Mini-Review TV: The Orville - Episode 1, "Old Wounds"

My Review:

As both a Star Trek fan and a Seth MacFarlane fan, The Orville is a show I've been anticipating for a long time. In fact, I have followed the story ever since MacFarlane, the creator of The Orville, announced it (sometime in the summer of 2016 I believe). On September 10th, the first episode, "Old Wounds" scripted by MacFarlane himself and directed by Jon Favreau, finally aired on Fox.  

"Old Wounds" manages to balance the drama and comedy quite well. Unfortunately, neither is very good.  MacFarlane's jokes feel disappointingly flat, shoved ineptly into each scene, and don't seem to stem at all from character personalities (a claim that MacFarlane made during the show's promotion).  On the contrary, the episode can hardly claim to care about its characters. With the possible exception of Captain Ed Mercer, played by MacFarlane, none of the characters' personalities are really explored in any meaningful way. All we get are some generic sci-fi archetypes, Trek-inspired placeholders introduced into the story by means of clunky, first-draft dialogue riddled with lazy and often unnecessary exposition. I can't say I was much interested in any of them.  The plot follows a similarly predictable and formulaic path, although to its credit it never becomes boring. 

Where The Orville redeems itself (well, not really, but it's a plus) is in the visuals. Both cinematography and set design are impressive. The exterior shot of the U.S.S. Orville leaving the docking bay against the Earth's bright moon is, to put it simply, stunningly beautiful. The action scenes (be it on the planet or in space) are breathtaking. I was very happy to discover that The Orville is a show that knows how to use CGI sparingly and effectively. I'd watch the episode a second time just for that.

While the first episode The Orville greatly disappointed me in terms of story and characters, it's still a show I'm rooting for. Perhaps it will find it's footing, just like Star Trek: The Next Generation eventually did. I just hope it doesn't take three seasons to do so.

Score: 5/10

Title: The Orville - Episode 1: "Old Wounds"
Writer(s): Seth MacFarlane (Creator / Screenplay)
Director: Jon Favreau
Main Cast:
  Seth MacFarlane
  Adrianne Palicki
  Penny Johnson Jerald
  Scott Grimes
  Peter Macon
  Mark Jackson
  J. Lee
  Halston Sage
  Chad Coleman


Release Date: 10 September 2017
Running Time: ~45 minutes