No way this was written by Seth MacFarlane! I'm kidding but this was one of the best Sci-Fi ideas I have ever watched! Absolutely atypical for MacFarlane. I could have done without the kitsch but basically everything else in this episode was brilliant. I even found the nicotine addiction sideplot hilarious! Such funny acting! But I digress. Starting from the idea to simulate an unknown past I loved the concept here. Who wouldn't be interested to really see what the world - even merely around a single live - was like 400 years ago? That is a genious starting point. But it goes further: Simulating the world is integrated so seamlessly into the world of The Orville. They didn't need to set anything up but only used existing elements that the viewer is familiar with. AND I find it absolutely believable that a) a software/AI in the future would be able to simulate this and b) a phone would have enough information to base this on. Which is the very point that adds the cherry on top of this episode: namely a subtly critical nod to us becoming transparent citizens with all the data we provide oh so willingly. So much for the grandiose main theme of this episode. That alone would be enough for a great episode. But MacFarlane doesn't stop there. The themes of falling in love with a simulated person or merely by chatting with someone or rather something, who or what can we love, where does a person start, unhealthy addiction and whatever I might have forgotten are first of all very interesting and very Sci-Fi but secondly and almost more important when critiquing an episode of The Orville: They are treated in such a good way and with so many great and philosophical dialogues and memorable quotes that it poses the question what happened to Seth MacFarlane that he stepped up to this new level of writing?
Review by LeNodosVIP BlockedParentSpoilers2023-03-18T11:53:56Z
No way this was written by Seth MacFarlane! I'm kidding but this was one of the best Sci-Fi ideas I have ever watched! Absolutely atypical for MacFarlane.
I could have done without the kitsch but basically everything else in this episode was brilliant. I even found the nicotine addiction sideplot hilarious! Such funny acting!
But I digress. Starting from the idea to simulate an unknown past I loved the concept here. Who wouldn't be interested to really see what the world - even merely around a single live - was like 400 years ago? That is a genious starting point. But it goes further: Simulating the world is integrated so seamlessly into the world of The Orville. They didn't need to set anything up but only used existing elements that the viewer is familiar with. AND I find it absolutely believable that a) a software/AI in the future would be able to simulate this and b) a phone would have enough information to base this on.
Which is the very point that adds the cherry on top of this episode: namely a subtly critical nod to us becoming transparent citizens with all the data we provide oh so willingly.
So much for the grandiose main theme of this episode. That alone would be enough for a great episode. But MacFarlane doesn't stop there.
The themes of falling in love with a simulated person or merely by chatting with someone or rather something, who or what can we love, where does a person start, unhealthy addiction and whatever I might have forgotten are first of all very interesting and very Sci-Fi but secondly and almost more important when critiquing an episode of The Orville: They are treated in such a good way and with so many great and philosophical dialogues and memorable quotes that it poses the question what happened to Seth MacFarlane that he stepped up to this new level of writing?