can at least go to the trouble of using the British spelling of Labour with a “u”.

And apparently Arbour day is a big deal in Calgary, so I guess I am just a little bit too far north for it.

[Dave]

You know, if you are going to post an inflammatory UK political comment, you can at least go to the trouble of using the British spelling of Labour with a “u”.

That kind of ruins the joke though, doesn’t it.

[Hamish]

Yeah, well, proper English spelling is one of my bugbears, growing up in a region with increasing Americanization of the language. The few years I went to a regular school were awful with all of the kids saying “Zee” instead of “Zed”.

This is Canada, damn it! Well, that was Canada. This is the internet. So I guess it does not really matter.

BUT STILL DAMN IT!

[tombow]

bumping this thread to say, I’ve been watching through The Orville for the first time starting with episode one, and I really like it.
It’s not *great*, but it’s sweet and has nice characters and interesting little stories.

I’m not particular fan of MacFarlane’s cartoons, but I like him in this so far.He reminds me of 90/00s Ricky Gervais in his funny annoyed expressions.

And I feel like there’s a meta element of, his captain character is out of his depth, and MacFarlane is also out of his usual depth, playing the lead in a half-serious sci fi show. I feel like, behind the comedy, he seems to sincerely want to capture the gravitas of real Trek captains, and even if he doesn’t quite manage it, it seems a respectable attempt.

Also, I was worried the show was gonna be all “bro”/”douchey” humour ,but I haven’t found it that bad. The only source of that is the captain’s old friend (the bearded guy who sits at the front) but even he seems more restrained and low key than I was expecting.

[tombow]

(for example hearing people complain that the show was an “ego trip” for SM, I thought his character was gonna be like Zap Brannigan or Zaphod. So I’m pleasantly surprised)

[Quinn: Clochebusters World Champion]

Oh it’s a perfectly fine show. Really good in places and Seth doesn’t get lost up his own arse with it.

I feel it starts out a bit OTT with the humour in the first couple of episodes and then calms down and they strike a nice balance between proper science fiction and humour. It’s basically normal, flawed people in charge of a ship being serious but also dicing around and having fun and being witty and stuff, which is basically how I’d expect most space ships to be like, not like the stick up the bum officers of the Enterprise.

[ARossiEsquire]

Found it very meh. Enjoyed the characters but can’t remember their names, and only episodes I remember are “the one that was like Black Mirror” and one where they’re marooned and the robot babysits two kids. Ship has an interesting design though, I’ll give it that.

Also it ripped off a Space Corp Directive joke at one point. Good old unoriginal MacFarlane…

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