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w w w.sci fi n ow.co.u kWe talk to The Orville’s Kaylon science officer about
Season Two, special guest stars and staying hopefulexploring
new heights
We’LL be hOnesT, when Family Guy
creator Seth MacFarlane announced he was
making a space exploration show, we were
expecting a Star Trek parody. Instead we
got a warmly funny homage to the great
space exploration shows (and yes, especially
Star Trek), that boasts brilliant sci-fi stories
alongside engaging drama. It’s not what
we were expecting, but we should have
known better. “You only have to follow Seth
on social media to realise that he’s a very
conscientious observer of the world,” says
Mark Jackson, who plays alien robot Isaac in
the show. “He has very worthy opinions on
the political and socio-economic happenings
in America and the world as a whole, but
that combined with his passion for sci-fi...
meant that we were definitely always going
to get the show that we ended up with.”
And now that The Orville has overcome
the hurdle of people not knowing what to
expect, it can really hit its stride as it enters
Season Two. “Everything is just bigger this
season,” Jackson says. “I feel like the writers
just stepped everything up about ten gears.
We definitely get bigger sci-fi worlds, we get
more planets, we get more aliens. That’s allWords AbigAil chAndler008 |pretty cool. But we also get more character,
more relationships, more ship-based stuff
as well. There’s a good mix in there.” The
show is still sticking with what viewers loved
the first time round, such as the comedy
and its self-contained stories. “It is still
very episodic, which I think is part the The
Orville’s charm, like it was with The Next
Generation and all those old Star Treks, you
can dip in and out,” Jackson says. He adds
that each episode “is very unique, each one
really is like a movie this year”.
Each character will be given new depths,
including Isaac, the Kaylon android who
memorably misunderstood the nature of
practical jokes in Season One and chopped
Gordon Malloy’s leg off. “He’s such a joy to
play and it’s so fantastic to see how his story
develops. I actually sent an email to Seth
after we wrapped just saying thank you so
much for giving Isaac so much good stuff
this year, it’s a real privilege. He goes on a
journey. We find out a lot more about Kaylon,
about his people and their history and what
that implies about his future aboard The
Orville. We see him develop his relationship
with the other members of the crew, to much
hilarity, obviously, but also there’s very
touching stuff in there as well.”
He mentions that Isaac’s unlikely bond
with Dr Finn’s sons will continue to be
explored: “There’s something quite magical
about an alien life form and a child getting
on,” he muses. While some characters find
Isaac to be accidentally offensive, Jackson
thinks of him as a nice change of pace. “It’s
kind of refreshing to have his simplicity of
thinking on board a ship where we’ve got all
these hormones flying around and baggage
flying around,” he laughs.
Season One surprised viewers with a
steady stream of guest stars, including,
improbably, Charlize Theron and Liam
Neeson, and Season Two will be no different.
“People are queuing up to be part of theshow, which is great really,” Jackson says.
“What’s quite fun about it is that a lot of
them are so happy to do the show that
they’re totally down for playing aliens in full
makeup, a la Rob Lowe from the first season.
And often you’ll be shooting all day and
chatting to this person and not even realise
who they are until the end of it. Which is all
part of The Orville f u n.”
And don’t worry, the show’s not going to
suddenly turn grim and dystopian on us.
“What The Orville brought back was a show
that, although it’s funny, and although it has
very serious elements, it’s very hopeful, it’s
full of hope,” Jackson says. “It has an overall
positive message, which I think was also
lacking on TV at the time. That’s why this is
so triumphant, I think.”The Orville Season Two begins on FOX on 10
January 2019 at 9pm.Mark Jackson out of
his isaac costume.