Which is Better, Star Wars or Star Trek?

The question was posed once again today. I've written about this on my blog previously and would have hoped the debate was forever settled. Haha. But of course this one will forever be debated and it's an admittedly fun question.

Which is better; Star Wars or Star Trek, or are they equal?

Being the Star Wars fan (and Star Trek fan) that I am, I felt compelled to weigh in. Here's what I said.

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Alrighty kids, sit down and be prepared to listen because Old Man Arconati has something important to say and you best listen up and listen well.

First off, like I said earlier, they are totally and completely different and can't be compared; apples to oranges. It's like asking... Who is better at sports, Tiger Woods or Sam Bradford? Sure you could sit there and come up with weird ways of measuring overall sport skills like strength, endurance and such, but that doesn't change the fact that comparing the two is weird and pointless. The only reason you are even comparing the two franchises (and ignoring other sci-fi stuff like Firefly, Doctor Who, and War of the Worlds) is because they both have "Star-" in the title.

Star Trek is a great serial sci-fi drama series. There is technology and space travel and aliens, but the main point of all of that backdrop is as a metaphorical vehicle for drama. The interpersonal relationships of the crew are explored at length, their development arc, their growth and so on. There are moral lessons in each episode, but at the end of each 44 minute span, everything is put right once more and the crew travel on.

Star Wars is an epic saga and whereas there is also tech, space travel and aliens... there's also "magic" e.g. The Force. And there are elements of westerns as well, with gunfights and shootouts. It's also classical swashbuckling, with the sword-fighting and the swinging over caverns and the rescuing of maidens. It is also a classic "Heroes Journey" which is a constantly used trope in a lot of literature. Luke is the reluctant farm-boy hero, dragged into a galactic conflict he is not prepared for, but through which he eventually triumphs.

They are both great. I like Star Wars more personally, but it was a bigger deal to me in my childhood. My point is that you can't compare them in any empirical way that really matters. That's it, I'm done.