New Dimensions gives us what the Orville does best, an effortless mix of humour, character developing interactions and Star Trek style stories and action. Special credit goes to the CGI department for some of the best work of the series so far, the depiction of the world inside the 2 dimensional space was particularly well done. Nice also to see LaMarr moving from a superfluous bridge crew role to engineering which somewhat echos Geordie LeForge's TNG season 2 move, hopefully as with Geordie the will give the character more to do than simply act as the shows comedy double act with Malloy. The only down side of this is the loss of Chief Engineer Newton, who could have shown a lot of promise had he been given more on screen time.
11 Reviews
Enjoyable low-key episode with nice character work... though J Lee can't act
wolfstar_imdb8 January 2018
Warning: Spoilers
I enjoyed this a lot - I liked that the sci-fi plot took a back seat to character work and thoughtfulness; this was by far the best Ed/Kelly character work all season, as the script was sincere (MacFarlane's best since About A Girl) and treated them as two mature adults. I also like Yaphit's characterization (his first serious characterization instead of him being a one-note visual gag/sex pest) - there were still laughs, but he was written as a dimensioned character with professional skills, aspirations and thoughts/feelings, someone we could actually take at last halfway seriously. In theory I'm also there for the LaMarr character work, but J Lee didn't really pull it off - his acting isn't stepping up to the game, and I thought he was weaker here than in Majority Rule, which he wasn't especially strong in either. The explanation for why he apparently hid his intelligence was also too pat and didn't seem context-appropriate - OK, he concealed his smartness in the working-class community he grew up in, but what about after he left home and joined the Union Fleet? How did he get to the position he's in - why would he continue to play dumb in a professional environment where other smart professional people are his peers?
Good supporting use of Isaac, and I liked that Kelly played a meaningful role. An ongoing nitpick is that Bortus continues to just be used as comic relief - yeah, he's great at it (in a similar way to Michael Dorn), but the character and actor can offer so much more than this. So I'd love more meaningful action for Bortus on an episode-to-episode basis and ideally at least one more strong, dramatic Bortus episode in season 2.
Two-dimensional lifeforms are of course a borrowing from a Next Generation episode; I wasn't crazy about the corny dayglo execution here, but they at least really sold the awe factor and made it look nice, if not that credible. I appreciated the unapologetic mathsiness of the tech dialogue and the obvious thought that had gone into the quantum physics concept, even if the execution was slightly too cartoonish for my taste. But overall, New Dimensions reminded me of TNG and TOS in good ways, delivered meaningful character work on at least two fronts (LaMarr's promotion, Ed and Kelly's new understanding and increased trust/respect, plus taking Yaphit a little more seriously) and that had gags that were largely funny and worked in context. It's a good 'un.
Good supporting use of Isaac, and I liked that Kelly played a meaningful role. An ongoing nitpick is that Bortus continues to just be used as comic relief - yeah, he's great at it (in a similar way to Michael Dorn), but the character and actor can offer so much more than this. So I'd love more meaningful action for Bortus on an episode-to-episode basis and ideally at least one more strong, dramatic Bortus episode in season 2.
Two-dimensional lifeforms are of course a borrowing from a Next Generation episode; I wasn't crazy about the corny dayglo execution here, but they at least really sold the awe factor and made it look nice, if not that credible. I appreciated the unapologetic mathsiness of the tech dialogue and the obvious thought that had gone into the quantum physics concept, even if the execution was slightly too cartoonish for my taste. But overall, New Dimensions reminded me of TNG and TOS in good ways, delivered meaningful character work on at least two fronts (LaMarr's promotion, Ed and Kelly's new understanding and increased trust/respect, plus taking Yaphit a little more seriously) and that had gags that were largely funny and worked in context. It's a good 'un.
Imaginative
MsMoebius3 May 2022
Warning: Spoilers
After a series of not so good episodes, I believe that this was one of the best !
The introduction of a 2D civilization is imaginative and great, the reference to dimension and position in society marvellous and the conflict on the character's potential and the need to work all together very cute indeed.
While some of the physics may not be accurate I believe it was a very enjoyable episode.
Once again, as Star Trek did once, The Orville invites us to open our minds.
The introduction of a 2D civilization is imaginative and great, the reference to dimension and position in society marvellous and the conflict on the character's potential and the need to work all together very cute indeed.
While some of the physics may not be accurate I believe it was a very enjoyable episode.
Once again, as Star Trek did once, The Orville invites us to open our minds.
This show remembers what Star Trek forgot
doodler9 December 2017
Some of the visuals in this episode were absolutely stunning - notably the depiction of a two dimensional universe.
It took this show a while to really find it's footing and it's on its way to being truly great. Certainly there are many aspects of the show that are taken directly from the original Star Trek and it's later series (except for the transporters, which I'm glad they left out).
The Orville has one big bonus that the Star Trek universe forgot: Human history and its cultural past. Sure, Star Trek occasionally made references to the past as a plot point here and there, but the Orville lives in OUR future. Besides, Star Trek made up a lot of "history" by mentioning things that happen between our time and theirs.
Beginning with the Kermit the Frog doll on the captain's desk, we are constantly reminded that our present is truly their past. This episode alone referenced "Doctor Who" and the novel "Flatland. In past episodes we've seen references to "Friends", "Real Housewives", "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer", "The Sound of Music", "Seinfeld" and other media touchstones that you would hope the future won't forget.
It took this show a while to really find it's footing and it's on its way to being truly great. Certainly there are many aspects of the show that are taken directly from the original Star Trek and it's later series (except for the transporters, which I'm glad they left out).
The Orville has one big bonus that the Star Trek universe forgot: Human history and its cultural past. Sure, Star Trek occasionally made references to the past as a plot point here and there, but the Orville lives in OUR future. Besides, Star Trek made up a lot of "history" by mentioning things that happen between our time and theirs.
Beginning with the Kermit the Frog doll on the captain's desk, we are constantly reminded that our present is truly their past. This episode alone referenced "Doctor Who" and the novel "Flatland. In past episodes we've seen references to "Friends", "Real Housewives", "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer", "The Sound of Music", "Seinfeld" and other media touchstones that you would hope the future won't forget.
Blueprint for future TV series
Ray_Akapotasana1 December 2017
Best episode thus far. Excellent mix of entertainment, literary references, humor, scientific mumbo jumbo (which should be in every itself respecting SF series) and even social comments (the made reference between the 2 dimensional society and equality in a society). The total mix is quite a grown up form and almost a blueprint for future TV series.
Two Dimensions
Hitchcoc10 June 2022
This episode was kind of ... flat.
d.rust1 December 2017
Warning: Spoilers
Dude, Bortas just ate a piece of Yaphit. Hyuk! Hyuk! And when Yaphit rescues his missing morsel? Umm, it was interesting that it got past the censors (if there are any). But, completely in character given that Bortas is married to another male.
Sorry to see the Engineer Guy - Steve Newton (Larry Joe Campbell) leave. I thought he was doing a fine job. But it had to be done, because J Lee's character was Mr Redundant on the bridge. It looks like a better idea to have him run the engine room.
NOT ENOUGH HALSTON! We didn't get our weekly serving of Lt Kitan. We're all Hot for Halston. Well, *I* am.
And that reptile guy! Hey, how's it going -- uh, what's his name again?
Little things are getting better and better. Like Mike Henry as Dann. Yeah, you know Dann! He's the guy that suggested music for the elevators. He wishes he were more like Gordon and John with their practical jokes. And he loves restoring antique furniture. Some day he's going to make someone a boring mate. You know who Mike Henry is, right?
As for McFarlane and Palicki, they seem to be warming up to each other in their roles.
It's a rare thing that a reviewer mentions the Makeup Department, but Howard Berger has come up with some simply amazing pieces, with his execution of the Horbalak Captain outstanding in this episode. Keep your eye on this guy, he's going to give Glenn Hettrick a run for his money over there at the STD show.
It was a good episode, a little flat in parts, perhaps -- but a lot of fun during the opening minutes.
Sorry to see the Engineer Guy - Steve Newton (Larry Joe Campbell) leave. I thought he was doing a fine job. But it had to be done, because J Lee's character was Mr Redundant on the bridge. It looks like a better idea to have him run the engine room.
NOT ENOUGH HALSTON! We didn't get our weekly serving of Lt Kitan. We're all Hot for Halston. Well, *I* am.
And that reptile guy! Hey, how's it going -- uh, what's his name again?
Little things are getting better and better. Like Mike Henry as Dann. Yeah, you know Dann! He's the guy that suggested music for the elevators. He wishes he were more like Gordon and John with their practical jokes. And he loves restoring antique furniture. Some day he's going to make someone a boring mate. You know who Mike Henry is, right?
As for McFarlane and Palicki, they seem to be warming up to each other in their roles.
It's a rare thing that a reviewer mentions the Makeup Department, but Howard Berger has come up with some simply amazing pieces, with his execution of the Horbalak Captain outstanding in this episode. Keep your eye on this guy, he's going to give Glenn Hettrick a run for his money over there at the STD show.
It was a good episode, a little flat in parts, perhaps -- but a lot of fun during the opening minutes.
For The World Is Flat And So Is My Self-Confidence
MrGoog5 December 2017
Warning: Spoilers
******SPOILER ALERT******
The Orville is docked at a space station, where Chief Engineer Steve Newton will leave the ship; he will be a designer for a new space station. At Steve's farewell party, Gordon and John secretly take a piece of Yaphit and put it in the buffet. Then Yaphit goes to Sickbay for a legitimate reason: he tells Claire that a piece of him is missing and in "a dark wet place". Then Bortus enters, complaining of an upset stomach. Indeed, Claire's scan finds Yaphit's missing piece in Bortus. With Bortus' permission, Yaphit reaches into Bortus and pulls out the missing piece.
Kelly chews out Gordon and John for the juvenile prank, issuing a formal reprimand on both of them. But when Kelly reads John's file, she finds a startling fact: John is very intelligent. She doesn't know why John hides his intellect, but she recommends to Ed that John be promoted to Chief Engineer.
After the Orville departs, she suddenly hits a spatial anomaly and decelerates rapidly. The lower engine is damaged by the "pothole". Ed assigns Isaac and John to assist in repairs, but Yaphit still is furious at John for the prank.
Isaac and John detect a "quantum wake" in one of the ship's empty quarters. They also find dead plants there.
Ed wants to promote Yaphit to Chief Engineer because he is next in line in Engineering. But Kelly convinces him to appoint John. However, Kelly accidentally mentions that she recommended Ed for command of the Orville ('Old Wounds'). This rattles Ed's self-confidence. He calls Admiral Halsey, who assures Ed that the Admiralty has confidence in him. But Ed isn't convinced.
Kelly wants to know why John hasn't wanted more out of his career. In my opinion, she makes the faulty assumption that many people have of intelligent people: superior ability must breed superior ambition. John says that he just wants a simple life. Still, Kelly suggests that he aim higher - and assigns him to lead the Science & Engineering investigation of the anomaly.
A Horbalak smuggling ship unknowingly approaches the anomaly. Ed tries to warn the Horbalak, but their fat gluttonous slob of a commander replies (in his language), "You can shove it up your a##." The Horbalak ship passes through the anomaly, but has no power when it emerges. Ed, Kelly, Claire, and Alara take a shuttle to the ship and find the commander dead, from cardiac arrest, and partially squished. Alara finds 20 crates of Krill plasma rifles, obviously stolen.
Ed still is angry at Kelly and begins to doubt his ability to command. Then he finds Yaphit in his office. Yaphit expected to lead the S&E team. He is further enraged when Ed tells him about John's promotion, calling Ed racist. John messes up his first attempt at commanding the S&E team, further lowering his self-confidence. But John and Isaac find that the anomaly isn't a "pothole" - it's a portal to 2-dimensional space. The Horbalak ship was temporarily flattened, but some cells in any lifeform can't spring back to their proper shape so easily. That's what killed the Horbalak and the plants.
A Krill fleet approaches with the Orville's quantum drive still disabled. John, using his intellect, suggests a radical solution: generate a quantum bubble around the Orville, then hide in 2-dimensional space until the Krill leave. Yaphit supports John's idea and helps him accomplish it. The bubbled Orville enters the portal just before 3 Krill ships arrive. The 2-dimensional space looks like a big multicolor silicon chip - it has 2-dimensional lifeforms in a 2-dimensional existence, with the Orville cruising above it.
The space reminds Ed of the 1884 short story "Flatland: A Romance Of Many Dimensions" by Edwin Abbott Abbott. But Kelly is reminded that Ed can be "a prideful a##". Indeed, Ed forgets that all of us have received help in achieving something. Furthermore, Kelly's recommendation should prove to Ed that she has full confidence in him.
The anomaly's entry point collapses, causing a temporary partial collapse of the quantum bubble and bloody noses for everyone. The brief flattening disables the Orville's engines. John draws upon his intellect again, suggesting that a bubbled shuttle could tow the Orville to another entry point with a tractor beam through a conduit. Ed, a Doctor Who fan, notes that the shuttle would be bigger on the inside, like the TARDIS. When John hears some members of the S&E team blame Yaphit for their predicament, he defends Yaphit and takes the blame, further believing that he is unfit to lead anyone.
As Ed pilots the shuttle and John maintains the bubble, John tells Ed the reason for hiding his intellect. He grew up on a colony dominated by farmers and builders, not intellectuals, so he wanted to be accepted and liked by the colonists.
The quantum bubbles destabilize, forcing Ed to take the risky move of towing the Orville at high speed. But both vessels successfully return to this universe. The only damage were very bloody noses for Ed and John (and John's temporary, but big, nausea).
Ed apologizes to Kelly, saying, "You helped put me where I belong." Kelly, quoting from the famous story, replies, "It's not the feather, Dumbo. It's you." Meanwhile, Lieutenant Commander John LaMarr begins his first day as the Orville's Chief Engineer.
The Orville is docked at a space station, where Chief Engineer Steve Newton will leave the ship; he will be a designer for a new space station. At Steve's farewell party, Gordon and John secretly take a piece of Yaphit and put it in the buffet. Then Yaphit goes to Sickbay for a legitimate reason: he tells Claire that a piece of him is missing and in "a dark wet place". Then Bortus enters, complaining of an upset stomach. Indeed, Claire's scan finds Yaphit's missing piece in Bortus. With Bortus' permission, Yaphit reaches into Bortus and pulls out the missing piece.
Kelly chews out Gordon and John for the juvenile prank, issuing a formal reprimand on both of them. But when Kelly reads John's file, she finds a startling fact: John is very intelligent. She doesn't know why John hides his intellect, but she recommends to Ed that John be promoted to Chief Engineer.
After the Orville departs, she suddenly hits a spatial anomaly and decelerates rapidly. The lower engine is damaged by the "pothole". Ed assigns Isaac and John to assist in repairs, but Yaphit still is furious at John for the prank.
Isaac and John detect a "quantum wake" in one of the ship's empty quarters. They also find dead plants there.
Ed wants to promote Yaphit to Chief Engineer because he is next in line in Engineering. But Kelly convinces him to appoint John. However, Kelly accidentally mentions that she recommended Ed for command of the Orville ('Old Wounds'). This rattles Ed's self-confidence. He calls Admiral Halsey, who assures Ed that the Admiralty has confidence in him. But Ed isn't convinced.
Kelly wants to know why John hasn't wanted more out of his career. In my opinion, she makes the faulty assumption that many people have of intelligent people: superior ability must breed superior ambition. John says that he just wants a simple life. Still, Kelly suggests that he aim higher - and assigns him to lead the Science & Engineering investigation of the anomaly.
A Horbalak smuggling ship unknowingly approaches the anomaly. Ed tries to warn the Horbalak, but their fat gluttonous slob of a commander replies (in his language), "You can shove it up your a##." The Horbalak ship passes through the anomaly, but has no power when it emerges. Ed, Kelly, Claire, and Alara take a shuttle to the ship and find the commander dead, from cardiac arrest, and partially squished. Alara finds 20 crates of Krill plasma rifles, obviously stolen.
Ed still is angry at Kelly and begins to doubt his ability to command. Then he finds Yaphit in his office. Yaphit expected to lead the S&E team. He is further enraged when Ed tells him about John's promotion, calling Ed racist. John messes up his first attempt at commanding the S&E team, further lowering his self-confidence. But John and Isaac find that the anomaly isn't a "pothole" - it's a portal to 2-dimensional space. The Horbalak ship was temporarily flattened, but some cells in any lifeform can't spring back to their proper shape so easily. That's what killed the Horbalak and the plants.
A Krill fleet approaches with the Orville's quantum drive still disabled. John, using his intellect, suggests a radical solution: generate a quantum bubble around the Orville, then hide in 2-dimensional space until the Krill leave. Yaphit supports John's idea and helps him accomplish it. The bubbled Orville enters the portal just before 3 Krill ships arrive. The 2-dimensional space looks like a big multicolor silicon chip - it has 2-dimensional lifeforms in a 2-dimensional existence, with the Orville cruising above it.
The space reminds Ed of the 1884 short story "Flatland: A Romance Of Many Dimensions" by Edwin Abbott Abbott. But Kelly is reminded that Ed can be "a prideful a##". Indeed, Ed forgets that all of us have received help in achieving something. Furthermore, Kelly's recommendation should prove to Ed that she has full confidence in him.
The anomaly's entry point collapses, causing a temporary partial collapse of the quantum bubble and bloody noses for everyone. The brief flattening disables the Orville's engines. John draws upon his intellect again, suggesting that a bubbled shuttle could tow the Orville to another entry point with a tractor beam through a conduit. Ed, a Doctor Who fan, notes that the shuttle would be bigger on the inside, like the TARDIS. When John hears some members of the S&E team blame Yaphit for their predicament, he defends Yaphit and takes the blame, further believing that he is unfit to lead anyone.
As Ed pilots the shuttle and John maintains the bubble, John tells Ed the reason for hiding his intellect. He grew up on a colony dominated by farmers and builders, not intellectuals, so he wanted to be accepted and liked by the colonists.
The quantum bubbles destabilize, forcing Ed to take the risky move of towing the Orville at high speed. But both vessels successfully return to this universe. The only damage were very bloody noses for Ed and John (and John's temporary, but big, nausea).
Ed apologizes to Kelly, saying, "You helped put me where I belong." Kelly, quoting from the famous story, replies, "It's not the feather, Dumbo. It's you." Meanwhile, Lieutenant Commander John LaMarr begins his first day as the Orville's Chief Engineer.
The Writers forgot their own story
zimmerblake31 December 2018
Warning: Spoilers
This episode made very little sense. Back in episode 7 "majority rule" it was established that John LaMarr is not an intelligent person. He was slow to understand his own obvious situation and even when he knew his life was on the line he answered questions with idiotic, childish responses. The writers attempted to cover this plot hole by saying LaMarr pretends to be stupid to better fit in. Someone who is smart would not keep up a facade that they are dumb when their life is on the line. He would not keep acting stupid when he knows he will die. It's hard to suddenly accept someone is smart when you've seen repeated instances of them being honestly dumb. I'm guessing the writers felt pressure about having a minority of low intelligence and tried to save face with this episode but it felt forced and out of touch with the rest of the show. I would love for LaMarr to be smart but he's already been shown to be the opposite even when he isn't trying to fit in.
New Dimensions
bobcobb3013 December 2017
Warning: Spoilers
It was an okay episode, but they were not quite sure where they wanted to go with things. Dealing with Ed's promotion and then John's promotion was a nice side storyline, but the main issue for the ship and then the whole bit with Yaphit was more than a little underwhelming this week. Considering the show is almost concluding its first season I expected a bit more.
Intelligence distortion
tollejonathon14 February 2021
Idk wth the point of this episode is. That someone that acts like an idiot all the time is actually really smart? The good thing about intelligence, is that it is visible before anyone says a thing. You fundamentally see the world different regardless of choice. Either way, they've specifically shown him to be an idiot in other episodes and do a full 180 here. Idk of this is a political thing, to say that black people can be really smart or don't judge a book by it's cover or both, regardless, this episode is total garbage and doesn't seem like Seth's work.
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