The classical paradoxon:
“What happens if a squad of redshirts, who die by the first shot, have a battle with a squad of imperial Stormtroopers, who aren’t able to hit a StarDestroyer from 3 meters?”
But now, the list:
| Star Wars | Star Trek |
|---|---|
| Takes place long ago, in a galaxy far, far away. | Takes place in the future, in a galaxy very near. |
| Lots of sequels. More on the way, including spinoffs. | Lots of sequels. More on the way, including spinoffs. |
| Young hothead (Luke Skywalker) matures and learns to use strange mental powers. | Young hothead (Wesley Crusher) matures and learns that he has strange mental powers. |
| Humans run the galaxy. | Humans run the galaxy. |
| Aloof princess needs help. | Aloof Betazoid offers help. |
| Action toys sell well. | Action toys sell poorly. |
| Strange alien (Yoda) offers moral guidance. | Strange alien (Spock) offers logical guidance. |
| Annoying ’droid (C3PO) has a stupid name, talks funny, walks funny, and gets partially disassembled from time to time. | Annoying android (Data) has a stupid name, talks funny, walks funny, and gets partially disassembled from time to time. |
| You’ve got a good chance of being killed off if you’re wearing a Storm Trooper uniform. | You’ve got a good chance of being killed off if you’re wearing a red shirt. |
| Frequent explosions in vacuum violate laws of physics. | Frequent explosions in vacuum violate laws of physics. |
| Darth Vader is actually Luke’s father, and Princess Leia is actually Luke’s sister. | Dr. Crusher is actually Wesley’s mother. Well, duh. |
| Cute ewoks cause problems, then turn out to be helpful in the end. They also provide some comic relief. | Cute tribbles cause problems, then turn out to be helpful in the end. They also provide some comic relief. |
| Major characters get killed sometimes but come back later as benevolent ghostly appearances. | Major characters get killed occasionally but come back later as special guest appearances. |
| Without the special effects, would have five minutes of screen time. | Without the special effects, would have five minutes of screen time. |
| Hotheaded pilot (Han Solo) has been in trouble with the authorities. | Hotheaded pilot (Tom Paris) has been in trouble with the authorities. |
| Evil beings who want to take over the galaxy live in a city-sized spherical spacecraft. | Evil beings who want to take over the galaxy live in a city-sized cubical spacecraft. |
| Space warp will get you there, unless it’s broken. | Space warp will get you there, unless it’s broken. |
| Never let the laws of physics spoil a good plot. | Never let the laws of physics spoil a good plot. |
| Aliens eat strange food, and speak strange languages. | Aliens eat strange food, and speak good English. |
| Nobody wears a space suit. | Nobody wears a space suit. |
| Everything gets solved in the last few minutes. | Everything gets solved in the last few minutes. |
| Space weapons look cool. | Space weapons look cool. |
| Large furry alien (Chewbacca) speaks a strange language but still understands English. He is always gruff but helpful. | Large furry alien (Worf) speaks a strange language but still understands English. He is always gruff but helpful. |
| In the end, you can win if you turn off your high-tech gadgets and use the Force when it’s needed. | In the end, you can win if you turn on your high-tech gadgets and use force when it’s needed. |