So there I am, channel surfing, feeling like much of America at the time and saying to myself "nothing's on..." and droning on about why they don't make more adventure shows, or shows about space, or shows about soldiers fighting for us, or even shows about pirates.
Then comes Salvage-1, and it's fairly entertaining, and creates a niche audience, and suddenly all is right with the world. I don't have to wait for Star Wars to hit the theatres again ... I don't have to wait for 2001 to come to KTVU ... I don't have to keep rewatching Kirk and Spock on my TV ... nor watch Battlestar Galactica with a wry expression because it's really a children's program.
I don't recall too much about the show, other than the very technically inaccurate near shootdown by USAF F-4 Phantoms of Salvage-1 (the pilots counting down to launch a sidewinder? Give me a break), but I do recall enjoying the show for what it was, and am terribly sorry that more shows that reached beyond family and law enforcement weren't made, because people liked them. Read that as usually young folks or older folks who were heavily into science and engineering, and wanted to create a better future for themselves, and mankind.
Such was Salvage-1. It also brought a very healthy recycling theme to America, which was still contending with environmental abuse by some sociopathic corporate board members who had to be reigned in through our national and state level legislature. Salvage-1 was just that; a vessel that salvaged, and brought home things that were broken so they could be remade to work again. That applies to people and animals, not just machines. What healthier message could there be for the TV viewing audience? I really liked this show, and I was sorry it got side tracked in non space-oriented stories, and that it was eventually cancelled. Oh well.
If you see it again, then give it a chance. You might like it.