Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
Cast: Seth MacFarlane, Adrianne Palicki, Penny Johnson, Scott Grimes, Peter Macon, J. Lee, Mark Jackson, Norm MacDonald, Jessica Szohr, Chad L. Coleman, Halston Sage, Victor Garber, Ted Danson, BJ Tanner, Kai Wener, Ty Finn, Mike Henry, Anne Winters, Graham Hamilton, Kelly Hu, Dolly Parton, Michaela McManus, Imani Pullum, Giorgia Whigham.
Rarely in life do you come across a television series that finds a way to alter slightly its ethos and character with the hope of gaining extra attention and yet not lose a single moment of its core belief. It is an argument that normally insists that the opposite is true, that the series will lose its viewing base, that the discerning public who have taken the programme and its cast to its heart will find the change to much to handle, the consideration of having sold out will be levied against the makers and script writers, and slowly, and surely, the much loved series will does a short and immediate death.
Most programmes, most series, most creatives, ask them and the answer is you don’t mess with a winning formula, but then most people aren’t Seth McFarlane, for whilst the term genius is perhaps overused in an attempt to describe the gifted in terms that exemplifies the risks they are willing to take, for Set McFarlane, genius arguably doesn’t come close to describing just how absolute he is when it comes to crafting award winning productions in a way that is not only sardonic, but at times unbelievably and intellectually fierce.
To take The Orville beyond what had already made it one of the most furiously defended and enjoyed sci-fi/comedy programmes of its time, and create another world within its huge and impressive frame, to add layers of virtuosity, of insight and flair, and not lose a single moment of joy which had those in the know proclaim it as what Star Trek could have been, is by its own admissions a gift of production, and one that makes unquestionably guarantees its tag line of New Horizons is aptly put to good use.
There is not just one thing that makes The Orville in its third series a resounding success, it is a culmination of all that it entails; a perfect roast is not only complimented for its use of potatoes, a classic album is also not considered faultless because of just one instrument, and the same applies to this series, however it is telling that the recipe for triumph is in the way it has held its own in a wake of change that pandemic and time has placed upon it.
If anything the sense of humanity has been enhanced, the drama expanded, and whilst the comedy is very much sewn throughout the series, the seriousness of modern issues woven into a futuristic setting is all the more gratefully received and understood, not least for plot lines including new comer Anne Winters as Ensign Charly Burke, the continuing evolvement of Isaac, played with style by Mark Jackson, and Imani Pullum as Topa as she continues to express her desire to have the right to be female, are all to be congratulated.
Whilst there is no news on a fourth series, viewers will surely feel a huge sense of occasion when they watch this third series in all its glory, the messages it passes on, and the strength of character it took to return faithfully to the screen; for all that the New Horizons of The Orville look to be forever proving there is no limit to good and compelling storytelling.
Ian D. Hall