The name is subject to change, because it’s the best I’ve got for now, but while I’m (at least temporarily) filled with determination to do more content for both this blog and my YouTube ideas, I figured I’d sit down and write something about TV. My subject of choice for this entry is “The Orville”, described as a “comedy drama” from Seth MacFarlane, who may be known to you as the creator of Family Guy, American Dad, The Cleveland Show and the movies Ted and Ted 2, amongst other things (A Million Ways to Die in the West was critically slated, but I found it reasonably decent).
But this blog isn’t about the blog itself, it’s about the TV show. I’ve got to say that when I heard that Seth MacFarlane was doing a live action TV show about a team exploring space on a ship I can’t say I was surprised. I don’t think his love of Star Trek is any secret given the number of references to it on Family Guy alone (and the fact they had the whole Next Generation cast as guest stars one episode), but given that his humour can be a little hit and miss, and the fact that at least one of his TV shows didn’t really capture the imagination the way the others have (I’m referring to The Cleveland Show, which just really felt too much like a Family Guy spin-off), I was at least partially optimistic about the show, but prepared for if it was cancelled after five episodes as well.
The good news is by the time it started airing in the UK I know it hasn’t been cancelled after five episodes. That isn’t to say it’s a massive ratings winner in the US either, and from what I’ve heard it’s been critically slammed while has a decent approval rating from its viewers. The issue the show is going to have then, if the critics don’t like it, is actually drawing in and keeping a consistent viewing audience. How many Family Guy and American Dad fans are going to watch just because it’s Seth MacFarlane’s new project? How many sci-fi and Star Trek fans who aren’t already followers of MacFarlane’s other works are going to tune in just to check it out? And how many casuals are going to stick with it if it’s critically slammed on a regular basis? These are all things that concern me for the longevity of the show, and when you throw in everything else happening with Fox at the moment amidst the Disney takeover you do have to wonder if the show will live to see a second season or not.
However, putting the talk of the future aside for a moment and focusing on the show itself, I’ve got to say it’s not what I was expecting. That is to say it’s not the normal style of comedy that the animated side of Seth MacFarlane’s shows provides. That isn’t to say it isn’t funny, it does have some particularly funny moments, but it’s far less “extreme” in its comedy style than the aforementioned animated shows. Perhaps it has to be given that they have less scope with live action than with comedy, but the toned-down comedy could work well for the show here and attract viewers that the other shows put off. It does have some very funny moments – MacFarlane’s character recruiting his friend to be the ships Helmsman while said friend is in the middle of battling an ogre on a holodeck was a pretty funny scene all around – but the drama side to it also stands out well, which acts more as a tribute to the Star Trek shows of the past.
If you’ve ever watched Star Trek then you’ll have a sense of familiarity with the show from the outset. The dramatic wide shots of the ships, the epic music, the colour coded uniforms and the positioning of the seats of the deck, to name but a few things, are all very familiar to any audience of any Stat Trek show of the past. The mix of alien races aboard the crew is also very familiar from Star Trek as well, with humans mixed in with other humanoid races (along with what appears to be a living slime creature that the captain accidentally steps in at one point) doesn’t stand out as something new and different but something that we’ve all seen before. That’s not a criticism either. The sense of familiarity works for the show. It doesn’t feel like a “rip off” or a “spoof” as much as it does a tribute to the older series that we (and MacFarlane) grew up watching, and as such it’s hard to say anything particularly negative about it from that perspective. It’s a nice setup, with a strong level of Star Trek-like drama mixed with a little more comedy than you’ve gotten from those kinds of shows. Most importantly it doesn’t take itself seriously, which is a wonderful benefit for a show like this to have.
Then there’s the cast. Many of them are familiar as well. Along with MacFarlane playing Captain Ed Mercer there’s also the wonderful Adrianne Palicki, best known (to me at least) for her role on Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD as Bobbi Morse (until she was stupidly written out to be in a potential spin-off which never got greenlit). Palicki plays Commander Kelly Grayson, the first officer of the Orville who we’re first introduced to not as Mercer’s second in command but rather as his cheating wife whom he catches in bed with an alien as the show begins. I was thrilled to see her, but I was also happy in seeing other faces I was already familiar with, including Penny Johnson Jerald, famous for her roles on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine as Kasidy Yates, but also as Sherry Palmer from 24 and Captain Victoria Gates on Castle. Here Jerald plays Doctor Claire Finn. To round out the “hey, I know that person” section of the cast is also Scott Grimes, the aforementioned friend and helmsman of the Orville, who’s also known for playing Dr Archie Morris in ER, and as the voice of Steve Smith on American Dad. So, there’s no doubting that it’s a decent cast from the very beginning whom we’re all probably aware of from one thing or another.
Then there’s the characters, who also have a familiar feel to them. As I said, the ship layout is very familiar from similar Star Trek-like shows, but so are the characters. We’ve got a Captain, a First Officer, an on-board doctor, a helmsman, a science officer, and of course a talking computer (apparently voiced by MacFarlane’s sister and American Dad voice actress Rachael MacFarlane). The sense of familiarity here, however, is my first real down point about the show, because – in the first episode at least – there’s nothing all that special about the characters. Their roles and their personalities feel very much like things we’ve seen before, mashups of characters from every sci-fi show ever made along with a few traits from every sitcom ever shown on TV. While it has to be said that the dynamic between Mercer and Grayson was good throughout, possibly because of MacFarlane and Palicki (or also possibly just because I really like Adrianne Palicki), there’s nothing all that “special” about any other character.
For the debut episode there was nothing all that special about the story, which is disappointing to say. The beginning felt like something we’ve seen before with the first of the new Star Trek films, in that Mercer is a young officer who could be captain if he wasn’t a screw up who’s then given a chance to be a captain. Ok, he doesn’t have to go through the same trials as in the aforementioned movie, but the basic plot is still there. The thing that makes it at least a little interesting is when he founds out Grayson has been appointed as his second in command, but is the dynamic between the two of them going to be strong enough to hold together the whole season, and how long can they make jokes about the fact that they used to be married and now have to work together? Not only was the “guy gets command of new ship and meets the crew” pretty formulaic, but so was their first mission as well. They go off to delivery supplies, only they’re not really needed for supplies, get into a fight with an alien race and find a way to trick their enemies and win despite suffering damage to the ship. If I had a pound for every time I’ve seen a similar plot in another show I wouldn’t need to worry about my moving costs next month.
For anyone who’s watching the show in the US, you’ve probably already made your mind up about it as it debuted on your screens way back in September. For those of us in the UK however we’ve only got two episodes so far, and based on the first episode I’d say it’s perhaps worth watching if you’re a fan of MacFarlane’s brand of comedy or you’re a huge sci-fi fan (especially a Sci-Fi fan) who also enjoys a good laugh. Even if you’re not it’s perhaps worth checking out the first episode to make up your own mind about it, but for me I’m willing to at least give the show a few episodes to win me over as the pilot wasn’t a bad show, but it’s also neither action-adventure-y enough nor comedy-y enough to make its way onto my “must watch” TV list (which is already pretty full as it is).
Hope you enjoyed the blog. If you did, feel free to share it around, or come discuss it with me at the normal places, on Facebook (Facebook.com/ajebdon) or Twitter (@AlexisEbdon).