10 TV Shows That Re-Used Props From Other Shows

Although dismissed by some at the time as trashy sci-fi fluff, Starship Troopers - Paul Verhoeven's anti-fascist satire of a distinctly fascist leaning source - has had an impressively influential legacy. That goes for the movie's props and costumes too.

The helmets and body armour of the bug-battling Federation troopers made for an effective if generic sci-fi military look and, as a result, ended up much in demand for any futuristic small screen army.

A couple of years after Starship Troopers, the armour and weapons showed up on Power Rangers: The Lost Galaxy. Of course it comes as no surprise that a series that exists purely to recycle other people's footage would also be into recycling even on the original stuff that they did shoot. But this wasn't the last time the Federation armour was reused on TV.

It also appeared in cult favourite space western Firefly. Even though that was a relatively high budget, ambitious series, they were still happy to borrow the armour to kit out Alliance troopers in second first episode (Firefly's airing schedule being a whole mess of its own) The Train Job. All that it took to completely transform Starship Troopers Federation armour into Firefly Alliance armour was a couple of licks of purple paint. Look closely and you can even see some "bug blood" left over from the movie.

In the end, the the armour found its way home, bought back by studio TriStar for TV movie sequel Starship Troopers 2: Hero Of The Federation.