Poll of the Day > If you're a fan of Star Trek TNG you should give The Orville a try.

(+) Yeah! (+)

It's available to watch for free on Fox's website (with ads of course).

https://www.fox.com/the-orville/

As many fans of Star Trek have already attested, The Orville is more "Star Trek" than "Star Trek Discovery", as The Orville is trying to be "like Star Trek", while Star Trek Discovery is taking the Star Trek name but going in completely their own direction with it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZ3twI8ENbY

The show was advertised horribly, as it was portrayed as "Family Guy in Space" in advertisements, which it isn't at all. The show isn't even a comedy. It has comedy, but the show itself isn't a comedy. It's also not a parody of Star Trek like Galaxy Quest, it parodies some things from Star Trek as joke, but the show itself isn't a parody.

At the time of writing, The Orville has a 19% Critics score on Rotten Tomatoes, but a 92% Audience score, it's the biggest discrepancy between the Critic and Audience score I've ever seen. I don't know if there are people who think that since Seth MacFarlane is involved, that they are obligated to think anything he's involved in is terrible otherwise their supposed reputation of having good taste would be ruined.

The best way I can describe The Orville is it's Star Trek but with regular people who are good at their jobs instead of the "paragons" of society.

Is every episode 10/10 home run? No, but if you're looking for something that gives you the feeling of watching TNG The Orville is probably the closest you'll ever get.
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Pretty good show that could be a lot better if Seth McFarlane left his jokes and acting out of it. It's pretty clear he loves TNG and has a pretty solid premise with some decent dramatic writing, but I cringe every time he tells one of those typically-McFarlanish jokes in that snarky tone he can't seem to drop even when he's trying to be serious.

I don't understand how this gets 19% but STD gets 85%.
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It's not the STD itself, but the process of getting it that is so popular.
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VeeVees posted...

I don't understand how this gets 19% but STD gets 85%.

It would advertised as a pure comedy and critics were confused because it's actually a drama with some comedic elements. That said, Discovery gets too much hate. It's not an amazing show and it plays too fast and loose with established canon, given it isn't a reboot, but overall it's a decent show. The Orville is probably a little better though.

Based on the pilot episode of The Orville, I can attest that it's complete and utter garbage.
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I may check it out, but I think Seth McFarlane is the most pretentious douche in recent history.

The Orville is absolutely fantastic, and I'm not big on Star Trek. I watched TNG a bit as a kid, but was very casual in my interest for it. I see the similarities, but this is just a great show on its own.
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It is a great show. I hope it gets a season 2.
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I've not really watched it closely, but listened to it when somebody else was watching, and the comedy really sticks out in a bad way. It's just like a Star Trek ripoff but a few times each episode Seth will kill the pacing of the show by delivering an unnecessary joke with zero subtlety. The show might as well flash "JOKE ALERT" on the screen, it wouldn't make much of a difference. Does he do this shit just because it's easier for him to get Fox to greenlight something if it's presented as a comedy, or is his ego so big that he can't go one project without reminding everyone how funny he thinks he is?

The Orville is Seth's wild fantasy of being on a Star Trek type show with himself as lead writer and actor

I'm going to give it a shot but I don't think it is going to hit the same notes as Trek does about morality and society
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Doctor Foxx posted...

but I don't think it is going to hit the same notes as Trek does about morality and society

It doesn't because he wears his politics on his shoulder and even though he puts on the appearance of being impartial, his narrative always seems to ram the "correct answer" down your throat. TNG was guilty of doing that a little bit, but the Orville is far far less sublte about it. So you're right when it comes to trying discuss philosophical and moral points it tends to fall a little flat, but the show is nevertheless still decently entertaining.

EightySeven posted...

Doctor Foxx posted...

but I don't think it is going to hit the same notes as Trek does about morality and society

It doesn't because he wears his politics on his shoulder and even though he puts on the appearance of being impartial, his narrative always seems to ram the "correct answer" down your throat. TNG was guilty of doing that a little bit, but the Orville is far far less sublte about it. So you're right when it comes to trying discuss philosophical and moral points it tends to fall a little flat, but the show is nevertheless still decently entertaining.

But that discussion was what made TNG awesome and not just another SciFi show. I feel like The Orville can only aspire to be like the original Star Trek at best
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Doctor Foxx posted...

But that discussion was what made TNG awesome and not just another SciFi show.

Yeah and the Orville isn't anywhere near as good as TNG was. It's only the first season though and I suppose TNG's first season sucked, so maybe it will continue to get better.

I wish it was the show it was advertised as being. That might have been interesting. Instead it is kind of an embarrassing vanity project. Watching Seth in it, I feel like I'm watching something that I shouldn't be watching - Seth MacFarlane's private Star Trek cosplaying in front of a mirror, that he accidentally forgot was weird. At the very least if he wanted a serious show, he should have cast someone else in the lead. But then he wouldn't get any attention or credit if that actually worked.