I'll start off by listing mine:
The T-800, Terminator 2: "I know now why you cry, but it's something that I can never do." Gets me every damn time.
ADA, Zone of the Enders: I think I'm the only one who played this game more than the MGS2 demo that came with it. I will never not laugh at the exchange of "You may speak like a human, but you're still a heartless computer, aren't you?" "That is correct. What is the problem?"
Codsworth, Fallout 4: He survives the nuclear holocaust despite not having a bunker and waits 200 years for you to come back. When you look at what changes his relationship with you, he mostly just wants you to be nice to people. I never swapped him out as my companion.
B.O.Y.D., Ducktales 2017: He's adorable. 'nuff said.
Especially compared with contemporary Abrams/Kurtzman Trek, yes, there is much more focus on exploration. There are some seasons with an emphasis on political struggles and war, but then again even TNG and DS9 had those.
I highly recommend the show for anyone that liked TNG-era Trek. It has a somewhat rough start but by the end of the first season it drops any pretense of trying to be "Family Guy in space" that was there and takes itself seriously in a good way, while still being funny here and there.
If it helps, I fucking hate Family Guy and had to be basically dragged into watching The Orville at first.
The Orville is the second best modern Trek show, after Lower Decks, and above the other two good modern Treks, SNW and Prodigy.
I spent years with my nose in the air about it too until it kept getting recommended to me so often I finally watched it.