The Orville: Funny or Just Seth MacFarlane's Homage to Star Trek?

Seth MacFarlane and Adrianne Palicki as Captain Ed Mercer and Commander Kelly Grayson, an ex-married couple serving on the USS Orville. Image: Fox.

Seth MacFarlane's new show 'The Orville' premiered on the Fox network last night to a mixed response from critics and fans alike.



This is very much Seth's homage to Star Trek. More specifically, Star Trek: The Next Generation, the late 80s/early 90s show that continued the adventures of the starship Enterprise and her crew. The 'Planetary Union' is very obviously Starfleet. You've got a multi-racial crew and senior staff and also, the sets and uniforms look like they were painstakingly recreated. There's also the fact that so many Trek alumni work on this show (including Seth himself). Brannon Braga is an executive producer and Directed an episode of the first season, indeed, two of the Orville's first season directors are former Trek stars; Robert Duncan McNeill and Jonathan Frakes (Tom Paris from Voyager and Will Riker from TNG respectively).

The premise for the Orville is a simple one. It is set 400 years from now (2418) and in the pilot, we see Captain Ed Mercer come home to see his wife Kelly Grayson in bed with someone else. Ed then leaves the home and we fast forward to a year later and Mercer is called to Admiral Halsey's office (played by Victor Garber. A man that should have been in Trek as he makes a fine Admiral here) and given command of an exploratory vessel, the USS Orville. Mercer then meets his crew and is given an assignment. He's missing a first officer until he finds out who that role is going to be filled by. Yes, it's Commander Kelly Grayson, his ex-wife.

The humor in the show seems to be centered around the dynamic between Mercer and Grayson as they examine their failed relationship, the gags were very Family Guy but surprisingly, there wasn't much of them. Seth seemed to play his character of Ed Mercer rather straight. MacFarlane said he'd wanted to do this kind of a show since he was a kid and we believe him. It's a bonafide Star Trek Parody that might actually grow into its own if Fox let the Orville do its thing and don't kill it right after the first season. I am looking forward to this season.

What are your thoughts on the Orville? Tell us in the comments below!