Each week, we will be taking an in depth look at some of the best sitcoms and comedy shows from both the UK and the USA.

Today we will be looking at a comedy that has only started this year and has been met with a lot of great reviews – The Orville

Opening Sequence / Theme Tune

About the Show

Summary of Plot

Follows the crew of the not-so-functional exploratory ship in the Earth’s interstellar fleet, 400 years in the future..–IMDb

Number of Seasons / Episodes

13 Episodes

Characters:

Seth MacFarlane – Ed Mercer

Adrianne Palicki – Commander Kelly Grayson

Penny Johnson Jerald -Dr. Claire Finn

Scott Grimes – Lt. Gordon Malloy

Peter Macon – Lt. Commander Bortus,

Halston Sage – Lt. Alara Kitan,

1. Lee – Lt. John LaMarr,

Mark Jackson – Isaac

Trivia

• The ship is named after Orville Wright, one of the Wright brothers; The brothers successfully conducted the first free, controlled flight of a power-driven airplane on December 17, 1903.
• Seth MacFarlane previously said that he was interested in reviving Star Trek for television. Now the Orville(2017), a not so subtle Star Trek homage, is premiering the same year as Star Trek: Discovery(2017), a Star Trek television revival.
• Despite all the technology “borrowed” from Star Trek, there is one major component missing – a transporter.
• In the pilot, the Admiral tells Ed Mercer that the Orville “isn’t a Heavy Cruiser.” Originally, Star Trek’s USS Enterprise was designated a “Heavy Cruiser.”
• This is Seth MacFarlane’s first live action show that he is credited with creating.
• Seth MacFarlane’s character is named Ed Mercer; Peter Griffin’s ex-girlfriend’s name is Gretchen Mercer.
• The name “Admiral Halsey” could be a reference to the Paul McCartney song “Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey”, which in turn references the real-life US admiral.
• Both Liam Neeson and Charlize Theron have appeared on The Orville, both of whom starred in Seth MacFarlane’s “A Million Ways to Die in the West”

Classic Clips

Gordon and John meet each other

Ed and Kelly Argue

Wild West Showdown