The Orville or Star Trek: Discovery - Comparison
The great Sci-Fi debate. If you're any sort of fan of Science Fiction at all you'll know Star Trek. It's an integral part of nerd culture for many and some people even view it as the reason why the genre started to grow in the first place. So, when CBS announced they were doing bringing back the Star Trek TV series with a whole new setting and cast of characters, people were definitely excited but also nervous. Having a new series set in this universe had people very nervous because it seemed the show was continuously pushed back and having issues. During all of the mess that was the build up to Discovery, a new show from Seth Macfarlane and Fox seemingly swooped in from out of nowhere and staked it's claim in the genre: The Orville. With both shows having already aired and either hit mid season or finished their season, now is the time to analyze both shows and see what strengths each has and which you should watch if you're thinking about one of these shows.
For this comparison, we'll be going through a variety of topics and comparing/contrasting the two shows and giving a general recap of what each shows strengths are. These topics will be as such: story, characters, visuals, and overall enjoyment. So, let's get started!
Story
Star Trek: Discovery: From the beginning, Discovery varies from The Orville in the fact that it is much more story driven than The Orville. While The Orville does have arcs through it's first season, Discovery was much more closely linked episode to episode. Revolving most of the time around the character of Michael Burnham, her journey from disgraced first officer to honorable science officer of the Discovery is the main focus. While other characters do get plenty of screen time and focus, it is truly her story. The major story point and plot revolves around the Klingon and United Federation conflict (which Burnham has a major part in starting). This does create more tension and drama for the series, making it a much more serious show overall. You won't find much in the way of jokes here besides a few passing remarks.
The Orville: As most people would probably guess from a show by Seth Macfarlane, The Orville leans heavily into it's comedy aspects. The series kicks off with the untimely divorce of Ed Mercer and his wife Kelly Grayson, who later come together again on their new ship the Orville. As you can imagine this is played with throughout multiple episodes during the season, and the show generally should be concerned the lighter in tone of the two. In general, the story doesn't necessarily follow a season long arc, mainly it has a few points that stick through each episode and help to differentiate and show that each passing episodes end results still matters. Even though the series is a comedy show, there are still plenty of points in which real issues arise and it causes the crew of the Orville to make decisions that show they are truly capable. Seeing the balance between these two areas of serious conflict and comedy is a strength for the Orville overall.
Characters
Star Trek: Discovery: As mentioned in the previous section, the main character of the show is Michael Burnham (Sonequa-Martin Green) and that never is really put into question. The captain Jason Isaac I say unquestionably is the second most important character on the show. Their relationship is by far one of the more important of the series, with out characters factoring in and out depending on the episode. LT. Ash Tyler (Shazid Latif) also plays a major role as Chief of Security and Michael's love interest. All three of these characters are played well and as I have stated take up the majority of the focus, which isn't necessarily a bad thing.
The Orville: In my opinion, this show takes a completely different look at it's characters. While the obvious mainstays of the story are Kelly and Ed (Adrianne Palicki and Seth Macfarlane), there are plenty of other characters who play a major role in the story. I would argue that some of the best moments come from the supporting characters in Lt. John Lamarr (J. Lee) and Isaac (Mark Jackson), one of which who is a cyborg from a planet of all artificial lifeforms, the other is simply a playboy still character who almost every woman on the show is attracted to. This emphasis on side characters gives The Orville another strong foot to stand on.
Visuals
Star Trek: Discovery: Without question Discovery holds the leadership in visual fidelity and quality. Being a Star Trek series the budget goes to great use, making space look outstanding and the ship absolutely gorgeous. Along with this, Discovery travels to distant planets with a vast difference in look and feel for each. Also the Klingons while a bit different than many people remember them from previous iterations of this series, they also look extremely well done. I was thoroughly impressed throughout Discovery's first half with how the series looked.
The Orville: For this show, most of the time is spent on the Orville itself. In order for this series to work they had to make the ship look good and boy does it. While it's generally a normal look for a space ship I feel the depth and get the sense of how large the ship actually is with all of the different areas explored. The suits also look well done, and some characters purposely look a bit unnatural for who they are for the comedic aspect. The only major issue I have is with the planet's visited throughout the show's 12 episode first season. I always felt like the show was simply going from one Earth to the next, as it never really changed. You always were either in a desert or a forest and it just never really got me excited to see the other worlds out there.
Conclusion:
When analyzing both of these shows, they have a lot of similarities seeing how closely related they are to one another. Granted they both take Star Trek's original series into account and attempt to recreate that magic so-to-speak. So, if you're looking for something with a bit more action, a serious story arc, and beautiful worlds; Star Trek: Discovery is for you. If you want a series with a bit more humor, characters that are more endearing, and a generally lighter tone; The Orville would fit your preferences. One last benefit though that The Orville holds over Discovery is that it is on Fox, and you don't have to pay a service to view it. So even though I have already given you an idea of what each show is better for, I will finish off with a rating for each show, but bare in mind you can't go wrong with either!
