This year’s San Diego Comic Con was full of marketing and activities to promote Seth MacFarlane’s new project, a parody of Star Trek called The Orville. Based on a universe where various planets have formed the Union, Captain Ed Mercer (Seth) is assigned to complete space exploration missions alongside his crew, composed of many alien races, a robot/cybernetic being, and his ex-wife Kelly (Adrianne Palicki), who serves as his first office. The cast is very well balanced in gender and race, which truly shows the writers and producers were paying attention and were set on emulating shows like The Next Generation and its successors. A true American sci-fi comedy.
This ragtag band of misfits faces many unexplained physical phenomena, and peace keeping missions that result in some kind of mischief with a message. The series is funny, charming and serious enough to tackle social themes and current events gracefully and effectively. For example, one episode talks about gender reassignment surgery as a cultural norm while at the same time discussing the importance of females in a society where men carry the offspring to term and are the strongest gender. What makes the series unique is that there is always some subtle humor and sarcasm involved evoking more of a Galaxy Quest vibe at times. The show doesn’t take itself too seriously which is why it is trending.
Its entertainment value has given it such popularity that it has gatherer excellent reviews and viewing ratings. For Fox, this gamble paid off immensely because CBS made the strategic move to showcase Star Trek Discovery exclusively on its All Access platform. Disappointed fans, or those who refuse to pay, flocked to this substitute and found it worthy of their time and devotion.
Watch now On Demand, via Fox’s online streaming affiliates, and live on Thursdays.
Enjoy this space adventure parody!
Mrs. Enginerd - Nerd Whisperer 