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The way I see it, this is not a question that can be fairly debated. I feel that both Star Wars and Star Trek are good for different reasons; both hold a great deal of artistic merit. However, in my opinion, there are simply too many differences between them for the two to be objectively compared. In fact, if you will bear with me for a moment, I will explain here why I feel that it is unfair to even place them in the same genre.

The two are similar only in the sense that they are both futuristic, and deal with the theme of outer space. However, that is where the similarity ends. I think almost anyone who has been an avid watcher of both would agree with what I am about to say next, which is this: although both concepts are often categorized as science fiction, I feel that placing that label on the Star Wars films would require an extremely broad definition of the term. To my mind, Star Wars would be more aptly described as a fantasy/adventure series.

These films hold a very special memory to me, since Star Wars was the first film my parents took me to see in a movie theater. I love these movies dearly. They are very well made films which tell wonderful, exciting stories about the epic battle between good and evil; they are filled with memorable and endearing characters. However, the plots have little basis in technological or scientific fact. Therefore, these films do not belong in the science fiction genre.

Star Trek, on the other hand, manages to bring much of the same superb and adventurous storytelling; they deal with the exploration of deep space and the discovery of alien species, but whenever conflicts arise in the plot, they are handled with the use of logic and a much more complex and realistic application of scientific concepts.

In addition, Star Trek’s influence on society simply cannot be denied. If one does enough reading, they will quickly discover that many of the technologies which originated in Gene Roddenberry’s imagination more than forty years ago are now either in development, or have already become science fact. For example, it has long been known that the design of the Motorola flip-phone that is so widely used today was inspired by the concept of the communicators which Mr. Roddenberry invented in the original series. This is only one of many examples of the shows impact on real life. I don’t know about anyone else, but I find that fascinating. I’d say that any television show which can stimulate one’s imagination to the degree that they actually figure out how to invent the fictional devices described in it has made a pretty valuable contribution to mankind, wouldn’t you?

Because of these vast differences, I feel that a comparison between the two is not only unfair, but impossible!