This Forgotten TV Show From Star Trek's Creator Deserves A Darker Reboot

While he's best known for creating Star Trek, Gene Roddenberry wasn't a one-hit wonder in the world of television. He continued working on Star Trek projects as the franchise grew, but Roddenberry also developed pilots and other projects before his death in 1991. After his passing, Roddenberry's widow, Majel Barrett, took his notes and produced another successful science fiction series that's largely forgotten today: "Earth: Final Conflict."

Barrett's work on the show as one of its producers ensured her late husband's vision became a reality, and the series was a success, having run for five seasons with 110 episodes. "Earth: Final Conflict" is about an alien race arriving on Earth in the 21st century to seemingly aid humanity, but their intentions are far from benevolent. Its premise makes it an ideal candidate for a modern reboot nearly a quarter century after it ended, though it should be much darker and grittier in tone.

When it aired, "Earth: Final Conflict" maintained a decent sense of dread and anticipation, but it came off as less severe in terms of stakes. That's despite the entire population of Earth being overseen by nefarious aliens. Shifting the series' tone to a darker one not only aligns with the overarching plot, but it would place "Earth: Final Conflict" in the same tonal area as most modern sci-fi, especially if it were to embrace the same reboot formula that made "Battlestar Galactica" a hit.

The premise of "Earth: Final Conflict" involves the arrival of aliens known as Taelons. With their help, all diseases are cured, and the seemingly benevolent aliens appear like they're only in it to help the people of Earth. But as time passes, they come to be perceived as nefarious, leading to a resistance movement.

The series was successful in that it aired for five seasons, but behind the scenes, there were problems as one cast member left after another, resulting in high character turnover. This hampered character development and ultimately resulted in the show's cancellation, as the series wasn't able to live up to its potential. Since going off the air, "Earth: Final Conflict" has largely been forgotten. The same was true of the original "Battlestar Galactica" from 1978. That series failed to succeed and was mostly lost amidst a massive landscape of sci-fi pop culture until a much darker reboot hit the small screen in 2004. The show was an incredible success, thanks largely to how it was updated for a 21st-century audience.

Modern audiences prefer darker, more violent shows with greater stakes, and "Earth: Final Conflict" has a narrative structure to make that work. The premise is filled with subterfuge, hidden dangers, and massive conspiracies, all of which make for compelling 21st-century television. Showrunners could use "Battlestar Galactica" as a guide, or even a template, in how to structure a modern remake of "Earth: Final Conflict," leaning heavily into the more nefarious aspects of a seemingly benevolent alien overlord's true intentions on the human population.

A significant reason why sci-fi shows succeed is that they often focus on whatever is happening during the time they air. One might lean heavily into politics and societal issues, while another tackles recent events and cultural intolerance. "Earth: Final Conflict" did this well, but we no longer live in the same world of 1997 to 2002. Society has shifted considerably, so a reboot would need to cover societal issues like LGBTQ+ rights, nationalism, anti-immigrant hostilities, racial tensions, and much more. 

This is possible with a reboot modeled after the success of "Battlestar Galactica." That series took the paranoia of the early 2000s, brought about by the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the Global War on Terror, and tapped directly into it. That's one of the reasons why it resonated with fans and made it somehow relatable, and "Earth: Final Conflict" could do the same thing. Granted, some changes to the original concept would need to be made, similar to the rebooted "Battlestar Galactica" — but ultimately, that's what a reboot is. It's not the same thing with new actors — it's a new way of looking at the same premise.

Leaning heavily into a more sinister alien species, greater stakes, and high-concept sci-fi is what the modern audience craves. Unfortunately, there are no plans as of writing about rebooting "Earth: Final Conflict." Fortunately, in the meantime, you can still watch every episode of "Earth: Final Conflict" on Amazon Video.