>>98936613The Orville has three problems holding it back:
1 - It was sold to the network as a comedy series, which means the writers that want to just do Star Trek fanfiction are forced to shove jokes in at regular intervals which can severely impact the show's tone and pacing.
2 - The writers themselves seem to be having trouble finding their feet in terms of writing episodes with strong philosophical or ethical questions. So far the concepts involved have been very simplistic, and some might argue the execution is hamfisted.
3 - Seth himself does not work as the Captain, full stop. The man is simply not a good dramatic actor. He can sing, he can board, and he can tell a joke, but being serious or authoritative is not something he is good at.
What The Orville has going for it is mostly being the only "hopeful" Sci-Fi around, as Star Trek proper has decided they'd rather be a big space shoot-em-up effects bonanza.
