Click here for the podcast.

B: Hello I am Beau Cameron–

E: and this is Emily Reed.

B: –and today we will be arguing for a podcast on The Lance known as Battle of the Fans. Our argument today will be on the longstanding battle between the two fandoms Star Trek and Star Wars.

E: I’ll be arguing for Star Wars, of course.

B: Then I’ll be arguing for Star Trek, the better series. I like to be on the winning side.

E: I started watching Star Wars when I was around the age of 6. It was a bonding experience with my dad. He was tiling, and I was sitting at the table, eating oatmeal. And I don’t like oatmeal, so I started watching Star Wars. We had the movie playing in the living room; it was the 6th movie I believe. I had no context, because it was the last twenty minutes of the film or so, but I really did enjoy it and it convinced me to ask my dad to let me watch the whole series.

B: For me Star Trek was a bonding experience with my sister. On our trips to the beach our father bought us these old tv shows. One year he got us the original Star Trek series to watch. It was a really fun experience for the both of us. We both got so sucked into it even though at the time we didn’t understand all of it. Now, as teenagers, it’s something that we both enjoy.

B: So, Emily, bottom line, why do you think Star Wars is better than Star Trek?

E: I think the premise of Star Wars is better than Star Trek. I think the characters are more well-developed, which we all know is more important than an over ambitious plot line, and I think the soundtrack is better. What about you Beau?

B: Star Trek is just a better series. It’s a more interesting and original concept and it was better executed than Star Wars. In all its series, it all takes place in the same universe. At the same time, that in itself is so adaptable. There are always new characters and it can pertain to any time period.

E: I don’t agree with your earlier statement that Star Wars is all about one war. The prequels, movies one, two, and three, act as an origin story for Anikin Skywalker or Darth Vader, the villain of the other three movies. We see him grow up and learn his motivations. The problem with Star Trek is that there are too many characters.

B: Well if you look at each series in Star Trek individually, they each have their own cast. For example, Captain James Kirk, Bones, Spock, Uhura, Scotty, etc. Just look at those main five and you have five well rounded characters. Which is more than you can say for Star Wars.

E: Also, you have to think about it, that’s a tv series. This is a movie. You have more run time. Star Wars is iconic for its soundtrack which carried throughout the entire series. If you’ve ever heard the music, it’s big and grand and it sets the mood. One of the things I really love about the soundtrack is that you can be doing something else entirely and you still feel the essence of the film series.

B: Star Trek Beyond was one of my favorite movies in the new series because it was so true to the original series. A lot of people said that it wasn’t, because they defeated the aliens with the power of rock and roll, but that’s so Star Trek. It was always about these weird responses to illogical scenarios and being trapped in these insane worlds with insane ideas and creatures. Fighting off evil with the power of rock and roll is one of the funniest things I can say. While, yes, Star Wars has this grand theme and the huge stage setting reels, Star Trek was more about fun and their songs could be fast paced and rock and roll.

E: Was it just that movie or…?

B: Well no, we didn’t have the Beastie Boys in every film.

E: I think this is a matter of preference.

B: It is. It’s like arguing over whether classical or rock is better.

E: The Star Wars series has been through a bunch of new directors and in the future there will be another change through the next three movies. What people constantly criticize Star Wars of is that the prequels are weaker than four, five, and six. I’d have to agree, but I still think one and three are decent. Two…not so much. With the entire run of the Star Wars movies, though, you can watch them and say “Yes this is Star Wars.” That’s mostly because the soundtrack runs through it and is consistent. How about Star Trek?

B: Star Trek isn’t technically supposed to be about a linear path. You aren’t supposed to see this series then this series then this series.

E: But is it consistently good?

B: Well every show has its ups and downs. I think you can agree that it’s a good series and a good franchise. When you look at the different series, you can still recognize all of them as Star Trek, and not just because of the uniforms. It’s because there’s this idea of tolerance and reason and prejudice and the struggle against the man and your inner demons. The topics that they introduce and the topics they argue over, it’s not as if they’re rehashing the old ideas, but instead addressing these things that are always relevant to us.

E: Star Trek, cinematography-wise, wasn’t very impressive, but it didn’t have to be.

B: Yeah, most of the series were made in the 60’s. I will digress and say that Star Wars, overarchingly has better cinematography. It had a bigger budget and was made in a more recent time period. You do have to admit that Star Trek made it work, just look at the Romulan foreheads. They worked with what they had and were able to make some pretty cool monsters and aliens. Visually speaking, Star Wars is probably more impressive–

B: Onto the next question though; How relevant are these series today?

E: Star Wars is extremely relevant. I mean, they’re still making movies of it. Star Wars: The Force Awakens, was the number one grossing film at the box office of all time. And that just happened in 2015. You can see that it’s still relevant. Also, Star Wars has a day. We have May Fourth because “May the Force be with you.” As to its lasting impact, you can see it in Science Fiction today. Pretty much anybody who likes science fiction has seen Star Wars, and it influences what they make today.

B: Actually you could say Star Wars was influenced by Star Trek. Star Trek: The Original Series debuted in 1956 and a New Hope, the first Star Wars film, was released eleven years later.

E:But are they really similar? Apart from the genre they aren’t. Because Star Trek has the all over the place plot where you can jump anywhere, while Star Wars is linear. The similarities between the two sort of die at space.

B: They had their new techniques that Star Wars improved, but I think you have to admit that Star Wars has some influences in Star Trek.

E: It does, but I don’t think it has as many as you’re implying.

B: On the technology of Star Trek– the gadgets inspire real day technology. You have the universal translator in Star Trek and now today we have a voice translator that understands 71 languages, not including Klingon.

E: Unfortunately.

B: We also have tablet computers, that were first introduced in the Star Trek series. There’s the communicator badge and all sorts of technology besides that. Star Trek was one of the first shows of its time. Not to say Star Wars didn’t have an impact but, Star Trek made us love space. It made us want to be better. It made us want to find that final frontier.

E: I think that’s a valid point. There isn’t a lot of technology in Star Wars and it’s more accessible because of that. There isn’t a lot of new technology, and I think that’s okay. They’re different.

B: The issue with Star Wars is that movie 4 feels as if they weren’t prepared to make a series, so there wasn’t a lot of character building. However in the later movies characters like Han, Luke, and Leia still don’t get enough attention. In that regard I think Star Trek is stronger. Yes, it was a series, but even in the movies you have great character development and are given a reason to love them.

E: But the problem with Star Trek is that it kind of rambles in the confusing science of what’s going on in the universe. You have to focus on the characters because everything else is a little far-fetched.

B: So did we come to some sort of agreement here, Emily?

E: Absolutely not.

*both laugh*

E: They are very different. It’s like comparing apples to oranges. Star Trek is fueled by its tv series mainly. Star Wars really only has the movies. It has some cartoon series, but it’s not quite the same thing.

B: Personally I think that in the world of Sci-Fi there will always be Trekkies and Warheads and they’ll always argue. However we can both agree that they are both good series that have shaped our ideas about science fiction. I hope I have at least persuaded you to give Star Trek a look.

E: And I hope that I’ve persuaded you to pull out your old Star Wars movies and give them a look.

B: I hope you’ve enjoyed listening to us talk about these two series and their affects on our current day. This has been Beau Cameron–

E: And Emily Reed.

B: –and this has been Battle of the Fans.