WARNING: This thread WILL contain unhidden spoilers for The Orville episode "Command Performance" and everything before it. You are allowed to talk about future episodes of the series, but put ANY information that comes after this episode behind spoiler tags.
The Orville season 1, episode 2 "Command Performance"
Written by Seth MacFarlane, directed by Robert Duncan McNeill.
After rendezvousing with a Union vessel that was raided by the Krill, Captain Ed Mercer and Commander Kelly Grayson leave Lieutenant Alara Katan (Halston Sage) in command of the ship while Commander Bortus (Peter Macon) is sitting on his newly-laid egg and they themselves board the damaged ship to assist in repairs. Alara quickly finds herself in over her head and at odds with the rest of the crew when the Union ship suddenly vanishes, leaving an alien probe in its place and their commanding officers nowhere to be found.
Originally released: 17 September 2017
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What did you think?
The interesting thing about seeing this episode on a rewatch is that it's very much a goofy comedy episode. "An egg? Where's it come out of, the butt?" Knowing where this plot is going (no spoilers), this particular take is fascinating to see. I have to wonder how calculated the comedy focus was. I don't think anybody who reads this but hasn't seen later episodes would be too concerned to hear that the show leans less on comedy the further it goes, but the early marketing was certainly very "fRoM tHe CrEaToR oF fAmIlY GuY".
Whether this influenced the early episodes--either notes coming directly from Fox or just the creative team trying to play to the MacFarlane audience--I have no idea. It's a tough play, as I don't think the Family Guy/Star Trek audience necessarily crosses over enough for the show to be able to win over both. I'm definitely more in the latter half of that audience, so the show isn't entirely serving me at this point. That does make me curious how people from the Family Guy side felt about the show at this point and whether they stuck around as it tapered off.
Anyway, I guess this episode is kind of The Orville's Allegiance (TNG)? That's the episode where ...
Allegiance (TNG) spoilers
Picard and three others are abducted and held in a room for their behavior to be observed as they study the nature of authority.I don't think it's served well by that comparison, as the Orville's episode is not as strong as TNG's. But at least it shows that the creators of The Orville have higher goals than "Family Guy in space", even if this episode does lean in that direction in its tone. It's a silly one, but at its core, this is a solid concept for a Star Trek episode. I don't think they're quite landing it yet, but it's promising that nothing explodes in this whole episode.
Fun fact, two of the Calivon (red alien) extras here are played by Tory Belleci and Kari Byron from Mythbusters. I forgot to look out for them, so I have no idea when they show up. Here's a Facebook post by Kari Byron showing them in their Calivon make-up and prosthetics. I've attached one of the pictures to this comment for people who don't want to visit Facebook.
Final note: I think the Kermit bit rides the line of comedy and seriousness well. It's funny enough, but also: Kermit is a worthy leader. It's valid for a starship captain to admire his character.
The bit about Ed keeping a Kermit doll on his desk reminds me of Security Chief Garibaldi on Babylon 5 having a poster of Daffy Duck over his bed. He even explains his admiration for Daffy in one of the episodes.