The Orville vs Star Trek: Discovery

Now that we are into half of season 1 of both these shows what do we think of The Orville and Star Trek: Discovery. Are these shows up to the mark of being the next big thing? Capt. Ed Mercer vs Captain Gabriel Lorca or should I say Michael Burnham can’t tell.

           I watch both these shows intently since I am a sci-fi fan. Shows aboard starships and going into unknown are some of my favorite shows. That being said which show is it that fans of Star Trek: The Original Series would like.

Star Trek: Discovery is officially a Star Trek show so it does have a leg up on Orville. Discovery a reboot of the franchise but seems more like an ordinary sci-fi than a Star Trek. The story has gone up and down and is all over the place. It does not have a Star Trek exploration theme. Well, it’s still not clear what the theme is, seems like a war theme or maybe research theme or is it something else hard to tell. Discovery isn’t going boldly anywhere. I cannot fathom a Star fleet captain with questionable ethics.  Why is Michael Burnham given so much importance? Normally Star Trek is all about management or leadership here with discovery it lacks both. There is no leadership nor there any management skills.

          I however like the special effects (CGI) as well as sound effects. There is potential if the writers can get a grip on the storyline. Discovery is very different than all previous installments hence does have potential for something of a new chapter. 

Now for The Orville which seems like a Star Trek parody with a nasty sense of humor. I really do not understand the humor in Orville. It’s definitely not a comedy but neither it is serious. It does have a moral to its stories. It does change names of all the same things in Star Trek like the Planetary Union for Federation or Quantum drive for Warp drive. My biggest issue is the Captain he doesn’t seem a leader and needs more command. Acting wise it’s a mediocre show, acting of all characters is not up to the mark. I feel Orville has a good storyline but lacks execution. It needs more character and better CGI. I understand it a low budget show but still needs a bit of flare. The humor needs to improve, like something we would laugh at. I feel plot-wise Orville is more close to the original Star Treks but flat humor puts it off.

 So Orville vs Discovery both fall flat there is no clear winner. Orville and Discovery both lack the virtuosity of Star Trek but both are trying to define themselves. They both need a little improvement which I am sure they will get to if they go into the second season. I would love to see both these shows go boldly where no man or woman has gone before.