Star Trek vs Star Wars (Ultimate Nerd Showdown)

It is because I believe while Star Wars began as a great project but became a joke, while Star Trek began as a sci-fi powerhouse and remains to this day unblemished in the eyes of its fans, that I affirm Star Trek as being superior to Star Wars. 1) Star Trek has reinvented itself successfully time and again, while Star Wars has only gotten worse. When Star Wars burst onto the scene in 1977 it took America by storm. Capitalizing on the era of the space-race, Lucas broke out with a compelling script, memorable characters, and pushed the edges of special effects technology. For his effort Lucas became known as a legendary film maker and became the Pope of the fanboys, but to their chagrin his glory faded. In the attempted rebirth of the franchise with The Phantom Menace, dedicated Star Wars fans young and old lined up loyally outside theaters to experience the magic as if for the first time. But it was all for naught. Phantom Menace was hokey, plain, and thankfully forgettable. It's plot was weak, and despite its A-list cast the characters were listless and boring. Fans began to wonder if Lucas still had the magic. By the time Clone Wars came out, fanboys were ready to believe again. Diligently they lined up, and one after one left the theater with balled up fists, and frustrated hearts. How could the movie be so bad that it made them long for more Jar Jar Binks and his pseudo-racist catchphrases? After much pondering, the truth became obvious: Lucas was both the catalyst and cancer to the incredible Star Wars project. Once the anchor of its creativity, he was now the shoals upon which its ship must crash. Revenge of the Sith was easily the best of the three prequels, but only because the first two were so horrible. Relying upon advanced CGI and special effects to bail itself out, the final chapter in the Star Wars rebirth ended with dazzling fight scenes, and a whining Anakin Skywalker who would forever diminish the dark lord of sci-fi, Darth Vader. Compare this to Star Trek Star Trek blew people away with season after season of adventure, romance, and sci-fi ecstacy. Then it pumped out 5 spinoff series that each dominated for years. The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Voyager, Enterprise, Deep Space 9, all of these became staples of Sci-Fi programming, owing their success to the original and foundational concept of Star Trek. Whle this constant evolution was taking place, Star Trek managed to create 11 feature length films spanning 30 years. Star Wars, The Wrath of Khan, The Search for Spock, The Voyage Home, The Final Frontier, The Undiscovered Country, Generations, First Contact, Insurrection, and Nemesis all pushed the franchise forward with original characters, compelling plotlines, and ever heightening special effects. As if that wasn't enough, the series did an entire reboot in 2009 with a whole new cast. Paying homage to the original Star Trek characters while remaining fresh and unique in the eyes of even the most orthodox of old guard fans. Conclusion: While Star Wars blew the doors off entering the world stage, it has only decayed as time has passed. Star Trek on the other hand has moved forward and by all perceptions is only getting better. Ask yourself this: Who's best days are still ahead of them, Star Wars or Star Trek? 2) "A long time ago, in a galaxy far away" isn't as compelling as "Boldly going where no man has gone before". The essence of the Star Wars universe is that an advanced cluster of civilizations once upon a time struggled to define their government structure. That's it. Its a politico-melodrama that belongs on a make-believe history channel. In the Star Wars universe, everything you are seeing happened in the past and at such a distance that it can't possibly concern you. It's like watching another country's local news. "Oh no! The Mayor is corrupt and wants to disband the state assembly!?" Who cares? Star Trek on the other hand isn't based in the past, it's a projection of the future. And its not somebody else's galaxy far far away, its ours. Its our children's children's children, following the exploring nature of the human spirit and persisting through the perils of open space. It's not rooted in some make believe religion that only exists in our wildest imaginations, its a plausible futuristic narrative in which mankind is no longer Earth bound, and the universe is being discovered. Conclusion: While Star Wars asks us to be interested in the politics of an ancient civilization in a distant galaxy, Star Trek asks us to imagine our own human future, and what our species may one day experience. 3) The-Nerd-Factor Perhaps the quintessential weighing mechanism to determine the superior franchise is to analyze the nature of their fan base. Who's fans are more dedicated, who's fans are more nerdy? Star Wars fans have a rich and noble tradition of nose bleeds and masking taped glasses, but this heritage has been lost to the endless oceans of elementary school lunch boxes, rated E video games, and child sized haloween costumes. In short, Star Wars is now a sci-fi for little kids. Look no further than the current success of Star Wars' animated series on Cartoon Network as proof (it's not even on Adult Swim). Star Wars die hards now stand shamed next to hoards of drooling, screaming, infantile fans who's parents see this as an opportunity to get their kids interested in something cartoony and harmless. Much of this forsaken fandom is owed to the overindulging mechandising of George Lucas, and his endless appitite to earn money even at the expense of his once respected franchise. Even the most ardent Star Wars fan feels used walking out of a convention, and feels like they were in line for a Justin Bieber concert when they showed up for the prequels. On the other hand... Star Trek fans were and continue to be the weakest, dorkiest, most asthmatic tribe in the nerd-i-verse. Attend a convention and you will find that patrons easily speak Klingon (another feature Star Wars lacks, its own language), are armed with home-made phaser weapons, and most are in a Stephen Hawking book club. Star Trek is not for the faint of heart, or the weak minded. It is a determined, difficult, and dynamic work of science fiction that commands respect in the geek-world and has not become the watered down toddler-fest of Star Wars. Star Trek has self respect, and its fans hold their heads high while Star Wars fans navigate a sea of snot-nosed, plastic toy wielding, little runts. Conclusions: In 2011, Star Wars is what you like when you are just getting into to sci-fi, Star Trek is what you like when you're a grown up. And the nerd factor? Forget about it. Even jocks laughingly wear Jedi robes and poke one another with phallically inspired light sabers. But when is the last time you saw the prom queen or the starting quarterback sporting a Star Wars uniform with official ensignia? Nerd advantage: Star Trek.