Stargate SG-1 vs. Voyager

[Maxillius]

Has anyone noticed that there are two stories on SG-1 that are almost exactly the same as two Voyager episodes?

The two I'm talking about are:

Stargate SG-1 (7x8) "Space Race" -> ST:Voyager (7x3) "Drive"
Stargate SG-1 (9x12) "Collateral Damage" -> ST:Voyager (1x7) "Ex Post Facto"

Yes, there are differences, but the similarities are too glaringly obvious to ignore. And in the case of "Space Race" and "Drive", they're only 3 years apart! Someone must've noticed, even though it's the latter that got my attention ("Collateral Damage" and "Ex Post Facto", 11 years apart).

Weird, eh?

 

[Fist McStrongpunch]

SG-1: "Beneath the Surface" / VOY: "Workforce"
SG-1: "Prisoners" / VOY: "The Chute"

 

[Beagleman]

Shows that the writing for both shows was lazy at best?

 

[Fist McStrongpunch]

Shows that the writing for both shows was lazy at best?

Well, that may be at times, but it doesn't necessarily show that. Look at Farscape: plenty of those episodes have the same premise as eps of Star Trek and other shows, but they do it in a new bizarre way.

 

[dansigal]

Simpsons did it.

 

[The Wormhole]

SG-!: "Prisoners" / VOY: "The Chute"

I don't know about that one. There are superficial similarities, in that our heroes are sent to an alien prison unjustly where they adapt into prison life. Certainly, the Stargate is used in a similar manner to the titular Chute in the Voyager episode, but beyond that the two are rather different storylines.

 

[DonIago]

SG-1: Window of Opportunity / TNG: Cause and Effect



I don't care whether sci-fi shows "borrow" from each other as long as they do a good job of it.

 

[bigdaddy]

I don't care whether sci-fi shows "borrow" from each other as long as they do a good job of it.

We are talking about Voyager here so it's far from a good, or even decent job.

 

[fireproof78]

I guess I don't find it as strange because a lot of scifi tells similar tales with different twists and takes. I mean, Star Wars borrows heavily from other elements but gives us something new as a result. As others have said, it isn't so much the borrowing as it is how well it is executed.

Personally, if SG-1 borrowed from VOY, I doubt it was from a place of malice or laziness. A friend of mine, who works in the film industry, mentioned recently that he sometimes watches other films in the same genre to get inspired while writing.

I'm also generally more forgiving of SG-1 because their episodes build a universe and feel more character driven, but VOY is hit and miss in terms of continuity and character moments.

 

[Admiral2]

Has anyone noticed that there are two stories on SG-1 that are almost exactly the same as two Voyager episodes?

The two I'm talking about are:

Stargate SG-1 (7x8) "Space Race" -> ST:Voyager (7x3) "Drive"
Stargate SG-1 (9x12) "Collateral Damage" -> ST:Voyager (1x7) "Ex Post Facto"

Yes, there are differences, but the similarities are too glaringly obvious to ignore. And in the case of "Space Race" and "Drive", they're only 3 years apart! Someone must've noticed, even though it's the latter that got my attention ("Collateral Damage" and "Ex Post Facto", 11 years apart).

Weird, eh?

Just annoying. I loved SG-1 and hated Voyager, so the two sharing stories just irked me on SG-1's behalf.

 

[Maxillius]

I should note that without exception, the SG-1 version of the story is the better one. I don't know if it comes down to production, acting, directing or just the passage of time. I suspect it's all of these.

I never thought of "Window of Opportunity"/"Cause And Effect" for the simple fact that "Window of Opportunity is soooo much better. It's more engaging, less obviously repetitive, has HUMOR, and does a great job of building the characters of O'Neill and Teal'c. "Cause and Effect", storywise, basically didn't happen at the end. In-universe, you may as well skip the whole part from about 2 minutes before the opening title to 5 minutes before the closing credits.

I just cited SG1-SR, VOY-D, SG1-CD and VOY-EPF because they're the most obvious. And "Collateral Damage" is the closest to the point that it's almost a blatant copy and I can't believe they got away with it (despite telling the story better).

 

[MacLeod]

"Window of Opportunity" is basically SG-1's version of the film Groundhog Day.

 

[StarMan]

^Indeed. I would hazard a guess SG-1 was influenced more by Groundhog Day than any ST episode ...

 

[DonIago]

Finding the point of origin (see what I did there?) for a story can sometimes be a tricky process. I agree that WoO was more inspired by Groundhog Day, but then the question is was C&E also inspired by Groundhog Day or does its roots lie elsewhere?

 

[The Wormhole]

Finding the point of origin (see what I did there?) for a story can sometimes be a tricky process. I agree that WoO was more inspired by Groundhog Day, but then the question is was C&E also inspired by Groundhog Day or does its roots lie elsewhere?

Cause and Effect aired in March 1992, nearly a year before Groundhog Day was released in theatres, February 1993. So whatever else Cause and Effect was based on, it most certainly wasn't Groundhog Day.

 

[apollo1984]

Whereas Voyager just seemed like Ground hogs day since the ship would re-boot back to new at the start of each episode.