The Orville (2017 - ) *****

 

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I finally started watching this because people kept telling me it was the better Star Trek out of all the available recent incarnations – and they were right! I’m really surprised as I expected this to be more in the vein of "Galaxy Quest", which I did not enjoy at all, but they managed to copy every Star Trek element perfectly into their new series, from the diverse crew and the episodic storytelling to the ethical dilemmas (all with way better make-up and prosthetic than back in the 90ies). No wonder they managed to recruit a whole host of old Star Trek actors for guest appearances. It looks like everyone was only too happy to participate. Interestingly, this the series seems built on the assumption that decades of Trek will have familiarised the fans with certain terms, tropes and concepts. There is very little explanation. It is expected that you immediately know your way around this kind of sifi. That’s oddly heart-warming, if a little bit short-sighted.

Overall, the acting is good enough, though they are clearly having too much fun (sometimes, when they have a good guest actor like Liam effin’ Neeson you can see the difference), but that's ok. This series even gets regular laughs out of me, which is quite the trick. I don’t mind the - at times - crass humour at all. Instead of appearing forced, it actually seems to bind the crew together.
I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop, but Ed is a genuinely great captain, very human and down-to-earth, yet displaying command qualities when necessary. I really, really like his character. In fact, I like all the characters for being so accessible. While everyone has their quirks, nobody gets too annoying either. Weirdly enough, this series offers a somewhat more realistic glimpse of what humans in space would look like. Also, I finally found a het-ship again: Ed and Kelly need to get back together. They have the perfect amount of sparkle so as not to actually distract from the story, but enough to keep things interesting. There are quite a few other romances going on and I usually hate these plots, but particularly a Gordon-centred episode in season 2 contained a genuinely touching performance that I could relate to. Great work!

The writing, particularly in season 2, is genuinely exciting and gripping because they have previously demonstrated that they are, in fact, willing to go there. All the way. So the stakes are real and damn high, which is something Star Trek never quite managed to fully convey.

The only problem is that the philosophical dilemma plots are not quite as well executed as they were in the 90ies (though they are clearly serious about trying), and particularly the first season feels a bit like re-runs of TNG, but I guess that’s the point. Overall, the feel of the series iss more human due to the humour and flawed characters, but as the same time it feels more profound than Star Trek because there are real stakes. There rarely is a completely happy ending (or even no happy ending at all). Also, after a slow start, the stories began feeling fresh and unexpected. I am totally hooked and 100% entertained. I live with the characters, feel, laugh, cry, fear... it’s just great TV. While others dared to put “Star Trek” in their name when they are as far away from Trek as they could possibly get, Seth MacFarlane and his crew humbly go where lots of humans, Klingons, Vulcans etc. have gone before – and they are doing a great job at it! 5/5

The Orville on Imdb