Star Trek vs. Star Wars: The Poll to End All Polls

[bwv 1080]

If they had gotten a better actor to play Annakin, the last two movies could have been really good

As I can watch Star Wars today but not Star Trek (although the movie reboot was good) have to go with Star Wars, but maybe that's just having a 6YO to watch it with

Still hoping with CGI getting cheaper we can have some sci-fi movies that don't have to be toned down to be blockbusters

If HBO can film George RR Martin, why not Alistair Reynolds or Peter Hamilton?

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

Yeah, hot if you like Borgs    But I prefer Trills: Jadzia Dax and Ezri Dax....love the spots 

Another Jadzia fan here. Though Seven of Nine could 'cause cardiac arrest in a yak' (to quote Woody Allen about someone else).

So wrong, it's all about mid-length hair Kira

Did you get into Babylon 5 at all? The only reason I don't rate DS9 more highly is because I think B5 did the persistent plotline space station thing better, despite being more corny. DS9 had better characters, though.

I only happened to see one episode of Babylon 5... Deep Space Nine was on Dutch tv, and on the BBC, too. Which helped, perhaps. I like TNG, and Voyager, too, though that was very bad during the 3rd season (iirc). But Deep Space Nine I have watched twice. And in a few months'time, who knows, I might watch it again...

[DavidW]

If HBO can film George RR Martin, why not Alistair Reynolds or Peter Hamilton?

That would be awesome!  But those scifi authors have way too much crazy stuff going on to handle on a tv show budget, even for a network like hbo.  Martin's use of magic, armies, dragons etc is subtle and select.  Most of A Song of Ice and Fire can be characterized as people in a room talking, which is much cheaper to film.

[DavidW]

And since these cultures almost never wanted to co-exist, Kirk would have to beat the crap out of a few aliens in order to make them see the rightness of the Federation's way of doing things. Most shows in the original series ending with a fistfight  Nearly every episode violated the Prime Directive.

Sarge

Sarge the fist fights are not as frequent as you remember.  They were actually fairly uncommon.  Most of the time Kirk would find a diplomatic solution, and many times he showed tact and wit (people ALWAYS forget this).  He never starts fights, but he does defend himself.

And most episodes did NOT violate the prime directive (which only involves interfering with cultures less technologically advanced).  And the ones in which it happened, the prime directive had already been violated before they arrived.

[Lethevich]

I only happened to see one episode of Babylon 5... Deep Space Nine was on Dutch tv, and on the BBC, too. Which helped, perhaps. I like TNG, and Voyager, too, though that was very bad during the 3rd season (iirc). But Deep Space Nine I have watched twice. And in a few months'time, who knows, I might watch it again...

I was in a similar situation - if TNG and DS9 weren't so extensively serialised on BBC2 (while the news was on BBC1, which as I kid I wanted to avoid at all costs) I wouldn't like them half as much. Nowadays I have less patience to get into slow-paced series like Star Trek, so my opinions on the shows largely rely on nostalgia. B5 was on Channel 4 during ridiculously late hours, and it was a bit before my time anyway so I had to make do with DVDs, which can be pretty heavily discounted. If you have a decent connection, maybe stream a few episodes to see if you like it - it was shot in widescreen so looks very good except for the rare green-screen scenes, which for depressing and overly-complex reasons are an inferior resolution.

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

I was in a similar situation - if TNG and DS9 weren't so extensively serialised on BBC2 (while the news was on BBC1, which as I kid I wanted to avoid at all costs) I wouldn't like them half as much. Nowadays I have less patience to get into slow-paced series like Star Trek, so my opinions on the shows largely rely on nostalgia. B5 was on Channel 4 during ridiculously late hours, and it was a bit before my time anyway so I had to make do with DVDs, which can be pretty heavily discounted. If you have a decent connection, maybe stream a few episodes to see if you like it - it was shot in widescreen so looks very good except for the rare green-screen scenes, which for depressing and overly-complex reasons are an inferior resolution.

I do remember liking the look of Babylon 5, more colourful than DS9. I'll see if I can watch a few episodes...

[Sergeant Rock]

Sarge the fist fights are not as frequent as you remember.  They were actually fairly uncommon.  Most of the time Kirk would find a diplomatic solution, and many times he showed tact and wit (people ALWAYS forget this).  He never starts fights, but he does defend himself.

And most episodes did NOT violate the prime directive (which only involves interfering with cultures less technologically advanced).  And the ones in which it happened, the prime directive had already been violated before they arrived.

I've only seen a few episodes since watching the original broadcasts in the 60s so, yes, my memory could be exaggerating what I remember as a TV western way of resolving most conflicts.

Edit: I do remember though that Kirk beat the living shit out of the Tribbles.

Sarge

[DavidW]

I do remember liking the look of Babylon 5, more colourful than DS9. I'll see if I can watch a few episodes...

You'll have to watch them in order.  Great epic story carefully planned out.  Very rewarding, each episode is like a chapter in a novel.  The show has better planning, attention to detail and characters than ds9... but it does look and feel kind of cheesy.  You'll have to get past that to embrace it.

[Lethevich]

You'll have to watch them in order.  Great epic story carefully planned out.  Very rewarding, each episode is like a chapter in a novel.  The show has better planning, attention to detail and characters than ds9... but it does look and feel kind of cheesy.  You'll have to get past that to embrace it.

Indeed! The Minbari in particular may raise the hackles of some, as it's pretty hard to recreate advanced and sophisticated cultures with plastic props - but you get used to it

Also: pretend the show ended after series 4, it's much better that way...

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

Indeed! The Minbari in particular may raise the hackles of some, as it's pretty hard to recreate advanced and sophisticated cultures with plastic props - but you get used to it

Also: pretend the show ended after series 4, it's much better that way...

I will give Babylon 5 a chance. And I'll skip season 5. 

[Szykneij]

Hmmm. Let's See (each pair is connected or similar in some way):

Star Wars has Jar Jar Binks. Star Trek has Q.
Star Wars has Harrison Ford. Star Trek has Patrick Stewart.
Star Wars has Yoda. Star Trek has Spock.
Star Wars has ghosts/spirits. Star Trek has time travel.
Star Wars has the empire. Star Trek has the Borg.
Star Wars has Wookies. Star Trek has Klingons.
Star Wars has black and white unifrms. Star Trek has multi-color uniforms.
Star Wars has Princes Leia. Star Trek has Seven of Nine.
Star Wars has the Millennium Falcon. Star Trek has the Enterprise.
Star Wars has the voice of James Earl Jones (Vader). Star Trek has the voice of Majel Barrett (computer, who also played Troi's mother).
Star Wars destroys planets. Star Trek creates them.
Star Wars has the dark side. Star Trek has parallel universes.
Star Wars has George Lucas. Star Wars has Gene Roddenberry.
Star Wars has hyper drives/space. Star Trek has Warp drives/space.
In Star Wars you say, "May the Force Be With You." In Star Trek you say, "Live Long and Prosper."
Star Wars has tractor beams. Star Trek has tractor beams too!
Star Wars has C-3PO. Star Trek has Data.
Star Wars has the force. Star Trek has holodecks.
Star Wars has Ewoks. Star Trek has Tribbles.

Can you guess I just eat this stuff up!!

Great list! I scored it 9 to 9 with a tractor beam tie.

[DavidW]

I've only seen a few episodes since watching the original broadcasts in the 60s so, yes, my memory could be exaggerating what I remember as a TV western way of resolving most conflicts.

Edit: I do remember though that Kirk beat the living shit out of the Tribbles.

Sarge

Well as long as we agree that Dax was a hottie we're in good shape!

[Josquin des Prez]

One series is filled with trite writing trite directing (except for Empire of course) and way too many furry things, the other is filled with trite liberal propaganda and futuristic utopian bullcrap. Frankly, i can probably do without either of them. Still, some of the Star Trek episodes were pretty fascinating. I must also be one of the few who actually likes The Motion Picture. Loved that sense of wonder that film gave me as a kid. And the twist at the end was actually pretty cool.

[Josquin des Prez]

If they had gotten a better actor to play Annakin, the last two movies could have been really good

I don't think so. Too many things went wrong with those films.

[DavidW]

One series is filled with trite writing trite directing (except for Empire of course) and way too many furry things, the other is filled with trite liberal propaganda and futuristic utopian bullcrap. Frankly, i can probably do without either of them. Still, some of the Star Trek episodes were pretty fascinating. I must also be one of the few who actually likes The Motion Picture. Loved that sense of wonder that film gave me as a kid. And the twist at the end was actually pretty cool.

I knew we needed an option for The Twilight Zone... I bet you would have voted for that.

[Josquin des Prez]

I will give Babylon 5 a chance. And I'll skip season 5. 

Babylon 5 really picks up after season one, but you can't just skip to season two so your are forced to go through some very weak material. The show is full of cheese and feels very cheap, but one thing they did extremely well is pan out the main story arc through out the entire series from the get go, and nothing is ever left to chance. Everything adds up in the end, even the smallest detail leads to something bigger, and nothing resolves into some anticlimactic and rushed resolution (Deep Space Nine, i'm looking at you). And once the main plot gets going the show drops every pretense of being a cheap knock off of Start Trek and it becomes its own thing.

[Josquin des Prez]

I knew we needed an option for The Twilight Zone... I bet you would have voted for that.

That was probably one of my favored shows as a kid. Even today most of the episodes hold up extremely well. Can't say the same thing for the original Star Trek series, which hasn't aged quite as gracefully.

[eyeresist]

I had a freak-out moment when I first Googled the actress and thought she looked less cute without the prosthetic nose. Any remaining delusions I had of normal attractions died on that day.

Yes, ditto on the sexy nosebump thing


For quality, I'd have to say the original SW trilogy beats Trek, but OTOH SW fans tend to be more the knuckle-dragging types (whereas Trekkies are aspie coders).

I never liked TNG. Even setting aside the sheer beigeness, and the ship's social worker having her own seat on the bridge, the plotting is usually overly-simplistic, and the acting is much too arch for my liking. I also can't take very seriously Trek's utopian pacificism, so the shows and movies that go for the violence solution are better IMO.

But I voted Trek.

[Roberto]

Star Trek. But I haven't seen TOS, DS9 and Enterprise yet. (I suppose I won't see TOS...)

My favorite movies are the First Contact, The voyage home and Insurrection. I don't know if TNG or Voyager is better but Borg is more elaborated and sophisticated in Voyager. I don't like the new Star Trek movie. The special effects and characters are great of course but the story is  Du you like it?

[eyeresist]

I liked the recent Trek movie a lot the first time I saw it, but watching the DVD I found the construction of the narrative offputtingly crude. Giacchino's clunky score and Bana's snooze-worthy villain didn't help matters. I still like the look of the film, and the main cast. It's a shame the same writers will be on the sequel.