10 TV Series That Wanted To Be Star Trek
They say imitation is the highest form of flattery - Star Trek must have been VERY flattered here.
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00:00If imitation is the highest form of flattery, then you can bet your backside that Star Trek
00:04must have been very flattered when these series made it to air. I'm Sean Ferrick for Trek Culture,
00:10and here are 10 TV series that wanted to be Star Trek.
00:1510. Space Precinct
00:17Space Precinct was a Gerry Anderson production from the early 90s. Anderson had made previous
00:21series like Space 1999, Captain Scarlet, Stingray and Thunderbirds. This, however,
00:26was a live-action sci-fi mixed with a police procedural. Anderson had created shows in the
00:30past that were primarily targeted at a younger audience, which is where the problems began for
00:34Space Precinct. Despite the outlandish makeup and prosthetics, which were nothing short of
00:38impressive, the show aimed at dealing with adult-oriented storylines. Taking its cue
00:43from Star Trek, it tried to paint a fantastical future with as much realism as it could,
00:48thoroughly confusing the networks. It then suffered the fate of Star Trek The Original
00:51Series' third season. Unsure how to market the show, the networks scheduled it to air either late
00:57at night or early in the morning. This led to low viewership, which in turn led to the show's
01:01cancellation after just one season. 9. Buck Rogers in the 25th Century
01:07Glenn A. Larson, in his first appearance on this list, created Buck Rogers in the 25th Century,
01:12which revolved around the central character of Buck dealing with being both out of time and
01:17fighting extraterrestrial threats to Earth. Originally, it was a standalone film, though this
01:21was re-edited as a backdoor pilot once the studio decided to push ahead with the series.
01:26It received two seasons' worth of stories, with the second of these being the more heavily Star
01:30Trek-influenced one. The first season had Buck located primarily on Earth, working as an unofficial
01:35agent for the Federation's security. The show also featured space travel via Stargates, though it was
01:40also referred to as warp travel. In the second season, Buck was now leading a crew aboard the
01:45Searcher. The ship's mission was to seek out the lost colonies of mankind, an idea that Larson had
01:50already used in Battlestar Galactica. It was this year that the Star Trek ideas really sunk in.
01:55Buck was modelled closely on James T. Kirk, with his crewmate Hawk serving as Mr. Spock.
02:00The show was cancelled due to lower ratings, difficulties with the main actor, and rising costs.
02:058. Sliders
02:07Sliders debuted in 1995, ran for five years, and was mostly successful for its lifetime.
02:13Several Trek stars would appear, including John Rhys Davies and Jerry O'Connell,
02:17two of the leads from the very beginning. The show explored the nature of parallel worlds,
02:21moving from week to week attempting to get to a home they feel is lost. There are very obvious
02:25shades of Star Trek Voyager in the premise. Voyager 2 was lost in a far-flung part of the
02:29galaxy, trying each week to get home. Though Sliders has probably more in common with Scott
02:34Bakula and Dean Stockwell's quantum leap than anything else, the Trek connections are present.
02:38In addition to this, the show was in part developed by Tracy Torme, who had worked on Star
02:43Trek The Next Generation as a scriptwriter. According to Rhys Davies, the show began as
02:47an exceptional premise that explored the nature of reality not unlike the human condition that
02:51was so frequently explored in Star Trek. However, the show's cancellation by Fox after its third
02:56season and subsequent acquisition by the SyFy network resulted in a more action-oriented show,
03:01which he felt ruined the potential it had. The show was finally cancelled for a second
03:05time at the end of the fifth season, with an unresolved cliffhanger.
03:097. SeaQuest DSV
03:12SeaQuest DSV arrived in 1993, airing on NBC. It focused on the submersible vehicle SeaQuest,
03:18which had been designed and built by its captain, Nathan Bridger, who was played by movie star Roy
03:22Scheider. The first season, though set in the near future, was almost as educational as it was
03:27entertaining, opting to deal with real-world scientific issues. When the second season
03:31returned, Scheider was deeply frustrated to find that the network opted to move the show into a
03:36more science-fiction direction. Aliens were introduced to the storylines, including the
03:40finale which saw the vessel abducted and brought into the future. Scheider was publicly vocal about
03:45his displeasure, which prompted the showrunners to release scathing responses. Though the show
03:49attempted to skew toward a straight darker tone, much like the then-airing Star Trek Deep Space 9,
03:54Scheider asked to be released from his contract due to, as he called it, the show's attempt at
03:59becoming a fourth-generation Star Trek, leaving the show as a sort of 21 Jump Street meets Star
04:05Drek. He was replaced with Michael Ironside for the third season, but failing ratings resulted
04:10in the show's cancellation.
04:126. STARGATE SG-1
04:14I love Stargate SG-1. It was brilliant, and everyone should love it. Go and rewatch it now.
04:20Stargate SG-1, the first spinoff from the 1994 film, is at times one of the most loving tributes
04:25to Star Trek that that series has ever received. SG-1 famously lampoons itself on occasion,
04:31being self-aware enough to make reference to that other franchise that it takes so much
04:35inspiration from. This is evident in the number of references that Jack O'Neill makes to Trek
04:40through the years. One of the funnier references was his request to name the new Earth starship
04:44the Enterprise, only to be slapped back by Samantha Carter. This, however, is nothing
04:48compared to the tribute shown in the 200th episode, aptly named 200. An episode that
04:53deals with a series of vignettes, one part as Mitchell, Carter, Teal, and Jackson on board
04:57the Odyssey, portraying over-the-top caricatures of William Shatner, James Doohan, and the rest
05:02of the original series cast. For a show that made so many knowing nods through its runtime,
05:06this was one of the funniest scenes in the franchise, offering that chance for long-term
05:10Trekkies to laugh at themselves as well. The two further spinoff series were less Star Trek-related,
05:15but still managed to throw in the odd transporter jokes from time to time.
05:185. Battlestar Galactica
05:21Battlestar Galactica owes more than a passing debt to both Star Trek and Star Wars. Coming
05:26in the 70s, it borrowed heavily from both, though the apocalyptic setting was its own
05:30contribution to the drama. The series, opening with the destruction of most of mankind,
05:34is a parable about the dangers of over-reliance on technology. This is seemingly at odds with
05:39Roddenberry's vision. However, it stars Lorne Green as Commander Adama, a no-nonsense leader
05:43from whom all the crew draw their strength. There are clear hints of James T. Kirk in the
05:47character, coming on the heels of both the original series and the animated series.
05:51The series is deeply rooted in the 70s aesthetic, so in a way it also served as something as an
05:56inspiration for Star Trek The Motion Picture, though the effects available for a TV budget
05:59were, to put it mildly, lacking. The ambition was greater than the execution. Having said that,
06:04Battlestar Galactica is far from a failed copy of Star Trek. The idea behind the show, drawn from
06:10Glen A. Larson's own religious upbringing, would go on to inspire Trek writer Ronald D. Moore to
06:14reboot the franchise in 2003. The result was one of the greatest television series of recent years,
06:20offering a grim look at humanity from the inside out.
06:244. Earth – Final Conflict
06:27Earth – Final Conflict is, in fact, a Gene Roddenberry original, though the creator died
06:31years before the show would ever see the light of day. He had, however, been approached years
06:35previously to develop the project which was then known as Battleground Earth. The success of the
06:40Star Trek films and the then-upcoming Next Generation made Roddenberry too busy to work on it.
06:45Majel Barrett retained the notes to the show, and it was from these that Earth – Final Conflict was
06:49born. The show opens three years after the arrival of the Talon to Earth. This seemingly benevolent
06:55race has brought technological advancements to humanity, though a sinister plot lies behind their
06:59kindness. The Talon are the dark side of the Vulcans. The Vulcans arrived on Earth bringing
07:03technological advancements. Though they were far less sinister than the Talon, they were simply
07:07prickly. But the Talon were pricks. The series then morphed into an alternate version of the
07:12Cardassian occupation of Bajor, with frequently appearing resistance cells attempting to take
07:16the Talon down. Various other alien races appeared throughout the show, with many aiding and others
07:21collaborating with the Talon themselves. The show was well-received, and its success led to the
07:26creation of the next entry on this list. 3. Andromeda
07:31Andromeda was another idea from Roddenberry's vault that was given life in the 90s. Majel Barrett
07:36produced the show with former Deep Space Nine writer Robert Hewitt Wolfe serving as showrunner.
07:40It centred around Captain Dylan Hunt and his ship, the Andromeda Ascendant. The premise for the show
07:44saw a huge commonwealth of worlds spread across three galaxies. The parallels to the Federation
07:49are obvious here, though Andromeda took a darker turn. In the pilot, Hunt winds up on the edge of
07:54a black hole where he and his ship are frozen in time. When he is saved by the crew of the Eureka
07:59Maru, 300 years have passed. The crew agrees to serve under him, much like the Maquis in Star
08:04Trek Voyager. The show then becomes a mix of episodes of the week, like the original series
08:08and The Next Generation, with overarching plotlines that ran throughout the show, like Deep Space Nine.
08:13In the second season, Hewitt Wolfe was released from his contract, later explaining that his
08:17refusal to make the show more Hunt-centric led to his firing. The show was an obvious inspiration
08:22for Firefly that followed, while itself being inspired by the Trek that had come before.
08:27Number 2. Babylon 5. Don't come at me. This entry may ruffle some feathers, and for good reason.
08:35There has been a long-standing rivalry between the Babylon 5 and Star Trek fandoms. Each side
08:41accuses the other of plagiarism, though there is in fact little evidence to support it. However,
08:46the similarities between Babylon 5 and Star Trek Deep Space Nine cannot be overlooked. In many ways,
08:52Babylon 5 is both classic Trek, new aliens every week, an overarching threat of interstellar war,
08:57silly hairstyles, and something quite bold and different. The setting of the station,
09:01like Deep Space Nine, allowed the series to tell serialised stories, dealing with the consequences
09:06of character actions while still moving the story forward. Though the beginning of the show was
09:10fraught with issues and accusations, the two franchises eventually warmed to each other.
09:14Actors were shared between them, serving as olive branches not just to the showrunners,
09:18but to the two fandoms who were at times ready to go to war with each other.
09:22Any excuse to see Walter Koenig in that interesting hairpiece is a treat, let's be honest.
09:28Number 1. The Orville. You knew this one was coming. The Orville is creator Seth
09:33McFarlane's long-gestating love letter to Star Trek. To say that it's inspired by the franchise
09:38is the understatement of the century. McFarlane time and again has been vocal about his love for
09:43Gene Roddenberry's long-running saga. The Orville came at a time when Star Trek was continuing to
09:47get darker. In many ways, it's the antithesis of Star Trek Discovery, and a more slapstick comedy
09:52version of The Next Generation, from which it took many markers and directions. While the comedy
09:55aspect is quite different from what one might see on the Enterprise, the show is meticulous in how
10:00it presents this brighter future. It relies heavily on its ensemble cast, something that
10:04Star Trek is at its best when it manages. The interpersonal relationships offer future strife,
10:08which was against Roddenberry's hope for the future, though in line with just about every
10:11writer on Trek. The visuals are a callback to the actual models of the 80s and 90s without relying
10:17too heavily on CGI. Its episodic nature is straight off the classic Star Trek playbook.
10:22The series is considered by many, like Galaxy Quest and the Movie Universe, to be an unofficial
10:27entry in Trek canon, quite a feat coming from a self-confessed fanboy who just wanted to see a
10:32brighter future. That's everything now for this list. If you disagree with any of the entries,
10:37let me know. And if you have any suggestions for any entries, let me know as well,
10:41I'm genuinely really interested to know. You can catch us over on Twitter,
10:45at Trek Culture. You can catch myself, at Sean Ferrick, on Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok.
10:50Now until I'm talking to you again, please look after yourself, please be kind to yourself,
10:54look after your friends and family, and to my friends in the Ukraine especially, please stay
10:59safe, stay warm, and know that we're thinking of you. Live long and prosper, everyone.