There’s no denyingThe Orvillehas borrowed heavily from theStar Trekfranchise, but some of the shared elements work better than others in Seth MacFarlane’s space opera. Beginning as aStar Trekparody,The Orvillehas gradually grown to fit the description of a love letter to the legendary sci-fi franchise. The two properties are now so unofficially intertwined thatThe Orvillecould easily be misinterpreted as part of theStar Trektimeline. While this isn’t the case, it’s obvious how the mistake could be made, and all due to MacFarlane’s decision to replicateStar Trek’s blueprint so closely.
Star Trekis one of the oldest andmost successful sci-fi franchises of all time. WithoutStar Trek, many other sci-fi movies and TV shows wouldn’t exist, andThe Orvilledefinitely fits into his category. While many of the projects inspired byStar Trektook great strides to put their own mark on the sci-fi genre,The Orvilleis very content with openly imitatingStar Trek. MacFarlane’s show makes no secret of the fact that it’s not an original concept, but it does brilliantly make use of several key elements introduced or first championed byStar Trek.
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10The Orville’s Planetary Union Holds All The Same Ideals As Star Trek’s United Federation Of Planets
Both sci-fi organizations prioritize exploration & collaboration
MostStar Trekshows paint the future as a utopian, interstellar community that’s built on exploration and collaboration between planets. While wars do inevitably break out between those who disagree with the Federation’s ideals and actions, the franchise emphasizes the importance of seeing past differences and instead focusing on similarities.The Orville’s Planetary Union is essentially a replication of the Federationand holds the same belief system.
Interestingly,The Orvilledoes streamline the concept ofStar Trek’s Federation and how it interacts with Starfleet.
Interestingly,The Orvilledoes streamline the concept ofStar Trek’s Federation and how it interacts with Starfleet. InStar Trek, Starfleet is an Earth-based organization that characters like Captain Picard and other officers belong to. However, the Federation of Planets, while also Earth-based, isn’t the same as Starfleet, as the Federation is an umbrella term that encompasses all of its member worlds.The Orvillehas essentially combined Starfleet and the Federation to create the Planetary Union.
9The USS Orville Has A Non-Human Crew Member Who Slowly Becomes More Human
Star Trek casts almost always have a crewmember that fits this description
The Orville’s Isaac is a member of a man-made, fully synthetic race called the Kaylon. As the show progresses,Isaac learns more and more about his fellow crewmatesand eventually starts to display signs of their influence. For those unfamiliar withStar Trek, this may seem like an original arc for a non-human character, but it’s one thatStar Trekhas used several times before.
As a Vulcan/human hybrid, Spock’s story revolved partially around the concept of embracing his human side.
The firstStar Trekcharacter to fill this role was Leonard Nimoy when he played Spock inStar Trek: The Original Series' cast. As a Vulcan/human hybrid, Spock’s story revolved partially around the concept of embracing his human side. Since then,otherStar Trekcharacters have experienced similar journeys. Examples includeStar Trek: The Next Generation’s Data, played by Brent Spiner, and Robert Picardo’s holographic doctor during his time as part of theStar Trek: Voyagercast.
8Quantum Drive Is Essentially Just Warp Drive Under A Different Name
Seth MacFarlane directly borrowed the USS Orville’s FTL tech from Star Trek
Faster-than-light propulsion is an essential part of almost every space opera. Theoverused sci-fi tropeallows the story’s characters to explore deeper into the universe than would otherwise be possible. While somefranchises likeThe Expanseavoid this trope, such an occurrence is rare.Star Trek’s warp drive results in a much broader landscape in which to set its stories, with each warp factor being a reference to the speed of light. Some sci-fi franchises approach faster-than-light travel differently, butThe Orville’s Quantum Drive is an exact copy ofStar Trek’s warp drive.
Warp factor 1 inStar Trekis the speed of light, warp factor 2 is twice the speed of light, and so on.
Despite the identical nature of Quantum Drive and Warp Drive, the two franchises put a different emphasis on the importance of the technology in one specific instance. InStar Trek, First Contact can only be made with an alien civilization if they too have developed Warp Drive.The Orvilledoesn’t follow this rule when it comes to First Contact, although the Union does make its own determinations on whether an underdeveloped world is ready to be contacted.
7The Union Ships Have A Very Similar Layout To Starfleet Ships
Areas like the bridge and the mess hall look very familiar in Star Trek & The Orville
Sci-fi starships take on a different feel and functionalitydepending on the franchise, butStarfleet ships are incredibly uniform in their design. Although there are some variances depending on the class of ship, areas like the bridge, engineering, and the mess hall, all share a stunning similarity. If the USS Orville were thrust into theStar Trekuniverse, a Starfleet officer would likely have no problem navigating the strangely familiar vessel.
Head-to-head, the USS Orville and a ship like the USS Enterprise could be very evenly matched due to their shared specifications.
Even on the outside,The Orville’s ships don’t look that far removed from theirStar Trekcounterparts. Of course, some differences mean they can be told apart, but the vessels inThe Orvillecould easily just be a new model or class of ship in theStar Trekfranchise. Head-to-head, the USS Orville and a ship like the USS Enterprise could be very evenly matched due to their shared specifications.
6The Planetary Union’s Ranking System Is The Same As Starfleet’s
Star Trek & The Orville both adopt the same hierarchical structure as the US Navy
The hierarchy of the Union and Starfleet is dictated by a military-style ranking system. Both franchises base this structure on the system found in the US Navy. This isn’t especially surprising given how many nautical terms also apply to space travel in science-fiction. So, whileThe Orvillearguably can’t be said to have adoptedStar Trek’s officer ranking system, it is interesting that they also imitated the US Navy. The most likely explanation is thatThe Orvilletook this course of action becauseStar Trekalready had.
10 Ways The Orville Is Better Than Modern Star Trek
The Orville has often borrowed from the Star Trek franchise, but now it’s become its biggest competitor thanks to being better than modern Star Trek.
The Orvilledoesn’t follow the US Navy’s ranking structure quite as closely asStar Trek, as it omits an entire rank from the chain of command. WhereasStar Trek’s progression goes: Ensign, Lieutenant (Junior Grade), Lieutenant, Lieutenant Commander, Commander, Captain, then Admiral,The Orvilleskips over Lieutenant (Junior Grade). Given thatThe Orvillebegan a little more lighthearted thanStar Trek, it makes senseThe Orville’s ranking structure would be slightly simplified.
5Many Star Trek Species Have A Counterpart In The Orville Universe
Many of the aliens in The Orville share a similar aesthetic with those in Star Trek
BecauseThe Orvilleisn’t actually part of theStar Trekcanon, MacFarlane’s show isn’t permitted to use any of the same species from the franchise that inspired it so heavily. That being said, some of the character designs and personality traits of many of the alien races inThe Orvillebring to mind counterparts in theStar Trekuniverse. For instance,the Moclans inThe Orvilleseem very much like a take onStar Trek’s iconic Klingons.
MacFarlane has made an effort to separate the them, but the initial influence is easy to spot.
Similarly, Xelayan characters like Alara and Talla appear to be based heavily onStar Trek’s Vulcans. Not only do the two races share the famous tapered ears, butXelayans and Vulcans are both notably stronger than humans. The lore surrounding each of all the relevant similar species isn’t identical, so MacFarlane has made an effort to separate them, but the initial influence is easy to spot.
4The Weapons In The Orville Could Comfortably Belong In The Star Trek Universe
The Orville crew can’t set their “phasers” to stun, but they can come very close
Neither the Union nor the Federation are military organizations- they’re explorers. While conflict is rarely an intention for either body, space is a dangerous place. As such, they need to be able to defend themselves. To do this, they need weaponry that at least matches that of their respective enemies. The Union and the Federation’s shared requirement to stand their ground has resulted in the development of sci-fi armaments that are essentially interchangeable.
Where Starfleet traditionally uses Photon Torpedos, the union has Plasma Torpedos.
Where Starfleet traditionally uses Photon Torpedos, the union has Plasma Torpedos. The USS Enterprise will often defend itself with Phaser Cannons, and the USS Orville could match the damage with its Plasma Cannons. In short,there’s no firepower boasted by a Starfleet ship that would leave a Union ship wanting. Such a direct lift fromStar TrekallowsThe Orvilleviewers to largely understand the offensive capabilities of Captain Ed Mercer’s ship almost immediately.
3The Orville & Star Trek Both Star An Ensemble Cast With No Main Character
Captain Ed Mercer isn’t the main protagonist in every episode of The Orville
EveryStar Trekshowhas a captain or a leader of the crew. However, that doesn’t necessarily make them the story’s main character. Although Sonequa Martin-Green leads theStar Trek: Discoverycastas Michael Burnham, every other show within the franchise makes full use of its ensemble casts, with certain characters varying in their prominence on an episode-by-episode basis.The Orvilletakes this approach, avoiding too much focus on any singular character.
If Seth MacFarlane hadn’t decided to spread the attention around among his co-stars,The Orvillewould have felt much less likeStar Trekthan it ended up doing.
The Orville’s cast is filled with colorful and well-written characterswho all contribute something different to the show, as is the case with many of theStar Trekcasts. If Seth MacFarlane hadn’t decided to spread the attention around among his co-stars,The Orvillewould have felt much less likeStar Trekthan it ended up doing. It’s a big part of the formula forStar Trek, so it makes sense that MacFarlane would adopt this too.
2The Union’s Uniforms Are Color-Coded By Division Like In Starfleet
The Orville’s colors don’t match up with the Star Trek divisions
The Union and Starfleet are both divided into different divisions, and the color of an officer’s uniform is a quick way of delineating to which one they belong. Whilewhat these colors mean inStar Trekhas changed since the days ofThe Original Seriesand its near-eras,The Orville’s color system has remained unchanged since the show began. Generally, fromStar Trek: The Next Generation-onward, red represents Command, yellow means Operations, and those wearing green are Science and Medical personnel.
It would have been a little too direct forThe Orvilleto perfectly mimic how Starfleet tells its divisions apart at a glance, but the changes are so superficial that it’s still easy to tell what’s going on.
The Orvilledoesn’t just borrowStar Trek’s uniform coloring systembut expands it by adding a fourth category while also changing the colors around. InThe Orville, blue uniforms represent Command, orange is Engineering, green is Medical, and Red is for those in Security. It would have been a little too direct forThe Orvilleto perfectly mimic how Starfleet tells its divisions apart at a glance, but the changes are so superficial that it’s still easy to tell what’s going on.
1The Orville Borrows Some Of The Star Trek Franchise’s Biggest Stars
MacFarlane has also appeared in a Star Trek show before
Casting decisions are a huge consideration when trying to make a successful TV show, andStar Trekhas already been responsible for recruiting actors who were perfect for their roles. As part ofThe Orville’s overall homage toStar Trek,MacFarlane’s sci-fi show has had severalStar Trekactorsshow up as original characters that often had at least a loose connection to their famous personas.
The Orville Can’t End Until This Star Trek Star Makes A Guest Appearance
Many Star Trek actors have had cameo appearances on The Orville, but there’s still one who needs to appear before Seth MacFarlane’s sci-fi show ends.
It isn’t just in front of the camera thatStar Trekpersonnel involve themselves with the production ofThe Orville. Stars likeVoyager’s Robert Duncan McNeill andThe Next Generation’s Jonathon Frakes have each directed more than one episode of MacFarlane’s sci-fi show. Brannon Braga has also been in the director’s chair, a pivotal figure from theStar Trekgolden age. Of course,The Orvilleis perfectly easy to enjoy without ever having seenStar Trek, but the experience of the former is made much more rewarding with knowledge of the latter.
The Orville
Cast
Created by Seth McFarlane and set in the 25th century, The Orville follows the crew of the titular ship and its captain, Ed Mercer (McFarlane) as they explore the galaxy. Inspired by Star Trek, it also spoofs the sci-fi classic, taking a comedic approach to its serialized story and science-fiction premise. Adrianne Palicki, Penny Johnson Jerald, and Scott Grimes star alongside McFarlane as part of an ensemble cast.
