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Every star trek easter egg in the orville's premiere.

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Star Trek fans will find plenty of ways The Orville , the new FOX sci-fi comedy created by and starring Seth MacFarlane ( Family Guy ), has gone where Trek has gone before. MacFarlane, a lifelong Trek fan who has even guest-starred in two episodes of Star Trek: Enterprise , teamed with Enterprise 's producer Brannon Braga to bring The Orville to television. The result is a very loving homage of Trek 's familiar iconography, tropes, and conventions.

Set in 2418, a hundred years after the 24th century of Star Trek 's "prime timeline" that ranged from The Original Series in the 1960s to Star Trek: Nemesis in 2002 , The Orville is about the down-on-his-luck Captain Ed Mercer (MacFarlane), who receives command of a "mid-level exploratory vessel" the USS Orville. The Orville is one of 3000 starships belonging to the Planetary Union, The Orville 's version of the United Federation of Planets. The Union's uniforms are color coded like in Trek, but the colors are swapped (for example, command is blue in The Orville while it's yellow in The Original Series and red in The Next Generation and subsequent series ).

MacFarlane is joined by several characters who serve as analogues for classic Trek archetypes: His first officer, Kelly Grayson (Adrianne Palicki), is not just his ex-wife but, as a female first officer, she harkens back to how Trek 's creator Gene Roddenberry originally introduced a female first officer named Number One (Majel Barrett-Roddenberry) in the original Trek pilot "The Cage." The Orville 's senior staff occupies positions very similar to how a starship senior staff is structured on Trek : the combined science officer/engineering officer is Isaac (Mark Jackson), an artificial lifeform from the planet Keylon, who joined the Union to study humans, not unlike Lt. Commander Data (Brent Spiner). There is the ship's chief medical officer Dr. Claire Finn (Penny Johnson-Jerald), who seems to spend an inordinate amount of time on the bridge like most doctors do on Trek . The stern Worf (Michael Dorn) character is Lt. Commander Bortus (Peter Macon), the second officer, a Mocian. The chief of security is the super-strong Alara Kitan (Halston Sage), a member of the Xelayan race; a female chief of security is an ode to Tasha Yar (Denise Crosby) from season one of Star Trek: The Next Generation . Finally, there's a helmsman named Gordon Malloy (Scott Grimes) and a navigator named John LaMarr (J. Lee), positions identical to those found at the helm of Captain Kirk's Starship Enterprise.

The starship Orville itself is designed to look extremely similar to a post- TNG s tarship. The bridge, with its dome above and forward facing view screen, could easily be mistaken for the bridge of the Enterprise-D in TNG , with identical touch screen controls and displays. However, there are two Captains chairs side by side for the captain and the first officer, which is a design lifted from Star Trek: Voyager; the Captain and helmsman sit on the right chair on the Orville, which is the opposite of where they sit on Voyager . Instead of a warp drive. the Orville achieves faster-than-light travel via its quantum drive. However, in a huge departure from Trek , there are no transporters on The Orville , and all travel from ship-to-planet and ship-to-ship occurs by shuttle.

The pilot for The Orville, "Old Wounds," plays off as a combination of Star Trek: The Motion Picture, the pilot of Star Trek: The Next Generation "Encounter at Farpoint," and of course, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan , which is arguably the most referenced Star Trek movie (so much that J.J. Abrams' Star Trek Into Darkness essentially was a remake of it). The Orville begins with Mercer discovering his wife Kelly in bed with a blue alien called a Retepsian; this is both a nod to how Captain Kirk has a reputation for dalliances with alien women, but also to the scene in J.J. Abrams Star Trek when Uhura (Zoe Saldana) returned to her dorm room and her Orion roommate (Rachel Nichols) was in bed with Kirk (Chris Pine), who had to hide under the bed.

When Mercer receives command of the Orville, he recruits his disgraced best friend Gordon to be her new helmsman. This harkens to how Captain Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) freed Tom Paris (Robert Duncan McNeil) from incarceration to be Voyager's helmsman. Mercer finds Gordon the Orville's version of a Holodeck dueling with a jovial ogre named Justin in a samurai village. The Holodock is perhaps the greatest invention of Star Trek: The Next Generation that provided the basis for countless classic episodes of TNG, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine , and Star Trek: Voyager , as well as providing memorable characters like Vic Fontaine (James Darren), the Las Vegas crooner from DS9 , and Professor James Moriarty (Daniel Davis), who matched wits with Data and Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart) on TNG .

Star Trek: The Motion Picture is directly homaged in the scene where Mercer and Gordon fly a shuttle to the Orville, which is docked in an orbital starbase; the shuttle approach scene is played for comedy and is much shorter than the laborious version of Admiral Kirk (William Shatner) and Scotty (James Doohan) approaching the retrofitted Starship Enterprise. The scene is backed by The Orville' s score by Bruce Broughton, which is purposefully reminiscent of the classic score for Star Trek: The Motion Picture and Star Trek: The Next Generation by Jerry Goldsmith. Soon, Mercer addresses his entire crew in the Orville's hangar bay, just like Admiral Kirk did when he briefed the assembled crew of the Enterprise about their mission to intercept V-Ger. The Orville is also missing a First Officer at this point, just like Kirk's Enterprise was in Star Trek: The Motion Picture and Picard's Enterprise was in Star Trek: TNG 's pilot.

After picking up Kelly Grayson, the First Officer, the Orville arrives at Science Station Epsilon 2, which is not unlike Farpoint Station in "Encounter at Farpoint." When the Orville arrives in orbit at Epsilon 2 and communicates with Dr. Aranov (Brian George) on the viewscreen, there's a beagle on a sofa behind Aranov licking itself; this is a reference to Porthos, "the first beagle in space" and pet of Captain Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula) on Star Trek: Enterprise . (Porthos was also referenced in J.J. Abrams' Star Trek when Scotty (Simon Pegg) said he used "Admiral Archer's beagle" to test his transwarp drive.)

Of course, just like in Trek , the Captain, First Officer, and ship's doctor beam down to the planet together. Instead of the Epsilon 2 station actually being an alien species like Farpoint Station, The Orville plays much more similar to the events that occur in space station Regula I in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan . On Epilson 2, the scientists have created a device capable of quantum field manipulation, allowing objects to grow at an accelerated rate. This is not unlike the Genesis Device of Star Trek II , which can terraform dead planets into an Earth-like environment.

Epsilon 2 is attacked by the Krill, The Orville 's villainous aliens which seem to be a cross between the Klingons and a pale colored version of the Jem'Hadar from DS9 . When the Orville's crew escape the planet on their shuttle, a Krill stows away on board, whom they defeat by slamming on the brakes, sending the Krill headfirst into the shuttle's windshield. The crew are wearing seatbelts, a sly reference to how starships in Trek somehow don't contain seatbelts. Meanwhile, the Orville is under attack from a Krill starship, which is of course, much larger than the Orville, just like how the enemy ships in Star Trek: Nemesis and both of J.J. Abrams' Star Trek films were much larger than the Enterprise so as to look more menacing.

When the shuttle, robbed of helm control, tries to dock into the Orville's hangar bay, Gordon described his miraculous maneuver: "It's like threading a needle in a hurricane!" This references how complicated science in Trek is usually described by an easily understood colloquial metaphor. Another sly Trek joke occurs when the Krill Captain appears on the Orville's viewscreen and is standing off center. Mercer asks him to step to the right so he's centered; in Trek , everyone is always miraculously centered whenever they appear on a viewscreen.

Another ode to The Wrath of Khan occurs when Mercer and Grayson attempt to buy some time by talking about their marriage to the Krill captain; this is similar to how Kirk kept Khan (Ricardo Montalban) occupied while Spock (Leonard Nimoy) figured out the code to lower Khan's ship's defense shields. Picard would later attempt the exact same trick on Shinzon (Tom Hardy) in Star Trek: Nemesis . Finally, Mercer and Grayson re-jigger the device and send it to the Krill ship by shuttle to create a giant redwood tree that destroys the Krill vessel. This is similar to how the Genesis device was used to destroy Khan's ship, which also ended up seeding the nearby Genesis planet with life.

No doubt, The Orville will boldly continue to reference Star Trek in numerous ways as it continues its scheduled 13-episode season on FOX. If you caught even more Star Trek references we missed, let us know in the comments!

NEXT: SCREEN RANT'S REVIEW OF THE ORVILLE

The Orville airs Sunday nights @ 8PM on FOX.

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• The Orville (2017)

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With the two-part episode Identity, The Orville has matured into serious science fiction

Seth macfarlane’s star trek homage may finally be ready for a wider audience.

By Will Harris

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The Star Trek homage series The Orville is the Rodney Dangerfield of science fiction shows: it doesn’t get much respect, especially from genre fans. Whether that’s because of the tonally awkward blend of comedy and drama, the incorporation of 21st century pop culture references, or an active distaste for creator Seth MacFarlane, the reference-spouting creator of Family Guy , just mentioning The Orville around more stoic science fiction aficionados will likely earn you an instant sigh and an eye-roll.

For true MacFarlane haters, that mindset may never go away. But with the recent two-part episode “Identity,” the series turned a corner that might finally sway some of the more indifferent audiences onto Team Orville. The episode might surprise viewers who gave up on the show after the first few episodes. It got dark .

Like, “Best of Both Worlds” dark.

Star Trek: The Next Generation fans will understand what a bold statement that is. The two-part “Best of Both Worlds” — 1990’s season 3 finale and season 4 kickoff — left fans horror-struck, as the Enterprise faced off against the monstrous alien Borg, and lost Captain Picard to assimilation .

With “Best of Both Worlds,” Star Trek: The Next Generation finally vaulted past being just another special effects-laden space series, and it proved its mettle as a tense character drama. While the two “Identity” episodes may not propel The Orville forward to quite that degree, they deliver enough surprise, mystery, horror, and action over the course of two hours — complete with a nail-biting cliffhanger in the middle — to confirm that when The Orville dials down the goofy comedy, it can hold its own with any of the more traditional science fiction properties out there.

Kicking off with the incapacitation of the artificial life-form Isaac (Mark Jackson), who serves as the starship Orville ’s science and engineering officer, “Identity” takes the Orville to Isaac’s home planet, Kaylon-1, which has yet to join the Planetary Union. While there, the crew stumbles upon a ghastly aspect of the planet’s history. When they confront the Kaylons about the disconcerting revelation, all hell breaks loose, and it’s immediately evident that no one on the Orville will ever look at Isaac the same way again.

Even with its new, grimmer bent, The Orville still isn’t a nonstop source of sophisticated drama. And it’s never likely to be. When the show joined Fox’s prime-time lineup in September 2017, it came across as something a gifted 12-year-old Star Trek fan would pen if assigned to create a space show. The creative concepts were slightly ahead of the curve for mainstream TV fare — when was the last time you saw a live-action series in which one of the characters was a gelatinous blob? — but the sense of humor was set at exactly Family Guy ’s maturity level, particularly with the jokey character of Lt. Gordon Malloy (Scott Grimes). (In the pilot episode, an admiral played by guest star Victor Garber asked about Lt. Malloy. “Didn’t he once draw a penis on the main viewing screen of outpost T85?” The answer, of course, is a resounding “yes.”)

The amalgam of attempted intelligent science fiction and middle school body part humor was jarring — based on the reviews , it might have actually caused some critics physical pain — and even those who came into the series with an open mind and an appreciation of both highbrow and lowbrow entertainment wondered just how long the series could successfully pull off its balancing act.

Fortunately, while Seth MacFarlane enjoys a good fart gag — actually, make that a googol’s worth of fart gags — he also truly loves Star Trek . And he knows what makes that franchise work: the distinctive characters, the bonds between them, and the increasing development of those bonds throughout their voyage. He understands that alternating between testing and tightening those bonds is ultimately more important than putting his own jokey spin on every aspect of his show’s science fiction.

As early as its third episode, The Orville ’s creators were offering allegorical, politically relevant plotlines. In “About a Girl,” alien Lt. Commander Bortus (Peter Macon) and his significant other, Klyden (Chad Coleman), put ship’s doctor Finn (Penny Johnson Jerald) in a morally awkward position when they ask her to perform sex reassignment surgery on their daughter. The procedure is standard practice for the Moclan people, but after Dr. Finn confirms that it’s based in a belief that females are inferior, she refuses to have anything to do with harming a physically healthy child. The episode is heavy-handed, but between the general premise and a not-entirely-happy ending, it was immediately held up as an example of the series MacFarlane was really trying to make, as opposed to the too-simple elevator pitch dismissive critics used to describe the show: “Sci-fi from the creator of Family Guy .”

The episode also wasn’t an immediate course-correction for The Orville . The series has had to work through other growing pains beyond simply finding a balance between its sensibilities. The two leads — MacFarlane and Adrianne Palicki — play the Orville ’s Captain Ed Mercer and his first officer / ex-wife Commander Kelly Grayson, and the series tends to play the “will they, won’t they” card about whether they’ll get back together. The parallels between Isaac and Lt. Commander Data of Star Trek ’s flagship Enterprise are often a little too on the nose, while the writers never seemed to know what they wanted to do with the character of Lt. Alara (Halston), beyond piling on unrelated bits of backstory that consistently failed to make her stand out.

As these characters floundered in season 1, however, Dr. Finn got a solid spotlight episode with “Into the Fold,” which let her shine as a doctor, a mother, and an officer after a crash-landing on a planet crawling with cannibals. And just before season 1 wrapped up, Lt. John LaMarr got his shot as the focus of the episode “New Dimensions” where he was promoted to lieutenant commander and chief engineer and, more importantly, had his backstory fleshed out to reveal his genius-level intelligence and history of being shunned and bullied.

As the season ended, The Orville still had its problems, but in spite of the flailing moments during the course of its first dozen episodes, there was also a sense that the series was finding its footing and shifting its focus toward deepening the characterization. And the series confirmed its shifting intentions with the season 2 premiere “Ja’loja,” which offered up little action but instead provided storylines for every single main character. Individually, none of these stories qualify as game-changers — Lt. LaMarr helps Lt. Malloy step up his game in order to ask out a crew member! Isaac helps one of Dr. Finn’s sons with a bully problem! — but viewed as a whole, they set a new tone.

The Orville also started to have fewer overt jokes and more conversations. In “All the World is Birthday Cake,” the crew has to scheme its way out of a tough spot, which leads to a discussion about the moral implications of their actions. In “Nothing Left on Earth Excepting Fishes,” the series revisits a plot point from a season 1 episode to reveal the ramifications of one of Captain Mercer’s defensive action. And while the decision in “A Perfect Refrain” to have Dr. Finn develop romantic feelings for Isaac sounds like a terrible idea in print, Jerald’s acting skills make a relationship between a human and a near-faceless artificial life-form seem credible.

Then there’s “Identity,” and its parallels with “Best of Both Worlds,” starting with the way they share a startling cliffhanger that leaves the fate of not only a primary character, but an entire planet worrisomely uncertain. With its two-parter, The Orville uses all of its characters and past developments to tremendous effect — even the least substantive character on the show, the gelatinous-blob crew member Lt. Yaphit. When the series started, there seemed to be very little reason for his existence beyond getting laughs out of having a ball of goo talk with Norm Macdonald’s voice. In “Identity,” Yaphit doesn’t just serve a purpose, he plays a significant role with actual dramatic moments.

The Orville still isn’t a perfect science fiction series. It’s toned down the dodgier side of its humor, but it still has its sporadic 21st century pop culture references. Given its creator and star, it’s hard to imagine that ever going away. But it has reached a turning point in its evolution, a stage where MacFarlane seems ready to embrace the more adult side of his story and make something significant out of it. “Identity” is a game-changer. For people who saw the potential in The Orville enough to consider tuning in but didn’t like what they saw, it’s a perfect time to come back aboard.

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The Orville

• View history

The Orville is a live action parody of and homage to Star Trek , specifically Star Trek: The Next Generation . The show was created by and stars Seth MacFarlane and is co-produced by Brannon Braga , former Family Guy collaborator David A. Goodman , alongside another Star Trek veteran Andre Bormanis , who reprised his role as technical advisor. Braga himself states the series "is aiming to tell stories that ride the line between drama and comedy, with an eye toward earnestness." [1]

• 2 Production
• 3 Actors who have appeared in Star Trek and The Orville
• 4 Production personnel who have worked on Star Trek and The Orville
• 5 Book authors who have written on Star Trek and The Orville
• 6 External links

Concept [ ]

The main cast

Set in the 25th century , the series chronicles the adventures of the USS Orville , a mid-level starship exploring the galaxy on behalf of the Planetary Union. Her captain is Ed Mercer, who receives the job due to no other captains being available, his career having slumped after a divorce. Mercer's hope of proving himself and serving the Union are complicated when his ex-wife, Commander Kelly Grayson, is assigned as his first officer . Despite initial tensions with Kelly, Ed soon forms a tight-knit crew.

Production [ ]

The series was officially announced in March 2016, though MacFarlane had stated for years he had a passion for science fiction and space opera related media. He was reported to have heavily managed every detail of the series during the show's productions, wanting The Orville to truly be a thriving universe that could justifiably be seen as a spiritual successor to the Star Trek series before it. MacFarlane had also expressed inspiration from not just Star Trek , but The Twilight Zone , Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy , and Deadpool as well. [2] [3]

The Orville debuted in September 2017 for FOX TV (as of July 2018 fully owned by The Walt Disney Company , already owner of rival franchise Star Wars ) and starring MacFarlane as Captain Ed Mercer, with Penny Johnson Jerald as chief medical officer Claire Finn, and Scott Grimes as helmsman Gordon Malloy. Star Trek actors appearing in the series have, so far, included Victor Garber , Brian George , J.D. Cullum , James Horan , Ron Canada , Joel Swetow , Brian Thompson , Molly Hagan , Steven Culp , Michael Duisenberg , Jason Alexander , John Fleck , Tim Russ , F. Murray Abraham , Tony Todd , Marina Sirtis , Robert Picardo , and John Billingsley (with Picardo and Billingsley appearing together in the episode "Home"); MacFarlane, Braga, James L. Conway , Jonathan Frakes , and Robert Duncan McNeill have directed episodes. Marvin V. Rush – who was director of photography for TNG – serves as the show's cinematographer. Doug Drexler joined the program's visual effects (VFX) team for the third season. [4]

Although initially promoted as a spoof, the series is in fact a comedy-drama (dramedy) done in the style of TNG. MacFarlane had previously expressed interest in rebooting the Star Trek franchise in October of 2011, when he mentioned to the Hollywood Reporter that he was eager to reboot a Star Trek series for television: " I'd love to see that franchise revived for television in the way that it was in the 1990s: very thoughtful, smartly written stories that transcend the science fiction audience. I don't know who would give me the keys to that car. " [5] MacFarlane indicated his intent was to pay homage to Star Trek with the show while resurrecting the style of optimistic science fiction TNG espoused. [6] In this MacFarlane succeeded eventually, as his show not only attracted " Trekkies " disenchanted with Discovery for canon and philosophical premise reasons (and reminiscent of how Ronald D. Moore 's re-imagined Battlestar Galactica drew in Star Trek fans who were disenchanted for basically the same reasons with Star Trek: Enterprise over a decade earlier), but also former Star Trek production/franchise staffers like Michael Okuda and Larry Nemecek . As if to underscore their embracement of McFarlane's creation, Eaglemoss Collections launched an Orville partwork collection in 2020, partly at the request of these former production staff fans, [7] and similar to that of its rival counterparts, Star Trek: The Official Starships Collection and, most poignantly, Star Trek: Discovery The Official Starships Collection .

A major difference with its contemporaries became the decision to go "old school" with a traditional physical studio model for the establishing shots of the "hero ship" Orville in order to get the retro feel MacFarlane was aiming for. By that time a near obsolete VFX technique in the age of CGI , pilot episode director Jon Favreau contracted several veterans still versed in the antiquated technique which included Star Trek alumnus and veteran Robert Legato for the motion control photography. Even though the majority of the other VFX shots were executed as CGI, the footage taken of the physical model served as a library of stock footage (especially for the show's intro), apart from the model being used as as scanning model as well as a camera test model. [8] The creation of a stock footage library had actually already been Legato's original intent to begin with for the two original USS Enterprise -D physical models for The Next Generation back in 1987. ( Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion  (3rd ed., p. 31))

Due to Star Trek: Discovery ' s production delays, The Orville ended up debuting only two weeks before Discovery , leading to many reviewers making head-to-head comparisons between the shows.

The first season, consisting of 12 episodes, concluded in December 2017. A second season was commissioned soon after its debut (along with Star Trek: Discovery , The Orville was one of the first new series of the 2017-18 season to be renewed). Prior to broadcast of Season 2, MacFarlane indicated that the second season would have a more serious tone than the first, downplaying comedy in favor of more straightforward science fiction storytelling. Season 2 debuted at the end of December 2018 and scheduled the same night as new episodes of Discovery were released on CBS All-Access, which strengthened the perceived impression of the two having become de facto franchise contenders. This was reinforced by the 2019 Emmy Award nominations where The Orville 's second season was put up against that of Discovery for the category "Outstanding Special Visual Effects" [9] – though neither of them won the coveted prize as it went to Game of Thrones , with former Star Trek VFX staffer Joe Bauer being one of the recipients. [10] Ironically, from its second season onward, The Orville was served by digital VFX vendor Pixomondo , who has been Discovery 's primary CGI vendor from its inception. [11]

A surprising development occurred in June 2021, when the series became syndicated on Spike (Netherlands) as a temporary replacement for Discovery , going on to become Discovery 's companion series for the channel's "Sci-Fi Zondag (Sunday)" line-up. The surprising element lay in the fact that Spike was fully owned by Star Trek franchise owner Paramount Global , whereas the now Disney-owned Orville series has been moved to its streaming service Hulu as a Hulu exclusive, [12] which (along with its streaming sister Disney+) is embroiled in an increasingly vicious " streaming war " with the other services, including Paramount+ , particularly on the home market.

Actors who have appeared in Star Trek and The Orville [ ]

Production personnel who have worked on star trek and the orville [ ], book authors who have written on star trek and the orville [ ].

• Jeff Bond – The World of The Orville , Titan Books , 16 January 2018 ( ISBN 1785657615 )

External links [ ]

• The Orville at Wikipedia
• The Orville at the Internet Movie Database
• The Orville Wiki

• The Inventory

The Orville 's Seth MacFarlane on Those Star Trek Comparisons

Creator and star macfarlane, along with the hulu series' executive producers, explain the differences between the sci-fi shows..

When The Orville premiered back in 2017, its arrival coincided almost exactly with Star Trek: Discovery , the first new Trek TV show in over a decade. Comparisons between the two series were inevitable, with even io9 calling The Orville a “ Star Trek spoof ” in our earliest coverage of the series.

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But as anyone who’s watched the Seth MacFarlane-created (and -starring) show knows, that’s not at all what The Orville was aiming for at the beginning, and over two seasons—with a third , titled The Orville: New Horizons , arriving next week on Hulu —it has set itself apart from Trek in many ways, although Gene Roddenberry’s franchise remains a clear influence. There’s also the small fact that currently, there’s now more Star Trek on TV than ever before .

“I think it’s safe to say that we’re still occupying our own space this year,” MacFarlane told io9 over video chat at a recent Orville press event. “Certainly, the more that’s out there, you do start to become a little concerned that, you know, is it oversaturation? Is there a pocket where our show and only our show exists? And I think that is still very much the case.”

Not wanting to spoil what’s in store, MacFarlane didn’t get too into detail about what specifically sets The Orville apart from Star Trek this season. In more general terms, “It’s this genre that emerged in the 1930s of a ship in space, captained and crewed very much the same way that a sailing ship was,” he said. “It’s something that dates back a lot of decades. Star Trek was really the first to take it and turn it into something that really mattered and was a serious form of storytelling. You know, for us... sci-fi right now is very dark. It’s very dystopian. It’s very grim in a lot of ways. It’s very cautionary. And the optimistic, uplifting part of that genre is something we haven’t really seen in a while. So there was a pretty obvious open pocket for us to kind of slip into when we started. How we fit in now is—it’s really up to the audience, I think—what we’re bringing to the table in tone, in structure, in scope is in a class of its own. But that remains [to be seen], because the verdict [on season three] has not come in yet.”

As executive producer David Goodman pointed out, the similarities between the series that fans have noticed are not exactly coincidental. “We’ve got a lot of pretty well-known Star Trek veterans working on the show,” he said. “But I think the difference for us is that our characters are flawed, real people. Not to say that they’re not trying to do that on the other shows, but that’s where Orville started. We want our shows to come out of the funny, awkward, serious interactions of characters that feel like they could exist in our world—it’s just that they’re walking on the bridge of a spaceship. That’s where our drama comes from and is also where our comedy comes from, from the creation of those characters that feel a little more flawed, a little more grounded. They’re not space heroes.”

Added fellow exec producer Jon Cassar, “I think also we don’t have the anchor of what Star Trek was that those other shows that have... from what I’ve read, and I have a lot of friends that work on the shows, it’s been difficult on them trying to live up to that standard, trying to keep that standard alive, trying to keep the canon alive. All of that. From our point of view, we’re who we are. We’re just The Orville . We get to sort of make up the rules ourselves and follow our own rules. So I think that’s a bit of an advantage for us.”

There’s also the fact that Star Trek has been on the air on and off since the 1960s. “When the new incarnations of Star Trek came along, there had [already] been a thousand episodes,” co-executive producer Brannon Braga said. “So [the current creators] have a lot to pay attention to, because the fans definitely know every detail of the show. So there is, I agree with Jon, a certain blank slate that’s been fun.”

The Orville: New Horizons arrives June 2 on Hulu; we’ll have more from the cast and crew soon.

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel and Star Wars releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV , and everything you need to know about House of the Dragon and Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power .

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Seth MacFarlane Discusses “The Orville,” “Star Trek,” and the Struggle to Make Science Fiction Funny

By Manu Saadia

Seth MacFarlane is most commonly known as the creator—and, in many cases, the voices—of the animated comedy series “Family Guy,” but he is also a lifelong science-fiction buff. He produced “ Cosmos ,” the 2014 reboot of Carl Sagan’s beloved series, and on Sunday will première a new live-action show, “ The Orville ,” in which he plays the captain of a spaceship four hundred years in the future. Earlier this week, I spoke with MacFarlane about the role of science (and science fiction) in the modern world. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Carl Sagan had a big effect on me as a kid. Would you say the same?

A lot of us feel that way about him. “Cosmos” was life-changing for me. I was hooked from a pretty young age. There are surprisingly few great science communicators, which is always strange to me. One could argue that there is nothing more interesting than science. It’s the most interesting thing that’s ever happened to the human race.

Did you ever consider studying science instead of art?

I never seriously considered it, only because I wasn’t any good at math. I had a natural aptitude for English and for writing. So, I resigned myself to the fact that I could support others in their endeavors and maintain a vocal respect for science, even though I wasn’t really cut out for it myself.

With a few exceptions, sci-fi seems to be pretty devoid of humor, unless the audience is laughing at campy set design or bad alien prosthetics. Why do you think that is?

Oftentimes in science fiction, you’re dealing with life-and-death topics that are so grand and operatic in their size and scope that it’s a hard thing to weave humor in there without it seeming out of place. “The Orville” tries to recapture a kind of science fiction that celebrates human advancement and achievement and intellectual evolution rather than going for the cheap thrills of the zombie hunt. The inclusion of humor in “The Orville” is like an experiment.

But what accounts for the grim tone of so much recent (and excellent) sci-fi—“District 9,” “Battlestar Galactica,” “The Expanse”? Does dystopia make for better drama?

I’ve been asking myself this question for a while. Dystopia is good for drama because you’re starting with a conflict: your villain is the world. Writers on “ Star Trek: The Next Generation ” found it very difficult to work within the confines of a world where everything was going right. They objected to it. But I think that audiences loved it. They liked to see people who got along, and who lived in a world that was a blueprint for what we might achieve, rather than a warning of what might happen to us.

Did you draw on that utopian “Star Trek” vision at all in making “The Orville”?

It was important to take a cue from Gene Roddenberry 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.”

Is making science fiction today a form of nostalgia for what could have been, or what could be, or what we were as kids when we were watching it?

There absolutely is nostalgia. “The Hunger Games” made hundreds of millions of dollars and was a huge success. I’m personally a little weary of that corner of science-fiction storytelling. I’m getting tired of seeing filthy people running around with guns, fighting for their own survival, rather than fighting for a cause, for values, for the advancement of the human race. There’s nothing like that out there. Does optimism still have meaning for people? It could feel outdated, like a nineteen-thirties musical that’s devoid of cynicism and is looking at the world through rose-colored glasses and is oblivious to what’s going on.

The comparisons between “The Orville” and “Discovery,” the new addition to the “Star Trek” franchise, were inevitable, especially because a number of “Star Trek” veterans—writers, actors, directors—are now working with you. Some Trekkies are angry. What’s your response?

I’ve heard that, and yet I’ve also heard fans echo the desire for a “Star Trek” where they turn the lights on, where everybody’s not sitting around in the dark. I don’t know anything about “Discovery.” It looks very dark and very serious, but that’s the trailer—it could turn out to be very optimistic. There should be room for both. But it’s been a blast to work with all these people, to watch Jonathan Frakes and Robert Duncan McNeill walking around the set. It’s in their blood.

Speaking of economics, “The Orville” is a classic broadcast family show, whereas “Discovery” is streaming online. Different mediums, different audiences?

Yes. Typically, people would be able to watch “Star Trek” with their kids, and the goal of “The Orville” is to have the same kind of reach. The big difference is that “The Orville” is an episodic show. It adheres to the old style of storytelling—a brand-new story each week, with a beginning, middle, and end. The only place where there is still a market for episodic television is on the networks. At one point, I had conceived “The Orville” as a show that could be on Netflix or Amazon or Hulu. But they really wanted the entire series at once, you know, the chunk of ten or thirteen episodes that have a continuous arc. I didn’t want to do that. I like the challenge of having to start fresh every week. Now, production-wise, this is a lot more daunting, because you can’t reuse things—you have to build new aliens, new locations, new worlds every single week. But that’s precisely what I always loved about sci-fi television series. I never knew what I was going to see.

Both comedy and drama have in common that you must excite viewers with surprise. You surprise them with a laugh or you surprise them with a story. To me—God, a new adventure every week! That’s inherently surprising. People don’t know whether they’re going to see an adventure show, a social allegory, a love story, or a comedy.

Is “The Orville” a show about the present, or about the future?

It’s a balancing act between wanting to explore conflicts that are relevant to today while at the same time saying to the viewer, This particular conflict has been resolved. The way you do that is by putting our people in other worlds. You go to that alien planet where they’re still sucking oil out of the ground to power themselves while “we” know we moved beyond that. I always loved that sci-fi trope of the future person scratching their head in disbelief at something that we do every day in the twenty-first century. It’s “Gulliver’s Travels.”

What do you think we can discover about ourselves through science fiction today?

Science fiction is the only genre that really allows you to explore issues with a point of view without seeming preachy. And, practically speaking, it is undeniable that shows like the original “Star Trek” begat a generation of scientists and engineers and astrophysicists. That spaceship looked like the crowning achievement of mankind. What kid is going to watch “The Hunger Games” and go, Man, I want to be a scientist? “The Orville” is part drama, part comedy, but we did go out of our way to make the ship real and to make it appealing and to make it look like a place you’d want to be. Even though there are jokes in the show, it was very important that the world of “The Orville” still be very real, that you could look at it and go, That seems like a fun future. I hope that’s where we wind up. That, to me, is the power of science fiction.

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By David Remnick

The Untold Truth Of The Orville

It's hard to believe that only a few years ago, the world hadn't seen any new "Star Trek" TV shows in decades; the Kelvin universe films were the latest content. But these days, it's raining Trek, and the new shows just keep coming with series like "Star Trek: Discovery," "Strange New Worlds," "Lower Decks," and "Picard." When Seth MacFarlane released his Trek-inspired tribute "The Orville" around the same time as the "Discovery" premiere, there was a bit of controversy in the fandom, as some Trekkies saw his show as a critique of "NuTrek." As a lifelong sci-fi fan, MacFarlane is not shy about the fact that the series was inspired by "Star Trek." The series creator told Access Hollywood , "The nineties was kind of a thoughtful time for sci-fi...everything that we were fed was kind of utopian and aspirational," something he wanted to replicate in "The Orville."

While there's no arguing that some Trek series are tonally lighter than others, for many Trek lovers, there is room for everything under the beautiful umbrella of IDIC (Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations), and that includes the Planetary Union and mushroom-tripping tardigrades alike. Just as "Star Trek: The Next Generation" matured over its run from unfortunate episodes like "Code of Honor" and "Justice," "The Orville" is only getting better as time goes by. Because it's always a good day to hang out in a luxury space liner, let's take a look at the untold truth of "The Orville."

1. The Orville has loads of Star Trek crossovers

As a tribute to everything Seth MacFarlane loves about the "Star Trek" universe, it should come as no surprise that "The Orville" is positively brimming with Trek alumni both behind and in front of the camera. "The Orville" has featured a number of "Star Trek" alumni in the director's chair. Brannon Braga, who created "Enterprise" and wrote and served as writer and producer on two "Star Trek" series and two "Star Trek" films , is one of the producers of "The Orville" and directed four episodes in the first season. James L. Conway, who directed episodes of "Voyager," "Enterprise," "Deep Space 9," and "TNG," directed "If the Stars Should Appear." Two episodes in Season 1 and Season 2 of "The Orville" were directed by Robert Duncan McNeill, who played Cadet First Class Nicholas Locarno on "TNG" and Tom Paris on "Voyager" and "Lower Decks" and directed several episodes of "Voyager" and "Enterprise." Jonathan Frakes, Andre Bormanis, and David A. Goodman are a few other old-school Trek names involved in "The Orville's" production team. 

The series has also featured plenty of actors from the "Star Trek" universe. MacFarlane himself popped up twice on "Star Trek: Enterprise" as an engineer named Ensign Rivers. Penny Johnson Jerald, who stars as Dr. Claire Finn, played Benjamin Sisko's romantic partner Kasidy Yates on "DS9." Marina Sirtis, whom Trekkies will recognize as Deanna Troi from "TNG," had a part in "The Orville" Season 2. Other Trek actors include Robert Picardo (the EMH ship's doctor from "Voyager") as Alara's father, John Billingsley (Phlox from "Enterprise"), Brian George (Bashir's father on "DS9" and Antarian Ambassador O'Zaal from "Voyager"), Brian Thompson (several villains across "TNG," "DS9," "Generations," and "Enterprise"), Steven Culp (Major Hayes on "Enterprise"), Tim Russ (Tuvok on "Voyager" and several other roles in "DS9," "Generations," and "TNG"), Jason Alexander ("Voyager"), F. Murray Abraham ("Insurrection"), and Molly Hagan (Eris from "DS9"). That's not including the actors who have played several smaller roles across the Trek universe and popped up in "The Orville." As if that wasn't enough to make "The Orville" honorary Trek, both Scott Grimes (Gordon Malloy) and Victor Garber (Admiral Halsey) were almost part of the Trek universe before ultimately having their scenes cut.

2. There are also plenty of Star Trek Easter eggs

Fans of both "Star Trek" and "The Orville" will notice that the series closely resembles the "TNG"-era aesthetic that Honest Trailers would call "an awkward hybrid of cutting-edge space battle ship and a Marriott Convention Center." The series also draws on sci-fi tropes that directly echo peak Earl Grey Trek, like the Moclan gender identity story, a callback to "The Outcast" ("TNG" Season 5, Episode 13), or Isaac's lack of emotions, which directly parallels Data's journey. Besides sharing similar storylines with its source material, "The Orville" is chock full of too many Trek Easter eggs, references, and allusions to count.

One of the more subtle references can be found in "The Orville's" theme music, which uses an electro-acoustic blaster beam instrument developed for "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" by composer Craig Huxley, who would play the 18-foot instrument for the recording of the "Orville" composition. Fans of "Voyager" will notice similarities between the two series' opening sequences, with both shows featuring their titular ships passing through solar systems before shifting into warp or quantum drive.

"The Orville" also uses quite a few names that allude to "Star Trek," like the planet Xeleyah, which alludes to Mount Seleya from "Star Trek III: The Search for Spock." The Orville universe's Moclans bear more than a passing resemblance to the Trekverse's Klingon race with their intense and warlike personalities, so it's fitting the Moclan Orville bridge officer Bortas also shares a name with a Klingon ship under the command of Duras on "TNG." Quite a few "TNG" and "Orville" episodes and storylines also follow a similar storyline or share plot elements, whether incidentally or deliberately. For example, both the pilot episodes of "The Orville" and "TNG" find the ships picking up their first officers later in the episode, and both series begin with female heads of security who are written off of the series early in the show.

3. The series is also packed with other sci-fi references

Anyone familiar with Seth MacFarlane's animated series "Family Guy" knows that "The Orville" creator's love of sci-fi doesn't end with the Trekverse. Like the Griffin family, the Orville crew constantly encounters sci-fi pop culture references in their intergalactic adventures. Finding them is part of what makes the series so much fun to watch. The series offers some obvious allusions, like Captain Ed Mercer telling his crew "May the force be with you" in the "New Horizons" trailer , as well as the clear "Star Wars" parallels in the alternate timeline episode "The Road Not Taken." The series is also rife with more subtle nods to sci-fi classics, from "Doctor Who" to "Flatland."

One less obvious example of the show's nods to sci-fi greats is the name of Norm MacDonald's sentient Gelatin Lieutenant Yaphit, which is a tribute to another interstellar engineer, Parker from the 1979 film "Alien" (played by Yaphet Kotto). Another allusion can be found in the Isaac-centric episode "Electric Sheep," a direct reference to Philip K. Dick's 1968 novel "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" The Kaylon artificial intelligence race bears a similar story and name to the sentient AI race in "Battlestar Galactica," with both races rebelling against their enslavers with an act of genocide. Even Alara Kitan's house is a reference, as the lieutenant's family home on Xeleyah is the same as Johnny Rico's in the 1997 film "Starship Troopers." Like Alara, Johnny's parents did not approve of his plans to enlist as an officer.

4. They went old school when creating the USS Orville ship

Special effects have come a long way since the early days, and today's CGI is leaps and bounds beyond the cheesy cinematic crimes that marred the TV and film of the early aughts. These days, it's practically a given that film and television producers will use computer graphics to create spacecraft thanks to the affordability and relative ease of working with this technology.

Nevertheless, the creative team for "The Orville" decided to go retro and use a practical model. As VFX supervisor Luke McDonald told postPerspective , "In this day and age, visual effects supervisors shooting models is an unheard of thing to do, but something I was absolutely thrilled about." The incredibly detailed practical model is five feet long and was created by model expert Glenn Derry. The crew took about 25 exterior shots—each requiring a minimum of six camera passes—that were then integrated with CG technology for anything that could not be accomplished with the model alone.

5. The series pays homage to the US military

"The Orville" frequently pays respect to historical military leaders in the names of the Union fleet admirals and officers. Admiral Tom Halsey, played by Victor Garber, is likely named for United States Navy fleet admiral Willam "Bull" Halsey , who served aboard the USS Enterprise in the Pacific during World War II. Another admiral, played by Kelly Hu, seems to be named for Vice-Admiral Jisaburo Ozawa , who served opposite Halsey in the Imperial Japanese Navy as the last commander-in-chief of the combined fleet, with both Halsey and Ozawa present at the battle for Leyte Gulf. The officers' names echo the "TNG" episode "Redemption, Part II," which featured two ships named for the carriers Akagi and Hornet, which were present at the Battle of the Midway .

Admiral Perry (played by Ted Danson) is named after Admiral William Perry, who is a member of a legacy U.S. Navy family. The Orville's first officer Kelly Grayson may be a nod to the famous U.S. Navy surgeon Cary T. Grayson, and Charly Burke is likely a reference to Arleigh Burke, a distinguished U.S. Navy admiral who served in both World War II and the Korean War.

6. The show is a family affair

For "The Orville" creator Seth MacFarlane, every day is Take Your Family to Work Day, whether he's commanding a Union ship or working on one of his animated series. MacFarlane's family is sewn into the fabric of the series through Captain Ed Mercer's name, which is taken from the MacFarlane family tree and has popped up in several MacFarlane productions. Just as Gene Roddenberry's wife Majel Barrett voiced the computer on "Star Trek," MacFarlane turned to a member of his family—his younger sister Rachel, who also played Hayley Smith on "American Dad!"—to voice the USS Orville's computer.

MacFarlane also surrounds himself with friends when casting his TV shows. MacFarlane's relationship with Scott Grimes (Helmsman Gordon Malloy) goes back a couple of decades, with Grimes telling CinemaBlend that he deeply values their collaborative relationship. MacFarlane's relationship with J. Lee began on the set of "Family Guy." According to IndyStar , Lee was a trained classical pianist with Hollywood dreams when he started working as a receptionist for "Family Guy" and quickly formed a friendship with MacFarlane that led to voice acting roles on several of MacFarlane's animated series and even a writing credit. According to Collider , Adrianne Palicki and MacFarlane are "really, really dear friends." The series has also featured a few of Seth's girlfriends over the years, including Halston Sage (Alara Kitan), Anne Winters (Charly Burke), and Seth's former girlfriend Jessica Szohr, who plays Talla Keyali.

7. There is an Orville fan series

One of the great things about beloved sci-fi shows like "Star Trek" and "Doctor Who" is the creativity they inspire in their fans. Over the years, "Star Trek" fans have created quite a few fan productions, ranging from silly to productions that give the canon a run for its money, with "Axanar" and "Star Trek Continues" among the best-loved within the fandom. In 2020, Together Brothers Productions continued this tradition with the Orville universe fan film and series "A Planetary Step," which revolve around Planetary Union Captain David Gerald's adventures aboard the USS Eisenberg. The fan series was directed by Jason Richardson and was written by Eric Moran (who plays Gerald) and Brian Terranova. On "Talking the Orville," Moran—a professional cosplayer who has worked as a writer and actor on several fan productions in the "Trek," "Judge Dredd," and "Spawn" fandoms—shared his hope that the series would inspire other fans to create their own Planetary Union fan productions.

8. There was almost an animated version of The Orville

With Seth MacFarlane's extensive animation background, it only makes sense that Planetary Union would show up in line art one of these days, just as Trek has so many times over the years. Super-dedicated "Star Trek" fans will remember 1973's "Star Trek: The Animated Series," which originally aired as a Saturday morning cartoon and has spawned plenty of debate over what is or is not official Trek canon among the fandom. More recently, Trek fans have enjoyed a few animated episodes of "Short Treks," including the adorable "Ephraim and DOT," which saw a colorful space tardigrade and a DOT-7 drone engage in Tom-and-Jerry style cartoon hijinks around the Enterprise. The recent Trek renaissance also gave rise to the Nickelodeon series "Star Trek: Prodigy" and the adult comedy animation "Star Trek: Lower Decks."

Fans hoping to see an Orville animated series in the same tradition may not have anything to look forward to yet, but it should come as good news that the thought has crossed MacFarlane's mind. Seth MacFarlane told io9 that the producers considered making some animated episodes during the pandemic but there "wasn't an appetite for it" at the time, noting that he was still open to the possibility down the road. 

9. Both Seth and Ed aren't huge stoners

There's no doubt that Seth MacFarlane brings a lot of his own personality to the character of Ed Mercer. Both are eternal optimists with a positive leadership style that brings out the best in their teams. Ed Mercer looks up to Kermit the Frog as a role model and MacFarlane seems to be a fan of the Muppets as well. MacFarlane even covers "The First Time It Happens," an original song written for "The Great Muppet Caper," on his album "In Full Swing." Like the famous frog, both Ed Mercer and Seth MacFarlane agree that it ain't easy being green.

In the episode "Command Performance" (Season 1, Episode 2), it's revealed that the captain's bad experience with some strong bud led to a paranoia-fueled outburst at the opera. Like the captain he plays, MacFarlane, who is himself an advocate for the legalization of cannabis , never had much of a personal taste for the devil's lettuce, at least not for the first three or so decades of his life. The director told Jimmy Fallon he was probably around 28 years old before trying despite having hippie parents who were more than approving. He did eventually learn to appreciate a casual toke or two.

10. Seth MacFarlane works hard to get the science right

Like many sci-fi fans who grew up loving "Star Trek," Seth MacFarlane adores science. His passion for space began as a child watching Carl Sagan's "Cosmos," which inspired MacFarlane to reboot the series for a new generation. In an interview with Los Angeles Times , MacFarlane explained his belief that it's more important today than ever to get audiences engaged with science. As such, MacFarlane has put a good deal of effort into presenting plausible, accurate science in the shows he produces, especially "The Orville." 

Speaking to Ars Technica , science advisor André Bormanis emphasized how "grounded" MacFarlane is in the science side of his storytelling with everything from DNA models to the theory behind the ship's quantum drive. With a physics degree and a master's in science, technology, and public policy, NASA fellowship recipient Bormanis served as a science consultant on several Trek productions as well as director of scientific research for "Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey." "The Orville" also receives science insight from rock-and-roll astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson , who came on board during the show's second season.

11. Isaac (Mark Jackson) records all of his lines twice

All the actors who bring the USS Orville's bridge officers to life have worked hard to elevate the series beyond a simple "Galaxy Quest"-style Trekverse parody, and all deserve credit for their efforts. One of the most incredible and ironically powerful performances has been that of the emotionless artificial creature Isaac, played by Mark Jackson. In every interview with Jackson , it's adorably clear that the actor loves playing Isaac despite having to act with his face covered most of the time. The writing has more than done his character justice by giving him complex and challenging story arcs; the Kaylon experienced a relationship, dealt with the realization that he has betrayed everyone who loves him, and struggled with the pain of experiencing deep emotions only to lose them.

Not only has Jackson been nothing short of spectacular in his portrayal, but he's had to record every scene twice thanks to the challenge of playing in a full-body costume with his head covered. During his performances with the other actors, Isaac's lines are too muffled to understand on camera, so they have to be recorded a second time using ADR before the scene is put together. In an AMA Reddit thread , Jackson explained that he thinks of himself as a "puppeteer" when playing Isaac and uses a headphone called a Comtech that helps him hear more clearly when in costume. When playing Isaac, the actor also explained that his vision is at about 75% and he relies on others to help him get around safely.

12. Seth is shorter than Ed Mercer

To create the shows that we love, TV showrunners use plenty of tricks of the trade to help make everything look perfect. Sometimes, those tricks involve a little cinematic sleight-of-hand to create the perfect scene. Like most great TV shows, "The Orville" crew occasionally plays with what's on screen and most audience members never realize it. One common trick used in television is a height-evening method known as a "Scully box," named for the 5'2" actress Gillian Anderson , who played Dana Scully on "The X-Files." Since height differences can make filming scenes with two or more actors tricky, sometimes it's just easier to help even things out a bit. Offscreen, Adrianne Palicki, who plays Kelly Grayson, is an inch taller than Seth MacFarlane at 5'11". Onscreen, however, Captain Mercer appears just a smidge taller than his second-in-command, so it's likely the actor wears platform boots as part of his costume.

13. The actors drink real alcohol on set

In the post-scarcity Federation of "Star Trek," the Enterprise crew is free to explore the galaxy knowing that they can create just about anything they want or need using their handy dandy replicators, from Deanna Troi's chocolate treats to Captain Picard's Earl Gray, hot. One thing that does seem to be scarce in Starfleet is a decent drink, thanks to the emergence of booze's boring little brother, synthehol, which won't get you drunk unless you're Seven of Nine.

Fortunately for the crew of the Orville, the Planetary Union has no such teetotaling qualms. Officers and ensigns alike regularly imbibe on everything from whiskey to oppsada, a Moclan drink containing a parasite that apparently feels pretty darned nice to get infested with, although we'll have to take Bortus and Klyden's word for it. According to Forces of Geek , the liquor on set is real —at least some of the time, that is. According to Scott Grimes, "There are scenes filmed in the mess hall, and I go to take a sip and they're rolling film and someone has switched the glass to real whiskey and that's a real reaction!"

14. The ship's name is an homage to the first flight

Fans of "Star Trek: Enterprise" know all about the history of flight and space travel thanks to the show's introduction. Set to a cover of "Faith of the Heart," the intro is a montage of the exploration, aviation, and aerospace innovations that led to Starfleet's launch of the original starship Enterprise under the command of Captain Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula). Just as the name of Starfleet's flagship recalls famous Enterprises through the ages, from the HMS Enterprise to the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CVN-65), Seth MacFarlane named one of the Planetary Union's ships after one of the first aviation pioneers, a guy named Orville Wright. The younger of the two Wright brothers, Orville helped his brother Wilbur innovate and fly the first sustained powered flight in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina in 1903. During the first season of the series, a model of the Wright flyer can be seen on Ed Mercer's desk, and a photo of the first flight decorates his office wall.

15. There have been Planetary Union flags in space

Besides the incredible scientific discoveries that happen aboard the ISS, there's also a surprising amount of geekery afoot. From Commander Chris Hadfield singing "A Space Oddity" while overlooking the Earth to Italian European Space Agency astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti cosplaying as Starbuck from "Battlestar Galactica" and Captain Janeway of "Star Trek: Voyager," the ISS is practically a little mini Comic Con these days.

That's why it should come as no surprise that the marketing geniuses at The Space Collective regularly launch geeky merch into space and then bring it back down to Earth for willing fans to throw money at. Back in 2020, while the world was hunkered down in pandemic mode, they launched a payload of Planetary Union flags. After arriving in space, the payload was placed outside of the airlock with a robotic arm. From there, the flags hung out for half a year outside the ISS , orbiting the planet Earth and soaking up cosmic rays and other space weirdness. Let's just hope the Krill didn't see them, or we're all in trouble.

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The Orville

Set 400 years in the future, the crew of the U.S.S. Orville continue their mission of exploration, navigating both the mysteries of the universe, and the complexities of their own interperso... Read all Set 400 years in the future, the crew of the U.S.S. Orville continue their mission of exploration, navigating both the mysteries of the universe, and the complexities of their own interpersonal relationships. Set 400 years in the future, the crew of the U.S.S. Orville continue their mission of exploration, navigating both the mysteries of the universe, and the complexities of their own interpersonal relationships.

• Seth MacFarlane
• Adrianne Palicki
• Penny Johnson Jerald
• 1.7K User reviews
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• 3 wins & 17 nominations total

Episodes 36

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• Capt. Ed Mercer

• Cmdr. Kelly Grayson

• Dr. Claire Finn

• Lt. Gordon Malloy

• Lt. Cmdr. Bortus

• Lt. Cmdr. John LaMarr …

• Lt. Talla Keyali …

• Lt. Alara Kitan …

• Admiral Halsey

• Marcus Finn

• Ensign Charly Burke

• Lieutenant Turco …

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• Trivia Unlike the first two seasons, the whole third season was written in advance, and scenes from different episodes were shot in a row, based on the location and actors' availability. Jon Cassar and Seth MacFarlane split the direction duties for the 10 episodes so they could work like that.
• Goofs Moclan biology makes no sense. It appears that the "males" have all the necessary equipment for reproduction, which implies that they are in fact hermaphrodites. If that were the case, cisgender Moclans would have been bred out as useless, and the concept of "male" and "female" would be at best only a dim memory in the lexicon of the race.

[repeated line]

Captain Ed Mercer : Alara, you want to open this jar of pickles for me?

• Connections Featured in The IMDb Show: Take 5 With Jessica Szohr (2019)

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• Sep 30, 2022
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• September 10, 2017 (United States)
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• Runtime 44 minutes

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7 best Star Trek parodies, ranked

For more than 50 years, Star Trek   has been an institution, especially among the nerds of America. The original Star Trek series has spawned various movies and additional shows in the years since it aired, and those shows have been met with various levels of acclaim and criticism.

7. Star Trek: Lower Decks

• 6. The Muppet Show – Pigs in Space

5. Animaniacs: Star Truck

4. the orville, 3. futurama: where no fan has gone before, 2. black mirror: uss callister, 1. galaxy quest (1999).

Alongside all of these more faithful series, though, there have also been a number of parodies of  Star Trek , its tropes, and the world it’s set in. We’ve gathered seven of the very best of those parodies for this list, which range from TV episodes to entire movies.

Why not kick this list off with a show that allows  Star Trek  to make fun of itself? Lower Decks  follows the support crew on a fairly unimportant interspace vessel as they try to manage their personal lives, even as they deal with all sorts of sci-fi invaders.

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As this list proves,  Star Trek  has become such an institution that it can be effectively parodied from dozens of different directions, but this show, which plays with the series’ tropes while offering a new perspective on the action, is a delight from minute one, and is still going strong after its fourth season.

6. The Muppet Show – Pigs in Space

The Muppets may not be as widely beloved today as they once were, but Pigs in Space was once a regular segment on The Muppet Show.  The segment was flexible enough that it could parody any beloved sci-fi property, but  Star Trek  was undoubtedly a mainstay.

This was underlined by the fact that Captain Link Hogthrob seemed to be a pretty overt Captain Kirk riff, and Miss Piggy’s ship was called Swinetrek. Still, Pigs in Space was not particularly biting. Instead, it was the kind of sweet, earnest parody that the Muppets were so often great at.

When the Animaniacs got a chance to invade their favorite TV show, they didn’t miss an opportunity to cause plenty of havoc. Star Truck follows the rascals at the show’s center as they meet characters like Dr. Squat and Captain Kork while also delivering the kind of jokes that only hardcore fans of both shows would fully understand.

If you’re a  Trek  fan, you probably loved this episode, which also gave Maurice Lamarche the chance to do pretty impeccable impressions of William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, and DeForest Kelly.

When Seth MacFarlane set out to create his own version of Star Trek , many people were alarmed by how genuine and sincere it seemed. The Family Guy   creator has long been a megafan of the series, and while  The Orville  has elements of parody, it also seems to be a loving tribute to the show that spawned it.

The show featured notable guest stars from various  Star Trek  shows, and also captured the spirit of the planet-of-the-week adventures that made the original  Star Trek  so widely beloved. While it’s certainly jokier than the original series,  The Orville  is ultimately a loving tribute to what made  Trek  great.

Perhaps the most impressive thing about this Futurama  episode  is that the show manages to reunite almost every member of the original cast to deliver voice performances. The episode imagines that the crew of the Planet Express stumble upon a planet where the entire original cast of the series is alive and well, having been revived hundreds of years after the show’s original run.

The notion of giving these actors a chance to live in a far different future than the one their show imagined was brilliant enough, but all of the actors brought their A-game to these versions of their actual personalities.

Not every Black Mirror  episode  is as sharp and compelling as  USS Callister , which is both a parody and a critique of the entire  Star Trek  ethos. The episode follows the crew of a  Star Trek -esque ship as they’re tortured by their captain. Eventually, we begin to realize that this entire world is a virtual reality, and the entire crew are avatars for co-workers of a single isolated man.

USS Callister  is specific in its references to the original  Star Trek , but it’s also a pointed critique of the misogyny that could underlie much of what that original show tried to achieve, and more crucially, of the show’s many fans who totally misinterpret its message.

One of the great parody movies of any kind ever made,  Galaxy Quest  is set in a universe where a show like  Star Trek  was a phenomenon when it first aired. Now, the cast assembles for reunions, but have grown to hate one another. When real aliens recruit them based on the belief that they are actually the characters they played on the show, they’re forced to prove that they have what it takes to be real heroes.

Thanks to a great ensemble cast that includes Alan Rickman and Sam Rockwell in standout performances,  Galaxy Quest is genuinely funny. What has helped it endure, though, is that it’s also one of the more earnest movies on this list, and it manages to balance those tones beautifully.

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This is sure to be an unusual year for Hollywood cinema. With the regular cadence of franchise blockbusters disrupted by the Hollywood strikes of 2023, there are fewer surefire bets at the box office. And some of the studios’ supposedly safer gambles, like Madame Web and Argylle, have already fallen flat upon release. Of course, this doesn’t mean there hasn’t been anything worth seeing in theaters or streaming at home. In addition to a few standout franchise entries, the year to date has seen a number of terrific smaller-scale dramas, horror flicks, and indie comedies, many of them by debuting filmmakers. With luck, the relative lack of competition for audience attention will allow one or more underdogs to make a big cultural splash.

10. Abigail

With well over 100 movies to his name since his screen debut in 1982, Nicolas Cage is one of the most prolific actors of his generation. And while Cage has appeared in many rom-coms, thrillers, and dramas, he's only occasionally accepted roles in sci-fi movies. Even with Cage's direct-to-video era, there just aren't many science fiction movies to choose from.

Since Cage has a sci-fi adjacent postapocalyptic horror flick called Arcadian currently available on VOD, we've decided to throw the spotlight on the seven best Nicolas Cage sci-fi movies. However, you should keep in mind that Cage isn't always the best judge of what is or isn't a great movie. That's why this list would be very different if it was about the seven best Nicolas Cage movies. In fact, only our top choice would be on both lists. 7. Jiu Jitsu (2020)

In 2005, the American Film Institute put out a list of its choices for the 100 best movie quotes. For its time, AFI's choices were pretty definitive. But it's been almost 20 years since that list came out, and it's time for a refresh that includes quotes from both the 20th and the 21st century.

The classics definitely have their place on our list as well. But the last two decades of movies have delivered some memorable quotes of their own and deserve to take their place alongside some of the most memorable lines in cinema history. So after due consideration, these are our choices for the 10 best movie quotes of all time, ranked from 10 to 1. 10. Training Day (2001)

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Krill society was ruled by an extreme theocratic government [1] dominated by the worship of an omnipotent vengeful creator god named Avis who commanded the destruction of all non-Krill through "the divine fight," a state of perpetual conflict. [n 1] The majority of Krill viewed other species as soulless and unworthy of life. Thus, they were in conflict with virtually all other species.

Because Krill territory abutted Union space, they were the Union's primary antagonists of the early 25th century until the landmark Lak'vai Pact of Tarazed 3 , which saw the two uniting against the new threat of the Kaylon against all sentient life. This peace, however, was later shattered by the election of Supreme Chancellor Teleya , who advocated a return to the principles of Avis and dissolved the agreement between the two peoples.

The Krill were not always so extreme in their religious beliefs. According to Captain Ed Mercer , the Krill were much less "fanatical" adherents prior to achieving space flight and first contact with other worlds. [2] Only after the Krill discovered they were "just one species among a vast diversity of life forms," did the Krill "ratchet up their xenophobia." [2]

• 2.1 Lak'vai pact
• 2.2 Dissolution and resumption of war
• 3.1 Services
• 5.1 Armor and weaponry
• 6.1 Planetary Union
• 6.2 Emergence of the Kaylon threat
• 7 Technology
• 8 Education
• 10 Other culture
• 11 Notable Krill
• 12.1 Design, make-up, and costumes
• 15 External links
• 16 Appearances
• 18 References

Biology [ ]

Krill were a bipedal reptilian humanoid species. They had tough, scaly skin with three bony ridges running along their skulls. Their height and strength are roughly the same as humans . Males had two bone protrusions from the base of their chins, called "chin horns." [n 2]

There were at least two Krill phenotypes. The first had pale white skin with entirely black eyes. [n 3] The second had blue-grey skin with black irises and white sclerae. [n 4] The Krill homeworld, also called Krill , was covered in a shroud of darkness; and evolutionary adaptation to that environment had caused the Krill to be vulnerable to even mild exposure to the ultraviolet radiation in lights and sunlight. [3]

All observed Krill had the same slender physique. Lieutenant Unk briefly mentioned that Krill women can be "chubby," though the extent to which that is only prurient fantasy is unknown. [4]

Politics [ ]

As a whole, politics were shaped by a supremacist interpretation of Krill religion, although the Union suspected progressive movements existed "within the Krill power structure." [5]

Lak'vai pact [ ]

A lak'vai pact was a joint resolution between two parties with a statement of goodwill and an intention to conduct open treaty negotiations in the future. A lak'vai was not a ceasefire, but initialized peace talks. [6]

One notable example was the Lak'vai Pact of Tarazed 3 between the Krill and the Union, signed by Ambassador K.T.Z. and Captain Ed Mercer . [6]

In the wake of the pact, the Krill proved themselves open to requests for passage through areas of their space to unknown regions that had previously been off-limits. Negotiations for this were hosted by Admiral Paul Christie , who proved a deft negotiator, both securing access while agreeing to certain terms stipulated by the Krill. [7]

Dissolution and resumption of war [ ]

Later in 2422, the governments of Krill and the Planetary Union were in negotiations for a treaty. This was outgrowth of the lak'vai pact in order to create a more formal treaty of the union between the two peoples against the Kaylon threat. The negotiations on the Krill side were hosted by Supreme Chancellor Korin , who at the time was nearing the end of his term and up for re-election. His opponent was Teleya , a Krill woman whom had once secretly infiltrated the Orville and had intimate relations with Captain Ed Mercer.

Teleya preached a fiery rhetoric which advocated a return to the core practices of the Krill and worship of Avis, completely renouncing all ties with the Planetary Union. Against expectations, Teleya won the election as Supreme Chancellor. Though Korin attempted to call for a recount, she succeeded in affecting his immediate capture on charges of treason. She then personally executed him by stabbing, later cutting off his head and having it mounted in the planet's capitol. She then had the Planetary Union delegation, including Ed, captured as well, and ordered the capture of Orville, which was currently in orbit.

Teleya ordered the Planetary Union group held captive pending their execution as well. She, however, had Ed brought before her and he tried to appeal to her on the basis of the past. Though she seemed unpersuaded, she secretly allowed him to go free. He was then approached by members of a splinter group within Teleya's faction, who brought him before a girl named Anaya , who appeared to be half-human and half-Krill. They explained that she was Ed's daughter, born of the romance between him and Teleya. They felt that she could be a powerful symbol that could reset the balance and once again bring peace between Krill and the Union in light of the Kaylon threat. In order to do so, however, they explained that Ed would have to convince Teleya to go along with the decision, or else if she was simply deposed another autocrat would rise to take her place.

Ed returned to Teleya, revealing that he knew of Anaya's existence. He again tried to sue for peace, asking why she had even gone through with birthing the child if not for this. In response to this, she asked him if he knew what they did on their planet to those who had abortions. She then showed him how they would create a simulation of the unborn child as they would be if they were old enough to talk, then have this simulation personally ask the parents why they had chosen to "send them away." She then had Ed returned to the other prisoners and attempted to execute them, but only got as far as stabbing the Union President Alcuzan non-fatally before the group was rescued by a team from the Orville. The damage, however, was done, as the two great powers were again at open war with each other and thus vulnerable to the Kaylon threat. [8]

The Krill, under Teleya’s leadership, would later go on to form an alliance with the Moclans (who had recently been expelled from the Union), in opposition to both the Union, and the Kaylon. They would work together in the construction of a super weapon (acquired from Union dissidents) designed to wipe out all Kaylon. This would lead the latter to reluctantly ally with the Union, as they launched a combined assault on the planet research was being held on, which ended with Teleya being captured, the weapon detonating, and causing a chain reaction which annihilated both the Krill and Moclan fleet. With much of their military devastated, and their leadership effectively decapitated, the Krill’s political future was left uncertain. [9]

Religion [ ]

The Krill religion revolved around the worship of a supreme deity named Avis, whose stories and philosophy were recorded in the Anhkana , the Krill sacred text. Avis created the Krill independent of all other life and granted dominion over all things in the universe to them. All other life was soulless and thus unworthy of existence. [2] Even complex species were regarded as non-sentient, their actions compared by the Krill to the generated responses of an advanced computer. [3] Avis commanded the destruction of all other godless life. [2]

Krill gather for services , religious rituals, inside rooms or buildings known as chapels. Chapels may be found throughout the Krill home world and in their destroyers . Services were led by a high priest , flanked by two priests. [3]

A basic chapel consisted of a single room with an altar at its center-front; a copy of the Anhkana and a ceremonial bell rested on the top of the altar. Two rows of pews flanked the sides of the room, separated by a single center aisle. The walls of the chapel were adorned with Krill writing proclaiming belief in Avis. [n 5]

Services [ ]

At the start of services, the priest opened services by twice ringing the ceremonial bell and greeting the congregation: "A blessed evening. Temeem Emedeen ." [n 6] Congregants replied, "Temeem Emedeen." [3]

After the salutation, a blood sacrifice was presented for the glory of Avis. The priest uttered, "Let us now cleanse," and the sacrifice was presented. For example, during services on the Yakar , the severed head of a human from the Union colony planet Chara 3 was placed upon the altar. The priest produced a ritual dagger and explained the reason for the sacrifice's death. [3]

Finally, the priest destroyed the sacrifice. The priest said, "Hail, Avis! Hail, victory! Temeem Emedeen," and plunged the dagger into the sacrifice. The Priest proceeded to mash the sacrifice with the dagger while the congregation chanted “Temeem Emedeen." [3]

Cuisine [ ]

A delicacy of the Krill is Kahspid cider, which is made from native Kahspid plants.

Military [ ]

The Krill military was an extension of the society's religion, and participation in the military was known as joining "the divine fight" against other lifeforms. [n 1]

The Krill operated warships called destroyers for military operations. Destroyers were led by a captain in charge of all operations aboard the ship. The captain was assisted by a high priest who oversaw religious affairs. Some destroyers may self-cloak.

There were at least two tiers of Krill military rank: the captain in command of a destroyer and the soldiers who comprised the bulk of the Krill force. Soldiers were highly trained for hand-to-hand and weapon-based combat. Soldiers were in charge of minor operations, enforcing the commands of leaders aboard destroyers or leading ground teams on military strikes.

Armor and weaponry [ ]

Krill armor was durable yet flexible, having the same toughness as their rifles. [10] Armor covered nearly all of the body of a soldier, although it was not entirely for protection in combat; because Krill were extremely sensitive to light, the armor blocked out deadly ultraviolet radiation. When on the surface of well-lit worlds like Epsilon 2 , Krill soldiers wore helmets that guard the face at all times possible. The helmets opened and retracted automatically.

Soldiers carried several types of weapons, an assault weapon known as a plasma rifle , a single-handed plasma gun , and a sword for close-quarters combat. [n 7] Some Krill (notably Captain Haros ) carried daggers, which featured a trademark dagger-within-a-dagger design. [3]

Krill used electrified batons as an instrument of torture on prisoners, which had at least nine levels of intensity to hurt the victim. It is assumed that higher levels were extraordinarily painful and harmful as the Krill themselves were only able to survive up to level eight. [2]

Captured enemies were temporarily stored in the brig of a ship, [2] but long-term captives such as Orrin Channing were held in prisons. [6]

Relations [ ]

The Krill were hostile towards non-Krill species of space , raiding or attacking other civilizations such as the Planetary Union and the Chak'tal . The Krill-Chak'tal conflict erupted when the Krill attacked Chak'tal colonies, and the Chak'tal launched a punitive campaign in retaliation.

Planetary Union [ ]

From at least the 24th century until the early 25th , the Krill were adversaries of the Planetary Union , a longstanding hostility known as the Krill-Planetary Union conflict . The Union was careful to avoid an official declaration of war. As Admiral Ozawa elaborated, the Krill saw a declared war with the Union as "a holy crusade," which meant it would last decades. [3]

From 2418 through 2419 , the Krill converted Doctor Derek Ashton into a spy, and with his help nearly captured a sophisticated quantum-field technology known as a quantum accelerator , a device capable of rapidly aging anything within a "quantum bubble." They were stymied by the USS Orville in the Battle of Epsilon 2 . [11]

The Krill peppered Union colonies with military raids throughout 2419. The destroyer Yakar conquered the colony of Chara 3 and killed its settlers. [3] Later, a different, unnamed destroyer attacked the USS Druyan , but was defeated by the intervening Orville. [12] Around December, the Kakov attempted to raid the colony planet Kastra 4 but was destroyed by the Orville. Dozens of Union settlers were confirmed killed. [3]

Captain Ed Mercer and Helmsman Gordon Malloy captured the Yakar in late 2419 - killing most of its crew and taking its schoolteacher, Teleya, captive. [3] Teleya escaped prison in early 2420 and rejoined the Krill (although how she managed to accomplish that is unknown). [13] The military seeded Teleya into the Union as " Janel Tyler ," a dark matter cartographer .

In late 2420, Talla Keyali served aboard a ship that had their "butts kicked" by the Krill. [14]

Emergence of the Kaylon threat [ ]

A turning point in Krill-Union relations came when the Kaylon launched a campaign to eradicate all biological life in the galaxy in January 2421 . [15] The Kaylon sent a war armada to attack the Union's headquarters at Earth , but First Officer Kelly Grayson and Gordon were able to send an advance warning to the Krill. With a common threat, the Krill successfully aided the Union at the Battle of Earth in February. [16]

The Krill and Union signed a ceasefire agreement soon after the battle, followed by the Lak'vai Pact of Tarazed 3 signed in March. [6] This agreement, however, was nullified following the election of Teleya as Supreme Chancellor. [8]

Technology [ ]

Krill used dedicated broadcast frequencies for communications and distress signals that other civilizations identified as distinctive to the Krill. [2]

Education [ ]

Krill children were educated in space vessels such as destroyers, exposing the children to warfare on the ship and indoctrinating them into the Krill's military society. A classroom consisted of roughly a dozen pupils led by a single teacher.

Language [ ]

Other culture [ ].

Some Krill women chose a life of dedicated child-rearing. [17]

Unmarried Krill women had maiden names before they adopt a new name at marriage. One such maiden name is Kalavus , belonging to the mother of Ambassador K.T.Z. [6]

The Krill considered a region known as the Kalarr Expanse to be part of their territory, but never entered it. Their Anhkana warned of "Shadow Realms" within this space, said to be gateways to depths of the underworld where demons waited to possess the souls of those who strayed within their reach. In fact, the area was the home of the arachnids , a species which reproduced by rewriting the DNA of other sentient species. [7]

The Krill considered the Merchant Class to be the backbone of their civilization, having been stable for tens of thousands of years. The Grand Marketplace was their center of commerce and merchants from every corner of the planet could be found there. [8]

Notable Krill [ ]

• Anaya (half-human hybrid)

Production [ ]

Years before The Orville was greenlit, creator Seth MacFarlane envisioned an alien species of religious extremists that viewed all other life as inferior. [18] His vision evolved into the "Krill:" a highly religious species and a metaphor of fundamentalist religions on 21st century Earth . As cinematographer Marvin Rush explained, "The Krill are very religious in a way for instance that ISIS or ISIL is. ... We're not saying this is the story of ISIS, we're not telling that story, but there's a corrupting effect that religion can have." [19]

Yet despite the fact that the Krill are the primary antagonists of the Planetary Union , MacFarlane was careful to show that the Krill are not wholly evil. During the premiere of Nothing Left on Earth Excepting Fishes , MacFarlane elaborated: "We wanted to create an enemy that felt threatening on the surface, but with an underlying humanity that we have to patiently unearth over time." [20] At San Diego Comic Con in 2019, MacFarlane stated that he wanted to make sure that "no alien species is 100% evil" in the show.

Design, make-up, and costumes [ ]

Design of the Krill was heavily influenced by the classic film Nosferatu . More specifically: their sensitivity to light and their vampiric appearance. Howard Berger , make-up department head for Season 1 , recalled that "we did a series of design work on them - Seth [MacFarlane] said they're vampiric, they should be pale, black eyes and scary." [21] Yet MacFarlane originally envisioned simpler aliens with nose and forehead prosthetics and make-up. To convince the man that realistic, large-scale Krill costumes were possible, Berger dressed his wife and two men in his vision of the Krill in November, 2016 and presented them to MacFarlane. He was impressed and immediately approved Berger's idea. [22]

Artists designing the Krill chose to contrast the Krill people against Krill architecture by aiming for "polar opposites." The grey and blue-grey skin of the Krill moved the production team to design Krill architecture that is very dark; the gentle ridges on Krill bodies meant sharp angles on the walls; the soft skin of the Krill led to hard, metallic surfaces and harsh lighting. [23]

Krill costumes have three generic types: adult male, adult female, and child. Berger notes: "We came up with a male and female version and a child version because there's an episode [ Krill ] with children, and on that episode we ended up doing 111 Krill in eight days." [23] Only particularly important Krill characters received unique prosthetic masks, such as Chris , Haros, and Teleya.

Each costume is comprised of a prosthetic head, face, and chin piece, which are pre-painted to save time and then added to the actor. [24] Application of the prosthetic and blending them into the skin take roughly one hour per person. [24]

• Actors portraying Krill wore dentures in the pilot episode Old Wounds . Unfortunately, the collection of dentures was lost after filming. [25]
• Howard Berger says that, once in costume, extras portraying Krill curiously tend to eat their meals together, isolated from the rest of the cast. [22]
• The name has been confirmed not to be based on the Krell from Forbidden Planet . [26]
• A krill is a type of crustacean found in all of the Earth's oceans, but it is unknown if this in any way inspired the name of this species.
• This can be a hybrid of two alien races names from Marvel Universe, Kree and Skrulls.
• In Krill society, sunlight is a symbol of death, while rain and darkness are symbols of good.

Gallery [ ]

External links [ ]

• Sioux City Journal - One of the earliest public production discussions of the Krill.

Appearances [ ]

• Episode 1x01: Old Wounds
• Episode 1x02: Command Performance (mentioned only)
• Episode 1x04: If the Stars Should Appear
• Episode 1x05: Pria (mentioned only)
• Episode 1x06: Krill
• Episode 1x11: New Dimensions
• Episode 1.5x01: New Beginnings, Pt. 1 (mentioned only)
• Episode 1.5x03: The Word of Avis, Pt. 1 (flashback)
• Episode 1.5x04: The Word of Avis, Pt. 2
• Episode 2x01: Ja'loja (in human form only)
• Episode 2x02: Primal Urges (mentioned only)
• Episode 2x04: Nothing Left on Earth Excepting Fishes
• Episode 2x05: All the World is Birthday Cake (mentioned only)
• Episode 2x08: Identity, Pt. 1 (mentioned only)
• Episode 2x09: Identity, Pt. 2
• Episode 2x10: Blood of Patriots
• Episode 2x11: Lasting Impressions (mentioned only)
• Episode 2x12: Sanctuary (mentioned only)
• Episode 2x13: Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow (mentioned only)
• Episode 2.5x01: Launch Day, Pt. 1
• Episode 2.5x02: Launch Day, Pt. 2
• Episode 3x04: Gently Falling Rain
• ↑ 1.0 1.1 Teleya : "To become a soldier in the divine fight." Episode 2x04: Nothing Left on Earth Excepting Fishes
• ↑ Ed Mercer as "Chris" calls them such to a Krill guard. Episode 1x06: Krill
• ↑ These Krill attacked during the Battle of Epsilon 2 . Episode 1x01: Old Wounds
• ↑ This is the most commonly encountered Krill phenotype, including in the Battle of Kastra 4 and the infiltration of the Yakar . Episode 1x06: Krill
• ↑ The writing of which has not yet been deciphered. See Krillain .
• ↑ The meaning of this phrase is unknown.
• ↑ The sword is not seen in any episode but depicted and described in the book The World of the Orville as a double-bladed sword for close combat.

References [ ]

• ↑ Episode 2.5x01: Launch Day, Pt. 1
• ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 Episode 2x04: Nothing Left on Earth Excepting Fishes
• ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 Episode 1x06: Krill
• ↑ Episode 2x02: Primal Urges
• ↑ Perry . Episode 2x10: Blood of Patriots
• ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 Episode 2x10: Blood of Patriots
• ↑ 7.0 7.1 Episode 3x02: Shadow Realms
• ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Episode 3x04: Gently Falling Rain
• ↑ Episode 3x09: Domino
• ↑ Bond, Jeff. The World of the Orville . Titan Books. 2018. Pg. 94.
• ↑ Episode 1x01: Old Wounds
• ↑ Episode 1x04: If the Stars Should Appear
• ↑ Episode 1.5x04: The Word of Avis, Pt. 2
• ↑ Episode 2x05: All the World is Birthday Cake
• ↑ Episode 2x08: Identity, Pt. 1
• ↑ Episode 2x09: Identity, Pt. 2
• ↑ Unk states that there are Krill "housewives." Episode 2x02: Primal Urges
• ↑ Pascale, Anthony. " Interview: David A. Goodman On ‘The Orville’ As Sci-Fi Gateway And How ‘Futurama’ Landed ‘Enterprise’ Job ". TrekMovie.com. Oct. 23, 2017.
• ↑ Bond, Jeff. The World of the Orville . Titan Books. 2018. Pg. 109.
• ↑ @SethMacFarlane. " We wanted to create an enemy that felt threatening on the surface, but with an underlying humanity that we have to patiently unearth over time. ". Twitter. Jan. 17, 2019.
• ↑ Bond, Jeff. The World of the Orville . Titan Books. 2018. Pg. 105.
• ↑ 22.0 22.1 " PLANETARY UNION NETWORK: EPISODE 20 ". Planetary Union Network. June 17, 2018.
• ↑ 23.0 23.1 Bond, Jeff. The World of the Orville . Titan Books. 2018. Pg. 110.
• ↑ 24.0 24.1 " The IMDb Show | Episode 103: Amber Stevens West, the FX of “The Orville,” and Shows Ending in 2018 ". The IMDb Show . Dec. 1, 2017.
• ↑ The Martini Shot Show. " Ep. 5 Howard Berger talks The Orville, breaking into the industry, and more! ". Youtube. March 2, 2018.
• ↑ 26.0 26.1 David A. Goodman, Executive Producer and Writer . Quantum Drive . May 10, 2022.
• The Orville
• 1 Kelly Grayson
• 2 Ed Mercer
• 3 Alara Kitan

• May 16, 2024 | Recap/Review: ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Navigates Its Way Through In “Labyrinths”
• May 14, 2024 | IDW Celebrating 500th Star Trek Comic With Big Era-Spanning Anthology
• May 14, 2024 | Denise Crosby Returns As Captain Sela From Another Universe For ‘Star Trek Online: Unparalleled’
• May 14, 2024 | See Captain Sisko Meet A Familiar Face From ‘Picard’ In Preview Of ‘Star Trek’ #20
• May 13, 2024 | Preview ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Episode 508 With New Images, Trailer, And Clip From “Labyrinths”

Recap/Review: ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Navigates Its Way Through In “Labyrinths”

| May 16, 2024 | By: Anthony Pascale 17 comments so far

“Labyrinths”

Star Trek: Discovery Season 5, Episode 8 – Debuted Thursday, May 16, 2024 Written by Lauren Wilkinson & Eric J. Robbins Directed by Emmanuel Osei-Kuffour

A taut episode full of action and emotional tension starts the run up to the finale.

Ruhn’s refrigeration chic fell flat at the Met Gala

WARNING: Spoilers below!

“Let’s go get that final clue.”

The Breen mourn the loss of L’ak, and Primarch Ruhn sees an opportunity to rally the other Flights behind avenging the Scion with the assistance of Progenitor tech. Moll spots potential in driving a wedge between the would-be emperor and his crew. One step ahead, The Disco arrives at the Badlands and doorstep to the final clue. They are greeted by a jovial archivist Hy’Rell, who provides a fun running commentary as the crew tries to focus on not getting roasted navigating their way through the plasma storms. When they arrive at the oasis around the beautiful Eternal Gallery and Archive, Hy’Rell extends an invitation to the Discovery’s resident Kwejian to see an artifact of that doomed species, so the captain invites Book to come along, making it clear she has no regrets about handing over Moll last week as she was just doing her job. Inside the huge space library, Hy’Rell brushes off concerns about the Breen as she presents the captain with the original Betazed manuscript for Dr. Derex’s Labyrinths of the Mind (title alert!). Burnham leafs through the ancient tome and finds an ornate metal plate that glows when she touches it. Book soon returns after being gifted with that artifact (a cutting of the Kwejian World Root) only to find Michael down, laid out on the carpet. That’s got to be against library rules.

Patrons are advised to not get trapped in mindscapes while in the library.

“Everything is here for a reason.”

Michael wakes and is quickly shushed by Book, now wearing Archivist Robes. She is in a mindscape and he is a program designed by the former Archivist, but the specifics come from her subconscious. This isn’t her first map piece rodeo, so Michael confidently sets off to pass the newest test. Meanwhile, Rayner and Culber arrive in the real world and the doctor works out what’s happening and reports that it’s not safe to interfere: They will need to just see where this goes. Attempting to narrow down her search, Michael figures the clue must be in the history section, thinking like a group of Dominion War-era scientists concerned about the future not repeating mistakes, but she is running out of time, as the Mindbrary is slowly shutting down—and if she doesn’t figure it out, she will get shut down with it… permanently. Adding to the tension, the Breen are closing in and Ruhn doesn’t care for Hy’Rell’s “request denied” to enter the library. In the mindscape, Michael is getting nowhere and growing frustrated with Avatar Book. Wait. Book? She’s inside a book, specifically “Labyrinths of the Mind”… It’s a maze! Duh! The avatar hands her a bucket of sand so she can math her way out. Things in the real world ratchet up as Rayner orders the Disco to hide in the storm before the Breen show up. Michael finally makes her way to the heart of the maze, only to find that smug avatar and no clue prize. The walls are literally closing in and this guy makes it clear she has yet to pass the real test: Can she be trusted with the awesome power of the Progenitor tech? “I’m running out of time, aren’t I?” Yep. Gulp.

I’m in a book, reading books guided by a Book… going to need to talk to Culber to sort all this out.

“You don’t mess around, do you?”

Exasperated, Michael decries the “psychobabble” of the situation, telling that judgy avatar just where he can stick his virtual opinions. Meanwhile, the Breen arrive, firing a shield tunneling thingie to transport soldiers into the library. The Disco Geek Squad assembles and quickly comes up up with a way to disrupt the big Breen beam, but that will only buy a little time as Rayner and Book take out a few helmet heads and taunt the rest. On the Dreadnaught, Moll uses Ruhn’s lack of concern for his soldiers as she sidles up to his top lieutenant, sowing more seeds of doubt over the Primarch’s devotion to the Scion. Or maybe she just has a thing for Jell-O. After blowing off steam, Michael returns to the last room of the shrinking virtual reality and gets real with Avatar Book. She isn’t afraid of death but admits to her fear of failing the mission, opening the floodgates of her fear of failure, of not being a good enough captain, friend, or partner. She buries the shame of her fear, but in this vulnerable moment, she regrets avoiding telling real Book about how she felt. Wow, being a moment away from being snuffed out of reality can be cathartic. So, by the way, what was Dr. Derex’s test? Surprise! By being honest with herself she proved herself worthy and passed the test, and Avatar Book reveals the location of the last piece of the map in the real library. He also clues her in on one more thing she is going to need to know when she gets to the final destination. Who would have guessed the key to a Betazed test would be about feelings?

I make this look good.

“You are in no position to bargain.”

The captain awakes into chaos, time running out before the Breen overrun the place. She quickly finds the last piece of the map and they beam out before getting zapped by gelatinous goons. On the Disco, she orders the ship to reveal itself to give the Breen a new target. Ruhn demands the map or he will keep killing innocent space librarians. She agrees… but only if he will swear to a Tergun—a sacred Breen oath—to not harm the Archive. Tilly quickly puts the map together so they can get the coordinates of the Progenitor tech before sending the map over to the Breen to do the same. Against Moll’s objections, the Primarch starts firing and Captain Burnham uses some sleight of hand with a spore jump and the simultaneous release of debris and plasma, fooling the Breen into thinking Discovery was destroyed. But the Starfleet ship emerges hours from the Progenitor target, severely damaged. Before pursuing, Ruhn decides to destroy the Archive, which happens to include some priceless Breen artifacts. Moll now makes her big political move, rallying the Breen crew behind her cause to resurrect the Scion with Progenitor tech, denouncing Ruhn for going against a Tergun and trying to destroy Breen cultural relics. Lt. Arisar wavers, then faces off with Ruhn. Moll uses the moment to kill the Primarch, announcing “I am the wife of L’ak, Scion and true ruler of the Imperium. We will get him back. Long will he reign.” Arisar backs her play as the throng of bucket-heads joins her rallying cry and we fade to black. Well played. Lady Macbeth can learn a few things from this former courier.

It’s my map now.

It’s all in your mind.

“Labyrinths of the Mind” was another tightly wound episode that perfectly balanced sci-fi action with huge emotional drama. The escalation within and without the mindscape was paced well as the drama came to various tipping points. The serenely beautiful library location proved the perfect backdrop for a deep exploration of the series’ focal character with a heart-wrenching and vulnerable performance from Sonequa Martin-Green. Once again, this final season ties into the show’s beginnings by reflecting on Burnham’s past. The mindscape is classic Trek, with a big nod to “The Inner Light” and other episodes about the captain being tested, particularly reminiscent of  Voyager ‘s “Sacred Ground” and Captain Janeway’s (incorrect) assumptions about the test she had to undergo to save Kes’ life. The Breen confrontation also evoked classics, with elements of “Balance of Terror” and other moments. It was also very Trek to give David Ajala double duty playing Dr. Derex’s avatar, although he made some curious acting choices to differentiate the character as he guided Michael to her epiphany. The episode certainly leans into Discovery ’s DNA of an exploration of character feelings, but in this case it all worked as a way to tie into the season plot arc which has also turned into Burnham’s epic journey of self-discovery, all to prove her worthiness.

This was an episode that stands on its own well, with a visit to a unique new location, memorable guest star, and a clear beginning and end, but it also moved the season plot arc along in a big way. Michael’s ultimate test brought with it the culmination of the map, the season’s MacGuffin. However, it again is a bit disappointing that we didn’t meet the final three 24th-century scientists, unless we are to see Book’s mindscape avatar as a version of Dr. Derex. It was a bit of a surprise that immediately after completing the map, Burnham handed it over to the bad guys as a bargaining chip to save the Archive, but that fits with her compassion—and don’t forget, she has key info the Breen don’t. Culber’s season arc of spiritual awakening also got a little nod when the man of science took that leap of faith that this was all part of a plan and Burnham was in good hands, even though she was under the mind control of an old alien tome. Book’s arc may also be set up with the gift of the Kwejian world root , which feels like something that could pay off later, especially with the power of creation promised by the Progenitor tech. And with all this big drama, the episode still found time to lighten the mood, continuing the season’s welcome pivot in tone and style. Elena Juatco was a delight as Hy’Rell, believably delivering a quirky but strict librarian, and it’s just fun to have her as an Efrosian , a memorable but rarely seen Star Trek species. The brief scenes with the Stamets, Reno, and Adira team technobabbling their way through the crisis was very fun Star Trek… and of course Reno used to party with Hysperians .

You know for librarians, you wear surprisingly loud outfits.

It’s not easy being Breen.

This was another episode that revealed more about the inner workings of Breen society and technology, as well as the cool open-plan interior design of their massive ship. The killing of the Primarch was a bit of a surprise, although he won’t necessarily be missed as Ruhn was a fairly one-note villain. Moll’s Lady Macbeth manipulation of the Primarch’s second-in-command shows a new level of cunning and sets her up as the real big bad of the season. The motivation of Breen is still a bit mysterious, so we will have to take it on faith that Moll was able to use what she learned from L’ak to be able to manipulate Arisar into backing her coup. There were subtle hints this was coming throughout the episode, and Arisar was introduced in the previous to set up this confrontation, but the fact that all the helmeted Breen look the same makes this thread hard to follow. Arisar’s uniform did have some tiny differences, but they should have been more pronounced to differentiate the character who became so pivotal to Moll’s plot.

The episode also continued the season’s welcome trend of finely weaving in elements of Trek lore without going over the top. Putting the Archive inside the Badlands was a nice touch, giving us a 21st century VFX update to the classic dangerous location featured previously in DS9 and Voyager . Referencing a nucleonic beam was the only overt nod to the Kataan probe of “The Inner Light.” You don’t need to namedrop Captain Picard to evoke the vibe of that classic TNG episode. And the nods didn’t stop there with plenty of classic technobabble and even that Lower Decks reference from Reno, whose backstory continues to get filled in with delightful new details.

What? You can’t tell us all apart? That’s kind of racist.

Final thoughts

Season 5 of Discovery continues to be a welcome change as it ramps up nicely towards what has been described as a big 2-episode finale. Can’t wait for next week’s first part, directed by Jonathan Frakes.

Arisar tries to impress Moll with his air piano routine.

• This is the Star Trek debut for director Emmanuel Osei-Kuffour , who recently directed for Shogun .
• This is the fifth episode in a row without Doug Jones, but he has confirmed Saru will return.
• The episode included a new bridge crew officer: Cmdr. Lorna Jemison (Zahra Bentham), likely named in honor of NASA astronaut Mae Jemison who once played a member of the Enterprise crew in an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation .
• The Discovery couldn’t cloak due to Cherenkov radiation , which is a real thing (the radiation, not cloaking).
• The world root cuttings came in a box made of Tuli wood , the same wood Book used to decorate his old ship.
• Dr. Derex’s reading list included A Comprehensive Guide to Talaxian Hairstyles ,  Hupyrian Folk Tales , and Euclidean Geometry…  two Trek things and one real thing.
• The Laybryths of the Mind manuscript may be our first view of Betazed written language.
• Disrupting the Breen shield tunneling weapon is the latest use Star Trek has found for positron beams .
• Ejecting debris as they did in “ Balance of Terror ” was often used in World War II movies like Run Silent, Run Deep , and it is based on real Naval doctrine of the time.
• Breen coding is “dodeca” or base-12 .
• The Eternal Archive was filmed at the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library at the University of Toronto.

Welcome to Space Toronto!

More to come

Every Friday, the TrekMovie.com All Access Star Trek Podcast  covers the latest news in the Star Trek Universe and discusses the latest episode. The podcast is available on Apple Podcasts ,  Spotify ,  Pocket Casts ,  Stitcher and is part of the TrekMovie Podcast Network.

The fifth and final season of  Discovery debuted with two episodes on Thursday, April 4 exclusively on Paramount+  in the U.S., the UK, Switzerland, South Korea, Latin America, Germany, France, Italy, Australia, and Austria.  Discovery  will also premiere on April 4 on Paramount+ in Canada and will be broadcast on Bell Media’s CTV Sci-Fi Channel in Canada. The rest of the 10-episode final season will be available to stream weekly on Thursdays. Season 5 debuts on SkyShowtime in select European countries on April 5.

Keep up with news about the  Star Trek Universe at TrekMovie.com .

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Still wish we could see the Klingons before the show ends.

“Again with the Klingons….

Mr. Scott, give me full power!”

“I can’t reach the controls!”

I have to agree. I really do want to know what happened to the Empire, aside from a screen graphic showing Klingon Empire.

It is with great irony the show that started with the biggest Klingon storyline ever has basically treated them like they don’t even exist anymore.

It is really really odd

The episode was great. I enjoyed the story and the character development for Burnham was great.

I knew as soon as Primarch Ruhn issued the order to destroy the library even after finding out that it had Breen artifacts that he his death was near. Though i expected his 2nd in command that Moll was talking too would be the one to kill him and not Moll.

Book seeing the Kwejian World Root from his Homeworld was sweet and it was nice that he got to take it with him. Though in his place i would of kept it at the Library instead.

I loved the spore jump sequence with them exploding the warp plasma at the same time that was really cool looking.from now on I’m calling it the Burnham Maneuver. Also the badlands looked awesome too.

I can’t wait to see what is in store for the next 2 episodes.

Books? Seems very speciesist to think all the aliens in the universe write down on paper in books .

What a great episode this one was! Discovery felt like the Star Trek I remember. The cast, writers, and director really did an excellent job with it. The story was engaging with a clear beginning and end. It also had the right amount of problem solving with the crew and a nice amount of sci-fi technobabble. I love when the crew works together like that in all of the Star Trek shows.

I was drawn in from the start and was feeling the tension the characters were under. The episode had a satisfying conclusion while advancing the season’s main story. DS9’s format of mixing standalone episodes with a serialized arc really works well for Star Trek.

Well done with this one Discovery!

Good episode. Wonder what will happen on the last two. Curious will past characters from other shows make an appearance.

This was a fairly good episode, albeit just a tad formulaic.

I loved the library itself and that was a gorgeous location from the moment they first arrived there until the moment they left. I’m happy that it survived the encounter because it would be cool to see it show up again at some point. I enjoyed seeing it in other ways as Michael explored the labyrinth, but the final test was predictable.

Who didn’t see the Breen Premarch turn back on the deal after getting what he wanted? I didn’t expect that Mol would take over the Breen though at the end of the episode. I know they alluded to her influence, but really expected that the Breen she was speaking with would be the one to take over.

I think that was the best episode of the season so far. What a comeback after the past several duds.

So Michael Burnham solved the riddle of the week by whining about her own shortcomings… That’s just not very satisfying.

Lord this is a dumb show “Holey Shit ” really ?

Well this show is ,so finally the truth .

Every book in the universe and all colloquial books …..because all intelligent life writes humanoid design books .

I enjoyed the episode, but the mystery was a dud. Cool set, cool idea.. the episode was overall fun, and it works great right up to the reveal… which is my big fear about how all of this gets solved. Like with anything JJ does.. the lead up is much more enticing than the payoff. But in the context of the show overall, it’s a top tier episode. Faint praise perhaps, but at least I’m enjoying it. Hy-rell was a pretty cool character and performance.

Also.. didn’t mean to imply that this was something JJ Abrams is behind.. just saying they treat the mystery just like he does.

This one was a big fat yawn for me. I see what they were going for and there was stuff I liked but the dream thing is stuff we seen a million times before. I just don’t really buy how easy it’s been to get these clues. Yes it’s a TV show so things have to keep moving but they figure everything out in an hour. And Burnham admitting she’s scared of failing is all it takes? But I do laugh thinking anyone from the Breen could ever get these clues on their own based on the tests lol.

And while I did like Hy’Rell as a character the way they have these characters talk on these shows sometimes takes me out of the story because everyone sounds like they are in 2024. She literally sounds like my neighbors 20 year old daughter.

I just think about all the old arguments how you can’t go ‘forward’ in Star Trek because everyone would be too unrelatable. And yet here we are in the 32nd century and everyone talks like they are in a TikTok video lol. But this isn’t Discovery issue alone, just modern Trek in general.

Sadly I think this season has lost me overall although it’s probably my second favorite season lol.

But it’s great so many people are really liking it. Two episodes to go. Hopefully it will go out with a bang.

Not a terrible episode but I wish we could go one week without some weeping. This has to be the weepiest show in history.

Beam Me Up, Doctor: Russell T. Davies Breaks Down That 'Star Trek' Easter Egg in the 'Doctor Who' Premiere

"I just know how many geeks are watching, and I include myself on that list," said Davies.

The Big Picture

• Doctor Who references Star Trek in the season premiere “Space Babies."
• Showrunner Russell T. Davies reveals his love for Star Trek , especially newer series like Discovery and Picard , and explains he wanted to delight "geeks" like himself with the reference.
• While a Star Trek x Doctor Who crossover isn't likely to happen anytime soon, Davies enjoys opening the door for fan theories.

When two shows about people traveling through time and space, making the universe a better place, have been on since the 60s, it’s natural to hope they’ll one day cross paths. As a huge sci-fi nerd, I was over the moon when, in the opening scenes of “Space Babies,” Ruby contextualizes traveling in the TARDIS by referencing Star Trek . This is hardly the first time Doctor Who has referenced Star Trek , with many companions making the same comparison as Ruby does, but it is, as Russell T. Davies noted in my recent chat with the showrunner, the first time the Doctor has responded as if the people and adventures of the long-running series exist in reality.

Speaking to Davies ahead of the two-episode premiere, I had to ask what motivated him to include that little quip. He explained that while he’d been a more casual viewer of the older shows like the original series and The Next Generation , it was the newer shows that really turned him into a proper Star Trek fan. “I'm coming to love Star Trek with an absolute passion,” said Davies. “I love the old show. I always watched the old show, but when Star Trek: Discovery came along, I kind of became a proper fan.” It’s always nice to see Discovery get the flowers it deserves. Responsible for kicking off the current era of Star Trek , the series gets an unreasonable amount of flack on the internet for its commitment to diversity and inclusion — two hallmarks of the entire franchise.

Davies went on to praise more of the recent Trek series, even gushing about his crush on Captain Pike — and honestly, who doesn’t have a crush on Captain Pike. “So now I'm devoted, with Picard and Strange New Worlds . Frankly, the fact that I'm not married to Captain Pike is a major problem in my life, and I look to you, Collider, to put this right, frankly. It’s a wrong that needs righting,” Davies laughed. “I love that man. Oh, god, he's beautiful, Anson Mount . What a great name.”

Will We Ever Actually Get a ‘Star Trek’ x ‘Doctor Who’ Crossover?

While there are innumerable hoops both shows would have to jump through on the legal and intellectual property side of things, the creatives behind both shows have already shown their love for each other in recent years. Despite a true crossover being almost impossible right now, Davies enjoyed opening the door for fans to theorize about the Doctor crossing paths with Starfleet. He explained:

“So I just know how many geeks are watching, and I include myself on that list. I know how many science fiction fans are out there, and I think we buzz. The interesting thing about that reference is it’s not the first time Doctor Who 's referenced Star Trek , but it is the first time Doctor Who 's referenced Star Trek as if it’s real. He says, “Let's go visit them.” So I think that should just cause excited ripples around the world. I hope.”

You can watch the Doctor talk about Star Trek in “Space Babies” right now on Disney+ and BBC iPlayer. New episodes of Doctor Who air on Fridays at 7 PM ET. Stay tuned for our full conversation with Davies.

The show follows the adventures of a Time Lord “The Doctor” who is able to regenerate, and the Doctor’s human friends. The Doctor and companion’s journey through time and space in the TARDIS – a time-traveling ship shaped like a police box – saving the universe with a combination of wit, bravery, and kindness.

Watch on Disney+

This 'Star Trek Discovery' Character Is a Deep-Cut 'DS9' Reference

• Callum Keith Rennie joins Star Trek: Discovery as Kellerun Captain Rayner, revealing the obscure species from Deep Space Nine .
• Rayner's Kellerun backstory is crucial to Rayner's characterization and mission, with the showrunner promising a focus on his personal history.
• Discovery continues the tradition of exploring one-off alien races with new characters, adding depth and diversity to the final season.

Veteran actor Callum Keith Rennie will join the cast of the final season of Star Trek: Discovery as the alien Captain Rayner, and now we know what species he is. Fans have speculated that Rayner's pointed ears mark him as a Vulcan or a Romulan, but a new interview reveals that he is a member of the Kellerun, an obscure species from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine . TrekCore.com has the details from SFX Magazine's feature on Discovery 's upcoming fifth season , which will premiere on Paramount+ early next month.

Rayner's species will apparently be important to his characterization and the mysterious mission he joins the USS Discovery crew for, as they race against time in the show's final bow. Says showrunner Michelle Paradise , "He’s Kellerun, which is a minor planet mentioned in one of the other iterations… we learn more about his personal backstory and how that plays into who he is, and why he is how he is. We learn about that as the season goes on, and the planet he’s from has a lot to do with that." It won't be the first time an important character on Discovery comes from a one-off alien race; Commander Nhan ( Rachael Ancheril ), who debuted in the series' second season, is a Barzan, a race that had up to that point only appeared in the third-season Next Generation episode "The Price".

Who Are the Kellerun?

The Kellerun made their first and (so far) only appearance in "Armageddon Game", which first aired in 1994 as part of Deep Space Nine 's second season. A species with distinctive large, pointed ears, they had been at war for centuries with their neighbors, the T'Lani, in a conflict that utilized the Harvesters, deadly biological weapons. After the two races made peace with each other, Starfleet sent in Deep Space Nine crew members Dr. Julian Bashir ( Alexander Siddig ) and Miles O'Brien ( Colm Meany ) to help dismantle the remaining Harvesters. However, the Kellerun and T'Lani insist that all knowledge pertaining to the Harvesters must be destroyed - which means killing Bashir and O'Brien, too. The two have to make a desperate race for survival as their friends try to save them from the two alien species.

Although the Kellerun did not appear on the series again, the episode established Bashir and O'Brien's friendship, which endured for the rest of the show's run. Canadian actor Callum Keith Rennie is a veteran of science fiction productions, having starred in Battlestar Galactica , Impulse , The X-Files , Jessica Jones , and The Umbrella Academy . Discovery will be his first Star Trek appearance.

Star Trek: Discovery 's fifth and final season will premiere April 4, 2024 on Paramount+ , wehere past seasons are also streaming. Stay tuned to Collider for future updates, and watch the trailer for Discovery 's fifth season below.

Star Trek: Discovery

Taking place almost a decade before Captain Kirk's Enterprise, the USS Discovery charts a course to uncover new worlds and life forms.

Release Date September 24, 2017

Cast Oyin Oladejo, Emily Coutts, Anthony Rapp, Sonequa Martin-Green, Doug Jones, Mary Wiseman

Main Genre Sci-Fi

Genres Drama, Sci-Fi, Action, Adventure

Rating TV-14

Watch on Paramount+