by Jonathan Klotz
| Published
Seth MacFarlane is perhaps still best known for his animated shows, Family man and My father is AmericanBut in 2017, he released his magnum opus, Orvillea science fiction series that begins and was marketed as a parody of Star Trek. Fox's marketing for the show relied heavily on the first episode's jokes, which include the introduction of Moclans, a species that only urinate once a year, but as longtime viewers of the show know, what seems like a joke, ends up being great character moments. This is what makes MacFarlane's series the greatest hoax yet: it's not a parody; It's a loving tribute, and as the series goes on, it gets darker and more serious, and may even be better than modern Star Trek.
Better versions of the worst TNG episodes
In the first scene of Orville In the pilot episode, we see MacFarlane as Captain Ed Mercer, entering his home to find his wife in bed with a blue hood. Alien And its blue secretions. Captain James Tiberius Kirk had a reputation for being a womanizer if they were humans, Orions, or even a few in between, which is why, starting with Ed at his lowest point, drunk, disorganized, and in danger of losing his job, MacFarlane's show makes it Clearly she takes things less than seriously Star Trek Ever done. The second episode makes this even clearer, showing muscled Moclan Bortus asking who Kermit the Frog is before announcing that he's incubating an egg and a diminutive security officer, Alara, saving the day thanks to reality TV.
Orville The first season includes episodes that make fun of social media (“Majority Rule”), which is one of the worst episodes Star Trek: The Next Generation “The Naked Now” episodes in “Cupid's Dagger,” and concludes the season with “Mad Idoltry,” a reminder of why Star Trek's Prime Directive exists. Star Trek: Into the Dark It toyed with the idea of primitive beings seeing the Enterprise taking off and starting to worship it, but “Mad Idolatry” went all the way with a planet going in and out of the universe, forming a religion based on First Officer Grayson (Adrienne Padalecki, Ed's ex-wife). It's a ridiculous premise and something every Trek fan starts thinking about at some point, considering how many alien civilizations Starfleet faces, so it's fun to see it in play, and it's clear that by this point in the season, MacFarlane is a hulking giant. Star Trek fan.
Seth MacFarlane He is, in fact, such a huge fan of Star Trek that instead of creating a comedic version of the classic series, he wanted to make another Trek series and used the comedic angle to Orville The first season as a Trojan horse to get what he really wants. And it worked. Season 2 ditches the more ridiculous plots of Season 1 and replaces them with character-driven drama, including once again an over-the-top version of the TNG episode with “A Happy Refrain,” which he does to Cybernetic Isaac and Dr. Finn What “theoretically” did to data and Jane. The difference is that “in theory” was a one-off, but “happy abstinence” not only paid off a year of character development, but served as a permanent turning point for the characters.
From comedy to emotional sucker punch
on Rotten tomatoesThe Orville season received a perfect 100% rating among critics, and for good reason, because although it remains funny throughout all three seasons, MacFarlane delivers low-stakes, character-driven episodes better than any writer today. “Twice in a Lifetime” from Season 3 is considered one of the best episodes of the show, combining time travel with a callback to Season 2 to create an emotional touch from the most amazing finale. Science fiction Performances today can only be dreamed of. If you start watching the series and find it difficult to follow the first few episodes, stick with it because if you know where the crew starts, it makes it that much more satisfying when you see where they end up. /
That's what makes it in the end Orville A work of mad genius born from a love of Star Trek but not beholden to the lore of the franchise. while Star Trek: Discovery He was struggling to find an audience, and Seth MacFarlane was there with his tribute The next generationwhich quietly featured the most vivid, deep, and surprisingly emotional writing of any sci-fi series in the past decade.
Orville Currently streaming Disney+ and Holo.
