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Star Trek & Stargate (& other Sci-Fi)


Nollaig

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Well I prefer a story done and dusted and the I am your father is my favourite line - I also love the inner battle of Darth Vader/Anakin Skywalker ... but obviously I am not going to convert anyone and I wouldn't want to.

 

I just prefer Star Wars and I think it does have an intelligent story line if you look beyond the big explosions, corney scripts and what not - there is a philosophy, a religion if you like - and the whole point is to unite the galaxy under one banner - if that is not a positive storyline I don't know what is!

 

Also Darth Vader/Anakin Skywalkers journey to and from the dark side touched my heart as I believe in redemption through love and I think that is quite a challenging concept to put into simple terms and I think George Lucas acheived that brilliantly.

 

As I said at the start I know I will not convert anyone but there are intelligent story lines and thoughts and feelings - it is not just about big bangs and 'may the force be with you!'

 

Star Trek may be intelligent but they leave me cold and I can't get to grips with it - as I said I am not a huge sci fi fan anyway - it doesn't make me stupid (I hope) I just prefer Princesses, Pirates and Dark Lords!

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it doesn't make me stupid (I hope) I just prefer Princesses, Pirates and Dark Lords!

 

Oh no, doesn't make you stupid at all, you just have different tastes ;)

 

Star Trek IS a massive phenomenon which takes years, I think, to really get into. I'm so mentally involved in it because growing up, sitting down to watch the newest episodes of Next Generation, then DS9, then Voyager and in the end Enterprise, was a family thing.

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I saw Star Wars in the cinema when I was six, and it basically kicked off my liking for all things science fiction, but then Lucas went and made the prequels and since then my affection for all things Jedi has waned considerably. I still like the original trilogy, and I'd still rate Empire as one of the best sequels ever, but the prequels have tainted them (the gloss is more than taken off Anakin's redemption at the end of Jedi when you remember that he hacked up a room full of children . . . etc).

I've also been a Star Trek fan since I was a kid as well, firstly through watching the original series on Monday nights, then the films and The Next Generation when it first came out on video in the UK in 87/88, right up to last month and being there on the first day of release for the new film (which to my mind was an excellent re-boot of the original series!).

Given that, I believe that drawing direct comparisons between the two is like trying to compare chalk with cheese - to me they are two very different beasts.

Star Wars tells an "epic" story over the course of six films, Star Trek tells an ongoing story over many, many TV episodes and iterations. Star Wars is only trying to tell the one story, where as Star Trek gets to tell many, and because of the difference in the formats it has much more time to develop cultures and have philosophical debates which would be inappropriate in a film saga.

I suspect we may very well see a switch in two over coming years however, as I strongly suspect that Star Trek won't be trying to tackle weighty subjects in it's current film format, and with a live action Star Wars TV series in the pipe, we may well find that Star Wars get's to flex the same thoughtful muscles that Trek previously did on the small screen.

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Given that, I believe that drawing direct comparisons between the two is like trying to compare chalk with cheese - to me they are two very different beasts.

 

I agree entirely because:

 

Star Wars is only trying to tell the one story, where as Star Trek gets to tell many, and because of the difference in the formats it has much more time to develop cultures and have philosophical debates which would be inappropriate in a film saga.

 

That's completely right. I don't think they're anything alike - and I just happen to NOT like the Star Wars story/movie thing. I like shows which develop over seasons and indeed spin-offs (Buffy being another major one that springs to mind.) I just happen to like the development and space for multiple storylines/philosophical debates yada yada that CAN occur in series - plenty of philosophical stuff popped up in Buffy too, just in a different way. THAT'S just the sort of thing I'm into. I never mean to compare Trek/Wars as the same thing, with one doing it better, I think of them as totally different things appealing to different (or the same) people for wholly different reasons.

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I also love the inner battle of Darth Vader/Anakin Skywalker ... but obviously I am not going to convert anyone and I wouldn't want to.

 

Don't worry you don't have to convert me i'm already a fan. But i just like Star Trek more.

 

I just prefer Star Wars and I think it does have an intelligent story line

 

I think that the story line is as intelligent or even more so than some of the stories Star Trek have told in their episodes/movies,etc. Then again some of the stories Star Trek writes is more itelligent. But the reasons i have for prefering ST type science fiction, is because you get more involved with the diverse cultures, the background, the scientific explanations of it. For example, there is a aqual scientific equation for Warp Theory. I find that so clever. It makes me think of Tolkien, who, not only created another world, but a new language, a story belonging to each race, and so forth. He went the extra mile to make the fantasy more like home. That's the kind of stuff i like to obsess about! :lol:

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I think that the story line is as intelligent or even more so than some of the stories Star Trek have told in their episodes/movies,etc.

I think the Star Wars films, or rather the prequels (where the bulk of the story actually lies), are very badly plotted.

In the original trilogy it was basically a simple story about some good guys trying to over-throw an Evil Empire.

In the prequels, where Lucas had total control over what happened (he bank-rolled the films from his own pocket and made the films he wanted to) the lack of continuity between the two sets of films, and very poor scripts, actually destroyed a lot of the mythology that had been established in the original films (even to the point where they have a Star Trek like explanation for the Force - terrible!).

When you see the time, money and effort put into the prequels - by so many people - it makes you weep that the story was generally so poor.

Then again some of the stories Star Trek writes is more itelligent. But the reasons i have for prefering ST type science fiction, is because you get more involved with the diverse cultures, the background, the scientific explanations of it. For example, there is a aqual scientific equation for Warp Theory. I find that so clever. It makes me think of Tolkien, who, not only created another world, but a new language, a story belonging to each race, and so forth. He went the extra mile to make the fantasy more like home. That's the kind of stuff i like to obsess about!

I actually prefer Star Trek when it avoids the technobabble (as they call it). The Next Generation suffered from it quite a bit, but nowhere near as badly as Voyager. Lines of random, semi-plausible sounding phrases spewed out at the end of an episode, to get the crew out of the problem of the week at the expense - usually - of the plot and characterisation, often proved more distracting than helpful.

Russell T. Davis has it right with the new Doctor Who - you don't need, or really want, four pages of techno-speak to explain the situation, having a magic box that does the job quickly, whilst keeping the focus on the story and characters is much more rewarding.

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Yep, though not so much of the content post series four.

Series two to four was great, series five was plops, the TV movies - with the exception of the excellent In the Beginning - were mediocre* and I haven't seen much past that (I've not heard good things about Crusade, Legend of the Rangers or the B5 shorts they did a couple of years back).

*Though after watching The West Wing, I would like to see the one where Martin Sheen plays a Soul Hunter again!

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Star Wars and Star Trek are both excellent, but neither can hold a candle to Blake's 7! Looking back, the sets were a bit wobbly and the acting could have been better, but for a 6 year old boy at the time, it was awesome!

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  • 2 weeks later...
Is anyone else on here a fan of Babylon Five ?

 

I absolutley love B5. The series again is one of those stories i could get lost into. I hope i get it the spelling right this time, but G'Kar is by far my favorite character. Next to him i love Marcus. I hope my Father-in-law lets us watch it again soon. We have been watching it with family and friends for several years now. Every so often my F-I-L organises a evening of back to back episode watching. We won't see them unless we all get together. They have just won the war against the shadows (best bad aliens ever). I love watching it with fellow B5 lovers, but it is taking forever. I wonder if i can sneek them out of his house?!:D

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I have only really watched one of the Star Wars films so I'm not really a fan of that. I quite like Star Trek: Next Generation as I used to watch that with my Gran when I was younger and staying at her house for the holidays :smile2:. I am a big fan of Doctor Who and Torchwood :D I will be gutted when David Tennant leaves as I don't think anyone will play the part as good as he does. I also watch The Sarah Connor Chronicles, however I have heard that the show is going to be axed ;). Has anyone else been watching this? I started watching Battlestar Galactica but have yet to see last season.

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I also watch The Sarah Connor Chronicles, however I have heard that the show is going to be axed :D.

 

It has been axed, I'm afraid.

 

I started watching Battlestar Galactica but have yet to see last season.

 

It's very good, very grim and dark, but very good!

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I absolutley love B5. The series again is one of those stories i could get lost into. I hope i get it the spelling right this time, but G'Kar is by far my favorite character. Next to him i love Marcus. I hope my Father-in-law lets us watch it again soon. We have been watching it with family and friends for several years now. Every so often my F-I-L organises a evening of back to back episode watching. We won't see them unless we all get together. They have just won the war against the shadows (best bad aliens ever). I love watching it with fellow B5 lovers, but it is taking forever. I wonder if i can sneek them out of his house?!:lol:

 

At last someone on here who shares my tastes. B5 is the best sci fi series in the whole world - G'kar is my favourite too - watching his transformation is awe inspiring and some of his quotes are just wonderful. I also love Ivanava's sense of humour, and Marcus well what can I say, she should have boffed him at least once ! When he died it was just so sad, if Claudia Christensen hadn't been written out, it would have been interesting to see where they took his character and whether they had got together or not.

 

We are lucky in that we have the entire collection of DVD's including the films. We also collected the texts that JMS recently released and managed to get one of those framed prints of G'kars famous speech. It has pride of place in the living room.

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I also watch The Sarah Connor Chronicles, however I have heard that the show is going to be axed :lol:. Has anyone else been watching this?

 

It has been axed, I'm afraid.

 

Hmm. I can't say I'm really surprised. Most of the time it seemed to be treading water and the quality was really inconsistent. There would be a brilliant episode, followed by about six really tedious ones. I actually nearly fell asleep during one episode, I was that bored. Then, just when I would decide not to watch it any more, there would be another really great episode!

 

I also didn't like some of the casting - I loved Summer Glau, but couldn't stand Lena Headey as Sarah Connor or Shirley Manson. Still, it ended series 2 on a big cliffhanger and it would have been nice to see how it continued.

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G'kar is my favourite too - watching his transformation is awe inspiring and some of his quotes are just wonderful.

 

I think it's clever the way they made G'Kar, at the beginning, seem like the more animalistic, inmature character. But in actual fact it was Mollari who was the more savage and inmature, and as he goes on his own journey, learning about himself and his people, it's brilliant. You only realise the real depth of the characters as you go along.

 

 

Oh and when Marcus died, i cried so much my glands were swollen!

:lol:

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I love the old Doctor Who's, because to me, they all tie in with the new. I enjoyed watcjing all the doctors. I am very nervous of what they are going to do in the future with this 11th doctor, but i've been nervous before and i've never been let down. My family have some of the 1st doctors series on vid, and i love watching them, there so old and cheesy it's fantastic!

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  • 2 months later...

BUMP!

 

I've been re-watching Star Trek: The Next Generation. I LOVE Data. I'm watching mostly Data-based (no pun intended!) episodes, but I'm also tracking down and rewatching ones I haven't seen in years, but have vague memories of.

 

Here are some of my favourites:

 

The Measure of a Man - (Great exploration of the line between man and machine)

When Data refuses to be disassembled for research purposes, Picard is enlisted to defend his rights as a sentient being in court while Riker reluctantly takes on the role of advocate.

 

Clues - (Mystery episode! We all love a good mystery. Also involves Data being awesome.)

The Enterprise travels through a worm hole in which most of the crew is knocked out for what is apparently 30 seconds. However, there are signs that say that they were out for much longer. Then the crew are shocked to discover that Data is lying to them.

 

Disaster (Action episode! Data again being awesome.)

Picard is trapped below decks after hosting a primary-school science contest, the Enterprise is completely disabled by a rare natural phenomenon, and Counselor Troi is left in command on the bridge.

 

Cause & Effect (Who doesn't love a good time loop? Data is awesome again.)

The Enterprise becomes trapped in a time loop, endlessly repeating the same steps that end in the destruction of the Enterprise. Can the crew realise that their feelings of Deja Vu are real and break out of the loop?

 

Tapestry (The 'What if?' episode, great look down Robert Frost's 'other path' in the yellow wood.

After Picard loses his life in a surprise attack, ``Q'' gives him the chance to change his destiny, and avoid the brawl in which he was stabbed through the heart. But will Picard be the same man he was if history is re-written?

 

Phantasms (Data being awesome. Also, creepiest episode ever.)

Data's first bad dream turns into a real-life nightmare for the rest of the Enterprise crew.

 

Masks (Brent Spiner being an AMAZING actor, portraying several characters.)

While an alien archive transforms the Enterprise into its ancient society, Data is taken over by several different personalities from the extinct civilization.

 

All Good Things (Who doesn't love a good paradox? Perfect end to the show.)

Picard finds himself travelling between the past, present, and future while attempting to prevent the destruction of humanity... by his own actions.

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Wow, another thread I never knew about! Great to see other Sci-Fi fans - will read the thread when I'm more awake than I am now!

 

Huge fan of Star Trek, TNG, DS9, Voyager and just started watching Enterprise. I also love Stargate and am :D that I'm missing Robert Carlyle in Stargate Universe!

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I'm currently watching the back-half (or arse end) of season one of The Next Generation. It is years since I last watched it, and I really don't remember it being as clunky as it is, but it is soooooo clunky it's actually quite amusing!

 

Games to play include "How many people can you get in one shot?", "Will Worf say anything this episode?" and "What pointless remark is Troi going to make next?" - a big cheer, or swig of your beer, after each one, please!

 

The one thing I'm surprised about is that Wesley isn't actually as annoying as I remember him being (he's still an up-tight little prick at times, but then again, have you seen how up-tight his mother is?!).

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