When I first started this show I found it to be a really awkward mix of comedy and seriousness. It had some jokes thrown it at the most inopportune times as some kind of comic relief from a really serious situation. Perhaps the first half of the first season was actually a bit rough or maybe the show just grew on me, but by season 2 I found myself loving this show.
To me it seems as every bit as comfy, intellectually interesting and even funny as some classic Star Treks while still clearly being its own thing. I wish more comfy space shows like this would get made.
What are your thoughts on The Orville? Also I miss Alara.
A-freaking-men. Orville held down the camp while Discovery was busy doing whatever it was trying to do, spitting out endless melodrama, crises, and crying. I definitely enjoyed some Orville episodes but the show as a whole just felt like a pale imitation of Star Trek. No doubt MacFarlane can write/produce a good Trek-style episode but I'm not convinced he can run a whole Star Trek show.
I love SNW and Lower Decks. Between those shows and Prodigy (which goes weirdly dark at times for a show aimed at kids), I won't miss Orville if the third season was its final one.