There
was no new episode of The Orville last
week. I definitely missed my fix. The ratings are holding steady
with impressive numbers for a rookie series. It looks like I am not
the only one who digs the show. Tonight's episode is further example
of why I like it so much. It was thought provoking while not being
preachy, with a solid mix of funny and creepy.
The
ship is sent to a planet roughly equivalent to 21st
century Earth to search for an undercover anthropological team with
whom the Union lost contact a month prior. A four man team goes
searching on the planet. LaMarr, while teasing Alara, simulates dry
humping a statue and is filmed in the act. The video is uploaded and
receives so many down votes, LaMarr is arrested and forced to go on a
televised apology tour. If he cannot convince enough his apology is
sincere, he will be essentially lobotomized by the removal of bad
impulses.
The
plot is a satire of online sites like Facebook and Reddit as well as
the growing impression opinion is equal to facts. LaMarr is saved
from the lobotomy when Isaac floods the [planet’s version of the
internet with rumors LaMarr is the sole support for his 90 year old
grandmother, fake photos of him as a cute kid, and a fictitious video
of him as a soldier coming home and greeted excitedly by his dog.
These are all examples of things that would score a high number of
likes on social media. Yet none of it has any bearing on the facts
surrounding LaMarr's
crime—in as much as it is a crime. Opinion makes fact irrelevant.
Also
note Isaac is a bot spreading fake information on social media in
order to influence a vote to go the way our heroes desire.
“Majority
Rule” is a good mix of comedy and horror. It is incredibly
difficult to show a character dry humping a statue in one scene, then
revealing the horrific effects of a lobotomy on one of the
anthropologists our heroes were sent to rescue a few minutes later.
(They obliviously fell a foul of popular
opinion as well. One was killed trying to escape lobotomy.) The
plot is pure Trek at its best in a way we have not seen since the
best seasons of TNG. They even threw in Gene Roddenberry's absurd
notion every planet will develop along the same lines as Earth but it
was made a plausible matter
of probabilities.
Some
fans and critics noted the similarities between “Majority Rule”
and an episode of the anthology series Black Mirror.
I have never seen the show, so I cannot say it taints my views on
the episode. If someone familiar with the episode in question thinks
'Majority Rule” is a rip off or homage, they
may do so. I cannot offer an argument as to how the two episodes
compare. I have heard good things about Black mirror,
though. Maybe I will check it out in the near future.
Rating:
*** (out of 5)
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