this post was submitted on 06 Jan 2024
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Science Fiction

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Lemmy World Rules

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Over the last few years my family and I have binged all of Star Trek, then moved on to Star Trek adjacent shows like The Orville and Stargate. At the moment we're not really watching anything sci-fi. I was wondering if anyone had recommendations for similar shows (or maybe some books) that fill the void left by Star Trek. In particular I really like the episodes that deal with interacting with other civilizations, diplomacy, and exploration more-so than say, an anomaly episode.

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[–] liliumstar@lemmy.dbzer0.com 58 points 10 months ago (4 children)

I'd say the The Expanse fits the bill. It is a book series with a very successful television adaptation.

[–] Dhrystone@infosec.pub 10 points 10 months ago (2 children)

100%. Just finished watching the entire series a couple days ago and thoroughly enjoyed it.

[–] Chetzemoka@startrek.website 6 points 10 months ago

Concur. I'm a huge Trek fan, and The Expanse fits that blend of optimism and realpolitik.

[–] Blackmist@feddit.uk 5 points 10 months ago (2 children)

I'd have enjoyed it a lot more with a better main character. He really is the blandest white man in the universe.

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[–] Jarix@lemmy.world 4 points 10 months ago (1 children)

I love the expanse i think it is one of the best recent space sci fi shows.

But its not really a startek style show and i dont think its what op is looking for.

I think the show sliders would be much better if stargate is a good example of a non startrek franchise that fits the bill.

But then so is Doctor Who now that i think about it

[–] darthelmet@lemmy.world 3 points 10 months ago (2 children)

Huh, I didn’t really think of Dr Who and Star Trek in the same terms. I guess? Dr Who is great, but it’s so much campier than anything after TOS. Also, I’ve only watched New Who. I did try watching the first old ep a while back but it wasn’t really something I could watch. But it’s such a long running series, are there any seasons of the old show that are super worth watching?

I’ll also check out Sliders.

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[–] partial_accumen@lemmy.world 42 points 10 months ago (1 children)

civilizations, diplomacy, and exploration

Babylon 5 - It has a bit of a slow start with the first season (just the 1990's Trek shows), but it picks up about midway through season 1 and gets progressively better (higher stakes) until season 4. Season 5 is okay, and then there are series of movies, and recently even an animated show in the universe.

[–] M500@lemmy.ml 6 points 10 months ago (1 children)

To add to this, they have been talking about remaking the show.

[–] darthelmet@lemmy.world 12 points 10 months ago

So what you’re saying is, I should watch it now so I can complain when the remake isn’t as good. /s

[–] Kolanaki@yiffit.net 38 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (8 children)

Babylon 5 and Farscape are great.

Babylon 5 is more like Trek with diplomacy and semi-realisitic plots, while Farscape leans a bit more toward Star Wars; fun, campy, weird at times but well-written.

You may also like Red Dwarf which is like the IT crowd, but in space.

[–] Tuttle@lemmy.world 6 points 10 months ago

Yass red dwarf!! Grew up watching the series on public television.

[–] Zathras@lemm.ee 4 points 10 months ago

This comment includes all the shows I would also recommend.

Babylon 5 came out about the same time as Star Trek DS9. The first season is sometimes hard to get through, but well worth it. The character development and storylines are mostly excellent as they grow and intersect throughout the show. Season 5 can take or leave.

Farscape is another one where some people are turned off by the Jim Henson puppetesque characters. Another older show but has some great storylines and character development.

Red Dwarf, older British Humor, silly.

Highly recommend giving Farscape and Bab5 a try.

[–] darthsid@lemmy.world 3 points 10 months ago (5 children)

Your last line has sold me on red dwarf 😂

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[–] ChaoticEntropy@feddit.uk 28 points 10 months ago

I mean, the Expanse is fantastic sci fi, both book and show. It's not that Star Trek like though.

[–] Prouvaire@kbin.social 27 points 10 months ago (7 children)

For All Mankind is the Star Trek prequel we should have had. Co-created by Ron Moore (Deep Space Nine, Battlestar Galactica), the show has a bunch of Trek alumni working behind the scenes. It features human drama (and sometimes melodrama), geopolitical diplomacy, sweeping cultural change and scientific adventure against the backdrop of a multi generational future history, starting with the first moon landing.

[–] Riccosuave@lemmy.world 13 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

I'm going to tag on to this and say another more adult themed Sci-Fi trip you should take on Apple TV+ is Foundation. It is somewhere between GoT, The Expanse, and Star Trek. It is loosely based on the Foundation book series by Isaac Asimov. I highly recommend it.

[–] NIB@lemmy.world 8 points 10 months ago (8 children)

If you have read the Foundation books, the series will piss you off. Not just because it has very little in common with the books but because it goes against what the books stood for. And the most interesting parts of the Foundation tv series are the emperor arcs, which are original and arent from the books.

It seems to me that the creator wanted to make a scifi series of his own but just used the Foundation name for branding, name dropping and some abstract story elements. And then try to marry all the elements with some inane movie alchemy bullshit.

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[–] Voroxpete@sh.itjust.works 4 points 10 months ago

Nice to see For All Mankind getting some love. Absolutely fantastic show, and definitely feels true to Roddenberry's vision.

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[–] foyrkopp@lemmy.world 27 points 10 months ago (2 children)

In particular I really like the episodes that deal with interacting with other civilizations, diplomacy, and exploration more-so than say, an anomaly episode.

In light of this, and since you were able to work through the not-so-stellar episodes of ST, I'd strongly argue that Babylon 5 should be your next stop.

It has a slow start, some more mixed episodes, dated special effects and both main characters (they switched after season 1) are plain "heroic American leader" types, but virtually everything else is top tier even today. An excellent political plot, humor, great characters with genuine growth.

Just be aware that it is different from DS9 (personally, I like both).

Battlestar Galactica (the new one) and The Expanse are probably worth pointing out, too. To me, they're the best high-production-value sci-fi shows that didn't sacrifice their plot. Nevertheless, both are far more grim than the shows you've mentioned and overall "feel" different.

[–] flamingmongoose@lemmy.blahaj.zone 5 points 10 months ago

Was going to say Babylon 5, but yeah it's very 90s at this point. I do love it very much

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[–] aeronmelon@lemmy.world 24 points 10 months ago

The other science fiction series that I feel most-closely mimic the energy of Star Trek:

  • Star Gate SG1/Atlantis - Episodic planetary exploration and adventure with overarching serial universe-building
  • Babylon 5 - Space politics and looming galactic war (the show pitched to Paramount right before they made Deep Space Nine)
  • The Orville - Space utopia and moral dilemma seen from the outside (The Next Generation with all the funny outtakes left in)

(This list is for anyone reading. Enjoy B5, OP! Let us know when you get to that part where everyone cries.)

[–] jpreston2005@lemmy.world 21 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

The Expanse is an amazing sci-fi series that just gets better every season. Politics, war, discovery of new life, all within new civilizations cataloguing the early expansion of humans from the Earth to within our local system. Acting is top tier, graphics get better each season due to it's meteoric rise in popularity.

But yeah, nothing quite like those pure gold episodes of Star Trek: TNG. The new Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is more like TNG than the other series going on right now, but only has 2 seasons at this point I believe.

[–] setsneedtofeed@lemmy.world 16 points 10 months ago (3 children)

I don't know if you gave Stargate Atlantis a try. It doesn't reach the heights of SG1, but it has it's moments and is enjoyable overall.

[–] Reverendender@sh.itjust.works 9 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Stargate Universe was awesome. I will die on this hill.

[–] nezbyte@lemmy.world 4 points 10 months ago

Season 1 has some rough episodes, but the second season was great.

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[–] cosmicrookie@lemmy.world 16 points 10 months ago (3 children)

If you like British comedy then Red Drarf was surprisingly good imo

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[–] troyunrau@lemmy.ca 13 points 10 months ago (3 children)

The obvious answers are outside TV media.

Mass Effect 1, the video game, was originally conceived as a Star Trek game, but they couldn't secure the IP rights, so ended up pivoting to a new universe that feels Star Trek like. Play it on story mode.

In print, there are literally a hundred reasonable options, some more or less like different elements of Trek. A good choice (in my opinion) is The Spiral Wars -- rogue ship and crew, diplomacy, great combat, alien civilizations that are non-monolithic... Or CJ Cherryh's Alliance Union universe (a good entry point is Downbelow Station, a good overview of the universe) -- many different scenarios and topics and a lot of ethical dilemmas that would make Trek proud.

Of course, if TV is your thing, try out Babylon 5, Stargate, or Farscape. They all sort of start slow.

[–] lemmyvore@feddit.nl 7 points 10 months ago (1 children)

If you're not into games I can recommend the excellent playthroughs by NitaZera. There's no player commentary, just pure game. It's like watching a TV show. Of course you miss out on making your own choices but the author has made sure to pick interesting ones. There is continuity because the events of each game (and the choices) build on each other.

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[–] StarshipBistromath@ttrpg.network 11 points 10 months ago

Highly recommend the Culture Novels by Iain M Banks. They're not necessarily family friendly due to some adult themes and moments, but diplomacy, exploration and intrigue are the main focuses with a bit of action sprinkled in.

[–] OpenTheSeaLegs@lemmyf.uk 10 points 10 months ago (1 children)

We just watched Scavenger's Reign, If exploration is your thing. Not much diplomacy there tho

[–] darthelmet@lemmy.world 3 points 10 months ago (1 children)

We watched that recently. Pretty good show. It kind of makes me wish Star Trek had some better ecology episodes. Although now that I'm thinking about it, Star Trek would have had a hard time with that kind of stuff because of the costumes and effects. You can make a lot weirder creatures with animation.

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[–] Blackout@kbin.social 10 points 10 months ago (3 children)

I don't understand, aren't you supposed to start it all over again from the beginning and continue until your death? Are you allowed to watch ST just once?

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[–] 1stq@kbin.social 10 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

... (or maybe some books)...
.

Then how about the Bobiverse series? That should fit the bill perfectly. Even has a Riker! I'm a big fan of the audio books.

And definitely Project Hail Mary as a one off.

And maybe Expeditionary Force. That one is a bit much militaristic for my taste but I got to love the audio books anyways.

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[–] Thassodar@lemm.ee 8 points 10 months ago

I haven't seen Battlestar Galactica mentioned here. Great sci-fi show, although there is pretty much no alien life to speak of. Instead it's a juggling act between humans and the robots they created, in space. I'd almost say it's a long-form version of Blade Runner, where the robots actually beat humanity and forced them to run from Earth for survival.

[–] LifeCoffeeGaming@lemmy.world 7 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (3 children)

If you want something that's in the vein of episodic sci fi and is family friendly, try find Seaquest DSV.

In that same vein again, i would recommend Andromeda as it was created by Gene Roddenberry but the lead was Kevin Sorbo who had gone full maga mode, so maybe pirate that one 😁

Edit: did you also watch all of Stargate Atlantis & Universe?

[–] Hyperreality@kbin.social 5 points 10 months ago (3 children)

I would advise not watching Andromeda.

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[–] Olhonestjim@lemmy.world 7 points 9 months ago

If you like reading leftist utopian sci-fi, it doesn't get much better than The Culture series by Iain M. Banks. It gets dark though!

[–] ike_seblon@mastodon.social 6 points 10 months ago (5 children)

@darthelmet

Blake's 7: 70s BBC, cheesy FX, some great acting and a largely unprincipled crew which is fun.

Space 1999: if you had enjoyed TOS more you would love this: outlandish 70s episodic antiphysics

Vagrant Queen: space opera SyFy show that's pretty funny. Some blood, one season

Andromeda: Season 1 is okay

Babylon 5 is the show you're looking for :)

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[–] RampantParanoia2365@lemmy.world 6 points 10 months ago

Doctor Who is essentially Britain's louder Star Trek.

[–] Jarix@lemmy.world 5 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

I've mention a couple of shows in some replies but thought of some others so ill but them all here for both of our convenience

Based on this part of what you were asking fyi.

I really like the episodes that deal with interacting with other civilizations, diplomacy, and exploration more-so than say, an anomaly episode.

Space oriented

Firefly

Farscape

Lexx (maybe i didnt watch it, just caught some episodes here and there memory is foggy)

If you like the idea of a show about just the startrek episodes where they go back in time to various points in earth history and especially alternate earth history then i have the perfect show for you Its very similar to stargate in set up but not at all the same show

Sliders (this one and firefly are my top 2 picks for episodic style shows)

Honorable mentions

for just good space sci fi but more drama driven

Space: Above and Beyond

Battlestar Galactica (I never saw the original so cant recommend it)

Babylon 5

Maybe even Doctor Who? And Torchwood (these might be getting a bit off topic now)

For novels, i would recommend

Battletech books¹

¹read in chronological order. The universe of battletech has a big time scale all the collected stories take place over. You do get some spoilers here and there but i think not knowing what events took place ready when the authors wrote their book adds some good flavour to the overall experience

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[–] squirrelwithnut@lemmy.world 5 points 9 months ago

The Expanse is the best sci-fi TV show in recent memory. Though it's not really close to Star Trek.

[–] MudMan@kbin.social 4 points 10 months ago (1 children)

There's so much modern Trek at this point I don't even know if that's necessary.

Anyway, I'd say I see a ton of overlap between liking Trek and liking The Expanse, although it's more political and less "alien of the week diplomacy". Still, it goes places, give it a look.

[–] darthsid@lemmy.world 6 points 10 months ago (9 children)

For me and a few other fans Discovery and first 2 seasons of Picard don’t exist. Season 3 of Picard and Strange New Worlds I like.

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[–] UsefulInfoPlz@kbin.social 4 points 10 months ago (1 children)

I don’t see Firefly mentioned yet. Also if you liked TOS, try the 70’s Buck Rogers.

[–] darthelmet@lemmy.world 5 points 10 months ago

Watched Firefly and loved it. Too bad it got canceled before it's time.

This was probably something I should have said in the OP, but TOS is definitely my least favorite of the franchise. (outside of some of the new stuff.) We watched the first few episodes, bounced off the camp, went on to watch TNG and beyond, then eventually looped back around to it. This time we did finish it. It has it's moments and I can appreciate what made it special for its time, but it just feels inferior to everything that came after it. To me, TNG is the thing of when I think of Star Trek more-so than the original.

[–] ArugulaZ@kbin.social 4 points 10 months ago

Not quite what you wanted, but the Alien Nation TV series is pretty good, if you don't mind a little buddy cop drama in your science fiction.

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