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Babylon 5

Considering there are several real ships by that name (at least two or three with the "U.S.S." prefix), I think any copyright claim by Paramount would be dubious at best.

Like you say though, in the context of a fictional sci-fi show it's just not a very good idea. It's far too recognisable.
It did serve as the basis for a funny scene from Stargate SG-1:

Col. O'Neill: They didn't go for it.
Maj. Carter: They didn't approve the mission?
Col. O'Neill: No, they did that. Once they knew the stakes and the whole "fate of the universe" stuff, both the president and Hammond realized we have no choice. He sends good luck, godspeed, and all those things he says when he thinks we're gonna die.
Maj. Carter: So what didn't they go for?
Col. O'Neill: The name I suggested.
Maj. Carter: For the ship?
Col. O'Neill: Yeah.
Maj. Carter: Yeah, sir, we can't call it the Enterprise.
Col. O'Neill: Why not?!
Maj. Carter: The project codename is Prometheus. What's wrong with that?
Col. O'Neill: It's a Greek tragedy. Who wants that?
 
"Trade Dress" violation would expose the studio to a C&D/lawsuit if B5 featured a prominent ship named Enterprise. This is essentially any recognizable, unlicensed reference to a trademarked element. It covers a lot of gray-area ripoffs: Spock ears, Vulcan salutes, redshirts, etc. This is the same reason why you can't draw a silhouette of the Enterprise and sell it on a T shirt.

With Stargate, the Trek references pretty much fell under the umbrella of parody, as most references were jokes (ie, the episode 200). When they had a Trek actor on the show (like Armand Shimmerman/Quark), they were very clearly differentiated from their Trek characters despite that huge opportunity for playing to a very well-known character.


Carter: Inertial dampeners.
O’Neill: Cool… and check.
Carter: Engines.
O’Neill: All check. Phasers?
Carter: Sorry, Sir.
 
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...a prominent ship naked Enterprise. This is essentially any recognizable, unlicensed reference to a trademarked element.
It's actually just looks like bad phrasing or grammar. Is there a word or something missing here that, when corrected, would help me understand the phrase better?
 
Wow - never occurred to me. I guess I was holding on to "naked" for all it was worth.

All your naked are belong to us.
 
Was trying to think where it was, and remembered at last: in one of David Feintuch' s Seafort novels there's a nice comment from a scholar aboard UNS Hibernia about how in alternate realities their interstellar ship might be HMS Britannia or USS Enterprise. His audience find such a ludicrous idea very funny.
 
I'm watching B5 with my wife, for me it's the second time that I am watching the show and it's a lot better than I remembered
 
I'm watching B5 with my wife, for me it's the second time that I am watching the show and it's a lot better than I remembered

Are you still in the first season? That season especially benefits from having seen the rest of the show.

The end of the season was really strong. I mean overall it was shaky, but the way that season ended and with that insane finale, it really set the stage for what was to come, kind of like how DS9 set the stage for the rest of the series with Duet and In the Hands of the Prophets.
 
I'm watching B5 with my wife, for me it's the second time that I am watching the show and it's a lot better than I remembered

Are you still in the first season? That season especially benefits from having seen the rest of the show.

This thread prompted me to pull out my B5 DVDs (which I haven't watched in years) last night. Watched the first four or five episodes, and yeah... It's better than I remember. I remember it being terrible until S2, but I'm really getting into it again.

There goes my month :p
 
Was trying to think where it was, and remembered at last: in one of David Feintuch' s Seafort novels there's a nice comment from a scholar aboard UNS Hibernia about how in alternate realities their interstellar ship might be HMS Britannia or USS Enterprise. His audience find such a ludicrous idea very funny.

That scene is in the first book, Midshipman's Hope. I'm a huge fan of those novels.
 
Rent the DVDs then. I assume some money will make its way back to the creators and actors, or if not them, then to Warner Bros, who might decide to pull their fingers out and do something with the property.
 
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