It is not uncommon for the critics and the fans to have different options about the same series. After all, they are looking at similar but not quite the same sets of factors, meaning that their opinions are bound to diverge even when they watch the same thing at the same time. However, there are few cases as dramatic as that of The Orville, which is Seth McFarlane’s homage to the first Star Trek as well as something more in its own right. Simply put, the critics seem to dislike the series, so much so that it would not be much of an exaggeration to say that their opinions can be summed up as hate. In contrast, the fans have shown a much more positive response, so much so that The Orville is one of the highest-rated series of the season by their reckoning.
Why Do the Critics and the Fans Have Such Different Opinions of The Orville?
Curiously, the critics and the fans seem to have such different opinions of The Orville for the same reason. Simply put, while there is a fair amount of McFarlane’s characteristic humor to be found throughout the series, it is not as simple and straightforward as it should be to categorize it as a particular kind of series. Anyone who has watched more than one episode of The Orville will have noticed that while some episodes are pure comedy, other episodes are much more dramatic in nature while still other episodes are essentially modern day versions of morality plays. As a result, the series isn’t really one thing or another but rather a mix of things, which is a sharp contrast with the modern TV-scape that puts so much emphasis on series being well-defined in nature.
Some critics have reacted to The Orville‘s mixture of things with what can be called confusion. Essentially, they think that its shifting from one genre to the next is a sign that the people behind the series don’t know what they are doing, which is not the sort of thing that leads to good reviews. However, there are also other critics with other reasons for disliking The Orville, with examples ranging from a dislike for its choice to mix in everything to a simple aversion for its particular style of humor.
In contrast, the fans seemed to have responded much better to The Orville‘s willingness to blend genres, which actually helps to provide them with a sense of anticipation by making it difficult for them to predict what they will see next. In contrast, a better-defined series will always be one thing and one thing only, meaning that even if the exact details of its plot remain unknown, the general nature of the content can be guessed with no problems whatsoever because they have been stated outright. Finally, it should be mentioned that The Orville appeals to two sizable segments, with one being sci-fan fans and the other being lowbrow humor fans. Considering the sheer size of these two segments as well as the considerable overlap between them, the success of the series becomes much more understandable than what the critics’ reviews would suggest.
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