The Orville has wrapped up its third season on Hulu, and at this point we have no idea if it will return for a fourth year (it has not been officially cancelled, but the cast and crew have been released from their contracts). If you are jonesing for more of the show, though, there is one more adventure available that is worth seeking out. Series creator Seth McFarlane has written Sympathy for the Devil which is available in eBook and audiobook format. The story was originally intended for the third season, fitting in after the eighth episode, but it did not work out well as a regular installment and so McFarlane expanded on it as a novella.
I am going to pass on any attempt at a synopsis and instead provide the byline given with the book: “When Captain Ed Mercer and the crew of the U.S.S. Orville come face-to-face with one of humanity’s most vile ideologies, they must solve the moral conundrum of who to hold accountable for evil deeds real”. Any summary of the story could give away some of the big twists, and this book is best encountered spoiler-free. (And that comes from someone who is in no way a spoiler-phobe).
Once you start reading the book, you will understand why it did not make it as a regular episode. It starts off in a historical time period (no, I’m not going to tell you when) with no mention of The Orville or its crew on any clear links to the show. In fact, after about thirty minutes, I double-checked my audiobook info to make sure I was listening to the right file. It is actually over halfway through before we finally figure out how the historical setting ties to the show. But once you learn that, it is a bit of a mind-blower. I had all sorts of assumptions on how it would play out, but I was way off. And I was really quite pleased with how the story unfolded and started presenting its moral quandaries.
You may feel like I am avoiding telling you anything about the story itself, and that is quite true. Just know that it is a hell of a good tale in the spirit of the best episodes of The Orville, and I highly recommend it to fans of the show. Even if you have never watched it, this delivers a damn good sci fi tale and you don’t really have to be well-informed on the series. Just know that it involves a Star Trek-like ship and crew, and you will be able to pretty well follow along. For fans of the show, you should know that it does not utilize all of the characters, mostly focusing on Ed, Kelly, and Claire, but there are plenty of episodes that do the same.
The ending was a bit of a letdown for me, but others may be pleased with it. The TV series at times takes the easy way out on its moral quandaries (some may say the “woke” way out), and I might have liked to see a different resolution, but that doesn’t detract from the central stories or the ideological debates that it presents. That’s what really gives this one a punch and makes it stand out as strong entry in the franchise. This would actually make a good two-hour movie, and I would not be surprised if the show goes in that direction for future adventures.
I listened to the audiobook version which runs a quick three hours. Babylon 5 alum Bruce Boxleitner provides the voice work and he does quite a good job with it. He delivers a straight-forward reading as opposed to a performance with different voices for the characters, but his narration is quite enjoyable. As a B5 fan, it is good to hear his voice, and he actually showed up in three eps of The Orville as President Alcuzan.
It is also available in eBook format which sells for a very affordable $2.99 on Amazon. This should definitely satisfy fans looking for more adventures from The Orville and it also serves as a good introduction to the series. Just understand that it takes a while to actually incorporate the main characters from the show into the story. I am hoping that McFarlane will put out more books like this going forward as they should at least act as a consolation if no more episodes are produced.
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