It pleased me to see that a majority of viewers ignored the mostly negative reviews of Seth MacFarlane's comedic space drama, The Orville and give this quirky show a try. More than one of my TV viewing friends told me they had watched and liked the show. Apparently so did a lot of other people, given that despite those reviews the show had strong ratings for its premiere episode and in fact, its adjusted ratings tied the premiere ratings of one of last season's most popular shows, This is Us, with 8.6 million viewers and a 2.8 rating (18-49). Now, granted, the show likely benefited from the Sunday football lead-in, but those that did watch will likely stay tuned. Most of those I heard from said they tuned in because it was something different than the police, lawyer or doctor procedurals that dominate most network line-ups.
The second of the two-episode premiere will likely garner strong ratings as well, as it too will air tonight at 8:00-9:00 pm eastern following the NFL Doubleheader on Fox. I actually liked this episode, Command Performance, a little more than the premiere as it began a trend of showcasing individual characters, a trend I hope it continues throughout its freshman season. This episode's description from the network is: When Ed (Seth MacFarlane) and Kelly (Adrienne Palicki) are tricked by a hologram of a ship in distress and find themselves prisoners in a replica of their former home, Alara (Halston Sage) must step up in her first command of the Orville and attempt a heroic rescue. Meanwhile, Bortus (Peter Macon) and Klyden (Chad L. Coleman) receive some happy, yet unexpected news.
With this episode, the show seems to be finding its footing and presented a more balanced mix of action, suspense, drama, character development and that MacFarlane brand of off-beat comedy. Though, admittedly some of the MacFarlane jokes do fall a little flat. What was interesting to watch, was the connections being developed between characters and characters being fleshed out.
The focus of this episode is the burden of command, and when thrust into that position during a crisis, can Security Chief Alara Kitan step up. With her performance in this episode, Halston Sage as Alara just reaffirms the belief that her character will soon become a fan favorite. The story has a nice setup, and again the effects and action sequences are nicely done. The resolution to the B-story this week carries a slightly irreverant yet funny tone not often seen in sci-fi shows and begs the question as to how aliens would view this world were they to monitor us.
Part two of the special two-part preview of
The Orville – airs tonight at 8C/9E, following the NFL Doubleheader on Fox and is a solid follow-up to last week's premiere. Did you watch the premiere of The Orville? Will you be watching tonight? If so, tell us what you think in the comments.
