The episode with the warrior aliens that are an all-male species, with the stigma of a female child and "corrective" surgery to make it a male; that was really deep in LGBT issues. and it did not end the way you might expect. and there are other really interesting takes on thinks like social media, religion, etc.

Like someone mentioned, I wish Adrianne Pilicki was still on Agents of Shield though.

Discovery is… problematic for many reasons, it can't establish a persistent setting, cast of characters or a storyline - characters die and there isn't any proper pacing. I honestly cannot grasp what this show is about now that I've gone through the most current episode and that's alarming.

Trek shows always have a rocky start, but at least the writer's set a general idea of where the show is heading.

Orville is a great show actually, when the humor works.

For the gay stuff, yeah, the alien does a lowe blow by getting Seth into bed.  I kinda hoped there was at least a line with Seth saying his ass hurts or something but them naked in bed could mean they had sex or were just about to.

Why hasn't the same sex Bortis (Worf stand in) planet with almost everyone being men been mentioned?  It's episode 3, I think.  Their whole race is practically guys and the men give birth to eggs.  It was actually a very important ep for gender politics and it was treated almost intelligently (barring the stupid trial part).

I'm just waiting for more eye candy.  Seth is actually very cute.  The black guy Lamar is kinda hot but I was turned off by his role in the Like button episode.  Isaac is the best character so far but he's a robot.  Bortis is married too.  The Asian nurse is very attractive but he's rarely shown.  They need a sexy dude appearing on a regular basis.

I recommend people here give episode #9 a check.

! OK, JA, that spoiler is clearly enough to get me to watch that episode.  Maybe I judged the show too harshly on the basis of one episode.  At the very least, the "space and ship" scenes are very well rendered.
! And, it was renewed!
! http://tvline.com/2017/11/02/the-orville-renewed-season-2-fox-seth-macfarlane/

! The main character played by Seth MacFarlan's character has a relationship with a male character played by Rob Lowe.  Another gay romance drives the main plot.

The whole plot seemed boiled down to 60 minutes of a one-note script.  "Yes, young lady, you can lead the ship!  Yes, you can!  Believe!  Don't act like a child, and more like a captain!  Oh, you made mistakes that should have meant the ship's end, but somehow, it didn't!  You're a hero!  Hooray!"

I felt like it was scripted for tweens, there was precious little fresh science fiction, and none of it remotely cerebral.

For me, The Orville comes off as neither comedy, nor drama.  I love Seth as a voice actor, but he just feels wrong in this role, and since his "Million Wild West Ways" movie was also lacking, perhaps he should stick to animation and directing.

The Orville is truer to 1960's Star Trek than Discovery

I watched the first episode.  It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.  It wasn't a laugh riot, but to be honest, I found myself not wanting it to be.  I actually (strangely) found myself wishing they'd played it a bit more straight, or at least made the confrontation with the Krill a bit more serious and tense.

Also, I found the visuals of "The Orville" to be a lot more….uh... comfortable(?) than "Discovery".  I know that "Discovery" is going for a darker tone, but I just can't stand the sets.  Even the sets on DS9 seemed more cozy and less oppressive than the ones on "Discovery".  I don't know what it is, but something about "Discovery" really pisses off my subconscious mind for some reason.

...but back to "The Orville".  I'll continue to watch it, but as soon as I feel that they've warped over top of the cosmic space shark, I'm out.

Final thoughts:

• My husband and I thought that Isaac was being voiced by Brent Spiner.  Was anyone else fooled?

• We loved Justin (the holographic ogre).  We'll be very disappointed if he doesn't come back.  I'm hoping he either gets a mobile emitter, or they feature him heavily in holodeck based episodes, a la Dixon Hill, Moriarty, Leonardo Da Vinci, the Ancient West, etc.

;D**

Adrienne Palicki is very good.  Seth McFarlane is very toned down so he's OK.

Personally, I want Adrianne Pilicki back on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., playing Mockingbird and hitting people with her battle staves.

Should I be watching the Orville?  Is it good?  Seth MacFarlane tends to grate on me a bit.  The clip about "conquering the banana" made me cringe and scream: "Stop stretching it out!!!  It isn't funny!!"