Exploring The Orville

David Kyle Johnson is a professor of philosophy at King’s College in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. He also produces lecture series for The Teaching Company’s The Great Courses and has edited several volumes of works on popular culture. Michael R. Berry is an associate professor of mass communication at King's College in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. His research interests are in presidential debates, superheroes/pop culture figures, and their representations in mass media. He has published on deception, academic debate. and superheroes.

• Table of ContentsAcknowledgmentsForeword by André BormanisThe Teaser and Theme: What Is The Orville?Is The Orville … Star Trek?L. Brooke RudowIntroduction: How The Orville Does PhilosophyDavid Kyle JohnsonAct I: Gender, Sex and FeminismFinding the Female: Gender in Moclan SocietyCatherine NolanDarulioian Assault: The Orville and Sexual ConsentMichael R. BerryToward a Queer Utopia: Alien Alterity and Sexuality in The OrvilleLiz FairchildThe Orville: A ­Meta-Pop Culture Phenomenon for FeminismFrancesca PutignanoAct II: Religion and ReasonAvis Vult! Krill and the Dangers of ReligionDarren M. SladeResisting Dogma and Damnation with The OrvilleL. Brooke RudowAct III: Science and Politics“If the Stars Should Appear” and Climate Change DenialDavid Kyle Johnson“Majority Rule” and a Critique of Pure DemocracyPatrick WelshAct IV: Love, Care and NepotismLoving IsaacMimi MarinucciThe Space Between and Beyond: Timeless Depictions of CareShaun RespessNepotism on The OrvilleJoe SlaterAct V: The Funny and the Final FlyoutThe Ethics of “Sophomoric” ­Sci-Fi: The Orville, Pop Culture, and LacanLeigh E. RichThinking About Bad Taste in a FunnyChristopher M. InnesMaking Sense of Time Travel in The OrvilleDavid Kyle JohnsonThe Credits: About the ContributorsIndex