The Negative Space (w/ Dave Ward) – issue #14: Star Wars vs. Star Trek… the debate that JUST. WON’T. STOP.

HO HO HO nerds!  Happy Holidays and welcome to yet another edition of The Negative Space! With ¾ of the population crapping their pants this December over the new Star Wars, and not being one of those huddled masses personally; I have this age old nerd debate pop into my head as CBS has also announced a new Star Trek series in the making. And since it’s #STARWARSMONTH here at Nerd Nation… I felt it was the perfect time to address this one…

If you’ve ever been to a major convention, or just around a large enough group of nerds (usually older ones, but every age is involved) you’ve heard it. The great debate that’s raged on for what seems like forever. Star Wars vs. Star Trek… Star Wars vs Star Trek… Star Wars vs. Star Trek. It just never ends. Well, please allow me to say as loudly and as publicly as I can…

 

PLEASE. JUST. STOP. 

Comparing these two epic, set-in-space, sci-fi franchises against each other basically amounts to comparing whether your crazy hippie cousin who sells oranges by the freeway gets better fruits than the random kid selling lemonade in the ‘hood. Exactly… who the hell cares?

So let’s take a look at the two contenders…
Star Wars is this drawn out family drama -slash- space opera with a bacterial disorder that makes the family superhuman, which could probably be cleared up with a round or two of penicillin.  Let’s throw some spaceship and ground fighting and a flimsy backstory to make it more epic. As complex as a lot of it goes, you don’t really have to sit and activate a lot of thought processes, and you are entertained forever.. Also, it’s a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. Star Wars (or at least the ORIGINAL TRILOGY, not the much maligned prequels, which other than the bacterial dig, I won’t get into) is just about the perfect example of the age old “hero’s journey” archetype. Yes, it’s a bit far-fetched in a lot of ways, BUT still entertaining. Which is what matters.

Star Trek is more oriented in *actual science* science-fiction, it makes you sit and think about whats going on, even during battles. Things that can potentially happen to humanity in the distant future are explored. philosophical dilemma, advanced technology, critical thinking.  Without the vision of Gene Roddenberry, we would not have mobile devices that do everything but dig the underwear out of our crack (Apple is probably still hard at work on that, I imagine) we would not have scientists actually exploring and doing the math on the concept of warp space travel with advanced propulsion systems. ALSO. Very entertaining.

So in summation, both of these great franchises have their upsides, both of them are excellent entertainment, and both of them are absolutely worthy of all the fandom they receive. There’s really no need to keep arguing about which one is better. Whatever side of the coin you are on as far as what you like more, PLEASE do us all a favor and can the idiotic behavior towards your fellow fan. All you’re doing pitting the two against one another (or worse, pitting the fans against each other) is making the rest of us look bad by being a slobbering mongoloid fanatic. At the end of the day, can’t we all just get along, coexist, and appreciate great science fiction? It’s really not that difficult.

This is Dave Ward and you have just warped through the negative space. 

-Dave Ward
First Ambassador: Federation Starship Nerd Nation, Curmudgeon Class
@daveward1279

Please Note: the views and opinions expressed by Mr. Ward are entirely his own and do not necessarily reflect those of Nerd Nation Magazine, our sponsors, or anyone else, for that matter. This is an opinion column, and is intended for entertainment purposes only, so please don’t be a d-bag and try to sue anyone over the stuff he writes. If it offends and/or infuriates, we encourage you to simply go read something else… preferably right here at Nerd Nation!