Television series

Star Trek: The Next Generation

Name: Star Trek: The Next Generation
Genre: Action, Adventure, Science Fiction
Released: 1987
Cast: Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, Brent Spiner, Michael Dorn, LeVar Burton

The one where Star Trek grew up: a disciplined ensemble in matching pyjamas solving moral and scientific puzzles episode by episode, mostly through conversation rather than violence. It's talky, hopeful, occasionally corny, and endlessly rewatchable — comfort television with a philosophy degree. The first two seasons are rough; stick around, because it becomes one of TV's great crews.

TVMaze rating

8.7

If you liked this

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine1993

Made by many of TNG's own writers a few years on, it keeps the moral seriousness but trades exploration for consequence — war, occupation, faith, and characters who actually stay changed by what happens to them.

But A static space-station setting and a slow first two seasons before the serialized arcs really take hold.

Babylon 51993

A rival 90s space opera plotted as one five-season novel rather than a run of standalone episodes, giving its political intrigue and alien cultures a payoff TNG's format never attempted.

But Budget-era effects and stiffer performances show their age more visibly than TNG's.

Star Trek: Voyager1995no page yet

Same production team, same ship-as-family formula, this time stranded on the far side of the galaxy — episodic comfort viewing with a terrific Doctor and Seven of Nine by mid-run.

But Reset-button plotting frustrates anyone hoping for DS9-level stakes, and quality swings hard season to season.

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Forbidden Planet1956

Gene Roddenberry openly borrowed this film's shipboard command structure and its robot Robby as direct ancestors of both the Enterprise's ethos and Data himself.

The Cold War-era MGM spectacle that gave Star Trek its blueprint: a disciplined captain, a rational robot companion, and a story about intellect versus dangerous impulse, decades before Data ever wore a uniform.

But Pace and effects are firmly of their era; the gender politics will strike modern viewers as quaint at best.

The Orville2017

Seth MacFarlane's genuinely affectionate love letter to TNG-era Trek, matching its optimism and weekly morality plays almost beat for beat, jokes very much included.

But Early comedy tone sits oddly against later, more earnest storytelling; some viewers find it derivative rather than loving.

Stargate SG·11997

A team of professionals exploring alien worlds every week, mixing genuine wonder with dry humor and a decade-long mythology that rewards patient viewers.

But Lower budget, broader jokes, and a far less cerebral tone than TNG's philosophical instincts.

Firefly2002

Swaps Starfleet idealism for scrappy outlaws on a ship that's also a found family, with the same instinct for character-driven episodes and morally gray choices.

But Cancelled after one season, so the ensemble chemistry never gets the room TNG's seven years allowed it.

Farscape1999

The same lost-crew, alien-of-the-week bones as Voyager, but stranger, wetter, and weirder — puppets, real moral complexity, and wild swings between comedy and genuine dread.

But The tonal whiplash and creature-heavy design can feel like a lot after TNG's clean, cerebral calm.

Star Trek: Enterprise2001no page yet

A prequel that returns to a scrappier, less comfortable Starfleet, useful if you want more of this universe's history and texture rather than another parallel crew.

But Weak first two seasons and a divisive later arc make it the least essential Trek for casual viewers.

The Expanse2015

Want DS9's political weight crossed with harder science and grittier consequences? This delivers a slow-burn, solar-system-spanning story where decisions actually cost something.

But Much darker and more violent than TNG's utopian tone, with far less humor and warmth.

The West Wing1999

Both shows run on the identical fantasy that intelligent, decent professionals inside a rigid hierarchy can talk their way through almost any crisis — and that watching them do it well is deeply satisfying.

Swap the bridge for the Oval Office and you get the same engine — competent, principled people solving crises through argument and conscience rather than phasers, while walking briskly and talking fast.

But No spaceships, no aliens, and its idealism has aged into its own kind of dated in the years since.

Trekkies1997

It turns the camera around on exactly the devotion TNG inspired, showing what happens when a show about optimism and belonging actually builds a community in its own image.

A funny, oddly moving documentary about the people TNG and its siblings created — the dentist with a Starfleet-themed office, the conventions, the sincerity underneath all the costumes and pointed ears.

But It's about the fandom, not the fiction; if you're hoping for more Trek story, this offers none at all.