Seth MacFarlane's 'Star Trek' homage 'The Orville' has a mixed-up mission

“You’re nobody’s first choice for this job,” says the stern admiral of a vague intergalactic concern called the Union to Capt. Ed Mercer (Seth MacFarlane), commander of a spacecraft named “The Orville,” which is also the title of Fox’s new quasi-comedy premiering Sunday.

And though MacFarlane’s...