SDCC 2019: The Orville Experience Review

While down in San Diego last weekend for Comic-Con, I was lucky enough to get into ‘The Orville Experience,’  where the creators of the hit FOX show created a kind of museum to the series with props and costumes that fans could come and examine up close.

The costumes themselves were particularly amazing, as often audiences may not get to see all the detailed work that goes into what the characters are wearing, especially on a show like ‘The Orville’ where attention is usually on the space-action or the comedy.

From space-suits to the dresses, to the every-day wear of the various cultures seen on the show, even to the uniforms of the crew, every piece looked beautiful and sleek, demonstrating that every aspect of the series was crafted with care and attention to detail. The props were also very interesting to get a closer look at, especially some of the weapons, with every weapon looking like it belongs to the culture that created it, and little details put in that you definitely cannot really notice when they are used in the series. Especially cool was the display of props and miscellaneous set dressing, such as the Kermit the Frog from the desk of Captain Ed Mercer or the synthesized pile of cigarettes from the episode where the crew opens a 20th century time capsule and Bortus and his mate become fascinated with smoking.

Probably my favorite item from the gallery was the model of the titular ship itself, the Orville, as a member of the show’s crew was on hand to point out where a few of the key locations featured in the series (such as the commissary) were located on the ship, while also explaining that at this point in time he could not tell us where every location was, as they were actually still working out some of the geography of various rooms and locations seen on the series. The gallery’s walls also included dozens of sketches, storyboards, and design work used on the series, giving those in attendance an insight into how various items seen around us were first envisioned, and then brought to life for the crew of the Orville. And for extra fun, they were even walking around with models of some of the weapons used in the series that they allowed fans to hold and pose with, making for some excellent selfie-opportunities.

Check out all the photos we took while there for yourself, and feel free to share your favorite pieces in the comments below!