Star Trek & Star Wars: Sci-Fi Titans Compared

Star Trek & Star Wars - those star spawned sagas shadow each other like a cloaked Romulan Warbird trailing Bobba Fett's bounty hunter ship Slave One

As a science fiction fan and writer, I'm inevitably asked which I like better. For someone like myself who penned episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine, the answer may be obvious. However, long before I was in the credits of a Star Trek episode, I preferred seeing the Starship Enterprise go into warp to watching the Millennium Falcon burst into hyperspace.

There's no denying George Lucas created fantastic characters. Of course there's also no denying that Gene Roddenberry created his universe first. Star Trek blazed a trail in entertainment and pop culture so fiery, it's still felt today in every aspect of media. That legacy of influence can be felt in TV, film, novels, comic books, video games and now even fan produced episodes and featured length movies.

All the media success is great, however there's a more fundamental, more intellectual facet which not only sets itself apart from Star Wars, but from nearly every other sci-fi themed entity around.

Star Trek brims with deep philosophy.

Now, you may argue that Star Wars contains philosophy in the famous Jedi Knights. These laser sword wielding warriors strut around in flowing robes talking about the "Force." On the surface, they seem to have philosophy. Yoda, one of the oldest and wisest teachers waxes philosophically about how the Force is his ally and how powerful it is for him. However, when Yoda launches into a savage sword fight with Count Dooku in Attack of the Clones, where is his philosophy? Does the Force and Jedi Philosophy only become effective in combat? Is there no peaceful way of utilizing the Force?