Welp, The Orville finally premiered on Fox this past Sunday and I managed to catch the first episode. So how was it?
Um... I'm not really sure. I honestly don't know what to think of it.
The Orville is definitely not a comedy series, despite what Fox would like you to think. It appears the network took every single joke in the pilot episode and crammed them all in the trailer in a blatant effort to mislead the audience. Seriously, if you've seen the trailer, then you saw ninety percent of the jokes in the premiere episode.
Instead The Orville's more like a pseudo-drama with some oddball humor thrown in now and then at the worst moments possible. Whether it's the writing or the timing, most of these "jokes" fail to land, thudding to the ground like sacks of wet cement. I get the feeling MacFarlane dearly wanted to write a straight up scifi drama, but knew his fans would be expecting jokes and so tossed in a handful of "funny" lines. The result is a tone that can only be described as bizarre.
Um... I'm not really sure. I honestly don't know what to think of it.
The Orville is definitely not a comedy series, despite what Fox would like you to think. It appears the network took every single joke in the pilot episode and crammed them all in the trailer in a blatant effort to mislead the audience. Seriously, if you've seen the trailer, then you saw ninety percent of the jokes in the premiere episode.
Instead The Orville's more like a pseudo-drama with some oddball humor thrown in now and then at the worst moments possible. Whether it's the writing or the timing, most of these "jokes" fail to land, thudding to the ground like sacks of wet cement. I get the feeling MacFarlane dearly wanted to write a straight up scifi drama, but knew his fans would be expecting jokes and so tossed in a handful of "funny" lines. The result is a tone that can only be described as bizarre.
The show's also not a good-natured parody of Star Trek, ala Galaxy Quest. A parody takes the structure, characters and conventions of a show and pokes fun at them. The Orville lifts numerous elements from the various Star Trek series and then does absolutely nothing with them. There's no ribbing or clever roasting whatsoever. Instead the show just points at Star Trek's trappings and says, "Hey, remember phasers? Remember warp drive? Eh? EH?"
OK, so it's not a wacky space comedy, nor is it a good-natured parody ala Galaxy Quest. So what the heck is it then?
It quite literally IS Star Trek. Specifically Star Trek: The Next Generation.
I'm not even sure you could properly call it an homage, as The Orville is a perfect recreation of ST:TNG in every measurable sense. Only the names have been changed to protect the innocent. It's all there— the sweeping shots of the ship in flight, the wrinkly-foreheaded aliens and the clean, carpeted interiors. Heck, even the triumphant orchestral music and the editing are identical!
It's as if MacFarlane met with Fox executives, asked to do a new Star Trek series, was told it wasn't legally possible and then simply did it anyway. He made the television equivalent of a Louis Vuitton purse you buy in Chinatown, one that gives new meaning to the term "knockoff."
I suppose this shouldn't come as a big surprise. MacFarlane has made no secret of the fact that he's a huge Trek fan, and even made a couple of guest appearances on Enterprise (!). Apparently he loved Trek so much he decided to remake it in his own image.
MacFarlane even hired some Trek alumni to work behind the scenes, as The Orville's produced by Brannon Braga and David A. Goodman. Braga was a writer and executive producer on (what else?) Star Trek: The Next Generation. He also also wrote and produced Star Trek: Voyager and Enterprise, as well as co-writing Star Trek Generations and Star Trek: First Contact. And Goodman was also a writer and producer on Enterprise. Apparently they were both OK with MacFarlane cloning their old shows.
It's honestly shocking how much of ST:TNG MacFarlane appropriated here, and I can't believe he's getting away with it. CBS (who now owns Star Trek) is notoriously protective of the property, and just last year they got all pissy and started stamping out fan films. Any day now I expect a cadre of their lawyers to show up at Fox with a cease and desist order.
I know, I know, you're probably thinking I'm overreacting and exaggerating just how much The Orville cribs from ST:TNG (and other Trek shows). So here's a few examples:
ST:TNG features the Federation, which is sort of like the United Nations in space.
The Orville features the Union, which is sort of like the United Nations in space.
ST:TNG features warp drive, shields, shuttles and transporters.
The Orville features quantum drive, deflectors and shuttles. They may well have transporters too, but I didn't spot any in the pilot.
ST:TNG characters wear two piece (for the men) uniforms, color-coded to their departments and rank.
The Orville characters wear two piece uniforms, color-coded to their departments and rank.
ST:TNG features a sleek, antiseptic circular bridge, with the captain sitting in a central chair surrounded by his officers.
The Orville features a sleek, antiseptic circular bridge, with the captain sitting in a central chair surrounded by his officers.
The Orville features a sleek, antiseptic circular bridge, with the captain sitting in a central chair surrounded by his officers.
Seriously, this is just a slightly updated version of the Enterprise-D's bridge. It's even got the same goddamned railing behind the captain's chair!
The Orville features the holodeck, a high-tech room that can create perfect interactive replicas of any life form or environment.
Also in the pilot episode of ST:TNG, Commander Riker enters the holodeck, where he has a conversation with Lt. Data.
In the pilot episode of The Orville, Captain Mercer enters the holodeck, where he has a conversation with Gordon Malloy.
This was by far the most shocking part of the episode for me. They just straight up lifted the holodeck directly from ST:TNG. They don't actually call it the holodeck, but it operates EXACTLY the same, right down to the entrance incongruously appearing in the middle of the fake environment. The simulation even fades away as the characters exit, just like it did on ST:TNG! I really do not understand how they're able to get away with this.
This was by far the most shocking part of the episode for me. They just straight up lifted the holodeck directly from ST:TNG. They don't actually call it the holodeck, but it operates EXACTLY the same, right down to the entrance incongruously appearing in the middle of the fake environment. The simulation even fades away as the characters exit, just like it did on ST:TNG! I really do not understand how they're able to get away with this.
Here's the thing— this would be acceptable if they were actually spoofing the holodeck, or cleverly skewering the many "Holodeck Gone Wrong" episodes in the series. But there's no parody or satire going on here. The characters just have a normal plot-advancing conversation inside a perfect copy of a ST:TNG holodeck. The entire scene apparently just exists so they can say, "Hey, remember the holodeck?"
ST:TNG and Star Trek: The Motion Picture both featured scenes in which the captain addresses the entire crew prior to a mission.
ST: TNG features a female doctor whose uniform is a slight variation of everyone else's
The Orville features a female doctor whose uniform is a slight variation of everyone else's.
And just to deepen the connection even further, Dr. Finn here is played by Penny Johnson, who occasionally guest starred on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine as Cassidy Yates, Captain Sisko's love interest!
The Orville features a scene in which the captain addresses the entire crew prior to a mission.
In Star Trek: The Motion Picture (and others), the Enterprise pulls out of space dock as tiny figures watch and wave goodbye.
In The Orville, the ship pulls out of space dock as tiny figures watch and wave goodbye.
In the original Star Trek pilot The Cage, there's a shot in which the ship flies by, and the camera zooms in to reveal the crew through a window in the top of the bridge.
In The Orville, there's a shot in which the ship flies by, and the camera zooms in to reveal the crew through a window in the top of the bridge.
ST:TNG features the Enterprise seemingly stretching as it breaks the light speed barrier and goes to warp.
The Orville features the ship seemingly stretching as it breaks the light speed barrier and goes to warp, er, I mean activates its quantum drive.
The Orville features the ship seemingly stretching as it breaks the light speed barrier and goes to warp, er, I mean activates its quantum drive.
ST:TNG features Worf, a Klingon bridge officer who's played by black actor Michael Dorn.
The Orville features Bortus, a Klingon-like alien bridge officer who's played by black actor Peter Macon (they even copied Dorn's race!).
This one's a jaw dropper too! Bortus IS Worf. They don't even make any attempt to hide it. Worf was a large, powerfully-built alien who was very disciplined and spoke in a very formal manner. Bortus is exactly the same, at least in this first episode.
Again, there's no joke or spoof of Worf here. They just completely xeroxed the character and used him on their own show!
The Orville features a female doctor whose uniform is a slight variation of everyone else's.
And just to deepen the connection even further, Dr. Finn here is played by Penny Johnson, who occasionally guest starred on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine as Cassidy Yates, Captain Sisko's love interest!
ST:TNG features Lt. Commander Data, an android bridge officer.
The Orville features Isaac, an android (I guess?) from a planet of artificial lifeforms.
By the way, despite his obvious superiority, Data constantly strived to become "more human." In a radical burst of creativity, Isaac (who I assume is named after noted scifi author Isaac Asimov) sees humans as an inferior species.
Lastly, the cinematography, editing and even the fade-to-black commercial breaks are identical to ST:TNG as well.
Just take a look at the above comparison of the "Ship Fly-By Shots." The camera angles, lighting and light speed effects are EXACTLY THE SAME. Now granted, maybe there are only so many ways to film a ship traveling at warp, but Jesus Christ! When I saw this scene in The Orville, for a second I honestly thought I was watching ST:TNG instead.
Like I said before, how the holy hell are they getting away with this?
One more thing: MacFarlane is good friends with Patrick Stewart, who's been on all of his TV shows. How long do you think it'll be before Stewart shows up on The Orville, either as an admiral or the voice of an alien?
I've decided not to do any weekly reviews of The Orville, as my schedule's already full and I honestly don't particularly like the show at this point. You really need to care about a series in order to type fifty thousand words about it every week, and so far this show's just not doing anything for me. If I need a Star Trek fix I'll just go watch reruns of ST:TNG instead.
The Orville features Isaac, an android (I guess?) from a planet of artificial lifeforms.
By the way, despite his obvious superiority, Data constantly strived to become "more human." In a radical burst of creativity, Isaac (who I assume is named after noted scifi author Isaac Asimov) sees humans as an inferior species.
Just take a look at the above comparison of the "Ship Fly-By Shots." The camera angles, lighting and light speed effects are EXACTLY THE SAME. Now granted, maybe there are only so many ways to film a ship traveling at warp, but Jesus Christ! When I saw this scene in The Orville, for a second I honestly thought I was watching ST:TNG instead.
Like I said before, how the holy hell are they getting away with this?
One more thing: MacFarlane is good friends with Patrick Stewart, who's been on all of his TV shows. How long do you think it'll be before Stewart shows up on The Orville, either as an admiral or the voice of an alien?
I've decided not to do any weekly reviews of The Orville, as my schedule's already full and I honestly don't particularly like the show at this point. You really need to care about a series in order to type fifty thousand words about it every week, and so far this show's just not doing anything for me. If I need a Star Trek fix I'll just go watch reruns of ST:TNG instead.
I can see what Seth is trying to do and I am going to give this one a chance and watch until it gets cancelled or I get sick of it.
ReplyDeleteI wanted to like it too, but I just can't get past how much it steals from TNG. It's like MacFarlane crossed out TNG, wrote in "The Orville" and called it a day. It's shocking how much it steals, but apparently I'm the only one who's bothered by it. I was also expecting a parody like Galaxy Quest, but The Orville's semi-serious and earnest tone (with a few mildly humorous lines tossed in) is just weird.
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