The Orville

I was surprised by it and enjoyed it a lot. While I assumed it was going to be like GALAXY QUEST I actually found it to be far more like straightforward Star Trek. A combo of the original series and TNG, but with a more contemporary style of humour. And I really liked that. I'm not sure how they are getting away with it without getting sued, but I liked it .

They're not getting sued because they a.) filed off the serial numbers, and b.) added their own approach with the comedy. Visually it's reminiscent of Trek, but none of the design elements were outright copied. Same with the stories. Everything is sci-fi staple.

Obviously, completely Star Trek fanfic, and not even really good fanfic, just a flat-out copy with the serial numbers filed off and nothing at all original put in their place. I disagree with LittlePinto -- if none of the design elements were actually lifted directly from Trek (which would be a blatant violation of copyright) the design aesthetic is identical, and everything in the visual vocabulary maps totally to Trek of the Next Generation era. The characters are completely stock, straight from Trek central casting. IMO there was no "comedy," at least there was nothing at all that made me laugh or smile even a little -- just a few bits of (not at all funny) sitcom pasted in. The "funny" character was an annoying frat boy. And the music -- the loud, bombastic, pompous, smug orchestral kill-me-now music! Pure Trek, not in a good way -- a distillation of all the least lovable aspects of Trek ca. 1990. I'd rather watch the show with no soundtrack at all than have to listen to another five bars of that drek.

But I won't have to - because I've already given The Orville the only 45 min. of my life it's going to get.

GeorgeK said:

It's got a sort of Galaxy Quest feel to it.

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Not really. Galaxy Quest was original and well-executed and it had something to say about its source material and the people around it. This one is more the anti-Galaxy Quest -- a slavish imitation that appears to have nothing to say that's worth saying.

I was prepared to enjoy it for what it was & did not even a little. I'd feel very strongly that Seth Macfarlane needs to go away, if not for the fact that American Dad is one of my favorite shows.

It has Seth MacFarlane's name on so that's an automatic pass for me. I've tried watching Family Guy, American Dad, and The Cleveland Show many times over the years, and none of it works for me. Nothing you can ever say or do will convince me to watch this.

exeunt

Seth MacFarlane should just stick to cartoons. Every attempt he has made into movies, has been a complete bust. Except for a passable scene in Ted 2 where Micheal Dorn dressed up as Worf and tormented some people at a Comic Con, I mean that was funny.

I will admit, I watched everything that Seth MacFarlane has done because I am a huge Family Guy fan, but even THAT series has taken a dive in recent years. I think I enjoyed Family Guy between 1999-2008, right after they completed all the Star Wars episodes.

As for Orville, well, that was a mess. The jokes were lame and forced. The only good thing about it was that I enjoyed the special effects. But the story sucked, the actors sucked, and the music was too loud. But like with all trainwrecks, I am going to continue to watch it and see where it goes. I don't see it lasting more than one season. Definitely didn't have that "Galaxy Quest" vibe I was hoping for.

But I agree with the above poster, Seth MacFarlane should just go away and retire.

Is it possible for a TV show to have a cover band? Because it feels like the title should be, "The Orville: A loving tribute to Star Trek."

I don't see the Orville as Star Trek fanfic. Certainly influenced by, and a sort of an homage to the original show, to be sure.

And yes, it's rather cheesy. But it's cheesy on purpose, not by accident or due to any failing on the part of the writers and cast.

And let's not forget, the original Star Trek was for the most part rather silly when you come right down to it – terrible self-involved acting by William Shatner, unsubtle plots with unsubtle points, and of course, the famous papier-mâché rocks. And yet we all, or at least many of us, loved it.

I see the Orville as a modern day version. Everyone seems to be judging it as if it were a failed attempt at a serious space drama. It's not; it is what it is. So it all comes down to a matter of taste – most critics and apparently most viewers do not care for it. I rather like it, and thoroughly enjoy it as well. I doubt that it will last; when both critics and viewers pan something, it usually doesn't long for the world.

Which is a shame – there's really no other show like it on TV these days. And, in fact, when it's gone I predict it will gather somewhat of a cult following, much like Star Trek did – let's also not forget that Star Trek did not become the iconic show as we see it today until it was taken off the air having been deemed as unworthy to continue.

rugcat said:

...most critics and apparently most viewers do not care for it. I rather like it, and thoroughly enjoy it as well. I doubt that it will last; when both critics and viewers pan something, it usually doesn't long for the world.

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Interestingly this is not proving accurate. While it seems there are very vocal viewers who don't like it, if you look at the ratings on Rotten Tomatoes etc you'll see a big split there (20% for critics, 88% for viewers). And while viewership numbers have decreased a bit since the premiere it's actually holding very solid. Plus a lot of big wigs in the SF game are highly praising it (former ST:TOS writers etc). It's just in certain circles that it seems like everyone hates it. On Twitter though if you look it up, generally more people are praising it than dissing it.

And yes, totally agree with you on what the show is. It's not there yet, still figuring things out, but to me it's Star Trek with modern humour. It's not a comedy. That's what's confusing people I think. It's more like MASH in that way (though not comparing it to the greatness of MASH of course). I mean, people forget how truly awful ST:TNG was in its first two seasons, and how weak DS9 was too. If Fox actually gives this a chance, and they might considering how much money MacFarlane has made for them, this could actually be something decent.

(I also read someone say that if the Captain had been Nathan Fillion instead of MacFarlane with nothing else changed, the critics would love the show. While I'm not 100% sure that's accurate, I do think there is a note of truth in that, a lot of people really hate MacFarlane and I feel can't see the forest for the trees. Not that, of course, there aren't legit issues with it and people don't have the right to dislike it for valid reasons, just that . . . the MacFarlane hate is strong )

Toothpaste said:

(I also read someone say that if the Captain had been Nathan Fillion instead of MacFarlane with nothing else changed, the critics would love the show. While I'm not 100% sure that's accurate, I do think there is a note of truth in that, a lot of people really hate MacFarlane and I feel can't see the forest for the trees. Not that, of course, there aren't legit issues with it and people don't have the right to dislike it for valid reasons, just that . . . the MacFarlane hate is strong )

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In my case... I have very little awareness of who this MacFarlane even is, and I certainly wouldn't recognize him on sight, so there is no MacFarlane hate or preconceived dislike for his works here. I watched the first episode with every hope of liking it a lot! But no, it did not please me in the least. What I saw was a flat, uninspired piece of derivative drivel, and I didn't stick around for the final credits.

If other people enjoy it, I'm happy for them. If the show makes it for a full season or more, I'm happy for everyone involved. If it lasts long enough, I may even check in again to see if it's gotten better -- there's certainly precedent for that! (I do remember how awful ST:TNG was in its first season or 2, and the rocky early days of other shows that turned good later.) For now, though, it's not my show.

I am not a fan of Seth MacFarlane, given what I've seen of his animated shows. There's some seriously offensive shit in those, in my opinion. So I had absolutely no intention of even watching The Orville.

But last Thursday, I didn't shut off the TV quickly enough after Gotham, so I saw the first couple minutes of The Orville--and I was hooked. I watched and enjoyed the entire episode. I don't know if I'll continue to find it that good, but for me, it was definitely a show worth watching.

Out of desperation for ANYTHING to watch I viewed the 3rd episode. Happily I found it rather better than the first two, more of an interesting story and less juvenile humor. I'll stick with it for a while.

I must say the visuals from the beginning have been very good, beautiful even. Being in the movie special effects business somewhat during my years at Boeing I am impressed that they could get this artistic and technical quality for an hour TV show.