10 TV Shows That Wanted To Be Star Trek
9. Buck Rogers In The 25th Century
Glen A. Larson, in his first appearance on this list, created Buck Rogers In The 25th Century, which revolved around the central character of Buck dealing with being both out of time and fighting extra-terrestrial threats to Earth. Originally, it was a standalone film, though this was re-edited as a backdoor pilot once the studio decided to push ahead with the series.
It received two seasons' worth of stories, with the second of these being the more heavily Star Trek-influenced one. The first season had Buck located primarily on Earth, working as an unofficial agent for 'The Federation's security. The show also featured space travel via Stargates, though it was also referred to as Warp travel.
In the second season, Buck was now leading a crew aboard the Searcher. The ship's mission was to seek out the lost colonies of mankind - an idea that Larson had already used in Battlestar Galactica. It was this year that the Star Trek ideas really sunk in. Buck was modeled closely on James T. Kirk, with his crewmate Hawk serving as Mr. Spock. Colonel Wilma Deering was redesigned to resemble Uhura, often shown in miniskirts, sitting at the communications array.
The show was canceled due to lower ratings, difficulties with the main actor, and rising costs.