Star Trek’s Jonathan Frakes Had One Big Fear About The Orville

Just as one might consider Dean Parisot’s 1999 comedy “Galaxy Quest” to be an unofficial “Star Trek” film, many also consider Seth MacFarlane’s 2017 series “The Orville” to be an unofficial “Star Trek” series. Indeed, “The Orville” debuted just two weeks before “Star Trek: Discovery,” the first new “Star Trek” series in 12 years, and could be seen as a true “Star Trek” parallel universe. While the creators of “Discovery” wanted to bring a violent new tone and aesthetic to their series, distinguishing it from the “Star Trek” of the past, MacFarlane deliberately designed his sci-fi series to be more retro, bearing a remarkable resemblance to one of his favorite series, “Star Trek: The Next Generation.”

And “The Orville” has other palpable connections to “Star Trek.” One of the series’ most prominent writers/directors was Brannon Bragaa longtime “Star Trek” luminary and co-creator of “Star Trek: Enterprise.” Penny Johnson Jerald, a prominent “Star Trek” actor, plays a series regular role. And Jonathan Frakes — who played Commander Riker on “Next Generation” and also directed dozens of episodes of “Star Trek” — directed two episodes of “The Orville.” If “Discovery” was the new kid in the “Star Trek” family, “The Orville” was an adoptive uncle.

Frakes, it should be noted, has become a prolific television director in general since his years on “Star Trek.” where did the director’s career begin. He directed 13 episodes of “Leverage” and 10 episodes of “The Librarians.” In a 2017 interview with IndieWireFrakes admitted he was wary of “The Orville” at first, because MacFarlane was best known for creating and writing gross-out, frat-boy-friendly animated shows like “Family Guy” and “American Dad!” Fortunately, Frakes noted, MacFarlane’s show didn’t resemble “Family Guy” at all.

Frakes’ fears about “The Orville” were shared by most science fiction fans. MacFarlane was not only the mastermind behind “Family Guy,” but had also directed gross-out comedy films like “Ted” and “A Million Ways to Die in the West.” He found success writing pranks and fart jokes, not intellectual science fiction like “Star Trek.” And indeed, “The Orville” is a comedy series. The characters make offhand jokes with each other, and some of the show’s sci-fi ideas are designed to be silly; in one episode, the emotionless robot character, Isaac (Mark Jackson), cuts off Lieutenant Malloy’s (Scott Grimes) leg as a prank. Isaac, it seems, does not understand human humor very well.

But overall, “The Orville” is at least as much science fiction as it is comedy. This put Frakes at ease when he came on board to direct the fifth episode of the series, “Pria.” He recalled his hesitation, but also his relief, saying:

“I was afraid it was going to be like ‘Family Guy,’ and it’s not really, but it’s also not as serious as ‘Next Generation.’ I think Seth and Brannon and everyone involved in this has found a tone that works for that audience, whether it’s the millennial audience or the old-school audience. Everyone is very pleasantly surprised at how the show has been received. I’m happy to see this tribute, and I’m happy to see the success of the one who wants to steal good ideas.

Frakes went on to say that the television landscape was large enough that “The Orville” and “Star Trek: Discovery” could easily co-exist. And they did. ‘The Orville’ could return for a fourth seasonwhile “Discovery” ended after five hours.