The Orville Review from The Dork Knight
Sometimes I just feel completely out of touch with mainstream America. Whether it’s how I loved Terminator Genisys or how I hated Iron Man 3, I often disagree with mainstream critics. In similar fashion, most of The Orville review articles that I’ve read pretty much bash the show, but as a life-long fan of Star Trek and Star Wars (yes, you can like both just ask Dr. Finn) I’m not ashamed to admit that I love this show. Every time I watch it, I literally find myself saying out loud, “I love this show.” I just finished watching the fifth episode, “Pria,” for the third time and I laughed just as hard at Isaac’s practical joke on Lt. Malloy (Scott Grimes) as I did the first time I watched it.
A Better Trek Than Trek
As someone who’s longed for a Trek series for over a decade, The Orville feels more like Trek than Trek. Especially more so than Star Trek: Discovery, which seems to be Star Trek in name only. While The Orville throws in some levity here and there, it’s by no means Family Guy in space. The Orville feels more like Roddenberry’s vision of the future, but with 21st century characters and pop culture references.
Unlike the official Trek offering that CBS has brought back to television (but not really), The Orville just feels right. It has so many of the elements I love about Star Trek: The Next Generation (from the way it’s shot, to the score, to the social commentary, etc.) with MacFarlane’s brand of humor sprinkled throughout. I feel like this show was made just for me every time I watch it. Several of my friends and family members have expressed the exact same feelings. Sadly, this probably means the show will get cancelled.
The Orville Review in short: If you like Star Trek and have a sense of humor, you’ll LOVE Seth MacFarlane‘s The Orville.
The Orville airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET on Fox and stars Seth MacFarlane, Adrianne Palicki, Penny Johnson Jerald, Scott Grimes, Peter Macon, Halston Sage, J. Lee, and Mark Jackson.
