How Seth MacFarlane could save his terminally bland Star Trek clone The Orville
Seth MacFarlane’s new faux-Star Trek show The Orville premiered on Fox recently, and the reviews ranged from scathing to indifferent. People clearly aren’t sure what to make of its weird blend of straight-faced Next Generation-era Trek pastiche and MacFarlane’s particularly lowbrow brand of humor. So far, The Orville isn’t exactly a bad show, but it’s disjointed and formless as it oscillates between the different things it’s trying to do. Here’s what it’s going to need to do better to survive as a series.
Commit to something, anything
The Orville is two different shows. One is live-action Family Guy in space, with crude humor and casual racist and sexist jokes. The other is a bland, off-brand Star Trek imitation. In theory, either of…
