'The Orville' Recap: 'If the Stars Should Appear'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

THIS IS THE EMERGENCY SPOILER ALERT SYSTEM...YOU ARE ADVISED TO READ AT YOUR OWN RISK...

One of the biggest marks of a quality television show, is when the series in question is so darn good, you essentially drop everything to watch it and that's basically where I am at when it comes to The Orville. Because this phenomenal science fiction series is so top notch when it comes to its storytelling, giving it anything less than my full attention would be a grave mistake on my part because I would most likely miss out on something unique and special.  

It might be a joke, it might be a tender moment, but every single second of this series offers up something truly incredible and as I settled in to focus on last night's episode, 'If the Stars Should Appear', I was left wondering what kinds of surprises we would be in store for when it comes to this particular tale. Would Seth MacFarlane put tears in my eyes like he did with 'About a Girl'? Would he leave me in stitches with hilarious antics, or would the series once again delve deep into a quality homage to Star Trek? Well as it turns out, this latest chapter in the crew's adventures would accomplish all three things since this story was filled to the brim with more quality social commentary, homages and fantastic humor. 

But before we dig too deeply into the more cerebral moments of this episode, we need to take a moment and talk about last night's homage to the franchise this series so loves because this tribute was quite unexpected. After all, while it's easy to focus on the biggest and most memorable moments that Star Trek has to offer, one cannot forget that the soundtrack to this storied series is just as important as the story playing out on the screen and last night, The Orville paid homage to one of Trek's most prolific composers, Jerry Goldsmith. Because when Mercer and the away team approached the mysterious behemoth of a vessel they had stumbled upon, there were overtures of Goldsmith's score from Star Trek: The Motion Picture, specifically when the crew of the Enterprise explored the massive ship that housed V'ger and I won't lie, as a big time Trekkie, I got goosebumps hearing that chilling score come to life once again.

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But outside of the wonderful geek out moments this episode provided me with, the centerpiece of the night was the show's commentary on the conflict that exists between religion and science and once again, MacFarlane's script handles this in masterful fashion by giving us a society that hasn't a clue that they're traveling amongst the stars since their religious beliefs matter over anything else and really, what made this portion of the story work so well was the fact that it wasn't done in heavy handed fashion. There were no easy answers offered up here, just an objective presentation on the dangers of religion when it is in the hands of the wrong kind of people, and also, kudos to the show for taking the time to bring this up, and send chills down our spine with the real world parallels it presented when the villain of the story, Hamelac, incited mob violence and murder in the name of his God.

However, while that was indeed a sobering part of the story, MacFarlane found a way to end this tale in the most uplifting way imaginable when the away team finally discovers the bridge of the ship, wherein they learn the original purpose of this vessel was a dedication to exploration (thanks to an ultra cool cameo from Liam Neeson). So, in order to put an end to the internal strife of this isolated society, Mercer has Issac open up the ship's 'sunroof', exposing the vastness of space to the people below and there was something incredibly beautiful and magical about watching this society see the wonder of the galaxy appear before their eyes and considering the fact that Mercer is having Union liaisons sent to this ship to help them figure out how their own vessel works, it's clear now that these people have earned a second chance to do things right and see what amazing mysteries await them amongst the stars...

As for the laughs, well let's be honest, nothing from last night is going to top hearing Lieutenant LaMarr shout 'Boom, bitch!' after blasting an enemy ship to bits, but seeing Klydar enjoy comfort food and musicals to combat the effects of a fight with Bortus is a close second. Which brings me to the last element about last night's episode that truly caught my eye...this crew is slowly becoming a true family, and that's a big deal. Seeing them trust one another, and unify only helps strengthen the story because as they bond, we bond with them and I'm really looking forward to seeing this crew grow closer as the weeks progress. Either way, this was simply another quality episode. Week in and week out, The Orville delivers and it's quickly becoming one of my favorite shows and with Academy Award Winner Charlize Theron dropping in as a guest star next week...it's clear this show is only going to get better. Until next time. 

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