The Orville

No spoilers. I liked it. Like the original Star Trek it is character and story driven which I am sure will anger the people who think they are Science Fiction fans but don't know what science fiction is. People who have never read a book by Sturgeon or Simak and think Science Fiction is SciFi shoot'em ups with lasers.

I know there will be those who want to see "Family Guy In Space;" grow up. MacFarlane did. This is an independent, free standing piece of storytelling and MacFarlane is using storytelling elements instead of special effects or body function jokes. It is a show for grown-ups.

Ray Bradbury said Science Fiction is putting ordinary people into extraordinary situations and seeing how they respond. Sisko was the perfect embodiment of that concept and "The Orville" appears to follow that lead.

The first episode did a good job of establishing character roles and plot. They also did an excellent job of hinting as several subplots. All in all, it is like Star Trek in story but with a Next Generation maturity. Thank goodness MacFarlane does not have a Roger alien!

The Orville is not only a great comedy but it's also a great sci-fi show! It's a character driven show that will suck you in. I originally thought it was going to be Star Trek parody but it's so much more than that. It stands on its own as a great space adventure show! Seth MacFarlane is without a doubt one of the funniest people on the planet!

The Orville is a show with potential. I liked how it didn't try too hard to be funny. In fact, it reminded me more of a Star Trek episode than Family Guy. I suspect there will be many comparisons to Galaxy Quest.

My concern is the audience. To appreciate this show, I think you need to be both a science fiction and crude humor fan. I'm one of these people, but I'm not sure if there are enough of us to support the production. Hopefully, we'll be seeing a lot more of The Orville.

Star Trek discovery was also released, and I have to say, this show comes closer to what I expect in a Star Trek series.

As many critics have pointed out, this isn't a spoof of Star Trek. It's not exactly an homage either. The best way I can describe it is that MacFarlane wanted to make a Star Trek show that recalls that franchise's earlier days, back before it became an action blockbuster film series and before the TV shows started becoming dark and grim and edgy. MacFarlane is making his own version of the original Star Trek, and he is a new Captain Kirk. All the optimism and sincerity and lightheartedness of that show is here, and in many ways it's kind of wonderful. I'm honestly surprised something like this exists.

There's some off-color humor, but it's never (so far at least) particularly offensive, or at least its offensiveness pales in comparison to many of McFarlane's other works. Still, it's distinctly him, so it's not going to be appealing to everyone.

In any case, I've really enjoyed The Orville. It's not a perfect show. Some of the jokes do fall flat. But I love its spirit. I love that someone is actually trying to make a Star Trek show that isn't just filled with explosions, space battles and gritty action. You should check it out and make up your own mind. Maybe you'll hate it, but maybe not. It's fun and kind of sweet and I'm happy it's a thing, however weird and unexpected it might be.

Update: November 2017 The show keeps getting better from week to week and it seem has now found its groove. The Orville uses its adventure-of-the-week format to explore modern-day social issues and tackle current moral dilemmas in a sci-fi venue. The show is refreshingly progressive in its politics, and optimistic to its core. It is a Star Trek show for folks who want something a bit old-school. By not having a budget (or requirements) for wall-to-wall spectacle, the hour-long Fox show is forced to focus on character, chemistry, sci-fi plotting and moral debates that have partially defined Gene Roddenberry's property for generations. (though the special effects look superb and almost movie like)

Yes, to a certain extent it's fan fiction, but then so is so much of our current pop culture entertainment. But by being a network television show, it is forced to be the kind of Star Trek that fans claim the recent movies have neglected in favor of four-quadrant blockbuster thrills. The Orville is not a spoof, but rather a straight-faced Trek show with characters who are funny and which you can learn to love.

Somebody who reviewed one of the new and frankly bizarre "Star Trek" series that are out there said that they should just hand the entire Star Trek franchise over to Seth MacFarlane as he was most suited and likely to actually do a good job of keeping the essence of Star Trek and its legacy. I could not agree more. What the new Star Trek series fail miserably at achieving MacFarlane does so effortlessly. In just one or two episodes of the Orville we already like and understand who the characters are. We care for them. In the new Star Trek series they cry all the time either when leaving each other or when being reunited, obviously they are incredibly attached to each other, however, the viewer has not partaken in the actual bonding that seems to have occurred between the characters. Must have been happening behind the scenes. Again, MacFarlane makes the interaction between the crew members very successful. For example, by understanding the importance of downtime and using an inviting dining or pub area for people to hang out. Instead of filling our screens with doomsday scenarios the Orville brings us hope for the future and the message that we can always aspire to better as human beings. At any time, but especially now, I feel the world could do with more positive messages like this. However, even though the Orville reminds us of the "real" Star Trek, it has its own personality and manages to effectively balance humour, the weird, with the serious, with the current topics of our modern world. We need the Orville and I sincerely hope we get several more seasons of this well-made, well-rounded, quality show! Also a plus for the good music and a real intro theme!