The Orville

:

Season 1
  • Network: FOX , HULU
  • Series Premiere Date: Sep 10, 2017
Season #: 3, 2, 1
User Score
8.4

Universal acclaim- based on 1016 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 877 out of 1016
  2. Mixed: 46 out of 1016
  3. Negative: 93 out of 1016
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User Reviews

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  1. FabiusPolis
    Mar 21, 2019
    5
    There are nice ideas, but most of the plots are identical with episodes from Star Trek TNG. The jokes are slippery but beyond as funny as in "Married... with Children" and is more disturbing than entertaining. The stories suffer from the shows uncertainty if its a real sci-fi or just a Star Trek (fandom) parody. The lack of creativity (the Borg, the Klingons...all appear in one form) makesThere are nice ideas, but most of the plots are identical with episodes from Star Trek TNG. The jokes are slippery but beyond as funny as in "Married... with Children" and is more disturbing than entertaining. The stories suffer from the shows uncertainty if its a real sci-fi or just a Star Trek (fandom) parody. The lack of creativity (the Borg, the Klingons...all appear in one form) makes it worse. Average show, worth to watch episode once, but never twice or more.… Expand
  2. Pdfortune
    Sep 15, 2017
    5
    It is ultra poor man's Star Trek; which also tries to be funny. It fails on both fronts. It is barely funny. I'll watch another episode to see if it gets better. I think it will get cancelled soon.
  3. romanontherun
    Sep 14, 2017
    6
    It's not THAT bad, it's just average.
    But painfully so, everything plays by the numbers and jokes fall flat almost all the time...
    Characters are a cliche at best, every situation you already have seen before and it just does not have the tension, the drama, the humor it believes it has.
  4. felixthecat
    Sep 17, 2017
    6
    I really wanted to like the show and I'm not quite ready to give up on it yet it just seems to be a show sure what it wants to be . I hate that sloppy pop culture references they make which just totally kicks me out of it being a science-fiction show . The writing needs serious work.
  5. Criteon296
    Nov 4, 2017
    4
    I've seen 5 episodes.... I'm ready to turn the TV off. It's mix of humor and serious social issues has been beaten to death. The inference that is a "star trek" clone is just plain wrong. Seth MacFarlane should stick to cartoons. On top of that, one season and out. That's about all you can take of this dribble. I would also point out that the whole Outer Space Genre is finally finding anI've seen 5 episodes.... I'm ready to turn the TV off. It's mix of humor and serious social issues has been beaten to death. The inference that is a "star trek" clone is just plain wrong. Seth MacFarlane should stick to cartoons. On top of that, one season and out. That's about all you can take of this dribble. I would also point out that the whole Outer Space Genre is finally finding an end game. More shows that really contribute to social awareness without poking fun at really serious matters should be an alternative. American Television is boring now. Every network has way to much "comic book" theatrics. Come on people, get real.… Expand
  6. GilliganGuy
    Feb 28, 2019
    5
    The show originally surprised me! It had a strong 'Galaxy Quest' feel to it, a bit like Star Trek lite with penis jokes. The show was silly but could still pull off some decent episodic story lines and moral dilemma type shows. However, having just watched episode 9, 'Cupid's Dagger, the scales seem to tip to the ridiculous. The show tries to deal with issues of racial hatred and war butThe show originally surprised me! It had a strong 'Galaxy Quest' feel to it, a bit like Star Trek lite with penis jokes. The show was silly but could still pull off some decent episodic story lines and moral dilemma type shows. However, having just watched episode 9, 'Cupid's Dagger, the scales seem to tip to the ridiculous. The show tries to deal with issues of racial hatred and war but juxtaposes it with flippant treatment of sexual exploitation. The show doesn't know what it wants to be, a silly satire or serious SF. And it's beginning to appear it fails at both.… Expand
  7. screenplayhouse
    Sep 20, 2017
    4
    ORVILLE accidentally asks a very curious legal question: can STAR TREK be considered a genre instead of brand?

    This show takes Trek and simply changes a few names and designs and VOILA has created what lots of people are calling 'funny Star Trek'. To me that's the lawsuit right there. We admit it's Star Trek but as a Seth McFarlane 'comedy'. Yes, I know, GALAXY QUEST borrowed    ORVILLE accidentally asks a very curious legal question: can STAR TREK be considered a genre instead of brand?

    This show takes Trek and simply changes a few names and designs and VOILA has created what lots of people are calling 'funny Star Trek'. To me that's the lawsuit right there. We admit it's Star Trek but as a Seth McFarlane 'comedy'.

    Yes, I know, GALAXY QUEST borrowed heavily from Trek as well. But since it was a parody of Trek and Trekkies it made more sense. How are you to satirize Trek and Trekkies with being similar too Trek?

    ORVILLE isn't a parody of Trek. It's Trek trying to be funny. And this is why watching this show makes me feel DIRTY. I'm watching someone steal a show I love and cashing in on lame jokes. If Trek wanted to do this, okay, but I don't think this should be allowed by entities outside of the trademark.

    I know. You don't believe me. So suppose I told you there was a new comedy on NETFLIX called BERGFELD. Bergfeld is a Brooklyn cartoonist with an extremely popular cartoon about a Jewish guy like himself living in Brooklyn. In the cartoon are his three real life best friends and building neighbors --

    1. Alanna -- his cute but sassy ex-wife.
    2. Louie Castanzoni -- his grade school Italian American friend who's as macho as he's insecure
    3. Creamer -- a bald odd ball wackjob friend who gave up porn to become a mad home inventor

    What makes Bergfeld different that Seinfeld is that it sometimes has very dramatic moments.

    You don't think that's a lawsuit? Think again. It's turning a brand into a genre and copying it too closely. So once you can get past all of this --

    -- you realize this sorry show is Seth's way of playing Captain and sitting in the Captain's chair. We get too much of this these days. Jimmy Fallon isn't an awesome talk show host. He's a guy playing out his childhood dream of being Johnny Carson.

    Sad.    … Expand
  8. NotchFilter
    Oct 2, 2017
    5
    This show is like chewing-gum for the mind. There's not a lot of depth to it, but it's fun to watch.

    At least parts of it are. Other parts are drawn out to be much longer than they should be. The episodes where the show tries to tackle deep issues (such the episode with as the female baby), well, the show's weak writing foundation crumples under the load of what it is trying to    This show is like chewing-gum for the mind. There's not a lot of depth to it, but it's fun to watch.

    At least parts of it are. Other parts are drawn out to be much longer than they should be.

    The episodes where the show tries to tackle deep issues (such the episode with as the female baby), well, the show's weak writing foundation crumples under the load of what it is trying to say.

    This is a fun show. Mr. MacFarlane's Captain is more reminiscent of Kirk than Picard. If only the writing were on a par with the graphics, I'd probably give the show an 8 or 9.

    The stories seem to be too familiar, it is the "don't take yourself seriously" style of this show that helps it to stand out from the rest of the pack.

    But it does not stand out too far.    … Expand
  9. vomov
    Oct 29, 2017
    6
    I'm conflicted. Cheap laughs one moment, which go from funny details all the way to cringing moments, The dialog is forced or odd at times, but the characters are somewhat interesting and less flat than one would expect. Story-wise it seems to hold up, so I'm curious where it'll go. Even if it somehow attempts to 'solve' large issues (third episode), that Picard or Janeway would sidestepI'm conflicted. Cheap laughs one moment, which go from funny details all the way to cringing moments, The dialog is forced or odd at times, but the characters are somewhat interesting and less flat than one would expect. Story-wise it seems to hold up, so I'm curious where it'll go. Even if it somehow attempts to 'solve' large issues (third episode), that Picard or Janeway would sidestep graciously. And yet, I enjoy the 'real life' of the characters; we see Star Trek officers waking up, having medical issues other than a headache or alien brain parasite, and having, screwing up, and fixing real relationships. Fight your way through the first few episodes, and you'll see it improve. How far it'll go, I'm not sure...… Expand
  10. BarkingPumpkin
    Sep 25, 2017
    4
    Not funny enough, not smarmy enough, it's almost interesting enough simply because we're familiar with vaguely similar older TV shows, but in the end it's just not worth the time.
  11. Eliasc
    Nov 14, 2017
    6
    'The Orville' achieves it's stated purpose - a semi-comic version of what we all loved about the Star Trek series and films with (mostly) fine actors, decent CGI, and thoughtful stories. Gene Roddenberry would be pleased. The only negative point is that Seth Macfarlane cast himself in the lead role. I have never been a fan of his work and his acting in this series is off-kilter and'The Orville' achieves it's stated purpose - a semi-comic version of what we all loved about the Star Trek series and films with (mostly) fine actors, decent CGI, and thoughtful stories. Gene Roddenberry would be pleased. The only negative point is that Seth Macfarlane cast himself in the lead role. I have never been a fan of his work and his acting in this series is off-kilter and wooden. He has violated the 'prime directive' of film and television - never star in a production that you also write, produce, and direct. When you do so you have no one to tell you when you are awful in a role.
    UPDATE: 11/14/17 - 'The Orville' has dropped in quality during the past episodes. I keep hoping that the series creator realizes his mistake and replaces himself with a new captain and writes more compelling stories. 'The Orville' still has promise and I hope it improves.    … Expand
  12. sayanmukherjee
    Sep 11, 2017
    5
    It's a rather confused mess. I was really looking forward to this, but this show doesn't seem to know where to focus its energies. It's not a complete comedy, not exactly a spoof and definitely not a drama. It tries to do everything, and ends up basically achieving nothing. The characters, scenarios, and settings have a lot of potential, which I hope the show will exploit to the fullest inIt's a rather confused mess. I was really looking forward to this, but this show doesn't seem to know where to focus its energies. It's not a complete comedy, not exactly a spoof and definitely not a drama. It tries to do everything, and ends up basically achieving nothing. The characters, scenarios, and settings have a lot of potential, which I hope the show will exploit to the fullest in the upcoming episodes. As of now, The Orville is a sure that doesn't know where to go, and is just awkwardly floating around in the sci-fi universe.… Expand
  13. Santakrooz
    Sep 11, 2017
    5
    I wanted to like it so much, but something was just off the entire time. It just wasn't funny and the acting seemed mailed in. I love most things Seth MacFarlane, and I thought Galaxy Quest was awesome. So a Seth MacFarlane Star Trek spoof TV series sounded like a great idea. But from the outset the jokes just fell flat and every scene seemed like it contained sustained uncomfortableI wanted to like it so much, but something was just off the entire time. It just wasn't funny and the acting seemed mailed in. I love most things Seth MacFarlane, and I thought Galaxy Quest was awesome. So a Seth MacFarlane Star Trek spoof TV series sounded like a great idea. But from the outset the jokes just fell flat and every scene seemed like it contained sustained uncomfortable silence. I dislike laugh tracks but Orville felt like it really needed one to create some atmosphere. The actors didn't seem too much into their characters, and the storyline was just meh. It kept feeling like a really (mediocre) legit Star Trek show, which is exactly what it shouldn't feel like. It should be over the top, not semi serious. I'm not sure what they can do to save it, but I'll give it a few episodes hoping they just got off to a rough start. I would still love to watch a good Seth MacFarlane Star Trek spoof every week.… Expand
  14. MarcStone2061
    Oct 12, 2017
    6
    Ok, I'm only watching this because I'm a complete sci-fi junkie. But this is basically a Star Trek TNG reboot with darker undertones and fart jokes. Its kinda like a pepperoni pizza with cut up hotdogs on top covered in maple syrup....things I enjoy separately but together I would only eat on a dare.
  15. boingo2000
    Sep 11, 2017
    5
    Based on the pilot, this show has no idea what it wants to be. Is it Star Trek-inspired sci-fi light, or is it a comedy? It straddles the line way too much and ends up not succeeding in either category. The few jokes that are thrown in are amusing (assuming you like Seth Macfarlane's humor), but there aren't nearly enough of them. And the sci-fi/drama part is hackneyed and boring. IfBased on the pilot, this show has no idea what it wants to be. Is it Star Trek-inspired sci-fi light, or is it a comedy? It straddles the line way too much and ends up not succeeding in either category. The few jokes that are thrown in are amusing (assuming you like Seth Macfarlane's humor), but there aren't nearly enough of them. And the sci-fi/drama part is hackneyed and boring. If it wants to tilt to the comedy side, I'm in, but right now it's the very definition of "meh".… Expand
  16. EmadF7000
    Nov 1, 2017
    4
    this is the worst show of all time its not funnyi really thougt this would be funny most of the jorkes are just awkad silecnce.
    this show has some reddeming elements charle therone gest stars i liked that episde and
  17. Ariadne
    Sep 24, 2017
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I looked forward to this all summer. I wanted it to be so much. It didn't have to be Star Trek or Family Guy, but a nice mix was just fine. However, what I didn't expect was to be preached at.

    The first episode was about keeping weapons in 'our safe hands' and out of the hands of our enemies. Actually, the pilot was it's best show, so far.

    The second episode was about the evils of zoos and the third, well, I just don't even know which social message they were going for... was it the feminist story or was it a transgender story. Heck was it just a nod to the pro-circumcision people? Maybe it was a re-imagining of the futility of putting an (innocent) black person on trial during the 40s, because the tribunal, which was badly written, and badly argued, was stacked with a prejudiced jury who were somehow expected to 'see the light'... and didn't. It was unsatisfying at best.

    I wanted so much more for this show. Leave the politics and social commentary at home. just write some good stories or I think the Orville will have a short run.    … Expand
  18. Moilleadoir
    Oct 8, 2017
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. tldr; Well-made, but mediocre.

    I created an account just because I couldn’t believe the huge amount of biased Trekhead reviews here. There has been a huge pile on, creating a spacetime anomaly that’s warping the Metacritic score.

    The biggest problem with The Orville is that it can’t seem to decide what it wants to be. It’s not really a comedy; even the comedy that’s there is often not funny. It’s far too faithful to Star Trek to be even a gentle parody, in fact you can’t help wondering if MacFarlane feels making fun of ST would be heretical. At best it’s a slightly non-serious Star Trek clone with deeply unoriginal plots.

    It really feels like Seth just wanted to do some amazingly expensive ST roleplaying.

    There is a kind of achievement I suppose in combining the worst of Star Trek—episodic plots where characters seldom develop and aliens are either never truly alien or discover that they can only truly find themselves by learning the wonders of humanity—and the worst of MacFarlane—‘jokes’ referring to themselves, cheap pop-culture references. The humour that’s there is more lazy Family Guy (or Ted) than American Dad.

    The most telling piece of ST mimicry so far was the alien race (Moclans) who are introduced as a single-sex race. They present and identify as male (which initially makes no sense) but in the second episode Bortus’ egg hatches a female. This is classic ST—introduce a difference, an alienness, and then immediately normalise it or reduce it to safely known human terms. It’s Science Fiction with all the interesting bits safely removed. At least human morality didn’t win in the subsequent plot; that’s a small difference from Star Trek.

    On the plus side, technically the show is very well made, all the FX are good and the actors do a fine job with what they’re given (which isn’t great). It may even be better acting than actual ST, but on the whole that’s not really saying a lot.

    Will I keep watching it? Probably, but after each episode I’ll still wonder why they made it. I also watched all of Deep Space Nine though, so just because I can devote myself to lost causes, doesn’t mean you should!

    At the end of the day, if you’re a Trekkie you’ll probably love it. If not and you’re a watcher of sci-fi, you might be scratching your head quite a bit. If you don’t mind unchallenging TV, you won’t mind this. Ultimately, for most people there is nothing compelling here, but it’s certainly not unwatchable (as some have claimed).

    For context, I’d give Firefly a 9, I liked Babylon 5 a lot (despite it’s flaws) and a couple of my favourite recent shows are Mr. Robot and Legion.    … Expand
  19. NafaryusDestiny
    Aug 29, 2021
    4
    The Orville relies entirely too heavily on its inspiration (mostly Star Trek). It repeat plots, but has nowhere near the caliber of writing required to approach the themes with any of the finesse Star Trek had. To The Orville's credit, the cast and guest stars are killer. Each episode had an interesting backdrop, even if they weren't executed particularly well, or entirely original.

Awards & Rankings

2
#2 Most Discussed TV Season of 2017
47
#47 Most Shared TV Season of 2017

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
36

Generally unfavorable reviews - based on 21 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 0 out of 21
  2. Mixed: 11 out of 21
  3. Negative: 10 out of 21
  1. New York Post
    Reviewed by: Michael Starr
    Sep 21, 2017
    50
    It’s got top-notch special effects and terrific makeup (for its space-alien characters). But it just doesn’t quite gel. At least not yet, anyway.
    Read full review
  2. TV Guide Magazine
    Reviewed by: Matt Roush
    Sep 14, 2017
    50
    The show's smirky tone, embodied in MacFarlane's smug frat-boy demeanor as the captain, never quite gels with the universal humanism the episode is aiming for. [18 Sep - 1 Oct 2017, p.27]
  3. Yahoo TV
    Reviewed by: Ken Tucker
    Sep 11, 2017
    30
    Except for Norm Macdonald as the voice of an alien made of what looked like quivering gelatin, I didn’t find much that was amusing about The Orville’s space odyssey. ... From its opening scene with Victor Garber assigning Ed his ship to the final, unsuspenseful shootout with alien enemies, The Orville moved from one lull to another.
    Read full review
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