‘ORVILLE’ CRASHES,
MacFarlane’s ‘Orville’ a poor imitation of ‘Star Trek’
To anyone familiar with his career, it’s no surprise Seth MacFarlane wants to play Captain Kirk.
In his new space-faring series “The Orville,” however, he’s exactly like we expected a middle-aged Wesley Crusher to turn out — lumpy and depressed.
That’s a comparison to “Star Trek: The Next Generation.” There are going to be lots more because this odd series — not truly a drama, not quite a comedy — is the most craven theft of any intellectual property by another network ever, and that’s saying galaxies’ worth.
MacFarlane is credited as series creator when a better title might be “binge-watcher,” for he regurgitates elements of just about all the “Trek” series over the years.
Set about 400 years in the future, MacFarlane, best known for his “Family Guy” show, plays Ed Mercer, who returns home one night to find his wife, Kelly (Adrianne Palicki, “Friday Night Lights”), in bed with a blue-skinned alien.
Blue fluid pops out of the alien’s eyebrows.
I prefer to think that was its way of showing surprise and not something else.
Cut to a year later: Admiral Halsey (Victor Garber, “DC’s Legends of Tomorrow”) assigns Ed to command the USS Orville, a midlevel exploratory vessel.
“You’re nobody’s first choice for this job,” the admiral says. But the Union (not to be confused with the Federation) needs captains.
Among his crew: best pal and helmsman Lt. Gordon Malloy (Scott Grimes, “American Dad!”); chief medical officer Dr. Claire Finn (Penny Johnson Jerald, “24”); inexperienced chief security officer Lt. Alara Kitan (Halston Sage, “Crisis”); Lt. Commander Bortus (Peter Macon buried under pounds of prosthetics), a rock-like second officer who belongs to a single-gender species; Lt. John LaMarr (J. Lee, “Family Guy”), navigator; and Isaac, an android science officer.
To anyone who even tripped over a “Next Gen” DVD set, the character comparisons are obvious: Kitan is Tasha Yar; Bortus could be Worf; Isaac, with all his ignorance of humanity, is so obviously a Data substitute.
Could this show try to do something different? Oh, it does. Over Ed’s objections, Kelly is assigned as his first officer. Your patience for the Bickersons in space will be tested.
At one point in the premiere, in the background, a dog can be seen licking his naughty bits.
In case you missed it, two characters then talk about it, proving you can shoot “Family Guy” into space, but he’s still Peter Griffin.
The set design follows “Next Gen’s” sleek minimalist elements. The ship itself looks like the vessel Voyager mashed with a weird shoe.
How stacked is this show with “Star Trek” alums? Executive producer Brannon Braga got his start in the business on “Next Generation” and worked on “Voyager” and “Enterprise.” Johnson Jerald was a recurring player on “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.” Robert Duncan McNeill, Lt. Paris on “Voyager,” directed the second episode, which happens to repurpose a “Voyager” plot.
They all seem to be using their talents to rip off “Star Trek” creator Gene Roddenberry’s legacy at a moment when a new “Trek” — “Star Trek: Discovery,” with Sonequa Martin-Green — is set to blast off Sept. 24 on CBS.
It’s a mystery how Fox cleared such a blatant knockoff.
To all the Paramount attorneys who might be planning to sue Fox into dust, let me give some advice in language MacFarlane could understand:
“Make it so” and “Warp factor 10.”