Science Fiction

It counts as Star Trek in my personal canon. Really hope season 4 happens.

Orville season 3 has a few episodes that are easily up to par in the top 10-20 star trek episodes of all times.

Up until Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, it was hands down the best modern Star Trek (like) show. It’s definitely a little clumsy early on, but after a few episodes it’s very clear that Seth is finally fulfilling his childhood dream of doing Star Trek even if it’s his own version of it. I thoroughly enjoyed it and hope season 4 happens.

Best show ever. I almost peed myself when Ed Mercer tried to eat those stones in the admiral's office in the first episode. Took me like 5minutes of the first episode to love it. And it has so many good episodes, etical dilemmas and thought provoking stories. And I like the Moclans. And i like the storytelling. Especially that most stories take one episode.

It's the best Star Trek series since DS9.

I miss Alara, too. Lieutenant Replacement Goldfish isn't nearly as good.

It's BS that Yaphit got a medal for that business with the Kaylons but Ty Finn didn't. He was the actual hero there!

Dolly Parton cameo had me friggin' dying.

I named my kid after one of the characters.

I wish they chose their show's personality and stuck with it. I liked it when it leaned into the comedy, and I kind of liked it a bit more serious but willing to take on topics ST wasn't willing to. But It's really hard to accept the change mid way through the series.

Generally good though.

Entertainment wise, I find it to be very fun to watch and am always engaged while I have it on.

Thematically, I think it has either a bad or watered down argument sometimes, but other times I think it really hits. Either way though, I find the way it approaches certain ideas very interesting and compelling to discuss with my SO while we watch it, so even when I don't agree with the thematic intent of the episode, I find it worthwhile to interact with.

That said, it did make me cringe a little bit for the first 2 episodes. They're still worth watching for context instead of skipping them, but don't make any judgements on it until episode 3.

All in all, I give it a 8.5/10 personally but a 7/10 critically.

I was surprised by how good season one was. Season two was great fun. I hated season three.

I feel they tried too hard to make serious points and failed at telling good stories. They wanted to have big thoughts, but just weren't entertaining.

I like it a lot. I hope there's a season 4.

When The Orville came out, I hadn't watched much Star Trek. Growing up, TNG was the one television show that my parents would break the "no TV at the dinner table" rule for, though it happened rarely enough that I really have no memory of it.

About 20 years ago I watched several episodes of TOS and liked it well enough.

I always wanted to like Star Trek, so ~10 years ago I tried season 1 of TNG, which I now realize is rather universally considered an error; and as a result, I didn't much care for TNG. But I still wanted to like it, and Star Trek in general! So when I saw The Orville, I decided to give it a shot. And while I agree that the early mix of comedy with more serious material was a bit off-putting, I thoroughly enjoyed the show. This was what TNG was trying to be (I mean, that's not really fair, but it was my initial sense).

Which then led me to season 3 of TNG, which I started watching last year. And I absolutely love it, and find it overall better than The Orville (which I still really like); but The Orville was basically my gateway to actually enjoying Star Trek.

So maybe I'm coming inside-out from most viewers, but I really like The Orville, and as a bonus, it got me "back" into Star Trek proper.

While I don't regret watching it—and I'd probably even throw on a new season if it gets one—I felt like it was missing any true classic episodes. I also kept having this strange sense of familiarity with episodes, as if it was just repurposing or rehashing older Star Trek plots.

I kept thinking, "Wasn't there a TNG/DS9/Whatever episode that explored this same general concept/idea, but better?". It felt like it was maybe borrowing just a bit too much from it's inspiration.

Absolutely LOVE it. I've lost count of how many times I've watched the series and I am currently on another go thru of it. It's definitely a joke in the beginning and some jokes miss, but I love how they get into some good topics halfway through.

It had some jokes thrown it at the most inopportune times

That's Seth humor in a nutshell.

Perhaps the first half of the first season was actually a bit rough

Name a show that started off any other way though. Even SG1 is cringe in the first season. Lexx maybe, but even that one grew different after the first few episodes.

It's good

Wanted to like it more than I did. Just didn't think it was all that funny.

Now I thought Avenue 5 (HBO) was absolutely hilarious. It's the funny I expected from Orville. Too bad it ended after 2 seasons.

I loved it and it's definitely on the list of shows that I'll rewatch sometime sooner or later

Love the coincidence, I am actually watching "Twice in a Lifetime" right now. I love the show so much. In many ways I see it as a more realistic Star Trek. The characters are flawed, they bicker and squabble and make bad decisions so often that they can't feel guilty for them or else it would crush them. I adore Star Trek, but the writing and characterizations in Orville are so relatable for me. The people are projections of my friends and family, for better or worse.

Also, at least the actress who played Alara got to date Seth Macfarlane.

It took me a few episodes. But now I think it’s entertaining and wholesome!

It’s my utopia of what humans could become in the future

Great show in my opinion, liked season one and season two, while not so into season three until Charlie died. Definitely the highlight of that season.

@Izzy true fact: Seth McFarlane developed the show after his friend and collaborator Ahmed Best (of Star Wars) pitched him the idea of a comedic Star Trek clone. It was called "The Nebula." I know because I was personally pitching the sizzle reel for the pilot to branded entertainment clients in 2009.

I loved The Orville when it was coming out, it scratched an itch that nothing else at the time did, but while it's been on hiatus/canceled we have gotten Star Trek Strange New Worlds and Lower Decks. One does the firm sci-fi with a relatable crew better, and the other does the comedy Star Trek better. I wouldn't be opposed to more episodes of the Orville, but I don't think that it is as needed as it was when it was coming out.