Mainstream sci-fi and space fantasy has faltered in recent years due to poor corporate management of famous brands. Nothing illustrates that better than the devastating decline of the once revered Star Trek and Star Wars. Disappointment after disappointment with very little respite has been hard to watch. Thankfully, this is where "The Orville" comes in to provide a little water to the dry desert that is mainstream Hollywood sci-fi productions. I say little because this show is only 36 episodes, but I'm the kind of person who would rather have higher quality over a shorter time span than a bunch of dull filler interspersed with some mediocre content and occasional high points over a longer period of time.
"The Orville" started back in 2017 with the second season coming in very late 2018 into 2019 and the third and final season subtitled "New Horizons" released in 2022. So it clearly had production delays between seasons. That may have hurt its viewership to some degree but now that it can be watched in its entirety without that delay, the strength of the show's characters and world building gets to shine brighter than ever.
Admittedly, the first season almost seems like a parody of classic Star Trek at times by leaning a bit too much into goofy humor. Still, season one is great overall. Then season two found a better balance between serious drama and humor and the show really hit its stride with season three ramping up the length and scope of the episodes to achieve a very satisfying conclusion of the series. Granted, it can be pleasant to get more of a good thing, but if there is never a season four then what we got is wrapped up into a nice bow of an ending.
I've watched the entire series twice, once during it's original run with the delays and once a few years after the fact as more of binging experience, and I can say beyond a shadow of a doubt that it is among the most fun experiences I've ever had watching a show.
"The Orville" started back in 2017 with the second season coming in very late 2018 into 2019 and the third and final season subtitled "New Horizons" released in 2022. So it clearly had production delays between seasons. That may have hurt its viewership to some degree but now that it can be watched in its entirety without that delay, the strength of the show's characters and world building gets to shine brighter than ever.
Admittedly, the first season almost seems like a parody of classic Star Trek at times by leaning a bit too much into goofy humor. Still, season one is great overall. Then season two found a better balance between serious drama and humor and the show really hit its stride with season three ramping up the length and scope of the episodes to achieve a very satisfying conclusion of the series. Granted, it can be pleasant to get more of a good thing, but if there is never a season four then what we got is wrapped up into a nice bow of an ending.
I've watched the entire series twice, once during it's original run with the delays and once a few years after the fact as more of binging experience, and I can say beyond a shadow of a doubt that it is among the most fun experiences I've ever had watching a show.
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