Well, Everyone Was Right About ‘The Orville’

For a few years now, I have not been able to escape the recommendation of The Orville, even though I have a dozen odd shows to be keeping up with.

It was thought that the show would be a live-action Star Trek parody, and perhaps that was how it was originally pitched. Is it because of the show? That is not the case. It's not even close.

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The Orville is not a parody of anything. It is more of a tribute to early Star Trek, which Macfarlane adores, but given the current state of Trek, it is actually better than all the other current Star Trek projects. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds feels like it has been drawing on The Orville for inspiration in addition to older Trek, given its shift in focus to smaller, occasionally humorous stories.

There is a question as to how much you can watch the budget increase over time. It looks like the first season of SNL is going to be pretty funny. The second season had more money for space battles. This past week's wild ninth episode with a four-species battle Royale for the fate of the universe was funded by the third season. Things have gotten out of hand. It seems like Hollywood 101 to say that if a show is good, give it more money.

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The Orville is grounded in its characters and that's why it works so well. We get long arcs that really pay off with continued investment if we focus on the core cast of 6-7 main characters. The best ones are about the story of Topa, a child from a repressive alien culture who is torn between his family and his home race. The character the show probably does the most with is Captain Ed Mercer. Some say that Macfarlane isn't suited to the role and shouldn't have cast himself, but I don't think that's the problem He feels like a bystander to the more compelling sagas.

Even if some fans would like to forget that the original Star Trek dealt with social issues all the time, there is still a trip back to that show. There is a wide array of topics that the show handles with surprising heart. If The Orville was a true "parody", this wouldn't have worked. Even though it was inspired by Trek, it has built up its own characters and mythology that can appeal to people who have never watched Star Trek. Even though I have watched a few seasons and movies, I have never been a true Trekkie. Disney would be wise to create new and engaging original universes like The Orville in this age of non-stop Star Wars and other stuff.

You won't regret it if you watch it.

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The Herokiller series and The Earthborn trilogy are available for purchase.