Trek parallels in other genres

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

If anyone has ever watched the 1950s Robin Hood series with Richard Green, would you compare it somewhat to Trek?

There's a regular ensemble who travel a lot, but do have a home base - you see a lot of challenging people's worldviews and moralizing/tricking tyrants/teaching someone a lesson and having it come out okay. They meet odd scientists and colorful characters/con artists, Marian challenges women's roles, etc. They debunk wrong spiritual beliefs/false monsters, etc. And best of all, the episodes were less than half an hour and still told compelling or humourous stories.

Am I wrong to compare the two? Robin Hood is a great series.

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Adventures_of_Robin_Hood_(TV_series)

 

[Tracy Trek]

Well I've thought that the adventures depicted in Stargate SG1 were somewhat similar to Starfleet missions. Except they are visiting other planets through a space portal/artificial wormhole instead of a starship. There were ships in the series in later seasons of the show. But they were built more for defense from the bad aliens our guys (and gals) had pissed off. Plus the ships were built with the help of alien allies.

Another difference between it and Trek were most of the planets did not have aliens so much as humans whose ancestors had been taken from earth as slaves by the bad aliens who impersonated gods of the ancient mythologies.

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

I wonder if any Trek writers ever watched this show?

 

[Tracy Trek]

I wonder if any Trek writers ever watched this show?

I don't know. They probably have.

I do know in another thread it was discussed that several actors who have starred in Trek in either regular roles or guest roles have also guest starred in the various Stargate programs.

Have you ever watched it? I like it because to me it's a blend of sci-fi and mythology. Or rather it's a sci-fi take on myths. You have the movie which came out in 1994. Then the first series which was produced and written by different people than the movie. So certain aspects of the movie were retconned for the series. There were 2 spin-offs.

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

I was actually referring to Robin Hood. I shoulda been more clear.

No, I haven't seen Stargate of any kind.

 

[USS Triumphant]

The current sci-fi series "Dark Matter" has an ensemble cast. The premise is that they are a bunch of criminals and low-lifes who had some sort of accident that wiped their memories, and they're learning who they are *now* (not necessarily the same) as they go.

Each member of the cast has a role - charismatic leader (Two - like Kirk), technical genius (Five - like Wesley but far less annoying), second in command that questions decisions (Three - like Riker), tough security guy who is kind of a big teddy bear deep down (Six - like Worf in some ways), sword-fighting Asian (Four - okay, so this doesn't encompass all that Sulu is, but it works), an android exploring what it means to be human (The Android - like Data), the naïve one (One - sort of like Chekov and the more annoying aspects of Wesley), and the one with strange mental abilities (Nyx - like Spock meets Troi) - that seem fairly analogous to certain types from Trek. They have an immediately recognizable hero ship, the Raza. And recently,

[Minor Spoiler from early in the current season - Season Two]

Spoiler

after attaching experimental equipment to their engines, they ended up in a parallel universe where the crew of the Raza never had their memories wiped. So essentially, a Mirror Universe.

Also, please don't get the idea that the analogies I drew above are anything like a perfect fit. I'm really enjoying it - if you have time, give it a shot, if you haven't.

 

[USS Triumphant]

Sorry for the double-post, but I just realized that I believe that both I and Tracy Trek missed where you said different genres - both of our examples were from sci-fi. Sorry.

I can see what you're talking about, but I also think it applies to Gilligan's Island, and to pretty much all of the CBS crime procedurals, and an awful lot of the old westerns, too - ensemble cast, everyone has a niche job, and there's generally some lesson to be learned.

 

[Tracy Trek]

Sorry for the double-post, but I just realized that I believe that both I and Tracy Trek missed where you said different genres - both of our examples were from sci-fi. Sorry.

Well if you're looking for a different genre. Everyone's probably heard the old story* of how when Gene Roddenberry was trying to sell the network on the idea of Trek, he called it "Wagon Train to the Stars". I'm not sure they had that big of an ensemble cast. But they told different stories every week about the various people who were travelling with the wagon train.

*I remember seeing an a clip of Roddenberry in one of the anniversary specials talking about "Wagon Train to the Stars".

 

[F. King Daniel]

I've always thought the X-Men film franchise has explored the IDIC concept better than Star Trek ever did.

And a bit more specific, Smallville did an excellent version of "The Enemy Within" (and a fascinating mirror universe episode where Clark Kent was found and raised by Lionel Luther)

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

Has anybody here watched the Robin Hood series I spoke of originally?

 

[Tracy Trek]

Has anybody here watched the Robin Hood series I spoke of originally?

Nope, sorry, I haven't. Do you know where it (the 1950's Robin Hood) is shown? Like a specific network or maybe Netflix.

You should check out Stargate if you get a chance.

 

[2takesfrakes]

I've never seen this Robin Hood show, but the idea is the same as STAR TREK, pretty much, like you said, Laura ... there are similarities. There are a lot of shows, like samurai movies, where that spirit of duty, honour and courage are very much in play, along with that sense of brotherhood. They know they're a part of a special group. Except that STAR TREK will have a crew go rogue, sometimes, which samurai won't do. But I do love it in THE SEARCH for SPOCK, seeing Kirk and the gang all running down a hill, through the trees and bushes in their civvies, as if to bring home the fact that this mission is personal. And, I guess, there is a little sense of Robin Hood, there ... coming out of the woods and all.

 

[Nerys Myk]

Star Trek didn't exactly invent the wheel. The characters are/were common types. Finding shows with similar characters isn't too hard.

 

[Overgeeked]

Most Star Trek is your basic monster/freak/villain/alien of the week format, so there's lots of other show you can compare it to in that regard. Doctor Who, X-Files, most cop shows, Scooby-Doo, Buffy, Charmed, Supernatural, Warehouse 13, Smallville, Supergirl, Flash, etc. So those are some examples of straight mystery, cartoons, mild horror, superheroes, and urban fantasy shows with a lot of similarities. And if we're honest, most shows up till the '80s had some kind of moralizing or Aesop ending attached. Many shows today still do this, whether overtly or covertly. Jack McCoy of Law & Order fame is basically a walking Aesop.

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

Nope, sorry, I haven't. Do you know where it (the 1950's Robin Hood) is shown? Like a specific network or maybe Netflix.

There are some episodes on youtube. We have the whole DVD set (found it in store). It's a really great series considering the fact that the episodes are less than half an hour without commercials.

https://www.amazon.com/Adventures-Robin-Hood-Complete/dp/B002DH20YM

 

[USS Triumphant]

And a bit more specific, Smallville did an excellent version of "The Enemy Within"

To be fair, Supes had been split into good Supes / bad Supes (as well as into a Superman Red and Superman Blue) at some point a few years before TOS ever aired. So one might say that "The Enemy Within" did an excellent riff on that.