r/comics • u/TommySiegel • 20d ago

OC Star Wars vs Star Trek: a helpful guide [OC]

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Star Trek 2009? Fun! The Force Awakens? Fun! And yet…

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u/BasementDesk 20d ago

I always tell the uninitiated:

Star Wars is about Good vs. Evil and space battles.

Star Trek is about what it means to be human, and speeches.

(For what it’s worth, I’m not a SW guy, so I might be a little out of date on that assessment)

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u/1d3333 20d ago

I also think the “the future is incredible” part is tied to how people seemingly ignore or forget the horrible past of star treks earth.

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u/BasementDesk 20d ago

Not to mention that “the future is incredible” feels kind of limited to the TNG mindset. I love TNG. It’s so very cozy.

But I certainly wouldn’t use DS9 as evidence of the future being so spectacular.

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u/gollyRoger 20d ago

Ds9 still works, it's just the story of what happens when a utopia has to meet challenges they're not built to counter. It's very deliberately the story of what happens at the edges of a utopian society. Probably the closest we'll ever get to an adaptation of the culture

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u/BasementDesk 20d ago edited 20d ago

Oh, for sure. DS9 is my favorite, and for a reason. As much as I love TNG, DS9 goes deep.

And at the risk of pulling out Sisko’s “It’s easy to be an saint in paradise” speech, I think that’s what you’re describing here.

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u/Toomanyeastereggs 20d ago

After the first season I was barracking for the Cardassians as the Bajorans were insufferable religious nutcases.

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u/Feather_Sigil 20d ago

The Federation is still a utopia in DS9, but we get to see what happens when utopia is challenged by overwhelming aggression and subversion. In the end, utopia prevails

It's in the time of PIC that the Federation stops being a utopia

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u/Asleep-Challenge9706 20d ago

DS9 has great episodes on why earth is great under the federation - it's great but it's not perfect, and it's not invulnerable to bad actors in its midst.
It just so happens that DS9 focuses on an area of space and a period of great conflict.

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u/PrimeDirectiveLover 20d ago

The entire point of DS9 is to show its important to keep your ideals when things around you are terrible.

"It's easy to be a saint in paradise"

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u/meowymcmeowmeow 20d ago

I just watched tng in my 30's for the first time. Which series would you reccomend next if I can ask and feel free not to answer.

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u/BasementDesk 20d ago

Deep Space Nine will always be my answer.

A few caveats, without spoilers:

I love love love TNG. I grew up watching it. For a long time it was my favorite.

When TNG was on the air, I'd try to check out DS9, but I always thought it was too dark (both in tone and in visuals), and it didn't fit my TNG vibes that I loved to much.

In my 30s I started watching DS9. I could definitely appreciate it more at that point. It's nuanced. Morally gray, as opposed to Picard's moral certitude.

Over time I came to recognize that DS9 was the better show. But TNG was still my favorite.

These days, after having watched both series again, multiple times, I'd say that DS9 is not only the best show but it's also definitely my favorite now. I'll always have love for TNG, but DS9 just hits so much harder, and in such wonderful ways.

If you're up for it, you could also check out Voyager. Voyager is much lighter, and also stranger. It feels like if TNG had a weird little step-brother who keeps on doing weird things. But he's still part of the family, so we love him.

Good luck on whichever Star Trek path you persue!

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u/meowymcmeowmeow 17d ago

Voyager sounds entertaining. I actually didn't wait for an answer and just went ahead and guessed deep space nine, but thank you for the well thought out answer! I might go back and forth depending on my mood.

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u/AshleyAspenLeaf 20d ago

DS9 is really just "Here's what's happening in the poorest of the poorest space station".

No matter how nice a utopia is, there will always be a roughest area, because areas are made up of people, and people elect people, and those people... you get it, I don't need to finish this.

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u/MorganWick 19d ago

It's also a bit of a TOS mindset too, because Roddenberry's whole thing was how enlightened everyone would be in the future. Naturally, once he died writers started picking apart the setting and writing about the dark secrets lying underneath the surface.

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u/Bgrngod 20d ago

That's the part I keep thinking we're gonna get deep into for reals and probably not through to the other side.

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u/PacketFiend 20d ago

Star Trek is science fiction.

Star Wars is fantasy, but in space.

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u/PantsMicGee 20d ago

Star trek is utopian society.

Star wars dystopia society. 

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u/BasementDesk 20d ago

Excellently stated.

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u/[deleted] 20d ago

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u/BasementDesk 20d ago

That would make Star Trek a space stage play.

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u/[deleted] 20d ago

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u/BasementDesk 20d ago

Oh, then I think you're misreading me. When I hear the term "Space opera," I think about what opera offers: Big, bold, sweeping ideas, heroes, villains, arias, setpieces, big, big, big, overblown emotion and action for the sake of grandeur.

When I think of a stage play, I think of characters with nuanced emotion, complicated relationships, uncertain ethics, questions with no answers. Everything that Star Trek gives us (especially in stuff like Deep Space 9). Death Of A Salesman. A Raisin In The Sun. Equus.

I'd say that comparing Star Trek to a stage play is downright flattering.

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u/[deleted] 19d ago

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u/BasementDesk 19d ago edited 19d ago

Yup, that was my point. That’s why Star Wars feels like a Space Opera, and Trek is a space play.

As for your view of plays, I hear where you’re coming from if that’s been your experience. But should you ever want to dive deeper into the world of theatre, there’s so much richness to be found there— especially in professional productions, should you have the chance to check them out. (Even from home: the National Theatre Live series from England’s National Theatre is terrific. And likely has a lot of actors you’d recognize.)

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u/patchyj 20d ago

More of a space western, I feel

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u/Coveinant 20d ago

Science fantasy you could say

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u/PacketFiend 20d ago

Aside from the complete lack of any actual or theoretical science, that is...

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u/jimdepool 20d ago

I prefer Science fantasy

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u/PacketFiend 18d ago

There is no science in Star Wars. Everything works by magic. Sword fighting space wizards rescuing princesses with The Force (i.e. magic) is not science. It is pure fantasy.

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u/jimdepool 18d ago

i agree, its fantasy with the aesthetics of scifi

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u/herculesmeowlligan 20d ago

Star Wars is a buffet, there's something there for just about everyone, especially within the larger universe and all the different media.

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u/Buttered_ball 20d ago

Star Wars is a space opera through and through. The huge orchestra, PowerPoint style screen transitions like stage play transitions, the over the top drama, and not to forget the cliches

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u/vampiregamingYT 20d ago

While good vs evil is a main theme, thats only part of it. The larger theme is that of Nature itself triumphing over technology, which is what the central theme of the orginal trilogy was

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u/IdentifiableBurden 20d ago

Also, anti-Imperialism (literally and figuratively)

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u/Ok-Recognitio 20d ago

I guess I never saw it as good vs. evil, but about the balance between the two. One cannot exist without the other.

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u/OldFaithlessness5008 20d ago

Star trek is also about having a favorite drink to order from the replicator

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u/808duckfan 20d ago

Wars is fantasy with a sci-fi paint job

Trek is sci-fi.

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u/Healthy_Piglet1139 16d ago

"Star Trek is about what it means to be human, and speeches."

Once, maybe. Now it's about space shooting and kiddy humour.