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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 Scarlet Stingray and Thunderbirds.
00:04This, however, was a live-action sci-fi mixed with a police procedural. Anderson had created
00:09shows in the past that were primarily targeted at a younger audience, which is where the problems
00:13began for Space Precinct. Despite the outlandish makeup and prosthetics, which were nothing short
00:17of impressive, the show aimed at dealing with adult-oriented storylines. Taking its cue from
00:22Star Trek, it tried to paint a fantastical future with as much realism as it could,
00:26thoroughly confusing the networks. It then suffered the fate of Star Trek the original series' third
00:31season. Unsure how to market the show, the networks scheduled it to air either late at night or early
00:37in the morning. This led to low viewership, which in turn led to the show's cancellation after just one
00:42season. Number 9. Buck Rogers in the 25th century. Glenn A. Larson, in his first appearance on this
00:49list, created Buck Rogers in the 25th century, which revolved around the central character of Buck
00:54dealing with being both out of time and fighting extraterrestrial threats to Earth. Originally
00:58it was a standalone film, though this was re-edited as a backdoor pilot once the studio decided to push
01:04ahead with the series. It received two seasons worth of stories, with the second of these being the more
01:08heavily Star Trek influenced one. The first season had Buck located primarily on Earth working as an
01:13unofficial agent for the Federation's security. The show also featured space travel via Stargates,
01:19though it was also referred to as warp travel. In the second season Buck was now leading a crew
01:24aboard the Searcher. The ship's mission was to seek out the lost colonies of mankind, an idea that
01:29Larson had already used 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 in.
01:55Buck 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 five years and was mostly successful for its lifetime.
02:13Several Trek stars would appear, including John Rhys Davies and Gerry 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 were very obvious
02:25shades of Star Trek Voyager in the premise. Voyager 2 was lost in a far-flung part of the galaxy,
02:30trying each week to get home. Though Sliders has probably more in common with Scott Bakula and Dean
02:35Stockwell's quantum leap than anything else, the Trek connections are present. In addition to this,
02:39the show was in part developed by Tracy Torme, who had worked on Star Trek The Next Generation
02:44as a scriptwriter. According to Rhys Davies, the show began as an exceptional premise that
02:48explored the nature of reality not unlike the human condition that was so frequently explored in Star
02:53Trek. However, the show's cancellation by Fox after its third season and subsequent acquisition by the
02:58sci-fi network resulted in a more action-oriented show which he felt ruined the potential that it had.
03:03The show was finally cancelled for a second time at the end of the fifth season with an unresolved
03:08cliffhanger. Number 7. Sequest DSV. Sequest DSV arrived in 1993 airing on NBC. It focused on the
03:16submersible vehicle Sequest 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
03:37fiction direction. Aliens were introduced to the storylines, including the finale which saw
03:41the vessel abducted and brought into the future. Scheider was publicly vocal about his displeasure
03:46which prompted the showrunners to release scathing responses. Though the show attempted to skew
03:50toward a straight darker tone, much like the then airing Star Trek Deep Space Nine, Scheider asked to be
03:55released from his contract due to, as he called it, the show's attempt at becoming a fourth generation Star
04:01Trek leaving the show as a sort of 21 Jump Street meets Star Trek. He was replaced with Michael
04:06Ironside for the 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 tributes to
04:26Star 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 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, 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
05:04that made 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
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
05:21Battlestar Galactica owes more than a passing debt to both Star Trek and Star Wars. Coming in the 70s
05:26it borrows heavily from both, though the apocalyptic setting was its own individual contribution to the
05:31drama. The series, opening with the destruction of most of mankind, is a parable about the dangers
05:36of over-reliance on technology. This is seemingly at odds with Roddenberry's vision. However, it stars
05:41Lorne Green as Commander Adama, a no-nonsense leader from whom all the crew draw their strength. There are
05:46clear hints of James T Kirk and the character, coming on the heels of both the original series
05:50and the animated series. The series is deeply rooted in the 70s aesthetic, so in a way it also
05:55served as something as an inspiration for Star Trek The Motion Picture, though the effects available
05:58for a TV budget were, to put it mildly, lacking. The ambition was greater than the execution. Having
06:04said that, Battlestar Galactica is far from a failed copy of Star Trek. The idea behind the show,
06:09drawn from Glen A. Larson's own religious upbringing, would go on to inspire Trek writer Ronald D.
06:14Moore to reboot the franchise in 2003. The result was one of the greatest television series of recent
06:20years, offering a grim look at humanity from the inside out. Number 4, Final Conflict.
06:27Final Conflict is in fact a Gene Roddenberry original, though the creator died years before
06:32the show would ever see the light of day. He had however been approached years previously to develop
06:36the project which was then known as Battleground Earth. The success of the Star Trek films and the
06:41then upcoming Next Generation made Roddenberry too busy to work on it. Majel Barrett retained the
06:46notes to the show and it was from these that Earth's Final Conflict was born. The show opens three
06:51years after the arrival of the Talon to Earth. This seemingly benevolent race has brought technological
06:56advancements to humanity, though a sinister plot lies behind their kindness. The Talon are the dark
07:01side of the Vulcans. The Vulcans arrived on Earth bringing technological advancements, though they were far
07:05less sinister 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. Number 3, Andromeda. Andromeda was
07:32another idea from Roddenberry's vault that was given life in the 90s. Majel Barrett produced the
07:36show with former Deep Space Nine writer Robert Hewitt Wolfe serving as showrunner. It centred
07:40around Captain Dylan Hunt and his ship, the Andromeda Ascendant. The premise for the show saw a huge
07:45commonwealth of worlds spread across three galaxies. The parallels to the Federation are obvious here,
07:50though Andromeda took a darker turn. In the pilot Hunt winds up on the edge of a black hole where he and
07:55his ship are frozen in time, when he is saved by the crew of the Eureka Maru 300 years have passed. The crew
08:01agrees to serve under him, much like the Maquis in Star Trek Voyager. The show then becomes a mix of episodes
08:06of the week, like the original series and the next generation, with overarching plot lines that ran
08:11throughout the show, like Deep Space Nine. In the second season, Hewitt Wolfe 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 an obvious
08:22inspiration for Firefly that followed, while itself being inspired by the trek that had come before.
08:26Number 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, the similarities
08:47between Babylon 5 and Star Trek Deep Space Nine cannot be overlooked. In many ways, Babylon 5 is both
08:53classic Trek, new aliens every week, an overarching threat of interstellar war, silly hairstyles,
08:58and something quite bold and different. The setting of the station, like Deep Space Nine,
09:02allowed the series to tell serialised stories, dealing with the consequences of character actions
09:07while still moving the story forward. Though the beginning of the show was fraught with issues and
09:11accusations, the two franchises eventually warmed to each other. Actors were shared between them,
09:16serving as olive branches, not just to the showrunners, but to the two fandoms who were at times ready to
09:20go to war with each other. An excuse to see Walter Koenig in that interesting hairpiece is a treat.
09:27Let's be honest. Number 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
09:42vocal 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 offer
10:07feature 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
10:16relying too 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 in
10:28Trek canon. Quite a feat coming from a self-confessed fanboy who just wanted to see a brighter future.
10:34That's everything now for this list. If you disagree with any of the entries, let me know. And if you have
10:38any suggestions for any entries, let me know as well. I'm genuinely really interested to know.
10:43You can catch us over on Twitter at TrekCulture, you can catch myself at Sean Ferrick on Twitter,
10:48Instagram and TikTok. Now until I'm talking to you again, please look after yourself, please be kind
10:53to yourself, look after your friends and family and to my friends in the Ukraine especially. Please
10:59stay safe, stay warm and know that we're thinking of you. Live long and prosper everyone.
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