Distributor: 20th Century Fox
Episodes: 14
Duration: 42 minutes (per episode)
The Orville: Season 2 (DVD) – Series Review
Slightly over a year ago, we reviewed the first season of The Orville, a Star Trek clone from the creative mind that created Family Guy. Initially, we expected a series that wouldn’t take itself too seriously and one that would be filled with dirty humor such as you can find in Family Guy, American Dad or The Cleveland Show. Oddly enough we were surprised at the topics the series addressed and how serious it actually was. True, there are some humorous moments, and some dialogues between the crew members are lighter than they are in, for example, Star Trek, but overall things remain rather serious. While the first season didn’t have a big red thread running through it, we were curious to see how the series evolved throughout its second season.
The second season of The Orville shes new light on the war with the Krill. On top of that, there’s the decision if Isaac’s (Mark Jackson) race, the Kaylons, will join the Union. Both of these topics will become the red thread of the season. Nonetheless, most of this season’s content is much like the first, many different topical issues. The different episodes handle topics such as porn addiction and how it affects one’s relationship, as well as how different cultures can work together and even how it is to fall in love with an illusion. While these topics may be a bit weird for a Sci-Fi series, the writers handle these cases well, and they stay within the boundaries of the genre. Much like the older Star Trek series, many cases, problems, and situations are handled within the course of one episode.
The flow is somewhat similar to the first season, where each episode handles a different encounter, problem or topical issue. The characters seem to grow a bit more this season, and a red thread is also visible. The situation with the Krill becomes more important, as well as the decision of the Kaylon race, of which Isaac is a part of. Otherwise, you can watch these episodes quite loosely, as many cases are handled within the course of one episode. There’s only one diptych in the series, and the final two episodes of the season also relate to one another. While this series is actually quite serious, there’s some banter in-between certain events to make sure things don’t become too heavy. Overall one could consider this series to be a bit of a ‘soap opera’ at times, as relationships are also a very important topic for the show.
In The Orville: Season 2, the cast is nearly identical as in the first season. There is a bit more character growth during this season, which means that every crew member has to do an extra effort this season. There’s one big actress leaving the cast this season, namely Halston Sage, who plays the very likable Lt. Alara Kitan. She is succeeded by Jessica Szohr, who will play Lt. Talla Keyali, the new chief of security. Other than that, there are no significant changes.
There aren’t that many special features to go around on the DVD edition of The Orville: Season 2. You have two very short character profiles, a gag reel, deleted scenes, and a Comic-Con panel. You’ll have around twenty minutes of actual bonus material, which isn’t all too much. As the series handles a lot of topical issues, it would have been nice to get some extra information on the choices that were made for the topics of the episodes.
Conclusion
The Orville: Season 2 is a great continuation of the series, and we notice that the overall plot thickens during the course of season 2. We now see characters grow, relationships blossom and see how certain alliances are made, while others crumble in the process. If you liked the first season, but wanted a bit more structure, you’ll certainly love the second part of the series. If you were already content with the separate adventures and cases, you’ll still love what is going on.
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