I dunno, I watched the pilot today, and it might as well have been called Not Trek. It was literally just Star Trek with everything changed up "just enough" to not be sued.
Why should I watch The Orville?
- Thread starter Admiral Jean-Luc Picard
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I have to sit through constant high school / college humor for 11 more episodes?
It does get better, trust us. Eventually the humor becomes smarter, less gag-related and more plot-related. Most of the humor you don't like was mostly in the first half of the season. And by the second season, the humor is more nuanced.
Plus, I dare you not to crack into a grin while Bortus eats a cactus.
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Done.
Does that mean you did or didn't grin?
Well, yeah. MacFarlane wanted to do a serious space drama, Fox wanted Family Guy in space, so the first season ended up as a compromise between the two concepts.
I almost quit watching it after episodes 1 and 2, but then it gets (slowly but steadily) less sitcom-ish. What remains are the ingredients that made me a fan of Star Trek in the first place: interesting characters, space exploration, an optimistic, collaborative and adventurous vibe, and - most of all - stories with a deep meaning and moral challenges. By the end of season 3 "The Orville" has become my personal "best new Star Trek".
That's what most of us have been saying all along. By season two, it really finds its groove, does a great job of setting up its worldbuilding and becomes a genuinely good show in its own right. You can tell it must have been a fun show to have worked on.
I can't get through Season 2.
I came into the show late, during season 2, thinking it'd be "Family Guy Disturbed Jokes in Space". Much to my shock, the show had a clever blend of homage, edgy yet thoughtful comedy that doesn't go over the top like the cartoon, and feels like solid action/adventure. I really was surprised and not in a bad way.
Highlights of season 1 include:
"Pria" - a FANTASTIC episode with great twists
"Krill" - introduces the big bad in a big way
"Majority Rule" - closer to homage to "Sliders" as it's using the parallel Earth development routine, it does a great job with what it works with.
"Into the Fold" - a terrific horror-style piece that sets up another multi-season arc (season 1 sets up THREE running situations)
"Firestorm" - a great character piece for Alara
"New Dimensions" - took me off guard with some new sci-fi stuff too
Honorable mentions:
"Old Wounds" - it's a decent series opener and sets the stage for a follow-up later (yep, this show interweaves and builds on plot elements too). Some of the humor had me rolling as well. Wasn't expecting it.
"Cupid's Dagger" took me by surprise as well. It's a sequel to "Old Wounds" but they go in some great directions with it.
If those whet your appetite, then go back to "Command Performance" as, while it has some Trek references it does something refreshingly different with them, then watch the other episodes as season 1 sets up a lot of stuff that gets built upon in later seasons, as well as putting in neat twists on some Trek-inspired ideas. Not an easy task when you consider limited episode counts per season. Only one episode reeks of trying to be TOS ("If the Stars Should Appear") and even that one has a few really good scenes despite the Trek influences.
Season 1 feels like a homage of TOS, without feeling like a ripoff - save for "If the Stars Should Appear". I like some scenes, but that one is easily the weakest. Plus, I can't put all its episodes into the "see first" list.
Season 2 is when some comedy is sidelines, but is not eliminated. It also feels like it's trying to out-TNG TNG at times. Standout episodes IMHO are:
"Primal Urges", chiefly for the rescue operation subplot, but the "social topic of the week" bit was also pretty good.
"A Happy Refrain" - this continues some plot leftovers from "Into the Fold". There's one of the most subtle ROTFL jokes that's ever come out of this show and it's put out quite a few hilarious well-timed moments. MINOR SPOILER: This one does try to retell a TNG story, but actually succeeds where "In Theory" from TNG fumbles horribly and "In Theory" is hot garbage.
"Identity, part one" - this one is huge regarding, shall we say, "the other big bad" and starts out fantastic. Pt 2, go figure, isn't as great, but has moments.
Honorable mentions:
"Nothing Left on Earth Except Fishes" - works great if you liked "Krill". Otherwise, skip.
The two-parter "Tomorrow, Tomorrow, Tomorrow" and "The Road Not Taken" is a terrific exploration of timeline alteration, even if "Road" has a few nitpicks.
"All the World Is Birthday Cake" is pretty well directed and, for its simplicity, squeezes out some great character stuff in the plot. The technobabble solution is also pretty slick.
"Blood of Patriots" can't make one of its influences any more obvious (grumble), but there is a huge twist with one of the characters that's genuinely first rate awesome great because of how they handle the sci-fi elements and that alone is a payoff making it into my "recommend" list as it really is clever, despite the main plot's influences feeling like "by the numbers".
This season feels closer to TNG. IMHO it's often good, but I prefer season 1's style. Season 2 has fewer episodes to ultimately recommend, but they are generally strong. I'd rather not mention the others in fear of spoilers or nitpicks, though MINOR SPOILER "Lasting Impressions" is a pitiful attempt to redo "Hollow Pursuits" combined with "Aquiel". It's trash and as it's using contemporary technology, it should try to get that much right and, worse, hearing characters say how they're different in the 25th century is BS when they act just like us in the 21st but with rubber unicorn outfits .
One other spoiler and this one is big, so final caution before you click on this - don't click on it: Season 2 has so few episodes that so many subplots are rushed or even abandoned, to be picked up just as abruptly and artificially in season 3. Especially when garbage like the smartphone episode was put in, when the screen time was desperately needed for the Moclans, Krill, or Kaylon as all three of these ongoing arcs offered a lot to explore, it's another reason to actively loathe an episode that was half-baked at best to begin with. Especially when the Kaylon arc felt rushed the worst, and remember the mission statement from them as well and how quick that gets dropped but then brought back then dropped again.
Season 3 lost me with the teaser and somehow managing to forget even more about what "the other big bad" was about and some clips I'd seen on YouTube were pretty awful, so I've not bothered. While that happens with most TV shows in general as character traits are changed or left behind, what was happened to be the most fundamental elements.
In short, Season 1 is my favorite for a great balance of seriousness and comedy and innovations. Season 2 is hit-or-miss and not just because it's trying to be more serious when it already had the largely-perfect tone in season 1, and some episodes that try to be serious are the least effective (IMHO). Season 3? Maybe some of the episodes not showcased in the teaser make up for it. From what I had seen or read, complete with damaged corridor sets, it seemed to be even more throwaway than TOS season 3 (which is much easier to defend at times.)
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^^this
"Star Wars" was originally to be a Flash Gordon remake. It became its own thing.
"Yar's Revenge" was to be an Atari 2600 conversion of an early-70s coin-op. It ended up being its own thing.
"The Orville" was to be a Trek show, but ended up being its own thing. At least out of the gate; later seasons trying too hard to be Trek just rubbed me the wrong way. YMMV, of course. Season 1 felt fresh and more innovative than not. Season 2 holds its own more than where it fumbles. When fans said season 3 was too serious and ditched a lot more jokes, it was yet another sign. The few I saw on YouTube were often done in older shows and movies, and done better back then as well.
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