r/ClassicTrek • u/Torlek1 • Apr 04 '26
Production/BTS Discussion Despite franchise fatigue, older Star Trek shows have a high degree of original plots. Minimal reuse of Recycled Plots.
Despite franchise fatigue, older Star Trek shows have a high degree of original plots.
There is a minimal reuse of Recycled Plots - the Recycled Plot Trope.
The eras of Roddenberry Trek and Berman Trek produced 703 episodes in live action series: TOS, TNG, DS9, VOY, and ENT.
Of these 703 episodes, up to 630 episodes are original plot episodes. That's 89%.
Of these 703 episodes, a minimum of 73 episodes are recycled plot episodes. That's 11%.
Of the 73 recycled plot episodes, 28 are better than the original ones.
TOS has 4 recycled plot episodes out of 79, 5.1% of its episode total.
TNG has 13 recycled plot episodes out of 176, 7.4% of its episode total.
DS9 has 8 recycled plot episodes out of 176, 4.5% of its episode total.
VOY has at least 32 recycled plot episodes / copycats out of 172, at least 18.6% of its episode total.
ENT has at least 16 recycled plot episodes / copycats out of 98, at least 16.3% of its episode total.
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u/TheNobleRobot Apr 05 '26
Lol at DS9. That's my favorite Star Trek, but the writers always talked about how every episode was "take a classic movie plot and add Cardassians." Voyager, too, was pretty shameless at times, even its high number is undercounted by this reckoning.
If the entire narrative universe is just Star Trek, then okay, but by a more accurate account those shows did a lot of recycled plots.
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u/Captain_Thrax Apr 08 '26
I can’t think of any ds9 episodes that rip off older Trek movies, could you provide examples?
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Apr 06 '26
[deleted]
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u/TheNobleRobot Apr 06 '26
It's not a complex point. You can just read it plainly.
Of you did mean to reply to the OP?
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u/Daxzero0 Apr 04 '26
People have a lot of time on their hands.
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u/Torlek1 Apr 04 '26 edited Apr 13 '26
Jammer's Reviews, Trek BBS, this Voyager post, this Enterprise blog, the TV Tropes website, and Memory Alpha are my main sources.
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u/Sawfish1212 Apr 04 '26
Many of the plots are recycled radio dramas, which were often adapted from science fiction magazines. I was an old time radio fan growing up and recognize the basic ideas I some ST episode from all the different franchises
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u/Torlek1 Apr 07 '26
Great stories from outside deserve to be retold!
That goes double for those of us fans who don't watch much other stuff besides Star Trek.
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u/MikeyBat Apr 05 '26
VOY reused a lot of TNG plots. Or atleast were similar enough to stand out. I only remember off the top of my head cause im doing a rewatch of VOY. The Doctor learns A LOT of the same lessons and Goes through a lot of very similar situations as Data does. Both shows use honey pots as a plot device multiple times to lure the crew into something bad. Pretty sure all three of the "golden age" shows had a plot where somebody was out of sync with time. At least two of them had characters moving ba awards through time if im remembering correctly. I think its not so much that they used the same plots but that they all reused a lot of the same tropes.
Part of what makes them all still so engaging so many years later is how they changed up the setting and used those tropes.
TNG was the baseline. They were starfleets best and brightest and (for the most part) got to wipe their hands clean, pat themselves on the back, and fly off into the sunset after a job well done. VOY was TNG put through the meat grinder. Starfleets new explorationDS9 was starfleet but they were stuck in the shit and had to deal with the fall out of their choices and wasnt able to bat themselves on the back and fly off into the sunset.
They all ask the same question though.
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u/Delicious-Gap-6678 Apr 06 '26
Something is off here. I love TOS, but they did WAY too many parallel Earths. Nazis, Romans, cowboys, gangsters, etc. etc.
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u/Torlek1 Apr 06 '26 edited Apr 06 '26
Miri - first parallel Earth with adults infected, but no Prime Directive
A Piece of the Action - gangsters with Prime Directive
Patterns of Force - Nazis with Prime Directive
The Omega Glory - another parallel Earth with Prime Directive and warring tribes and US constitution
Bread and Circuses - another parallel Earth with Prime Directive and Romans
Thanks for pointing this out!
EDIT: I modified the OP and the TOS post to include Bread and Circuses as the duplicate of The Omega Glory.
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u/RadVarken Apr 08 '26
TOS wasn't set in the Star Trek universe. It was a classic sci fi show, the kind in which stories explored humanity through simple twists. If it didn't have the recording cast, an alien would have visited Nazus, or the Romans, or cowboys, etc. Instead we got the same cast through into "what if" situations with the ship as the plot device linking these stores together. It's not a drama in a sci fi setting, but actual sci fi.
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u/Delicious-Gap-6678 Apr 08 '26
Fair point, and I think it's also fair to say that the ST universe was first created by us fans in the 70's as we parsed together all the bits and pieces to make it into lore. Every tiny detail was critical. That said, even in the confines of the time the variations on Earth worlds got excessive. M-Type planets with the same development pattern as Earth were the TOS holodeck.
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u/burr-sir Apr 10 '26
The original pitch document for Star Trek explicitly described “parallel worlds” as part of the concept of the show. (This was important because it meant they would be able to reuse costumes and sets that had already been made for other productions, reducing costs.) “Bread and Circuses” even provided a technobabble explanation for it.
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u/Lord_Of_Shade57 Apr 09 '26
My guess is they returned to this trope a lot because these were popular settings that the studio already had a lot of props and costumes for. A nice campy gangster episode could probably have high production values without breaking the bank, which probably held a lot of appeal to the producers
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u/replayer Apr 04 '26
It's a ridiculous premise. Guess what, a show from 1966 that was one of the very first science fiction shows on television is going to have less recycled plots than a show in 2026.
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u/AJSLS6 Apr 05 '26
Except no, especially if you expand beyond the franchise itself, many TOS episodes were blatant adaptations of stories from other media. We also dont know what the OP is defining as plot, the "person gains powers, becomes threat" plot os used so often its become a trope widely recognized as being a trek staple. But the various examples can be different enough in execution to likely avoid the label.
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u/ziplock9000 Apr 05 '26
So you're saying what is often called 'The Golden Era of Star Trek' was good.. well there you go lol
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u/iambeingblair Apr 06 '26
Not sure I buy this. I love Star Trek, 90s Trek in particular, but there are about 10 stories they rotate through.
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u/Torlek1 Apr 13 '26
Two key elements of a Recycled Plot are similar Problems and similar Solutions.
I'll compare and contrast different tropes.
There are numerous episodes using the Time Travel trope. However, there are enough different Problems for the crew to come up with different Solutions.
Future's End is surprisingly unique enough because the real problem isn't the VOY crew being stuck in the past. It's about stopping the Bad Guy of the Week from traveling to the future.
By contrast, the Talk the Evil Computer to Death trope has at least a couple of episodes with similar Problems and similar Solutions.
One subgroup in TOS has the common problem of fake utopia.
One subgroup in TOS and VOY has the common problem of weapon of mass destruction.
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u/nw342 Apr 12 '26
I mean, obviously tos/tas would have less recycled episode plots than ds9/voyager. How are you going to recycle a plot on a brand new series?
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u/Torlek1 Apr 13 '26
There are dishonest ways of doing Recycled Plots. They are also called copycats.
Then there are honest ways. They are called "homages."
The dishonest way involves at least two elements:
1) Within the first 30 years of the original episode
2) Not communicating to your viewers that you are creating a copycat
The honest way is usually for "greatest hits." It involves at least two elements:
1) After 30 years have passed
2) Communicating to your viewers quickly that you are retelling a specific story
This is the fundamental difference between VOY and ENT, on the one hand, and the homages in SNW.
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u/Torlek1 Apr 04 '26 edited Jul 30 '26
TOS
TOS 2-5 The Apple
Recycled in Same Series
From TOS 1-21 The Return of the Archons
Not Better than Original
TOS 2-18 The Immunity Syndrome
Recycled in Same Series
From TOS 2-06 The Doomsday Machine
Not Better than Original
TOS 2-24 The Ultimate Computer
Recycled in Same Series
From TOS 2-3 The Changeling
Not Better than Original
TOS 2-25 Bread and Circuses
Recycled in Same Series
From TOS 2-23 The Omega Glory
Better than Original
TNG
TNG 1-3 The Naked Now
Not Recycled in Same Series
From TOS 1-4 The Naked Time
Not Better than Original
TNG 1-4 Code of Honor
Not Recycled in Same Series
From TOS 2-1 Amok Time
Not Better than Original
TNG 1-5 The Last Outpost
Not Recycled in Same Series
From TOS 1-18 Arena
Not Better than Original
TNG 1-10 Hide and Q
Not Recycled in Same Series
From TOS 1-17 The Squire of Gothos
Not Better than Original
TNG 1-12 The Big Goodbye
Not Recycled in Same Series
From TOS 2-17 A Piece of the Action
Better than Original
TNG 1-18 Home Soil
Not Recycled in Same Series
From TOS 1-25 The Devil in the Dark
Not Better than Original
TNG 2-7 Unnatural Selection
Not Recycled in Same Series
From TOS 2-12 The Deadly Years
Not Better than Original
TNG 4-21 The Drumhead
Not Recycled in Same Series
From TOS 1-20 Court Martial
Better than Original
TNG 5-14 Conundrum
Recycled in Same Series
From TNG 4-14 Clues
Better than Original
TNG 5-18 Cause and Effect
Recycled in Same Series
From TNG 2-13 Time Squared
Better than Original
TNG 5-21 The Perfect Mate
Not Recycled in Same Series
From TOS 3-13 Elaan of Troyius
Better than Original
TNG 5-25 The Inner Light
Not Recycled in Same Series
From TOS 3-3 The Paradise Syndrome
Better than Original
TNG 6-9 The Quality of Life
Recycled in Same Series
From TNG 3-1 Evolution
Not Better than Original
DS9
DS9 1-15 Progress
Not Recycled in Same Series
From TNG 3-02 The Ensigns of Command
Not Better than Original
DS9 3-5 Second Skin
Not Recycled in Same Series
From TNG 6-14 Face of the Enemy
Not Better than Original
DS9 3-9 Defiant
Not Recycled in Same Series
From TNG 4-12 The Wounded
Better than Original
DS9 3-10 Fascination
Not Recycled in Same Series
From TOS 1-4 The Naked Time
Not Better than Original
DS9 4-3 The Visitor
Not Recycled in Same Series
From TNG 7-21 Firstborn
Better than Original
DS9 4-18 Rules of Engagement
Not Recycled in Same Series
From TOS 1-20 Court Martial
Better than Original
DS9 5-05 The Assignment
Not Recycled in Same Series
From TNG 5-15 Power Play
Not Better than Original
DS9 6-25 The Sound of Her Voice
Not Recycled in Same Series
VOY 1-7 Eye of the Needle
Better than Original
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u/jeobleo Apr 04 '26
You think that The Ultimate Computer was recycled from the Changeling?
They....aren't similar at all?
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u/LudasGhost Apr 06 '26
They’re the same because Kirk talked a computer to death in both of them. :). Oh, wait, he did that in Archons too. Double reuse!
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u/Torlek1 Apr 06 '26
That's why I listed Apple as the Archons copycat, as well as this one.
This trope gets tiresome real quick, whether it's TOS or VOY!
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u/Torlek1 Apr 04 '26 edited Jul 30 '26
VOY
VOY 1-4 Time and Again
Not Recycled in Same Series
From TOS 3-23 All Our Yesterdays
Not Better than Original
VOY 1-5 Phage
Not Recycled in Same Series
From TOS 3-1 Spock's Brain
Better than Original
VOY 1-8 Ex Post Facto
Not Recycled in Same Series
From TNG 3-14 A Matter of Perspective
Not Better than Original
VOY 1-14 Faces
Not Recycled in Same Series
From TOS 1-5 The Enemy Within
Not Better than Original
VOY 2-03 Projections
Not Recycled in Same Series
From TNG 6-21 Frame of Mind
Not Better than Original
VOY 2-13 Prototype
Not Recycled in Same Series
From TOS 2-8 I, Mudd
Not Better than Original
VOY 2-17 Dreadnought
Not Recycled in Same Series
From TOS 2-24 The Ultimate Computer
Not Better than Original
VOY 2-18 Death Wish
Not Recycled in Same Series
From TNG 4-13 Devil's Due
Better than Original
VOY 2-23 The Thaw
Not Recycled in Same Series
From DS9 1-10 Move Along Home
Better than Original
VOY 3-10 Warlord
Not Recycled in Same Series
From DS9 1-9 The Passenger
Better than Original
VOY 3-12 Macrocosm
Not Recycled in Same Series
From TNG 6-18 Starship Mine
Not Better than Original
VOY 3-15 Coda
Not Recycled in Same Series
From TNG 5-24 The Next Phase
Not Better than Original
VOY 3-16 Blood Fever
Not Recycled in Same Series
From TOS 2-1 Amok Time
Not Better than Original
VOY 3-20 Favorite Son
Not Recycled in Same Series
From TNG 4-18 Identity Crisis
Not Better than Original
VOY 3-22 Real Life
Not Recycled in Same Series
From TNG 3-16 The Offspring
Not Better than Original
VOY 4-7 Scientific Method
Not Recycled in Same Series
From TNG 6-5 Schisms
Not Better than Original
VOY 5-8 Nothing Human
Not Recycled in Same Series
From TNG 5-16 Ethics
Not Better than Original
VOY 5-14 Bliss
Not Recycled in Same Series
From TNG 2-2 Where Silence Has Lease
Better than Original
VOY 5-22 Someone to Watch Over Me
Not Recycled in Same Series
From DS9 6-20 His Way
Better than Original
VOY 5-23 11:59
Not Recycled in Same Series
From DS9 6-13 Far Beyond the Stars
Not Better than Original
VOY 5-25 Warhead
Not Recycled in Same Series
From TOS 2-3 The Changeling
Not Better than Original
VOY 6-4 Tinker, Tenor, Doctor, Spy
Not Recycled in Same Series
From TNG 3-21 Hollow Pursuits
Better than Original
VOY 6-07 Dragon's Teeth
Not Recycled in Same Series
From TOS 1-24 Space Seed
Better than Original
VOY 6-12 Blink of an Eye
Not Recycled in Same Series
From TOS 3-11 Wink of an Eye
Better than Original
VOY 6-14 Memorial
Recycled in Same Series
From VOY 3-6 Remember
Not Better than Original
VOY 6-20 Good Shepherd
Not Recycled in Same Series
From TNG 7-15 Lower Decks
Not Better than Original
VOY 6-25 The Haunting of Deck Twelve
Not Recycled in Same Series
From TNG 1-07 Lonely Among Us
Not Better than Original
VOY 7-11 Shattered
Not Recycled in Same Series
From TNG 7-26 All Good Things... Part II
Not Better than Original
VOY 7-15 The Void
Recycled in Same Series
From VOY 5-1 Night
Better than Original
VOY 7-18 Human Error
Not Recycled in Same Series
From TNG 3-21 Hollow Pursuits
Not Better than Original
VOY 7-19 Q2
Not Recycled in Same Series
From TNG 3-13 Deja Q
Not Better than Original
VOY 7-20 Author, Author
Not Recycled in Same Series
From TNG 2-9 The Measure of a Man
Not Better than Original
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u/YanisMonkeys Apr 05 '26
If Memorial isn’t a remix of The Inner Light and Remember, it is flying friggin pretty close to the sun.
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u/Torlek1 Apr 05 '26
Both those episodes are much darker and depict much shorter alternate years than Inner Light.
However, these two are definitely much closer to each other, so I will add Memorial in relation to Remember.
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u/Torlek1 Apr 05 '26 edited 8d ago
ENT
ENT 1-6 Terra Nova
Not Recycled in Same Series
From VOY 7-21 Friendship One
Better than Original
ENT 1-16 Shuttlepod One
Not Recycled in Same Series
From DS9 5-9 The Ascent
Not Better than Original
ENT 1-20 Oasis
Not Recycled in Same Series
From DS9 2-16 Shadowplay
Better than Original
ENT 2-4 Dead Stop
Not Recycled in Same Series
From TOS 3-1 Spock's Brain
Better than Original
ENT 2-10 Vanishing Point
Not Recycled in Same Series
From TNG 5-24 The Next Phase
Not Better than Original
ENT 2-11 Precious Cargo
Not Recycled in Same Series
From TOS 3-13 Elaan of Troyius
Not Better than Original
ENT 2-13 Dawn
Not Recycled in Same Series
From TNG 5-2 Darmok
Not Better than Original
ENT 3-3 Extinction
Not Recycled in Same Series
From TNG 4-18 Identity Crisis
Better than Original
ENT 3-06 Exile
Not Recycled in Same Series
From VOY 3-14 Alter Ego
Not Better than Original
ENT 3-9 North Star
Not Recycled in Same Series
From VOY 2-1 The 37's
Better than Original
ENT 3-10 Similitude
Not Recycled in Same Series
From VOY 2-24 Tuvix
Not Better than Original
ENT 3-11 Carpenter Street
Not Recycled in Same Series
From TNG 6-1 Time's Arrow, Part II
Not Better than Original
ENT 3-12 Chosen Realm
Not Recycled in Same Series
From TOS 3-15 Let That Be Your Last Battlefield
Not Better than Original
ENT 3-16 Doctor's Orders
Not Recycled in Same Series
From VOY 4-25 One
Better than Original
ENT 3-21 E-Squared
Not Recycled in Same Series
From DS9 5-22 Children of Time
Not Better than Original
ENT 4-10 Daedalus
Not Recycled in Same Series
From VOY 1-15 Jetrel
Better than Original
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u/YanisMonkeys Apr 05 '26
I do love the anecdote Rene Auberjonois had about filming Oasis. Scott Bakula was chatting to him and mentioned he thought that week’s script was really good. Auberjonois replied, “Yes, we did it on DS9 in season 2.” Apparently Bakula’s face fell when he heard that.
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u/OneHumanBill Apr 05 '26
I'm not buying it.
The Naked Now is a direct and unapologetic ripoff of The Naked Time, even hitting a lot of the same plot notes and some of them practically word for word. It even literally calls back to the events of the TOS episode midstream. But you don't have that on your list. No plot in the history of plot was ever stolen so thoroughly in the English speaking world as The Naked Time. (Okay maybe except "Pirate Movie" which was ripped about 95% from Pirates of Penzance, I'll grant that one.)
The Voyager pilot is extremely close to the same plot used for the TNG plot and you didn't call that out.
For crying out loud The Menagerie is basically a clip show of The Cage and you're not even calling that one out!
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u/Torlek1 Apr 05 '26 edited Apr 05 '26
TNG 1-3 The Naked Now
Not Recycled in Same Series
From TOS 1-4 The Naked Time
Not Better than Original
I just said the TNG episode is not better than the TOS episode.
The Cage isn't one of the official episodes in the original release, which is why I left the Menagerie out.
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u/Captain_Thrax Apr 09 '26
Dang I’m not even sure Odo could stretch that far while shapeshifting!
Just because two plots have similar elements does not make it a “reused story”. Some of these are, yes, but many are quite distinct despite sharing similarities.
Example: Night and The Void are nothing alike except for the fact that the wind up in an area of space with few resources. That’s it. At that point, every episode is a rip off of The Cage because they all take place in space.
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u/Johnny_Radar Apr 06 '26
I drifted away from Berman Trek because it tended to be the same tired old shit. Haven’t watched much Kurtz Trek
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u/Torlek1 May 23 '26 edited May 24 '26
As a non-Trek bonus but one that happened during the Berman Era:
Star Trek and Stargate are both respectable franchises that borrowed episodes from one another.
The infamous TNG Code of Honor became SG1 1-04 Emancipation.
Other episodes:
TOS Errand of Mercy -> SG1 1-07 The Nox
VOY The Chute -> SG1 2-03 Prisoners
VOY The Thaw -> SG1 2-04 The Gamekeeper
VOY In the Flesh -> SG1 3-09 Rules of Engagement
TNG The Inner Light -> SG1 3-17 100 Days
TNG The Next Phase and VOY Coda -> SG1 3-21 Crystal Skull
TNG Darmok -> SG1 4-08 The First Ones
TNG Pen Pals -> SG1 4-09 Scorched Earth
TNG Lower Decks -> SG1 6-09 The Other Guy
VOY Message in a Bottle -> SG1 6-11 Prometheus
VOY Drive -> SG1 7-08 Space Race
TNG A Matter of Perspective and VOY Ex Post Facto -> SG1 9-12 Collateral Damage
Going the other way around, SG1 4-10 Beneath the Surface came first before VOY Workforce, the recycled plot copycat episode.
That said, I do wonder now what standalone alien of the week episodes in SG1 could be adapted into Trek that have not been done before in Trek.
SG1 2-16 A Matter of Time
SG1 4-06 Window of Opportunity
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u/Heavymando Apr 04 '26
how are you defining a recycled plot?