THE ORVILLE SEASON 1
This is a series by Seth McFarlan(yep, THAT Seth McFarlan)!!
I really didn't think that this had a chance in Hell to gain
my viewership, but surprisingly, this is very good! While a
couple of the episodes are little hard to swallow, for the
most part this is a pretty good homage to Star Trek, something
that Seth is a huge fan of(the Original Series, that is)!
Starring a slew of people that no one ever heard of, it does
have Seth as it's main character, the Captain of the ship
The Orville! Also here, out of the realm of Star Trek, is
Penny Johnson(who was Captain Sisko's wife) as Dr. Claire
Finn. The rest of the regular crew for the first season are:
Cmdr. Kelly Grayson(Adrianne Palicki), Lt. Gordon Malloy(Scott
Grimes), Lt. Cmdr. Bortus(Peter Macon), Lt. Alara Kitan(Halston
Sage), Lt. Cmdr. John LaMarr(J. Lee) & Isaac(Mark Jackson)
EPISODE # 1: OLD WOUNDS(Sept. 10, 2017):
This shows how everyone got to be aboard The Orville!!
The Captain's first officer is his ex-wife. His navigation
officer is a drunk. His engineer is a blob! And, well, you
get the idea! Kind of a rag-tag group, trying to boldly go
where, oh wait, that's the other show! Anyway, a great start
to the series!!
Rob Lowe guest stars here, uncredited! I don't know
why they didn't give him credit, as he shows up again
in episode 9, "Cupid's Arrow", also uncredited!!! Also
guesting here is Victor Garber(DC's Legends of Tomorrow!)
in his first of 13 episodes!! A
EPISODE # 2: COMMAND PERFORMANCE(Sept. 17, 2017):
Mercer and Kelly get kidnapped and are in a zoo! Bortus
lays an egg! And Alara gets command of the ship! This
starts the worst arc of the series! A
EPISODE # 3: ABOUT A GIRL(Sept. 21, 2017):
This is one of the episodes that I had mentioned as kind
of hard to accept! Bortis and his husband(!) have a baby(!!)
and it's a beatiful, bouncing baby girl! Unfortunately for
her, girls are not allowed to live on their planet!! This
becomes a battle for human(or I guess alien) rights and
whether one of the parents can insist that she be allowed
to grow up as she is! B-
EPISODE # 4: IF THE STARS SHOULD APPEAR(Sept. 28, 2017):
As I mentioned before, Seth McFalrland is a huge Star
Trekk fan! It's no surprise that he emulated the TOS
series episodes "For The World Is Hollow And I Have
Touched The Sky" in this episode! Almost identicle
plot, with the Orville coming upon a derilict ship
that's drifting in space, headed for a star! That
episode of ST:TOS was quite well done, and I think
Seth did a great job re-creating the story! Probably
the best episode of Season 1!!
And to top things off, the music played while thry
are looking at the alien ship is the exact same
music from Star Trek: The Motion Picture!! A+
EPISODE # 5: PRIA(Oct. 05, 2017):
The Orville and its crew stumble upon a ship imbedded
in an asteriod headed into a star, and it has one person
aboard! Her explanation of who/what/where/when/why she
was stranded doesn't set well with Kelly and she starts
doing some digging!
Guest starring here is Charlize Theron(Aeon Flux, The
Italian Job[2003])! A
EPISODE # 6: KRILL(Oct. 12, 2017):
Captain Mercer and Lt. Malloy are tasked with posing as
Krill and obtaining a copy of the Anhkana, their equivilant
of the Bible! Things don't go smoothly!! B+
EPISODE # 7: MAJORITY RULE(Oct. 26, 2017):
Kelly, along with Gordon and Alara, go down to a very Earth-
like planet which they really enjoy! Gordon, being Gordon,
proceeds to offend the whole planet while there! And on this
planet, it's a popularity contest where everyone votes in a
kind of America's Got Talent style to see whether he will be
"fixed" or released! A
EPISODE # 8: INTO THE FOLD(Nov. 02, 2017):
This may be the best episode of season 1!! Dr. Finn and her
two boys, along with Isaac, crash land on a hostile planet
and it comes down to Isaac protecting everyone, being a
surrogate mother, and finding a way back to the ship! A
EPISODE # 9: CUPID'S DAGGER(Nov. 09, 2017):
This is one of the strangest episodes! The dude responsible
for Ed and Kelly's break-up shows up on the ship! They eventually
discover the reason for the infidelity!!
Rob Lowe(this time credited) returns from episode one! Also
returning here is Victor Garber! B
EPISODE # 10: FIRESTORM(Nov. 16, 2017):
There's an accident on the ship and one of the crewmembers
is killed! Alara blames herself and contemplates leaving the
Planetary Union and go home to her parents!
Guest starring here are Robert Picardo(Star Trek:
VOY) and Molly Hagan(Star Trek: DS9 episode "The
Jem'Hadar")! A
EPISODE # 11: NEW DIMENSIONS(Nov. 30, 2017):
While not an outstanding episode story-wise or plot-wise,
this does have some of the most outstanding special effects
I've ever seen in a movie or TV show! Lamar is found out,
the ship encounters a spacial anomole that is two-dimensional,
and Ed finds out about Kelly's involvment with his gaining
the Captaincy!! A+
EPISODE # 12: MAD IDOLATRY(Dec. 07, 2017):
The short of it: Kelly becomes a God! A
SPECIAL FEATURES:
DISC 4:
THE OREVILLE AT PALRYFEST 2018:
Everyone shows up for thie panel! This is
excellent!! A
INSIDE LOOK:
A short about the show, its characters and the ship! B
DIRECTED BY:
About the director Jon Favreau! A
MY FIRST SIX MISSIONS:
Overview of the first six episodes! A
DESIGNING THE FUTURE:
Very short!!
THE ORVILLE TAKES FLIGHT:
Another shortie!
THE SCIENCE OF THE ORVILLE:
QUANTUM DRIVE:
Still short!
THE SCIENCE OF THE ORVILLE:
ALIEN LIFE:
More shorts
CRAFTING ALIENS:
Same
A BETTER TOMORROW:
And the same!
From a reviewer at IMDb.com:
The Orville is a show with potential. I liked how it didn't
try too hard to be funny. In fact, it reminded me more of a
Star Trek episode than Family Guy. I suspect there will be
many comparisons to Galaxy Quest.
My concern is the audience. To appreciate this show, I think
you need to be both a science fiction and crude humor fan. I'm
one of these people, but I'm not sure if there are enough of
us to support the production. Hopefully, we'll be seeing a lot
more of The Orville.
Star Trek discovery was also released, and I have to say,
this show comes closer to what I expect in a Star Trek
series. - follis12