You only have to watch a few episodes of Family Guy to realise that creator/star Seth McFarlane has something of a preoccupation with '90s sci-fi TV shows, specifically Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Until now, that preoccupation has manifested in endless jokes and references across McFarlane's vast animated empire, but it's about to take on a much more physical form with the new live-action series The Orville, which may initially appear to be something of a '90s sci-fi spoof, but is actually a little more ambitious than that.
McFarlane created the series, which is set 400 years in the future, and stars as a not-especially successful would-be starship captain named Ed Mercer, who in the first episode finally gains his first command: the titular exploratory space vessel, named for one of the Wright brothers.
Overseeing a crew comprised of multiple alien races, Mercer must also contend with having his ex-wife Kelly (Adrianne Palicki) as his second-in-command.
Trailers for the show point to it being a straight-up piss-take, but in actuality, it's a pretty sincere ode to a certain type of science fiction.
"I miss the forward-thinking, aspirational, optimistic place in science fiction that Star Trek used to occupy," McFarlane tells TimeOut. "I think they've chosen to go in a different direction, which has worked very well for them in recent years, but what has happened is that it's left open a space that has been relatively unoccupied for a while in drama. So for me, it's a place that's kind of waiting to be filled in this day and age when we're getting a lot of dystopian science-fiction.
"A lot of it is great and very entertaining but it can't all be The Hunger Games, it can't all be the nightmare scenario. I think there's some space for the aspirational blueprint for what we could do if we got our shit together and that's something that's been missing for me for a while and yet meant a lot to me when I was a kid. This is sort of an attempt to fill that void in drama."
The cast of The Orville.
McFarlane acknowledges that The Orville has something of a perception issue ahead of its premiere, with many viewers presuming it's a half-hour comedy.
"If this were a half-hour show, it would be pretty cut and dry what this is, but because we're an hour-long show, the story kind of has to come first. It can't just be gag gag gag gag, there has to be some reality to where the comedy comes from. You'll notice there really isn't anything that exists in the Spaceballs or Family Guy realm. We really do see it as a sci-fi comedic drama. We allow ourselves room for levity in a way that a traditional hour-long sci-fi show doesn't. We're trying to break some new ground here and whether we've succeeded remains to be seen."
In addition to the costumes, the production design, the character archetypes, and the general feel, The Orville even has some staff members in common with Star Trek: The Next Generation: Brannon Braga, a legendary Next Generation executive producer is performing the same role on The Orville, and Jonathan Frakes, who played Commander Riker on the classic '90s show, is directing some of the episodes. It all points to The Orville resulting from McFarlane's deepest fanboy dreams.
"Look it's exciting, it's thrilling, I love it, I'm having the time of my life working with these people, I remember being in college and being a fan of Brannon's work, and Jonathan Frakes I'm a big fan of, so to be now working with these people on a day-to-day basis on a show like this, it's nothing short of a joy."
LOWDOWN: Who: Seth McFarlane What: The Orville When: Monday, 8.30pm Where: TVNZ Duke
