star trek parody show

The Orville

The Orville is a live action parody of and homage to Star Trek , specifically Star Trek: The Next Generation . The show was created by and stars Seth MacFarlane and is co-produced by Brannon Braga , former Family Guy collaborator David A. Goodman , alongside another Star Trek veteran Andre Bormanis , who reprised his role as technical advisor. Braga himself states the series "is aiming to tell stories that ride the line between drama and comedy, with an eye toward earnestness." [1]

• 2 Production
• 3 Actors who have appeared in Star Trek and The Orville
• 4 Production personnel who have worked on Star Trek and The Orville
• 5 Book authors who have written on Star Trek and The Orville
• 6 External links

Concept [ ]

The main cast

Set in the 25th century , the series chronicles the adventures of the USS Orville , a mid-level starship exploring the galaxy on behalf of the Planetary Union. Her captain is Ed Mercer, who receives the job due to no other captains being available, his career having slumped after a divorce. Mercer's hope of proving himself and serving the Union are complicated when his ex-wife, Commander Kelly Grayson, is assigned as his first officer . Despite initial tensions with Kelly, Ed soon forms a tight-knit crew.

Production [ ]

The series was officially announced in March 2016, though MacFarlane had stated for years he had a passion for science fiction and space opera related media. He was reported to have heavily managed every detail of the series during the show's productions, wanting The Orville to truly be a thriving universe that could justifiably be seen as a spiritual successor to the Star Trek series before it. MacFarlane had also expressed inspiration from not just Star Trek , but The Twilight Zone , Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy , and Deadpool as well. [2] [3]

The Orville debuted in September 2017 for FOX TV (as of July 2018 fully owned by The Walt Disney Company , already owner of rival franchise Star Wars ) and starring MacFarlane as Captain Ed Mercer, with Penny Johnson Jerald as chief medical officer Claire Finn, and Scott Grimes as helmsman Gordon Malloy. Star Trek actors appearing in the series have, so far, included Victor Garber , Brian George , J.D. Cullum , James Horan , Ron Canada , Joel Swetow , Brian Thompson , Molly Hagan , Steven Culp , Michael Duisenberg , Jason Alexander , John Fleck , Tim Russ , F. Murray Abraham , Tony Todd , Marina Sirtis , Robert Picardo , and John Billingsley (with Picardo and Billingsley appearing together in the episode "Home"); MacFarlane, Braga, James L. Conway , Jonathan Frakes , and Robert Duncan McNeill have directed episodes. Marvin V. Rush – who was director of photography for TNG – serves as the show's cinematographer. Doug Drexler joined the program's visual effects (VFX) team for the third season. [4]

Although initially promoted as a spoof, the series is in fact a comedy-drama (dramedy) done in the style of TNG. MacFarlane had previously expressed interest in rebooting the Star Trek franchise in October 2011, when he mentioned to the Hollywood Reporter that he was eager to reboot a Star Trek series for television: " I'd love to see that franchise revived for television in the way that it was in the 1990s: very thoughtful, smartly written stories that transcend the science fiction audience. I don't know who would give me the keys to that car. " [5] MacFarlane indicated his intent was to pay homage to Star Trek with the show while resurrecting the style of optimistic science fiction TNG espoused. [6] In this MacFarlane succeeded eventually, as his show not only attracted " Trekkies " disenchanted with Discovery for canon and philosophical premise reasons (and reminiscent of how Ronald D. Moore 's re-imagined Battlestar Galactica drew in Star Trek fans who were disenchanted for basically the same reasons with Star Trek: Enterprise over a decade earlier), but also former Star Trek production/franchise staffers like Michael Okuda and Larry Nemecek . As if to underscore their embracement of McFarlane's creation, Eaglemoss Collections launched an Orville partwork collection in 2020, partly at the request of these former production staff fans, [7] and similar to that of its rival counterparts, Star Trek: The Official Starships Collection and, most poignantly, Star Trek: Discovery The Official Starships Collection .

A major difference with its contemporaries became the decision to go "old school" with a traditional physical studio model for the establishing shots of the "hero ship" Orville in order to get the retro feel MacFarlane was aiming for. By that time a near obsolete VFX technique in the age of CGI , pilot episode director Jon Favreau contracted several veterans still versed in the antiquated technique which included Star Trek alumnus and veteran Robert Legato for the motion control photography. Even though the majority of the other VFX shots were executed as CGI, the footage taken of the physical model served as a library of stock footage (especially for the show's intro), apart from the model being used as as scanning model as well as a camera test model. [8] The creation of a stock footage library had actually already been Legato's original intent to begin with for the two original USS Enterprise -D physical models for The Next Generation back in 1987. ( Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion , 3rd ed., p. 31)

Due to Star Trek: Discovery ' s production delays, The Orville ended up debuting only two weeks before Discovery , leading to many reviewers making head-to-head comparisons between the shows.

The first season, consisting of 12 episodes, concluded in December 2017. A second season was commissioned soon after its debut (along with Star Trek: Discovery , The Orville was one of the first new series of the 2017-18 season to be renewed). Prior to broadcast of Season 2, MacFarlane indicated that the second season would have a more serious tone than the first, downplaying comedy in favor of more straightforward science fiction storytelling. Season 2 debuted at the end of December 2018 and scheduled the same night as new episodes of Discovery were released on CBS All-Access, which strengthened the perceived impression of the two having become de facto franchise contenders. This was reinforced by the 2019 Emmy Award nominations where The Orville 's second season was put up against that of Discovery for the category "Outstanding Special Visual Effects" [9] – though neither of them won the coveted prize as it went to Game of Thrones , with former Star Trek VFX staffer Joe Bauer being one of the recipients. [10] Ironically, from its second season onward, The Orville was served by digital VFX vendor Pixomondo , who has been Discovery 's primary CGI vendor from its inception. [11]

A surprising development occurred in June 2021, when the series became syndicated on Spike (Netherlands) as a temporary replacement for Discovery , going on to become Discovery 's companion series for the channel's "Sci-Fi Zondag (Sunday)" line-up. The surprising element lay in the fact that Spike was fully owned by Star Trek franchise owner Paramount Global , whereas the now Disney-owned Orville series has been moved to its streaming service Hulu as a Hulu exclusive, [12] which (along with its streaming sister Disney+) is embroiled in an increasingly vicious " streaming war " with the other services, including Paramount+ , particularly on the home market.

Actors who have appeared in Star Trek and The Orville [ ]

Production personnel who have worked on star trek and the orville [ ], book authors who have written on star trek and the orville [ ].

• Jeff Bond – The World of The Orville , Titan Books , 16 January 2018 ( ISBN 1785657615 )

External links [ ]

• The Orville at Wikipedia
• The Orville at the Internet Movie Database
• The Orville Wiki
• 1 Daniels (Crewman)

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Family Guy creator’s new Star Trek parody series is more Spaceballs than anything else

Star Trek will go up against a Star Trek parody this fall

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Seth MacFarlane and Fox have released the first trailer for their new series The Orville , a Star Trek parody series, and based on the few minutes glimpsed, it has more in common with Spaceballs than Family Guy .

MacFarlane plays Captain Ed, an awkward, unskilled captain who barely manages to graduate from the academy. When it comes time to assign him to a ship, his director, played by Victor Garber, reiterates the only reason he’s getting the job is because there’s literally no one else available. An uncaring Ed accepts the position regardless and sets off to try and increase diplomatic relationships between various species around the galaxy, but all of that comes to a hilt when his ex-wife, Kelly Grayson, is named co-captain of the ship.

Like Star Trek, The Orville will follow the personal dynamics of the team aboard the U.S.S. Orville. Ed will have to try and work with his ex-wife and his best friend, Gordon Malloy, while getting to know the rest of the crew. Much like Captain James T. Kirk in the original series, Ed will also have to overcome his faults to try and command a ship, earning the respect of his crew along the way.

The trailer makes is painstakingly clear that The Orville is a parody of the long running sci-fi franchise, but doesn’t insult what made the series great. Much like “Blue Harvest,” the Family Guy episode dedicated to parodying Star Wars: Episode IV , The Orville looks like it’ll pay homage to the series its borrowing its basis from, but adding in goofs to ensure audiences realize it’s a comedy.

The Orville also comes at a time when CBS is gearing up to debut its new Star Trek series, Star Trek: Discovery . The show has been in production for quite some time, but the release date has been pushed back repeatedly . Both CBS executives and producers involved with the show have blamed the magnitude of the series and needing more time to figure out filming. Bryan Fuller, who is currently working on American Gods, was originally supposed to executive produce Discovery but severed ties with CBS following scheduling conflicts.

The Orville will air Thursday nights on Fox this fall. The pilot will be directed by Iron Man’ s Jon Favreau, who will also serve as an executive producer on the series. There is no specific premiere date at this time.

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Hit sci-fi series ‘The Orville’ is now available on Disney+

Fans of Star Trek and sci-fi adventure in general take note: all three seasons of “The Orville” are now available to stream on Disney+ as well as Hulu.

The series, created and written by Seth MacFarlane, started out as more of a Star Trek parody, but it quickly moved into something reminiscent of “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” a fun weekly adventure into uncharted space. As the series goes on, it becomes less about parody and juvenile humor and more about fun space exploration. (Keep that in mind if you’re new to the series.) The latest season (3) has many fans exclaiming it’s the best “Star Trek” show on television right now. (But “ Star Trek Strange New Worlds ” is also receiving high praise.)

Set 400 years in the future, the series follows the adventures of Orville, a mid-level exploratory spaceship. Its crew, both human and alien, face the wonders and dangers of outer space. In the new, third season, the crew of the U.S.S. Orville continue their mission of exploration as they navigate both the mysteries of the universe and the complexities of their own interpersonal relationships.

The ensemble cast includes MacFarlane, Adrianne Palicki, Penny Johnson Jerald, Scott Grimes, Peter Macon, J Lee, Mark Jackson, Chad L. Coleman, Jessica Szohr, and Anne Winters.

“I’m thrilled to bring all three seasons of “The Orville” to Disney+,” said Seth MacFarlane. “Making this show has been one of the most satisfying experiences of my career, and I’m immensely grateful to Disney for providing us the opportunity to expand our Orville community further. I can’t wait for new audiences to experience this series.”

“The Orville: New Horizons” is produced by 20th Television and Fuzzy Door. MacFarlane, Brannon Braga, David A. Goodman, Jon Cassar, Jason Clark, and Howard Griffith serve as executive producers. Season four of “The Orville” has not yet been announced. Here’s a trailer for season 3:

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Gosh! That’s a big delay in showing it in the US. Here in the UK, the final episode of series 3 was on Disney + last week.

It was streaming on Hulu in the U.S. at the same time you were watching it. They just now also added it to Disney+.

Why 'The Orville' Is More Than a Star Trek Homage

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The Orville is a lot of things. It's a wholesome and hopeful show with episodes that focus on different ethical problems. It has well-written and three-dimensional characters. But mostly... it's almost a direct ripoff of Star Trek: The Next Generation . The keyword being: almost . The show is intentionally an homage to The Next Generation (or TNG ), made in an attempt to fill in the hole the classic show left on television. For the majority of the last 20 years, Star Trek has taken off in a different direction from the older eras of the franchise. Starting with the 2009 Star Trek movie by JJ Abrams , the franchise has shifted into being heavier on the action and scope. It basically has been trying to be Star Wars , the franchise's younger and more popular brother. That's why in 2017, Seth MacFarlane released The Orville as the ultimate love letter to what Trek once was.

But as any Trekkie knows, the franchise has changed a lot since The Orville has started airing. Yes, there are shows and films more in line with the JJ Abrams aesthetic, but there's also just a lot more of Star Trek than there's ever been. There's the aforementioned JJ'd shows like Discovery , there's the very odd character piece of Picard , and there's even an animated comedy show with Lower Decks . And that's not even all the Trek shows currently running. In 2022, we were also blessed with the show Strange New Worlds , which certainly aims to go back to the original recipe that made the series so unique. Which, in theory, should make The Orville irrelevant. Why would any show need a spiritual love letter running at the same time as the "real" thing? But The Orville has grown far past just being a love letter between the pilot and now. And a lot of that uniqueness comes from how the writers and actors portray their characters.

The key difference that makes The Orville truly stand out is that the characters aren't as prim and proper as they are in Trek. For context, Star Fleet has always been portrayed as if it's the navy. The rank and hierarchy on the ships is nearly the same. Terms used on the Enterprise and other ships in the series are also almost one-to-one with nautical terminology. This is also true in The Orville , but the characters all speak more naturally. It's natural in the same way that dialogue in Judd Apatow movies feel natural. Nearly every person in the cast has some sort of background in comedy, and it really shows. The crew on the USS Orville have the electric chemistry of a comedy troupe, and it just gives the show a different vibe that is much more chill.

RELATED: How 'Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' And 'The Orville' Show the Emotional Cost of Time Travel

Because the crew all have this type of chemistry, they all genuinely feel like friends. This is such an important part of television shows, because if the characters in the show don't like each other it makes it harder to tune in from week-to-week. But these crewman hang out together, they drink together, confide in each other, and actively want to be around each other in their spare time. This is shown so well with two of the best character duos in the show. The first of these being the bromance between Captain Ed Mercer (MacFarlane) and Lieutenant Gordon Malloy ( Scott Grimes ).

Mallow and Mercer were friends going back to their space college days. The know each other better than anyone and genuinely love each other. Malloy is a bit of a goof, but he always shows that he is completely serious when the time comes. Grimes really sells the energy in his performance as being the ultimate best friend. But between his live reenactments of video games and nerdy interests, he is always there for Mercer in the same way Mercer is always there for him. He even mentions that he was the person there for Mercer as he was going through a divorce. Anybody who sticks by your side in the most depressing lulls of life is always someone you want to keep around. But that's almost expected of new friends, but the show also does a great job of showing blossoming friendships. This is where the other best duo comes in, that of Dr. Claire Finn ( Penny Johnson Jerald ) and Commander Kelly Grayson ( Adrianne Palicki ).

Unlock Malloy and Mercer, these two had never met before they worked together. But over time, they became close friends. Particularly once Dr. Finn started dating the artificially intelligent robot man, Isaac ( Mark Jackson ). When your boyfriend is a robot who literally does not perceive emotions, you're going to need some help guiding that relationship. This is when Dr. Finn and Grayson really started connecting with each other. Both of these women were experiencing challenging new dynamics in life around the same time, and they always found the time to wind down with some wine and talk things out. The one thing that's true about life, is that you can't go through it alone. These two show that meaningful relationships can always happen, and it won't always happen how you expect.

So, what's the point of this then? Trek certainly has all these qualities too; it's not like the series is devoid of brilliant, well-written characters. It's not like these qualities are unique to The Orville . But it is a slight distinction.

There are many great character duos and friendships across TNG , but no one on that show really speaks in the same way that people you would meet on any average day in life do. It creates a degree of separation. Because we can sit down and watch TNG , but it's rare to fully identify with anyone. You can recognize qualities that are similar between viewers and brilliant characters like Riker ( Jonathan Frakes ), but not in the same way that viewers can directly identify with Malloy. The natural speech patterns and genuine friendships on The Orville are always there to remind the audience that, yes, these characters are all great in their field, but they're also just human schmucks like us instead of people you need to aspire to be like. It's obtainable. This isn't to say that either of these roads these shows go down are better or worse than the other, but it definitely does help make sure that they aren't stepping on each other's toes.

And perhaps the most wholesome of these Orville characters is that they all still respect each other. When they are working, they respect each other and refer to each other by rank. They don't let their existing relationships interfere with protecting each other when out on the field. They love each other, and they love each other enough to give and receive well-earned respect. Not only is that admirable, it's so sweet that the show might give you a cavity.

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7 best Star Trek parodies, ranked

For more than 50 years, Star Trek   has been an institution, especially among the nerds of America. The original Star Trek series has spawned various movies and additional shows in the years since it aired, and those shows have been met with various levels of acclaim and criticism.

7. Star Trek: Lower Decks

• 6. The Muppet Show – Pigs in Space

5. Animaniacs: Star Truck

4. the orville, 3. futurama: where no fan has gone before, 2. black mirror: uss callister, 1. galaxy quest (1999).

Alongside all of these more faithful series, though, there have also been a number of parodies of  Star Trek , its tropes, and the world it’s set in. We’ve gathered seven of the very best of those parodies for this list, which range from TV episodes to entire movies.

Why not kick this list off with a show that allows  Star Trek  to make fun of itself? Lower Decks  follows the support crew on a fairly unimportant interspace vessel as they try to manage their personal lives, even as they deal with all sorts of sci-fi invaders.

As this list proves,  Star Trek  has become such an institution that it can be effectively parodied from dozens of different directions, but this show, which plays with the series’ tropes while offering a new perspective on the action, is a delight from minute one, and is still going strong after its fourth season.

6. The Muppet Show – Pigs in Space

The Muppets may not be as widely beloved today as they once were, but Pigs in Space was once a regular segment on The Muppet Show.  The segment was flexible enough that it could parody any beloved sci-fi property, but  Star Trek  was undoubtedly a mainstay.

This was underlined by the fact that Captain Link Hogthrob seemed to be a pretty overt Captain Kirk riff, and Miss Piggy’s ship was called Swinetrek. Still, Pigs in Space was not particularly biting. Instead, it was the kind of sweet, earnest parody that the Muppets were so often great at.

When the Animaniacs got a chance to invade their favorite TV show, they didn’t miss an opportunity to cause plenty of havoc. Star Truck follows the rascals at the show’s center as they meet characters like Dr. Squat and Captain Kork while also delivering the kind of jokes that only hardcore fans of both shows would fully understand.

If you’re a  Trek  fan, you probably loved this episode, which also gave Maurice Lamarche the chance to do pretty impeccable impressions of William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, and DeForest Kelly.

When Seth MacFarlane set out to create his own version of Star Trek , many people were alarmed by how genuine and sincere it seemed. The Family Guy   creator has long been a megafan of the series, and while  The Orville  has elements of parody, it also seems to be a loving tribute to the show that spawned it.

The show featured notable guest stars from various  Star Trek  shows, and also captured the spirit of the planet-of-the-week adventures that made the original  Star Trek  so widely beloved. While it’s certainly jokier than the original series,  The Orville  is ultimately a loving tribute to what made  Trek  great.

Perhaps the most impressive thing about this Futurama  episode  is that the show manages to reunite almost every member of the original cast to deliver voice performances. The episode imagines that the crew of the Planet Express stumble upon a planet where the entire original cast of the series is alive and well, having been revived hundreds of years after the show’s original run.

The notion of giving these actors a chance to live in a far different future than the one their show imagined was brilliant enough, but all of the actors brought their A-game to these versions of their actual personalities.

Not every Black Mirror  episode  is as sharp and compelling as  USS Callister , which is both a parody and a critique of the entire  Star Trek  ethos. The episode follows the crew of a  Star Trek -esque ship as they’re tortured by their captain. Eventually, we begin to realize that this entire world is a virtual reality, and the entire crew are avatars for co-workers of a single isolated man.

USS Callister  is specific in its references to the original  Star Trek , but it’s also a pointed critique of the misogyny that could underlie much of what that original show tried to achieve, and more crucially, of the show’s many fans who totally misinterpret its message.

One of the great parody movies of any kind ever made,  Galaxy Quest  is set in a universe where a show like  Star Trek  was a phenomenon when it first aired. Now, the cast assembles for reunions, but have grown to hate one another. When real aliens recruit them based on the belief that they are actually the characters they played on the show, they’re forced to prove that they have what it takes to be real heroes.

Thanks to a great ensemble cast that includes Alan Rickman and Sam Rockwell in standout performances,  Galaxy Quest is genuinely funny. What has helped it endure, though, is that it’s also one of the more earnest movies on this list, and it manages to balance those tones beautifully.

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But as good as  Star Trek  has been to its fans, it’s been even  better  to comedy writers. There have been countless  Trek  parodies over the years — from the time the  Frasier  gang piloted the USS Voyager …

…to the  myriad sketches on shows like  Saturday Night Live  and  In Living Color .

So join us on our  five year  several-hundred-word mission as we rank some of the most notable movie and TV  Trek spoofs...

Coincidentally sharing its name with  Deep Space Nine’ s resident bartender/holo-pornographer, 1977’s  Quark  was a sci-fi sitcom starring Richard Benjamin as the commander of a “United Galaxy Sanitation Patrol Cruiser” — so basically, a space garbage truck. Created by late  Get Smart  co-creator Buck Henry,  Quark  lasted for just eight episodes. Yeah, it’s not great and is wildly dated today, but  Quark  is still worth watching as a pop-culture curiosity.

5 ‘Ömer the Tourist in Star Trek’

Ömer the Tourist in Star Trek  randomly dropped Ömer, the popular  Turkish “hobo” character , into Captain Kirk’s Enterprise, thanks to some magic gizmo — and also a ton of stolen footage and unauthorized music cues. An admirably scrappy early  Trek  comedy that may actually be the first  Star Trek  feature film, pre-dating  Star Trek: The Motion Picture  by six years.

4 ‘Black Mirror’s ‘USS Callister’

The original  Star Trek  vibe was faithfully recreated for the  Black Mirror  episode “USS Callister,” in which a  Trek -like video game becomes an existential hell for the simulated characters who are stuck there for all eternity. Best of all, Jesse Plemons convincingly plays a menacing super-creep who also has the ability to bust out a killer William Shatner impression.

3 ‘The Orville’

Some might argue that  The Orville  is less of a parody and more of a personal  Star Trek: The Next Generation  fantasy camp for Seth MacFarlane that happens to be filmed and distributed to the public. But while it’s obviously more of a loving tribute than a cutting satire, we still get some comedic gems, such as the gelatinous alien blob voiced by Norm Macdonald.

2 ‘Futurama’

Futurama ’ s fourth season episode “Where No Fan Has Gone Before” reunited the original  Star Trek  cast (plus Welshy, of course) for a loving homage that isn’t afraid to poke fun at the show’s familiar conventions and its (often overly intense) fandom. They should just replace  Star Trek V  with this episode on every  Star Trek  DVD box set.

1 ‘Galaxy Quest’

Sure, it’s basically just  Three Amigos in Space , but  Galaxy Quest  is still a near-perfect comedy and arguably the best-ever  Star Trek  spoof, one that not only sends up the tropes of  Trek  movies and shows, but also the decades of stories of behind-the-scenes turmoil and  celebrity pettiness.

You (yes, you) should follow JM on Twitter (if it still exists by the time you’re reading this). 

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How The Orville Became More Than a Star Trek Spoof

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When The Orville premiered in late 2017, critics went on the attack against what seemed to be little more than a crude parody of Star Trek . With Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane in the leadership chair, it was a legitimate concern for some sci-fi fans. But audiences warmed up to the show, an act of faith that paid off as MacFarlane gradually revealed the true secret of the show's success. Sometimes funny, The Orville is also a heartfelt homage to the old days of Star Trek . And like its forebear, The Orville began to use its platform to tell classically human stories.

Under the hood of The Orville is a production crew of real quality -- many of them with science fiction legacies of their own. Longtime Star Trek producer Brannon Braga was on board from the start, and with him was former Family Guy collaborator David A. Goodman. A hard-core Trekkie with a history of penning loving parodies of his favorite franchise, he and Braga created, alongside MacFarlane, a core of people who would do more than make The Orville a funny ripoff . They understood the heart of what made Star Trek special.

RELATED:  The Orville: Everything We Know About Season 3 (So Far)

The first season with a bit of a slow burn, presenting a variety of anthological stories that introduced the Orville's crew and its setting. But even in its series premiere (directed by Jon Favreau), the ship's crew dealt smartly with the common science fiction threat of time travel. Though philosophical insights weren't a major feature in that first hour, the third episode then took a brave approach towards big questions about gender, identity, and galactic politics. It was the point where The Orville revealed it understood what fans loved about  Star Trek better than some of the franchise's own spinoffs.

"About A Girl" was placed early in the season  to see if the audience would accept the show's dual nature of humor and meaningful discussion. The episode opens with Second Officer Bortus and his Moclan mate, Klyden, stunned after the revelation that their child is a girl. The Moclans are a single-sex race -- or so their society has been led to believe. The episode's tale of politics and gender identity and gender erasure isn't a simple one, nor is the question of the newborn girl's fate ever made into a joke.

RELATED:  William Shatner Has One Demand for a Star Trek Return

The episode instead handles the pain of the reality with astonishing grace. Societal change is difficult, it rarely happens quickly, and sometimes what's right isn't what happens. And though the series would stick with its established pattern of one-shots and two-episode arcs, the ramifications of this early episode are felt throughout Bortus' future appearances, sometimes to heartbreaking effect.

The second season of The Orville  would be emboldened by the success of its more thoughtful moments. While The Orville would stay light, it leaned further into its insightful tone. In addition to committing to a deeper complexity in how it explored relationships, the show began to frequently weave in recurring elements. Isaac, a Kaylon robot, spends the first half of the season as a foil to Dr. Finn's self-admittedly awkward romantic interest. It becomes an exploration of the humanity Isaac, in contrast to Lt. Cmdr Data, insists he does not have.

RELATED:  Star Trek: Why Captain James T. Kirk Replaced Christopher Pike

Yet it's that question of whether there's any humanity in Isaac's robotic soul that begins to shape the season's biggest moments. The "Identity" two-parter reveals the Kaylon's origins and the secret of Isaac's purpose on the USS Orville . It's a grim shift in tone and a deliberate echo of the Borg, but with questions about the culpability of organic life. It pushes Isaac's story towards something closer to The Terminator , and like Bortus, his arc has no easy answers.

The season finale wrapped by bookending its premiere with a return to the consequences of time travel, this time with higher stakes. Rather than dwell on the science, the two-parter addresses the changes and the maturity -- or sometimes, the lack thereof -- in the relationship between Captain Mercer and his ex-wife, First Officer Kelly Grayson. It's an emotionally poignant episode, and if that was to be the series' swan song, it would have been a good one. Fortunately, the series is due to return in late 2021.

The Orville stars Seth MacFarlane, Adrianne Palicki, Scott Grimes, Peter Macon, Penny Johnson Jerald, Jessica Szohr, J. Lee, and Mark Jackson. Currently available on Hulu, a date for its third season premiere is not yet set.

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One-note Trek parody 'The Orville' never hits warp speed

Review: "Family Guy" and "Ted" creator Seth MacFarlane delivers a sci-fi spoof a little too fond of its source. Still, it might balance the darker "Discovery."

In his new Star Trek parody, "The Orville,"  Seth MacFarlane plays Ed Mercer, a promising officer whose performance has taken a dive since he caught his wife in bed with another guy -- who happens to be blue and have fins. And that sums up "The Orville." It's essentially an everyman workplace comedy. With aliens.

Seth MacFarlane takes the conn for "The Orville".

Plenty of the laid-back gags land and there are laughs to be had, depending largely on how you feel about MacFarlane. The " Family Guy " supremo brings a familiar schtick to the show: What if the characters of a genre story, whether cowboys in " A Million Ways to Die in the West " or a fantastic teddy bear in " Ted ," talk like we do today? More specifically, what if they talk about their balls? 

Workaday gags like officers asking if it's OK to drink soda on the bridge mix with jokes about leaving the toilet seat up when encountering a race made up entirely of males. There's also a racist robot, which is a funny twist on Star Trek's Borg.

But the central dynamic of the show set 400 years in the future is a staple of Earthbound sitcoms. When resolutely normal guy Ed is begrudgingly offered the captain's chair on a nondescript exploratory vessel, he's stunned to discover the identity of his executive officer. You guessed it, Ed's ex is his XO.

The moment when Ed finds this out and flees the starship bridge at a panicked clip provides a fun visual gag hinting at a more absurdist take on the sci-fi source. But apart from that, "The Orville" largely plays it straight. One minute McFarlane's crew is kicking back with a beer at the helm. The next, they're earnestly going on about "quantum field manipulation of the flow of time" as if they think they're in an actual Star Trek show.

Ersatz Enterprise: the Orville.

It's actually kind of fun to see McFarlane's genuine affection for Star Trek. 

The introduction to the Orville itself is a pretty straight Trek-style shuttle ride out to the space dock, the crew gazing in wonder as they swoop over the Orville's curves. The swelling music is a straight-up Trek copy as the Orville glides out of the space dock and accelerates to warp speed -- sorry, quantum drive speed. But you watch these faithful homages waiting for a joke. It's kind of like those off-brand "Space Captain" fancy dress outfits you see in shops. They're not different enough to be funny and not fooling anyone either.

• Seth MacFarlane's 'The Orville' looks like the real 'Galaxy Quest' show
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It's worth comparing "The Orville" not just to Star Trek but to other Trek-inspired offerings. Those succeed when they bring an extra dimension to the source material. 

The movie " Galaxy Quest " skewered the mutually dependent ecosystem of Trek creators and fans. Seventies British sci-fi show "Blake's 7" savagely explored the potential for a galactic federation to become an authoritarian nightmare. " Red Dwarf " takes well-worn sci-fi tropes and twists them until they burst with mind-bendingly inventive comedy. Compared with those shows, "The Orville," like the very similar and equally one-note British spoof "Hyperdrive," is basically just Star Trek with beer.

If each "Orville" installment was a brisk 25 minutes, I'd be perfectly happy with Beer Trek. But at 45 minutes an episode, the joke gets stretched thinner than the Enterprise in that special effect when it gets all long and thin before snapping into warp speed. 

Still, even a Trek parody traveling at half impulse power might fulfill a need. It arrives just ahead of an actual new Trek show, " Star Trek: Discovery ," and judging by early publicity, that show doesn't exactly look like a laugh a minute. Maybe MacFarlane's slightly silly sci-fi spoof will give fans a lighter look at starship life than the more serious "Discovery". (Disclosure: "Discovery" is a CBS show, and CBS is CNET's parent company.)

Seeing the two arrive side by side harks back to "The Enemy Within," that original Star Trek episode in which Captain Kirk is split into two sides of his personality. While "Discovery" seeks out new life and new civilizations, "The Orville" boldly goes for alcohol.

"The Orville" premieres on Fox on Sunday, Sept. 10.

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Star Trek Parody. Pick Art & Numb Bear One

During the Starship Surprise's third visit to a parallel universe, Pickart and Numb Bear One are on a mission to find Day Ta During the Starship Surprise's third visit to a parallel universe, Pickart and Numb Bear One are on a mission to find Day Ta During the Starship Surprise's third visit to a parallel universe, Pickart and Numb Bear One are on a mission to find Day Ta

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Gender Swap Star Trek Parody on The Carol Burnett Show

The Carol Burnett Show experienced a rather brief revival back in 1991, a mere two-month stint that left me puzzled then, as it does to this day. How such a legendary show like Burnett's could be cut short in such a swift manner remains a mystery. Was sketch comedy harder to pull off, or perhaps it needed a touch more edge to it?

However, even within this limited time frame, the revival managed to gift us with some true gems – one of them being a Gender Swap Star Trek Parody. This quirky piece of comedic brilliance cast Carol herself as Captain Kirk, with the talented Andrea Martin taking on the role of Spock. Meanwhile, Richard Kind stepped into the shoes of a Klingon, who found himself in the midst of a rather unexpected encounter with the mysterious Estrogenus 7 anomaly.

While the revival may have been brief, it certainly didn't lack in creativity or memorable moments. This particular Star Trek parody, for instance, serves as a testament to the show's ability to breathe new life into well-loved classics, twisting them into hilarious and unexpected forms. Even though the revival was a blink-and-you-miss-it experience, the impact of moments like this continue to resonate with fans, leaving a legacy that extends far beyond its short-lived run.

Enjoy the genius of Carol Burnett

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Where To Watch Every Star Trek TV Show and Movie in Order

Published on.

Rachel Ulatowski

Official JustWatch writer

Paramount has ushered in a new era of Star Trek. Following the conclusion of Star Trek: Discovery , the studio ordered multiple new series and began developing the TV movie Star Trek: Chapter 31 , which will star Academy Award-winning actress Michelle Yeoh. Given its revitalization, now is the perfect time to delve into the franchise. This guide will demonstrate where and how to watch every Star Trek movie and TV show in order.

The Star Trek franchise began in 1966 with the premiere of Star Trek , also known as Star Trek: The Original Series. Created by Gene Roddenberry, the sci-fi series follows Captain Kirk (William Shatner) and First Officer Spock (Leonard Nimoy) as they guide the Enterprise on a mission of intergalactic space exploration. While the show received poor ratings during its three-season run, broadcast syndication and reruns breathed new life into the franchise, garnering it a cult following after its 1969 cancelation.

Following the show’s re-evaluation, Roddenberry convinced Paramount to continue the original series on the big screen with Star Trek: The Motion Picture . Although it wasn’t a huge box-office hit, it did well enough to earn five more sequels, for which Roddenberry was a consultant.

As Star Trek: The Original Series remained one of the most popular syndicated TV shows years after its release, Paramount and Gene Roddenberry began working on another live-action series: Star Trek: The Next Generation . The series takes place aboard a new Enterprise one century after the events of the original series, with Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) at the helm. Along with his crew, Captain Picard carries on his predecessors' mission of exploring new worlds.

Star Trek: The Next Generation also continued on the big screen after its conclusion, receiving four feature films. While films like Star Trek: First Contact were well-received, Star Trek: Nemesis was a critical and financial failure. The failure of Star Trek: Nemesis was followed by another blow as the prequel series Star Trek: Enterprise was canceled amid low ratings.

Paramount switched directions on the big screen and released what many consider a “reboot” trilogy. However, the films aren’t an official reboot as they merely explore an alternate timeline known as the Kelvin Timeline and see Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto take over as Captain Kirk and Spock, respectively.

While the Kelvin Timeline film series played out, Star Trek went on a hiatus on the small screen. After a 12-year break, Paramount revived the franchise, aiming to create Star Trek shows specifically for its streaming service, CBS All Access (now Paramount+). In 2017, it released Star Trek: Discovery, followed by a new round of shows, including Star Trek: Picard , which continued Captain Picard’s story after Star Trek: The Next Generation.

There are no signs of the franchise slowing down, with the first TV movie, Star Trek: Chapter 31, on the way and Paramount showing interest in further Star Trek TV films, theatrical films, and shows.

How to watch the Star Trek franchise in order

Viewers can watch the Star Trek franchise either by release date order or chronologically. Those hoping to watch chronologically should know that the Kelvin Timeline trilogy takes place outside of the timeline of the other shows and movies, so they can technically be watched at any point. Star Trek: Short Treks also does not fit in the chronological order as it is an anthology series. Additionally, viewers may have to jump between shows occasionally due to time jumps in series like Star Trek: Discovery.

See below for the chronological order of every Star Trek show and movie:

Star Trek: Enterprise

Star Trek: Discovery Seasons 1 - 2

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

Star Trek: The Original Series

Star Trek: The Animated Series

Star Trek: The Motion Picture

Star trek ii: the wrath of khan, star trek iii: the search for spock, star trek iv: the voyage home, star trek v: the final frontier, star trek vi: the undiscovered country, star trek: the next generation, star trek: generations, star trek: first contact, star trek: insurrection, star trek: nemesis, star trek: deep space nine, star trek: voyager.

Star Trek: Lower Decks

Star Trek: Prodigy

Star Trek: Picard

Star Trek: Discovery Seasons 3 - 5

Viewers can also watch the Star Trek franchise by the release date order detailed below. Read on to find out where to stream every Star Trek movie and TV show in the United States!

Star Trek is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry that follows the adventures of the starship USS Enterprise and its crew. The show is set in the Milky Way galaxy, roughly during the 2260s. The crew is headed by Captain James T. Kirk, first officer Spock, and chief medical officer Leonard McCoy. Shatner's voice-over introduction during each episode's opening credits stated the starship's purpose: The series was produced from 1966-67 by Desilu Productions, and by Paramount Television from 1968-69. Star Trek aired on NBC from September 8, 1966 to June 3, 1969. Although this television series had the title of Star Trek, it later acquired the retronym of Star Trek: The Original Series to distinguish the show within the media franchise that it began. Star Trek's Nielsen ratings while on NBC were low, and the network canceled it after three seasons and 79 episodes. Nevertheless, the show had a major influence on popular culture and it became a cult classic in broadcast syndication during the 1970s. The show eventually spawned a franchise, consisting of five additional television series, 12 theatrical films, and numerous books, games, toys, and other products.

The animated adventures of Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock and the crew of the Starship Enterprise.

When an unidentified alien destroys three powerful Klingon cruisers, Captain James T. Kirk returns to the newly transformed U.S.S. Enterprise to take command.

The starship Enterprise and its crew is pulled back into action when old nemesis, Khan, steals a top secret device called Project Genesis.

A surprise visit from Spock's father provides a startling revelation: McCoy is harboring Spock's living essence.

When a huge alien probe enters the galaxy and begins to vaporize earths oceans, Kirk and his crew must travel back in time in order to bring back whales and save the planet.

Follow the intergalactic adventures of Capt. Jean-Luc Picard and his loyal crew aboard the all-new USS Enterprise NCC-1701D, as they explore new worlds.

A renegade Vulcan with a startling secret hijacks the U.S.S. Enterprise in order to find a mythical planet.

After years of war, the Federation and the Klingon empire find themselves on the brink of a peace summit when a Klingon ship is nearly destroyed by an apparent attack from the Enterprise. Both worlds brace for what may be their deadliest encounter.

At Deep Space Nine, a space station located next to a wormhole in the vicinity of the liberated planet of Bajor, Commander Sisko and crew welcome alien visitors, root out evildoers and solve all types of unexpected problems that come their way.

Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the crew of the Enterprise-D find themselves at odds with the renegade scientist Soran who is destroying entire star systems. Only one man can help Picard stop Soran's scheme...and he's been dead for seventy-eight years.

Pulled to the far side of the galaxy, where the Federation is 75 years away at maximum warp speed, a Starfleet ship must cooperate with Maquis rebels to find a way home.

The Borg, a relentless race of cyborgs, are on a direct course for Earth. Violating orders to stay away from the battle, Captain Picard and the crew of the newly-commissioned USS Enterprise E pursue the Borg back in time to prevent the invaders from changing Federation history and assimilating the galaxy.

When an alien race and factions within Starfleet attempt to take over a planet that has "regenerative" properties, it falls upon Captain Picard and the crew of the Enterprise to defend the planet's people as well as the very ideals upon which the Federation itself was founded.

During the mid-22nd century, a century before Captain Kirk's five-year mission, Jonathan Archer captains the United Earth ship Enterprise during the early years of Starfleet, leading up to the Earth-Romulan War and the formation of the Federation.

En route to the honeymoon of William Riker to Deanna Troi on her home planet of Betazed, Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise receives word from Starfleet that a coup has resulted in the installation of a new Romulan political leader, Shinzon, who claims to seek peace with the human-backed United Federation of Planets. Once in enemy territory, the captain and his crew make a startling discovery: Shinzon is human, a slave from the Romulan sister planet of Remus, and has a secret, shocking relationship to Picard himself.

The fate of the galaxy rests in the hands of bitter rivals. One, James Kirk, is a delinquent, thrill-seeking Iowa farm boy. The other, Spock, a Vulcan, was raised in a logic-based society that rejects all emotion. As fiery instinct clashes with calm reason, their unlikely but powerful partnership is the only thing capable of leading their crew through unimaginable danger, boldly going where no one has gone before. The human adventure has begun again.

Star Trek Into Darkness

When the crew of the Enterprise is called back home, they find an unstoppable force of terror from within their own organization has detonated the fleet and everything it stands for, leaving our world in a state of crisis. With a personal score to settle, Captain Kirk leads a manhunt to a war-zone world to capture a one man weapon of mass destruction. As our heroes are propelled into an epic chess game of life and death, love will be challenged, friendships will be torn apart, and sacrifices must be made for the only family Kirk has left: his crew.

Star Trek Beyond

The USS Enterprise crew explores the furthest reaches of uncharted space, where they encounter a mysterious new enemy who puts them and everything the Federation stands for to the test.

Star Trek: Discovery

Follow the voyages of Starfleet on their missions to discover new worlds and new life forms, and one Starfleet officer who must learn that to truly understand all things alien, you must first understand yourself.

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‘the walking dead’ star andrew lincoln returning to british tv in itv thriller ‘cold water’ from storied playwright david ireland & sister, ‘star trek: prodigy’ season 2 trailer: a classified mission & an unstable time rift — update.

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UPDATED, 1:30 PM: CBS Studios has released the official trailer and key art for the second season of Star Trek: Prodigy . In the trailer we see the returns of Vau N’Akat villain Asencia (Jameela Jamil) and Starfleet Officer Commander Tysess (Daveed Diggs) to the cast. Season 2 also involves a classified mission and a whole lot of time-paradox weirdness: “This is one heck of a ride!”

You can watch the trailer above and see details of the series and key art below.

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Netflix picked up the series last October after Paramount+ decided in June  to remove a number of originals , including  Star Trek: Prodigy , from the platform in a cost-cutting content write-down and not to proceed with the  previously commissioned 20-episode season  of the animated show which was already in the works.

This marks the third home for  Prodigy , which  originated as a Nickelodeon series  given its younger skew that does not match the rest of the franchise. The series then  migrated to Paramount+.

Star Trek: Prodigy  follows a motley crew of young aliens who must figure out how to work together while navigating a greater galaxy, in search of a better future. These six young outcasts know nothing about the ship they have commandeered – a first for the  Star Trek  franchise – but over the course of their adventures together, each will be introduced to Starfleet and the ideals it represents.

The series was developed by Emmy winners Kevin and Dan Hageman ( Trollhunters ), along with  Star Trek  universe chief Alex Kurtzman and his team at Secret Hideout.  Star Trek: Prodigy  is from CBS Studios’ Eye Animation Productions; Nickelodeon Animation; Secret Hideout; and Roddenberry Entertainment. Kurtzman, Heather Kadin, Aaron Baiers, Rod Roddenberry and Trevor Roth serve as executive producers, alongside co-showrunners Kevin and Dan Hageman. Ben Hibon directs, executive produces and serves as the creative lead of the animated series. Aaron Waltke and Patrick Krebs also currently serve as co-executive producers.

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Star Trek: Prodigy season 2 finally has a Netflix release date, and it’ll arrive before Paramount Plus’ Starfleet Academy

Get ready to explore more strange new worlds

There's good news for fans of Star Trek: Prodigy this week: Netflix has officially set a July 1 release date for season two of the kid's show, marking an end to the long wait since the first season wrapped in 2022 and beating Paramount Plus' Star Trek : Starfleet Academy that's expected to air in 2025.     

Netflix saved the popular Star Trek animated series in October 2023 – after Paramount Plus canceled and removed it from its platform – and gifted it to subscribers on Christmas day on December 25 last year, where it quickly became one of the 10 most-watched series in six different countries. 

'STAR TREK: PRODIGY' has reached #9 on Netflix's Kids Top 10 in the US today.The series has reached the Netflix Top 10 lists in six different countries and counting. pic.twitter.com/v6euLnuUlT December 27, 2023

Its continued streaming success is unsurprising given the many #SaveStarTrekProdigy fans that bought Blu-ray copies of season one – the show was one of the 20 most sold for the week ending September 30, 2023, based on NPD VideoScan data. For those that didn't have one the best 4K Blu-ray players , it was a welcome sight to see it reappear on Netflix.

Will there be a Star Trek: Prodigy season three? 

Eager to find out if the six young alien outcasts will continue their Starfleet ship adventures after season two? While there's been no word from Netflix yet, the show's creators Dan Hageman and Kevin Hageman did tell Virtual Trek Con's  Star Trek and Chill  podcast in January (see video below) that season two does set the stage for more episodes.     

"[The end of season two] really wraps everything you want out of seasons one and two, but really opens the door to what season three potentially could be. Whether that hits now, or in five years or whenever the time is right, it'll feel natural, which I'm really happy about," Hageman told the podcast. 

Star Trek shows have had a mixed run of renewals and cancelations of late, with Paramount Plus renewing Star Trek: Strange New Worlds but canceling Star Trek: Lower Decks in April, making the highly-rated show's upcoming fifth season, its last. If you're wondering how to watch Star Trek in order , then we've put together a guide to show where the series chronologically fit in with the movies.

All episodes from the first season of Star Trek: Prodigy are streaming on Netflix now. 

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Amelia became the Senior Editor for Home Entertainment at TechRadar in the UK in April 2023. With a background of more than eight years in tech and finance publishing, she's now leading our coverage to bring you a fresh perspective on everything to do with TV and audio. When she's not tinkering with the latest gadgets and gizmos in the ever-evolving world of home entertainment, you’ll find her watching movies, taking pictures and travelling.

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Star Trek: Prodigy is being heavily advertised by Netflix, a strong sign of things to come

Star Trek: Prodigy has gone through a lot. Debuting in 2021, the show has not seen any new episodes released since 2022. That's for a few reasons. The strikes in 2023 didn't help things, admittedly but Prodigy's long turnaround on episodes is partly because Star Trek's parent company Paramount is struggling financially. They had to cut a lot of content in recent years to try and fix their bottom line.

A bottom line that really can't be fixed, at least not when talking about Paramount+. They've drastically scaled back on series and film productions in recent years, significantly impacting Star Trek as much as anyone. The financial issues were so bad, they ended up canceling production on Prodigy's second season halfway through production of the season.

It seemed like the best move to make financially, especially since the show was directly tied to Playmates and their most recent line of action figures with Star Trek. A line that was ended due in part to Prodigy's cancelation. That wouldn't be the end of the animated series, however. Prodigy would live on again on Netflix, landing on the service at the end of 2023.

While some are concerned about the show's future on the service, and their outdated release schedule of releasing every episode at once, it appears as though Netflix knows Star Trek is a get and is acting accordingly.

In a new tweet from the streaming giant, Prodigy is listed as one of the eight series and films that are being hyped the most this July.

Prodigy's second season is being listed alongside the likes of the newest Beverly Hills Cop film, Axel F, and the first part of Cobra Kai's final season, Lost joining Netflix, Vikings: Valhalla, Elite, Sweet Home, and Receiver.

Considering how important a lot of those films and shows are to Netflix this summer, seeing Prodigy's name right alongside them gives us a strong feeling that Netflix will do what it can to ensure the series' success on the service. If Prodigy does well on Netflix, Paramount may end up opting to move more shows to the platform as concerns over Paramount+'s viability continue to grow.

This article was originally published on redshirtsalwaysdie.com as Star Trek: Prodigy is being heavily advertised by Netflix, a strong sign of things to come .

Screen Rant

Disney's new bluey parody in inside out 2 misses what makes the show so special.

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1 Viral Tweet Made Me Look At Inside Out’s Joy Differently

Inside out 2 box office enters domestic top 10 animated record as sequel gets closer to global $1b, i'm annoyed by inside out 2's explanation for the first movie's missing emotions.

• Bloofy is a parody of Bluey in Inside Out 2, but misses what makes Bluey so special for audiences of all ages.
• Bloofy is kept in Riley's vault as a guilty pleasure, indicating shame in loving him, unlike the universal appeal of Bluey.
• Just like Pixar movies, Bluey is more than just for kids, offering fun humor and life lessons applicable to all ages.

While funny, Inside Out 2 's parody of Bluey misses the point of what makes the show dear to so many. Bloofy is an animated purple dog with buck teeth and a blue hat who is first introduced to audiences in Inside Out 2 . He is a fictional 2D character from Bloofy's House , which is Riley's favorite childhood TV show. Though Bloofy has similar characteristics as many shows aimed at the preschool demographic, the character is widely assumed to be a parody of the titular character of Bluey with them both being dogs and having close-sounding names.

Pixar is known for its easter eggs, and Inside Out 2 was full of them as well . Though there were so many present throughout the movie, Bloofy managed to stand out. His surprising moment of breaking the fourth wall and the parallels drawn between him and other Disney characters, like Goofy, made him quite memorable. While he made for a great addition to the film, the parodied character did miss out on capturing what actually makes Bluey so special for audiences of all ages .

Inside Out 2 Suggests Liking Bluey Should Be A Dark Secret

Bloofy is kept in riley's vault.

In Inside Out 2 , Bloofy is treated like something to be embarrassed of. The fictional dog character is kept in Riley's vault, which is where all of the repressed elements of her psyche reside. Some of the other things that live there are a video game character she had a crush on when she was younger and her "Deep Dark Secret" . This indicates that Riley is ashamed of her love for Bloofy, and it is not something that she is comfortable sharing with others. It is represented to be some sort of "guilty pleasure" for Riley and something that she views as "too childish" for the world to know about.

Bluey Is Great Because It Is More Than Just For Kids

Just like pixar's movies.

While it makes sense that a teenage Riley wouldn't be advertising her love for Bloofy, Inside Out 2 portraying it as something to be embarrassed of misses the point of Bluey . Bluey has become as much of a cultural phenomenon as it has because it is meant for everyone. Bluey has been incredibly popular with adults since its release due to its fun humor and the life lessons it provides that are applicable to people of all ages.

Bluey actually holds the same appeal for audiences as Pixar movies do. Though animated shows and films can sometimes be labeled as "childrens' entertainment", both Bluey and Pixar movies prove that the medium can be for audiences of all ages. Bluey and Pixar movies tug at the heart strings of so many, regardless of their age, which is why they hold so much popularity in the entertainment world.

Inside Out 2

Inside Out 2 is the sequel to the 2015 original film, which starred a young girl named Riley with a head full of emotions. - literally. With Amy Pohler as Joy, Bill Hader as fear, Mindy Kaling as Disgust, Phyllis Smith as Sadness, and Lewis Black as Anger, the all-star cast brought to life the emotions that adolescents face as they grow, change, and adapt to new situations. This sequel, currently in development, will bring Amy Pohler back as Joy, with Riley, now a teenager.

'Star Trek: Prodigy' warps into Season 2 with new Netflix trailer (video)

The 'Prodigy 'crew has found a new streaming home and a shiny new starship in this latest sneak peek.

Resurrected by Netflix and zooming onto their streaming platform starting on July 1, 2024, the award-winning animated children's series, " Star Trek: Prodigy ," is cleared for launch and CBS Studios has just revealed the thrilling first trailer and key art for its next 20-episode mission.

This highly underrated project was developed by Emmy Award winners Kevin and Dan Hageman ("Trollhunters," "Ninjago") in collaboration with Alex Kurtzman to be the first all-ages "Star Trek" show out of spacedock, " Star Trek: Prodigy " premiered on Paramount+ in the fall of 2021 hauling a 20-episode split season that ended in December of 2022. 

The colorful kids' show centered around a rowdy gang of alien teenagers on the mining colony of Tars Lamora outside Federation space who discover an abandoned Starfleet ship, the USS Protostar, and must band together to escape from the Delta Quadrant all while learning about Starfleet during their cosmic misadventures.

Following its cancellation at its original home at Paramount+, Trekkies demanded that the series live long and prosper and mounted a serious online campaign to keep the show traveling at warp speed. Netflix thankfully came to the rescue and re-released the premiere season last Christmas to prep fans for the new adventures.

Here's the official Season 2 synopsis:

"In Season 2, these six young outcasts who make up the 'Prodigy' crew are assigned a new mission aboard the USS Voyager-A to rescue Captain Chakotay (voiced by Robert Beltran) and bring peace to Gwyn’s (voiced by Ella Purnell) home world. However, when their plan goes astray, it creates a time paradox that jeopardizes both their future and past."

"Prodigy's" stellar vocal cast includes Kate Mulgrew (Hologram Kathryn Janeway), Brett Gray (Dal), Ella Purnell (Gwyn), Rylee Alazraqui (Rok-Tahk), Angus Imrie (Zero), Jason Mantzoukas (Jankom Pog), Dee Bradley Baker (Murf), John Noble (The Diviner) and Jimmi Simpson (Drednok).

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Season 2's additional voice co-stars are Robert Picardo (The Doctor), Jason Alexander (Doctor Noum), Daveed Diggs (Commander Tysess), Jameela Jamil (Ensign Asencia), Ronny Cox (Admiral Jellico) and Michaela Dietz (Maj’el).

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"We deeply appreciate our fans who have stood by us and our passionate crew who made this all possible. The work speaks for itself, but it's the heart that will endure," said co-showrunners Kevin and Dan Hageman in a statement regarding the sophomore season's debut.

Landing July 1, 2024, "Star Trek: Prodigy" hails from CBS' Eye Animation Productions, Nickelodeon Animation, Secret Hideout, and Roddenberry Entertainment. Alex Kurtzman, Heather Kadin, Aaron Baiers, Rod Roddenberry and Trevor Roth act as executive producers with co-showrunners Kevin and Dan Hageman. Ben Hibon multitasks as a main director, executive producer, and series lead creator.

Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more! And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: [email protected].

Jeff Spry is an award-winning screenwriter and veteran freelance journalist covering TV, movies, video games, books, and comics. His work has appeared at SYFY Wire, Inverse, Collider, Bleeding Cool and elsewhere. Jeff lives in beautiful Bend, Oregon amid the ponderosa pines, classic muscle cars, a crypt of collector horror comics, and two loyal English Setters.

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June 23, 2024

A Little Penny Arcade Lower Decks Fan Art

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Back when Next Generation was on television it was appointment viewing for me. I loved that series as a highschool kid. After that I caught a few episodes here and there of other Star Trek shows but that’s about it. Eventually Strange New worlds came around and sort of ignited my interest in all things Trek again. Currently We’re watching Voyager and Lower Decks here in the Krahulik house. We’re only in season 2 of both shows but I’m loving them. Voyager is a trip back in time to a different era in Television when Shows got seven seasons and almost thirty episodes per season. There’s some genuinely amazing Sci-Fi ideas in Voyager and with so many episodes you get plenty of time to get to know the characters. 

Jerry and I have said that a good parody should also be an excellent version of the thing that’s being poked fun at. If you don’t have the skills to make a good Trek show then you don’t have the skills to make a good Trek parody. It's that simple. It’s like the saying “Never take criticism from someone you would not take advice from.”  Lower Decks is the perfect example of this idea. It is both a hilarious roast of all things Star Trek, as well as an honest to God kick ass Trek show full of big ideas and awesome characters. I cannot recommend it enough.  I pulled out my iPad while watching it this weekend and I had to make a little fan art.

LOWER DECKS! LOWER DECKS!

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