So I respectfully disagree with this. I love the show, and it pre-dates the startrek revival, but its very much it’s own thing. There’s clearly a lot of love there, but it’s not the same. Closest you get is lower decks, which ate a lot of Orvilles lunch but still toned down a ton of riff and grosser comedy.
It’s weird, it’s wonderful, it kept the flame burning when there wasn’t much else there yet and probably played a role in showing there was a market for a lot of the newer trek we have now.
MacFarlene loves trek. I hope he’s proud of the show, keeps some of the more serious and weird genuine sci-fi elements, but he shouldn’t do trek. Trek is fine now. Seth can do his own damn thing. He’s got the chops for it. He needs to work on making the gear shift from “real sci-fi” to “family guy in space” a little less abrupt and a bit more blended, but it’s great to have out there and I’ll never miss an episode.