To this day, fans of the respective franchise debate whether Star Wars or Star Trek is better. The author of an excellent Trekkie episode at least names one reason that she finds better resolved in the films of George Lucas.
It’s an old discussion: Is Star Wars or Star Trek better? The comparison doesn’t immediately present itself, aside from the similar names. Even though the two franchises seem related at first glance, there are still major differences.
This starts with the genre. While Star Trek is clearly science fiction, Star Wars is often categorized more as science fantasy. In George Lucas’s story, there are more fantastical elements such as the Force. The themes under discussion are also different. Star Trek often deals with philosophical questions and is significantly calmer, while Star Wars scores with big action sequences.
Another point has been noted by a well-known Star Trek author. Melinda M. Snodgrass, who wrote several novels for Star Trek, also contributed to the series The Next Generation. In the course of this work, she penned the script for a now legendary episode: “Who Watches the Watchers.” She was encouraged in this by George R.R. Martin.
Snodgrass recently explained in an interview with Fandomwire what makes Star Wars better than Star Trek.
Where’s the Fun?
What does Snodgrass say? The author emphasizes in the interview how much she loves the science fiction genre and the optimism of Star Trek. However, she also says:
I do wish Star Trek were a bit more fun. That is one of the reasons why I also love Star Wars. You can have a Han Solo, who is a sc*undrel, and it’s a lot harder to get that when everything is centered around Starfleet and all the people are perfect and have no flaws.
Melinda Snodgrass
What does that mean? Snograss wishes for more ambivalent characters in Star Trek and cites Han Solo as the perfect example. He is simply not a perfect person with impeccable morals. On the contrary: Solo often uses tricks and deceives his allies to achieve his goals. His methods are not honorable.
In contrast, the creator of Star Trek, Gene Roddenberry, established a clear rule for the characters in his world. There could be no interpersonal conflicts within the crew. People are perfect and have no flaws. This is a problem for an author like Melinda Snodgrass:
[So] there was no room for growth and change with the characters. But Data could change, grow, and learn, which for me made him the most interesting character to write about.
Melinda Snodgrass
The robot on the Enterprise crew allowed the author to conduct larger experiments and pose philosophical questions about what it means to be human. Overall, the tone of the narrative in Star Trek is much more serious, and thus it is understandable that Snodgrass wishes for a bit more lightness. MeinMMO editor Niko Hernes was particularly thrilled by the Data episode written by the author: I always thought Star Trek was the cheap Star Wars, but a certain episode convinced me otherwise
