TREK #StarTrek by WhatCulture - Dailymotion

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Lists, rankings, news and editorials from pop culture's most iconic franchise.<br /><br />WhatCulture.com's Star Trek devoted YouTube channel. Lists, rankings, news and editorials from pop culture's most iconic franchise.

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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. Number 10, Space Precinct. Space Precinct was

00:18a Gerry Anderson production from the early 90s. Anderson had made previous series like Space 1999,

00:23Captain Scarlet, Stingray and Thunderbirds. This however was a live-action sci-fi mixed with a

00:28police procedural. Anderson had created shows in the past that were primarily targeted at a younger

00:32audience, which is where the problems began for Space Precinct. Despite the outlandish makeup and

00:37prosthetics, which were nothing short of impressive, the show aimed at dealing with adult oriented

00:41storylines. Taking its cue from Star Trek, it tried to paint a fantastical future with as much realism

00:47as it could, thoroughly 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 at

00:57night or early in the morning. This led to low viewership which in turn led to the show's

01:01cancellation after just one season. Number 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 which

01:12revolved around the central character of Buck dealing with being both out of time and fighting

01:17extraterrestrial threats to Earth. Originally it was a standalone film, though this was re-edited as a

01:22backdoor pilot once the studio decided to push ahead with the series. It received two seasons

01:27worth of stories, with the second of these being the more heavily Star Trek influenced one. The

01:31first season had Buck located primarily on Earth working as an unofficial agent for the Federation's

01:36security. The show also featured space travel via Stargates, though it was also referred to as

01:41warp travel. In the second season, Buck was now leading a crew aboard the Searcher. The ship's mission was

01:47to seek out the lost colonies of mankind, an idea that Larson had already used in Battlestar Galactica.

01:52It was this year that the Star Trek ideas really sunk in. Buck was modelled closely on James T. Kirk,

01:57with his crewmate Hawk serving as Mr. Spock. The show was cancelled due to lower ratings,

02:02difficulties with the main actor and rising costs. Number 8, Sliders. Sliders debuted in 1995,

02:09ran for five years and was mostly successful for its lifetime. Several Trek stars would appear,

02:14including John Rhys Davies and Gerry O'Connell, two of the leads from the very beginning. The show

02:19explored the nature of parallel worlds, moving from week to week attempting to get to a home they

02:24feel as lost. There were very obvious shades of Star Trek Voyager in the premise. Voyager 2 was lost

02:28in a far-flung part of the galaxy, trying each week to get home. Though Sliders has probably more in

02:33common with Scott Bakula and Dean Stockwell's quantum leap than anything else, the Trek connections are

02:38present. In addition to this, the show was in part developed by Tracy Torme, who had worked on Star

02:42Trek The Next Generation as a scriptwriter. According to Rhys Davies, the show began as an exceptional

02:47premise that explored the nature of reality not unlike the human condition that was so frequently

02:52explored in Star Trek. However, the show's cancellation by Fox after its third season and

02:57subsequent acquisition by the Sci-Fi Network resulted in a more action-oriented show, which he felt ruined

03:02the potential that it had. The show was finally cancelled for a second time at the end of the fifth

03:06season with an unresolved cliffhanger. Number 7, Sequest DSV. Sequest DSV arrived in 1993 airing on

03:15NBC. It focused on the submersible vehicle Sequest, which had been designed and built by its captain,

03:20Nathan Bridger, who was played by movie star Roy Scheider. The first season, though set in the near

03:25future, was almost as educational as it was entertaining, opting to deal with real-world scientific

03:30issues. When the second season returned, Scheider was deeply frustrated to find that the network opted to

03:35move the show into a more science fiction direction. Aliens were introduced to the storylines, including

03:40the finale 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 Nine,

03:54Scheider asked to be released from his contract due to, as he called it, the show's attempt at becoming a

04:00fourth generation Star Trek, leaving the show as a sort of 21 Jump Street meets Star Trek. He was

04:06replaced with Michael Ironside for the third season, but failing ratings resulted in the show's

04:10cancellation. Number 6, Stargate SG-1. I love Stargate SG-1, it was brilliant and everyone should

04:18love it. Go and re-watch it now. Stargate SG-1, the first spin-off from the 1994 film, is at times one of the

04:24most loving tributes to Star Trek that that series has ever received. SG-1 famously lampoons itself

04:30on occasion, being self-aware enough to make reference to that other franchise that it takes

04:35so much inspiration from. This is evident in the number of references that Jack O'Neill makes to

04:39Trek through 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 compared to the

04:49tribute shown in the 200th episode, aptly named 200. An episode that deals with a series of vignettes,

04:55one part is Mitchell, Carter, Teal'c and Jackson on board the Odyssey, portraying over the top

04:59caricatures of William Shatner, James Doohan and the rest of the original series cast. For a show that

05:04made so many knowing nods through its runtime, this was one of the funniest scenes in the franchise,

05:08offering that chance for long-term Trekkies to laugh at themselves as well. The two further spin-off

05:13series were less Star Trek related, but still managed to throw in the odd transporter jokes from time to time.

05:18Number 5, Battlestar Galactica. Battlestar Galactica owes more than a passing debt to both Star Trek

05:24and Star Wars. Coming in the 70s it borrows heavily from both, though the apocalyptic setting was its

05:30own individual contribution 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 from whom

05:44all the crew draw their strength. There are clear hints of James T Kirk and the character, coming on

05:48the heels of both the original series and the animated series. The series is deeply rooted in

05:52the 70s aesthetic, so in a way it also served as something as an inspiration for Star Trek the

05:57motion picture, though the effects available for a TV budget were, to put it mildly, lacking. The ambition

06:02was greater than the execution. Having said that, Battlestar Galactica is far from a failed copy of Star

06:07Trek. The idea behind the show, drawn from Glen A. Larson's own religious upbringing, would go on to

06:12inspire Trek writer Ronald D. Moore to reboot the franchise in 2003. The result was one of the

06:18greatest television series of recent years, offering a grim look at humanity from the inside out.

06:24Number 4. Earth Final Conflict.

06:27Earth Final Conflict is in fact a Gene Roddenberry original, though the creator died years before the

06:32show would ever see the light of day. He had however been approached years previously to develop the

06:36project which was then known as Battleground Earth. The success of the Star Trek films and the then

06:41upcoming Next Generation made Roddenberry too busy to work on it. Majel Barrett retained the notes to

06:46the show and it was from these that Earth Final Conflict was born. The show opens three years after

06:51the arrival of the Talon to Earth. This seemingly benevolent race has brought technological advancements

06:56to humanity, though a sinister plot lies behind their kindness. The Talon are the dark side of the

07:01Vulcans. The Vulcans arrived on Earth bringing technological advancements, though they were far less

07:06sinister than the Talon. They were simply prickly, but the Talon were pricks. The series then morphed

07:11into an alternate version of the Cardassian occupation of Bajor, with frequently appearing

07:15resistance cells attempting to take the Talon down. Various other alien races appeared throughout

07:19the show, with many aiding and others collaborating with the Talon themselves. The show was well received,

07:24and its success led to the creation of the next entry on this list.

07:29Number 3. Andromeda Andromeda was another idea from Roddenberry's

07:33vault that was given life in the 90s. Majel Barrett produced the show with former Deep Space Nine

07:37writer Robert Hewitt-Wolf serving as showrunner. It centred around Captain Dylan Hunt and his ship,

07:42the Andromeda Ascendant. The premise for the show saw a huge commonwealth of worlds spread across

07:47three galaxies. The parallels to the Federation are obvious here, though Andromeda took a darker turn.

07:52In the pilot Hunt winds up on the edge of a black hole where he and his ship are frozen in time,

07:57when he is saved by the crew of the Eureka Maru 300 years have passed. The crew agrees to serve under him,

08:02much like the Maquis in Star Trek Voyager. The show then becomes a mix of episodes of the week,

08:07like the original series and the next generation, with overarching plot lines that ran throughout

08:11the show, like Deep Space Nine. In the second season, Hewitt-Wolf was released from his contract,

08:16later explaining that his refusal to make the show more Hunt-centric led to his firing. The show was

08:21an obvious inspiration for Firefly that followed, while itself being inspired by the trek that had come

08:26before. Number 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 accuses

08:41the 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 serialized stories, dealing with the consequences of

09:06character 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. An excuse to see Walter

09:23Koenig in that... interesting... hairpiece is a treat. Let's be honest.

09:28Number 1. The Orville. You knew this one was coming.

09:32The Orville is creator Seth MacFarlane's long gestating love letter to Star Trek. To say that

09:37it's inspired by the franchise is the understatement of the century. MacFarlane time and again has been

09:41vocal about his love for Gene Roddenberry's long-running saga. The Orville came at a time when

09:46Star Trek was continuing to get darker. In many ways it's the antithesis of Star Trek Discovery

09:50and a more slapstick comedy version of The Next Generation, from which it took many markers and

09:54directions. While the comedy aspect is quite different from what one might see on the Enterprise,

09:58the show is meticulous in how it presents this brighter future. It relies heavily on its ensemble

10:03cast, something that Star Trek is at its best when it manages. The interpersonal relationships are

10:07for feature strife which was against Roddenberry's hope for the future, though in line with just about

10:11every writer 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 in the movie universe, to be an unofficial entry

10:27in Trek canon. Quite a feat coming from a self-confessed fanboy who just wanted to see a brighter future.

10:33That's everything now for this list. If you disagree with any of the entries, let me know,

10:38and if you have any suggestions for any entries, let me know as well. I'm genuinely really interested

10:42to know. You can catch us over on Twitter at TrekCulture, you can catch myself at SeanFerrick on

10:48Twitter, Instagram and TikTok. Now until I'm talking to you again, please look after yourself,

10:52please be kind to yourself, look after your friends and family, and to my friends in the Ukraine

10:57especially. Please stay safe, stay warm, and know that we're thinking of you. Live long and prosper everyone.

10 TV Series That Wanted To Be Star Trek

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TREK #StarTrek

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