The original post: /r/television by /u/Mister_BovineJoni on 2025-02-09 19:05:43.
Original Title: Any fans of simultaneously: Star Wars, Star Trek and Stargate? Thinking about the common grounds and measurable differences between these series’/franchises to determine what might be the reason one prefers some way more than the others.
Star Wars, Star Trek and Stargate are three huge sci-fi franchises, while SW is best known for its movie origins it’s already expanded to TV with all the animated and live-action shows, hence the post on TV sub. And while SG’s setting differs, it seems to be equally expansive as the other two franchises.
I wouldn’t call myself a fan of any of the three, no sentiment/nostalgia towards them, though I do admit that SW is the one I connected with the most. In short, I think it’s because of the variety of stories that borrow the most entertaining aspects of other sci-fi/space works, while maintaining a set of established characters and their personal stories on the foreground.
I struggle with most ST and SG shows, for me, as a somewhat casual viewer, SW proved to be the most approachable (even though ST and SG seem to be more episodic stories), with deep lore that doesn’t require keeping up with the whole franchise. Also the production quality, at least the movies and 21st century shows, they’re aiming at the cinematic aesthetics that both ST (with exceptions) and SG don’t/didn’t have means to achieve. Funny though, that I was very impressed by J.J. Abrams’ ST movies (and I’m aware that ST fans don’t really favor these works).
I bet there are people who do like all three franchises, that’s why I’m asking for the less-than-obvious similarities and differences, these could explain why one franchise can feel more appealing than the others. Also, if that matters, I do like other space-based sci-fi shows, like Firefly, The Expanse, Babylon 5 and 21st century Battlestar Galactica.