Star Wars vs. Star Trek: Part 1 of 7

Aliens & Robots

Star Wars vs. Star Trek is a polarizing topic and it’s an article I’ve wanted to write for a while. It becomes even more relevant now that J.J. is going to be the first director to contribute to both franchises.

Some would say that comparing Star Wars to Star Trek is pointless. It’s true, that those unfamiliar with the franchises often confuse the two and might not be able to tell the difference, but if you’re a Trekkie or a Star Wars fan you’ll know that the differences are so vast that fans will never see eye to eye. First of all they are from completely different genres. 

Star Trek is pure science fiction. It takes place in the 23^rd Century and predicts the future. There are technologies and gadgets that are interesting to science nerds. There is science; there are debates about morality. It's about and mankind’s place in the vast universe.

Star Wars is not science fiction. It is often mistaken for science fiction, but it is in fact a ‘space opera’. Space Operas take place in space but they focus on conflict and adventure. They draw influence from old westerns and swashbuckling epics and war films. There is adventure and action and romance. Star Wars is also fantasy because of the magical nature of “The Force” (anyone who is about to bring up midichlorians can go stick a lightsaber up where the twin suns don’t shine)

Yet for all their differences there are things that can be compared. Both franchises have spaceships and weapons. They have alien beings and alien worlds with strange languages and cultures. They both have conflicts and intergalactic battles.

My original goal was to compare ‘Wars’ to ‘Trek’ in a single post, but as you can already see, this topic is going to be a lengthy one, so I’m going to split it up into seven topics over seven weeks. Each week we will have one winner and at the end of this series we will decide once and for all which franchise has more goods. Let's get down to business, shall we?

Aliens & Robots are important in science fiction (and space operas). They function as the monsters, the villains, and supporting characters. Without them you’d have… well I guess you’d have Firefly.

When “Star Wars” opens we get treated to two robots right off the bat. One is very human shaped and the other is more trash-can shaped. Already the audience knows that there different types of robots in the universe and the film continues to give us more. There are mouse droids and power droids and medical droids and R2 units and R4 units. There are droids of every color shape, size, and function that one can think of and that’s just in the Jawa Sand Crawler.

That’s a lot of droids, especially compared to Star Trek. Star Trek doesn’t have many robots. They pretty much have Data and they have The Borg. The difference is not just in the number and variety, but also in the function of character. R2 and 3-PO have lots of personality, but Data has pretty much no character until you solder an emotion chip to his brain.

The Alien situation is pretty similar. Star Wars has a galaxy of life of every shape and size. The first film alone gives us Sand People and Banthas and Jawas and Dewbacks and Wookiees and and entire cantina full of some pretty creative creatures. Add in Taun Tauns, Wampas, Hutts, Twi'leks, and the other hundred species found in the original trilogy and you leave audiences fairly satisfied.

What does Star Trek have? Face ridges. Seriously, every alien is pretty much human except for a face ridge or a big ear or some body paint. What’s the real difference between the Romulans, Cardassians, Vulcans, Klingons, and Ferengi? Culturally quite a bit… physically not so much. Star Trek’s best candidates for interesting aliens include Tribbles and the Gorn… that’s kind of sad.

Now I know some Trekkies are going to start yelling me at this point and say “That’s not fair! Star Trek had a small TV budget and Star Wars had everything!”. To that I say, “False!”. Star Trek had 12 theatrical films to give us something, anything to work with and (with the exception of J.J.’s snow monster in the 2009 film) gave us nothing. Also, there are plenty of examples of 1960s era television shows that gave us some great robots and aliens.

Doctor Who was released in 1963, three years before the original Star Trek series. It gave us some of the most diverse and creative creatures out there. There are the Daleks, the Cybermen, the Sontorans, the Sillurians. Each species has their own unique backstory and function- totally science-fictiony and totally fascinating. In fact, The Borg are total rip-offs of the Cybermen ('Doctor Who' invented them a full 23 years earlier)- therefore the coolest thing Star Trek has to offer us in the way of Robots and Aliens is stolen from BBC.

Alright, today I ripped on Star Trek a lot, but Star Trek does have its virtues, so stay-tuned for more of my seven part series. 

Today’s winner is “Star Wars”!