By Jonathan Klotz
| Updated
After a lengthy hiatus thanks to the Covid pandemic, Seth Macfarlane’s beloved sci-fi series finally returned, dubbed The Orville: New Horizons, the series looked better than ever with its largest budget yet, and the result was one of the greatest seasons of any sci-fi series. Not bad for a show that started out as a tribute to Star Trek: The Next Generation, but in Season 3, the threat of war looming over the universe and multiple factions jockeying for power bring to mind a different show: Babylon 5. Macfarlane is a self-admitted fan of the 90s sci-fi classic, and he proved it during Season 3 by bringing on board President John Sheridan himself, Bruce Boxleitner, as Alcuzan, President of the Planetary Union.
Bruce Boxleitner Is The President Again
In “Gently Falling Rain,” the crew of the Orville is unwinding in the Environmental Simulator program, The Pub Crawl Through History, a favorite of Lieutenant Malloy’s (Scott Grimes), when they get word that they’ll be escorting a Planetary Union delegation to a treaty signing on Krill, ushering in a new era of peace. That means while hungover, the crew gets together an honor guard to welcome onboard Alcuzan in a moment that, in-universe, honors the Planetary Union President but, outside of the series, pays tribute to Bruce Boxleitner’s role as John Sheridan. The Babylon 5 veteran is hard to recognize in his bulbous blue prosthetics, but his voice, from the moment he steps out of the shuttle, brings fans right back to Season 2 of J. Michael Stracyzsnyiki’s ground-breaking series.
The Orville: New Horizons has the crew rubbing up against the most powerful beings in their universe, and though the honor guard is small and partially drunk, Alcuzan is the only one to ever receive one onboard the ship. Macfarlane is again given a chance to honor one of his favorite sci-fi stars, both in the initial moment of his arrival and later on when Alcuzan is placed in a precarious situation regarding a balcony. Every Babylon 5 fan wanted Alcuzan to jump over the side, and though he’s saved before making a leap this time, it’s a fun little tribute to Sheridan’s leap into the abyss.
From Star Trek To Babylon 5 In Three Seasons
Befitting his status as the Planetary Union President, Alcuzan doesn’t get to join the crew of The Orville on the frontlines; instead, he appears to issue proclamations and welcome the Kaylon into the Planetary Union. It may be a guest star role, but The Orville: New Horizons transforms the series from a Star Trek tribute into a Babylon 5 tribute, and Boxleitner slides effortlessly into his role as a sci-fi elder statesman. The battle between the two opposed alliances, with the Krill and Moclans on one side and the Planetary Union and Kaylons on the other, doesn’t hit the grand heights of the 90s space opera, but it’s still immensely satisfying and shows how far the series has grown from the growing pains of the first season.
Fans consider The Orville to be one of the best Star Trek shows ever made, and while Babylon 5 fans are used to nothing approaching the tight storytelling and intricate character growth of the one-of-a-kind series, there’s plenty for them to love in New Horizons. It’s not just Boxleitner sounding like no time has passed and clearly enjoying his time on a sci-fi set again, but the double-crosses, political power moves, and the lack of easy answers leading to a resolution in which everyone has made morally questionable decisions, brings to mind The Shadow War. Not bad for an awkward comedy series that made a point in Episode 1 to discuss alien bathroom habits.
