Bridge

Bridge
Captain Ed Mercer (left) and Commander Kelly Grayson (right) surrounded by Bridge officers on the bridge of the USS Orville.
Alternative Titles	Main Deck
Type	Command
Purpose
Use	Navigation and control room
Affiliation	Planetary Union

The bridge was the command room on in larger vessels of the Planetary Union (such as the USS Orville), the Krill, and many other spacefaring civilizations. It acted as the main deck of the entire ship, an operations center for the commanding officer of the ship.

Description

Planetary Union

The bridge was a large and comfortable room adorned with many computers and other pieces of various technology encompassing both sides. Two stations in the center of the room were reserved for the commanding officer and a first officer. The Union granted commanding officers discretion to arrange the Bridge in a manner he or she preferred. Thus, each Union ship had a unique bridge layout.

The center has a direct view of space which features a viewer which acts as a means of satellite communication with other ships or sections of the Orville as well as outposts and planetary facilities. The roof of the Bridge has an opening above the workplace that also reveals a view of the cosmos.

USS Orville

On the Orville, the bridge was located on Deck A. Captain Ed Mercer's arrangement of the Orville's other stations is not entirely understood and currently debated (see The Seating Problem, below).

Center

• Front (Helm) - Two seats for the helmsman (right flank) and navigator (left flank).
• Middle (Command) - Two seats for the captain (right flank) and first officer (left flank).
• Rear - Standing stations with data and information panels, used by all sections from time to time.

Right Flank

• A dual science and engineering station manned by Isaac (who is both a science and engineering officer).
• One seated station, which has been used mostly by engineering officers, but also science officers.
• One standing station, which has been used mostly by science officers, and rarely engineering officers.

Left Flank

• One security station (filled first by Alara Kitan, then Talla Keyali).
• One station for Second Officer Bortus for a variety of purposes such as weapons systems, deflector screens, and monitoring the scanner array.
• One standing station used for specific situations or missions, which has been seen staffed by security officers.

History

The joint birthday party of Kelly and Bortus.

Rainfall within the bridge.

The Orville bridge, seized by the Kaylon.

As part of the Shipmaster Qualification Program, Lieutenant Gordon Malloy was placed in the captain's chair within a simulation of the Orville bridge, engaged in a confrontation against the Krill.

In 2420, the joint birthday of First Officer Kelly Grayson and Second Officer Bortus was held a month late on the Orville bridge. Helmsman Malloy and Chief Engineer John LaMarr justify the venue by playing a humorous animation of Kelly and Bortus that they had created on the main viewing screen.

Proceeding to win back the affections of Doctor Claire Finn, Isaac anonymously summons her to the bridge. Upon her arrival, Isaac reveals himself and initiates a program which causes rain to fall within the bridge while a recording of Singing in the Rain plays.

When the Orville is commandeered by the Kaylon, serving as the command ship of their newly constructed invasion fleet, the deposed crew can only watch as all bridge stations are taken by Kaylon units, with the captain's chair being taken by Kaylon Primary while Isaac remains at his science station.

Production

According to composer John Debney, creator Seth MacFarlane frequently orders scenes shot on the bridge to have unexpectedly energetic music to "keep the scene going." Debney has stated that bridge scenes in Blood of Patriots are a strong example of "keeping the interest and the excitement going."

Union bridges

The Orville's Bridge was designed by production designer Stephen J. Lineweaver in conjunction with illustrator Michael Maher. Lineweaver later noted that the bridge-as-constructed was remarkably similar to the drafting sketches, unlike the rest of the ship which underwent heavy revisions during construction. According to The World of the Orville, Lineweaver designed the Bridge as "a comfortable, 'living room' environment that would be both audience-friendly and comfortable for the characters."

Like the rest of the Orville's halls, the walls of the Bridge are made of Chilewich matting, a synthetic material that creates an unusual texture on camera. The intent was to make walls that appear almost organic, as the Orville's walls are organic in-universe. Early drafts of the walls included growing grass.

The Bridge's viewscreen is in fact an enormous, 90-foot, 11k LED screen that projects what characters are supposed to see. According to visual effects producer Natasha Francis, the show opted for the expensive screen because they predict it will be cheaper in the long run than constantly green-screening viewscreen backgrounds.

The set is adorned with obscured LED lighting that can be changed to manufacture specific environments, such as red alert emergencies.

According to Scott Grimes (Gordon Malloy), the control panels for the helmsman and navigator are in fact iPads.

The chairs were made by the furniture design company Acme Made in America. They used laser-cutting and metal braking to build the captain and commander chairs, trying to make them large enough to seem imposing but small enough not to compromise the view of the back hallway. Crew chairs on either side of the bridge were seats placed on laser-cut rolled aluminum, which forms a deceptively strong support beam.

The Orville bridge is used for two other ships in Identity, Pt. 2.

USS Roosevelt

USS Spruance

Krill bridges

The Krill Bridge was designed by artists Lineweaver, Brandon Fayette, and Kit Stølen. The modern Krill Bridge of the show is green-lit, dark, and all material has sharp angles. The original Krill Bridge was a combination of reds and ambers, with subtle curves to the walls. The colors were changed to reflect the Krill's sensitivity to light, and the walls were given sharp angles in keeping with the general architectural style of the Krill.

The Seating Problem

One example of The Seating Problem. On the right flank, the seated station behind Isaac is clearly used by a science officer while the standing station is used by an engineer. This contradicts the authorities published by the show.

The precise seating layout of the Orville is currently an unresolved problem in The Orville because what is seen in the show firmly contradicts established guidebooks.

• According to the book The World of the Orville, which was made during late production of Season 1: Three Security stations flanked the left side of the bridge, and Engineering, Science, and Communications flanked the right.
• According to The Guide to The Orville, which was written after Season 3 aired: Ed designed the bridge with two engineering stations, a security station, a communications station, and two stations for science information and data collected from scanners and probes. He reserved a variety of "standing" stations around the Bridge to be used as needed for specific situations or missions.

Unfortunately, by comparing the books against the layout that the show depicts (see above), we see that neither book accurately reflects the show. Both books are incorrect as neither account for the fact that the seated station on the right flank has been used by a variety of sections, and is not a dedicated engineering station.

Moreover, even if that mistake is ignored, the layout in The Guide to The Orville is only accurate if (1) Bortus' station is considered a communications station and (2) Isaac's station is counted twice - once as a science station and once as an engineering station. However, in the show Alara and Talla monitored communications, not Bortus, and it does not make sense why Isaac's station would be counted two times. On the other hand, the layout in The World of the Orville is accurate only if (1) the seated station on the right flank is considered the communications station, (2) Isaac's station is only an engineering station. However, Ed made clear that Isaac was working in both engineering and science sections, so it does not make sense why Isaac's station would be considered only engineering and not both.

Trivia

• During production, the viewscreen of the Bridge on the USS Orville is in fact a large television monitor that displays what actors would see as their characters.
• The panel buttons at each work station have designated functions and purposes, and actors must learn their buttons to maintain continuity.
• The set of the Orville's bridge is one of two of Seth MacFarlane's least favorite locations to film because it is so big, the other being inside Planetary Union shuttlecraft.