Live-Action TV - TV Tropes
- ️Sun Dec 05 2010
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/RecycledInSpace/LiveActionTV
Recycled In Space
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- The 100 is Lord of the Flies IN THE EARTH!
- Abbott Elementary is The Office IN AN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL!
- All That is Saturday Night Live FOR KIDS!
- Andor is Les Misérables IN SPACE!
- Andromeda is Gene Roddenberry's failed pilot Genesis II IN SPACE!
- Atlanta is Twin Peaks SET IN THE SOUTH and WITH RAPPERS!
- Austin & Ally is Entourage FOR TWEENS!
- Baby Einstein
- Baby Bach is Baby Mozart WITH BACH MUSIC!
- Baby Beethoven is these WITH BEETHOVEN MUSIC!
- Baby Van Gogh is Baby Shakespeare WITH COLORS!
- Baby Noah is Baby Dolittle: World Animals WITH NOAH'S ARK!
- Discovering Shapes is Baby Newton WITH A RHINO!
- Baby's First Sounds is Language Nursery WITH FOOTAGE FROM PREVIOUS VIDEOS!
- The discovery kit Neptune's Oceans is the Baby Dolittle videos WITH SEA AND ARTIC ANIMALS!
- Baby Bach is Baby Mozart WITH BACH MUSIC!
- Baby Genius is Baby Einstein WITH ANTHROPOMORPHIC ANIMALS and NURSERY RHYMES!
- Babylon 5: Thirdspace was The Call of Cthulhu IN SPACE!
- River of Souls was Ghostbusters IN SPACE!
- A joke among the fandom was to describe B5 (favorably) as The Lord of the Rings IN SPACE! (Even though the stories and characters are nothing alike), with the spin-off Crusade ending up as a Dungeons & Dragons campaign IN SPACE! (See, they had a wizard, a thief, a paladin...)
- A lot of what goes on within the Centauri court is I, Claudius IN SPACE!
- Many episodes of Battlestar Galactica (1978) are lifted from classic movies;
- "The Gun on Ice Planet Zero" = The Guns of Navarone and Ice Station Zebra. Both movies were based on books by Alistair MacLean.
- "The Magnificent Warriors" = The Magnificent Seven, which itself was a western version of Seven Samurai.
- "The Lost Warrior" = Shane
- "Fire in Space" = The Towering Inferno
- "Murder on the Rising Star" = Murder on the Orient Express
- Both the old and new series are heavily inspired by series creator Glen Larson's Mormon faith, making it effectively The Book of Mormon IN SPACE!
- Hmm...the twelve tribes colonies, originated from Eden Kobol, was forced to move from their homeland to find a promised land Earth that only was known from legend, all due to the actions of a certain man, who after receiving visions and power from a higher being, eventually become the founder and leader of Judaism Christianity a monothestic religion and preach about grace, and after wandering around the desert space for forty four years, manage to arrive on a lush green place planet that is eventually OUR Earth, all according to the plan of the higher being. Hmm, sounds like a familiar book...
- The re-imagined series gave us the episode "The Captain's Hand" = Crimson Tide IN SPACE!
- The prequel Caprica is The Godfather IN SPACE!
- Barney & Friends is Wee Sing WITH DINOSAURS!
- With its Star Wars-inspired motif, Battlestars is almost literally The Hollywood Squares IN SPACE!
- Baywatch Nights
? Baywatch...WITH DETECTIVES! And when that didn't work out, WITH THE PARANORMAL! And also WITH SCI-FI! - Bear in the Big Blue House is Barney & Friends IN A HOUSE AND MORE DOWN TO EARTH! Oh, and WITH MUPPETS!
- Bella and the Bulldogs is essentially Disney Channel's The Jersey AS A NICKELODEON SITCOM! AND WITHOUT ANY FANTASY ELEMENTS!
- Between the Lions is The Electric Company (1971) WITH PUPPETS!
- Alternatively, Readalong IN AMERICA!
- Blake's 7 was The Dirty Dozen mixed with Robin Hood IN SPACE! In a specific episode example, the Space Rats, the antagonists in the episode "Hyperdrive", were criminal outlaw bikers IN SPACE!
- The Bold Type is Psych WITH FASHION MODELS!
- Bondi Vet is Emergency Vets DOWN UNDER!
- Alternately, Emergency Vets is Harry's Practice IN THE STATES!note
- Boohbah is Teletubbies WITH BALL-LIKE CREATURES!
- The Book Place is Between the Lions IN AUSTRALIA!
- The Buck Rogers in the 25th Century episode "Space Vampire" is Dracula...In Space, complete with a wrecked ship with a ship's log that documents the deaths of the crew and a passenger named William Helsing from "New London"
- The Brady Bunch Variety Hour is The Muppet Show WITH THE BRADYS!
- The Brittas Empire is Fawlty Towers IN A LEISURE CENTRE!
- Charmed (1998):
- "The Magic Hour" was Ladyhawke IN CALIFORNIA! WITH GOOD WITCHES!
- The episode "Dead Man Dating" was Ghost (1990) IN SAN FRANCISCO, WITH WITCHES AND DEMONS!
- Charmed (2018) is basically the original Charmed AS A Denser and Wackier AFFECTIONATE PARODY!
- The Chica Show is Caillou IN A COSTUME SHOP and MORE DOWN TO EARTH!. Oh, and is BOTH LIVE-ACTION AND ANIMATED!
- China Beach is M*A*S*H IN THE VIETNAM WAR WITH A FOCUS ON THE NURSES!
- The third season of Chucky (whose parent franchise is described in more detail on the Live-Action Film page) is Chucky IN WASHINGTON, DC! Specifically, the titular Killer Doll has found his way into the hands of the President's son, and starts killing people in The White House.
- City Kids is Sesame Street FOR TEENAGERS!
- Crash & Bernstein is The Loud House IN LIVE ACTION, WITH A PUPPET! (Despite the show comes first.)
- Crazy Ex-Girlfriend is Sex and the City AS A MUSICAL SATIRE!
- CSI Season 9 Episode 20. CSI: IN SPACE!
- The Dateline segment To Catch a Con Man is To Catch a Predator WITH CHRIS HANSEN TELLING CON MEN TO TAKE A SEAT OVER THERE INSTEAD OF ONLINE PREDATORS!
- Parodied on The Daily Show during a short in which Jon Stewart, Steve Carell and Stephen Colbert are TV producers trying to come up with a new reality show. At one point, Colbert complains that "Every pitch [Stewart] makes is just one of mine with the words IN SPACE added to the end."
- Death in Paradise is Midsomer Murders IN THE CARIBBEAN!
- Defying Gravity is Grey's Anatomy IN SPACE!
- Denkō Chōjin Gridman is Ultraman and The Transformers together IN CYBERSPACE!
- Dino Dana is Dino Dan AS A GIRL!
- Dinosaurs is The Simpsons WITH DINOSAURS!
- Half of all Doctor Who episodes ever are "Hammer Horror/Classic Literature/Contemporary Movie/Greek Mythology etc., WITH ALIENS!" Doctor Who author Ben Aaronovitch once said that "Talent borrows, genius steals, and Doctor Who authors get it off the back of a lorry, no questions asked." (He was talking specifically about his novel, The Also People, which was The Culture! IN DOCTOR WHO!)
- The Third Doctor story "The Dæmons" is Quatermass and the Pit IN WILTSHIRE INSTEAD OF KNIGHTSBRIDGE!
- And the Fourth Doctor story "The Seeds of Doom" is The Quatermass Experiment IN DORSET! — when it's not being Who Goes There? or "The Man-Eater of Surrey Green".
- The Fourth Doctor story "The Androids of Tara" is The Prisoner of Zenda IN SPACE!
- The penultimate Ninth Doctor story, "Bad Wolf", rather shamelessly had Big Brother, What Not to Wear, and The Weakest Link IN SPACE! No, not lawyer-friendly knock-offs of them, but the actual shows, transplanted into the distant future, as part of what turns out to be a typically horrifying Doctor Who plot. As weird as it sounds, it works really well.
- "The Impossible Planet" and "The Satan Pit" is Event Horizon...FOR KIDS!
- "Smith and Jones" has the Doctor say this while Obfuscating Stupidity:
"Have you seen?! There are these things, these great big space rhino things, I mean, rhinos from space, and we're on the Moon! Big space rhinos, with guns! ON THE MOON!"
- "Voyage of the Damned" is The Poseidon Adventure IN SPACE! It's even lampshaded, since the space ship is appropriately named the Titanic.
- It seems to be a recurring theme for the specials, 2010 had "A Christmas Carol" which was, of course, A Christmas Carol IN SPACE! ...WITH A FLYING SHARK!
- The Tenth Doctor & Donna story "The Unicorn and the Wasp" is an Agatha Christie mystery WITH AGATHA CHRISTIE! AND ALIENS!
- "The Lodger" is lampshaded as Doctor Who ON EARTH!
- "The Big Bang": The Doctor once took Amy to "Space Florida", and at the end receives a phone call about an incident onboard the Orient Express IN SPACE!
- In the Big Finish Eighth Doctor story Max Warp, the eponymous Show Within a Show is Top Gear IN SPACE!
- "Chimes of Midnight" is House of Leaves AS A MURDER MYSTERY FARCE!
- The Third Doctor story "The Dæmons" is Quatermass and the Pit IN WILTSHIRE INSTEAD OF KNIGHTSBRIDGE!
- The Dooley And Pals Show is The Huggabug Club WITH AN ALIEN AND A ROBOT!
- The Duck Factory featured a young Jim Carrey tasked with rebooting a stale cartoon show. After finding he'd just proposed killing off the producer's favorite character, he notes the producer's office decor and saves the day by adding, "did I mention this all happens IN SPACE?"
- Dumbo's Circus is Welcome to Pooh Corner IN A CIRCUS!
- Dusty's Trail was Gilligan's Island IN THE OLD WEST!
- Earth: Final Conflict has the 4th season episode "Phantom Companion" which is basically the The Phantom of the Opera set on the Taelon mothership, or to put it simply, IN SPACE!
- The Expanse isn't precisely Don Quixote IN SPACE! but it borrows enough thematic elements to feel that way.
- However, quite a bit of the plot-line concerning Detective Miller's search for Julie Mao can be summarized as Laura IN SPACE!
- Family Matters went on for nine seasons before some bright crayon decided Urkel would be even better IN SPACE! Urkel returned. The show did not. Cracked.com used this as an example of TV shows that went beyond Jumping the Shark and just completely lost their shit.
- Far Out Space Nuts is a Saturday morning Gilligan's Island IN SPACE! Complete with Bob Denver playing Gilligan's Expy. "I said LUNCH, not LAUNCH!"
- Farscape, with varying degrees of delight, made several such episodes. Possibly the most memorable is the one where, locked inside his own mind, Crichton turns his existence into a Looney Tunes cartoon, with a lot of reference to the Wile E. Coyote/Roadrunner cartoons.
- For that matter, the entire premise of the show is really just Alice in Wonderland... in SPACE. It has also been compared to Blake's 7 WITH A BUDGET.
- Fate: The Winx Saga is Doctor Strange AS A WINX CLUB SHOW IN LIVE-ACTION!
- The Fimbles is Teletubbies ON THE MOON and THE CHARACTERS SPEAK ENGLISH!
- Alternatively, The Hoobs BUT BIGGER!
- Firefly's premise is the American Civil War...IN SPACE!
- Fraggle Rock is Mister Rogers' Neighborhood JIM HENSON STYLE, WITH MORE EMPHASIS ON THE SHOW'S IMAGINARY WORLD!
- The Fresh Beat Band is The Wiggles BUT HIP and WITH BETTER HAIR AND OUTFITS!
- Fringe is The X-Files WITH MAD SCIENCE!
- Gang Related is The Departed (which is Infernal Affairs IN BOSTON, WITH IRISH GANGSTERS) IN LOS ANGELES, WITH LATINOS.
- Giggle And Hoot is The Good Night Show IN AUSTRALIA!
- Glee is High School Musical AS A DRAMEDY!
- The Good Night Show is The Big Comfy Couch AT NIGHT and IN AMERICA!. Oh, and HAS A STAR-SHAPED PILLOW PUPPET!
- The Good Place is No Exit AS A SITCOM!
- Grimm is Twin Peaks WITH FAIRY TALES!
- Groundling Marsh is Fraggle Rock WITH ENVIRONMENTAL MESSAGES!
- Y Gwyll/Hinterland is Nordic Noir IN WALES! AND IN WELSH (AND ENGLISH)!
- Hart of Dixie is Grey's Anatomy IN THE DEEP SOUTH!
- Hawkeye (2021) is Arrow IN THE MARVEL CINEMATIC UNIVERSE!
- Hip Hop Harry is Barney & Friends WITH RAP MUSIC!
- The premise for the cancelled pilot Hot Date would've been The Bachelor WITH PORN STARS!
- High School Musical: The Musical: The Series is Glee AIMED AT A SLIGHTLY YOUNGER AUDIENCE!
- Hola Sproutitos is Shining Time Station IN BOTH ENGLISH AND SPANISH!
- The Horror Of Dolores Roach is Sweeney Todd WITH A MODERN-DAY MASSEUSE!
- The Huggabug Club is Wee Sing WITH BUGS!
- Imagination Movers is The Wiggles AS AMERICANS AND IN A WAREHOUSE!
- In the Night Garden... is Teletubbies BEFORE BED!
- It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia is Seinfeld ON CRYSTAL METH!
- Jack of All Trades is Mortal Kombat: Conquest IN THE WEST INDIES!
- Jack's Big Music Show is Yo Gabba Gabba! WITH PUPPETS!
- Jessie is The Nanny WITH A YOUNGER PROTAGONIST AND A MULTI-ETHNIC CAST!
- Johnny and the Sprites is Fraggle Rock FOR PRESCHOOLERS!
- Just Roll With It is The Play That Goes Wrong AS A CHILDREN'S GAME SHOW!
- There have been Kamen Rider shows IN SPACE:
- Kamen Rider: Skyrider is Science Ninja Team Gatchaman and Superman together AS A KAMEN RIDER SHOW!
- Kamen Rider BLACK and RX are Devilman AS A KAMEN RIDER SHOW!
- Kamen Rider Ryuki is Kamen Rider BLACK UP TO 13 RIDERS! IN THE MIRROR WORLD!
- Also, Mirrorman, Highlander, Digimon Tamers and Soul Series together AS A KAMEN RIDER SHOW!
- Kamen Rider Blade is J.A.K.Q. Dengekitai and Mobile Fighter G Gundam together AS A KAMEN RIDER SHOW!
- Kamen Rider Hibiki is Taiko no Tatsujin and Guitar Hero AS A KAMEN RIDER SHOW!
- Kamen Rider Kabuto is Juukou B-Fighter, B-Fighter Kabuto, and Gate Keepers together AS A KAMEN RIDER SHOW!
- Kamen Rider Den-O is Mirai Sentai Timeranger and The Brave Express Might Gaine together AS A KAMEN RIDER SHOW!
- Kamen Rider Kiva is Kamen Rider BLACK and Kamen Rider 555 WITH VAMPIRES!
- OR Vampire Knight and Rosario + Vampire WITH KAMEN RIDERS!
- Kamen Rider Decade is Kamen Rider Spirits AS A HEISEI KAMEN RIDER SHOW!
- Kamen Rider W is Skull Man and Choujin Barom 1 together AS A KAMEN RIDER SHOW!
- Kamen Rider OOO is Hyakujuu Sentai Gaoranger and Fullmetal Alchemist together AS A KAMEN RIDER SHOW!
- Kamen Rider Fourze is literally Kamen Rider Super-1 in a DELINQUENT-STYLED HIGH SCHOOL SETTING! IN SPACE!
- Alternatively, Denji Sentai Megaranger, Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann and Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL WITH KAMEN RIDERS!
- Kamen Rider Wizard is Mahou Sentai Magiranger AS A KAMEN RIDER SHOW!
- Kamen Rider Gaim is Kamen Rider Ryuki WITH FRUITS!
- Or Samurai Sentai Shinkenger AS A KAMEN RIDER SHOW!
- Also, Fresh Pretty Cure! and Fate/stay night WITH KAMEN RIDERS!
- Kamen Rider Drive is, according to Word of God, Kamen Rider W AS A COP DRAMA!
- Or Knight Rider and Kousoku Sentai Turboranger together AS A KAMEN RIDER SHOW!
- Also, Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's WITH KAMEN RIDERS!
- Kamen Rider Ghost is Kamen Rider Kiva WITH GHOSTS!
- Or Fate/kaleid liner PRISMA☆ILLYA, Ghost Rider, YuYu Hakusho, Bleach, Cross Ange, Go! Princess PreCure, and Yo-kai Watch together AS A KAMEN RIDER SHOW! WITH GHOSTS!
- Kamen Rider Amazons is Tokyo Ghoul and Attack on Titan together AS A KAMEN RIDER WEB SERIES!
- Amazons Season 2 is Kamen Rider 555, Kamen Rider Gaim, and Kamen Rider Ex-Aid WITH BLOOD AND GORE!
- Kamen Rider Ex-Aid looks to be Kamen Rider Gaim AS A MEDICAL DRAMA!
- Or Sword Art Online, Yu-Gi-Oh! (and its spin-offs), and Danganronpa WITH KAMEN RIDERS!
- Kamen Rider Build is Jinzō Ningen Kikaider, Kagaku Sentai Dynaman, Choujuu Sentai Liveman, and Chōjinki Metalder together AS A KAMEN RIDER SHOW!
- Kamen Rider Zi-O is Kamen Rider Decade 2.0 WITH TIME TRAVEL!
- Or Mirai Sentai Timeranger, Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger, and Ultraman Ginga together AS A KAMEN RIDER SHOW!
- Also, Hugtto! PreCure, Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V, and Fate/Grand Order WITH KAMEN RIDERS!
- Kamen Rider Zero-One is Kamen Rider 555 WITH A.I.'S AND ANDROIDS!
- Or Tokumei Sentai Go-Busters, Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS, Gundam Build Divers, Sword Art Online: Alicization, Accel World, and Detroit: Become Human together AS A KAMEN RIDER SHOW!
- Kamen Rider BLACK SUN is Kamen Rider BLACK SET IN A SOCIO-POLITICAL WORLD!
- Or Heisei Ultraseven, Mobile Suit Gundam SEED, Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans, and X-Men together AS A KAMEN RIDER WEB SERIES!
- Kamen Rider Outsiders is Death Note, Suicide Squad, Judge Dredd, Injustice: Gods Among Us, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and Paranoia AS A KAMEN RIDER CROSSOVER SERIES!
- Or Ultra Galaxy Fight: The Absolute Conspiracy and Ultra Galaxy Fight: The Destined Crossroad AS A KAMEN RIDER CROSSOVER SERIES!
- Or Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack AS A KAMEN RIDER CROSSOVER SERIES!
- Kickin' It is Cobra Kai FOR KIDS! (despite it goes first.)
- The Kids Are Alright is The Goldbergs IN THE 70S!
- Kids Incorporated is Kidsongs FOR OLDER KIDS!
- Kirby Buckets is Even Stevens ABOUT A CARTOONIST!
- Knight Squad is Reign AS A NICKELODEON SITCOM!
- Knuckles is Turner and Hooch and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier together SONIC THE HEDGEHOG STYLE, AND ALSO STARRING THE RED ECHIDNA HIMSELF!
- Lab Rats is The Six Million Dollar Man AS A KIDCOM!
- The Lets Go Show is The Good Night Show AT DAYTIME!
- The CW's Little Women is Little Women IN THE POST-APOCALYPSE!
- Llan-ar-goll-en is Blue's Clues IN WALES!
- Lost in Space is Swiss Family Robinson IN SPACE! They are, quite literally, the Space Family Robinson!
- A lot of the props from Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea were reused in Lost in Space and Land of the Giants. Making them literally recycled, IN SPACE!
- The 2018 Netflix revival is Lost IN SPACE, as it were.
- Magnum, P.I. starts as Charlie's Angels IN HAWAII! WITH A GUY!
- Massive Monster Mayhem is Power Rangers AS A GAME SHOW!
- Mercy Point (UPN, 1998) was ER IN SPACE!
- Me Too is Balamory IN THE BIG CITY!
- Mighty Med is Scrubs WITH SUPERHEROES!
- Channel 5's milkshake! is The Sunny Side Up Show IN BRITAIN!
- Miracle Workers is American Horror Story BUT FOR COMEDY!
- Miracle Workers (Season One) is The Good Place IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR!
- Miracle Workers: Dark Ages is Galavant AS A Slice of Life DRAMEDY!
- Miracle Workers: Oregon Trail is The Trail to Oregon! AS A LIVE-ACTION CARTOON!
- Mopatop's Shop is Bear in the Big Blue House IN A BRITISH SMALL TOWN SHOP!
- Musical Mornings With Coo is Yo Gabba Gabba! WITH A DIGITAL PUPPET!
- Mutt and Stuff is Zoboomafoo WITH DOGS!
- The Nanny is The Sound of Music IN 1990s NEW YORK CITY!
- Mi Corazon es Tuyo is The Sound of Music, with traits of The Nanny, AS A MEXICAN NOVELA!
- NewsRadio, episode "Space"; radio station, you guessed it, IN SPACE! Episode "Sinking Ship"; radio station ON THE TITANIC!
- The Noddy Shop is Shining Time Station IN A TOY STORE!
- Noodle And Doodle is Art Attack IN AMERICA!
- Doggity's is Sprout Diner WITH DOGS!
- Pajanimals is The Backyardigans BEFORE BED!
- Paradise Run is Survivor FOR KIDS!
- The PBS Kids Preschool Block is The Good Night Show and The Sunny Side Up Show IN A PRESCHOOL CLASSROOM!
- Playdays is Play School WITH A BUS and PUPPETS!
- Power Rangers repeatedly uses this trope, being Strictly Formula for the most part:
- Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers and Power Rangers Zeo were aversions, and not just because they were the originals. Production took the seasonal themes from Super Sentai such as dinosaurs and Chinese mythological creatures for Mighty Morphin Seasons 1 and 2, and ancient world cultures (or something) for Zeo and downplayed them so that things were kept as generic as possible - so stuff was recycled, but not IN SPACE! Mighty Morphin' Season 3 and Alien Rangers (a mini-series that served to transition to Zeo that you could count as Season 3.5), however, went a fair way towards being Power Rangers AS NINJAS!
- Power Rangers Turbo: Power Rangers WITH COOL CARS!
- Power Rangers in Space: Despite the name, averted! The move to outer space brought a lot of changes to the status quo, such as more complex villains and mostly abandoning the City of Adventure setup in favor of searching alien planets for their kidnapped mentor. Some of these things were then recycled into future seasons, others weren't.
- Power Rangers Lost Galaxy: Power Rangers, well, IN SPACE! (Yes, even more so than the actual Power Rangers in Space.
- Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue: Power Rangers AS RESCUE WORKERS!
- Power Rangers Time Force: Power Rangers AS TIME POLICE!
- Power Rangers Wild Force: Power Rangers WITH ANIMALS!
- Power Rangers Ninja Storm: Power Rangers AS NINJAS... AGAIN!
- Power Rangers: Dino Thunder: Power Rangers WITH DINOSAURS... AGAIN!
- Power Rangers S.P.D.: Power Rangers AS SPACE POLICE!
- Power Rangers Mystic Force: Power Rangers AS WIZARDS!
- Power Rangers Operation Overdrive: Power Rangers AS ADVENTURER ARCHAEOLOGISTS!
- Power Rangers Jungle Fury: Power Rangers WITH ANIMALS... AGAIN! AND KUNG FU!
- Power Rangers RPM: Power Rangers AFTER THE END! And WITH COOL CARS... AGAIN!
- Or Choujuu Sentai Liveman AS A POWER RANGERS SHOW!
- Wait, wouldn't that make it Mad Max WITH POWER RANGERS?
- Power Rangers Samurai: Power Rangers AS SAMURAI!
- Power Rangers Megaforce: Averts it by being a throwback to the original Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers where things were kept as generic as possible - so it's recycled, but not IN SPACE!
- Power Rangers Super Megaforce: Power Rangers AS SPACE PIRATES IN A CRISIS CROSSOVER!
- Power Rangers Dino Charge: Power Rangers WITH DINOSAURS... A THIRD TIME!
- Power Rangers Ninja Steel: Power Rangers AS NINJAS... A THIRD TIME! And later, IN A CRISIS CROSSOVER... AGAIN!
- Or The Famous Jett Jackson and Naruto together AS A POWER RANGERS SHOW!
- Power Rangers Beast Morphers: Power Rangers AS (not so-)SECRET AGENTS! And WITH COOL CARS... A THIRD TIME!
- Or The Matrix and Miami Vice together AS A POWER RANGERS SHOW!
- Power Rangers Dino Fury: Power Rangers AT SUMMER CAMP! And WITH DINOSAURS... A FOURTH TIME! With an added Knight in Shining Armor theme.
- Quark starred Richard Benjamin as Quark, the captain of a garbage scow In Space! It was a parody of Star Trek, with some Star Wars and 2001: A Space Odyssey added in, and was created by Get Smart co-creator Buck Henry.
- Red Dwarf is a double whammy: it was actually pitched by its creators as Steptoe and Son IN SPACE on acid."
- Revenge is The Count of Monte Cristo IN THE HAMPTONS WITH A FEMALE VERSION OF EDMOND DANTÈS!
- Rickys Room is Barney & Friends WITH RHINOS!
- Riget by Lars von Trier is Twin Peaks IN A CREEPY DANISH HOSPITAL!
- Riverdale is My So-Called Life AS A MYSTERY THRILLER!
- Alternatively, Veronica Mars WITH A WHITE MALE LEAD!
- The PBS show Roadtrip Nation is Road Rules MINUS FEAR FACTOR-ESQUE CHALLENGES AND WITH MOTIVATIONAL STORIES!
- Ryan's Mystery Playdate is Blue's Clues WITH SPECIAL GUESTS AND MINUS FAKE INTERACTIVITY!
- One SCTV sketch was Merv: The Special Edition. The Merv Griffin Show In Space.
- Sesame Street:
- "Cookie Monster's Foodie Truck" is Sprout Diner IN A FOOD TRUCK!
- Space: Above and Beyond is Black Sheep Squadron IN SPACE! (And also WITH EARLY CANCELLATION! Because they were WITH FOX!)
- Show Me, Show Me is Play School IN A SKYSCRAPER!
- Space Knights is Arthurian Legend IN SPACE!
- The Story Of Read Alee Deed Alee is Readalong WITH A DRAGON!
- I Am Frankie is My Life as a Teenage Robot AS A LIVE ACTION DRAMA!
- iCarly: iSpace Out is an iCarly episode...IN SPACE! Well, not really.
- Word of God even stated in his blog that the characters doing a webcast in space would be Jumping the Shark.
- Also, iCarly is Lizzie McGuire WITH A WEBSHOW, MINUS HER ANIMATED COUNTERPART!
- Or Wayne's World FOR KIDS!
- Literal example: Obscure, not very successful Gerry Anderson show Space Precinct was NYPD Blue/Hill Street Blues/any other cop show you care to name IN SPACE! WITH TACKED-ON CYBERPUNK ELEMENTS! Better Than It Sounds, actually.
- Square One TV: The Electric Company (1971) WITH MATH!
- Squid Game is As the Gods Will IN SOUTH KOREA!
- The 2019 Netflix series The Society is basically just Lord of the Flies IN A small, obscure town
- Star Trek itself is, in the words of its creator, Wagon Train TO THE STARS!
- In TOS, the Klingons are Russians IN SPACE! while the Romulans are the then-inscrutable Chinese...IN SPACE!
- In later incarnaions, the Klingons seem to be more Samurai Vikings IN SPACE!
- Vulcans are Elves. IN SPACE!
- Romulans are Dark Elves/Drow, Klingons are Orcs/Orks, Borg are Undead, et cetera.
- Nicholas Meyer, director of Star Trek II and Star Trek VI, describes the series as "Horatio Hornblower IN SPACE!"
- Gene Roddenberry also described James T. Kirk as a space-age Horatio Hornblower in the book The Making of Star Trek (1968).
- In TOS, the Klingons are Russians IN SPACE! while the Romulans are the then-inscrutable Chinese...IN SPACE!
- The Star Trek: The Original Series episode "Balance of Terror" is the 1957 WWII submarine movie The Enemy Below IN SPACE! Even the bearing of the unidentified initial contact and the captain's maneuvering orders to the helm are copied nearly verbatim. The Romulan ship is cramped and has lots of piping and conduits in all background scenes. The Enterprise's phasers act like depth charges, and at one point the Enterprise and the Romulan ship both go to silent running, fearing to talk loudly lest the other vessel hear them.
- The Romulans in this episode were The Roman Empire IN SPACE!, as exemplified by Mark Lenard's dignified Centurion character. They didn't stay that way, though. Compare the Romulans in Star Trek (2009) reboot movie.
- The episode "Elaan of Troyius" is The Taming of the Shrew IN SPACE! There are also some allusion to the The Trojan War, inverted. The Arranged Marriage of princess Elaan from planet Elas with the ruler of planet Troyius is supposed to stop a war between their respective world.
- The Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Starship Mine" is Die Hard ON THE USS ENTERPRISE!
- "Face of the Enemy" is The Hunt for Red October IN SPACE!
- "The Mind's Eye" is The Manchurian Candidate IN SPACE!
- "A Matter of Perspective" is Rashomon IN SPACE!
- "The Hunted" is First Blood, the first Rambo film, IN SPACE!
- The Picard torture subplot of "Chain of Command Part II" is Nineteen Eighty-Four IN SPACE!
- "Aquiel" is Laura IN SPACE!
- Brannon Braga described "Timescape" as The Abyss IN SPACE!
- "Sub Rosa" is Gothic Horror IN SPACE! (The writer specifically denies that it's The Witching Hour IN SPACE!)
- The much-maligned Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "Meridian" was, as admitted by producer Ira Steven Behr, Brigadoon IN SPACE! Recalling this idea at a later date, Behr admitted: "I am a moron."
- The original concept for Deep Space Nine (before they shifted the location from a Federation colony planet to a space station after J. Michael Straczynski pitched Babylon 5 to Paramount) would have been Star Trek ON LAND!
- The episode "Starship Down" is basically Das Boot IN SPACE!
- The episode "Duet" of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is a Recycled In Space take on the play The Man in the Glass Booth. The main difference is that the latter is about Nazis and their victims, while the former centers on the Cardassians, who are A Nazi by Any Other Name."
- Brandon Tartikoff originally pitched Deep Space Nine itself as The Rifleman IN SPACE!"
- The episode "Explorers", in which Sisko builds a copy of an ancient Bajoran solar-sail spaceship and proves it could travel as far as Cardassia, is essentially The Voyage of the Kon-Tiki IN SPACE!
- In the episode "Melora", Jadzia Dax lampshades that Melora Pazlar's storyline bears some similarity to The Little Mermaid IN SPACE!
- The Star Trek: Voyager episode "Jetrel" is Robert Oppenheimer IN SPACE!
- "Remember" is Holocaust denial IN SPACE!
- "Macrocosm" is Aliens ON VOYAGER!
- Every episode where they almost find a way home only to have it foiled is Gilligan's Island IN SPACE!
- "Alice" is Christine IN SPACE!
- "Someone to Watch Over Me" is My Fair Lady IN SPACE!
- "Riddles" is Regarding Henry (Well, "Regarding Tuvok") IN SPACE!
- Star Wars: Jedi Temple Challenge is Legends of the Hidden Temple IN A GALAXY FAR, FAR AWAY!
- Something Special is Mister Rogers' Neighborhood WITH SIGN LANGUAGE!
- Sorry, I've Got No Head is Monkey Dust FOR KIDS!
- Sonny with a Chance is 30 Rock DISNEY STYLE!
- Spin the Wheel is The Wall WITH A WHEEL!
- Sprout Control Room is The Sprout Sharing Show AS AN INTERSTITIAL SERIES IN A CONTROL ROOM!
- Sprout House is The Sunny Side Up Show IN A HOUSE and PRE RECORDED
- The Sprout Sharing Show is Zoom WITH PUPPETS and is FOR PRESCHOOLERS!
- Stranger Things is Gravity Falls IN LIVE ACTION AND FOR A MORE MATURE AUDIENCE!
- The Sunny Side Up Show is Zoom BUT LIVE, FOR PRESCHOOLERS, and WITH A CHICKEN PUPPET CO-HOST!
- As of 2014, Yo Gabba Gabba! BUT LIVE and IN NEW YORK!
- Alternatively, Blue Peter IN AMERICA and FOR PRESCHOOLERS!
- The Studio K Show is The Milkshake Show IN CANADA and FOR OLDER KIDS!
- Stuck in the Middle is The Loud House IN LIVE-ACTION AND WITH FOUR LESS PEOPLE!
- Succession is King Lear IN THE MEDIA BUSINESS!
- The Suite Life on Deck is The Suite Life of Zack & Cody AT SEA!
- Supah Ninjas is Kim Possible and Rush Hour together WITH NINJAS!
- Supertrain was supposed to be The Love Boat ON THE RAILS!
- Super Sentai:
- J.A.K.Q. Dengekitai is Casino Royale AS A SUPER SENTAI SHOW!
- Choushinsei Flashman is Choudenshi Bioman IN SPACE!
- Hikari Sentai Maskman is the Robot Romance Trilogy AS A SUPER SENTAI SHOW!
- Choujuu Sentai Liveman is Taiyou Sentai Sun Vulcan PLUS TWO!
- Kousoku Sentai Turboranger is Kagaku Sentai Dynaman WITH COOL CARS!
- Chikyuu Sentai Fiveman is Himitsu Sentai Gorenger AS A SIBLING TEAM OF SCHOOL TEACHERS!
- Choujin Sentai Jetman is Science Ninja Team Gatchaman, Kamen Rider: Skyrider, and Area 88 together AS A SUPER SENTAI SHOW!
- Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger is Dai Sentai Goggle Five WITH DINOSAURS, MEGAFAUNAS, AND DRAGONS!
- Gosei Sentai Dairanger is Maskman WITH CHINESE ANIMALS!
- Ninja Sentai Kakuranger is Journey to the West and Henshin Ninja Arashi together AS A SUPER SENTAI SHOW!
- Chouriki Sentai Ohranger is Goggle Five SEVENTEEN YEARS LATER!
- Gekisou Sentai Carranger is Turboranger, AS AN AFFECTIONATE PARODY SUPER SENTAI WITH MORE COOL CARS!
- Denji Sentai Megaranger is Denshi Sentai Denziman and Choudenshi Bioman AS HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS!
- Kyukyu Sentai GoGoFive is the Metal Heroes' rescue police trilogy AS A SUPER SENTAI SHOW!
- Mirai Sentai Timeranger is J.A.K.Q. Dengekitai WITH TIME TRAVEL, GIANT ROBOTS, AND MONSTERS!
- Or Back to the Future note AS A SUPER SENTAI SHOW!
- Hyakujuu Sentai Gaoranger is Kamen Rider Amazon AS A SUPER SENTAI SHOW WITH ANIMALS!
- Ninpuu Sentai Hurricaneger is Liveman WITH NINJAS!
- Or Ninku AS A SUPER SENTAI SHOW!
- Bakuryuu Sentai Abaranger is Sun Vulcan WITH TALKING DINOSAURS!
- Tokusou Sentai Dekaranger is Space Sheriff Gavan AS A SUPER SENTAI SHOW!!
- Mahou Sentai Magiranger is Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings AS A SUPER SENTAI SHOW!
- GoGo Sentai Boukenger is Indiana Jones AS A SUPER SENTAI SHOW!
- Juken Sentai Gekiranger is Abaranger WITH BIG CATS AND KUNG FU!
- Or Fist of the North Star AS A SUPER SENTAI SHOW!
- Engine Sentai Go-onger is Liveman WITH TALKING CARS!
- Samurai Sentai Shinkenger is Rurouni Kenshin AS A SUPER SENTAI SHOW!
- Tensou Sentai Goseiger is Zyuranger AS GUARDIAN ANGELS!
- Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger is Denshi Sentai Denziman AS SPACE PIRATES! And IN A CRISIS CROSSOVER!
- Tokumei Sentai Go Busters is Sun Vulcan AS (not so-)SECRET AGENTS!
- Or The Matrix AS A SUPER SENTAI SHOW!
- Hikonin Sentai Akibaranger is Gokaiger AS AN UNOFFICIAL SUPER SENTAI SERIES AND WITH OTAKU!
- Alternatively, unofficial Go-Busters parody WITH Two Girls and a Guy! AND IT'S NSFW!
- Zyuden Sentai Kyoryuger seems to be Battle Fever J WITH DINOSAURS!
- Or Doki Doki! PreCure AS A SUPER SENTAI SHOW!
- Power Rangers Dino Force Brave is technically Kyoryuger IN SOUTH KOREA!
- Ressha Sentai ToQger is Kamen Rider Den-O and Smile PreCure! AS A SUPER SENTAI SHOW!
- Shuriken Sentai Ninninger is Naruto and Senran Kagura together AS A SUPER SENTAI SHOW!
- Doubutsu Sentai Zyuohger appears to be Minecraft AS A SUPER SENTAI SHOW WITH ANIMALS!
- Uchu Sentai Kyuranger is Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam, Sailor Moon, and Chouseishin Gransazer AS A SUPER SENTAI SHOW IN SPACE!
- Kaitou Sentai Lupinranger VS Keisatsu Sentai Patranger is J.A.K.Q. WITH PHANTOM THIEVES AND SUPER COPS!
- Also Lupin III, Magic Kaito, Persona, Case Closed, and You're Under Arrest! combined AS A SUPER SENTAI SHOW!
- Kishiryu Sentai Ryusoulger is Kyoryuger WITH KNIGHTS!
- or Magiranger WITH DINOSAURS!
- Also, Magic Knight Rayearth AS A SUPER SENTAI SHOW!
- Mashin Sentai Kiramager is Magiranger WITH GEMSTONES AND ISLAMIC MYTHOLOGY!
- The Super Sproutlet Show is The Lets Go Show WITH LAZYTOWN CHARACTERS!
- Swashbuckle is Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? WITH PIRATES!
- Terrific Trucks is Zerby Derby WITH TRUCKS!
- The Thundermans ia The Incredibles AS A LIVE-ACTION SITCOM!
- Tikkabilla is Play School WITH A PUPPET CO-HOST and MORE DOWN TO EARTH!
- Topsy And Tim is Caillou WITH BRITISH FRATERNAL TWINS!
- The Swedish TV series Trolljägarna is To Catch a Predator WITH INTERNET TROLLS BEING THE ONES EXPOSED!
- The Troop is The X-Files and 24 together AS A NICKELODEON SHOW!
- Tweenies is The Puzzle Place IN A BRITISH PLAYGROUP!
- It's also Wimzie's House IN BRITAIN!
- The Borgias is The Tudors SET IN THE ITALIAN RENAISSANCE!
- This Is Daniel Cook is Come Outside IN CANADA AND WITH A CHEERFUL CHILD PROTAGONIST!
- UK Border Force is Border Security BUT BRITISH!
- Ultra Series:
- Ultra Q is The Twilight Zone (1959) or The Outer Limits (1963) IN JAPAN!
- Ultraseven is Star Trek: The Original Series and Doctor Who together AS AN ULTRAMAN SHOW!
- Return of Ultraman is Ultraman THREE YEARS LATER!
- Ultraman Taro is Ultraman AS A FAIRY TALE PARODY!
- Ultraman: Towards the Future is Ultraman IN AUSTRALIA!
- Ultraman: The Ultimate Hero is Ultraman IN AMERICA!
- Ultraman Cosmos is Ultraman Taro IN MODERN SETTINGS WITH GENTLE GIANT UP TO ELEVEN!
- Ultra Q Dark Fantasy is Ultra Q IN THE 21ST CENTURY!
- Ultraman Nexus is Ultraman Leo IN THE 21ST CENTURY! AND IN ALTERNATE DIMENSION!
- or Neon Genesis Evangelion and Men in Black together AS AN ULTRAMAN SHOW!
- Ultra Galaxy Mega Monster Battle is Pokémon WITH ULTRAMAN KAIJU!
- Ultraseven X is Ultraseven IN ALTERNATE DIMENSION! AND AS A SPY FICTION!
- Ultraman Ginga is Mobile Suit Gundam and Digimon Frontier and Kamen Rider Decade and Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger together AS AN ULTRAMAN SHOW!
- Ultraman X is Denkō Chōjin Gridman and Digimon Fusion (including Digimon Xros Wars: The Young Hunters Who Leapt Through Time The Young Hunters Who Leapt Through Time]]) together AS AN ULTRAMAN SHOW!
- Ultraman Orb is Digimon Tamers AS AN ULTRAMAN SHOW!
- Ultraman Trigger: New Generation Tiga is Kamen Rider Build and Mobile Suit Gundam SEED together AS AN ULTRAMAN SHOW!
- Undercover High is Prank Patrol IN HIGH SCHOOL, WITH A FEMALE HOST!
- The Upside Down Show is Flight of the Conchords FOR KIDS!
- V (1983) is It Can't Happen Here WITH ALIEN OVERLORDS!
- The Villains of Valley View is The Thundermans AS SUPERVILLAINS!
- WandaVision is Pleasantville or Too Many Cooks AS A PSYCHOLOGICAL HORROR DRAMEDY! IN THE MARVEL CINEMATIC UNIVERSE!
- WeeSchool is Baby Einstein IN THE 2010S!
- White Dwarf (1995) is Akira Kurosawa's Red Beard in a science-fiction setting; with an added subplot adding elements of political intrigue and exploration of prejudice and tolerance.
- Sprouts Wiggly Waffle is Musical Mornings With Coo WITH THE WIGGLES!
- The Wild Wild West was pitched as James Bond IN THE OLD WEST!
- 1994's short-lived game show, Wild West Showdown, is American Gladiators IN THE WILD WEST!
- The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss (Season 2) is Bear in the Big Blue House WITH DR. SEUSS CHARACTERS!
- The X-Files is Twin Peaks WITH ALIENS!
- Yellowjackets is Lord of the Flies SET IN THE NINETIES and WITH TEENAGE GIRLS!
- Yo Gabba Gabba! is The Muppet Show FOR PRESCHOOLERS, WITH MORALS and COSTUMED CHARACTERS!
- You Can't Do That on Television is Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In FOR KIDS!
- You Don't Say! is Password WITH NAMES!
- Zoey 101 is Lizzie McGuire AT BOARDING SCHOOL!
- Zoink'd is The Gong Show FOR KIDS!
- Zoom is Blue Peter IN AMERICA!
Characters
- Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency:
- Dirk Gently is Shawn Spencer BUT ENDEARINGLY NAIVE!
- Blackwing is The SCP Foundation BUT HOPELESSLY INEPT!
- Psych:
- Shawn Spencer is Chuck Bartowski ON PURPOSE!
- Alternatively, Sherlock Holmes IN THE EARLY-AUGHTIES!
- Detective Lassiter is Inspector Lestrade WITH EXTRA POLICE BRUTALITY!
- Shawn Spencer is Chuck Bartowski ON PURPOSE!