Top 10 Episodes of THE ORVILLE So Far

ISAAC:According to scientists, these artifacts were found in what was once known as Sullivan County, New York. During the twentieth century, specifically a heyday in The 1920s until the 1960s, it was part of what was known as “The Borscht Belt.” It was when residents known as Hotels were used to finding talent for television, movies, and theater, both local and national. And Borscht is a soup made from beetroot and topped with Sour Cream. It is also served cold.

Lt. Cmdr. John LaMarr:According to what I’ve read in the research, this is a Screwdriver. Though I thought it was for personal stimulation because of the sonic frequencies.

Lt. Cmdr. Talla Keyali:And according to what I’ve read, This is a supercomputer. It has an activation key that runs on a rechargeable battery. A few ounces of self-sustaining energy from the Quantum Core will suffice in reactivating it. With your permission, Captain.

Captain Ed Mercer:Let’s see if it can work. (Talla puts the activation key in, and the ship shuts down)

Cmdr. Kelly Grayson (Audio only):John, find the backup generators and get them going! (The ship restarts, and ORAC activates)

ORAC:All systems and functions are at one hundred percent. (Everyone except Isaac jumps back in surprise.)

ISAAC:I am Isaac. You are… (Cut to ORAC)

ORAC:ORAC! A supercomputer created for the British Broadcasting Corporation’s Science Fiction series known as “Blake’s 7,” I was revived by one James Faraci to assist him in his reviews as his Internet Reviewing persona known as “The Last Of The Americans,” and if I am given access to an area where I can create a holographic connection to him and his time. I shall show you what he was like. I am also aware of all the people on board the Planetary Union Starship USS ORVILLE Service number ECV-197. Status: Active in service as a Mid-level exploratory ship however, from interspace chatter, it is becoming a flagship for the Planetary Union. (Cut to Captain Ed Mercer)

Captain Ed Mercer:Impressive. John take… (Cut to ORAC)

ORAC:ORAC! (Cut to Captain Ed Mercer)Captain Ed Mercer:Right! ORAC to an environmental simulator. Bortus, Talla, run a security sweep to make sure ORAC won’t take us into the heart of a sun. (Cut to ORAC)

ORAC:I observe Asimov’s rules of robotics. One) I may not injure or harm a human being through any action or inaction or allow a human to be harmed. Two) I will obey any order unless it comes into conflict with the first rule. Finally, I must protect myself as long as it does not conflict with the first and second laws. Besides, It would be a waste of time and energy best used as assistance in any way, shape, or form for your Planetary Union for any passing idea of intergalactic conquest. Think of all the religious and sociological differences that would cause me to suffer a catastrophic malfunction that would reduce the galaxies to dust. But to alleviate your discomfort, I have run the security checks myself. No foreign virus or program has infected either myself or your ship.

Captain Ed Mercer:I appreciate it. Place ORAC in an environmental simulator; we’ll run this by the Admiralty. (Cut to an exterior shot of the Orville as it flies in the depths of space as Admiral Halsey appears on board the ship with the others in the environmental simulator with ORAC.)

Admiral Halsey:Fascinating. So ORAC’s priority is to act as an assistant for information or as a one-device assistant when a complete crew is incapacitated.

ORAC (Audio only):Indeed, Admiral Halsey, And I am preparing the necessary connections to show you my former owner, James Faraci The Last Of The Americans, at his office.

(Cut to Captain Ed Mercer)Captain Ed Mercer:When will it be… (The environmental simulator changes to James Faraci The Last Of The Americans’ Lobby) ready?

ORAC (Audio only):Currently, you are still in your environmental simulator. The temporal connection point I made with the studio would be synchronized with James at the current point of the year 2022.Lt. Gordon Malloy:Wow, so this was what it was like in 2022. Reminds me of that one simulation. (The sound of walking is heard as James walks in, sees the crew of The Orville, smiles, and looks over his workload for the next few months.)

TLOTA:Make yourself comfortable; I am just about to finish my August workload. Of course, it will be a little awkward because it’s about you guys. (Cut to Lt. Cmdr. Bortus and Lt. Cmdr. John Lamarr.)Lt. Cmdr. Bortus:It can see us. I thought it was a Hologram.Lt. Cmdr. John Lamarr:I did a scan; this is more than just a recorded hologram from the past. According to the results, ORAC has turned this environmental simulator into a holographic imaging chamber and connected itself to a version of itself from 2022. How that is possible?TLOTA:I will tell you during the intro. (The scene fades to black as it cuts to the depths of space as a sound-alike to both the theme song of The Orville and the 1994 American Gladiators theme as we see the depths of space before cutting to James’ Space-Time Device as it zooms through the sky as the title of “The Last Of The Americans” in the same font of The Orville’s title card. James and his team are credited, and the guest stars are credited as the cast of “The Orville.” Cut to the Space-Time Device as it flies through the depths of space with grace as it credits James as the writer and director of the episode. Cut to the crew of The Orville.)

Captain Ed Mercer:Incredible, even though in our time we’re real, in your time we’re a tv series, and everything that is happening to you now, we’re viewing you in the present time of your time. While not affecting anything here, you are a hologram to us, and we are holograms to you. (Cut to James)

TLOTA:Exactly and I am about to talk about your adventures while you learn how your adventures are being thought of in my time. You check out the monitor; I will check out the camera above it so I can talk to the audience. I’m James Faraci, The Last Of The Americans, and the views I’m about to express are that of my own and some of yours. If you love Sci-Fi at its best, then you HAVE to watch The Orville. (Cut to the Title card of The Orville, then clips of the series as James does a voiceover)

TLOTA (V.O.):Created by Seth MacFarland, the same one who created Family Guy, Ted, A Million Ways To Die In The West, and helped create American Dad. The Orville started as an idea by MacFarland’s attempt to bring Star Trek back to the small screen. When Paramount told Seth to hit the bricks, he took his idea, refined it, and has since turned what could’ve been a bad parody attempt at Star Trek and turned it into the purest Sci-Fi series I have ever seen. The series stars MacFarland as Captain Ed Mercer as he travels into the depths of space on board the mid-level exploratory ship known as The Orville in the Planetary Union set in the 2420s. His crew consists of Lt. Gordon Malloy, played by Scott Grimes, The captain’s best friend, and is possibly the best pilot in the Union.

Lt. Gordon Malloy (Audio only):Thanks for the compliment

TLOTA (V.O.):Next up is Isaac, played by Mark Jackson; Isaac is a Kaylon whose mission is to understand human behavior; throughout the first one and a half seasons, Isaac was a diplomat for his people. Of course, his people are robots, and comparisons were made to the character of Data from Star Trek: The Next Generation. While yes, on the surface, he could be considered a clone or a cheap knock-off of Data. His development led to love and being more than what his people were which according to Captain Ed Mercer, they’re a bunch of racist robots. His development ties in with Dr. Claire Finn, played by the ever lovely and distinguished Penny Johnson Jerald, who you may also remember from shows like 24 and, of course, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine as Kasady Yates, Benjamin Sisko’s love interest and eventual wife towards the end of the series run. Dr. Finn is a single mom of two boys, Ty & Marcus, she is the ship’s doctor and often the counselor for everyone on board. Her development is intertwined with Isaac’s because both Isaac and Claire start to develop a romantic relationship, and the culmination of said development is on this list.

Isaac (Audio only):A fascinating description of the relationship you have between Claire and myself.

Dr. Claire Finn (Audio only):A little brief, but something tells me you know what you are doing.

TLOTA (V.O.):Next up is Lt. Cmdr. Talla Keyali, played by Jessica Szohr. She’s the chief security officer and a Xelayan. A Xeleyan is lighter and stronger than a normal human under the differences of gravitational levels between earth and that of the Xelayan home world. Initially considered by fans as a knockoff of the previous chief security officer Lt. Alara Kitan, played by Halston Sage, we see that Talla is as good as her predecessor and quickly won the fans over by bringing her own shoes to the role of the chief security officer and won me over by showing empathy and true strength by using her head and her heart more than her fists.

Lt. Cmdr. Talla Keyali (Audio only):Uh… Thank you?

TLOTA (V.O.):You’re most welcome. Up next is Lt. Cmdr. Bortus, played by Peter Macon. He’s the second officer and is a Moclan. The Moclans were the primary weapons manufacturers for the Union until an incident involving Bortus’ offspring Topa convinced the Union to tell the Moclans to get the hell out. More details about it later: they pee only once a year in a celebration called Ja’Loja and are supposed to be one gender only. We’ll talk more about it as the countdown goes on. But he winds up with quite a bit of development, and I will talk about what happens to him when I talk about the episodes about him on the list.

Lt. Cmdr. Bortus (Audio Only):Interesting, you know all about me.

TLOTA (V.O.): Finally, we have Commander Kelly Grayson, played by Adrienne Palicki, Her infidelities led Ed to suffer a year-long slump in his career, and she has since been seeking atonement for her actions. One of the actions of atonement was helping Ed get the Captain’s chair of The Orville. The show started off in a rough patch but quickly found itself in the highest echelons of sci-fi and became a hit series. However, after two solid seasons, Fox promised the third season, but soon due to the usual chicanery that goes on with a series that everyone likes EXCEPT the network. Fox dropped the series. However, HULU granted the series a stay of execution and picked the series up for the third season. And after watching that season, it’s clear that there’s more greatness in the future, and at the time of this post, it is also now on Disney+. While I will discuss my thoughts on the series at the end of the top ten list. I will say, YOU HAVE TO WATCH IT! But for now, to celebrate its success so far, I am going to count down ten of the best episodes from one of the best Sci-Fi Series ever made. And so everyone knows, there will be spoilers. However, I will do my best to keep it to a minimum. (Cut to James physically)