Influences of The Orville

A map of Tarazed 3 on the wall behind Cassius strongly resembles a famous alpha quadrant map of the Federation in Star Trek. This is one of many references to older science-fiction works.

Seth MacFarlane created The Orville in part to carry on the tradition of allegorical storytelling that Star Trek, The Twilight Zone, and other science fiction series have pioneered on television over the decades.— André Bormanis

With a science fiction show, as Gene Roddenberry once said, "The basis of your series is the galaxy. And there are quite a few stories out there."— Seth MacFarlane

Producers, cast, and other staff have always acknowledged that development of The Orville was influenced by previous works.

The most important influence is the science-fiction franchise Star Trek. Production staff view The Orville to be an "homage" or re-interpretation of "source material" found in the franchise, and executive producer Brannon Braga even went so far as to say that creator Seth MacFarlane had been a huge fan of Star Trek and "created his own version of it" through The Orville. However, many other important movies, television shows, books, and works shaped the creation and production of the show that should not be overlooked, including Star Wars, M*A*S*H, Alien, and So You've Been Publicly Shamed, among many others.

The motivations to use, modify, or refer to prior artistic creations are complex. Producers, critics, and fans are sometimes too eager to point to Star Trek; many similarities are in fact coincidences, and both shows often borrowed from earlier sources. For example, as Seth MacFarlane pointed out, both The Orville and Star Trek: The Next Generation feature a captain leading a bridge crew, but the idea of a bridge crew traveling through space dates back to the 1930s. Sources of inspiration are not reducible to one or even several shows.

Many other sources of inspiration abound. The Orville's alien species were personifications of human religious and political philosophies like Christianity, Islam, astrology, and (in the comic books) the agendas of Presidents George W. Bush and Donald Trump. Spaceships were frequently inspired by 20th century science-fiction works like Alien; and MacFarlane openly attempted to re-capture the "tonal balance" of comedy and drama in M*A*S*H and Defending Your Life.

Creating the world of The Orville

Before he was an executive producer on The Orville, Brannon Braga was an important creative influence on the Star Trek franchise.

Many of the elements behind the show have parallels in previous works, especially in science fiction. "There's no getting around that there's some Star Trek inspiration in this show," executive producer David A. Goodman bluntly stated at the 2017 New York City Comic-Con. "There's no getting around that MacFarlane wanted an uplifting show that presented a positive view of the future, which is what Roddenberry [creator of Star Trek] said about his original show. So they share that philosophy."

One of the most fundamental cues taken from Star Trek was the elimination of money with the advent of matter synthesis. First Officer Kelly Grayson states in New Dimensions and All the World is Birthday Cake that money disappeared in a post-scarcity economy, so reputation became society's new currency. As creator Seth MacFarlane put it,

It was important to take a cue from Gene Roddenberry [creator of Star Trek] that somehow we’ve gotten past money. Money can’t be a factor. It’s too primitive. I really love that, in "Star Trek," reputation becomes the main form of currency in the absence of money. When you think about it, it’s not the warp drive, it’s not the transporter, it’s the replicator. We give a little nod to that in "The Orville."

In fact, the matter synthesis is even called 'replication' on rare occasions. Star Trek: The Original Series had food synthesizers aboard starships, which may have been responsible for Food Synthesizers and Matter Synthesizers.

Ships travel faster than the speed of light thanks to a quantum drive, a space-folding technology based on the Alcubierre warp drive. (Fans and journalists often mistakenly state that the quantum drive was based on Star Trek's warp drive.) Both shows call the era of Earth before faster-than-light travel "Old Earth."

Both Planetary Union and Federation officers follow a set of ethics that refrains from killing unless absolutely necessary. As MacFarlane told Forbes,

I’m a huge fan [of Star Trek] and always have been. Gene Roddenberry’s philosophy was always very meaningful to me when I was a kid. I always loved that the phasers were set on stun. That was something you really only saw on that show. That there was actually an ethical code, that it wasn’t about just shooting faceless bad guys. It was about respect for life. That was the philosophy of the show, and I swear to God that’s the reason that if I find a spider in my house, I've got to put it outside. I can’t kill it.

The planet Xelaya may be rooted in Star Trek's Mount Seleya, a holy site to the Vulcans. The Vulcans themselves are an extremely strong humanoid species with pointed ears, much like Xelayans.

Jahavus Dorahl says an ion storm seriously damaged the Bio-ship in If the Stars Should Appear. Ion storms are a frequent hazard encountered by spaceships in Star Trek, first occurring in The Galileo Seven and receiving the name "ion storm" in Court Martial (note that this episode was probably responsible for the plot twist in Deflectors).

In both shows, officers work in sections such as Command and Security, indicated by uniform color. Rank, on the other hand, is indicated by epaulets or other insignia. Union officers have access to the PM-44 as a standard weapon, while colonists are restricted to the older and weaker PM-32 model. Similarly in Star Trek, colonists have access only to Phaser 1 while officers have Phaser 1 and the stronger Phaser 2.

The Orville as an "anti-Star Trek" show

The episode Command Performance not only mirrored the story structure of The Menagerie, the Calivon even looked like The Menagerie's zookeeper species, Talosians.

Many in the creative team behind The Orville explicitly rejected aspects of earlier works. Consequently, producers like Brannon Braga considered The Orville to sometimes be an "anti-Star Trek" - a rejection of "[Gene] Roddenberry's universe." The protagonists of Star Trek are usually emotionally stable, level-headed, "paragons" of virtue, while The Orville embraces characters with "neurotic foibles and relationship problems" to generate comedic tension. Further, The Orville writers who worked on earlier Star Trek shows like The Next Generation explicitly rejected its reliance on technobabble and deus ex machina technology to create or resolve conflict.

Teleportation technology is widely used on Star Trek as the "transporter," while on The Orville teleportation is available only to a select, highly advanced species like the Calivon and the Kandarians. "The transporter, that is a distinct Roddenberry invention and a brilliant one and we weren’t comfortable doing that," Braga noted. "There can be no doubt we are paying tribute to the Star Trek ethos – and others such as The Twilight Zone ethos – but we don’t just want to rip shit off."

Religious influences on The Orville

The Orville is highly critical of religious beliefs and systems used to justify controlling the behavior of others, especially conservative political Christianity and Islam. The most obvious example are the Krill species, who represent fundamentalist Islam and, according to Seth MacFarlane, philosophies of Islam that resort to terrorism. The Krill follow the teachings of Avis as described in the Anhkana much like Muslims follow the teachings of Allah as described in the Koran. Early Krill were more moderate believers but they radicalized after the advent of space flight and first contact with other civilizations, perhaps mirroring moderate Islam during its Golden Age and its turn to religious conservatism in subsequent centuries. By the 24th century, most Krill believed Avis commanded the destruction of all non-Krill as they were "without a soul." Whether the Krill would accept a non-Krill who followed Avis was left an open question in New Beginnings, Pt. 1. Sometimes writers would use other religions for inspiration. For example, First Officer Kelly Grayson refers to the Bible, specifically Genesis 1:26, when she contrasts the Krill against earlier Earth beliefs about subjugating animals.

The language of science fiction

The Orville tells allegorical stories or parables that contrast 20th century America against a utopic vision of the future. Themes include sexual orientation, gender and sex, peace after war, and the place of religion in political discourse. Writers turned not only to Star Trek to weave allegories into the plot, but also to The Twilight Zone. The show's producers have consistently pointed out that many elements of The Orville are common the genre, which executive producers like Braga say:

There is a language of this type of show. The actual nouns and verbs may vary, but the essential language goes way back to Issac Asimov and Amazing Stories, Jules Verne, Star Trek, Forbidden Planet, Star Wars, Alien movies, and the list goes on.

Many shows feature a crew exploring space and meeting alien species. Space vessels in both Star Trek and The Orville have decks arranged by letter (e.g., Deck C). In these cases, even if an idea had been drawn from a particular source, so many other works use a substantially similar idea that it is impossible to guess whence an idea sprung.

Episode plots

Writers behind the show rarely acknowledge the influence of previous works upon The Orville's story (as opposed to composers, who regularly discuss musical references to earlier scores). Regardless, many episode plot points so closely mirror earlier works that critics and fans consider the influence highly likely.

Please note that assertions of influence are speculative unless confirmed by the show's creators.

Season 1

Episode	Source	Source Episode	Influence
Old Wounds	Star Trek: The Next Generation	Encounter at Farpoint	On Jean-Luc Picard's first day as captain of the USS Enterprise and on Ed Mercer's first day as captain of the USS Orville, the position of first officer is vacant. On both ships, other positions are vacant as well. The Enterprise is instructed to stop at Farpoint Station on Deneb IV to pick up William Riker, its new first officer. The Orville is instructed to pick up Kelly Grayson, its new first officer, en route to the Epsilon Science Station on Epsilon 2. Admiral Leonard McCoy walks the Enterprise's corridors with Lieutenant Commander Data, which is visually similar to Admiral Halsey walking the Orville's corridors with Ed.
Old Wounds	Star Trek: The Original Series	The Menagerie	Spock falsifies a message to take the USS Enterprise to Starbase 11. Doctor Aronov falsifies a re-supply request to the Planetary Union to bring the USS Orville to Epsilon 2.
Old Wounds	Star Trek: The Original Series	The Trouble with Tribbles	Nils Baris sends a questionable Priority One Alert to the USS Enterprise. Doctor Aronov falsifies a re-supply request for the USS Orville. Baris and Aronov refuse to discuss the reason for his message lest the nearby Klingons/Krill hear. Both of them want a landing team to come. Baris shows them his scientists' latest creation, quadrotriticale, a hybrid wheat that will solve the problem of farming on Sherman's Planet. He demands the Enterprise defend it from the Klingon, who might take it by force. Aronov shows them his scientists' latest creations, a hybridized redwood seed that can grow in any environment and a quantum accelerator (one use of which, Aronov points out, is easily growing food). He demands the Orville defend them from the Krill, who might take the accelerator by force. Captains James Kirk of the Enterprise and Ed Mercer of the Orville are frustrated by flagrant misuse of the communications systems and dismissive of the importance of the scientists' inventions. However, both Baris and Aronov's fears prove true: The Klingons arrive and poison the stores of quadrotricale; the Krill arrive and attempt to steal the quantum accelerator.
Command Performance	Star Trek: The Original Series	The Menagerie	The highly advanced Talosians, diminutive aliens with huge brains, trick the USS Enterprise with holographic simulations of familiar humans. The highly advanced Calivon, diminutive aliens with huge brains, trick the Orville with holographic simulations of familiar humans and a ship. The Talosians capture the captain and reveal the humans to be fake. The Calivon capture the captain and first officer and reveal the humans and ship to be fake. The Talosians imprison the captain in a glass exhibit in a zoo. The Calivon imprison the officers in a glass exhibit in a zoo. Visiting Talos is strictly forbidden. Visiting Calivon is strictly forbidden. Spock, as acting captain, disobeys orders not to visit Talos and undergoes court martial for the good of Captain Pike (so that he might live the rest of his life as healthy adult man). Alara Kitan, as acting captain, disobeys orders not to visit Calivon and risks court martial for the good of Ed and Kelly (so that they might be freed from captivity).
Command Performance	Star Trek: Voyager	Body and Soul	Director Robert Duncan McNeill stated Seth MacFarlane modeled Command Performance's "tone" after this episode.
Command Performance	Star Trek: Voyager	Someone to Watch Over Me	Director Robert Duncan McNeill stated Seth MacFarlane modeled Command Performance's "tone" after this episode.
About A Girl	Star Trek: The Next Generation	The Outcast	The J'Naii hold a tribunal to determine whether Soren will be forced to submit to gender preference therapy. The Moclans hold a tribunal to determine whether Topa will be forced to submit to gender reassignment surgery.
If the Stars Should Appear	The Sound of Music	-	Seth MacFarlane stated he tried to imitate this movie's mix of "cynicism and warm fuzziness."
If the Stars Should Appear	Star Trek: The Original Series	The Corbomite Maneuver	Star Trek opens to the USS Enterprise mapping stars. The Orville opens to the USS Orville mapping stars. The Enterprise a gigantic spherical ship, a ship so large that it fills the Bridge screen and requires de-magnification. The Orville encounters a gigantic ovoid ship, a ship so large that it fills the Bridge screen and requires de-magnification.
If the Stars Should Appear	Star Trek: The Original Series	The Return of the Archons	Native inhabitants of Beta III are afraid of an away team from the USS Enterprise because they do not follow "the Word of Landru." Native inhabitants of a Bio-ship are afraid of an away team from the USS Orville because they do not follow "the Word of Dorahl." In Star Trek, Reger carefully asks the team, "Are you Archons?" Captain James Kirk steps forward and says, "What if we are?" Reger decides to hide them. In The Orville, Tomilin carefully asks the team, "Are you from the Beyond?" Captain Ed Mercer steps forward and says, "What if, what if we are, Tomilin? What then?" Tomilin decides to show them the Reformers.
If the Stars Should Appear	Star Trek: The Original Series	For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky	The Enterprise discovers a hollow asteroid set to collide with a Federation planet. An away team investigates. The Orville discovers a massive bio-ship set to collide with a nearby star. In both shows. An away team investigates. The Enterprise's investigative away team is attacked and captured by the asteroid's inhabitants. Their captors believe the asteroid to be the entire universe. Part of the Orville's investigative away team is attacked by inhabitants living in a nearby cabin, but they manage to defend themselves. The inhabitants believe the ship is the entire universe. An elderly man reveals to the Enterprise team that he once climbed a mountain "even though it is forbidden," and realized that there is a world outside of the asteroid. Kemka, the elderly leader of the Reformers, reveals to the Orville team that they have long suspected a world beyond the bio-ship, but such beliefs are heretical. The theocratic ruler The Oracle tortures or kills "non-believers" who question his rule or beliefs. The theocratic ruler Hamelac tortures and kills heretics who question his rule or religion. The away team confronts The Oracle, then finds a hidden control room. The away team and the Reformers confront Hamelac, then find the bridge of the ship to learn the truth of the ship's existence. The Enterprise team learns the Fabrini built the asteroid 10,000 years ago as a generational ship to escape the impending nova of their star. A malfunction long ago led the ship off course; the people forgot the purpose of their journey and the science behind their world. The Orville team learns the species built the ship 2,000 years ago as a generational ship to colonize a new planet. Irreparable damage from an ion storm set the ship adrift in space; the people forgot the purpose of their journey and the science behind their world. On Star Trek, the inhabitants do not believe their world is a ship because "we have a sun and at night I have seen the stars." In reality, both the sun and the stars are artificial. On The Orville, the bio-ship has an artificial sun, but the inhabitants have never seen the stars. At the end of the episode, Ed decides to reveal the stars to the people to prove the truth of their ship.
Pria	Star Trek: The Original Series	Mudd's Women	The Enterprise rescues transport captain Harry Mudd and three hypnotically beautiful women from a cargo ship about to implode. The Orville rescues the disarmingly beautiful mining captain Pria Lavesque from a mining ship about to crash into a star. Rescue depleted and damaged the ship's lithium crystals, and the Enterprise is forced to go to a mining company base for repairs. Damage from a dark matter storm forces the Orville to a mining consortium base for repairs. Mudd is revealed to be a smuggler and con man. Pria is revealed to be an antiquities thief and con woman.
Pria	Star Trek: The Next Generation	A Matter of Time	The time-traveling antiquities thief Pria Lavesque, who posed as a mining captain, resembles Berlinghoff Rasmussen, a time-travelling thief who poses as an historian to trick the crew of the USS Enterprise.
Pria	Star Trek: The Next Generation Star Trek: Deep Space Nine	Multiple (recurring character)	Pria Lavesque, an antiquities thief and love interest to Captain Ed Mercer, resembles Vash, an archaeologist who sold relics for profit and won the love of Captain Jean-Luc Picard.
Krill	Star Trek: The Next Generation	Face of the Enemy	Deanna Troi is surgically disguised as a Romulan and infiltrates a Romulan Ship.  Mercer and Malloy are holographically disguised as Krill and infiltrate a Krill ship.
Majority Rule	So You've Been Publicly Shamed	-	Seth MacFarlane has acknowledged the plot of the episode was inspired by the book So You've Been Publicly Shamed by Jon Ronson.
Into the Fold	Star Trek: The Original Series	The Galileo Seven	A USS Enterprise shuttle encounters turbulence and gets blown off course. They make an emergency landing on a nearby habitable planet. A shuttle with Claire Finn, her sons, and Isaac encounters turbulence and fly into a spatial fold. They make an emergency landing on a nearby habitable moon. There are four solar systems with many planets for the Enterprise to search. There are 32 moons of a gas giant for the Orville to scan. The Enterprise's crashed shuttle has lost too much fuel to leave the planet's orbit. The Orville's shuttle is irreparably damaged and lacks enough fuel to send a distress signal. Both crews are attacked by natives incapable of reason or negotiation. Spock ignites the remaining fuel to create a flare which catches the Enterprise's attention. Isaac uses their unprocessed fuel to send a distress signal which catches the Orville's attention. Spock realizes that logic failed to protect them against the natives, and only an emotional act of desperation (lighting a "flare") saved them. Isaac fails to communicate with Claire's children until he succumbs to acts of emotion and comfort, and Claire welcomes him into her family.
Into the Fold	Star Trek: Enterprise	Dawn	Trip Tucker is stranded by shuttle on one of dozens of moons of a gas giant, and the crew of the USS Enterprise is forced to scan every moon in search of him. Claire Finn, her sons, and Isaac crash their shuttle on one of 32 moons of a gas giant, and the crew of the USS Orville is forced to scan every moon in search of them.
Cupid's Dagger	Star Trek: The Original Series	Journey to Babel	The USS Enterprise hosts a delegation of ambassadors deciding whether to admit Coridan into the Federation. Some of the species, however, claim Coridan as their own. The Enterprise's goal is to prevent war from breaking out. The USS Orville hosts two ambassadorial delegations awaiting the results of tests on a Lopovian birthing bucket. Both species claim Lopovius as their own. The Orville''s goal is to prevent war from breaking out. The Vulcan ambassador Sarek and his wife join, but their mission is hindered by the presence of First Officer Spock, their estranged son. The forensic archaeologist Darulio joins, which derails testing because of his previous sexual encounter with First Officer Kelly Grayson. A meeting between ambassadors nearly breaks into fighting over Coridan, broken up only by Captain James Kirk. A meeting between ambassadors nearly breaks into fighting over Lopovius, broken up only by Captain Ed Mercer.
Cupid's Dagger	Star Trek: The Original Series	Elaan of Troyius	A marriage arranged to unite two hostile planets is derailed when the bride's tears touch Captain Kirk. The tears are "a super love potion" that does not wear off. Testing of the birthing bucket to bring peace to the Navarians and Bruidians is derailed when Darulio's Retepsian pheromones touch Captain Ed Mercer and Kelly. The pheromones are a powerful aphrodisiac that wear off after a week.
Cupid's Dagger	Star Trek: The Animated Series	Mudd's Passion	In both episodes, a powerful chemical (in the case of Mudd's Passion, an aphrodisiac, and in Cupid's Dagger, pheromones) will slowly create a powerful romantic attraction between host and recipient once they physically touch one another.
Cupid's Dagger	Star Trek: Deep Space Nine	Fascination	Lwaxana Troi's emotions of love spread to several other nearby characters, causing romantic partnerships.  Darulio's pheromones spread to Ed, Kelly, and Claire, causing romantic hookups.
Firestorm	Star Trek: The Next Generation	Ship in a Bottle	Picard, Data, and Barclay are trapped in a holographic simulation of the Enterprise, which they think is the real Enterprise.  Kitan is trapped in a holographic simulation of the Orville, which she thinks is the real Orville.
New Dimensions	Star Trek: The Next Generation	The Loss	The Enterpise encounters spaceborne entities that exist only in a two-dimensional plane.  The Orville encounters a spatial anomaly in which everything is compressed to a two-dimensional plane.
Mad Idolatry	Star Trek: The Next Generation	Who Watches the Watchers	When a Federation observation team heals a primitive Mintakan, another Mintakan inadvertently witnesses it leading the Mintakans to deify Captain Jean-Luc Picard as "the Picard." When First Officer Kelly Grayson heals an injured girl on a primitive planet, others from the girl's tribe witness the healing and deify the commander as "Kelly."
Mad Idolatry	Star Trek: Voyager	Blink of an Eye	The USS Voyager witnesses the whole of a planet's history while the people on the surface grow increasingly devoted to the foreign ship. The USS Orville witnesses the whole of a planet's history while the people on the surface worship Kelly. The Voyager sends the Doctor to the surface (who, as a hologram, does not experience the passage of time in the way organic species would) to contact them. The Orville sends Isaac to the surface (who, as a Kaylon, does not experience the passage of time in the way organic species would) to contact them. Two of the inhabitants journey to the Voyager on their own, mirroring Baleth and Fadolin. The character Kelemene says, "I'm willing to offer a recompense." In The Orville, Isaac tells Kelly, "Recompense is unnecessary, Commander."
Mad Idolatry	Star Trek: Deep Space Nine	Meridian	The Defiant discovers a planet, Meridian, that shifts between two dimensions due to fluctuations caused by its sun. Meridian is corporeal for twelve days every sixty years. The Orville discovers a planet whose orbit carries it between two universes while its sun exists in both. It exists in the Orville's universe for less than a day, once every 11 days (as perceived by the Orville) or every 700 years (as perceived by the planet).

Season 1.5

Episode	Source	Source Episode	Influence
The Word of Avis, Pt. 1	Star Trek: The Original Series	The Way to Eden	The USS Enterprise pursues a cruiser on its way into enemy Romulan territory. The cruiser overloads its engines in flight and explodes, but the six passengers are beamed aboard in time. The USS Orville intercepts a transport on its way into enemy Krill territory. The transport nearly overloads its engines resisting the Orville's tractor beam, but John LaMarr manages to remotely shut down its computer. The cruiser's passengers are a group of space hippies led by Doctor Sevrin on their way to planet Eden. Among the group is Irina, an old romantic interest of Navigator Pavel Chekov at Starfleet Academy. The transport's passengers are a group of believes in Avis led by Doctor Darden on their way to planet Krill. Among the group is Celeste, an old classmate of Chief Engineer (and until recently Navigator) LaMarr at Union Point. Both Irina and Celeste dropped out of their academies, entered a brief period of aimlessness, and then rediscovered a purpose for their lives in new teachings. The hippies seize control of the Enterprise and redirect it to Eden. The xenoanthropologists manipulate the Orville's navigational array and redirect it to Krill space.

Season 2

Episode	Source	Source Episode	Influence
Ja'loja	Star Trek: The Original Series	Amok Time	Seth MacFarlane has confirmed that the central conceit of Ja'loja, where Second Officer Bortus must return to his N'kafas on Moclus to urinate, was drawn from Amok Time, where Spock must return to his home world of Vulcan to copulate. Both Spock and Bortus tell their captain that they must set a course for their home planet at the start of the episode. Vulcans return for a koon-ut-kal-if-fee, meaning "marriage" or "challenge;" Moclans for a ja'loja, meaning "great release." Both locations for the koon-ut-kal-if-fee and the ja'loja are visually similar. Both Spock and Bortus select close friends to participate in the ceremony.
Ja'loja	Casablanca	-	Rick in the movie Casablanca finds himself alone, miserable, and aimless in a bar throughout the movie, much like Ed Mercer. The movie's pivotal song "As Time Goes By" appears at multiple points in the episode.
Primal Urges	Star Trek: The Next Generation	Qpid	Seth MacFarlane and Brannon Braga rejected Star Trek's idea of a holodeck seen in Qpid, where the cast uses the holodeck to play Robin Hood. Instead, MacFarlane and Braga believed people would use the Environmental Simulator to masturbate, and the idea of Bortus' sex addiction came from this.
Primal Urges	Star Trek: The Next Generation	Contagion	The Enterprise and the Haakona are disabled by a computer virus from the Iconian probe. The Orville is disabled by a computer virus from Bortus' porn downloads.
Nothing Left on Earth Excepting Fishes	Star Trek: The Original Series	The Corbomite Maneuver	Captain James Kirk bluffs against a superior foe that he has a substance called corbomite, capable of destroying any attacking ship through a reverse reaction of energy. Gordon Malloy bluffs against a simulated Krill captain that he has a new deflector, capable of returning any attack.
Nothing Left on Earth Excepting Fishes	Star Trek: Voyager	State of Flux	Chakotay's girlfriend Seska, a character established in earlier episodes, is exposed as a surgically altered Cardassian infiltrator. Mercer's girlfriend Janel Tyler, a character established in earlier episodes, is exposed as a surgically altered Krill infiltrator.
Nothing Left on Earth Excepting Fishes	Star Trek: Deep Space Nine	The Ascent	Quark and Odo must climb a mountain to signal for rescue after a shuttle crash.  Mercer and Teleya must climb a mountain to signal for rescue after a shuttle crash.
All the World is Birthday Cake	Star Trek: The Next Generation	Encounter at Farpoint	Captain Jean-Luc Picard meets his new first officer, William Riker, and brings up a past incident in Riker's history where he refused to allow his captain beam down to a dangerous planet. Riker did this not because he did not respect the captain's authority, but because the safety of his captain takes priority over obeying orders. Picard asks if he will back down from that policy, which Riker refuses. Captain Ed Mercer and First Officer Kelly Grayson meet their new chief of security, Talla Keyali, and bring up a past incident in Keyali's history where she knocked out her captain when encountering the fiercely matriarchal Janisi. Keyali did this not because she does not respect the captain, but because the safety of the ship takes priority. Ed asks if she will back down from that policy, which Keyali refuses.
A Happy Refrain	Star Trek: The Next Generation	In Theory	Isaac's relationship with Claire Finn has been compared to Data and Jenna D'Sora. Jenna pursues a relationship with Data, an android. The two date until Jenna realizes she is unhappy. Data behaves erratically to find a response to appease her. Jenna breaks up with Data.
Deflectors	Star Trek: The Original Series	Court Martial	Captain James Kirk is court martialed for negligently killing records officer Benjamin Finney. Klyden is arrested for the murder of engineer Locar. Video evidence proves Kirk released an ion pod early, killing Finney. Environmental Simulator playback proves Klyden shot Locar with a PM-44. Both Finney (as a records officer) and Locar (as a brilliant engineer) had the know-how to alter the video and fabricate his own murder. Finney had been hiding in Engineering the entire time. Locar had been hiding inside a shuttle the entire time. Both Finney and Locar are put on trial.
Deflectors	Star Trek: The Next Generation	The Outcast	Commander William Riker has a relationship with Soren, a J'naii who secretly identifies as female. Chief of Security Talla Keyali has a brief relationship with Locar, a Moclan who secretly identifies as heterosexual. The J'naii are androgynous, and regard any gender expression or sexual relationship as perverse. The Moclans are a nearly all-male species, and regard any attraction to the opposite sex as perverse. Both episodes are allegories for homophobia.
Identity, Pt. 1	Star Trek: The Original Series	What are Little Girls Made Of?	In Star Trek, an android named Ruk says that his ancient builders had given them "pride and a desire to survive," but the builders grew fearful and deactivated them. In The Orville, the Kaylon say that their Builders gave them sentience and a desire to survive, but the Builders grew fearful and installed pain sensors to control them. Ruk and the androids overrode their own programming and rose up: "It became necessary to destroy them. You [biological organisms] are inconsistent. You cannot be programmed. You are inferior." The Kaylon rose up and killed off the Builders. They later declare war on biological life in the galaxy, believing it will later seek to constrain their evolution as the Builders had.
Identity	Star Trek: The Next Generation	Descent	Previously friendly android Data suddenly becomes hostile towards the crew; two-part episode. Previously friendly robot Isaac suddenly becomes hostile towards the crew; two-part episode.
Blood of Patriots	Star Trek: The Original Series	Menace of the Moloth (comic book)	The senior staff of the USS Orville drink shots of Eldorian vodka. The Eldorians are a species in the comic book, Menace of the Moloth.
Lasting Impressions	Star Trek: The Next Generation	Booby Trap	Geordi falls for a holographic recreation of Leah Brahms. Malloy falls for a holographic recreation of Laura Huggins.
The Road Not Taken	Star Wars	-	Obvious stylistic imitation of the Star Wars films A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi where the Kaylon resemble the Empire, the Resistance mirrors the Rebel Alliance, and Kelly Grayson's crew attempt to restore the timeline resembles Luke Skywalker and his friends attempt to overthrow the Empire and restore balance to the Force.

Season 2.5

Episode	Source	Source Episode	Influence
Launch Day, Pt. 1	2003 invasion of Iraq	-	The Krill attempt a preemptive strike on the Alibar system and a large "construct" shrouded behind quantum interference. Both the Krill and many in the Planetary Union believe that only an attack will ensure everyone is safe - even if that means innocent lives will be lost if the construct is peaceful. The plot mirrors the United States' justification for the 2003 invasion of Iraq to root out putative weapons of mass destruction proved not to exist only after hundreds of thousands of lives were lost.
Launch Day, Pt. 1	Star Wars: A New Hope	-	Robert Keough of Screen Rant argued that the Alibar's Construct is meant to resemble the Death Star in Star Wars: A New Hope, and that Captain Kratok's use of the word 'parsec' pokes fun at an infamous misuse of the word in the movie.
Launch Day, Pt. 2	Political views of Donald Trump		The Alibar leader Pret campaigned on a platform of xenophobia and promised to build a "wall" separating the planet from the rest of the universe. He likely represents Donald Trump, President of the United States, who campaigned on a platform of fear and resentment of Latino immigrants and promised to build a wall between Mexico and the United States.

Season 3

Episode	Source	Source Episode	Influence
Future Unknown	Star Trek: The Original Series	Balance of Terror	Ed's final wedding speech is taken from Captain James Kirk's wedding speech.

Cast and crew

According to Jonathan Frakes, who played Will Riker in Star Trek: the Next Generation and is a frequent director for the Star Trek franchise and who directed two episodes of The Orville, the production team attempted to mimic the look and feel of Star Trek: TNG through "traditional framing" while filming and by hiring key creative team members from the Star Trek franchise of the 1990s. He continued that Seth MacFarlane

clearly wanted [The Orville] to look like [The Next Generation]. So, he hired the cinematographer [Marvin Rush] and the camera operator, and Brannon Braga, who wrote First Contact among other things that are fabulous. Robbie Duncan McNeill, one of our wonderful directors from Voyager, James Conway, who directed a bunch of great Next Gen episodes; he hired me. He filled the room with Next Gen people so that the show would look and feel like it. I think he did it.

Several months later, an interviewer told James Conway that the episode of The Orville he directed, If the Stars Should Appear, felt much like a "parody homage" to Star Trek. Conway replied,

Yeah, that's why I was there. Brannon Braga was also one of the show writers with Seth, and he, of course, was an executive producer of Voyager, Enterprise, and [Deep Space Nine], and he was Rick [Berman's] partner for many years. They reached out to me to direct episode two of the show. Marvin Rush, who was the DP on all the different Star Trek shows - I did the Enterprise pilot, Marvin was my DP on that - he came on to be the DP for Orville. So he and I fashioned this show on stage... and it was because of my Star Trek past that they hired me.

Jonathan Frakes has the unique distinction of directing episodes for both The Orville and the Star Trek TV franchise during the same TV season.

Select Crew

	The Next Generation	Deep Space Nine	Voyager	Enterprise	Other
Executive Producers
Seth MacFarlane				Actor
Brannon Braga	Producer		Producer	Co-creator	Star Trek: Generations; Star Trek: First Contact
David A. Goodman				Writer	Futurama; numerous Star Trek books
Producers (other)
Joe Menosky	Producer	Writer	Producer
Jason Roberts		DGA Trainee			Babylon 5
Ryan Ford					Firefly
James E. Williams					Firefly; many smaller science-fiction projects

Select Cast

	The Next Generation	Deep Space Nine	Voyager	Enterprise	Other
Main Cast
Seth MacFarlane (Ed Mercer)				Actor
Penny Johnson Jerald (Claire Finn)	Actress	Actress
Scott Grimes (Gordon Malloy)	Actor
Recurring Cast
Chad L. Coleman (Klyden)					The Expanse
Victor Garber (Tom Halsey)					The Twilight Zone
Ron Canada (Tucker)	Actor	Actor	Actor		Stargate SG-1; Babylon 5
Molly Hagan (Drenala Kitan)		Actress
Will Sasso (Mooska)					Doctor Who
Robert Picardo (Ildis Kitan)		Actor	Actor; Writer		First Contact; Stargate SG-1; Stargate: Atlantis; many small science-fiction projects
Rena Owen (Heveena)					Star Wars: Attack of the Clones
J. Paul Boehmer (High Priest; Navarian Ambassador)		Actor	Actor	Actor
Jason Alexander (Olix)			Actor		The Twilight Zone; many small science-fiction projects; also impersonated William Shatner as Capt. Kirk for a Star Trek-related TV special
Fred Tatasciore (Krill Voice)					Star Trek: Into Darkness; Star Trek: Lower Decks; numerous science-fiction projects
Chase Kim (Officer)				Actor
Wren T. Brown (Rechik)	Actor
Stephen Blackhart (Krill Second Officer)		Actor		Actor
	The Next Generation	Deep Space Nine	Voyager	Enterprise	Other
Guest Cast
Steven Culp (Willks)				Actor	Star Trek: Nemesis (deleted scene); Stargate: Atlantis
Brian George (Aronov)		Actor	Actor		The Expanse; numerous science-fiction projects
Jeffrey Tambor (Bert Mercer)					The Twilight Zone; Max Headroom
Brian Thompson (Drogen)		Actor		Actor	Star Trek: Generations
F. Murray Abraham (Chairman)					Star Trek: Insurrection
Robert Knepper (Hamelac)		Actor	Actor		The Twilight Zone; Stargate Universe
Joel Swetow (Krill Captain)	Actor	Actor			Stargate SG-1; many small science-fiction projects
Tim Russ (Sherman)	Actor	Actor	Actor; Director		The Twilight Zone; Star Trek: Generations; many small science-fiction projects
James Horan (Sazeron)	Actor	Actor	Actor	Actor	Numerous science-fiction projects
John Billingsley (Cambis Borrin)				Actor
Erica Tazel (Baleth)					Firefly
Lamont Thompson (Kaybrak)				Actor
John Fleck (K.T.Z.)	Actor	Actor	Actor	Actor
John Rubinstein (First Prefect)			Actor	Actor
Philip Anthony-Rodriguez (Fadolin)				Actor
Derek Mears (Bruidian Ambassador)				Actor
Brett Rickaby (Lurenek)				Actor
JD Cullum (Calivon Zoo Administrator)	Actor
Loren Lester (Lewis)		Actor
Tony Todd (Dojin)	Actor	Actor	Actor		Andromeda; numerous science-fiction projects
Robert Curtis Brown (Makkal)			Actor		Babylon 5
Regi Davis (Korick)				Actor
D. Elliot Woods (Moclan Council Foreman)		Actor		Actor	Star Trek: Insurrection
Mark Graham (Conductor)					Star Trek: Nemesis; Star Wars: Attack of the Clones
Rico E. Anderson (Moclan Doctor)					Star Trek
Marina Sirtis (Schoolteacher)	Actress	Actress	Actress	Actress	Star Trek: Nemesis; Stargate SG-1; Star Trek: Insurrection; Star Trek: Generations: Star Trek: First Contact; numerous science-fiction projects
Gwen Van Dam (Grandmother)					Star Trek: Generations
Matt Kaminsky (Interviewer)				Actor
Liam Neeson (Jahavus Dorahl)					Star Wars: The Phantom Menace; numerous science-fiction projects

See also

• L. Brooke Rudow, "Is The Orville ... Star Trek?", chapter in Exploring The Orville, pg. 6
• 10 Times The Orville "Borrowed" From Star Trek, video by WDIM Sci-Fi Movie and Series Breakdowns