Influences of The Orville

> *Seth MacFarlane created* The Orville *in part to carry on the tradition of allegorical storytelling that* Star Trek*,* The Twilight Zone*, and other science fiction series have pioneered on television over the decades.*— André Bormanis
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> *With a science fiction show, as Gene Roddenberry once said, "The basis of your series is the galaxy. And there are quite a few stories out there."*— Seth MacFarlane
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Producers, cast, and other staff have always acknowledged that development of *The Orville* was **influenced by** **previous works**.

The most important influence is the science-fiction franchise *Star Trek*. Production staff view *The Orville* to be an "homage" or re-interpretation of "source material" found in the franchise, and executive producer Brannon Braga even went so far as to say that creator Seth MacFarlane had been a huge fan of *Star Trek* and "created his own version of it" through *The Orville*. However, many other important movies, television shows, books, and works shaped the creation and production of the show that should not be overlooked, including *Star Wars*, *M\*A\*S\*H*, *Alien*, and *So You've Been Publicly Shamed*, among many others.

The motivations to use, modify, or refer to prior artistic creations are complex. Producers, critics, and fans are sometimes too eager to point to *Star Trek*; many similarities are in fact coincidences, and both shows often borrowed from earlier sources. For example, as Seth MacFarlane pointed out, both The Orville and *Star Trek: The Next Generation* feature a captain leading a bridge crew, but the idea of a bridge crew traveling through space dates back to the 1930s. Sources of inspiration are not reducible to one or even several shows.

Many other sources of inspiration abound. *The Orville*'s alien species were personifications of human religious and political philosophies like Christianity, Islam, astrology, and (in the comic books) the agendas of Presidents George W. Bush and Donald Trump. Spaceships were frequently inspired by 20th century science-fiction works like *Alien*; and MacFarlane openly attempted to re-capture the "tonal balance" of comedy and drama in *M\*A\*S\*H* and *Defending Your Life*.

## Creating the world of The Orville

Many of the elements behind the show have parallels in previous works, especially in science fiction. "There's no getting around that there's some *Star Trek* inspiration in this show," executive producer David A. Goodman bluntly stated at the 2017 New York City Comic-Con. "There's no getting around that MacFarlane wanted an uplifting show that presented a positive view of the future, which is what Roddenberry [creator of Star Trek] said about his original show. So they share that philosophy."

One of the most fundamental cues taken from *Star Trek* was the elimination of money with the advent of matter synthesis. First Officer Kelly Grayson states in *New Dimensions* and *All the World is Birthday Cake* that money disappeared in a post-scarcity economy, so reputation became society's new currency. As creator Seth MacFarlane put it,

> *It was important to take a cue from Gene Roddenberry* [creator of Star Trek] *that somehow we’ve gotten past money. Money can’t be a factor. It’s too primitive. I really love that, in "Star Trek," reputation becomes the main form of currency in the absence of money. When you think about it, it’s not the warp drive, it’s not the transporter, it’s the replicator. We give a little nod to that in "The Orville."*
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In fact, the matter synthesis is even called 'replication' on rare occasions. *Star Trek: The Original Series* had food synthesizers aboard starships, which may have been responsible for Food Synthesizers and Matter Synthesizers.

Ships travel faster than the speed of light thanks to a quantum drive, a space-folding technology based on the Alcubierre warp drive. (Fans and journalists often mistakenly state that the quantum drive was based on Star Trek's warp drive.) Both shows call the era of Earth before faster-than-light travel "Old Earth."

Both Planetary Union and Federation officers follow a set of ethics that refrains from killing unless absolutely necessary. As MacFarlane told *Forbes*,

> *I’m a huge fan [of Star Trek] and always have been. Gene Roddenberry’s philosophy was always very meaningful to me when I was a kid. I always loved that the phasers were set on stun. That was something you really only saw on that show. That there was actually an ethical code, that it wasn’t about just shooting faceless bad guys. It was about respect for life. That was the philosophy of the show, and I swear to God that’s the reason that if I find a spider in my house, I've got to put it outside. I can’t kill it.*
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The planet Xelaya may be rooted in *Star Trek*'s Mount Seleya, a holy site to the Vulcans. The Vulcans themselves are an extremely strong humanoid species with pointed ears, much like Xelayans.

Jahavus Dorahl says an ion storm seriously damaged the Bio-ship in *If the Stars Should Appear*. Ion storms are a frequent hazard encountered by spaceships in *Star Trek*, first occurring in *The Galileo Seven* and receiving the name "ion storm" in *Court Martial* (note that this episode was probably responsible for the plot twist in *Deflectors*).

In both shows, officers work in sections such as Command and Security, indicated by uniform color. Rank, on the other hand, is indicated by epaulets or other insignia. Union officers have access to the PM-44 as a standard weapon, while colonists are restricted to the older and weaker PM-32 model. Similarly in *Star Trek*, colonists have access only to Phaser 1 while officers have Phaser 1 and the stronger Phaser 2.

### *The Orville* as an "anti-*Star Trek*" show

Many in the creative team behind *The Orville* explicitly rejected aspects of earlier works. Consequently, producers like Brannon Braga considered *The Orville* to sometimes be an "anti-*Star Trek*" - a rejection of "[Gene] Roddenberry's universe." The protagonists of *Star Trek* are usually emotionally stable, level-headed, "paragons" of virtue, while *The Orville* embraces characters with "neurotic foibles and relationship problems" to generate comedic tension. Further, *The Orville* writers who worked on earlier *Star Trek* shows like *The Next Generation* explicitly rejected its reliance on technobabble and *deus ex machina* technology to create or resolve conflict.

Teleportation technology is widely used on Star Trek as the "transporter," while on *The Orville* teleportation is available only to a select, highly advanced species like the Calivon and the Kandarians. "The transporter, that is a distinct Roddenberry invention and a brilliant one and we weren’t comfortable doing that," Braga noted. "There can be no doubt we are paying tribute to the Star Trek ethos – and others such as *The Twilight Zone* ethos – but we don’t just want to rip shit off."

### Religious influences on *The Orville*

*The Orville* is highly critical of religious beliefs and systems used to justify controlling the behavior of others, especially conservative political Christianity and Islam. The most obvious example are the Krill species, who represent fundamentalist Islam and, according to Seth MacFarlane, philosophies of Islam that resort to terrorism. The Krill follow the teachings of Avis as described in the Anhkana much like Muslims follow the teachings of Allah as described in the Koran. Early Krill were more moderate believers but they radicalized after the advent of space flight and first contact with other civilizations, perhaps mirroring moderate Islam during its Golden Age and its turn to religious conservatism in subsequent centuries. By the 24th century, most Krill believed Avis commanded the destruction of all non-Krill as they were "without a soul." Whether the Krill would accept a non-Krill who followed Avis was left an open question in *New Beginnings, Pt. 1*. Sometimes writers would use other religions for inspiration. For example, First Officer Kelly Grayson refers to the Bible, specifically Genesis 1:26, when she contrasts the Krill against earlier Earth beliefs about subjugating animals.

### The language of science fiction

*The Orville* tells allegorical stories or parables that contrast 20th century America against a utopic vision of the future. Themes include sexual orientation, gender and sex, peace after war, and the place of religion in political discourse. Writers turned not only to *Star Trek* to weave allegories into the plot, but also to *The Twilight Zone*. The show's producers have consistently pointed out that many elements of *The Orville* are common the genre, which executive producers like Braga say:

> *There is a language of this type of show. The actual nouns and verbs may vary, but the essential language goes way back to Issac Asimov and* Amazing Stories*, Jules Verne,* Star Trek, Forbidden Planet, Star Wars, Alien *movies, and the list goes on.*
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Many shows feature a crew exploring space and meeting alien species. Space vessels in both *Star Trek* and *The Orville* have decks arranged by letter (e.g., Deck C). In these cases, even if an idea had been drawn from a particular source, so many other works use a substantially similar idea that it is impossible to guess whence an idea sprung.

## Episode plots

Writers behind the show rarely acknowledge the influence of previous works upon *The Orville*'s story (as opposed to composers, who regularly discuss musical references to earlier scores). Regardless, many episode plot points so closely mirror earlier works that critics and fans consider the influence highly likely.

Please note that assertions of influence are speculative unless confirmed by the show's creators.

### Season 1.5

* The cruiser's passengers are a group of space hippies led by Doctor Sevrin on their way to planet Eden. Among the group is Irina, an old romantic interest of Navigator Pavel Chekov at Starfleet Academy. The transport's passengers are a group of believes in Avis led by Doctor Darden on their way to planet Krill. Among the group is Celeste, an old classmate of Chief Engineer (and until recently Navigator) LaMarr at Union Point.
* Both Irina and Celeste dropped out of their academies, entered a brief period of aimlessness, and then rediscovered a purpose for their lives in new teachings.
* The hippies seize control of the Enterprise and redirect it to Eden. The xenoanthropologists manipulate the *Orville*'s navigational array and redirect it to Krill space.

### Season 2.5

 *Launch Day, Pt. 1* | *Star Wars: A New Hope* | -

## Cast and crew

According to Jonathan Frakes, who played Will Riker in *Star Trek: the Next Generation* and is a frequent director for the *Star Trek* franchise and who directed two episodes of *The Orville*, the production team attempted to mimic the look and feel of *Star Trek: TNG* through "traditional framing" while filming and by hiring key creative team members from the *Star Trek* franchise of the 1990s. He continued that Seth MacFarlane

> *clearly wanted [The Orville] to look like [The Next Generation]. So, he hired the cinematographer [Marvin Rush] and the camera operator, and Brannon Braga, who wrote* First Contact *among other things that are fabulous. Robbie Duncan McNeill, one of our wonderful directors from* Voyager*, James Conway, who directed a bunch of great Next Gen episodes; he hired me. He filled the room with Next Gen people so that the show would look and feel like it. I think he did it.*
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Several months later, an interviewer told James Conway that the episode of *The Orville* he directed, *If the Stars Should Appear*, felt much like a "parody homage" to *Star Trek*. Conway replied,

> *Yeah, that's why I was there. Brannon Braga was also one of the show writers with Seth, and he, of course, was an executive producer of* Voyager*,* Enterprise*, and [*Deep Space Nine*], and he was Rick [Berman's] partner for many years. They reached out to me to direct episode two of the show. Marvin Rush, who was the DP on all the different Star Trek shows - I did the Enterprise pilot, Marvin was my DP on that - he came on to be the DP for Orville. So he and I fashioned this show on stage... and it was because of my Star Trek past that they hired me.*
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Jonathan Frakes has the unique distinction of directing episodes for both *The Orville* and the *Star Trek* TV franchise during the same TV season.

## See also

* L. Brooke Rudow, "Is *The Orville* ... *Star Trek*?", chapter in *Exploring The Orville*, pg. 6
* 10 Times The Orville "Borrowed" From Star Trek, video by WDIM Sci-Fi Movie and Series Breakdowns

## Notes

1. ↑ Tom Costantino: "Everyone [in the production team] for the most part knew where the line was, and it was part homage and part turning [Star Trek] on its head." INTERVIEW - Tom Costantino: THE ORVILLE, editing and the lockdown. *TREK on the TUBE.* Dec. 4, 2020.
2. ↑ INTERVIEW WITH BRANNON BRAGA (2020) – Ep. 11. Twin Flicks. June 2, 2020. He also stated that MacFarlane sought not to "mimic" *Star Trek: The Next Generation*, but to "capture a certain kind storytelling and a certain aspirational ethos that was missing from what’s out there now." Tuthill, Matt. "Brannon Braga: The Robert Irvine Magazine Interview". *Robert Irvine Magazine*. March 17, 2020.
3. ↑ *See e.g.*, *The City on the Edge of Forever* in *Star Trek: The Original Series*.

## References

1. ↑ Exploring The Orville
2. ↑ [[Weintraub, Steve. "Seth MacFarlane on ‘The Orville: New Horizons,’ Directing While Acting, and Why He’s Grateful to Hulu [Exclusive]". Collider. July 2, 2022.]]
3. ↑ "Seth MacFarlane + Creative Team of The Orville". Talks at Google. Nov. 16, 2017.
4. ↑ "SDCC 2017: The Orville - Adrianne Palicki, Seth McFarlane". Whedonopolis. July 26, 2017.
5. ↑ "NYCC 2017: Brannon Braga & David A. Goodman - The Orville". *WithAnAccentTV*. Oct. 13, 2017.
6. ↑ Saadia, Manu. "Seth MacFarlane Discusses “The Orville,” “Star Trek,” and the Struggle to Make Science Fiction Funny". *The New Yorker*. Sept. 9, 2017.
7. ↑ *See, e.g.*, Olix in *Ja'loja*.
8. ↑ "The Orville Fan Podcast “THINK”sgiving Episode w/ André Bormanis". Planetary Union Network. Nov. 21, 2017.
9. ↑ Kain, Erik. "Interview: Seth MacFarlane On The Orville's Unique Tone, 'Star Trek' Roots". *Forbes*. Sept. 16, 2017.
10. ↑ Bond, Jeff. *The World of the Orville*. Titan Books. 2018. Pg. 62.
11. ↑ *The Devil in the Dark* in *Star Trek: The Original Series*.
12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 Pascale, Anthony. "Interview: Brannon Braga On How ‘The Orville’ Pays Tribute To Star Trek While Setting A New Course". *TrekMovie*. Sept. 12, 2020.
13. ↑ "Mindscape 58 | Seth MacFarlane on Using Science Fiction to Explore Humanity". Sean Carroll. Aug. 5, 2019.
14. ↑ "The Orville Producers Interview (Comic Con)". *Showbiz Junkies*. July 28, 2017.
15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Ulster, Laure. "Interview: Garrett Wang & Robert Duncan McNeill On Tuvix, Lizard Babies, & ‘Star Trek: Voyager’ Podcasting". *TrekMovie*. June 17, 2020.
16. ↑ "Seth MacFarlane thinks mixing sci-fi and comedy is 'tricky'". *Associated Press*. Aug. 10, 2017.
17. ↑ Tomashoff, Craig. "Scribes on 'Handmaid's Tale,' 'Westworld' and 12 More Shows Reveal Secrets From the Writers Room". *The Hollywood Reporter*. June 15, 2018.
18. ↑ @SethMacFarlane. "For the sci-fi deep divers: Tonight’s show contains a little nod to writer Theodore Sturgeon, who was blending sci-fi and comedy before any of us #theorville". Twitter. Dec. 30, 2018.
19. ↑ Seth MacFarlane at *The Orville* panel. San Diego ComicCon, 2017. July 20–23, 2017.
20. ↑ Keough, Robert. "Unlike Star Wars, The Orville Actually Knows What a Parsec Is". *Screen Rant*. Sept. 12, 2020.
21. ↑ Miller, Liz Shannon. "From ‘The Orville’ to ‘Star Trek: Discovery,’ ‘Librarians’ Director Jonathan Frakes Has Found Massive Range Within the Realm of Sci-Fi". *IndieWire*. Dec. 21, 2017.
22. ↑ Anderson, Jenna. "Jonathan Frakes on How 'Star Trek: Discovery' & 'The Orville' Fill Different Voids". *ComicBook*. March 28, 2018.
23. ↑ "Supplemental 10: Interview with James L. Conway". Spocklight: A Star Trek Podcast. June 3, 2018.