If the Stars Should Appear

The writing of the most recent episode of The Orville was not as sharp or compelling as the installment before, but it was still a classic Star Trek story through and through. "If the Stars Should Appear" had the Orville crew dealing with a primitive people unaware that their "planet" was actually a massive interstellar spaceship.

The metaphor was a bit murkier this time, though the plot did brush up against issues of religious dogma, authoritarianism, and (if you sort of squint and cock your head) climate change. It was definitely a cocktail of Star Trek themes. Though the jokes were still woven in, and the characters still relaxed and 21st-century casual, the behavior was more noble and in the Trek mode this week. The crew still helped the aliens, even after those aliens shot Kitan and tortured Grayson, and gave the ship over to its owners in the end.

The most Star Trek element of all this week was actually the music, which in several key moments was specifically crafted to mimic passages of actual Star Trek scores. Most distinctive -- to me, anyway, as I've listened to Jerry Goldsmith's work again and again -- was when they first boarded the alien ship, a two-minute chunk of music that came as close to matching "V'Ger's Theme" from Star Trek: The Motion Picture as you can without opening yourself up to a lawsuit. I was quite distracted, though simultaneously swept up in a wave of nostalgia by just how much this series wants to pay homage to Star Trek.

Character behavior was a bit one-note all around this week. That was nothing out of the ordinary for the "aliens of the week," but was a bit of a regression for the main cast. Bortus had a generic spat with his husband (that didn't even get resolved within the episode), Isaac was all about making Mercer uncomfortable with personal questions, and most everyone else was being generally stoic. There was at least plenty of room for some of the better humor the show has played thus far: Mercer trying to be diplomatic about the terrible food, LaMarr's celebration at destroying the enemy ship, Grayson cracking wise about her "Friends" at Central Perk, and more.

And it did all end on a fun note of wonder, with the world ship's dome retracted for an entire population to behold the stars for the first time. (An extra degree of gravitas was lent to the proceedings by Seth MacFarlane dipping into his Contacts and calling up Liam Neeson for an unexpected cameo.)

I think this might have actually been the weakest episode so far of The Orville, but it still struck a loving tone that was fun to watch -- an especially nice one in pairing with Star Trek: Discovery, actually. Those who can't get on board with the darker Trek can revel in the old school-ness of this pseudo-Trek. I give "If the Stars Should Appear" a B-.