Poll: The Trek or The War

[Multi-Hobbyist]

For me, it's a hard 49/51% split. Star Trek has treated it's fans better in terms of series continuity and canon. STAR WARS on the other hand, beat the dead money horse for years until it's wells ran dry and never once said sorry.
Sadly, at the end of it all I'd go with the WARS. A JT-12 Merrson jetpack is far too high on my list of crap I'll always want.

 

[Laughing Man]

The Gate.

Ditto that, pretty much all of Stargate has been great. Yes even Universe, now hold on I was indeed one of the folk who hated Universe when it first appeared but having recently suffered from Gate withdrawal I decided to give it a chance, watched back to back on DVD it actually started to become a pretty good show and I was as sad to see it end so suddenlt as I was with the ending of SG1 and SGA.

If we are to come back to topic though I would choose Trek, Star Wars had 3 good movies and then 3 blah movies so the ratio of good too bad just puts Trek miles ahead, yeah the recent JJ Trek saga has hurt the long term franchise fanbase but we still got Next gen, DS9 a selection of some really good Voyager and even some of Enterprise was pretty good as well as a fair few decent Trek movies.

 

[an annoyed writer]

Well, if the stuff in my room is any indication, Probably Star Wars. I was super-engrossed in it as a kid, and while I've fallen out of love with it in more recent years, I still like it somewhat, and am hoping against hope that it doesn't get ruined again. Star Trek interested me as I got older, but never to the sheer skull-crushing depth that Star Wars had in my formative years.

 

[an annoyed writer]

The Gate.

SG1 was a fantastic series, especially such gems as "Unending"

Also, when the two main characters from Farscape joined playing basically the same characters it was like two of my most favourite series had combined.

I LOVED the Stargate shows as well, they were some damn good TV. I don't watch any TV anymore since they were cancelled. The best part was their very consistent quality from episode to episode, and how some of the "filler" episodes wound up mattering later on. Plus, it was clear that the actors and actresses were having a ton of fun during the production of the episodes, just from how into it they were.

 

[saoirse13]

I chose Star Wars. I grew up with an uncle who babysat me alot and my sole form of entertainment with him was The Star Wars trilogy and Indianna Jones. Knowing every line in all three movies was quite an achievement for a 5 year old. haha. I even knew all the choreography to all the lightsaber fight scenes by 7 years old. I still adore those movies though i have to say the Prequels were for me (for lack of a better more articulate word) absolute crap.

I do have to say though Star Trek was good too, And the Prequels were excellent, But im a Star Wars Fan through and through..

 

[kurupt87]

Wars.
I'd agree with all the usual arguments that Trek is actual Sci-fi and Wars is only Space Opera, I'd even concede that Trek is probably a lot more interesting and thought provoking on average.
But I'm a lot more invested in Star Wars because I loved it as a kid, so for nostalgia's sake I'd still choose it.

Only Space Opera?! You do Space Opera a disservice sir!

And both are space opera.

The difference is one is Sci-Fi while the other is Sci-Fan(tasy).

Edit: Oh yeah, the topic. I would prefer Trek if it was implemented better, but it isn't so the simple jollies of Wars wins out.

 

[OneCatch]

Wars.
I'd agree with all the usual arguments that Trek is actual Sci-fi and Wars is only Space Opera, I'd even concede that Trek is probably a lot more interesting and thought provoking on average.
But I'm a lot more invested in Star Wars because I loved it as a kid, so for nostalgia's sake I'd still choose it.

Only Space Opera?! You do Space Opera a disservice sir!

And both are space opera.

The difference is one is Sci-Fi while the other is Sci-Fan(tasy).

Edit: Oh yeah, the topic. I would prefer Trek if it was implemented better, but it isn't so the simple jollies of Wars wins out.

Damn, I thought I'd put only in quotes to indicate I was being less than serious, as in: 'only' space opera.
Ah well!

I'm not sure I'd say Star Trek was space opera (although it's certainly soft sci-fi) because it doesn't really have major fantasy roots, whereas Star Wars does. I suspect that we basically agree except on the wording of it.
Anyway, I still prefer Wars!

 

[kurupt87]

Wars.
I'd agree with all the usual arguments that Trek is actual Sci-fi and Wars is only Space Opera, I'd even concede that Trek is probably a lot more interesting and thought provoking on average.
But I'm a lot more invested in Star Wars because I loved it as a kid, so for nostalgia's sake I'd still choose it.

Only Space Opera?! You do Space Opera a disservice sir!

And both are space opera.

The difference is one is Sci-Fi while the other is Sci-Fan(tasy).

Edit: Oh yeah, the topic. I would prefer Trek if it was implemented better, but it isn't so the simple jollies of Wars wins out.

Damn, I thought I'd put only in quotes to indicate I was being less than serious, as in: 'only' space opera.
Ah well!

I'm not sure I'd say Star Trek was space opera (although it's certainly soft sci-fi) because it doesn't really have major fantasy roots, whereas Star Wars does. I suspect that we basically agree except on the wording of it.
Anyway, I still prefer Wars!

Yeah, I guess our definition of Space Opera differs. Yours seems to require fantastical elements, mine doesn't.

 

[FalloutJack]

Honestly, I find the Trek a bit more interesting. Discovery and exploration ALONG with combat is more appealing to me.

 

[broca]

Both, actually. While i read quite a lot of the star wars novels when i was younger, i prefer the star trek tv shows and movies to any star wars related movies or shows (excepted for the first three star wars movies).

 

[optimusjamie]

To be honest, I kind of think that Star Trek VS Star Wars is like apples VS oranges- they're to different to compare 'objectively'. Star Trek is, on the whole, more to my tastes, coming probably as close as Hollywood can get to the cerebral SF literature I prefer overall, VS Star Wars which takes a more fantastical, spectacle-driven approach to SF. I am not saying that that's a bad thing, just that it's not (always) what I want.

 

[Conza]

http://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20070613213327/memoryalpha/en/images/a/ae/Tommygun-picard.jpg

FTW!!! Yes ! Love it.

Besides, Lightsaber vs. Phaser? Please. The Phaser would pass through the Lightsaber's beam, even on stun, and on vaporize the Jedi would be, vaporized, or you could just vaporize the lightsaber.

Anyway, it's never fair for Star Wars to be compared to Star Trek, they're both great Sci-fi genres that have helped each other, and while I'm glad I don't have to chose, the higher concepts and more sophisticated technology in Star Trek make it the win for me hands down, no questions asked.

I even like Gul Dukat more than Darth Vader (yeah that's right, I said it).

See, I'd personally think Trekkies would want to distance themselves from Star Trek TNG: The B-version of Wrath of Khan when making a positive assertion about the series.

It'd be like a SW fan summing up his support for the franchise with this:

It's a real shame you can't see the awesomeness of Star Trek VIII: First Contact, and how it in no way parallels Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.

How they're similar?

The Wrath of Khan is a movie based upon one of the series main antagonists, one man named Khan, he goes up against the crew of the Enterprise. It was the second movie in TOS group.

First contact is a movie based upon one of the series main antagonists, a group called the Borg, they go up against the crew of the Enterprise. It was the second movie in TNG group.

But in virtually every other way, the differ. Khan's movie, was about his revenge on Kirk, primarily, for marooning him and his people on Ceti Alpha V, and then not checking on them for 20 years (Starfleet believed the planet to be destroyed, and mistake Ceti Alpha V for Ceti Alpha VI, so they see no reason to go back).

The Borg's movie on the other hand, is a much more complex story, where by the Borg travel backward in time, at Earth, in order to change the past and assimilate the entire human race, stopping the Federation from ever forming.

Both excellent films, both in my top three Star Trek movies of all, but no, one wasn't a b-grade version of the other by any stretch of the imagination.

The real B-grade version of TWOK, was out in cinemas recently. It was 90-95% a ripped off film, who's task could never be pulled off, but for what it was, it wasn't that bad.

 

[infohippie]

Star Wars. Neither show is really scifi at all, but at least Star Wars is more fun and doesn't rely on meaningless technobabble or the Weird Alien of the Day.

Of course, Babylon 5 is better than either.

 

[Olas]

I'll go with Trek. I generally prefer hard Sci-fi to silly space magic stuff, and Trek tends to have a wide variety of story arcs and conflicts whereas Wars pretty much always boils down to Jedi vs Sith.

Star Wars. Neither show is really scifi at all, but at least Star Wars is more fun and doesn't rely on meaningless technobabble or the Weird Alien of the Day.

Of course, Babylon 5 is better than either.

How exactly is Star Trek not sci-fi? Star Trek is practically the definition of sci-fi.

-Set in the future
-In Space
-With aliens... and sometimes androids
-Ray guns (phasers)
-Teleporters
-Sometimes involves time-travel
-Scientific jargon

It may not be the hardest of hard sci-fi, and some episodes definitely don't resemble science fiction in appearance, but in concept it almost couldn't be any more definitive of the genre.

 

[Little Woodsman]

Doctor Who.
Sorry, just had to get that out of the way.

While I love me some Star Wars, and it's absolutely fair to say that both franchises have some horrendously bad moments, I'd really have to go with Trek for the deeper stories, greater range of characters and more in-depth character development.
Plus, something I hadn't thought of until reading through this thread...the sources of conflict.
In Trek, conflicts arise due to clash of cultures, political intrigue, misunderstandings of biology...and other sources too numerous to mention.
In Wars, conflict arises because the Emperor is a very bad man.
Who apparently wished to seize power in order to be able to commission the construction of ginormous substitute penises.

 

[infohippie]

I'll go with Trek. I generally prefer hard Sci-fi to silly space magic stuff, and Trek tends to have a wide variety of story arcs and conflicts whereas Wars pretty much always boils down to Jedi vs Sith.

Star Wars. Neither show is really scifi at all, but at least Star Wars is more fun and doesn't rely on meaningless technobabble or the Weird Alien of the Day.

Of course, Babylon 5 is better than either.

How exactly is Star Trek not sci-fi? Star Trek is practically the definition of sci-fi.

-Set in the future
-In Space
-With aliens... and sometimes androids
-Ray guns (phasers)
-Teleporters
-Sometimes involves time-travel
-Scientific jargon

It may not be the hardest of hard sci-fi, and some episodes definitely don't resemble science fiction in appearance, but in concept it almost couldn't be any more definitive of the genre.

I would characterise sci fi as a genre where actual scientific principles are a major component of the plot. Star Trek is just a series of adventure stories set in space. Star Wars is a fantasy/action story in space. I would not consider space opera as a genre to really be sci fi at all, and both Star Wars and Star Trek are space opera. I'm not sure I have ever seen a real sci fi story outside of books. About the closest I've seen on film would be the recent movie Gravity, despite its technical inaccuracies.

 

[Olas]

I would characterise sci fi as a genre where actual scientific principles are a major component of the plot. Star Trek is just a series of adventure stories set in space. Star Wars is a fantasy/action story in space. I would not consider space opera as a genre to really be sci fi at all, and both Star Wars and Star Trek are space opera. I'm not sure I have ever seen a real sci fi story outside of books. About the closest I've seen on film would be the recent movie Gravity, despite its technical inaccuracies.

You're describing what is commonly referred to as hard science fiction. I understand why you might feel that science fiction should rewuire some degree of real science, however that that isn't the standard definition, and it might be confusing to some people (like me) to limit the term to just the more niche side of the genre.

I think it's worth noting that Star Trek does sometimes have episodes that deal with real scientific ideas too. It's not always purely space voodoo.

 

[Something Amyss]

cut for length

Yes, yes, Picard is Ahab in First Contact, which is totally different. The themes of revenge and hatred are spelled out far more literally and directly to the character, which precludes one actually figuring it out for themselves, which is totally different. Oh, and the Spock-like character doesn't actually sacrifice himself, so that's totally different. Oh, and there's a happy ending, so Picard's crew doesn't have to deal with any drama that's not stated in expository dialogue like the actors were reading off the descriptors in the scripts.

That's different.

That being said, I'll take Quinto's laughable "Khaaaaan!" moment over anything done in TNG. At least it doesn't attempt to hide what it's knocking off. Hell, Spock even calls in Future Spock for some cheat codes.

 

[Something Amyss]

I think it's worth noting that Star Trek does sometimes have episodes that deal with real scientific ideas too. It's not always purely space voodoo.

And sometimes, it's both. I mean, there's the Heisenberg Compens....

*gets ripped apart by an angry mob*

 

[Sniper Team 4]

Star Wars, because as Adam Sessler said once on X-Play, "It's time to blow things up like only Star Wars can."

I remember the first time I saw Empire Strikes back. I was four, had no idea what I was watching, but made did I love watching that asteroid scene with the TIE fighters getting smashed.