Summary
Despite dubbing it a “rip off” ofStar Trek: The Next Generation, Patrick Stewart is a big fan of a science fiction sitcom that first aired a year afterTNG. TheStar Trekformat has lent itself well to comedy and parody for decades, from the movieGalaxy Questto theBlack Mirrorepisode “USS Callister”. The most notableStar Trekinspired comedy of recent years is Seth McFarlane’sThe Orville, which, on airing in 2017, was pitched by the network as a sci-fi sitcom. However,The Orvilleis really a solid science fiction show that just so happens to have jokes in it.
The UK sci-fi comedyRed Dwarf, which has been written and produced as a sitcom since 1988, also deals with big science fiction concepts. Much likeStar Trek: The Next Generation,Red Dwarf’s popularity earned it some high-profile celebrity fans, like Professor Stephen Hawking. Another ofRed Dwarf’s celebrity fans is Patrick Stewart, who presentedRed Dwarf Night, a celebration of the show on the BBC in 1998. In the video below, Patrick Stewart reveals that he initially believedRed Dwarfwas ripping off what he and thecast ofTNGhad been doing in the US:
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Why Patrick Stewart Believed That Red Dwarf Ripped Off Star Trek: TNG
Patrick Stewart’s story about reaching for the phone to call his lawyer is obviously a comic exaggeration on theStar Trek: The Next Generationstar’s part. However, there is a possibility that Stewartdidbelieve that theRed Dwarfepisode he was watching had ripped offTNG.Patrick Stewart says that he first watched an episode ofRed Dwarfduring a visit to the UK in either 1993 or 1994. If it was 1993, then there’s a possibility Stewart watchedRed DwarfVIepisode 3, “Gunmen of the Apocalypse”, which aired in October of that year.
“Gunmen of the Apocalypse” wonRed Dwarfan International Emmy for Popular Arts in 1994.
“Gunmen of the Apocalypse” sees theRed Dwarfcrew enter a virtual reality simulation of a Wild West town to defeat a computer virus affecting the ship’s android, Kryten (Robert Llewellyn). The storyline bears similarities toStar Trek: The Next Generationseason 6, episode 8, “A Fistful of Datas”, which wasdirected by Patrick Stewartin 1992. However,“A Fistful of Datas” didn’t air in the UK until July 1993, two months before “Gunmen of the Apocalypse” aired on the BBC, so it’s unlikely that Rob Grant and Doug Naylor had seen theTNGepisode before writingRed Dwarf’s own cowboy episode.
What Star Trek: TNG Could Learn From Red Dwarf According To Patrick Stewart
The funniest element of Patrick Stewart’sRed Dwarfanecdote is that he chose not to phone his lawyer after the show made him laugh. The implicit suggestion being thatRed Dwarfcouldn’t possibly be ripping offStar Trek: The Next Generationbecause it was making people laugh. WhileTNGhad its fair share of comedy episodes, there was a base level of self-importance that could prevent the cast from cutting loose. This was something that Patrick Stewart clearly lamented, as he told theRed Dwarf A-Zdocumentary in 1998:
“I sometimes wish we could have introduced that wild, ironic humour into the Next Generation”
Star Trek: The Next Generationis the most serious of the 1990sTrekshows, so it’s understandable that Patrick Stewart wished they could be a bit more likeRed Dwarf. However, Stewart is also being a little hard onTNG, which delivered some ofStar Trek’s best comedy episodes. One of those episodes is “A Fistful of Datas”, and while it may not be as funny asRed Dwarf’s “Gunmen of the Apocalypse”, it does provide insight into the level of “wild” comedy that Patrick Stewart wanted to bring intoStar Trek: The Next Generation.
