Directors: Jon Favreau, Jonathan Frakes, Robert Duncan McNeill, Brannon Braga
Creator: Seth MacFarlane
Starring: Seth MacFarlane, Adrianne Palicki, Penny Johnson, Scott Grimes, Peter Macon, Halston Sage, J.Lee, Mark Jackson, Chad L. Coleman
Distributor: 20th Century Fox
Certificate: 15
Format: DVD
Release Date: 8th October 2018 (Out Now)
Now with a ship and crew of his own, Captain Ed Mercer begins his mission to explore space on board the USS Orville. Soon joined by his ex-wife Kelly Grayson as the ship’s First Officer, there is just as much action and hostility on board as there is on the worlds they encounter. Travelling across the galaxy with both human and many alien crew members, a captain with knowledge of Earth’s best television history and Isaac, a non-biological, artificial lifeform, there are plenty of hilarious and dangerous events in store. In this series alone, this includes a planet that kidnaps select members of every species to house in their zoo, to trying to change the minds of an entire species that performing a sex reassignment surgery on an infant is morally wrong, not to mention the usual hostile alien races, rescue missions, altering time, new dimensions and plasma storms. You know, the usual?
To me, The Orville is a mix between Star Trek and Family Guy, where one explores the wonders of space, wishing to make new discoveries and make contact with unknown lifeforms and the other cracks jokes at world issues, whether its to do with certain world leaders, celebrities or just the stereotypical problems that you overlook when growing up. The Orville is a perfect blend of both and is Seth MacFarlane’s first live action television series, as well as his first live action starring role on television. Seth has even been quoted as saying he has wanted to make a show like this ever since he was a kid, having been inspired by both Star Trek and The Twilight Zone. The timing couldn’t have been more perfect, with the recent success of Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy on the big screen, Fox have already renewed The Orville for a second season, coming out this December.
Ed Mercer was a promising up and coming officer, believed to be highly capable of achieving the rank of Captain before hitting forty. However after walking in on his wife in bed with an alien, and the subsequent divorce, Mercer became lax in his duties and missed out on promotions. Now just a year later, the Orville is in need of a new Captain, and Ed is the man for the job. Both witty, highly trained and seen as a leader, Ed takes up the position on this mid-level exploratory ship. Unbeknownst to him at the beginning, he is later joined by his cheating ex-wife Kelly, who has put herself forward for the job as First Officer on the vessel, a job that puts her side by side with Ed again. Also joining this crew, is Ed’s best friend Gordon Molloy, the new helmsman to the Orville. He is infamous for his superior flying skills, but also for his crude and juvenile pranks. Aside from the human crew members, we also have Lieutenant Commander Bortus and his husband. Both are from a planet called Moclus, whose inhabitants are a single gender (male) species. This couple brings an interesting storyline to the show. We also have Lieutenant Alara Kitan, who due to growing up on her planets high gravity environment, is much stronger than an average human. Despite her young age, she is the ship’s Chief of Security. Lastly we have Isaac, a mechanical lifeform. His race is new to the Union, and he wished to study it’s members. Isaac’s race views biological life forms, such as humans, as inferior.
As the primary enemy alien race, we have the Krill. An aggressive, reptilian species that believe they have total dominance over every species in the galaxy. They are located very close to Union territory, so there are many altercations between them both. They are a race that believe in a god named Avis, who commands the destruction of all non-Krill. Due to their thirst for blood and violence, there is much to enjoy when the battles begin. Visually, it looks brilliant.
Seth MacFarlane is a household name, having both created and starring in his animated shows, Family Guy, American Dad and The Cleveland Show. He also created The Orville, although he doesn’t sit in the director’s seat. Instead across all of Season 1, there were four directors, starting with Jon Favreau (Elf, Iron Man, Iron Man 2) who directed the pilot. Followed by Jonathan Frakes and Robert Duncan McNeill, who have both directed episodes within the Star Trek franchise. Then we have Brannon Braga, who not only worked on Star Trek: TNG, but also produced Star Trek Voyager and co-created Star Trek Enterprise. Although The Orville is just a TV series and may never hit the big screen, MacFarlane uses a seventy-five piece orchestra to produce the music for each episode. That is highly impressive in my books!
Special Features Include:
– The Orville at PaleyFest 2018
– Inside Look
– Directed By
– The First Six Missions
– Designing the Future
– The Orville Takes Flight
– The Science of The Orville: Quantum Drive
– The Science of The Orville: Alien Life
– Crafting Aliens
There is heaps going on in this series and The Orville is out now on DVD. Released with plenty of time for people to rewatch this show, this is a perfect time to catch up before Season 2.
Overall: 9/10
