"The Orville". A Seth McFarlane Space Adventure on Fox

My take on The Orville so far is that it is actually NOT meant to be a parody or satire of Star Trek.

Now that we're four episodes in this is exactly how I feel. It's really just a rip-off of Star Trek. I had hoped it would be a parody along the lines of Galaxy Quest, but it's not at all.

Given the amount that they've cribbed from Star Trek -- the uniforms, the ship design, the lingo, the sound effects, the transporters, the food replicators, the talking computer, the Data stand-in -- I'm surprised they haven't been sued yet. It would be really easy for a layperson to mistake this for just another branch of the Trek franchise.
 
...It would be really easy for a layperson to mistake this for just another branch of the Trek franchise.

I would almost say no way to this. But then I remember the time we were watching Airplane!, we got got 15 or 20 minutes in and my grandfather asked "Is this the one where the plane sinks to the bottom of the ocean?" The humor went right over his head :lol
 
Seth McFarlane isn't just a Star Trek fan. He's a huge sci-fi geek.

Want proof?

Look at this last episode.

We have a giant ship that Mercer refers to a a big turtle (because of its shape), and the sunroof opens up, revealing that the living space is on the turtle's back.

It's a subtle homage, but...

discworld_main.jpg

Discworld, anyone?
 
After seeing the fourth episode, I’m less and less enthusiastic about The Orville. On the outside, it certainly feels like a Trek show…it set itself up as one, but it’s just a shell. It has the visuals of a Trek, but it has none of the gravitas of Trek. Except for a few exceptions, the acting and dialog are bland, lifeless and repetitive. The humor is predictable and adolescent at best. I’m already tired of the bickering couple routines that they have leaned so heavily on in this show. Yawn!

Every episode so far has been derivative of an already overused Trek plot, so no surprises there. Even a surprise guest can’t pull this from the doldrums. I’m sorry, but Seth MacFarlane can admire Trek till the cows come home, but that doesn’t change the results of a show lacking in substance, good writing, and skilled actors.

I sure hope this gets better soon. I really, really WANT this show to be good.
 
So I really enjoyed this episode, but I am not sure when homage became an admirable trait. This episode was a little Dark City (in reverse) meets The Truman Show meets Doctor Who. I like what they are doing and I like how Seth respects most of the crew. I really love the crew. Now if we could get Seth to lose the guy-liner. I would say I particularly liked when the crew just ditches their captain to go kick some ass. I understand why they took off, so Seth’s away team had to do things on their own, but it was funny that “the kids” had fun. Also was funny sending Isaac back and forth to do ship communications b-work.
 
I dug the last episode.
It could have been written better, but the theme carried through, nonetheless.
And it's a theme that strikes a chord with me, so it has that going for it.
I kind of almost wish they had been heavier-handed with it.
I feel like the people who need to hear it the most won't get it at all.
Then again, are those people even watching this show?
 
I've watching Star Trek since day 1 and loved most of it except the last trilogy... but I thought that so wouldn't like this but the differences and issues that are being used are authintic and very entertaining ... I m loving this show more by each episode. Good job Seth... keep us entertained...
 
Here's one thing decidedly non-Roddenberry Trek: they say "God" a lot. My God, for God's sake, OMG...

It really stuck out in this episode because they were talking to an alien race with their on theology, and it kind of got in the way---the aliens do not know whose name they're invoking.
 
I'm thoroughly enjoying this show, but I agree with osric, I don't see how Paramount is letting them get away with this. Remember the old Star Wars/Battlestar Galactica lawsuit? Just change Union to Federation and the emblem on the uniforms and how is this NOT Trek?

I think that last episode might've been pulled from an old John Byrne Fantastic Four issue in The Negative Zone. The FF find a huge ship whose occupants have been on for so many generations they don't even know they are on a ship. It ended a little different, tho. Once the FF fixed the ship and got them to a planet, the aliens were so freaked out by seeing grass and trees and such for the first time that they couldn't take it and just decided to remain on their ship.
 
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I'm thoroughly enjoying this show, but I agree with osric, I don't see how Paramount is letting them get away with this. Remember the old Star Wars/Battlestar Galactica lawsuit? Just change Union to Federation and the emblem on the uniforms and how is this NOT Trek?

That's why it's called a parody. Parodies fall under Fair Use, which makes them immune from copyright infringement lawsuits.
 
One thing I was always frustrated about that "For the World is Hollow..." never addressed, and am now doubly frustrated that Orville didn't either, is:

Why assume the ship is broken? OF COURSE it's heading toward a system. How do you know they didn't program it to slow down and achieve a nice safe orbit around a planet once it gets there? Wouldn't you?

(Of course, in both cases it did turn out to be broken, but still, it was an assumption based on zero evidence both times.)
 
SO here's a problem I have now developed. If I like this show for being such a great call back to TNG, I may start judging it by TNG standards. Like-- what happens when you open the sky for a society that has never seen night? It would be like the rapture and they'd be losing their minds and killing themselves!

That said, the elevator scene made me legit LOL.
 
I wasn't sure on the pilot, I enjoyed the 2nd, the 3rd was ok if a bit slow and talky. This one sealed it for me, I'm in now. Loved the fight with the Krill, especially the celebration afterwards. I couldn't help but think if that ep was ST TNG, it would have been mostly Picard struggling with whether they should intervene with this species or just correct the ship and let them figure it out on their own.
I also like the whole Bortus' relationship dynamic, it was a good opener for them after their heavy previous episode.
 
I have been watching and so far I'm enjoying it! I know its a parody of Star Trek but I just keep getting a Firefly vibe with it. Maybe its the planet backdrops or the crew or just a combination.
 

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