"The headline above invokes three different ways the show is bankrupt: creatively, morally, and ethically. The lack of creativity is clear, given how it takes the basic framework of a “Trek” series and files off the serial numbers. But morally, it’s hard to imagine how anyone involved with this project could be comfortable with walking onto that set, watching those episodes, and seeing how blatant the imitation is. And ethically, it’s frustrating to see that the systems put into place to keep creators from ripping others off in such a blatant manner failed here."

"The Orville is not, as it turns out, the Galaxy Quest-style spoof Fox has been selling in its ads. In fact, The Orville isn’t particularly funny at all, both by design and accidental ineptitude."

"There may be a goofy half-hour comedy buried inside MacFarlane’s tribute, but “The Orville” feels suited only for his already dedicated fans — though they also may not recognize what they discover here."

..."while "The Orville" clearly demonstrates its fondness for a show that promised to boldly go where others hadn't, it feels like MacFarlane and his crew are taking a sizable step backwards."

It takes some serious mishandling and asininity to make me regret a Cosmos reboot, but Seth McFarlane accomplished just that.

"When we did the Muhammad episode, we got flowers from the Simpsons people because we ripped on Family Guy. Then we got calls from the King of the Hill people saying, 'You're doing God's work ripping on Family Guy." Even though it was this big political thing about Muhammad and whatever, everyone was just, 'Thank you for you ripping on Family Guy.'" - Trey Parker, interview with Reason.com, 12/5/2006