The Orville is one of the best pieces of science fiction going today. Whether or not it gets a fourth season, the show's legacy has been cemented. It's funny, it's poignant and it's not afraid to do what Star Trek used to do quite a bit, and tackle serious questions. Topics like gender-affirming care, social media's toxic influence, addiction, and so many other conversations have all been had in this show. A show that is quite honestly a parody, and love-letter to the world of Star Trek.
It's actually one of the biggest compliments that the show routinely gets from Star Trek fans; it feels like a Star Trek show. That's not by accident, they've intentionally brought on numerous figures both behind the scenes and in front of the camera to come in and help with the franchise. Due to that, it has a very Star Trek vibe. Well, the vibe it had before the Nu Trerk Era started.
The reason why is pretty obvious. Seth MacFarlane, the show's creator, loves Star Trek. So if he was penning a comical love letter to the franchise, the best thing to do is get members of that franchise on your show. He did just that, and those influences have helped reshape the narrative around this silly little show.
Even Star Trek legend Jonathan Frakes thinks The Orville is awesome. Giant Freaking Robot posted some quotes by Frakes, in which the legendary Star Trek actor cites the numerous Star Trek personalities that The Orville brought on to help, and in doing so, captured the vibe so many fans wish the Star Trek franchise still had.
Frakes points to names like Robert Duncan McNeill (Tom Paris) and Brannon Braga as figures that have helped keep The Orville in line with what MacFarlane wants, a Star Trek-worthy comedy. They've done just that. So much so that fans wish Star Trek were more like The Orville.
But why? Well, simply put, The Orville continued the line of continuity last seen in Star Trek: Enterprise. The Orville feels like a Star Trek show because it brought in people who knew the Star Trek formula. Starting with Discovery, Star Trek stopped trying to be Star Trek and wanted to be anything but.
It tried to be Star Wars, Rick & Morty, Game of Thrones; just anything that was pop culture or trendy, they tried to be. They tried to be dark and edgy, with themes and motives that weren't Trek. So future shows didn't feel like they kept that same formula that made the franchise as popular as it was.
While they found their way recently with Prodigy and Strange New Worlds, it took a while to get there. That's because Star Trek is trying to rebel against its past and ignore those who helped make it successful. While people like Frakes are still involved, he's middle-management. He works for people who don't know the franchise and want it to be a thousand different things; none of which are Trek.
It's like being a Star Trek show in itself isn't good enough anymore, and so we have to accept that sometimes the best Star Trek content that is out there doesn't have "Star Trek" in its title. Hopefully that changes. Hopefully, Paramount's new owners, Skydance Media, will remove Alex Kurtzman from the Star Trek world and bring back Braga or someone of his ilk to get the franchise back on track.
Only when we really remember where Star Trek came from can we really start to be optimistic about where it's going?