Star Trek TNG
No network would touch it. The Next Generation ran in first-run syndication, sold station by station, and lasted seven seasons and 178 episodes anyway.
Executives objected to Patrick Stewart on the grounds that he was bald and English. He came from the Royal Shakespeare Company and gave Picard a moral seriousness the format had never carried, along with a tea order that became a catchphrase. The Borg turned up in season two, in Q Who, when Q hurls the ship 7,000 light years across the galaxy purely to prove humanity is not ready. The finale, All Good Things, won the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, an honour that usually goes to films.
Picard, Data, Worf, Riker and his trombone, and the ship that made talking the climax.
Officially licensed Star Trek TNG t-shirts printed on heavyweight cotton, with womens tees, long sleeves, hoodies, tank tops and youth sizes across the range.