I must confess that I have been looking forward to this series since I first heard about it, because I like science fiction about likable characters who are professional, yet fun.
The reviews from people who have seen advance screenings were not helpful helpful. Predictably, reviews from science fictiony sources tended to be more positive, whereas reviews from other kinds of media observers were not. So I have been waiting to see for myself.
Well -- I liked it.
I'm not talking about the plot in this post, other than to say that there was some nice drama, with lots of comedic asides thrown in.
One of the things I liked most was something that some of the reviewers have panned -- that so much of the pilot episode was so familiar. Stylistically, The Orville draws on Star Trek, plus a few tributes to GalaxyQuest and at least one scene that reminded me of a Firefly scene.
I think the producers made many of their scenes familiar as a way of drawing in viewers.
Fans KNOW that the captain does a grand fly-around of the new starship. It just seemed right. We know that when the ship first leaves the spacedock/space station, there is grand music as it pulls away. We are not surprised by a holodeck, but a certain plot twist involving a holodeck character feels creative.
When I teach media criticism, we learn that so many stories are similar in broad brush strokes because familiarity makes them accessible to the audience. The Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, and the original Star Wars all follow basically the same plot outline, based on Joseph Campbell's "Heroes Journey."
Because many stories are so similar, the creativity is in the innovation, or what is different and surprising. Joss Whedon is particularly good at appearing to take a story in a familiar direction, but then having it turn into something unexpected.
Malcolm Reyonds saying "If I'm not back in one hour you take the ship and you...come rescue me" is a perfect example of this, because we EXPECT him to say "get the crew to safety."
The Orville makes use of this expected/unexpected formula. There are many elements that we find familiar from Star Trek and other past space travel series, which give a comfortable feel to the story. But there are surprises and new situations, as well.
Truth be told, there are also a few juvenile echos from creator and star Seth McFarland's "Family Guy" which I could have lived without, but they did not overwhelm the story.
First episodes of any series are usually a little uneven. Episode one of The Orville is enough to get me to watch again next week, which is the main goal of a pilot episode. I think that there is some good potential here.
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