The Orville (2017–2022) User Reviews

The Critics Must Be Crazy: 'The Orville' Is A Great Show

[David-Bernhardt · 9/10 · 11 September 2017]

As many critics have pointed out, this isn't a spoof of Star Trek. It's not exactly an homage either. The best way I can describe it is that MacFarlane wanted to make a Star Trek show that recalls that franchise's earlier days, back before it became an action blockbuster film series and before the TV shows started becoming dark and grim and edgy. MacFarlane is making his own version of the original Star Trek, and he is a new Captain Kirk. All the optimism and sincerity and lightheartedness of that show is here, and in many ways it's kind of wonderful. I'm honestly surprised something like this exists.

There's some off-color humor, but it's never (so far at least) particularly offensive, or at least its offensiveness pales in comparison to many of McFarlane's other works. Still, it's distinctly him, so it's not going to be appealing to everyone.

In any case, I've really enjoyed The Orville. It's not a perfect show. Some of the jokes do fall flat. But I love its spirit. I love that someone is actually trying to make a Star Trek show that isn't just filled with explosions, space battles and gritty action. You should check it out and make up your own mind. Maybe you'll hate it, but maybe not. It's fun and kind of sweet and I'm happy it's a thing, however weird and unexpected it might be.

Update: November 2017 The show keeps getting better from week to week and it seem has now found its groove. The Orville uses its adventure-of-the-week format to explore modern-day social issues and tackle current moral dilemmas in a sci-fi venue. The show is refreshingly progressive in its politics, and optimistic to its core. It is a Star Trek show for folks who want something a bit old-school. By not having a budget (or requirements) for wall-to-wall spectacle, the hour-long Fox show is forced to focus on character, chemistry, sci-fi plotting and moral debates that have partially defined Gene Roddenberry's property for generations. (though the special effects look superb and almost movie like)

Yes, to a certain extent it's fan fiction, but then so is so much of our current pop culture entertainment. But by being a network television show, it is forced to be the kind of Star Trek that fans claim the recent movies have neglected in favor of four-quadrant blockbuster thrills. The Orville is not a spoof, but rather a straight-faced Trek show with characters who are funny and which you can learn to love.

Great Sci-fi Series!

[Rob1331 · 8/10 · 30 September 2022]

The Orville was so much better than I expected it to be. Like most people I thought it was going to be some spoof of Star Trek but it is so much more than that. It's actually better than anything Star Trek has put out since Next Generation. It takes place 400 years in the future as it follows a exploratory spaceship, The Orville, that is filled with both humans and aliens as they face the dangers of outer space. It's a character driven show that shows the everyday lives of the humans and aliens. The acting and writing is so good that you really come to care what happens to these characters. Seth MacFarlane is such a genius. I don't think I've ever seen him make a bad show or movie. I first starting watching this series strictly because it was created by MacFarlane and have come to really enjoy it. This show was suppose to end after this last season (Season 3) but it's found such a following that the fans are clamoring for more seasons and it looks like they might get it. I hope they renew it for a forth season.

The Orville achieves what Star Trek once stood for: A positive and refeshed vision of the future of mankind

[network-561-589522 · 9/10 · 27 May 2020]

Seth McFarlane and the team have done a wonderful job of taking the best elements of Star Trek, lighten it up with a little comedy and telling stories that are entertaining and relevant at the same time.

Where Star Trek has become a dystopia, a dark vision of the future with unlikeable characters (especially discovery) and a focus on action and visual effects instead of great stories, the Orville focusses on what matters and really goes where no man has gone before.

This show should be called Star Trek: Orville. It's more Star Trek than anything else out there right now. And I mean it in the most positive way.

Don't listen to the "professional" critics.

[nathanael-ries · 10/10 · 13 September 2017]

Once again the "professional" critics still think that even in the trying times we're living in, we want everything to be dark and gritty. They are stuck in the 2000-2010 decade where everyone was floored by Christopher Nolan's Batman performance and the Debut of "Walking Dead which ushered in the pop culture's shift to a darker take on fiction.

The critics don't understand those of us who want to go back to a universe where nobody has to work hard for food, shelter, water, and health. Everything you need is generated out of an abundance of energy, you can go wherever you want in the known galaxy, and there's a sense of wonder, awe and adventure. We want a future where people aren't mindless, humorless drones going about their day, a future where most of your energy and focus goes on the people you care about and an enrichment of your hobbies, skills, and knowledge, not the drudgery, fear, monotony, and negativity of everyday life. Star Trek fans have been hungering for a series like this since TNG ended in 1994. 23 years was far too long a time to wait, but the wait is finally over!

Aside from a pilot drinking a beer while flying, no interaction between the crew, no matter how crass or juvenile they get with each other, seemed to be all that much more unlikely than a normal interaction between co-workers. It makes the crew relatable and is not that hard to believe would be how humans in their situation would use humor to form bonds and diffuse stressful situations.

As this was the very first episode, there were some moments where improvements could have been made in dialogue or pacing, but overall it was a great show. Besides, it took Star Trek TNG more than a whole season before "growing a beard" and finding its stride.

More Star Trek than Discovery

[dmega-64163 · 9/10 · 29 September 2017]

There have been a few times when I watched this show where I forgot I was watching The Orville. It has the true spirit of Star Trek written all over it. It's a bit more tongue in cheek, yes. But it has heart and portrays in-depth and heart felt stories. I watched the first episode of ST Discovery and still haven't gotten around watching the second, I'm just not that into it. Full of virtue signaling BS and it doesn't "feel" like Star Trek. I hang out for every new episode of The Orville, it is THAT good. Do your self a favor and watch this instead of Discovery if you want that real old feeling of Star Trek. A must!

THIS is Star Trek - not that other show

[rocnathan · 8/10 · 25 October 2017]

After having seen six episodes of both Star Trek: Discovery and The Orville, I am truly baffled and very positively surprised. Baffled at how, with a budget of millions, the people who made Discovery could not come up with a single interesting character or plot, but instead basically just made The Expanse with Klingons, taking every single thing that is unique, positive, and enjoyable about Star Trek and tossing it out the window. And positively surprised, because, out of the corner I would least have expected it - the filthy, cobwebbed one with the rancid yogurt, in which Seth MacFarlane used to reside for me - comes this gem of a show that takes everything fun, positive, and enjoyable from Trek and runs with it.

It is - as nearly everyone here has pointed out - the spiritual successor of TNG, although I would actually put it somewhere between TOS and TNG. It has a bit of the "cowboy" feeling people seem to like so much about TOS while including at least some of the elements that made TNG so brilliant - people actually trying to overcome petty human concerns by looking at the bigger picture and solving problems through compassion and dialogue rather than by inventing the next, bigger gun (yes, I know Trek did that too, but big guns are fine occasionally).

Now this is still by and large a comedy, so in order for that to function, you can't have straight TNG-like characters. But apart from occasionally overshooting the target a bit, the balance of comedy and seriousness is handled excellently - something I would not have thought possible for a Trek-like sci-fi show, let alone from MacFarlane.

You will recognize the plot elements, you'll recognize character traits. After hundreds of stories of drama and intrigue among the stars, what story hasn't Trek told? Again, the idea, as far as I can see, was not to create something entirely new (which, ironically, it is, though), but to take those elements that made Trek great and combine them with enough comedy to provide a breath of fresh air. And provide it does. In fact, the comedy allows the writers to approach topics in a way that would actually not have been possible for Trek playing it straight. Without spoiling, I will here point to the Episode "About a girl", which actually touches on subjects that weren't very prominent at the time TNG ran and is therefore quite unique in itself.

I'm not really going to touch on the scientific aspects of the show except to say that, even with scientific advisors, Trek has obviously always taken huge liberties with established science at times, while at others making the science and (at them time) new discoveries a central point of the story. Naturally, scientific accuracy is going to suffer a bit in a comedy. But let me just point to "Discovery" and say (farcially): subspace mushroom network.

I don't know how long they can make the concept work, but if they keep coming up with episodes like #3, #4 and #6, they deserve to have the kind of money thrown at them that "Discovery" now squanders on a tired old war story, forgettable characters, and making everything dark and shaky. But even with its limited budget, the visuals are more than adequate (maybe barring the Ikea furniture), proving once more that you only need so much resources to tell great stories.

Finally, one more thing. THE MUSIC. This show has hands down the best music of any official or unofficial Star Trek show (including the new movies, but of course always excepting Jerry Goldsmith). But considering you have Bruce Broughton doing the theme, and John Debney and Joel McNeely scoring episodes, that shouldn't be a big surprise.

Simply put, this show saves Star Trek for me and blows any contemporary Trek movie or show out of the water - with ease.

A great and well-rounded show!

[calamari2 · 9/10 · 6 November 2020]

Somebody who reviewed one of the new and frankly bizarre "Star Trek" series that are out there said that they should just hand the entire Star Trek franchise over to Seth MacFarlane as he was most suited and likely to actually do a good job of keeping the essence of Star Trek and its legacy. I could not agree more. What the new Star Trek series fail miserably at achieving MacFarlane does so effortlessly. In just one or two episodes of the Orville we already like and understand who the characters are. We care for them. In the new Star Trek series they cry all the time either when leaving each other or when being reunited, obviously they are incredibly attached to each other, however, the viewer has not partaken in the actual bonding that seems to have occurred between the characters. Must have been happening behind the scenes. Again, MacFarlane makes the interaction between the crew members very successful. For example, by understanding the importance of downtime and using an inviting dining or pub area for people to hang out. Instead of filling our screens with doomsday scenarios the Orville brings us hope for the future and the message that we can always aspire to better as human beings. At any time, but especially now, I feel the world could do with more positive messages like this. However, even though the Orville reminds us of the "real" Star Trek, it has its own personality and manages to effectively balance humour, the weird, with the serious, with the current topics of our modern world. We need the Orville and I sincerely hope we get several more seasons of this well-made, well-rounded, quality show! Also a plus for the good music and a real intro theme!

So much better than I expected!

[Supermanfan-13 · 8/10 · 1 January 2021]

The Orville is not only a great comedy but it's also a great sci-fi show! It's a character driven show that will suck you in. I originally thought it was going to be Star Trek parody but it's so much more than that. It stands on its own as a great space adventure show! Seth MacFarlane is without a doubt one of the funniest people on the planet!

A nice place to be

[menezestraducoes-77274 · 10/10 · 13 November 2017]

The only thing I can truly say about this show is that, like all previous Real Star Trek series, I want to be in the Orville. I want to travel with it, I want to live their adventures. It is a nice atmosphere with interesting people to whom I can relate. The show also does me the courtesy of raising topics for me to think with the decency and good- manners of not shoving anything down my throat. Food for thought. Thanks, Seth. I didn't even know I missed Real Star Trek feeling so much.

I hope the audience is big enough

[follis12 · 7/10 · 10 September 2017]

The Orville is a show with potential. I liked how it didn't try too hard to be funny. In fact, it reminded me more of a Star Trek episode than Family Guy. I suspect there will be many comparisons to Galaxy Quest.

My concern is the audience. To appreciate this show, I think you need to be both a science fiction and crude humor fan. I'm one of these people, but I'm not sure if there are enough of us to support the production. Hopefully, we'll be seeing a lot more of The Orville.

Star Trek discovery was also released, and I have to say, this show comes closer to what I expect in a Star Trek series.

The Orville is exactly what Sci-Fi needs right now. It is more real than Star Trek has ever been.

[writingferret · 10/10 · 22 September 2017]

Let me preface this by saying that I am a Trekkie from way back, all the shows, all the movies, even Enterprise, even the new movies, even TOS. All of it. I know the ins and outs of all things Trek. I also love Star Wars. I used to be an avid reader of the extended universe until Lucas set it on fire. I even like Babylon 5 and Stargate. I like high Sci-Fi.

The Orville is actually pretty good. Not like mind bendingly awesome, but much better than most sci-fi that has been put out in the last decade, if not longer. It's not going for super-realism like The Expanse. It's not going for super-science like Orphan Black. It's showing us what it would look like if you put people like you and me on a starship that was capable of the things we have seen on Star Trek since the 60s, and that makes it amazing.

It's basically Star Trek, except with real people. You know those other bajillion ships in the Federation that weren't crewed by the fleet's best and brightest? The guys who were still flying Excelsior Class ships in the Enterprise-D days? Yeah, that's the kind of crew that you're following on The Orville. And, basically, that makes them infinitely more entertaining. It's not just satire, or a straight parody, or anything like that, and I'll be darned if episode three didn't just just handle transgender politics far better than anything else in Hollywood has to date. No, they didn't handle it like Hollywood left or Hollywood right would like them to handle it. They handled it like actual people would have handled it. It was pretty amazing.

So, if you like sci-fi (not sci-fi parodies), and you like snark, then watch The Orville. It's basically just some people doing some stuff in space, but doing it like real people would do it -- full of sarcasm and opinions and mistakes that come back to bite them.

S1 & S2...Awesome. S3...What?

[danekera-97717 · 6/10 · 7 January 2024]

The first two seasons of The Orville had a lot going for it...good writing, inventive plots, fun and interesting characters. It was a show that didn't take itself seriously while delivering excellent shows.

There was just enough action to keep interest piqued and plenty of humor mixed in. The interaction with aliens was a constant and moved each episode forward.

While some of the storylines were boring...anything with Bortis and the Doctor...an intelligent and educated woman...becoming a giggly girl over a robot...yuck. But there was enough other plot points to keep me watching.

But Season 3...what? Now the show takes itself seriously. It's dark. Creepy. And drags on and on and on before something actually happens. The episodes are 20 minutes longer but the extra times adds nothing.

And S3E3...a Q-like character? And not even a fun and interesting take on a classic ST character. It's bad enough the Krill are just Cardassians...if you're going to copy characters at least own it.

Which brings me to Charly. Ugh. What a boring one-dimensional character.

Not sure I can make it through S3.

Excellent homage to SF and Star Trek TOS, TNG and DS9

[insectboy · 10 September 2017]

No spoilers. I liked it. Like the original Star Trek it is character and story driven which I am sure will anger the people who think they are Science Fiction fans but don't know what science fiction is. People who have never read a book by Sturgeon or Simak and think Science Fiction is SciFi shoot'em ups with lasers.

I know there will be those who want to see "Family Guy In Space;" grow up. MacFarlane did. This is an independent, free standing piece of storytelling and MacFarlane is using storytelling elements instead of special effects or body function jokes. It is a show for grown-ups.

Ray Bradbury said Science Fiction is putting ordinary people into extraordinary situations and seeing how they respond. Sisko was the perfect embodiment of that concept and "The Orville" appears to follow that lead.

The first episode did a good job of establishing character roles and plot. They also did an excellent job of hinting as several subplots. All in all, it is like Star Trek in story but with a Next Generation maturity. Thank goodness MacFarlane does not have a Roger alien!

What the heck happened?

[mvykgcrq · 1/10 · 25 June 2022]

Did all the writers die or something? I really looked forward to the funny star trek spoof every week with season 1 and 2. Yeah, every now and again it got serious but I could handle that because I loved the funny characters. Now, I keep hoping their ship will just get blown up and they all die, end of show.

I have enough newscasts and TV shows trying to pound their points of views and ethical beliefs into my head. I enjoyed this because it was mostly funny, taking my mind off the horrible state of the world today and letting me relax. It even managed to make fun of some of the serious things going on. No more, now it is just one more drivel filled show trying to "teach me" right from wrong.

I am done. Hulu original killed this show.

First Episode is a worthy ST TOS successor in spirit

[kingramze · 9/10 · 10 September 2017]

Somewhere between ST: TOS and TNG, fleet personnel became high-minded, super-moral, flawless beings... a picture of who we should be when we're at our best, but not a true reflection of who we ARE. And then you remember how human TOS people were -- bickering, flawed, sometimes racist or rude.

The Orville's first episode is funny, but it's not a parody. It puts people with personalities of friends and co-workers you already know and love (or hate) into roles they might actually have aspired to in the future. They're a bit irreverent, unprofessional, perhaps a bit childish with a sense of office humor, drama, and politics. But, it's not over the top.

It's a little bit ST: Atlantis, a little bit Guardians of the Galaxy, a bit of Galaxy Quest, and a LOT of Star Trek. It's not Shakespeare, but it's fun, yet grounded. I've only seen the first episode, so no way to know where it will go. I recall the first episode of ST TNG was pretty rocky, and I think this is off to a better start. Give it a shot!

This is more Star Trek style TV than even Star Trek in 2020!

[jaymcr · 8/10 · 17 February 2020]

And i'm not sure why that puzzles me but it seems the actual Star Trek franchise has been taken over by directors and writers who wish to take it to a very dark place.

The release of Star Trek: Picard sadly confirmed that with the introduction of profanity and for the first time in a Star Trek show the M for Mature rating so it's good to see The Orville keeping the tradition of Star Trek while even managing to create its own universe and characters.

The Orville has proved that the Star Trek serialized format is still a popular one with the viewers and I hope the creators can keep it going. Fantastic show that addressed many of todays insane ideals (gender pronouns, sex change, etc) while maintaining the comedy. Genius.

If this is your thing then check out the British comedy that was missed by many called Hyperdrive.

When is StarTrek better than StarTrek

[annyard1960 · 10/10 · 29 September 2017]

JarJarAbrams officially destroyed StarTrek when he made his disgusting reboot of StarTrek in 2009. That is literally true. He purposely chose a story that literally erased all events that happened in all the years the StarTrek series and movies took place... except perhaps StarTrek Enterprise. Of course he not only erased the timeline, he erased everything good and distinctive about the StarTrek universe and everything that made StarTrek special.

The new STD (StarTrek Discovery) continues that tradition of destruction by changing pretty much everything. Garbage, just total garbage.

Seemingly to put the final nail in the coffin of StarTrek, this Orville series was released on Fox TV just a couple weeks before STD. Since the show was created by a gross comedian Seth McFarland, everyone assumed Orville would be a horrible, gross, cheap, crappy-looking parody of StarTrek designed to mock StarTrek.

##### WRONG ##### After four episodes, Orville is more like StarTrek than StarTrek! The production quality is mind boggling! No low budget here! Crammed full of the most gorgeous sets, fabulous aliens, makeup, and wardrobe, spectacular special effects, orchestra music... the works! Far, far better than anything StarTrek ever created.

Freaking awesome. How is this possible? Well, I did not know before that it turns out this Seth McFarland guy has been a long-time huge fan of StarTrek. And Orville is not a parody or mock of StarTrek but a super flattering love letter by way of imitation.

Of course they had to change the names of characters and races to avoid violating StarTrek copyrights, but they absolutely captured the essence of what made StarTrek special... the sensibility, great characters, great stories, and a positive, hopeful future.

To be sure, Orville has its weaknesses. First and foremost, now and then Orville contains a bit of crude humor. After 4 episodes they appear to be learning "this doesn't work", and the crude humor is gradually being scaled back.

In contrast, the light humor is mostly excellent. For an example, see the bit about "the dancing hombre in the holodeck" in episode 3 (and the wry annoyed reaction from the captain).

What's amazing is... they stories are excellent science fiction AND contain excellent thoughtful social situations that are not force fed down your throat (like everyone else does these days, including STD).

After 4 episodes the quality is shocking when you realize it took the other series two or three years to gain their footing. And they are approaching superb by their 4 episodes? !!! Wow.

This is a can't miss. Watch it every Thursday night, but first find a way to watch the previous episodes to get up to speed on characters and the look and feel of the show.

Gads, I so hated Seth McFarland.

Gads, I so loved this StarTrek homage.

An enjoyable Star Trek send up

[DarkVulcan29 · 9/10 · 11 September 2017]

Although it is a send up of Star Trek, but it never goes overboard with silliness, and surprised by it coming from Seth Macfarlane, the creator of Family Guy and American Dad. When the comedy is there it's funny, there are some dramatic moments but they are few and far between.

The characters all play off each other perfectly, just have a great chemistry. The sets look like they borrowed from Star Trek : The Next Generation. The sci- fi elements is pretty effective. And I got all this from the first episode. I hope it go on awhile, cause it's good to see a send up of Star Trek, although there was Galaxy Quest(1999), there where not that many Star Trek parodies. I'm glad The Orville has come around, and hope it will last a few more seasons.

An oddity in prime time TV resulting in the best "I can't believe it's not Star Trek" anyone's ever attempted.

[IonicBreezeMachine · 9/10 · 12 November 2021]

In the 25th century, Ed Mercer (Seth MacFarlane) a once promising officer in the interplanetary peacekeeping/exploratory organization the Planetary Union finds himself in a slump following his divorce from his wife Kelly Grayson (Adrianne Palicki) following her affair with another man. One year after Ed's slump, he is given his long sought after goal of captaining a ship, the titular U. S. S. Orville, staffed by Helmsman and Ed's overly casual and childish best friend Gordon Malloy (Scott Grimes), Chief Medical Officer Claire Finn (Penny Johnson Jerald), Moclan 2nd officer Bortus (Peter Macon), young but very strong Xelayan Chief Security officer Alara Kitan (Halston Sage), Science Officer and artificial being Isaac (Mark Jackson), and the ship's casual and laid back Navigator John LaMarr (J. Lee). Ed is eager to set off on his assignment, but when he finds his first officer to be his ex-wife Kelly, Ed must contend with not only a galaxy of often life threatening challenges, but also personal and interpersonal relationships of himself and his crew throwing a monkey wrench into matters.

It's no secret that Family Guy and American Dad creator Seth MacFarlane is one of the major success of modern TV, which came from the unlikeliest of places. With Family Guy being cancelled by Fox twice only for Fox to end up eating crow following the show's massive second life in Adult Swim and DVD sales, what once seemed destined to go the way of other short lived animated shows like The Critic became one of the modern foundations for not just Seth MacFarlane's success, but much of the '00s decade's style and tone of humor (for better or worse). Written on spec by MacFarlane, The Orville was given a 13 episode production commitment in 2016 with its announcement as being a "sci-fi dramedy" certainly raising more than a few eyebrows. When the show began airing in 2017, it was savaged by critics who used words like "big budget fan fiction" and "rip-off" as well as making unfavorable comparisons to Galaxy Quest. But as the show went on, it found stable audience viewership and also much more positive fan reception in comparison to the same year's Star Trek Discovery and managed to amass a dedicated following. Now with its upcoming third season (give the comics a read if you're a fan since they fall well in line with the TV show being written by the show's writers), The Orville is certainly a strange experiment in TV, but you have to admit it works.

While shows that tried to attempt the Star Trek formula are nothing new as the 90s is littered with examples such as Sliders or SeaQuest that started with promise only to be brought down by executive meddling or Shows cobbled together from unfinished ideas salvaged from Gene Roddenberry's garage like Earth: Final Conflict or Andromeda with none of these series ever managing to match the critical or audience success of their inspirations. With The Orville, not only is it a bit more direct in what it homages, it even has Star Trek franchise veterans involved with the likes Brannon Braga, Robert Duncan McNeil, Johnathan Frakes, and others so it feels like a remix of Star Trek elements with a small seasoning of Seth MacFarlane's humor. Unlike the 90s Star Trek series however, The Orville isn't constrained by the TV-PG rating or Roddenberry's assertions that the utopian society in Star Trek would have evolved past the usage of profanity and vulgarity (among other things) so the crew of the Orville while still having that familial bonding dynamic also have friction in their interactions making sort of a mixture of Star Trek with a workplace comedy.

The series features familiar scenarios seen in other Trek series with interstellar conflicts, culture clashes with both primitive and advanced alien races, and other adventures and often times the show will play the exploration of these issues relatively straight. The third episode for instance goes into discussion with an alien race that sees being born female as something to be "corrected" with one parent who becomes against the procedure and one who is for it, and as the alien race in question is a prominent member of the Planetary Union the issue needs to be handled with certain options off the stable. Not every story ends happily or optimistically with episode 3 ending on a note of failure with the possibility of being able overcome it, and the show does manage more than once to strike chords of emotional resonance that make these characters endearing and memorable.

The show does have the occasional stumbling point, especially in season 1 where they hadn't quite struck the balance between humor and drama and scenes in episodes such as Majority Rule or Krill have a tendency to undermine themselves by going maybe a bit too broad with their comedy or satire at the expense of the situation. I think the show does stumble out of the gate with the first two episodes feeling rather clumsy in terms of their execution. While the first two episodes aren't terrible, they do lean a bit more towards feeling like parody rather than the balance the series strikes later. The series really doesn't find its footing until episode 3 and as only episodes 1-3 were given to critics at the beginning of the show's run, it really didn't give a complete picture as to what the series entailed. But with that said, once the show does go past the first three episodes it becomes much more sure handed in its approach to the material and even gives callbacks and background development threads that are planted and paid off in satisfying ways.

The Orville may be Seth MacFarlane's elaborate love letter to Star Trek, but it's such a passionate love letter that's been carefully assembled with clear care and understanding of what makes this type of show work that it's obvious why the show has earned the fanbase that it has. With engaging characters, creative scenarios, and humor that lands more often than it misses, The Orville works because it has the intelligence and drive to pull itself off.

Seth MacFarlane goes sci-fi

[lee_eisenberg · 10/10 · 31 July 2021]

Knowing that "The Orville" is from the creator of "Family Guy", the Ted movies, and "A Million Ways to Die in the West" should give you an idea of what this show is. Seth MacFarlane plays a 25th-century captain traversing the cosmos with his band of misfits, often landing on planets representing Earth at different stages of human evolution. Other wacky stuff follows.

Completely silly show, but quite enjoyable.

Where's the humour?

[nbirthisel · 7/10 · 26 June 2022]

Season 1 and 2 were great. The storylines were engaging like Star Trek, but additionally the show was full of laughs in the way Star Trek isn't. But Season 3 seems to be going in a different, more serious direction. The storyline's are still great, but the humour has mostly disappeared and seems forced when it does appear. Please bring back the humour which made the show so great, else The Orville risks becoming just a very good Star Trek clone.

Sci-Fi With Humor

[atlasmb · 9/10 · 21 September 2017]

"The Orville" is Seth MacFarlane thinking outside the box--something he is good at. The show feels like a combination of "Star Trek" and "Firefly". There are missions or problems to be solved as in "Star Trek", but humor is an integral part of the show, as in "Firefly".

MacFarlane plays Ed Mercer, captain of a Planetary Union Central ship that looks, inside and out, very much like The Enterprise. Adrianne Palicki ("Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.") is his first officer and someone he shares a contentious past with, making their relationship ripe for comedic banter. They have a diverse crew. Episode two highlighted the talents of Halston Sage, who plays Alara Kitan. Hopefully we will see plenty of her, because she is fun to watch.

The first two episodes display very creative writing. The production values, including the special effects are great. The blend of sci-fi and humor makes for an interesting show and I am looking forward to future episodes. They already did one thing right--they didn't name the show "The Wilbur".

Update 10/14/17: A few more episodes in, I am upping my grade to "8". "The Orville" is doing what sci-fi traditionally does best--utilizing the freedom afforded by the nearly limitless possibilities of an alternate universe to explore the intricacies and borders of concepts and principles.

I would score it higher, but the writers insist on including too many references to our time period. The show takes place 400 years in the future. Suggesting that people of that time would be intimately familiar with the music of Destiny's Child, for example, including the obscure authorship of one of their songs, is a silly anachronism. It is a distraction.

Updated 11/14/17: Episode 7, "Majority Rule", is about social media, public opinion, and actual democracy. It serves as a warning and it is an example of how good fiction--especially science fiction--can illuminate real issues. I am increasing my grade to "9".

What's Happening with this show?

[pwcfzhqxx · 7/10 · 30 June 2022]

Season one was a weird, silly parody of Star Trek. Season Two was a much better balance of humor and action. But season three is so serious, so full of preachy stories it's a completely different show. Season 1 was 8 stars, season 2 was 10 stars, but season 3 is 7 stars at best.

So I get that Seth is dating Anne Winters (ensign Charly)

[kylievega · 5/10 · 11 July 2022]

Season 1 and 2 was awesome but I'm done with season 3.

So I get that Seth is dating Anne Winters (ensign Charly) and giving her way more screen time (wonder why she is getting more screen time ;-) than needs too. Her character is hella annoying AF! She is a pilot who is a genius in all aspects to everything involving the Orville to be in all episodes, plus she knows all about archaeology, lol.

Season 1 and 2 had amazing characters and was hella funny. It was a great escape from what was happening in life. All other shows were mirroring real life and season 1 and 2 did not and made it awesome af! Now its serious and def not an escape.

A Welcome Surprise

[Harun_Karali · 8/10 · 10 September 2017]

I'm a fan of science fiction and I love to laugh and that's why Galaxy Quest is a movie I hold in high regards to this day. When I saw the trailers for this series, I thought; there making Galaxy Quest into a TV show and MacFarlane is producing it? A recipe for disaster... Or so I thought, much to my bewilderment, this series was actually funny and they didn't gloss over the characters. There's actual development. It was refreshing. The show balances drama and humor in a delicate fashion that makes it hard to believe that this is Seth's work. Don't get me wrong, I'm actually a fan of his humor, but his story telling has always lacked a certain facade. The story is about Captain Ed Mercer who gets assigned to a mid-level Intergalactic ship. Where he is appointed his ex-wife as his Executive officer. At it's core the show thrives on it's entertainment value and that is a trait that shouldn't be overlooked. If they can keep the sense of humor and pacing of the series, I believe we are in for a fun ride and at the end of the day that's all we can ask for. If you haven't already, I would recommend seeing Galaxy Quest before/after you see this, there are uncanny similarities and I for one loved it.

Grade: B