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Recycled Stories

I never used the word plot, I clarified my position as to similarities. But to each his own. You win.

Story=Plot. Thats what this thread is about. Similar stories. If a story takes place in the same setting, obviously there will be similar elements reflecting that setting. Not every movie set in WWII Casablanca will be "Casablanca", but don't be surprised if the Nazis, the French and war are mentioned.
 
The same setting argument doesn't hold water. Four of the five series are on a Starfleet starship, and three of those are in the Alpha Quadrant. All of them are out in space. By that logic, every Western ever made has "major similarities."

I don't mind if stories are reused by a later show if they are given a fresh spin or just executed better. However, some of ENT's rehashes did not meet those criteria, such as the episode with Trip and the alien who had to survive in a harsh environment.
 
It's been a long time since I've seen either episode, but I remember strong parallels between VOY's "Friendship One" and ENT's "Terra Nova."

I also didn't appreciate the fact that VOY's finale "Endgame" showed us a possible future timeline (one that ultimately never comes to fruition) just like TNG's "All Good Things..." did.
 
Enterprise was particularly bad about recycling plots, especially during the first two seasons. (And I'm a fan of that show, btw.) They did one, I forget the title, but it was almost an exact copy of the movie "Enemy mine."

That said, it's extremely difficult to pump out 26 episodes a year of a show that's been on for more than a decade without retreading old ground. It's no excuse, of course, but I don't think many fans realize the immensely difficult task that was facing the Enterprise writers. It's one of the reasons that so many of the best television shows out there are done was far, far fewer episodes each year (The Sopranos, BSG, The Wire, etc.)
 
I think the Xindi ark and temporal cold war were, while I loved them on their own and we finally had some alien looking aliens, a major tilt in the wrong direction since they were from Ent alone...it was meant to be a prequal, the entire season was a a 9-11 fetish, and in fairness the things been milked enough.
Deadalus seems a copy of the Yoager epsiode with Jetrel in the first season.

Im nearly finished Ent now I liked the Vulcan ark and the exploration of Andorrians thats coming up, thats what the prequal should have been about, I wonder why they never touched on the Bolians.
 
Holodeck program turned life endangered adventure.

Crew members suddenly develop romantic feelings for each other and at least 2 hook up.

The kids save the day.

Reset button/time travel/temporal mechanics episode where everything is OK at the end.
 
If you're going to claim that IAMD is recycling the story of Mirror Mirror then you might as well say that all TNG shows are recycling TOS shows because they refer to settings, organizations, and characters in the original Star Trek.

Now, The Naked Now is a pretty unabashed recycling of The Naked Time since both stories feature trying to cure a disease that causes people to act inebriated, contracted by touch, and a crisis that involves something that somebody did while under the influence of the disease that puts the ship in danger. Hell, they even reference the disease in The Naked Time.
 
Enterprise was particularly bad about recycling plots, especially during the first two seasons. (And I'm a fan of that show, btw.) They did one, I forget the title, but it was almost an exact copy of the movie "Enemy mine."
Season 2 -- Dawn. But there were no kids involved.
 
I always liked episodes where the crew was put in the same predicament that the crew of an earlier Trek series had encountered. Different characters in the same situation didn't always react the same way, the endings weren't always unpredictable but they were usually different from the ending of the story that their premise was lifted from.
 
I always liked episodes where the crew was put in the same predicament that the crew of an earlier Trek series had encountered. Different characters in the same situation didn't always react the same way, the endings weren't always unpredictable but they were usually different from the ending of the story that their premise was lifted from.

I quite agree. That theory works best for The Naked Now, I think. The episode may get a lot of criticism around here, but it did accomplish its goal of presenting the motivations of the characters.
 
Not to mention...THEY RECYCLED THEIR OWN PLOTS!

Kidnapping...over and over and over and over and over and over

TNG and DS9 didn't get good untill their third seasons I think Ent was just getting good then they cancled it
 
I have always felt Star Trek: Voyager's "Rise" was a recycled version of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's "The Ascent." Each had a security officer -- Odo in "The Ascent" and Tuvok in "Rise" -- stuck with someone they considered annoying -- Quark in "The Ascent" and Neelix in "Rise" -- while trying to get to higher ground to contact their respective captains. "Rise" did add some other characters rather than focusing solely on Tuvok and Neelix, but really, the similarities are glaring and in my opinion, "The Ascent" is a much better episode.
 
Has there been another Star Trek plot like DS9's "In The Pale Moonlight"?
 
I always thought Voyager's The Void was strikingly similar to TAS's The Time Trap. Also, STV seemed to draw some elements from The Magicks of Megas-Tu.
 
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