by Mike Hilty, Contributing Writer
There are some creators who I will trust, almost no matter what they do. For instance, I’m a huge South Park fan, and I trust just about anything Trey Parker and Matt Stone put out. I like Team America: World Police, Baseketball,and The Book of Mormon a lot, so they just have my number. There are others I have more complicated relationships with. Seth MacFarlane is one of those creators for me. I like Family Guy just fine even, though it is now a shell of its former self. I also like the Ted movies. I’m not a huge fan of A Million Way To Die In The West or American Dad. He’s hit or miss with me, which is why I didn’t watch The Orville for the longest time.
I’m here to apologize to MacFarlane for waiting so long to watch…
The Orville, created by MacFarlane, is about Captain Ed Mercer (MacFarlane) and his crew on the U.S.S. Orville. His main crew consists of First Officer Commander Kelly Grayson (Adrianne Palicki), Chief Medical Officer Dr. Claire Finn (Penny Johnson Jerald), Chief Engineer Lieutenant Commander John LaMarr (J.Lee), Chief of Security Lieutenant Commander Talla Keyali (Jessica Szohr), Science and Engineering Officer Isaac (Mark Jackson), Second Officer Lieutenant Commander Bortus (Peter Macon), and Helmsman Lieutenant Gordon Malloy (Scott Grimes). Together they explore the galaxy in similar ways the U.S.S. Enterprise would explore the galaxy in Star Trek. The Orville’s third season, entitled New Horizons, is 10 episodes and is currently streaming on Hulu.
This is where I’d normally talk about what happened in the previous season. However, for the most part, there isn’t really a connecting storyline. One of the nice things about The Orville is you used to be able to drop in to whatever episode you want and you wouldn’t miss much. Sure, some storylines for the crew would overlap into more than one episode, but the overall mission and objectives remained largely intact within the confines of that singular episode.There are a handful of storylines that overlap into multiple episodes and, in some cases, multiple seasons. The two main storylines that overlap are the growing threat of a Kaylon invasion (Isaac’s race of robots), and Bortus’ race of Moclans struggling with a specific part of their way of life being threatened due to growing displeasure among the members of the Planetary Union.
With the move to Hulu, one thing you immediately notice is the special effects are a little better. Part of the charm of The Orville is that the effects feel dated, but this season, they clearly upped the effects budget. The set pieces are a little nicer as well. Disney clearly wanted them to tell a great story with strong technical aspects. The sound and music are also noticeably better. Props to Disney for investing a little more to tell a better looking and sounding story.
The Orville’s strongest play is the relationship of the crew members to one another. We’ve spent two seasons getting to know these people and see their growth, struggles, successes, and failures. This season, each character gets at least one chance to shine. It’s great to see so many of the characters getting an opportunity to be in the spotlight. A large part as to why this is the case is because there’s only one real new character, Ensign Charly Burke (Anne Winters). She is the Orville’s navigator. The one crew member who takes a little bit of a back seat this season is Captain Mercer, and it is a nice change of pace for MacFarlane to share the spotlight with others around him.
In addition to the crew, the themes this season are fantastic. Part of the greatness of The Orville is the exploration of different cultures that yield an array of different lessons for the viewers. This season we deal with episodes involving typical themes like intolerance, prejudice, and gender roles and identity, which are staples for this series. We also have episodes that deal with issues such as populism and authoritarianism, the question of what if when it comes to the future, what it means to be human, and showing emotions towards others. There’s also a great storyline involving how one should never judge an individual based on the actions of their race, while also keeping an open mind to other people’s experiences. The themes and lessons are one of the many reasons why this season stands out from the previous two.
The other reason why this season stands out is the emotional punch each episode has. Dear Lord, this season gave me ALL THE FEELS. I’m not ashamed to admit I cried multiple times this season, particularly towards the later half. I believe the reason why this season is so much more emotional is because there are certain things that get a rare callback to what happened on previous planets and episodes. Rarely is there an opportunity to revisit a planet, but this season we get a lot more rewinds to past events. There’s an emotional payoff for fans who have watched the previous seasons and remember all these callbacks to previous storylines. We also get to see some characters and planets get called out for their beliefs and finally have some consequences.
This season has some flaws as well. I’ve been weary of Disney’s acquisition of Fox for a little while now, and one casualty of that merger is that the humor has been toned down a little. Someone at Disney clearly told MacFarlane to keep it down a notch. There were also two small flaws involving the move to Hulu. Because there aren’t a lot of commercial breaks on Hulu (I pay extra so we don’t have to watch them), the episodes sometimes feel longer due to extra time being added that would normally be filled by commercial breaks. We go from 45 minutes to 60+ minutes each episode, which makes some drag a little. The other thing about being on Hulu is that the language and sex are dialed up a little more. The Orville did just fine without it, so it feels strangely out of place.
The Orville: New Horizons is a deeply emotional season that pays off for the fans who have been watching the series, and it tells gripping stories with characters we love. I can’t help but think this is the end for this crew based on what happens in the final episode. As much as I’d love to see them continue, it’s hard to imagine another season after what we witnessed. This was my favorite season. I wasn’t quite on board with the callbacks from previous seasons at first, but it ultimately won me over. If The Orville is to dock for good, this was a worthy final season for this crew. I wouldn’t say no to watching more, though, even with a jam-packed Star Trek universe out there. Props to MacFarlane for creating a wonderful show and a great third (and maybe final) season.
Score: 8/10
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