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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. Number 10, 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 was a live-action
00:27sci-fi mixed with a police procedural. Anderson had created shows in the past that were primarily
00:31targeted at a younger audience, which is where the problems began for Space Precinct.
00:35Despite the outlandish makeup and prosthetics, which were nothing short of impressive,
00:39the show aimed at dealing with adult-oriented storylines. Taking its cue from Star Trek,
00:44it tried to paint a fantastical future with as much realism as it could, thoroughly confusing the
00:48networks. It then suffered the fate of Star Trek The Original Series third season. Unsure how to
00:54market the show, the networks scheduled it to air either late at night or early in the morning.
00:58This led to low viewership which in turn led to the show's cancellation after just one season.
01:04Number 9, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century. Glenn A. Larson, in his first appearance on this list,
01:10created Buck Rogers in the 25th Century which revolved around the central character of Buck dealing
01:15with being both out of time and fighting extraterrestrial threats to Earth. Originally it was a
01:20standalone film, though this was re-edited as a backdoor pilot once the studio decided to push
01:25ahead with the series. It received two seasons worth of stories, with the second of these being
01:29the more heavily Star Trek influenced one. The first season had Buck located primarily on Earth,
01:34working as an unofficial agent for the Federation's security. The show also featured space travel via
01:39Stargates, though it was also referred to as warp travel. In the second season Buck was now leading a
01:45crew aboard the Searcher. The ship's mission was to seek out the lost colonies of mankind, an idea that
01:50Larson had already used in Battlestar Galactica. It was this year that the Star Trek ideas really sunk
01:55in. Buck was modelled closely on James T Kirk, with his crewmate Hawk serving as Mr Spock. The show was
02:00cancelled due to lower ratings, difficulties with the main actor and rising costs.
02:05Number 8, Sliders. Sliders debuted in 1995, ran for 5 years and was mostly successful for its lifetime.
02:13Several Trek stars would appear, including John Rhys Davies and Gerry O'Connell, two of the leads from the
02:18very beginning. The show explored the nature of parallel worlds, moving from week to week,
02:22attempting to get to a home they feel as lost. There were very obvious shades of Star Trek Voyager
02:26in the premise. Voyager 2 was lost in a far-flung part of the galaxy, trying each week to get home.
02:31Though Sliders has probably more in common with Scott Bakula and Dean Stockwell's quantum leap than
02:36anything else, the Trek connections are present. In addition to this, the show was in part developed by
02:41Tracy Torme, who had worked on Star Trek The Next Generation as a scriptwriter. According to Rhys Davies,
02:46the show began as an exceptional premise that explored the nature of reality not unlike the
02:50human condition that was so frequently explored in Star Trek. However, the show's cancellation by
02:55Fox after its third season and subsequent acquisition by the sci-fi network resulted in a more action
03:00oriented show, which he felt ruined the potential that it had. The show was finally cancelled for a
03:05second time at the end of the fifth season with an unresolved cliffhanger.
03:08Number 7, SeaQuest DSV. SeaQuest DSV arrived in 1993 airing on NBC. It focused on the submersible
03:17vehicle SeaQuest, which had been designed and built by its captain Nathan Bridger, who was played
03:22by movie star Roy Scheider. The first season, though set in the near future, was almost as educational as
03:27it was entertaining, opting to deal with real world scientific issues. When the second season returned,
03:32Scheider was deeply frustrated to find that the network opted to move the show into a more science fiction
03:37direction. Aliens were introduced to the storylines, including the finale which saw the vessel abducted
03:42and brought into the future. Scheider was publicly vocal about his displeasure, which prompted the
03:46showrunners to release scathing responses. Though the show attempted to skew toward a straight darker
03:51tone, much like the then airing Star Trek Deep Space Nine, Scheider asked to be released from his
03:56contract due to, as he called it, the show's attempt at becoming a fourth generation Star Trek,
04:01leaving the show as a sort of 21 Jump Street meets Star Trek. He was replaced with Michael Ironside for
04:07the third season, but failing ratings resulted in the show's cancellation.
04:12Number 6 Stargate SG-1
04:14I love Stargate SG-1, it was brilliant and everyone should love it. Go and re-watch it now.
04:20Stargate SG-1, the first spin-off from the 1994 film, is at times one of the most loving
04:25tributes to 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 inspiration from.
04:36This is evident in the number of references that Jack O'Neill makes to Trek through the years.
04:41One of the funnier references was his request to name the New Earth Starship the Enterprise,
04:45only 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, Tealc 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 made so
05:04many 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
05:13spin-off series were less Star Trek related, but still managed to throw in the odd transporter jokes
05:17from time to time. Number 5, Battlestar Galactica. Battlestar Galactica owes more than a passing
05:23debt to both Star Trek and Star Wars. Coming in the 70s it borrows heavily from both, though the apocalyptic
05:29setting was its own individual contribution to the drama. The series, opening with the destruction of
05:33most of mankind, is a parable about the dangers of over-reliance on technology. This is seemingly
05:38at odds with Roddenberry'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 character,
05:48coming on the 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 Motion Picture,
05:57though the effects available for a TV budget were, to put it mildly, lacking. The ambition was greater
06:02than the execution. Having said that, Battlestar Galactica is far from a failed copy of Star Trek.
06:07The idea behind the show, drawn from Glen A. Larson's own religious upbringing, would go on to inspire
06:13Trek writer Ronald D. Moore to reboot the franchise in 2003. The result was one of the greatest television
06:19series of recent years, offering a grim look at humanity from the inside out.
06:234. Earth Final Conflict Earth Final Conflict is in fact a Gene Roddenberry original, though the
06:30creator died years before the show would ever see the light of day. He had however been approached
06:35years previously to develop the project which was then known as Battleground Earth. The success of
06:40the Star 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 born.
06:50The show opens 3 years after the arrival of the Talon to Earth. This seemingly benevolent race has
06:55brought technological advancements to humanity, though a sinister plot lies behind their kindness.
07:00The Talon are the dark side of the Vulcans. The Vulcans arrived on Earth bringing technological
07:04advancements, though they were far less sinister than the Talon. They were simply prickly, but the Talon
07:09were pricks. The series then morphed into an alternate version of the Cardassian occupation of Bajor,
07:14with frequently appearing resistance cells attempting to take the Talon down. Various other alien races
07:19appeared throughout the show with many aiding and others collaborating with the Talon themselves.
07:23The show was well received and its success led to the creation of the next entry on this list.
07:29Number 3 Andromeda Andromeda was another idea from
07:32Roddenberry's vault that was given life in the 90s. Majel Barrett produced the show with former
07:37Deep Space Nine writer Robert Hewitt-Wolf serving as showrunner. It centred around Captain Dylan Hunt and
07:42his ship, the 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
08:02him much 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 the
08:11show 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
08:26come before. Number 2, Babylon 5. Don't come at me. This entry may ruffle some feathers and for good
08:34reason. There has been a long-standing rivalry between the Babylon 5 and Star Trek fandoms. Each
08:40side accuses 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 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. The Orville is creator Seth MacFarlane's long
09:34gestating love letter to Star Trek. To say that it's inspired by the franchise is the understatement
09:39of the century. MacFarlane time and again has been vocal about his love for Gene Roddenberry's
09:43long-running saga. The Orville came at a time when Star Trek was continuing to get darker.
09:48In many ways, it's the antithesis of Star Trek Discovery and a more slapstick comedy version of
09:52the next generation, from which it took many markers and directions. While the comedy aspect is
09:56quite different from what one might see on the Enterprise, the show is meticulous in how it presents
10:00this brighter future. It relies heavily on its ensemble cast, something that Star Trek is at its
10:04best when it manages. The interpersonal relationships offer feature strife, which was against Roddenberry's
10:09hope for the future, though in line with just about every writer on Trek. The visuals are a callback to
10:14the actual models of the 80s and 90s without relying too heavily on CGI. Its episodic nature is straight
10:20off the classic Star Trek playbook. The series is considered by many, like Galaxy Quest in the movie
10:25universe, to be an unofficial entry in Trek canon. Quite a feat coming from a self-confessed fanboy
10:31who just wanted to see a brighter future. That's everything now for this list. If you disagree with
10:36any of the entries let 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 at trekculture, you can catch
10:46myself at Sean Ferrick on Twitter, Instagram and TikTok. Now until I'm talking to you again please look after
10:52yourself, please 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.
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