The Orville and Singing In the Rain

1 year ago
25

In season 2, episode 6 of sci-fi TV series The Orville (A Happy Refrain), the closing scene uses the soundtrack from Gene Kelly's iconic dance number in the classic 1952 movie Singing in the Rain. I suspect most people watching The Orville don't know who Gene Kelly was and have never seen the 1952 movie, so I decided to try to match the 1952 movie with the 2019 TV episode. The soundtracks don't match exactly (the TV version is edited down to be slightly shorter) but they are close, and I was able to edit around it. I begin with just the 1952 video/audio. Then, I go to a split screen with mixed audio, and finally, when Gene Kelly begins to sing, I use only the 2019 audio to the end. I also thought it was interesting that the next scene in the TV series (the first scene of episode 7) looks like it could be on the same set as the 1952 dance number. Someone on The Orville production staff had a eye for movie/TV history.

If you're interested, the scene is about Dr. Claire Flynn (Penny Johnson Jerald) and Isaac the Android (Mark Jackson) making up after a fight in their rocky, off-again-on-again romance.

The quirky, juvenile humor in The Orville is a little off-putting for me at times, but they do some interesting things musically from time-to-time ... like this.

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