The Orville: Season 1 Review

Today on Sci-Fi Adventures, I'm taking a break from reviewing episodes to review an entire season! I'm doing this earlier than expected because Fox went and stole an episode then carried it off to season 2, so it turned out to be a 12 episode run instead of the promised 13. I'm fairly sure the missing episodes counts as being part of next season though and it's not going to be a really late season 1 finale; either way it's missed its chance of being included here.

I'm calling this a season review, but as there's only one season so far I'll probably end up talking more about what I think of The Orville is as a series. Fortunately I've been doing that in my individual episode reviews along the way, so I should be able to get away with just copy and pasting a few paragraphs over and rephrasing them a bit. No one's going to notice.

This may contain SPOILERS for everything in season one from Old Wounds to Mad Idolatry, but I won't go crazy and start spoiling Star Trek: Discovery as well. Even though I want to, because c'mon the two series are crying out for a proper comparison. It's like Deep Space Nine vs. Babylon 5 all over again right now, except more so.

The Orville 1-12: Mad Idolatry (Quick Review)

Episode:

12

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Writer:

Seth MacFarlane

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Air Date:

07-Dec-2017

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Today on Sci-Fi Adventures, I'm writing about The Orville's first season finale: Mad Idolatry. Nice title, I like it.

This is the 8th episode to be written by creator Seth MacFarlane and the 4th to be directed by Brannon Braga, and that seems like a lot seeing that this season only has 12 episodes in it. It should've had 13 but one of them's been held back until next season, presumably so that they weren't stuck with a single episode left over to air after Christmas. The episode's production code is 1LAB13 so I'm guessing this the intended season finale and it's episode 12 that's been moved, but I don't know for sure. Fortunately it doesn't actually matter and no one really cares; it's not a continuity-heavy series.

Beware of SPOILERS beyond this point.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine 2-09: Second Sight (Quick Review)

Episode:

29

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Writer:

Mark Gehred-O'Connell & Ira Steven Behr and Robert Hewitt Wolfe

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Air Date:

21-Nov-1993

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Today on Sci-Fi Adventures, I'm starting to think they should've given Colm Meaney some sci-fi googles before setting off sparks right in his face.

I'm up to episode 29 of Deep Space Nine, the second season's Second Sight, which is the first episode to feature Ira Steven Behr and Robert Hewitt Wolfe writing together as a team. The two of them together would later give us some of the very best episodes of the whole series... and a bunch of those crappy Ferengi episodes too. There's no Ferengi in this one, but I remember hating it anyway, so I'm going to be lazy and only give it a quick review, without the long recap.

There'll still be SPOILERS though, for this and earlier episodes of Star Trek, so consider yourself forewarned.

The Orville 1-11: New Dimensions (Quick Review)

Episode:

11

|

Writer:

Seth MacFarlane

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Air Date:

30-Nov-2017

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Today on Sci-Fi Adventures, I'm finally writing words about New Dimensions, the 216th episode of The Orville to be written by series creator and lead actor Seth MacFarlane. Well actually it's only his 7th, but seeing as this is episode 11 that's still a lot.

The episode was directed by script supervisor Kelly Cronin, who hadn't done a whole lot of directing before this, but then neither had Brannon Braga and he's done alright with the 216 Orville episodes he's helmed so far. Well actually it's probably more like, I dunno... 3? I can't be bothered to check.

Anyway there's going to be SPOILERS below this point, for this episode and earlier ones, as I'll be assuming that everyone reading has either seen the episode or doesn't care.

Babylon 5 2-13: Hunter, Prey

Episode:

35

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Writer:

J. Michael Straczynski

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Air Date:

01-Mar-1995

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This week on Sci-Fi Adventures, I'm rewatching a Babylon 5 episode called Hunter, Prey.

I've never much liked the title of this one, it feels lazy somehow. Plus it's probably a quote from some poem I've never heard of, and I hate poetry almost as much as I hate it when television makes me feel ignorant!

Anyway, the following text will contain SPOILERS for this episode and the ones that preceded it, as I'm going to be doing a full recap with screencaps. But I'll not mention a thing about what's to come, so if you're a first-time viewer you don't have to worry about me ruining everything for you.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine 2-08: Necessary Evil

Episode:

28

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Writer:

Peter Allan Fields

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Air Date:

14-Nov-1993

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Today on Sci-Fi Adventures, I'm writing about Deep Space Nine's Necessary Evil, by writer Peter Allan Fields and director James L. Conway. I'm mentioning those names because they happen to be the same ones you'll find in the credits for season one's Duet, which is maybe the best episode so far. In fact looking at the other stories they'd later work on separately (Way of the Warrior, For the Cause, In the Pale Moonlight for instance) it seems like neither of them really understood how to make a bad episode.

Though I did watch an episode of The Orville that Conway directed a few weeks back... and my research for that reminded me he did that episode of Next Gen where Wesley Crusher falls into a flower bed and is given a death sentence. And then dies. R.I.P. Wesley. Or maybe he doesn't, I don't want to spoil it.

But if you continue past this point you will find a huge variety of SPOILERS for Necessary Evil and perhaps a couple of earlier Trek episodes as well. It's a detective story based around a couple of mysteries, so you might want to be more careful with this one if you haven't seen it before/in a while.

Babylon 5 2-12: Acts of Sacrifice

Episode:

34

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Writer:

J. Michael Straczynski

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Air Date:

22-Feb-1995

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This week on Sci-Fi Adventures, I've jumped back to Babylon 5 for season two's Acts of Sacrifice. I'm just past the midpoint of the season now with 11 episodes behind me and 11 still to go, which means I'm 4 episodes behind where I was at this point last year. I need to step up the pace.

Hang on, I recognise that ugly rubbish spiky spaceship... this is the episode with the Lumati in it! The title had me thinking it was the one where Londo's old friend shows up and then stuff happens, but nope it's this one. I guess I should start mentally preparing myself for how it ends then.

There's going to be SPOILERS beyond this point, by the way. Not just for this episode, but maybe earlier ones too. I'll not even hint at anything that comes in later episodes though, except for just then where I said that Londo's friend shows up and stuff happens.