From Emmy Award-winning executive producer and creator Seth MacFarlane (FAMILY GUY, “Ted”) and directed by Jon Favreau (“The Jungle Book,” “Iron Man”), THE ORVILLE is a one-hour science fiction series set 400 years in the future that follows the adventures of the U.S.S. Orville, a mid-level exploratory vessel. Its crew, both human and alien, faces the wonders and dangers of outer space, while also dealing with the familiar, often humorous problems of regular people in a workplace…even though some of those people are from other planets, and the workplace is a faster-than-light spaceship. In the 25th century, Earth is part of the Planetary Union, a far-reaching, advanced and mostly peaceful civilization with a fleet of 3,000 ships. Down on his luck after a bitter divorce, Planetary Union officer ED MERCER (MacFarlane) finally gets his chance to command one of these ships: the U.S.S. Orville. Determined to prove his worth and write a new chapter in his life, Ed finds that task all the more difficult when the First Officer assigned to his ship is his ex-wife, KELLY GRAYSON (Adrianne Palicki, “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.,” “Friday Night Lights”). As the new commander, Ed assembles a qualified, but eccentric crew, including his best friend, GORDON MALLOY (Scott Grimes, “ER,” “Justified”), who has problems with authority, but is the best helmsman in the fleet; DR. CLAIRE FINN (Penny Johnson Jerald, “24,” “The Larry Sanders Show”), one of the Union’s most accomplished physicians; BORTUS (Peter Macon, “Shameless,” “Bosch”), an alien from a single-sex species; ISAAC (Mark Jackson, “That Royal Today”), an artificial life-form from a machine society that thinks biological life-forms are inferior; navigator JOHN LAMARR (J. Lee, FAMILY GUY, “The Cleveland Show”), whose casual humor cuts through even the most dire situations; ALARA KITAN (Halston Sage, “Neighbors,” “Goosebumps”), a young, inexperienced security officer whose home planet’s high gravity gives her superior physical strength; and YAPHIT, a gelatinous creature voiced by comedian Norm Macdonald (“The Middle,” “Saturday Night Live”). Somehow, Ed and Kelly must put the past behind them and, with the help of the crew, navigate fascinating and sometimes dangerous adventures in outer space, as well as the tumultuous and captivating day-to-day personal relationships with their colleagues.
Last edited by monk3ybusin3ss on Thu, 14th Jul 2022 20:44; edited 2 times in total
The idea of a parody Trek is a good one, but the last time that I enjoyed something from MacFarlane was several moons ago, and the trailer didn't help really. All his attempts of late have been pretty damn bad (not to mention that western movie), it would be a miracle if this one turns out to be decent.
Maybe if it hadn't have McFarlane and was written by Dan Harmon. But mainly skip on Seth.
sar·casm | \ ˈsär-ˌka-zəm \
1: a sharp and often satirical or ironic utterance designed to cut or give pain
2a: a mode of satirical wit depending for its effect on bitter, caustic, and often ironic language that is usually directed against an individual
b: the use or language of sarcasm
I remember when Jerry Seinfeld first started on television on SEINFELD. He was quite clearly the weak link in that cast, and this was even spoofed years later. At the end, it was like riding a bike with him.
Seth McEff is no Jerry Seinfeld. To his credit, most of his work is voice work, but he's done enough acting to shore that shit up.
Pretty meh, I'm sticking with the: could have been good, but for some reason he thinks he's an actor and it also shows in some of the choices of his cast.
The premiere was the embodiment of a flabby sad trombone. Instead of igniting interest, it almost completely annihilated it. Not terrible, just painfully average and with no witty parts whatsoever..shame on you Seth, you can do better than this! (or maybe not, not anymore at least).
I save only the visuals/CGI, more than decent for such a production, and that's pretty much about it for now really. The expectations were low for the obvious reasons, but here's hoping the show can improve, otherwise I'll have to call quits like I already did with all the MacFarlane's productions released in the past few years.
After abysmal first episode, the next two were definitely a step up, especially the third one. The major factor might be less on screen time by Seth?
Unfortunately the humor is mostly a miss.
sar·casm | \ ˈsär-ˌka-zəm \
1: a sharp and often satirical or ironic utterance designed to cut or give pain
2a: a mode of satirical wit depending for its effect on bitter, caustic, and often ironic language that is usually directed against an individual
b: the use or language of sarcasm
Best ep so far. It's very close to the sci-fi storytelling of late 90's, very satisfying. Except when you get constantly pulled out by misfiring and unfitting contemporary humor. But when it's serious, it is really good. What a strange show.
Indeed it's a strange beast. The humorous side is still the worst part of the show, it feels forced (working only occasionally whereas the rest generates cringe), though the actual stories and how they're narrated have definitely seen an improvement from the first awkward episode. It's more charming and watchable, nothing more than that for me so far but hopefully they'll keep up with it. The ratings have been pretty good as far as I know, so maybe there's the chance that Fox won't actually cancel it
Will try a couple of episodes tonight, really not a fan of Mcfarlane as an actor, pretty sure the only way he gets cast is by writing/directing himself
Imho, this series can't go on with this formula.
They need to make actual comedy-scifi star trek kind, not just star trek kind with awkward random jokes: basically they need actual comedy plots, related to some kind of sci-fi.
Weird or not, anyway still a better sci-fi Star Trek-like than Star Trek Discovery.
Imho, this series can't go on with this formula.
They need to make actual comedy-scifi star trek kind, not just star trek kind with awkward random jokes: basically they need actual comedy plots, related to some kind of sci-fi.
Weird or not, anyway still a better sci-fi Star Trek-like than Star Trek Discovery.
Pretty much this. The Orville is more Star Trek than the new Star Trek series. And right now it has two choices: lose the attempt to comedy or goes full blown silly, Galaxy Quest style.
Anyways, as strange it may seem, i actually enjoyed those episodes i've seen so far.
4th episode was good. Except the humor. But it felt like Star Trek Original Series.
sar·casm | \ ˈsär-ˌka-zəm \
1: a sharp and often satirical or ironic utterance designed to cut or give pain
2a: a mode of satirical wit depending for its effect on bitter, caustic, and often ironic language that is usually directed against an individual
b: the use or language of sarcasm
I expect a race of Ted like aliens voiced by Macfarlane to appear at some point, along with Marky Mark. It does seem like Seth is calling in favors from known actors he's worked with in the past.
"I think Call of Duty resonates because it's believable and relatable," Sledgehammer Games cofounder Michael Condrey says.
Believable and relatable...Yep, sounds like Call of Duty
sar·casm | \ ˈsär-ˌka-zəm \
1: a sharp and often satirical or ironic utterance designed to cut or give pain
2a: a mode of satirical wit depending for its effect on bitter, caustic, and often ironic language that is usually directed against an individual
b: the use or language of sarcasm
A very odd show.. I was expecting comedy / parody (something similar to Galaxy Quest) seems like its just a Star Trek rip-off?
Surprisingly unfunny. I usually like everything with Macfarlane including the movies. I get it that he wants to do different things, but why something so bland? The little humor that exists is very vague and not as silly as you'd expect from him (yes, i love silly humor). Meh.
It's not bad as a sci-fi perhaps but just too odd for me to appreciate it (its not comedy but also not 100% "serious" either) pick a fucking side
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All his attempts of late have been pretty damn bad (not to mention that western movie), it would be a miracle if this one turns out to be decent.
