Otherworldly Odyssey: Week of 2/6/2019

Did you all see that new promo for Jordan Peele’s Twilight Zone? I am so ready. Check it out at CBS and let me know what you think. I love the original Twilight Zone, and I have high confidence that Peele and CBS are going to deliver a quality product. I still haven’t caught up on Star Trek: Discovery, mostly because I have been being too cheap to spring for CBS All Access, but let’s see what else was happening in the world of sci fi this week.

The Orville (Fox) – 2.6 A Happy Refrain

Love, or something, is in the air on The Orville. First, Bortus will be referred to as the mustache for the foreseeable future. After working together, Claire has developed feelings for Isaac and asked him on a date. Kelly questioned whether Claire might have been projecting her emotions onto a machine that isn’t capable of returning her feelings, and the guys are pretty stupefied. The first date shows that the crew’s misgivings about the compatibility of the pairing might be valid when Isaac clearly doesn’t understand what dating is all about. His attempts to correct course are off the mark as well, but after some advice from John, he attempts a re-do, and it definitely seems to work. But, once the deed is done, Isaac has all he wants from the relationship. I have to admit, despite how it sucks for Claire, I kind of appreciate this take on the down side of dating. After the break up, the crew gives Isaac the cold shoulder, and Yaphit tries to swoop in and catch Claire on the rebound. When Isaac slips up on the bridge, he discovers that his relationship with Claire has affected his programming, so Ed advises him to try something new to restore his relationship with Claire. It might not have been the wisest idea, but it was creative. I’m still not sure all the soft, romantic music they can throw at us will make this relationship work for me, but it was a cute take on romance, and just in time for Valentine’s Day.

The Orville airs Thursdays at 8/7 c on Fox. See other coverage of The Orville here.

Roswell, New Mexico (The CW)

Tearin’ Up My Heart: I’m struggling not to roll my eyes at Liz’s “observations” at the beginning of this episode because we all know that, in spite of sounding so certain, we all know she’s going to end up being completely wrong. Liz begins trying to understand what’s going on with Max, but she’s not just stopping there, she’s determined to find out everything she can about Rosa too, which sends Liz and Maria on a scavenger hunt through town to hunt down secrete clues left by Rosa. Kyle is deciding just how much he is going to be involved with the Manes’ alien hunt, but he’s definitely trying to get to the bottom of Liz’s mystery.

The drive-in brings everyone together, for good and for bad. When Isobel attempts to erase Liz’s memories of what Max told her, she gets a big surprise…Rosa. Isobel also learns that there might be more to Max and Liz than she thought. After finding a love letter from Max, Liz finally confronts him with her suspicions. He explains, and also tells her about his feelings. After, he can’t control his emotions, and his siblings aren’t there to help him calm down. In a moment of unchecked emotion, he blows out the power to the whole town.

Where Have All the Cowboys Gone? :Roswell is still in a blackout, and Max stops brooding long enough to agree to Isobel’s plan to make Liz forget her feelings for Max. After Papa Ortecha collapses, Liz ends up at the hospital, where Kyle is struggling to deal with the lack of power. Later Max a boy at risk in the hospital pushes Max to action and he gets the power going at the hospital, risking exposing himself. Isobel is trying to get into Maria’s head to find out why she hates her, but she doesn’t get any answers and the side effects hit hard. Liz’s research leads her to Kyle’s father, which confuses her and Kyle more, but doesn’t confuse them enough to keep them from deciding to engage in a little “recreation.” Later Max and Liz have a touching moment, but he’s putting some distance between them for now. Liz turns to her father for advice, and Michael drops a bombshell at the end.

I have to admit that I never watched the original Roswell, but I may just have to after reading Leah’s take on this reboot. Maybe it’s my ignorance of the original that lets me enjoy it. Though she’s 100% right on about the CW formula happening here. Check out her thoughts here.

See all our coverage of Roswell here.

Roswell airs at Tuesdays at 9/8c on the CW

Manifest

I don’t watch Manifest, but you can check out the roundtables that Cay, Reuben, and Roz have been doing here.

Coming This Week

Tuesday

Roswell, New Mexico: Don’t Speak on the CW at

Thursday

The Orville: Deflectors  on Fox at 8/7c

Star Trek Discovery: An Obol for Charon on CBS All Access

Saturday

Counterpart: You To You (Starz)

Catch up on past installments of Otherworldly Odyssey here.