I think the key to the show is that Seth had the clout to get it on the air with his success on his other shows more than the merit of his idea. Maybe it would be better if he didn't star in it either

I don't think the audience cares about originality. They want something STAR TREK and "Discovery" is hard do set up. Why does that make them ignorant? The audience knows what he is doing and likes it.

And they didn't say 'dick' even once!

I don't give a about Star Trek or Discovery or any of the franchises- so me. I happen to like Seth's brand of humor on his other shows- Family Guy and American Dad (and I liked the comedy/western movie he made- whose title escapes me at this moment) so that is why I tuned in to see The Orville- and especially since he is starring in it. When I want to see something more adult rated then I watch Broad City, Curb Your Enthusiasm, etc. I have the ability to enjoy different types of shows, whether they are "remixes" or not. Different strokes for different folks .

@bratface said:

And they didn't say 'dick' even once!

Even though its a compliment.

@Siobhan17 said:

Orville is moderately entertaining. Good fare for young children, family entertainment, and those that mostly like PG fare. The writing is not great, the jokes are flat and it's still better than most anything FOX has on the air. That being said, I do take issue that Seth MacFarlane either knows his audience is ignorant or is just banking on that. We are 4 episodes into the Orville and he has used major plots (virtually exact plots) from episodes of Star Trek, TNG, AND old radio shows like the Whistler and Suspense. He isn't even really trying to be original, so I wish he'd stop saying that the Orville is something that hasn't been done before. What is it that hasn't been done before? I don't think he's able to. He's the Puff Daddy of TV. He makes a decent dance club remix but some other creative author has to have done the majority of the work else he doesn't have anything. That has been the basis of his career and what he's most successful at doing. This is why so many of his peers have little to no respect for him. MacFarlane's in ability to create original fare is why the show has some really flat parts and subpar dialogue. This is when he trying to work around his borrowed story lines. Fortunately for him, his audience seems to be in the dark and/or doesn't know every episode of old sci-fi tv and radio shows. I recommend he stop writing the majority of the episodes (think he wrote 8 or 9 of the 13 episodes) come season 2 and employ better writers.

Well to be fair, it's almost impossible to find something in this day and age that isn't derivative or a rehash of something previously done. Sometimes I think I have an original idea until I search it on the internet and a bunch of similar things pop up. Heck, I thought I was very clever coming up with "How many bears could Bear Grylls grill, if Bear Grylls could grill bears". Then I put it in google, and sure enough a bunch of people had already thought of it.

"it's almost impossible to find something in this day and age that isn't derivative or a rehash of something previously done."

Well, "The Good Place" is rather original.

@CharlesTheBold said:

Well, "The Good Place" is rather original.

"The Good Place"

@Siobhan17 said:

Good fare for young children, family entertainment, and those that mostly like PG fare.

Practically the first joke in the entire show is an alien's blue ejaculate exploding all over everything... Not sure if that really is "good fare" for young children 🤔

"Mommy/Daddy? Is the blue alien crying?"

On the other hand, maybe it was something like the defense mechanism of a squid or octopus, squirting ink when discovered by a predator?

@Knixon said:

On the other hand, maybe it was something like the defense mechanism of a squid or octopus, squirting ink when discovered by a predator?

Nope- it's Seth MacFarlane - therefore, it was an alien's blue ejaculate exploding all over everything...

@The Midi-chlorian Count said:

Practically the first joke in the entire show is an alien's blue ejaculate exploding all over everything... Not sure if that really is "good fare" for young children 🤔

True, and I had somehow forgotten about that.

It could be that the whole Star Trek style set up is pretty played out by now. Anything one could do would naturally remind fans of these types of shows of well all the others of these types of shows. Not that another space-com type program couldn't work. I don't mind the Orville but since Seth big thing is pop culture references then maybe he should step back and let someone else take the command post.

@The Midi-chlorian Count said:

@Siobhan17 said:

Good fare for young children, family entertainment, and those that mostly like PG fare.

Practically the first joke in the entire show is an alien's blue ejaculate exploding all over everything... Not sure if that really is "good fare" for young children 🤔

Just rewatched that episode (why they are rerunning episodes already is a mystery?), have you taught your children that the male of the species ejaculates from his forehead?

I suppose the original poster on this could argue that Family Guy is a remix of South Park but to me, Family Guy and American Dad are both quite hilarious and I can't see them as being blatant rip-offs of anything. However, that and his movie, "A Million Ways to Die in the West", are the only original works that I can give him any credit for. Everything else is a formulaic duplicate of all else that's come before his works.

I gave the Orville five episodes in chances and quite frankly, I wasn't sold on any of it. That's because I've never been a Star Trek fan either. If I wanted the occasional snort or snigger at a minuscule joke here and there, I'd be watching Star Trek. From Macfarlane, I expect a lot more out of him in the comedy department. It's all heart, while the laughs remain rare like rocking horse poo.