I saw a recent comic dealing with the basic differences between Star Trek and Star Wars that I found amusing and enlightening…
I come from a weird time. I grew up with Star Trek in reruns, and was 11 when Star Wars came out in the theaters. As an adult I definitely see differences and understand that Star Trek is Science/Speculative Fiction and Star Wars is Fantasy with Science Fiction aspects (planets, spaceships, & rayguns). As pop culture has taken over society and it seems like for the most part, the fans are different.
I’ve joked that real Star Wars Fans really don’t like Star Wars, and that’s what makes you a true Star Wars fan. There is a lot of discussion online about how bad whatever the latest thing is. Then we get into things like the original releases vs. Special Editions vs. Prequels vs…. Did Han shoot first? Disney is ruining the Brand. George Lucas is ruining my childhood. This director or that director is ruining… Don’t even get started with casting decisions! There’s a lot of bad talk happening in Star Wars fandom, and a lot of people being just mean (embracing the dark side). This is all coming from the people who LIKE Star Wars!
I enjoyed how Star Wars sparked a change in the world. Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica, Star Trek Movies… it made science fiction popular and main stream. I recall my brother and I running around whacking each other with broomstick light sabers, while my mother wondered what happened to the broom and mop. Star Wars got me into reading as a middle schooler. “Splinter of the Minds Eye” by Alan Dean Foster was one of the first books I recall reading on my own.
You see, I’ve always loved Science Fiction from Flash Gordon serials to the 1950’s flying saucer movies… but I recall as a kid growing up in the Bay Area my dad taking us to a Star Trek fan club meeting and falling asleep the the episode “Arena.” I had starship plans, I still have the Technical Manual that I carried around as an elementary school kid. I could name off the various ships in the Federation. I had similar stuff for Star Wars- sketchbooks, The Art of Books I never really got into the toys for Star Wars since I was just old enough to not be as into toys, my neighbor had them. for the record: I preferred the Y-Wing to the X-Wing for the record. My favorite ship is the Enterprise (“No bloody A, B, C, or D”).
As a fan base one thing Star Trek has is the concept of IDIC (Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations) which helps when others talk about “best” and “worst.” In Star Trek they kinda accept everyone’s right to like even what you personally don’t. Which leads me to Prodigy. Canceled by the powers that be after one season. Paramount was able to sell the rights to Netflix after a massive online campaign to save the show. Kinda an internet version of what happened to the Original Series back in the 60’s. They are now trying the same thing to save Star Trek’s other animated series “Lower Decks” which they announced the next season would be it’s last.
The show was pretty much finished when Paramount decided to cancel it and make the show disappear from their streaming service. Netflix, this week, released season 2 of Prodigy in a 20 episode (about 10 hour) bingeable dump. Prodigy was the Star Trek franchise’s idea for a “kid show” co-produced by Nickelodeon. There are a lot of things to unpack from this series. I don’t want to give away any spoilers for either seasons. So I’ll start with where in the timeline does this happen? This isn’t much of a spoiler and because the first season has little to do with the Federation so it’s hard to tell. We know this happens after Kathryn Janeway is made an admiral. So sometime after Voyager’s return and during the time of the films. The second season tells us this all happened before the first season of Picard. So as the Romulans are being relocated (think the point in which the “Kelvin” timeline starts).
Season 2 actually ends with the Utopia Planetia shipyards being destroyed which was a flashback in Picard season 1. The crew of the Protostar is a bunch of misfits trying to escape slavery on a at that point unknown planetoid. A mix of young aliens with no idea about Star Fleet or the Federation. So this is an introduction to the universe of Star Trek with the main characters being like the companion in Doctor Who, the audience’s surrogate. Pretty much every detail is covered for a newbie even that none of the characters speak the same language, so how do you communicate?
A few spoilers, but with a second season you know problems from the first season have been sort of solved. The first season <spoiler> gets the crew and lost starship Protostar to the Federation and deals with what happens then, bad things, bad bad things. While the second season deals with how our characters figure out how to live in the Federation preparing to join the Academy and attempt to rescue someone mentioned in the first season who was lost in time… then hijinks ensue.
There are lots of twists and turns through both seasons, but my favorite possible episode 13 from season 1 which dealt with the crew landing on a planet that the Enterprise interacted with during their five year mission and a “minor” violation of the Prime Directive that impacted the civilization for some amusing results.
I have enjoyed this series and frankly all the various series for their own merit. IDIC. Have I liked every episode? Nope. I joke about the first season of most Star Trek series aren’t great. The actors need time to figure out their characters. The writers need to figure out the world. Around season three they get it. Prodigy like Lower Decks, being animation allows some freedom that would be difficult or expensive in live action. Season 2 is worth a watch and actually does a nice job of taking care of some complaints people had about season 3 of Picard. Not all the plot holes are addressed, but at least one is tidied up. I just wish they had episodes of Will Wheaton’s The Ready Room for these, or even each season… that would be amazing.
As for the final decision when it comes to the battle between Star Wars and Star Trek… I like both, but if I have a choice – I’ll watch Star Trek. I have kept up with Star Wars, and enjoyed my visit to Galaxy’s Edge in Florida (I made a droid & a lightsaber). Yes, Star Wars has books and various TV shows, but the core is really the movies, where the core for Star Trek is the television shows. I’ve invested untold hours in the Star Trek Universe and have the scars to prove it. Now if they would only build a Star Trek Theme Park. 🖖
Now to this Week’s Comics:
Public Domain #6 – I thought I’d lost contact with this one… The first arc was dealing with a family and the rights to a character the father had created… Now we get to actually doing something with this character. OK actually this is al the “Real World” stuff and the comic with the superhero will be coming out soon.
Black Radiant #29 & 29.5 – In the last two issues we had come close to the end, each version of Black Radiant was tasked with a challenge that could save the world… SO what happened? Who Lives? Who Dies? Which person is actually the better Black Radiant? Read it and find out.
Justice Society of America #10 – One of first Legion of Super Heroes Comics had the Legion go up against Mordru an evil wizard. With Huntress (Lost in the multiverse Helena Wayne) building a Justice Society from reformed villains we have a young Mordru coming in trying to change his future, and learning that while the end may justify the means… it isn’t always that neat and clean.
Batman #150 – I know a secret! So what happens if you know who Batman is? What would you do? This is the story of a small time crook (former henchman) who know Batman’s secret identity and what he does with the information… It is a bit surprising but fits with the newish direction of Batman.
Then, of course, theirs a short tie-in story for the summer blockbuster Absolute Power…
Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1 – Another crossover taking control of a comic? Wha? Huh? This time it’s the “Infinity Watch” Which I guess, for an Annual issue isn’t too bad. Someone needs to study Temporal Mechanics 101.
Miles Morales: Spider-Man # 22 – Blood Hunt yipee! Yes, Vampires, yes, fights, yes, vampires. Sadly I see that there’s a DC vs. Vampires comic coming up, so more vampires! I really need to find other comics to read.
Rogue Sun #20 – Rogue Sun the immortal hero fighting to save the world again occult menaces, decides to start taking his role a bit more seriously as he plans to take out his big bad guy. At least he understands he has some work to do before hand. How does skipping school and heading off with a biker girl aid in his training?
Sons of Star Trek #4 – The end of the series, so no spoilers! Let’s just say I thought it was satisfying and still would like to know all the craziness that brought the universe together- Tuvix, Mariner, Morn… So many right turns in Albuquerque!
Rocketeer Jet Pack Adventures – I found this on the shelf of my LCS and picked it up… It is a book of short stories (so I won’t destroy my imagination by having to look at pictures… I can make the pictures in my mind). The book is actually 10 years old and I need to sit back and read it.
It seems that after the last Earth shattering finale for the merry Marvel mutants we are back with new team line ups and new titles. This teaser is to get me interested in all the titles and… it’s not doing anything for me.
I’m having enough trouble dealing with two Batman titles, two Superman titles, multiple Spider-Man titles (that at least have different Spider-Men in them), do I really need to be reading all these X-Men books? I watched X-Men ’97, but a dozen mutant books?!? Uncanny X-Men, X-Men, Exceptional X-Men, NYX, X-Force, X-Factor, Sentinels, Phoenix, Wolverine (also in Uncanny), Dazzler, Storm, Mystique, and let’s not forget the ad for Storm joining the Avengers!
Let’s not even get into the decades on continuity I need to wade through… If you love the X-Men (I do like the X-Men, but I really stopped reading them back when they had one title) this looks like it is a great time for you. New #1 issues, some new characters, and some cool stories. Enjoy! IDIC!