The Orville Episodes 1-4 Reviews: Why Are Critics Hatin' On This Show So Much?

"The Orville" premiered on Fox on September 10th. The show was created and produced by Seth MacFarlane of "Family Guy" and "Ted" fame. He also stars at the lead character Captain Ed Mercer. There have been four episodes to date.

The show has been panned by critics with a lousy 20% on "Rotten Tomatoes" and a 36 on "MetaCritic". Fans dont agree however. Rotten Tomatoes lists them at 89% and MetaCritic at 8.0. That's quite a difference. I agree with the fan vote. Is the show the best thing ever? Definitely not-- but it is a loving homage to all things "Star Trek". It's a comedy so dont take it too seriously.

Ed longs for a ship's command but a messy divorce has sidelined him. The Union (similar to the Federation) is short on captains for it's 8000 ships. Ed gets his break aboard the USS Orville. It's a mid class exploratory vessel.

The rest of the crew includes:

Lieutenant Commander Bortus- he's from Moclan. They are an all male species. They look similar to Klingons. He and his mate Klyden have a child (which hatches from a large egg). Their story is explored in episode 3. So far Bortus is my favorite.
Lieutenant Gordon Malloy-Ed's friend . He's a darn good helmsman but also a first class drinker and risk taker.
Lieutenant Alara Kitan- she may look like a young girl but Alara is an Xelayen and thus is extremely strong. She serves as the ship's security officer.
Dr Claire Finn- the ship's doctor. She has years of experience so is a good person to ask for advice.
Lieutenant John Lamarr- the ship's navigator. We dont know much about him yet.
Issac- a robot type creature from the planet Kylon-1. They look down on all biological life forms (especially humans). Issac serves as the ship's science and engineering officer.

The last member needed is a second in command. The XO turns out to be Ed's ex wife Kelly Grayson (Adrianne Palicki of "Agents Of SHIELD"). Obviously there's going to be conflict here. Ed found her in bed with a blue alien which led to their breakup.

There's also a blob type creature (voiced by Norm MacDonald) who keeps hitting on Dr Finn. Ed accidentally steps in him during the first episode. More of Yaphit please.

The ship has a food replicator (yes, pot brownies are available). Interestingly there is no transporter. They have to get to their destination the old fashioned way and take a shuttle.

The crew has the typical color coded "Star Trek" uniforms.

Blue- executive team= Ed, Kelly and Bortus.
Red- security Team- Alara. Remember what happens to "red shirts". I wouldnt want to be one.
Orange- engineering, helmsmen and navigation- Gordon and John
Green- medical team- Dr Finn

Grade: 4 Monsters (out of 5) Not sure why the critics dislike "The Orville" so much. I think it's a cute and loving addition to the "Stark Trek" genre. Sure a few jokes miss but who cares? Take "The Orville" for what it's worth-- a few humans/other species flying around space looking for adventure. They meet new life forms, crack some jokes and try to avoid being killed by the Krill (bad guys) along the way. An interesting aside: Unlike the Federation, the Union seems to not have a prime directive. Cause they are continually interfering with every new civilization they encounter... for better or worse.