In the Union’s orbital docks near Earth, the Orville undergoes extensive engineering refits and takes on new crew members, including one Ensign Charly Burke, late of the U.S.S. Quimby and one of the few survivors of that ship’s destruction in the Kaylon battle near Earth the previous year. In the mess hall, Burke makes it clear to Isaac that she is far from the only member of the crew who questions his reinstatement – and that she wants as little to do with him as possible. When Isaac returns to the science lab, he finds the word “MURDERER” scrawled across the controls in red paint, with great care taken to cover the tracks of the responsible party. But the message is eventually traced to Marcus Finn, Dr. Finn’s oldest son, who has also been disturbed by Isaac’s presence since the Kaylon attack. Perceiving that he is at the center of an ongoing series of incidents of distraction and inefficiency on the part of the crew, Isaac makes what he believes is a logical decision to terminate his own existence. What he does not anticipate is that this “unemotional” decision sparks extreme emotions among his crewmates, leading to a series of desperate attempts to reverse the damage and revive him. Isaac’s “life” now lies in the hands of someone who’s more than happy that he’s dead.
written by Seth MacFarlane
directed by Seth MacFarlane
music by Kevin Kaska
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. Commander John LaMarr), Mark Jackson (Isaac), Anne Winters (Ensign Charly Burke), Kai Di’Nilo Wener (Marcus Finn), B.J. Tanner (Ty Finn), Alexis Knapp (Irillia), Mike Henry (Dann), Jim Mahoney (Brosk), Norm MacDonald (Yaphit), Amanda Joy Erickson (Amanda), Kyra Santoro (Lt. Turco), Deep Rai (Crewman), Jonny Siew (Engineer #1)
Notes: Bearing the subtitle “New Horizons”, this is the long-delayed third season premiere of The Orville, initially announced in 2019 as an exclusive for streaming service Hulu after The Orville was removed from the Fox schedule. But like many other series intended to premiere in 2020, The Orville had to shut down production at the height of the COVID-19 lockdown, and only began shooting again in late 2020 after series creator/star/showrunner Seth MacFarlane brought in hand-picked virology consultants. (With his avid interest in science, as demonstrated in his producing the revived Cosmos series for Fox, MacFarlane knew who to call.) Production stopped and started again in 2021, and the extent of VFX work needed meant that the third season got a March 2022 premiere date, which then slipped to June of that year. The episode is dedicated to the late Norm MacDonald, the voice of Yaphit, who died in 2021 before the series’ return, but had recorded all of Yaphit’s dialogue prior to his death.
LogBook entry by Earl Green
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