Tonight’s “Pioneers of Television” (7 p.m., PBS, check local listings) glances back at the golden age of science-fiction storytelling and looks at the career and sometime rivalry of three figures: Gene Roddenberry, Irwin Allen and Rod Serling.

William Shatner and “Star Trek” castmates Leonard Nimoy (Spock) and Nichelle Nichols (Uhura) recall Roddenberry’s efforts to infuse each “Star Trek” script with topicality relevant to audiences in the tumultuous late 1960s.

Roddenberry’s “Star Trek” is portrayed here as the thinking-person’s sci-fi, in contrast to Irwin Allen’s “Lost in Space,” a far more popular series clearly aimed at children. Castmembers Billy Mumy, Angela Cartwright and Marta Kristen recall some of the show’s sillier moments, most notably a rebellion by vegetables.

Mumy and Shatner also recall their roles on Serling’s timeless “Twilight Zone,” an anthology series drawing on some of the finest sci-fi writers of its time. While “Pioneers” mentions their contribution to “Zone,” it implies that most “Star Trek” episodes were written by Roddenberry, when in fact that series also reflected stories and ideas by notable writers, including Ray Bradbury and Harlan Ellison.

“Pioneers” also neglects to mention the “Twilight Zone” rival series “Outer Limits.” While not as revered as “Zone,” it also anthologized some of the better writers of its era and aired stories that remain influential. It has been argued that last year’s “Avatar” bore a striking resemblance to one “Outer Limits” installment.

The recycling of such plots may reflect the decline of commercial literary outlets for original sci-fi stories (or popular short stories of any kind). “Alfred Hitchcock Presents,” another early anthology TV series, presented adaptations of short-story writers like Roald Dahl, folks whose stories probably could not get published today.

The absence of creative outlets for original stories has contributed to the glut of remakes. On tonight’s “Pioneers,” we’re informed that Irwin Allen was pressured to make “Lost in Space” more sensational and cartoony because of increased competition from the surprise 1966 hit “Batman.” Adam West appears to remind us how indelibly he played the campy Caped Crusader. The success of “Batman” spawned many imitations. Among them was the TV version of “The Green Hornet” (itself a remake of a radio drama), recently remade and reinterpreted for Seth Rogen and probably playing in a theater near you.

Tonight’s other highlights

• Jim is caught between super duty and maintaining his secret on “No Ordinary Family” (7 p.m., ABC).

• Baze contemplates setting up house with Emma on the season finale of “Life Unexpected” (7 p.m., CW).

• Pentagon secrets revealed on “NCIS: Los Angeles” (8 p.m., CBS).

• Will finds himself on a judge’s bad side on “The Good Wife” (9 p.m., CBS).

• Haddie faces grounding on “Parenthood” (9 p.m., NBC).

• Fitch falls under suspicion on “Detroit 1-8-7” (9 p.m., ABC).