 November 25, 2017 - 1:30pm | I've seen topics for other things here, but haven't seen any one here talkin about the Orville. To which some on the internet seem to think of it as the true inheritor of Star Trek's legacy, while trying to stay original. It's not a total parody, but when you have the crew doing the same stupid things any of us do either in real life or in a role playing game. Seth McFarlane has this show going over pretty well. In every age, in every place, the deeds of men remain the same. |
 November 25, 2017 - 5:17pm | Oriville is a hoot. I tend to only see bits as I fall asleep but what I have seen is great. "Never fire a laser at a mirror." |
 November 25, 2017 - 5:45pm | Mostly covered the Orville under the Star Trek Discovery heading. Like the show but it seems to be finding its heading this season. They have toned down the comedy and are working a more balanced script. Just bummed they cancelled the last episode of the and moved it to next season. Sounds like a great job but where did you say we had to go? |
 November 26, 2017 - 1:05am | I've not watched it yet. Being of a certain age and from the UK, any time I see the name Orville I mentally picture this:  Orville was a green duck from a not all that good ventriloquist act from children's TV. |
November 26, 2017 - 3:54am | I understand, here in the US most people hear Orville and thinkof an old guy who sold microwave popcorn. Sounds like a great job but where did you say we had to go? |
November 26, 2017 - 2:16pm | LOL "Never fire a laser at a mirror." |
December 10, 2017 - 6:21pm | Okay the Orville had its season finale. Not a bad episode and not one of the best. I do have one question for Seth MacFarlane fans out there. Why does he hate organized religion so much? We had 12 episodes this season. Two of which were direct attacks on organized religion. The one with the Krell who kill everyone because their religion which "most races outgrow as they advance" (quote from the show). This week's episdoe pretty much showed a race outgrowing organized religion and Kelly should not feel she got all those people killed because they would have just used another god to justify their actions. Sounds like a great job but where did you say we had to go? |
December 11, 2017 - 2:09pm | Okay the Orville had its season finale. Not a bad episode and not one of the best. I do have one question for Seth MacFarlane fans out there. Why does he hate organized religion so much? It's a comedy show. Why worry?  |
 December 11, 2017 - 2:32pm | I don't think it's hatred of organized religion so much as commentary on the problems with religion dictating policy. |
 December 12, 2017 - 6:22am | I don't think it's hatred of organized religion so much as commentary on the problems with religion dictating policy. I disagree, i think Rattraveller has hit the nail on the head with the quote from the show re organized religion, "which most races outgrow" the message here is not religion should not dictate policy but religion should go away. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
December 13, 2017 - 12:00pm | That's hardly a new idea or hate, as such. Let's face it, religion plays less of a role in, say, Western civilisation compared to 500 years ago. Maybe in another 500 years it'll just be something possibly a few humans tinker with but in general it's not really an issue or a factor that has any impact on anyone's life, apart from possibly a small amount of people that find it of use to them. That could be construed as 'outgrowing' religion, but it's probably more to do with it becoming a more personal thing to individuals and not anything which steers societies or civilisation on a wider level. Human imagination being what it is, facets of any given religion get divided again and again to the nth degree. Keep doing that for long enough and entropy will keep watering it down. |
December 13, 2017 - 2:16pm | While I can see your point of view on that, I live in Alabama where religion just played a huge role in our special election (I will let you guess who I voted for). That is not the point of this and I do see it as hate. Of the 12 episodes two had dedicated plots to how terrible organized religion is. Episode 6 Krill is about an entire race who commit genocide because their religion tells them too. Episode 12 Mad Idolatry is about how every race outgrows religion and don't worry about it. 2 of 12 is alot to do on the same point. On the other hand I see it has people just replace their beliefs with newer ones. Bortus and Klytons' race believe everyone should be male. They are accepted as a fully developed species and allowed to keep that belief. In Majortiy Rules no organized religion is depicted but the whole planet fully believes in the up and down system to the point it dictates everything about their lives. Maybe that is an attack on religion maybe not. Oh and I forgot If the Stars Appear where a race regressed into organized religion. Yeah he hates organized religion. Sounds like a great job but where did you say we had to go? |
December 13, 2017 - 2:41pm | Imagine there's no heaven It's easy if you try No hell below us Above us only sky Imagine all the people living for today It isn't hard to do Nothing to kill or die for And no religion too Imagine all the people living life in peace |
December 13, 2017 - 4:58pm | Always liked that song Sounds like a great job but where did you say we had to go? |
December 14, 2017 - 9:36am | Some parts of the US and other bits of the world have a peculiar view on such things. It doesn't bother me at all if MacFarlane hates organised religion. I'm an atheist and don't hate religion - I just think it's silly. What I do actually hate is people using religion to further their own agendas, but unfortunately that's a factor that applies to pretty much all religions. |
December 14, 2017 - 2:42pm | Using other things to further your own agenda is pretty much how everything works. But hey you gots to do what you gots to do. Sounds like a great job but where did you say we had to go? |
December 14, 2017 - 3:04pm | Well, the history of religion tends to be one where that factor is used time and again, even to this day. It's hardly what one would call progressive or even enlightened. Especially when one considers that the root cause is imaginary beings, who no-one can really agree on even within any single religion  Gods come and go, but a lot of people have to suffer for that, in various ways. Seems to be a waste of people and time I'd say that, if all else fails and people really feel the need to scratch their religious itch, worship Father Christmas - mind you, even he's judgemental |
December 14, 2017 - 8:06pm | So what does all this mean for our favorite religion "The Family of One"? Sounds like a great job but where did you say we had to go? |
December 15, 2017 - 7:22am | So what does all this mean for our favorite religion "The Family of One"? Seth McFarlane hates it. Star Play Enterprises of Maxe, Minotaur, Theseus is the "Hollywood" of the Frontier. The CEO is Zsa-Nin a yazirian. We could/can assume that something similar exists in the Frontier- cheap shots are taken from the bully pulpit of holo-vision programs at organized religion in general and a high profile one like Fo1 which does have policies that would be irksome and would be a particular target. The question is; "Is Zsa-Nin favorably inclined toward the Fo1 or not?" My inclination is not. So... Fo1 will not be in favor of Star Play produced programs. They control the whole planet and will bar anything that is critical of Fo1 or GODco for that matter. We can assume that there is animosity between Fo1/GODco and Star Play but that its never really broken out in corporate war. Although, I could see a Fo1 inquisitor accompanied by a squad of toughs showing up at the on location filming of a particularly critical controversial production and smashing equipment scaring staff and actors etc. Documentary crew is trying to delve into the Star Exodus and the rise of the Fo1 and an Inquisitor shows up to threaten and hinder. No doubt on Hentz is a Hentz Holo-Broadcasting- the HHB or Hentz Authorized Broadcasting Organization HABO (was trying for HOBO there) or something I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
December 15, 2017 - 3:25pm | Instead of HOBO or HBO you probably should have been going for CBN. Hentz might be the one planet where Star Play in not just holovids but where many of their products are not welcome. Since Fo1 does control the entire planet they probably do broadcast all holovids with a slant toward their views. and maybe warnings about other planets views. Sounds like a great job but where did you say we had to go? |
December 15, 2017 - 4:24pm | Instead of HOBO or HBO you probably should have been going for CBN. Hentz might be the one planet where Star Play in not just holovids but where many of their products are not welcome. Since Fo1 does control the entire planet they probably do broadcast all holovids with a slant toward their views. and maybe warnings about other planets views. I'm sure that Hentz has its own broadcasting service and most Star Play productions are proscribed. bootleg copies of star play productions are smuggled in and traded on the black market. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
December 15, 2017 - 5:47pm | Since no one is allowed on the planet who isn't Fo1 I see a mad adventure something like Nazis in WWII (not the Vietnam Nazis) who were scanning for spies sending radio messages back to England only the Fo1 are scanning for ships in orbit who are transmitting Star Play broadcasts for public consumption or so pirates on the ground can make copies and sell them. Sounds like a great job but where did you say we had to go? |
December 16, 2017 - 5:37pm | I saw the episode Majority Rules as a comment on something like Facebook or Twitter, only Facebook has no thumbs down votes for some silly reason. Maybe that's for the best, I imagine I'd get a lot of those. But then Majority Rule is how a total democracy would work, it's little more than tyranny of the masses. As for the Krill and their being religious, you can see it as an attack of religion. I seen it more like the difference between the west and Islam, religion doesn't have as much influence in the west as Islam does in the middle east. I'm sure there are people around that would like their religion to have more influence, but that would be a problem for other religions. And you can't have freedom of religion if one is making all the rules, that's the problem England and Europe was having many centuries ago. Of course it goes the same with any belief system. In every age, in every place, the deeds of men remain the same. |
December 16, 2017 - 6:06pm | I've lived in the Middle East, the image the West has of it is not what it is. Yes there are fanatics and those who abuse Islam for their own purpose like ISIS but you find that in the West too. Heck America just recognized Jersulam as the capital of Isreal because the President is trying to appeal to the religious here (his base). Still there are many more who give lip service to Islam as actively follow it, just like in the West. Religion on all sides done alot of good too. Many of the charities and non-profits doing alot of work on many fronts are religious in basis. Salvation Army is one example. Sounds like a great job but where did you say we had to go? |
 January 3, 2018 - 10:20pm | The Orville looks pretty goofy. But goofy can be fun. I haven't seen it yet. No TV service--I just watch Netflix. |
January 3, 2018 - 10:15pm | It seems like a lot of published sci fi RPGs leave religion mostly a blank, to be filled in or left vague by the GM, as fits his ideas and his players' preferences. . But I can think of some notable exceptions: Warhammer 40K games Gamma World Star Wars For TV shows: Star Trek DS9--fictional alien religions Firefly--It's not something the series develops, but it seems both Christianity and Buddhism are relatively influential/prevalent. |
January 4, 2018 - 5:52am | It seems like a lot of published sci fi RPGs leave religion mostly a blank, to be filled in or left vague by the GM, as fits his ideas and his players' preferences. . But I can think of some notable exceptions: Warhammer 40K games-I play alot of this. Religion is taken to an extreme in which ISIS and the KKK would be telling them to take it down a notch. To keep the war in the game religion is not presented in a good light. Gamma World-I play this one too. The older editions had the cryptic alliances. Some were religious in nature while others were more like brotherhoods, guilds, military militias and other organizations. They were both good and bad and could be included or not included as needed. Some of the intelligent races also had a belief systems like the ones who worshipped the badger mascot. Star Wars-Is the Force a religion? I guess in the original trilogy it met the definition. The second trilogy with microscopic lifeforms controlling things and being able to measure your ability made it seem more like a martial code to follow than a religion. Still out on the third trilogy. For TV shows: Star Trek DS9--fictional alien religions. The Bajorian religion was a key part of the first couple of seasons and then seemed to get lost. Guess the actors were glad the ear grabbing stopped but when your lead character is the John the Baptist of an entire planet's religion seemed like it should have been brought out more. Firefly--It's not something the series develops, but it seems both Christianity and Buddhism are relatively influential/prevalent. I would say that Chinese and Western culture being combined were what they were going for and not the religions. Still hate they killed the show so early. Sounds like a great job but where did you say we had to go? |
January 5, 2018 - 8:05pm | I don't want to drag the thread too far off-topic, so I'll move this post to PM. |
January 28, 2018 - 2:25pm | You forgot Babylon 5. There was an episode where the station was to showcase the major religions of their worlds. The Minbari was kind of a mix of some Catholic and Buddist like system it seemed. The Centauri were like some kind of old style Greeco-Roman with a pantheon of gods. The Narns were hard to understand as they speak like their Muslim with a touch of some Eastern style of ancestor worship. Commander Sinclair just has the Ambassadors meet a representative from nearly every relgion on Earth, Catholic, Jew, Aetheist, Shinto, Buddist, Baptist, etc, etc. I imagine they were shaking hands and saying hello all night. :D In every age, in every place, the deeds of men remain the same. |
January 28, 2018 - 4:08pm | Babylon 5 did an interesting episode about how Earth is diverse and all other races are one religion which really did not do them a good service since it showed the writers had not developed multiple religions for the other races. Unfortunately except for the Aliens in Alien Nation this is true of most sci-fi programs. Babylon 5 did go on to show the importance of religion to the Narns who were shown on several episodes to celebrate various religious rites and the Minbari had the religious sect as on of their three sects (sect may not be the correct word but think it is close enough). Military and Civilian I believe were the other two. The Vorlons and the Shadows played up the religious aspect since both races made their beliefs in how the galaxy should be run their entire races' purposes. They even played themselves off as gods and demons respectively. A few of the Humans had some deep religious convictions. Of course Psi Corp could be considered a religion much like the Jedi if you accept the total committment to the Psi Corp way of life they demanded and the way they treated heretics or those that did not joyfully jion the Psi Corp. Sounds like a great job but where did you say we had to go? |
