Tag: Fox

Under Kaylon control, the Orville proceeds toward Earth with a massive Kaylon fleet in tow. Another Union ship commanded by an old friend of Mercer stumbles across the fleet, and when Mercer tries to signal to them what’s happened, the Kaylons destroy the ship and execute a member of Mercer’s crew. Yaphit and Ty Finn squeeze through service ducts to reach a communications station from which they can transmit a warning to Earth, but they are discovered by the Kaylons, and the Kaylon Primary orders Isaac to execute Ty for his actions – something that Isaac finds he cannot do. Deciding to help his shipmates rather than his fellow Kaylons, Isaac guns down the entire Kaylon crew manning the Orville’s bridge and prepares to set off an electromagnetic pulse that will eliminate the entire Kaylon presence on the Orville…including himself. But the Kaylon fleet is still barreling toward Earth, intent on destroying humanity and seizing the planet. Commander Grayson takes on a risky mission of her own, gambling her life and the future of the human race to ask the Krill to join the fight against the Kaylons.

written by Seth MacFarlane
directed by Jon Cassar
music by John Debney

Cast: Seth MacFarlane (Captain Ed Mercer), Adrianne Palicki (Commander Kelly Grayson), Penny Johnson Jerald (Dr. Claire Finn), Scott Grimes (Lt. Gordon Malloy), Peter Macon (Lt. Commander Bortus), Jessica Szohr (Lt. Talla Keyali), J Lee (Lt. John LaMarr), Mark Jackson (Isaac), Chad L. Coleman (Klyden), Victor Garber (Admiral Halsey), Graham Hamilton (Kaylon Primary), Mike Henry (Dann), Robert David Grant (Kaylon Secondary), B.J. Tanner (Marcus Finn), Kai Di’Nilo Wener (Ty Finn), Norm MacDonald (Yaphit), Jay Whittaker (Kaylon Tertiary), Blesson Yates (Topa)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

In the wake of the historic battle in which the Krill joined in the defense of Earth against the Kaylons, the Planetary Union is eager to press for full-on peace talks with the Krill, and sends the Orville to a meeting at which Captain Mercer is expected to sign a preliminary document to open negotiations. But upon arriving at the coordinates for the meeting, Mercer finds not just the expected Krill cruiser, but a Krill shuttle which that cruiser then fires upon. Crewed by a Union prisoner of war (who also happens to be an old friend of Malloy), the shuttle crashes into the Orville’s shuttle bay and its pilot asks for political asylum. The peace talks are suddenly off unless Mercer hands the former prisoner back to his Krill captors to stand trial – and almost-certain execution – for war crimes. Malloy insists that his old friend can’t be guilty of the killing spree of which he is accused, and insists that Mercer can’t extradite him. Questions remain about both the pilot and the woman who is with him, who he claims is his now-grown daughter, who was captured with him years ago…and his behavior is odd enough that no one can quite erase any doubts about his innocence.

written by Seth MacFarlane
directed by Rebecca Rodriguez
music by John Debney

Cast: Seth MacFarlane (Captain Ed Mercer), Adrianne Palicki (Commander Kelly Grayson), Penny Johnson Jerald (Dr. Claire Finn), Scott Grimes (Lt. Gordon Malloy), Peter Macon (Lt. Commander Bortus), Jessica Szohr (Lt. Talla Keyali), J Lee (Lt. John LaMarr), Mark Jackson (Isaac), Ted Danson (Admiral Perry), Mackenzie Astin (Orrin Channing), Mike Henry (Dann), Robin Atkin Downes (Krill Officer), John Fleck (Ambassador K.T.Z.), Aily Kei (Leyna Channing), J. Paul Boehmer (Krill), Jim Mahoney (Brosk), Norm MacDonald (Yaphit), Francis Lloyd Corby (Crewman)

Notes: Though his more recent work has been in providing voices for Star Wars animated series such as Clone Wars and Rebels, guest star Robin Atkin Downes may be forever linked to his portrayal of the fandom-polarizing character Byron in the fifth and final season of Babylon 5. Guest stars J. Paul Boehmer and John Fleck are both recurring Star Trek guest stars, especially Fleck, who played the recurring role of the Suliban arch-nemesis Silik in Star Trek: Enterprise.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Thanks to a visiting archaeologist, the Orville crew gets a rare glimpse of a recently unearthed time capsule of items left untouched since the year 2015. As Bortus and Klyden revive a long-lost addiction thanks to Moclans’ susceptibility to nicotine, Gordon becomes fixated on reviving a cell phone and examining its contents. Once the property of a woman named Laura, the phone is a repository of early 21st century life on an intimate level. Gordon is fascinated enough to have the computer synthesize a holographic simulation of Laura’s life based on the contents of her phone – every text, e-mail, video, photo – and when he meets what the computer extrapolates to be the real Laura, he’s smitten, almost to the point of neglecting his duties. Meanwhile, as Dr. Finn races to concoct an antidote to Moclan nicotine addiction, she has ordered Bortus and Klyden to stop smoking…and among Moclans, withdrawal symptoms may include bursts of extreme violence.

written by Seth MacFarlane
directed by Kelly Cronin
music by John Debney

Cast: Seth MacFarlane (Captain Ed Mercer), Adrianne Palicki (Commander Kelly Grayson), Penny Johnson Jerald (Dr. Claire Finn), Scott Grimes (Lt. Gordon Malloy), Peter Macon (Lt. Commander Bortus), Jessica Szohr (Lt. Talla Keyali), J Lee (Lt. John LaMarr), Mark Jackson (Isaac), Chad L. Coleman (Klyden), Leighton Meester (Laura Huggins), Tim Russ (Dr. Sherman), Norm MacDonald (Yaphit), Darri Ingolfsson (Greg), Sarah Scott (Trisha), Ajay Vidure (Karl), Stacy Highsmith (Melissa), Rachael MacFarlane (Computer voice), Chris Muto (Male guest)

Notes: Tim Russ is the latest Star Trek alumnus to appear on The Orville; he starred as Tuvok for all seven seasons of Star Trek: Voyager, and has more recently been seen in Supergirl and the fan-funded Star Trek: Renegades project.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

With the potential for another Kaylon invasion attempt still looming, the Moclans upgrade the weaponry of the Union’s Explorer-class ships, including the Orville. Two visiting Moclan engineers draw Bortus’ attention with an unusual power drain in their quarters, and Bortus discovers that they are powering a stasis unit with an infant Moclan female, trying to smuggle the child away from Moclus, where she would likely undergo mandatory corrective gender-change surgery. Bortus agrees to keep their secret as they transfer to another ship, but also wants to show Topa that it is possible for Moclans of more than one gender to coexist. Topa, however, tells Klyden, who reports Bortus’ secret to Captain Mercer. Following the ship to which the Moclans transferred, the Orville plunges into a dense nebula and finds a solar system that is home to an entire colony of Moclan females. The scope of the problem is bigger than any command decision Mercer can make, and he takes the leader of the colony to Earth to plead the case for sovereignty. In response, the Moclans threaten to secede from the Union, taking their weapons technology with them and leaving Earth open to Kaylon conquest.

written by Joe Menosky
directed by Jonathan Frakes
music by Andrew Cottee

Cast: Seth MacFarlane (Captain Ed Mercer), Adrianne Palicki (Commander Kelly Grayson), Penny Johnson Jerald (Dr. Claire Finn), Scott Grimes (Lt. Gordon Malloy), Peter Macon (Lt. Commander Bortus), Jessica Szohr (Lt. Talla Keyali), J Lee (Lt. John LaMarr), Mark Jackson (Isaac), Chad L. Coleman (Klyden), Victor Garber (Admiral Halsey), F. Murray Abraham (Chairman), Ted Danson (Admiral Perry), Rena Owen (Heveena), Ron Canada (Admiral Tucker), Kelly Hu (Admiral Ozawa), Tony Todd (Moclan Delegate), Regi Davis (Korick), Shawn T. Andrew (Toren), Marina Sirtis (Teacher), Emerson Brooks (Moclan), Cameron Knight (Moclan), Blesson Yates (Topa), Madelyn Grace (Olivia), Bo Kane (Alien Delegate), Kathrin Middleton (Retepsian Delegate), Mark McClain Wilson (Xalayan Delegate), Yvonne Senat (Osaia), Hanani Taylor (Moclan Girl), M.C. Sanders (Moclan Soldier #1), Jerrell Pippens (Moclan Soldier #2)

Notes: For those still keeping track, it’s Star Trek guest star overload, with none other than Marina Sirtis (Star Trek: The Next Generation‘s Counselor Troi) replacing Cassius as the Orville’s schoolteacher. Tony Todd, who played the role of Worf’s brother Kurn on both The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine, appears as a Moclan here, while F. Murray Abraham (Star Trek: Insurrection) is the Xelayan president of the Planetary Union. All of the show’s admirals to date appear together here. Heveena was first seen living in exile on Moclus in season 1’s About A Girl, but was apparently already running a kind of underground railroad for unaltered Moclan females at that time (and long before). The episode is directed by Sirtis’ Next Generation co-star Jonathan Frakes. Sirtis reportedly had to shoot her scenes within 24 hours of being hired for the part due to a scheduling crunch with other projects to which she was already contractually obligated.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

After rebuffing another of Mercer’s suggestions that they should get back together, Commander Grayson visits the science lab, where Isaac is working on an experimental device that could make time travel possible. Moments after she leaves, a gravitational wave strikes the Orville, leaving little damage, but depositing an extra person on the ship – one Lt. Kelly Grayson, seven years younger, wondering what she’s doing in the science lab of a Union ship. Her identity is verified, and Commander Grayson is stunned to be dealing with a younger version of herself – as is Mercer. Mercer and Grayson decide to tell the younger Kelly, in very honest terms, what happened with their relationship over the past seven years, which stuns her, given that for her, that first date with Mercer happened just last night. In fact, she’s curious about a second date, but the gap in age and personal experience makes this a problematic idea. Isaac and LaMarr devise a possible way to send the younger Kelly back to her own time, and Dr. Finn suggests a memory wipe as well, to avoid making major changes to the timeline.

Only the memory wipe doesn’t work, and young Kelly Grayson awakens in her own time with new ideas about her future.

written by Janet Lin
directed by Gary Rake
music by John Debney

Cast: Seth MacFarlane (Captain Ed Mercer), Adrianne Palicki (Commander Kelly Grayson), Penny Johnson Jerald (Dr. Claire Finn), Scott Grimes (Lt. Gordon Malloy), Peter Macon (Lt. Commander Bortus), Jessica Szohr (Lt. Talla Keyali), J Lee (Lt. John LaMarr), Mark Jackson (Isaac), Chad L. Coleman (Klyden), Will Sasso (Mooska), Norm MacDonald (Yaphit), Chase Kim (Officer)

Notes: LaMarr and Isaac’s experiment is derived from the time-shifting technology developed by Dr. Aronov in The Orville’s 2017 pilot episode, with clear implications that there is now far more to fear than the banana.

LogBook entry by Earl Green