my pet theory is that the first few episodes were intentionally stupid so that he could show the network executives something that fit with his "le funny family guy man" reputation to get the show greenlit. it probably would have been a much safer bet than trying to pitch it as a mostly serious genuine spiritual successor to star trek, and the sudden shift in tone from "haha it is i the cuck captain did i mention that the xo is my ex-wife who cheated on me haha" to actual, genuine sci-fi for the rest of the series feels too sudden for it to have been unplanned.
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