I appreciate the more serious tone this show has taken since the beginning, but did often wish for the stories to be less predictable and, perhaps, a bit less overtly preachy. Writing a story about the thing in human society (even if the story is "about" an alien race) is easier than devising a clever metaphor that merely alludes to some human failing, though, and having the characters say exactly what you (the writers) mean is also much more likely to "land" with the viewers who you want to hear the message.
Unfortunately doing it this way also tends to make The Orville seem even more like "21st-century humans in the future", a problem it's had since day one due to the use of present-day slang and other conventions. The best sci-fi draws you into its own world, and often addresses social (or other) issues through creative reframing, rather than just straight-up pointing at aliens who do something we'd like to see less of in our own society and saying "aren't these people assholes?"
Somehow, despite all of this, the show still scratches my "classic Star Trek" itch like nothing else. I still hope it gets another season or two, ideally with even more focus on fleshing out the show's universe. Some big stuff happened in this season that would be a shame to just leave hanging.
Review by dgwVIP 10BlockedParent2022-08-04T06:15:30Z
Average episode rating for this season: 6.6
I appreciate the more serious tone this show has taken since the beginning, but did often wish for the stories to be less predictable and, perhaps, a bit less overtly preachy. Writing a story about the thing in human society (even if the story is "about" an alien race) is easier than devising a clever metaphor that merely alludes to some human failing, though, and having the characters say exactly what you (the writers) mean is also much more likely to "land" with the viewers who you want to hear the message.
Unfortunately doing it this way also tends to make The Orville seem even more like "21st-century humans in the future", a problem it's had since day one due to the use of present-day slang and other conventions. The best sci-fi draws you into its own world, and often addresses social (or other) issues through creative reframing, rather than just straight-up pointing at aliens who do something we'd like to see less of in our own society and saying "aren't these people assholes?"
Somehow, despite all of this, the show still scratches my "classic Star Trek" itch like nothing else. I still hope it gets another season or two, ideally with even more focus on fleshing out the show's universe. Some big stuff happened in this season that would be a shame to just leave hanging.