THE ORVILLE 1x11 "New Dimensions"

If there's one thing "New Dimensions" did that previous episodes of The Orville haven't, it's bombard us with some complex scientific quandaries through an otherwise excellent plot. I appreciated the deep-dive into such a fascinating concept as the effect of a two-dimensional world on three-dimensional beings (as much as I appreciated Seth MacFarlane's geeky nod to the Victorian-era novella "Flatland", which I now intend to read), but there is a feeling of frustration on my part, for I didn't feel I quite grasped all of the scientific points even with the writing's descent into expositional layman's terms.

But despite feeling rather beaten over the head by scientific concepts a little beyond my immediate comprehension, "New Dimensions" was fairly easy to follow through the constantly evolving plot. It may also - for the first time in The Orville's short history - be an episode not suited for the casual viewer to dip into. Of course, part of that may be the heavy-handed science involved, but also because "New Dimension" takes the approach of doing things without explaining them. For example, the Krill show up as a plot device that forces The Orville to seek refuge inside the dangerous spatial anomaly, without ever explaining what the Krill are. It's surely no difficulty to presume they are a villain of sorts, but for anyone who missed their actions in the pilot, or their centric episode "Anhkana", the scale of their threat cannot be appreciated. It must also feel weird to anyone tuning in randomly to see Chief Engineer Newton deciding to quit in order to design a Space Station.

But it's that writing choice to relieve Newton of his duties that allows for more character work to be done on Navigator John LaMarr, genuinely surprising character work. Despite John's incredible intelligence being revealed and presented as justification for him to pursue an alternative career, I never believed for even a second that John would prove himself worthy of transitioning from Navigator to Chief of Science and Engineering (especially not ahead of Yaphit). This wasn't because I didn't believe in John's ability, or because of his immaturity (although, as Ed says: "He fed a guy to another guy, [and] that's not something a department head does"), but because moving John from the Navigator position to Chief of Science and Engineering is a radical character shift that I did not expect the show would ever consider. I do still feel that this may have been the wrong choice, but, while I will miss Newton, I'm accept that it opens up John in a way that playing second fiddle to Gordon couldn't. And if that is the outcome, then I'll be happy to reflect that this move was a positive proactive decision on Seth MacFarlane's part.

But I do feel slightly bad for Yaphit. Without suggesting Yaphit is royalty, the metaphor that he was the heir to Newton's throne is accurate, so it's a shame to see him passed over for the job, especially since that would have served to open up the character of Yaphit in exactly the same way it should benefit John. On the other hand, this fight between Yaphit (who wanted the promotion) and John (who didn't), meant Yaphit was finally used for something more substantive and relevant to his character than almost any appearance he has made in the series so far. He is a member of the Science and Engineering staff, and references have been made previously to him performing his duties, but nearly all of his prior appearances have been for comedic purposes or to draw out the strange arc involving his infatuation with Claire: this was the first opportunity to see him do something related to his occupation. Equally, there's the potential for Yaphit to remain somewhat bitter about being passed over, and that could create some delicious tension between him and John.

The cold open is also ripe for analysis given the strength of its character work. I have felt at times that Gordon's apparently uncontrollable immaturity has been underserved, but in his literally removing a piece of Yaphit's body and hiding it in the buffet food he has finally begun to deliver on the promise made in the pilot. Not only does that spur the main plot (given John blindly followed Gordon's prank), but it allows us our most interesting glance at Bortus this episode.

He transpires to be the unlucky victim of Gordon and John's prank, and visits Claire when the piece of Yaphit's body that he consumed irritates his "iron stomach". There were two options on the table for retrieving Yaphit's body part: the first I should presume would be endoscopy; the second being Yaphit physically entering Bortus through an orifice of his choice in search of it. And, as evidenced in "Cupid's Dagger", The Orville has no qualms about using Yaphit's bodily functions to nauseate the audience. For that I say bravo. I watch I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here, where contestants eat spiders and drink vomitfruit, so this is nothing and I beg you continue. (Also, elevator music Dann cameo'd in this cold open appearing super needy for validation and friendship, providing another organic comedic element.)

The final surprise in store in "New Dimensions" was Kelly finally letting slip the secret that she had had a major influence in Ed being awarded the captaincy of an exploratory vessel. Ed responded in the fashion we should all have expected: he was shocked, angry, and began to doubt his abilities as a captain. The timing of this was well-managed, coming just two episodes after Darulio's hint that Kelly's affair may have been excusable. Learning that Kelly may have slept with Darulio due to his being in heat ensured that Ed's demeanour had softened, and without that I'm unsure Ed would have come to accept Kelly's actions quite so quickly. As it was, this subplot was wrapped up with a tender kiss on the cheek, one that perhaps spells a rekindling of the romance in the future.

With "New Dimensions", and the surprising choices made to redefine and reshuffle characters, The Orville showed it isn't a typical procedural TV show. To be fair, it's been proving that since the pilot episode, but it's "New Dimension" that will really stick out as an example of The Orville's ambition.

RATING: 9.5/10

POINTS OF NOTE

• Yaphit to Bortus: "What the hell man, you friggin' ate me?"
• Matter synthesis. I like it as a concept, although I'm sceptical it could have the impact of rendering money obsolete.
• "You guys should get to know me better 'cos I'm really funny." / "Ohhh, I love jokes." Super needy Dann is hilariously awkward.
• Yaphit: "This is so racist man, you're so friggin' racist!"
  Ed: "I am not, I have several gelatinous friends!"
  Yaphit was particularly (and understandably) displeased with his being ignored for promotion, but despite this nugget of a line being thrown in for satirical purposes, perhaps it also suggests it's time to see another gelatinous character on The Orville.

HOWARDS END

My first thought following my consumption of the first episode of 4-part miniseries Howards End was that it would be far more suitable to submit this review to TellyBinge via a letter, given the most prominent means of correspondence in the episode is via prose - even when the correspondents live only down the street. My second thought was that I have now to sell a miniseries (for I wouldn't wish to put anyone off who is interested in watching) that I felt was rather bland.

I wasn't expecting an action-thriller, of course - and Howards End has the very typical, gentle, warm feel of every British show that centres on a rural environment, even when set against some of lead actress Hayley Atwell's more purposeful movements - but it's almost too slow-moving. It strikes the right tone for a miniseries designed to retell a novel about social conventions and relationships in early 1900s England, a novel that "in 1998, the Modern Library ranked [...] 38th on its list of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century", but it just lacks the flavour that modern television needs to hold an audience.

And that lack of flavour is evident from the very first scene of the episode, in which Hayley Atwell's Margaret Schlegel reads countless letters delivered to her in London from her sister, Helen, with Helen's voiceover describing all the characters of the Wilcox family with whom she resides at Howards End. It introduces all of the characters, yes, and very adequately establishes the two main settings - but it's a patently unstimulating and soullessly unorganic way to open a show, even a miniseries, that needs to win viewers.

And yet - opening scene and overall lack of dynamism aside - Howards End more than competently tells the first chapter of this highly-regarded story, and does a far better job of introducing and discussing the social commentaries it wants to focus on without needing to be heavy-handed early on. The ideals and conventions the novel explored, which the show lifts from those pages (I will presume, having never read the novel), are peppered into the dialogue around the initial drama, present, almost dormant, waiting for the next few episodes to fully expand on them. And that's a great way to enter this miniseries.

The score is equally well-designed, and provides some soul to scenes that require a little help to land - and I could listen to it all day.

I tuned in for the excellent cast and a setting not too far removed from the mid-1800s (a particular passion of mine), and came away feeling satisfied Howards End had achieved both. What I didn't come away with was a desire to tune in to the next episode. But perhaps you will enjoy it far more than I. I'll sit squarely on the fence with Howards End, then, and give this episode 3 stars.