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Usenet Posted 21 years ago
Screenwriting
Why Star Trek is better than Star Wars
Trek had the guts and imagination to feature non-humanoid aliens. Not often enough, but at least more often than Lucas.
Trek had the horta, which looked like a pile of meatloaf. It had that being that looked like a fog of glitter. It had tribbles. The Next Generation had that oil slick that Picard tried to reason with. Enterprise had those fish thingies that swam around in a tank, and those giant grasshopper people.
Ninety percent of Lucas' aliens are humanoid: head on top; two arms, two legs, and walk upright. Even Jabba the Hut had a head and vestigal arms.
OK, sure, Star Wars had beast-like aliens that generally weren't any more sentient than human pets. But he didn't have any main characters that looked like, say, a funnel cake or clods of dirt.
Note to anybody writing sci-fi: please put some non-humanoid aliens in your script!
Lois
Trek had the horta, which looked like a pile of meatloaf. It had that being that looked like a fog of glitter. It had tribbles. The Next Generation had that oil slick that Picard tried to reason with. Enterprise had those fish thingies that swam around in a tank, and those giant grasshopper people.
Ninety percent of Lucas' aliens are humanoid: head on top; two arms, two legs, and walk upright. Even Jabba the Hut had a head and vestigal arms.
OK, sure, Star Wars had beast-like aliens that generally weren't any more sentient than human pets. But he didn't have any main characters that looked like, say, a funnel cake or clods of dirt.
Note to anybody writing sci-fi: please put some non-humanoid aliens in your script!
Lois
Top answer
[nq:1]Trek had the guts and imagination to feature non-humanoid aliens. Not often enough, but at least more often than Lucas. funnel cake or clods of dirt.
- [nq:1]Trek had the guts and imagination to feature non-humanoid aliens.
- Not often enough, but at least more often than Lucas.
- funnel cake or clods of dirt.
- Note to anybody writing sci-fi: please put some non-humanoid aliens in your script!
- Lois[/nq] My next script features a five and a half foot tall talking **** named Howard.
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9 Answers
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[nq:1]Trek had the guts and imagination to feature non-humanoid aliens. Not often enough, but at least more often than Lucas. ... funnel cake or clods of dirt. Note to anybody writing sci-fi: please put some non-humanoid aliens in your script! Lois[/nq]
My next script features a five and a half foot tall talking **** named Howard.
My next script features a five and a half foot tall talking **** named Howard.
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[nq:1]My next script features a five and a half foot tall talking **** named Howard.[/nq]
You misspelled "Lloyd."
Joe Myers
"Another name dropped."
You misspelled "Lloyd."
Joe Myers
"Another name dropped."
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[nq:2]My next script features a five and a half foot tall talking **** named Howard.[/nq]
[nq:1]You misspelled "Lloyd." Joe Myers "Another name dropped."[/nq]
Actually, the proper spelling is Jho.
[nq:1]You misspelled "Lloyd." Joe Myers "Another name dropped."[/nq]
Actually, the proper spelling is Jho.
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[nq:1]Trek had the guts and imagination to feature non-humanoid aliens.[/nq]
And folks not white. All the big Star Wars guys are mostly white English white, nonetheless except for the black guy, but he's paired with the little green guy, so you gotta wonder if he's not in there as an oddity.
And folks not white. All the big Star Wars guys are mostly white English white, nonetheless except for the black guy, but he's paired with the little green guy, so you gotta wonder if he's not in there as an oddity.
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I agree with you, but my niece and nephew, 18 & 14, actually came to the lunch table the other day shouting gleefully, "It finally happened! Star Trek is finally off the air!!"
I mean, they were HAPPY. It sucks being between baby boomers and gen X/Y/Z ers...nobody understands us tweenies
I mean, they were HAPPY. It sucks being between baby boomers and gen X/Y/Z ers...nobody understands us tweenies
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[nq:1]OK, sure, Star Wars had beast-like aliens that generally weren't any more sentient than human pets. But he didn't have any main characters that looked like, say, a funnel cake or clods of dirt.[/nq]
But they had Jar-Jar, who had the charm and presence of a clod of dirt. Hmmm...
You'd think that by using CGI Lucas could get away from the "this is the kind of role we can fill from cent
But they had Jar-Jar, who had the charm and presence of a clod of dirt. Hmmm...
You'd think that by using CGI Lucas could get away from the "this is the kind of role we can fill from cent
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The wookie is simply Bigfoot who just happened to catch a ride on a ufo to a galaxy far, far away.
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[nq:1]And folks not white. All the big Star Wars guys are mostly white English white, nonetheless except for the black guy, but he's paired with the little green guy, so you gotta wonder if he's not in there as an oddity.[/nq]
I like the way Trek tries not only casts people of different ethnicities, but actually tries to create meaningful, no-cliched backstories for their characters.
That
I like the way Trek tries not only casts people of different ethnicities, but actually tries to create meaningful, no-cliched backstories for their characters.
That
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[nq:1]That being said, in a universe that's supposed to be several hundred years from now, it'd be nice to think ... the French farmer's son (IIRC, Picard) or the kid who comes from a long line of Louisiana gumbo chefs (Sisko).[/nq]
Just try categorizing the son of a quarter Klingon half Irish American who mated with a quarter Black Vulcan half Canadian Indian. Now THAT'S hard.
Just try categorizing the son of a quarter Klingon half Irish American who mated with a quarter Black Vulcan half Canadian Indian. Now THAT'S hard.
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