10 Ways The Orville Is More Star Trek Than Discovery

Star Trek: Discovery is dark in almost every way that a TV show can be. It’s dark in its themes, its characters, its look, and in the overall tone of the series so far. From the first episode, darkness has been ever-present and is itself woven into the fabric of the show.

References to it are found everywhere: The badges from the first episode, the tardigrade’s first home on-board Discovery, black alerts, the jarring darkness of a bridge lit more by cold, blue computer panels than proper warm lights, and Captain Lorca’s light sensitivity. Discovery makes darkness one of its primary themes.

Traditional Star Trek, which is what The Orville aims to emulate, is notable for its more consistent use of brightness and light on its shows. When the lights were lowered on TNG’s bridge, it was an indication of something amiss rather than the norm.

The Orville, as a means of effectively parodying its source material, eschews modern and edgy shadows in favor of the more traditional warmer lights that are associated with the shows that it is trying to parody.