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I saw this on TV when I was a kid. The basic idea seemed directly lifted from the movie, Forbidden Planet. The Leslie Nielsen captain character was played by a good looking, charismatic actor, and the cerebral Warren Stevens doctor character was covered by a cerebral second officer character and a conscience-driven doctor character. The ship was run like a large naval vessel, but traveled around the galaxy at super-luminal speeds. Some of the episodes were similar plot-wise to the movie in that the ship would visit a planet inhabited solely by a Walter Pidgeon type loner character and a beautiful young woman (Anne Francis) character.

Did the concept of StarTrek originate from Forbidden Planet or was Forbidden Planet itself derivative of an earlier SF story (book, short story, movie, or other form)?

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    Star Trek? Although, is "charismatic" accurate for William Shatner? – HorusKol Mar 26 '14 at 0:32
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    Oh my god, I think Galaxy Quest might be based off this same series! We must track it down! – James Sheridan Mar 26 '14 at 0:51
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    Forbidden Planet influence most sci-fi shows and movies set in outer space from the sixties onward. It is impossible to overstate its influence. – James McLeod Mar 26 '14 at 4:37
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    @BobBrandt So was this a trick question? Since you obviously knew the answer beforehand. – Chahk Mar 26 '14 at 13:01
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    This question appears to be off-topic because it is not asked in good faith. Virtually no one with any 20th century cultural awareness could provide so much detail and not know the answer. – John O Mar 26 '14 at 15:03
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The show you are thinking about is called Star Trek, a short-lived television series from the late 1960s. It's not surprising that you can't remember it; it was not nearly as famous as a science fiction series that came a year earlier called My Mother the Car, commonly referred to by cult fan clubs as MMTC. MMTC was a groundbreaking series that was a generation ahead of its time, pioneering the science fiction concept of vehicle AI that would be used later in Knight Rider. Somehow, Star Trek was able to last a measly 2 seasons longer than MMTC before getting cancelled.

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