Tough Decision

[timbot]

Now here is a tough decision (for me, at least), and all of the choices are pretty equal in the Sci-Fi world.

[starwoof]

Star Wars, no question.

[Midnight Son]

Firefly, but that wasn't an option. Picking from those? Star Wars, but only the three episodes George Lucas made.

[J_Muller]

So... hard...

Well, I don't know about Trek because I've never watched it, but it's damn hard to pick between Wars and gate. Decisions, decisions...

[Ego Slayer]

Star Wars, but only the three episodes George Lucas made.
Seconded.:smalltongue:
The new ones... bleh, no me gustan!

[Tor the Fallen]

Didn't... didn't George Lucas make the new ones, and only made 2 of the original 3?

[pestilenceawaits]

I grew up on wars and trek but Gate got it right good characters (and consistently good), good bad guys, dialog that didn't suck and macgyver isn't anywhere as whiny as luke. but The best character of all the franchises would definitely be Darth Vader.

[MrsbwcMD]

I was born the year "A New Hope" was released, and though I do enjoy Star wars IV, V, and VI, I chose Star Trek because I actually grew up with/watched "The Next Generation." I love the newer Star Trek movies, and though it's been a while since I've seen a TNG episode, I still consider myself a drooling fangirl of Picard/LaForge/Data/Wesley Crusher/Riker.

[Hazkali]

You have failed to provide the mandatory Thog option. Therefore you will be annihilated. So hard to choose- phasers (set to stun), lightsabers or those funny blasting stick things? I've got to choose lightsabers.

Vsssszhoom, Vsssszhoom!

:xykon: Elan...I am your...father...

:elan: Nooooooooooooooooo!

[ray53208]

firefly, or bsg.

[Sundog]

Of those presented, I say Star Trek, because without TOS, none of the rest would have even been possible.

On TV? Either new version BSG or SG:Atlantis.

Of all time: UFO.

[Midnight Son]

Didn't... didn't George Lucas make the new ones, and only made 2 of the original 3?
IIRC, Lucas wrote and produced the original three, but only directed two. They were his creation. Aside from that, you failed your sarcastic cynicism check.

[Tharj TreeSmiter]

Well two of them are TV shows so it's hard to compare them with a set of movies.

[Telonius]

Sadly, I have to go with Star Trek. For Star Wars, even setting aside Episodes 1-3, there is still the little matter of the infamous "Holiday Special (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Star_Wars_Holiday_Special)." George Lucas - the man who willfully and knowingly unleashed Jar Jar Binks onto an unsuspecting populace - has tried to destroy all evidence that it ever existed. It was that bad. While Trek may be inconsistent, it has never achieved such levels of suckitude.

[Nerd-o-rama]

Star Trek. Star Wars is a great fantasy series, but rather lacks as science fiction. Stargate SG-1 is entertaining, especially the early and late seasons, but it doesn't beat the hilarity of ST: Original or the quality of Next Generation. I consider the prequels, Atlantis and Voyager/DS9/Enterprise to be equal handicaps to each franchise.

[Jayabalard]

Star Trek is space opera.
Star Wars is galactic fantasy.

and I never watched Stargate.

[FdL]

Star Trek, no question. IMHO is more consistent and coherent than Star Wars.
As I see it, the Star Wars universe is given as a diverse place with a lot of things that are not meant to be understood, in Star Trek everything is explained and fits (sort of). Besides, ST puts more science into its science fiction. And last but not least, the writing of The Next Generation alone beats whatever space fantasy trilogy Lucas might bring onto us.

Star Wars it's ok, but you have to take in mind that was designed to be a trilogy of movies where a story takes place, and it's the stereotypical characters and their interaction what makes the plot. Star Trek is about broader and more abstract themes.

Stargate is IMHO an inferior product to both of the above above, it just doesn't stand up to them, it's not the same kind of historical legacy of its franchise.

And within Star Trek itself, TNG is the best hands down. TOS laid the ground for everything, so it should be spared much analysis. DS9 is highly irregular but mostly boring. Voyager is a mixture of TNG and DS9, has some of the adventurous charm and episodic nature of TNG, but the writing is not very strong. And by the time Enterprise came out I didn't feel the need to see it.

It's all personal opinion, mind you.

[Strengfellow]

B5 or Earth 2 in my opinion.

Whats the limit on options in polls?

[bosssmiley]

Fail! across the board for not mentioning the greatest sci-fi series in Earthican history:

FUTURAMA! amirite?

To all previous posters in this thread: "You post was bad, and you should feel bad!" :smallbiggrin:

[AmoDman]

I'm thinking BSG re-imagined needs to be up there as well as Firefly. Heck, those are the only two that have the most recent threads in media discussion...that being said, I have no fricking clue.

[SDF]

Star Wars... the others don't even compare. It also has the best expanded universe beyond the official movies. (KOTOR, SWD20, the books, ect.) The characters are also a lot more believable than the stiff starfleet officers that are completely not relatable.

[timbot]

1. Personally, I don't like Futurama.
2. I agree that the new three Star Wars are REALLY bad, and am glad to find out my brother, mother, and I are not alone.
3. I must look into this "firefly" show/movie.
4. It's impossible for me to decide, as I like all three, but I must admit Stargate doesn't have cheesy scripts at all, where the others did occasionally.
5. Have you guys seen "Stone Trek"? It's a really funny
cross between the Flinstones and Star Trek. link here: http://www.stonetrek.com/

[Nerd-o-rama]

4. It's impossible for me to decide, as I like all three, but I must admit Stargate doesn't have cheesy scripts at all, where the others did occasionally.

Clearly, you haven't watched Emancipation (the third bloody episode) or...that one from Season 2 whose name escapes me, where the team is forced to relive painful memories, including the death of Daniel Jackson's parents. Lamest. Death scene. Ever. by the way.

EDIT: Or the body switching.

bosssmiley: well, perhaps Futurama deserves a place on the poll, being perhaps the greatest television series of all time, genre notwithstanding. However, most of it's science fiction aspects are parody, rather than a serious take on the genre. Plus, you have to admit, without Star Trek, they wouldn't have about half their gags. Or one of their better episodes.

[J_Muller]

4. It's impossible for me to decide, as I like all three, but I must admit Stargate doesn't have cheesy scripts at all, where the others did occasionally.

While I'm a staunch supporter of Stargate, in the interest of fairness I must point out that this isn't strictly true. The body-switching episode springs to mind.

EDIT@\/: Yeah, that death scene was rather bad. It got funny, though, after you had to watch it for the fourth time. I must question why they were standing underneath the giant stone block in the first place.

[Samurai General]

I like Star Wars, just not the new ones...
oh, and Stargate sucks.

[Druid]

Star Wars. What's with everyone hating the new ones? I agree that PM didn't measure up but AotC was good and RotS was great.

[Nightmarenny]

I think RotS measures up to the other movie well. The others...... eh their ok. They don't make he cringe.

Star Trek is IMO better though. Its just a good universe. DS9 alone give it that.

[Erloas]

I prefer Star Trek, but I didn't like the first Star Trek. But as bad as the first Star Trek was it can't even compare to the bad that is Jar-Jar.
I think the Star Trek univerise is better developed and a bit more believable. Although I haven't read a lot on either so I don't know how well they flesh out in the many books writen on both. DS9 is interesting in the fact that it is so often either peoples favorite or least favorite version of Star Trek. Athough Star Wars has the best pariody in Spaceballs. Star Trek has the most clieche nerd fanbase though, which makes it harder to acknowledge that you like it in social situations.
One thing I like about Star Trek though is that they were able to do a lot of story that wasn't epic. Even the movies which were fairly epic were more of the universe goes on battle for survival against something different rather then Star Wars which was always portrayed as an epic battle of good against evil. Its just that those sorts of epic battles are all over the place in every genre and I'm a bit tired of them.


I never did get into Stargate, it always seemed a bit silly to me.

[ray53208]

RotS was so god awful that i almost ripped my eyes out in a fit of madness. AotC was simply crapulent. PM was just lame. the fact that lucas decalred Empire as the worst movie he made only seals the deal for me that he has no idea what good is.

Trek TOS was revolutionary. even today i can watch the episodes and feel like im spending time with an old friend. TNG got really good in the last few seasons. DS9 started off slow but got great, especially the dominion war story arc. VOY (with the exception of the 2nd season and the last episode) is painful to watch. ENT missed the mark in the first three seasons; it was supposed to be about how we got from a to b, not about bringing in new stuff to mess things up. the 4th season of ENT (with the exception of the final episode) was very enjoyable.

stargate the movie was great. the series is fun to watch. i can take it or leave it, but i usually make an effort to catch new episodes.

bsg is an excellent show and i never miss an episode. as a matter of fact the rule in my house is that talking during bsg earns a severe stabbing.

in my heart all the love i ever had for trek or star wars went to firefly from the first episode. like when mal first saw serenity in that shipyard.

[Jayabalard]

NOOOOOOO!!! (http://darthno.ytmnd.com/)

[EllysW]

Star Wars as fantasy, rather than SF, is a good observation. I think the first two (so, Eps 4 and 5) are terrific films, but I have a hard time staying awake for any of the others. Trek has its ups and downs, but it told a lot of great stories. Even the old shows, clunky 60s artifacts though they are, had some real SF ideas, and characters that many have found unforgettable.

I was glad to see Firefly, BSG, and B5 mentioned, and I wanted to show a little love for another one close to my heart: Farscape. I liked those people.

[JellyPooga]

I gotta vote for Star Trek myself.

Star Wars is brilliant, but is still just a trilogy with some extra bits (games, etc.) to expand it a bit...I refuse to accept the existence of Episodes 1-3.

Stargate is amusing, I really like it. The scripts are varied and enjoyable and the characters are all well developed, but there is something "Sunday morning" about it. Even the big space battle scenes are lacking that grandoise feel that is the staple of sci-fi of any calibre.

Star Trek. Now Star Trek is (if I remember correctly) still the longest running TV Sci-Fi series franchise (or something like that), was the first TV series to be made into a feature length film (even if it was little more than an extended episode, plot-wise), has believability (inasmuch as you can believe a sci-fi series), good characters (throughout the various series), interesting and varied plots and that special something that makes it epic and grand and makes you go "ooooooooo" every now and then.

That's what I think anyway...

[Shadow of the Sun]

RotS has major plot problems. The basic idea of the plot can be summarized as Anakin:"The Jedi Council is being mean to me, so I shall turn to the Dark Side. Mwahahahaha." Star Wars peaked at A New Hope, and got steadily worse, until RotS which was better than the others of the prequel trilogy, if only for the fact that Obi-Wan rocked in it.

I voted Star Trek, myself, because although Star Gate is an excellent show, it is missing the little gem that makes it special.

[Midnight Son]

RotS has major plot problems. The basic idea of the plot can be summarized as Anakin:"The Jedi Council is being mean to me, so I shall turn to the Dark Side. Mwahahahaha." Star Wars peaked at A New Hope, and got steadily worse, until RotS which was better than the others of the prequel trilogy, if only for the fact that Obi-Wan rocked in it.

I voted Star Trek, myself, because although Star Gate is an excellent show, it is missing the little gem that makes it special.Aside from the crappy dialogue, what I disliked most was that there was no convincing reason for Anakin to fall. Being pissed off at the sand people was believable. Knowing that, and knowing his relationship with Amidala, making him believe the jedi had done something to her would possibly have done it. But, the reason given?...Bullspoon!

[Telonius]

Aside from the crappy dialogue, what I disliked most was that there was no convincing reason for Anakin to fall. Being pissed off at the sand people was believable. Knowing that, and knowing his relationship with Amidala, making him believe the jedi had done something to her would possibly have done it. But, the reason given?...Bullspoon!

It makes slightly more sense in the context of the "Clone Wars" animated series.

Slightly.

And I feel embarrassed for making even that excuse for it. :smallfrown:

[ray53208]

It makes slightly more sense in the context of the "Clone Wars" animated series.

Slightly.

And I feel embarrassed for making even that excuse for it. :smallfrown:

star wars apologists need to wake up. i loved it dearly too, but its over. we were betrayed by the lame side fo the force, but since the force is germs we can get a shot for that.

animated clone wars was freakin awesome; a clone apart is freakin awesome. so why is that everything lucas has a direct hand in sucks so very very badly?

[Dragonrider]

Okay, I voted Star Trek (for TNG) because I grew up with a Trekkie mom and it's so great and funny. :smallbiggrin: Sometimes they're cheesy enough to make us laugh, but Picard, Worf, Dr. Crusher, LaForge, and all our other friends make it worthwhile. (Yes, even including Wesley...he DOES have his moments...and besides, Wil Wheaton wrote that column in Dungeon magazine for a while, and that endeared him to us...)

My brothers and I got into Star Wars during that phase in a small child's life where lightsabers are the COOLEST THINGS YOU'VE EVER SEEN. Heck, they're still pretty awesome. But what with episodes I-III, I lost all respect for George Lucas's storytelling skill. Not to mention his dialogue. However, I must put a note in for the books, particularly those by Timothy Zahn. IMHO, the books (some of them, anyway) have surpassed George Lucas. If you will, carried his vision better than he himself did.

Beyond Star Wars and Star Trek, I think that Firefly is my favorite SciFi anything. Its characters, its dialogue, and its plots all hold together in a way that Star Trek, low-budget as it was, never did.

[Shadow of the Sun]

Yeah, Anakin is possibly the stupidest being ever. A man willing to betray the ideals he has been living and upholding for the past decade due to the fact a 30 second dream he doesn't even know will happen said his wife would die and some old man says he has a miracle cure has an I.Q. below that of a pot plant. Even more so when his turning is what caused her death in the first place.

[Midnight Son]

Yeah, Anakin is possibly the stupidest being ever. A man willing to betray the ideals he has been living and upholding for the past decade due to the fact a 30 second dream he doesn't even know will happen said his wife would die and some old man says he has a miracle cure has an I.Q. below that of a pot plant. Even more so when his turning is what caused her death in the first place.Nevermind that she shouldn't have died till her daughter was old enough to remember her somewhat.(Stupid plot points not matching up) Oh, and Han shot first.

\/Noob!:smallcool:

[psychoduck14]

lol call me a noob but i hate...HATE star wars...star trek and stargate are both pretty cool though

[psychoduck14]

so why is that everything lucas has a direct hand in sucks so very very badly?

http://youtube.com/watch?v=lv4Potdpjhw:smallbiggrin:

[Shadow of the Sun]

Also, I am kind of annoyed by George Lucas by introducing two of the coolest characters ever in The Phantom Menace, and killing them off in that same movie. Maul and Qui-Gon were both really cool! Cooler than that fool Dooku, in any case.

[psychoduck14]

maul was THE sh**! i wanted to be him...and kill the noob dooku...
:thog: Thog love puppies!
lol just started reading...read that one a few minutes ago... i hope we get more thog

[FdL]

I gotta vote for Star Trek myself.

Star Wars is brilliant, but is still just a trilogy with some extra bits (games, etc.) to expand it a bit...


That's my main point and why you can't really them on the same terms. In Star Wars they don't care for the depth of the universe, they just play around with cliches: there's funny ugly looking aliens but just for shock factor, the characters mention weird things but nothing is ever related to anything else, it's just there for the flavor. And beneath the sci-fi appearance, story-wise it's just another classic mythical fantasy story of good hero vs. the ultimate evil.

Star Trek is something else, its universe is pretty coherent, and varied. And in its major plot (spanning decades worth of series, mind you, not just 3-6 isolated films) it touches deep sociological and phylosophical subjects. It goes beyond being just an action film, pure entertainment like Star Wars is, even as good as SW is at that.

That's my 2 cents.

[Dragor]

I was glad to see Firefly, BSG, and B5 mentioned, and I wanted to show a little love for another one close to my heart: Farscape. I liked those people.

Wow. I'd completely forgotten about Farscape. Loved that series.

I voted for Star Wars out of the choice- it just appeals to me more. And Star Trek may not have had terrible TV episodes, but the films were all a bit iffy.

If I had more choice, I'd pick Firefly, for its humour, the dialogue, the characters... well, everything.

[heretic]

Having only seens SW, my vote goes with them. (all six :smallwink: )

[Crusher]

Strictly speaking of the movies, as a stand-alone, I'd go with Wrath of Khan as the best movie of the lot. As a whole, despite the odious Jar-Jar and plot holes you could drive a Star Destroyer through, Star Wars wins hands down because the rise, fall and redemption of Anakin/Darth Vader is the most moving part of the iconic movie series. The moment at the end of RotS when I realized that while Luke might have been the main character of Parts IV-VI, they weren't really about him, that the whole series was really about Darth Vader, was one of the great moments in movie watching for me.

Of the TV series, I'd go with B5. That series rocked in just about every way a series can rock.

[ray53208]

farscape was always hit or miss for me. mostly hit though and always enjoyable. i cared about the characters and was blown away by the weird sci fantasy setting.

as far as the rise and fall of anakin skywalker is concerned: it worked *in theory*. just like communism. a crap movie is a crap movie even if it has your fav actor/character in it. sure anakin fell and rose, and a redemption story is almost always a good tale to tell, but the prequels completely lacked and real human emotional or psychological reality/believability. the fall of anakin was a joke at best and fingernails on the chalkboard of my soul at worst.

[FdL]

I personally think that the concept of SW as a six movie single saga is some kind of stretch. I guess it's true that Lucas thought that the story of the original trilogy was part of something larger. But the way I-III are written to make them fit with the continuity in such a forced way just takes all believability away of it. I mean, they're not very well written and it's full of continuity tricks that work only if you've seen the last three first. These new movies are written around the others the same way a sequel would be written. And that's why Episode III feels like a bad joke.

[Icewalker]

In a choice between Star Wars, Star Trek, and Stargate.....Battlestar Galactica wins. BSG is an AMAZING show, and the writers continue to outdo themselves with increasingly interesting storylines and action sequences, without getting boring.

Stargate SG-1 is great show, really funny, good storylines, 12 seasons, (although it took a dive in my opinion around season 9-10, when O'Neil leaves the show :frown:
Haven't seen Atlantis, but SG-1 is an amazing show.

Star Trek has like 10 versions, but I've always liked The Next Generation, they are quite good. Jordy is always the one in trouble...

As to Star Wars, the original three were excellent, I thought episode 1 and 2 were just damn bad, and 3 was great.

I vote Stargate.

[zeratul]

agh nerdiness... overload....cant...stand...much....longer.... AAAAAAAA
*dies bleeding out of ears*

[Cyrano]

I agree with mr Icewalker. NOTHING has beat Battlestar Galactica as of yet.
Second of all, a very close second in fact, is Babylon Five. The fifth season may be a little weak, but the fact is that planning the entire thing, not as a year long plot line, but as a series-long, 5 year 100-some episode plotline seems to make the entire thing more cohesive. Never mind the fact that it neatly balanced seeming omnipotents in the Vorlons and Shadows with the relative patheticness of other races, without making a bad story. And I havent gotten started on their respect to the laws of physics.
But of the three options, SG is the best. Amazing storylines, coolness in general, MCGYVER.... pure awesome.

PS. Zeratul, you are in a forum with people who play DND. What do you expect?
PPS. Hey forum!

[FdL]

IMHO all other space sci-fi series like Stargate, Babylon 5 and Farscape are waaaaaay below Star Trek.

[psychoduck14]

star trek was pretty much the forrunner for all sci-fi shows to come...in my humble opinion anyway

[FdL]

Yeah, that's the original, but I still think the worst of the later shows is better than these followers.

[ozymand1as]

o crap...it's trek wars

[ray53208]

kirk vs solo... or better yet:
James T. Solo! Spockbacca! Bones Kenobi! the Millenium Enterprise!

im like some kind of nerd genius.

[Innis Cabal]

star wars.....all the way....