Patrick Stewart Wanted To Sue Another Sci-Fi Show For Ripping Off Star Trek: TNG

Any show that follows a spaceship crew exploring the galaxy is bound to draw comparisons to "Star Trek." Gene Roddenberry's sci-fi saga provided the blueprint for entertainment of this ilk, after all. However, Sir Patrick Stewart — who played Jean-Luc Picard on "Star Trek: The Next Generation" — feared that "Red Dwarf" straight-up plagiarized his series when he first saw it. A lawsuit crossed his mind — and then it didn't. 

"To my horror and outrage, what I thought I saw was a rip-off of Star Trek: The Next Generation," Stewart recalled in an interview for "Red Dwarf Night" (via YouTube). "I was already reaching for the telephone to call my lawyer when something happened that made me laugh. And it was something that certainly would not have happened on The Next Generation." Stewart continued watching the "Red Dwarf" episode and became an instant fan.

He noted that the British series makes a mockery of shows like "Star Trek: The Next Generation," and he wished that his series could have embraced a similar type of humor. Needless to say, Stewart didn't ring his lawyer that night. "Red Dwarf" is one of many great sci-fi shows from the '80s that still hold up today — just like "Star Trek: The Next Generation." However, the British comedy set out to be different from the show that Stewart originally believed it copied.

"Red Dwarf" is among the best sci-fi sitcoms out there — and it's perfect viewing for fans of underdog stories. The show follows a ragtag group of space miners, led by the lazy Dave Lister (Craig Charles), as they travel around, lost in the deepest regions of the galaxy. The similarities with "Star Trek" are minimal at best — and that was by design.

"[W]e had to avoid everything Trekish: no transporters, phaser weapons. We made the ship commercial and not military," Rob Grant, the co-creator of "Red Dwarf," told Redshirts Always Die. Be that as it may, Grant also admitted to being a "Star Trek" super fan, so don't think him rejecting "Star Trek" was meant as an insult.

Thankfully, sci-fi fans live in a world where "Star Trek" and "Red Dwarf" both exist. Both properties have also enjoyed long runs on the small screen, unlike the countless sci-fi shows that were taken from us too soon. Still, would "Red Dwarf" have been cut short if Sir Patrick Stewart had called his lawyer that night?