All the World is Birthday Cake is the fifth episode of the second season of The Orville. The USS Orville makes first contact with another world and a new crewmember joins the ship.
The episode examines a society that has taken astrology to its logical extreme. The title was drawn from the song "It's All Too Much" by The Beatles and refers to to Regor 2, where "all the world" believes a date of birth determines one's worth as a person.
Ratings for the episode were strong. It received a subdued response from general audiences but very positive reviews from professional critics. Roughly 3.176 million American households watched All the World is Birthday Cake live, the second highest for the series until that point.[2] The episode holds a rating of 7.6 on IMDB, somewhat below the show's average.[3]
Mercer, Grayson, Bortus, Keyali, and Doctor Claire Finn take a shuttle to the signal's origin, a planet called Regor 2. In the capital, the First Prefect warmly greets the Orville's diplomatic entourage. Mercer replies, "On behalf of the Planetary Union, welcome to the galaxy."
Act 3[]
The First Prefect and Chief Adviser Makkal show Mercer, Grayson, and Bortus their satellite array. Regorian doctors show Finn and Keyali their obstetrics ward. They are interrupted by an emergency Cesarean section, but Finn realizes the baby had no detected medical cause to be born premature. A doctor explains that the c-section was to prevent the baby being born "giliac."
At a banquet, the Orville's crew and the Regorians celebrate first contact and share different aspects of their species. "It really is a utopia," the Science Prefect marvels. Grayson shares that next week will be her and Bortus' birthday. Inexplicably, the Regorians are outraged and the crew is arrested.
In a prison cell, a Regorian dentist extracts dental cores from Mercer, Keyali, and Finn, which verifies that none of them are Giliacs. The First Prefect tells them that being giliac means to be born under the astrological sign of Giliac, which means Grayson and Bortus are dangerous and must be kept in a small prison camp. The Regorians force the others to return to their ship.
Meanwhile, Grayson and Bortus find themselves in a prison colony for Giliacs.
Act 4[]
A warden tells Grayson and Bortus that the prison colony is their new home. They unsuccessfully try to fight their way out of the camp.
AdmiralPerry refuses to permit the Orville to retrieve the officers by force. Diplomacy will be their only recourse. Isaac observes that the Regorians host a vast array of astrology satellites in space solely to observe the movement of stars.
Back in the prison, Grayson and Bortus piece together that their only "crime" was being born under the wrong astrological sign. Nearby, a large prisoner attempts to steal food from a couple, Rokal and his pregnant wife Ukania, but Bortus scares him away.
On live television, the First Prefect announces that the first day of Giliac has arrived and any infants born must be ceded to the government. Mercer arrives and attempts a peaceable agreement for the return of his officers, but First Prefect refuses and tells them to forget about Regor 2.
Act 5[]
A month later, in December, Admiral Perry concludes that the Planetary Union Central needs the Orville back on active duty. A diplomatic envoy will be sent to Regor 2 for extended negotiations. In the Briefing Room, Mercer directs the senior officers to find a solution before they must leave.
Back on television, the First Prefect announces the first day of Wasanda, the sign of the future leaders of Regor 2.
During meal time at the prison barracks, Grayson and Bortus notice that Ukania is in labor. Grayson assists the delivery of a new daughter.
Studying Regor 2's history, Keyali realizes that a star in Giliac died 3,122 years ago which led to the Regorian myth that Giliac people are murderous.
Camp guards inspect the barracks. The warden forces Grayson to admit she is "giliac trash" at gunpoint. Rokal tells the guards that his daughter is wasanda and hidden under the floor boards. Despite Ukania's pleas, the guards forcibly take the child. Grayson and Bortus plot their escape.
Act 6[]
Chief EngineerJohn LaMarr and HelmsmanGordon Malloy attach solar sails to a shuttle, which would reflect starlight and appear in the Regorian night sky as a new star in the Giliac constellation.
Grayson and Bortus steal guns from prison guards and attempt their escape, killing many guards along the way. They blast open the prison doors but are immediately surrounded by many guards and the warden.
Act 7[]
The warden initiates an execution of Grayson and Bortus before the prison camp. In space, the solar sail deploys and a new star appears in the night. Just as the guards nearly open fire, someone spots a new star in Giliac. In his office, the First Prefect realizes the new star signals "change."
Now back on the bridge of the Orville, Grayson and Bortus finally celebrate with a joint birthday party. Mercer tells Grayson that the last of the camps were closed. To Keyali, he admits that he is unsure whether lying to the Regorians was moral. Grayson, Mercer, and Finn congratulate Keyali on her brilliant idea. Grayson leaves to dance with her boyfriend Cassius, leaving Mercer alone with his drink.
Production[]
All the World is Birthday Cake was written by creator Seth MacFarlane, who is sharply critical of astrology. In a television appearance made around the time MacFarlane wrote the script, interviewer James Corden asked him if he subscribed to astrology.
I think it's a bunch of bullshit. ... When astrology was conceived, what, like, 3,000 years ago, I don't know a smarter person could tell you, the stellar bodies were all in different places than they are now because everything in the cosmos is always moving. So, if you were, what, a Capricorn now you'd be a Sagittarius then, or vice-versa, and isn't that why they just kind of arbitrarily changed it a few years ago? Cause they were like, 'Crap, we're going to get found out.'[4]
MacFarlane was referring to a January 2016 blog post by NASA that became famous, wherein the author pointed out that the relative positions of the stars when the Zodiac calendar was first conceived were very different, prompting many to change their astrological calendars to reflect the changes.[5][6]
Music was composed by John Debney. For the initial scenes of the Orville responding to the Regorian's invitation for first contact, he composed "big and exciting and beautiful" in response to creator Seth MacFarlane's music directions to write a song that was "propulsive and expectant." When the shuttle breaks through the clouds of Regor 2 to see the city below, Debney made the song quickly jump to something more "sublime" to capture the awe of first contact.[8]
Early cast lists were published to IMDB in early May,[9] which announced the character of Chief Advisor Makkal, and in June.[10] Actress Heather Horton announced she would appear as Science Prefect in June.[11] The surprise appearance of Ted Danson as a Planetary Union admiral was first revealed by director Jonathan Frakes on August 4.[12]
20th Century Fox published a press release on the episode on December 4, 2019.[13]
Reception[]
Viewership[]
All the World is Birthday Cake was watched by 3.176 million American households live, of which 0.74 million were ages 18-49.[2] The episode was the second most-watched episode of Season 2 until that point, surpassed only by the Season 2 premiere. The viewer response was more muted, however, by rating. The episode currently holds a 7.6 rating on IMDB.[14]
Critical response[]
Critics gave All the World is Birthday Cake overall positive reviews. Ryan Britt of Den of Geek awarded four stars, calling All the World is Birthday Cake a "standout episode" with "a brilliant premise."[15] Nick Wanserski of the AV Club enjoyed the episode overall, citing the action sequences in particular.[16] Jammer of Jammer's Reviews gave the episode two stars. He praised the episode for the thrilling conceit of "First Contact," but found the Regorian's "ridiculously absolute beliefs" weakened the story.[17]
Trivia[]
The Orville Season 2 Gag Reel
A composite video with outtakes from this, and other, Season 2 episodes.
Outtakes and bloopers from this episode were compiled by the show's editors for the Season 2 wrap party and were published by the Planetary Union Network.[18]
During Bortus and Kelly's joint birthday party, John, Gordon, and Ensign Turco can be seen teaching Isaac how to dance the robot.
Extra behind-the-scenes footage of them was posted in a video by associate producer and editor Tom Costantino.[19]
The Regorian government building is actually Oviatt Library at California State University, Northridge.[20]
The library building was also used as Starfleet's headquarters in the popular science-fiction series Star Trek.
One of the buildings on the planet's surface is the Yokohama Landmark Tower located in Yokohama, Japan.[21]
Talla transferred to the Orville from a Science-class vessel.
The identity of "the admiral" whom Ed begged to provide another Xelayan to replace Alara is unconfirmed. However, considering the admiral's relation to Ed and Kelly and that person's role in assigning crew to the Orville, it can be conjectured that the admiral in question is Tom Halsey.
Actress Adrianne Palicki (Kelly) says that this episode was her favorite of Season 2 to film (but not her favorite overall) because of the fight scenes. "[Kelly] gets to do a lot of action — and you know how I love action."[n 2]
The month of Giliac roughly corresponds with November and Wasanda with December.
The prison guards' weapons are actually FN P-90s.
This episode has been the focus of an academic study, "Resisting Dogma and Damnation with The Orville", a chapter by L. Brooke Rudow in Exploring The Orville.
References[]
Halsey asks the senior officers of the Orville, "Think about the trial on Moclus. What if you had gone in and taken Commander Bortus' infant by force?" referencing the events of About a Girl.
Ed's line, "We all do better when we all do better," is a quote from a speech by former Minnesota senator Paul Wellstone.[22]
Talla tells Claire, "You have stuff in Sick Bay that would probably look like magic to these guys." This is a reference to Clarke's third law: Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.
The episode takes place over five weeks[n 4] either in the months of late October and November or, more likely, November and early December 2420.[n 5]
However, the opening of the episode, where the Regorians launch their invitation for first contact into space, took place "a few years" earlier, around 2417.
Bortus has his birthday on the Monday after incarceration in the giliac prison.
Kelly's birthday falls on Tuesday.
Episode titles[]
Title
Language
Translation
Un anniversaire mémorable
French
"a memorable birthday"
Erstkontakt
German
"first contact"
Az élet születésnapos oldala
Hungarian
"the birthday side of life"
Tutto il mondo è una torta di compleanno
Italian
"all the world is a birthday cake"
悪夢の誕生日 (Akumu no Tanjōbi)
Japanese
"nightmare birthday"
Весь мир — именинный пирог
Russian
"the whole world is a birthday cake"
Todo el mundo es una tarta de cumpleaños
Spanish
"all the world is a birthday cake"
Увесь світ, як іменинний торт
Ukranian
"the whole world is like a birthday cake"
Mistakes[]
Note the candelabra is creased before Talla Keyali bends it.
On the other hand, this may just be an archaic saying.
When Second OfficerBortus tells the Bridge crew, "I am not amused," he and Topa turn to leave. In the next camera angle, they turn to walk away again.
The candelabra Talla bends is already heavily creased beforehand.
The shuttle used to fake the reappearance of the Giliac star is shown far too close to the planet to pass muster. Regardless of any technology used to hide the shuttle itself from advanced sensors, the "star" would appear in wildly different locations in the night sky depending on the location of an observer on the surface. The orbit shown in the VFX shot is so low that to two different observers hundreds of miles apart, the "star" could actually appear on entirely the opposite side of the sky.
Cast[]
Names and titles are as they appear in the credits unless otherwise noted.
↑Charles Maceo's resume lists filming of the episode for March 5, 2018."Charles Maceo". Actors Access. Last accessed May 4, 2018.
↑There is some confusion about which episode Palicki refers to, as she also specifies that it is within "the first four episodes" and All the World is Birthday Cake is fifth. However, because this episode is the first to feature a major action sequence with Kelly, it is believed Palicki was simply mistaken about episode numbering. The fact that Primal Urges was actually filmed as part of the first season may have contributed to the confusion.
Mitovich, Matt Webb. "The Orville's Adrianne Palicki Teases One of Her Greatest Challenges, Shares S.H.I.E.L.D. Encore Wish". TVLine. Jan. 2, 2019.
↑First contact was made one week before Kelly's birthday and she later states that her birthday party occurred "four weeks late" for a total of five weeks.
↑It is more likely but not certain because The Orville tends to follow a pattern of one episode in each month, and the previous episode was set in October. However, it should be acknowledged that this pattern is not always followed.
