From the jump, Seth MacFarlane’s new hour-long Fox series, The Orville, has been a beast serving two masters, as the urge to fill its scripts with Family Guy-esque sex jokes and asides warred with what seemed like a pretty sincere attempt to recreate the basic beats of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Now, MacFarlane…
In anticipation of tonight’s season finale, I wondered last week who was going to get punched in what would surely be a wiz-bang send-off. No one got punched. In fact, tonight’s episode was surprisingly anti-climactic. And I mean that in a good way. It’s a satisfying defiance of convention that the central problem of…
Every time the Orville had a really good show this season, I found myself wondering, “Is this it? Has the show finally found its stride?” Only for the following week to be a letdown. But not only was “New Dimensions” another enjoyable episode after last week’s parade of horrors, it offered a second, much better…
After last week’s gross episode, The Orville rebounds with a solidly enjoyable adventure. Tonight’s episode, “Firestorm,” is essentially a redux of the season’s second episode, “Command Performance,” that once again places Alara at the center in order to address her lack of self-confidence and anxiety in response to…
Maybe it’s just that today has been has been so dense with even more news about men who destroy lives just to satisfy their sexual needs, but I don’t know if I was in the mood to watch an episode of The Orville about a man who blithely goes through life causing chaos and death in the wake of his myopic desire to…
Tonight we learned nothing comes in the way of a mother’s love; not even a war-torn moon festering with alien plague cannibals. With “Into the Fold,” The Orville continues to build up its first season with episodes focusing on individual crew members. It’s a smart approach, since it gives us a chance to deepen our…
Seth MacFarlane’s science-fiction series The Orville arrived on Fox with much fanfare in September—namely the brass-heavy sort that, like many elements of the sort-of comedic series, lets slip the heavy influence of Star Trek: The Next Generation on the show. But perhaps nowhere is The Orville’s homage to the crew of…
Here’s what’s happening in the world of television for Thursday, November 2. All times are Eastern.
Even if you haven’t already seen the Black Mirror episode “Nosedive” (or really any episode of Black Mirror), or the Community episode, “App Development and Condiments,” or had a passing, idle conversation with a friend or relative about how folks really have their noses buried in their phones these days, it’s…
The Orville’s best humor comes from playing off of the unlimited possibilities of a sci-fi setting. The funniest part of this week’s episode happened in the cold open, when the crew discovers Bortus’ race adapted to consume almost anything for nourishment. Naturally, this leads to an enjoyable bit where everyone…
For its first four episodes, The Orville was like breathing in thin atmosphere. All the potential richness of an outer space adventure series with comedic overtones (or however the show wants to bill itself) felt largely untapped; and with the exception of a few strong moments, the show felt sparse. Jokes were slight…
Here’s what’s happening in the world of television for Thursday, October 5. All times are Eastern.
It’s really difficult to avoid viewing every episode of The Orville against Star Trek: The Next Generation (as an aside, why not celebrate the show’s 30th anniversary premiere by checking out Zack Handlen’s excellent series reviews). They’re not identical, of course, but it’s obvious how much The Orville cherishes TNG…
Seth MacFarlane has been cagey about defining his show; unwilling to call it a comedy, he instead emphasizes The Orville’s dramatic foundation. Tonight’s episode, “About A Girl,” is the first episode to offer some legitimacy to his claim. The show is dedicated solely to the ramifications of the previous episode’s…
The Orville’s second episode, “Command Performance” returns with a more inventive plot, but still struggles with the same problems that afflicted the series premiere. Much of the positive feedback for the show highlights its optimism; after a surprisingly long-lived “dark and gritty” era in entertainment, seeing…
Being familiar with Seth MacFarlane’s body of work, the question I was asking myself going into The Orville was not if, but how long before the show took advantage of its sci-fi trappings to make an alien dick joke. Like a phallus of Damocles hanging over the pilot, MacFarlane’s long and dedicated history of easy…
At this summer’s Television Critics Association press tour, Seth MacFarlane described the void he wants to fill with the new science-fiction series, The Orville:
San Diego Comic-Con is always a mad rush of activity for both the panelists and attendees, with the studios, networks, and publishers trying to up the ante every year. For example, Seth MacFarlane’s sci-fi dramedy, The Orville, is offering guests the chance to enter the Orville Space Training Station, where they’ll…
Fox doesn’t have any revivals of classic sitcoms or new adaptations of popular movies on its fall TV schedule, but it does have X-Men-related show, a live-action Star Trek parody from Seth MacFarlane, and a show about Adam Scott and Craig Robinson hunting supernatural creatures. Now Fox has announced when you’ll get…
