Hilarious video sums up every episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation

Ever feel like a series has a stock formula that is obvious and repetitive? Well, that can describe many shows since the invention of the television. It’s something that’s been around as long as commercials and honestly, isn’t much of a bad thing. Formula’s help give shows an identity. The mystery of the week or monster of the week format are still huge ideas today. So it’s no wonder that Star Trek: The Next Generation got poked a bit.

A new video from stand-up comic and YouTube creator Alasdair Beckett-King pokes fun at the sometimes formulaic approach by Star Trek: The Next Generation. In the video, Beckett-King plays both an off-brand Jean-Luc Picard, complete with a bald cap, making contact with an “alien race” that looks like Beckett-King, only without a bald cap.

The video is very short, just over a minute, but it does a good job of nailing the usual back and forth that an average episode of The Next Generation will engage in. The short takes a dig at how almost all the alien races are some sort of human ethnicity, while also claiming that Starfleet views itself as always is pretty spot on.

There’s also a “cameo” from one beloved Next Generation character.

Beckett-King is a visual effects creator and is credited as such on IMDB. That could be a big reason why this little short looks as good as it does. With no real budget to speak of, the entire “set” is a green screen, and one used to great effect, while the wardrobe seems homemade and does a good job of filling in for more traditional Star Trek clothing.

Beckett-King does a lot of videos about genre-specific shows, from crime dramas to the questions wizards get asked the most. He’s worth checking out beyond just this one parody.