How does it feel refreshed? It might resemble 90's Trek in some areas but it is not TNG, it is not DS9, nowhere near Voyager or Enterprise. The feel is there but it does not rehash the same storylines we've seen endlessly. There is actual human conflict here as opposed to using an alien race to stand in for it. They have an alien antagonist sure but there is a human traitor assisting them and for once an actual reference to someone using a toilet (which this thread sidelined discussing in detail).
One of their crew is an android whose species is quite racist, something only obliquely referenced in DS9 particularly with Cardassians and virtually nowhere else in Trek. Sex and interspecies relationships are actually relevant and openly seen (I know there are references in Trek but few were ever seen as anything more than unusual outliers to be given prominent attention like Spock or Naomi in Voyager). None of this feels like a decade's old production where these things are quietly swept under the rug or discussed in hushed tones. It's all out in the open.
90's Trek, and Trek in general was shy to directlly address those issues. It was always under a thick veil of allegories and allusions. Orville at least makes it plainly obvious this future might be better but it is not perfect. It is not the ideal utopia of human peace Trek was trying to give us.
There is an abundance of actual alien crew who are more than just a forehead or pair of ears away from human (their closest thing to a Vulcan still has more than a pair of pointy ears and their Klingon counterpart is even more made up beyond his forehead). That diversity shows that humanity isn't isolated to just a few token alien beings on their ships but more inclusionary, even if it does occasionally present awkward situations.
Outside of "All Good Things..." we never hear of a divorced couple let alone infidelity or any kind of permanant relationship conflict. And here right off the bat is a couple who divorced and now have to ride out that conflict in order to do their jobs. There is no quick resolution or fast fix in sight for their situation.
Without Discovery having aired yet so far we already know a lot of the themes of Trek are out the window or sidelined. They took liberties with the Klingon race, their uniforms are closer to Enterprise than TOS making them feel even more anachronostic, the conflict is all too serious (mainly with the Klingons, again) and all over the place. Continuity is right out the door (seriously,
Spock's human sister Michael never once mentioned before now? Or how unKlingon their Klingons look.
We're about to have a war, and we already had an excellent Star Trek does war series in DS9 who managed to keep an even keel of darkness and light throughout. Discovery so far feels dark with no light.
Orville might not be entirely original but that does not mean it does not feel fresh. Discovery is fresh but it does not feel original at all.
