View from the Cheap Seats is kind of an extension of the newsroom. Whenever our three regular reporters, Calvin Daniels, Thom Barker and Randy Brenzen are in the building together, it is frequently a site of heated debate. This week: Star Trek or Star Wars?
Geeking out
Anyone who knows me will realize I am something of a geek.
I am not so diehard that I can quote every line Darth Vader ever uttered on screen, or remember all the names of guest characters on Star Trek, but I am a fan of the genre which encompasses both space operas.
Star Trek launched in 1966, I was six and frankly I was unaware of the series until it was cancelled and in re-runs years later.
Star Trek: The Next Generation, on the other hand, launched in 1987, I was 27, and I fell in love with the show.
It was great escapism television, with its core theme that humanity rose above the violence and greed which has plagued our existence so far, to achieve a united earth which was able to then expand to the stars. Mix in enough cool aliens, Klingon, Romulan, Vulcan and the rest, and place everything into story lines which often spoke to issues in our real world, and it was a winner for me.
That Star Trek spun off three other series, Voyager, Enterprise, and the much darker Deep Space Nine, and the franchise was simply always part of my TV fare for years.
Star Wars hit the big screen in 1977, the year before I graduated high school. It was still the era of drive-in theatres, and seeing the classic on a big outdoor screen was mind-blowing.
The original three movies were cutting edge movie tech, tech that doesn’t look particularly dated even today. They were amazing movies visually, although the storyline was quite clichéd, with obvious overtones of the Wizard of Oz and a few other classic tales.
But it is a space opera so visually pleasing was a key anyway.
Sadly with The Phantom Menace in 1999 the franchise flew its ship into an asteroid. It was bad, made worse by Jar Jar Binks, the worst scifi character in history.
So bad was Phantom Menace that I have not watched the last two releases.
I hold out hope the new arc about to be released will recapture my interest. I will give the first of the releases a chance at least.
But when it comes to which franchise is best the ‘Trek’ rules.
As for Star Wars, I honestly rate it behind Babylon 5, and the second incarnation of Battlestar Galactica.
And while not really part of this debate, I’ll put in a plug for first year scifi shows Dark Matters and Killjoys. Both are excellent, and could grow to be a debate of their own in the future among true scifi fans.
- Calvin Daniels
Opting out
The war has raged on for years, decades even, and will most likely never come to a complete end.
No, I’m not talking about the situation between North and South Korea.
Nor am I speaking of the altercation between the United States and, well, anyone that has oil.
No, what I’m speaking of affects more people than that.
The war I am discussing is, of course, what is better: Star Trek or Star Wars.
From my point of view as a VERY casual observer (I really don’t care for either of the entertainment franchises) my vote would have to go to the one that I could at least sit through once (but no more than that).
Really, the only one somewhat bearable would be Star Wars. It’s good in movie form, with action and some comedy (come on, Jar Jar Binks gets no respect and he’s the best part of Star Wars).
Star Trek, on the other hand, is utter garbage. The only thing that doesn’t last longer than me sitting there and watching a Star Trek movie (or television show) is the lifespan of anyone wearing a red shirt.
So to conclude, while I really don’t care about either Star Trek or Star Wars, the lesser of two evils here would have to be Star Wars as I can at least sit through it and act like it was half decent.
Space show buffs give me your worst.
- Randy Brenzen
Shouting out
Although I am a fan of both Star Trek and Star Wars, the edge goes to the former.
What always appealed to me about Star Trek is creator Gene Roddenberry’s vision of a future in which humanity has largely lived up to aspirational values such as peace, racial harmony and the elevation of intellect and reason over superstition and faith.
Of course, if it was just that, it would make for pretty dull TV (and later movies).
Enter James Tiberius Kirk, one of the great flawed heroes of the modern pop culture, a maverick and adventurer who struggles to reconcile the “prime directive” with his gut feelings of right and wrong. Add to this the physical manifestations of that internal conflict in the form of Spock, the ever-logical Vulcan, and “Bones” McCoy, the ever-emotional doctor and you’ve got a winning formula that the franchise would go on to repeat in the Next Generation and beyond to explore all the ins and outs of human politics and values.
On the other hand, Star Wars is a grand adventure steeped in mysticism. It is very entertaining, but I have always been more attracted to the intellectual than the fantastical. That is why Star Trek ultimately gets the nod even though, as I have said, I enjoy them both.
- Thom Barker
