The Orville's newest season is a vast improvement on the first, exploring some very prevalent themes that ring true in our society today, sprinkled in with MacFarlane's humor.
“Seth MacFarlane’s hit space adventure series, THE ORVILLE, returns for more journeys into new worlds. Set 400 years in the future, the series follows the U.S.S. Orville, a mid-level exploratory spaceship. Its crew, both human and alien, face the wonders and dangers of outer space, while also dealing with the problems of everyday life.”
Seth MacFarlane doesn’t keep it a secret he absolutely loves Star Trek, appearing as a crewmember in Star Trek: Enterprise and writing episodes of Family Guy featuring the cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation. This admiration culminates in his creation of The Orville, basically a working man’s Star Trek that explores the same cultural and sociological issues that the original show was known for, but of course updating them for our culture over 50 years later. That’s probably what is most surprising about The Orville, the themes it explores, some that are almost taboo, and how it strives to portray a better humanity, a far cry from MacFarlane’s other works.
Season 2 is a definite improvement on both story and character development from Season 1, something always hard to get exactly right in the first season. What I thought they did best was the addition of the new Security Chief Talla played by Jessica Szohr. To me, she seemed to fit in with the rest of the cast much better than the previous who leaves the show. One thing this show still hasn’t gotten right is the main antagonist, The Krill. They haven’t been explored hardly at all considering they are the enemy of The Union, and although there are a few episodes featuring them, they still need a lot of work. One criticism of the show is that the show doesn’t know what it wants to be. To a degree, I can see that. Is it a comedy? A Sci-Fi show? It’s some kind of weird blend that wants to be a little bit of everything, and those little bits of everything are done well. I think once the show finds its main stride it will be even better than what it is.
Here’s a breakdown of the episodes on this set:
- Ja’loja – The crew face personal challenges on their way to witness Bortus perform a Moclan ceremony on his homeworld.
- Primal Urges – The crew race to save a small group of survivors on a planet about to be destroyed by its sun.
- Home – Ed, Gordon and Alara visit Alara’s home planet of Xelayah.
- Nothing Left on Earth Excepting Fishes – Ed finds himself behind enemy lines when he crash lands on a mysterious planet; Kelly questions why Gordon wants to take the Command Test.
- All the World Is Birthday Cake – The Orville makes First Contact; A new crew member joins the ship.
- A Happy Refrain – Claire’s personal life takes an unexpected turn; Gordon makes an unusual grooming suggestion to Bortus.
- Deflectors – The ship’s deflectors upgrade leads to conflict between the Moclan culture and the crew.
- Identity: Part I – When Issac shuts down, the crew head to his home planet to fix him, and uncover a shocking secret that was better off hidden.
- Identity: Part II – The Kaylons take control of the Orville with the intention of destroying all biological lifeforms.
- Blood of Patriots – Ed must initiate peace talks with the Krill.
- Lasting Impressions – The crew opens a time capsule from 2015.
- Sanctuary – Ed discovers that Moclans aboard the Orville are harboring a secret.
- Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow – A time distortion affects Ed and Kelly’s relationship.
- The Road Not Taken – The crew must contend with the disastrous fallout from Kelly’s decision.
Special Features
There are some great extras on this set that are hilarious to watch. These include:
- Deleted Scenes
- Character Recap: Kelly
- Character Recap: Bortus
- Gag Reel
- The Orville at Comic-Con 2019
Why The Orville didn’t get a Blu-Ray release is beyond me, as the show deserves to be seen and heard in the best possible way. Regardless, fans who enjoy the show and want their physical copy will have to settle for the DVD for now. With Season 3 debuting exclusively on Hulu, the show needs all the support it can get!