10 Reasons That Settle Once and for All Why Star Trek Is Better Than Star Wars
If we're forced to deal in absolutes, there's only one answer.
Published 3 months ago in Ftw
“Do you like Star Wars, or Star Trek?”
We’ve all heard it before, and even though the correct answer is, “They’re not comparable,” for some reason, people don’t seem to care. One is a series of fantasy movies, and the other is a bunch of episodic sci-fi, but people still think that because they’re both set in space, and begin with the word “Star,” that they’re two sides of the same coin. Well they’re not, and I’m tired of pretending that they are.
I happen to be a massive fan of both, and I hate when fans drag one to promote the other. But that’s exactly what I’m about to do. Because if we're forced to deal in absolutes, there's only one answer.
Star Trek is better. And here are 10 reasons why.
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Does any fanbase hate themselves quite as much as Star Wars fans do? The prequels are worse than the OT, the sequels are worse than the prequels, and each show is worse than the last. While those defeatist sentiments might be true in some cases, it's as if Star Wars fans actively root for new Star Wars to be bad. There is constant infighting, and it seems like an entire fragment of the fanbase exists in active dissonance with the IP’s intrinsic message. Stop bullying actors, stop bullying each other, and start rooting for better shows.9
Star Wars is now owned by Disney, and Star Trek is now owned by Paramount Global, and while each have had significant issues restoring the IPs, there is no question that Paramount did it better.
The Star Wars Sequels were an objective dumpster fire, and outside of “Rogue One,” “Andor,” and “The Mandalorian,” Disney pretty much has yet to do anything right.
Conversely, the newer Star Trek movies had a slightly warmer reception, and “Star Trek: Discovery” and “Star Trek: Picard” aren’t half bad. Nobody should be happy with where either franchise is right now. But at least Star Trek has some hope.10
Star Trek’s episodic nature means that there is much more in the way of standalone material that you probably forgot. Jumping into a random episode you haven’t seen in ten years is way easier than finding a Star Wars project you forgot. Plus, that means it’s much more accessible to someone who isn’t interested in watching everything, or learning all the lore.