Showing posts with label contrast. Show all posts
Showing posts with label contrast. Show all posts

Wednesday, September 7, 2022

Show Review: The Orville: New Horizons is Better than Star Trek: The Next Generation

I know it is a bold statement, but I do not regret a single word of it. 

There are Trekkies whose heads just exploded all over their monitors and laptop screens. I will not take back the statement. The Orville: New Horizons is Better than Star Trek: The Next Generation. It is the unvarnished truth. 

...and perhaps too many colons!

I love Star Trek. I remember watching a Star Trek Marathon of the original show on television when I was a child. I was about eleven or twelve. I have been to a Star Trek Convention with Michael Dorn as the guest speaker. 

Star Trek in recent times has tried to be a social and political commentator that feels like preaching, more than entertaining. It is fine to have relevant topics in entertainment, but when entertainment steps across the line into a "teachable moment," or outright "manipulation," that is when you lose me as a viewer. I am an adult and I expect to be treated that way. 

...that goes for politicians too. 

What The Orville did with their New Horizons season was multifold. First, Captain Ed Mercer grew up. That was a plus. He no longer obsessed over his ex-wife and their failed marriage. That left room for him to become captain and take on internal and external ship problems. Second, the comedic childishness fell to the waste side. Third, the storylines were more mature, still had their humorous moments, but kept true to the nature of the show. 

This season's storylines were quite impressive. There was the obvious slant to some of the tales, but a balance was reached on most of the content. 60/40 left to right in certain circumstances, but most of the time the stories and characters seemed more of a 50/50 balance between political views. 

Sometimes I did wonder where the show was going, and then the writers reined their opinions back in. A good science fiction/space opera will allow the audience to decide for themselves, not make decisions for them and then cram the lesson down their throats. The Orville: New Horizons is going in the direction of a well-written, performed, and astute in politics, culture, and society show worthy of being watched.

I will reiterate: I don't want to be preached to or at. That statement is for the socialists of both identity politics and religion. Just don't step over that line. You will neither get my vote, nor my time. 

Too often, the culture wars between these two extremist views like Marxists and the Evangelicals spills over into my world. I believe that these segments of society try to win over the majority by omitting facts and their real agenda. The real agenda is to force-feed either strict religious "morality" or communism without the voter's understanding, awareness, or permission.

The Orville: New Horizons skirted that perilous road with some uneasiness. From time to time, I thought the ship would head over a cliff, but was saved by common sense. I appreciate the effort. In the end, the show turned in solid performances, an equipoised world view, and the right type of thought-provoking debate that the audience should have with themselves. 

...let the roasting of me begin.

Have a great and wonderful day.

_____

If you enjoyed this review, then check out her other reviews on Amazon and IMDB

Remember to hit that Helpful button. 

DL Mullan is a Hollywood Scriptwriter-trained writer. She has spent time in front of the camera and on stage, as well has being crew on a number of projects. 

 Learn. Grow. Master... with Undawnted.


Friday, June 23, 2017

The Perfect Metaphor

Writing is not about noun and verb agreement even though that really does help. Writing is about speaking to an audience you never will see, meet, or converse with verbally. So the challenge of writing is to be understood in the two dimensional aspect of communication.

Black on white. White on black. People can choose their own colors, fonts, and pica to beautify their dialogue. Technology has made the 2D communication experience better, especially the advent of emoticons!

Now, I know when you are joking.

In formal writing, like poetry and story writing, writers are not given the emoticon out. Writers have to be able to express with language what the meaning of a phrase is. How to convey emotion without explaining the punchline. Encapsulate a moment in order to set a mood. Writers have to learn to be psychologists and sociologists.

So writers learn to speak in metaphors. A metaphor is an object or idea that replaces another to better clarify the meaning of the original object.

Sounds complicated, but it really is not: She is as beautiful as the day I met her. A character could be discussing her aunt, grandmother. So the day I met her is the metaphor of not aging as beauty in this instance is being epitomized by a bygone youth. 

Yet a metaphor takes on a plethora of meanings. Youth does not have to mean physical beauty. The beauty could be her giving nature. Beauty could mean her vulnerabilities. Beauty could mean her kindness. 

So let's read the line again: She is as beautiful as the day I met her. Did the explanations for beauty change your idea of how beautiful the "she" really is? 

Metaphors are beautiful additions to the writing craft. 

What will you use a metaphor for in your writing? 

Have a great and wonderful day!


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