Top 5 Thursday- Best Sci-fi Duos

     Hey  everyone! Welcome back from my accidental hiatus. Here's a list for you. 

    Everybody wants to be best friends with someone the way these characters are best friends. They look out for each other, understand one another, and really, they complete each other. They are the best friendship duos of sci fi. And I actually had some serious dilemmas while putting them in the order they’re in.

     Let’s get started.

5. R2-D2 and C3PO (Star Wars)-

    Even though they are the humorous side characters, the friendship between these two droids has stood the test of time and spanned six movies. R2 is the adventurous one, who is ready to throw himself into action as soon as it becomes necessary. If it were up to him, I’m sure he would be the hero of the entire story. C3PO, on the other hand, is the worrywart who would rather stay in one place peacefully...translating stuff, I guess. Even though he says too much, and worries too much, he probably actually does keep them from getting blown up- while R2 keeps them present in the story.

4. The 4th Doctor and Sarah Jane Smith (Doctor Who)-

     Sarah Jane and the 4th Doctor are often cited as the best Doctor- companion pair of the series, and with good reason. Sarah Jane understands the Doctor in ways he doesn’t even understand himself. She knows that he is flawed and vulnerable, even when he doesn’t. He takes her to explore all of time and space, and she keeps him tethered down to earth.

3. Jack O’Neill and Daniel Jackson (Stargate SG-1)-

    Jack is all military pragmatism, and Daniel is all civilian scientist ethics. Not only does this lead to good character development for the two, it provides hours of entertaining banter. They balance each other almost perfectly. Jack will shoot the thing if the thing needs shooting, and Daniel will stop Jack from shooting the thing and figure out what to do with the thing if the thing doesn’t need shooting.

2. Kirk and Spock (Star Trek)-

    These last two entries in the list  nearly gave me a headache as I tried to decide which to put in first and which to put in second. In the end, I decided to put this memorable pair second, because the main partnership in Star Trek isn’t just between Kirk and Spock. It’s about Kirk, Spock and McCoy. And this list is about duos. Kirk and Spock do very clearly demonstrate logic and emotion, and how they must work in tandem with each other. It’s a very interesting dichotomy explored in Star Trek that I’ll have to write a post about it later.

1.Batman and Superman (DC Comics)-

    Even though it took some deliberation, these guys really do deserve the top spot on my list. They are the oldest, and probably the most iconic characters on here. You may be wondering why I chose to put Batman and Superman over Batman and Robin. Well, I think that Batman and Robin have a different sort of relationship than the rest of the friends I’ve written about. That type of relationship is more in line with the association between the World’s Finest- Batman and Superman. (I may, however, write a hero and sidekick list later on, and the Dynamic Duo will certainly top that).  Batman is the dark detective who doesn’t always feel the need to follow the rules, while Superman is the conscientious, compassionate superhuman. It seems like another weird versus to me,  like Star Wars versus Star Trek. Superman and Batman aren’t against one another- they need to exist in the same universe to balance each other out.

    Who are your favorite pairs of best friends in science fiction? Did you agree with my final decision? Let me know in the comments. As always, I’d love to hear from you!

Keep on glowing in the dark,

Elora

Star Wars Not Versus Star Trek

 

It’s a question of galactic proportions. It’s been debated, bickered over, and bantered about for thirty-seven years. If you are a sci-fi geek, you have probably asked yourself this question at least once -(Spoilers: It’s not 'Doctor Who?' Sorry Whovians. Not this time.) Which is the superior science fiction franchise- Star Wars or Star Trek?

I can feel the fans who adamantly argue one side or the other gearing up to disagree with me. And you may, but I’m not here to argue either side. Today, I’m going to discuss the differences between the two and explain why, on a closer examination, I think that this decades old question may be irrelevant.

Let’s start with setting. This is the basis on which I think the two series are really comparable. They both have “Star” in the title. Aesthetically, they both qualify as science fiction. They both take place in space. They have cool weapons, ships, droids, planets, aliens, and space battles. If you want to debate this debate, these are your categories. However, setting isn't all there is to a story.

Next up in our survey are the ever-so-beloved characters. Both Star Wars and Star Trek are populated by characters that have shaped our modern culture. When trying to do a side-by-side comparison, however, we really can’t fit them into the same molds. At all.

When talking about character archetypes, Star Wars contains fantasy-type characters. There are: Luke- The hero; Obi Wan Kenobi- The wizard/mentor; Emperor Palpatine- The evil sorcerer; and the like.

In Star Trek on the other hand, the characters take their cues more from nautical and military literature. The captains are noble and brave, and universally admired by their crews. There are also some specifically science fictional character types. The best example of this is the alien characters such as Spock and Data. Though Data is an android, he fills the same role as Spock. Both are incredibly intellectual non-humans looking from the outside into humanity. (I personally hold that Star Trek: The Original Series introduced many of the sci-fi archetypes we use today.)

Though Star Wars has aliens and robots, their alien and robot characteristics do not play a major role in their character arcs.

As for plot, Star Wars really only has one- you may be able to argue for two- major plots. The original trilogy is the classic hero’s journey tale- a young boy finding his destiny, rescuing the damsel and saving the world. The prequel trilogy is the inverse story. It is the story of a promising young man who saves the world, then descends into villainy.

Star Trek, on the other hand is made up of multiple science fiction plot lines. They are the quintessential science fiction plot lines: robots, androids, clones, genetic engineering, super weapons, projected reality, aliens and the like.

The themes of the two franchises are inextricably linked to the plots. In Star Wars, the main theme is the fine line between heroism and villainy. An overarching theme of Trek is what it means to be human.

Star Wars is not science fiction in the way Star Trek is. It deserves it’s place in science fiction history because of the advances it made in special effects technology and the popularization of the “used” sci-fi universe. Star Trek deserves it’s place in the history of sci-fi for the revolutionary plots, themes and characters it introduced. So really, in the multiverse of our beloved genre, the occupy opposite ends of the spectrum. They’re not competing for one spot!

Honestly, the entire reason I've thought through this post is that I love both and didn't want to have to pick one or the other.

Keep on glowing in the dark,
Elora

Top 5 Tuesday: Fictional Characters I Would Want on My Personal Security Team

Yes. You read that right. Unless the whole title was too long to show up on whatever device you’re using to read this. If that is your problem, I’ll repeat myself. I’m going to list the top five fictional characters I would want on my personal security team.

Maybe I can explain. I was doing a homework assignment for a history class about presidential assassinations and security measures taken to protect the current president. After I was mostly convinced that federal agents in suits and dark sunglasses weren’t about to show up at my door and ask about my recent internet searches, I decided to form this list. Other than that, I really have nothing to say for myself. It just sounded like a fun list to make.

So let’s get started:

5. Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart (Doctor Who) -

For a man forced to deal with bizarre and unearthly threats to his country and his world (plus working with several incarnations of the Doctor), he manages to keep a level head. He does his job well, and doesn’t put up with any nonsense. He could probably rout an alien menace before he finished introducing himself by his full name.

4. Chewbacca (Star Wars) -

He’s more intelligent than he looks, just as strong as he looks, and incredibly loyal. If he were on my security team, attackers would quickly develop a new strategy: Let the wookie win.

3. Tuvok (Star Trek: Voyager) -

As the security officer of the U.S.S. Voyager, he kept his crew safe for seven years from threats no one in our galaxy had previously encountered. Also, being a Vulcan, he has the power of the Vulcan neck pinch on his side.

2. Teal’C (Stargate: SG-1) -

Teal’C is my favorite character from SG-1 because of his innocent demeanor and his humor and loyalty. But he is also an incredibly skilled warrior with a great sense of honor. Plus, he has a staff weapon and knows Jaffa martial arts. He is also loyal to the planet and cause he serves. Indeed.

1. Agent Coulson (Marvel Cinematic Universe) -

He is used to dealing with sticky situations, and superhumans. He is incredibly relaxed and confident when dealing with aliens, as well as being smart, strategic, skilled, committed, moral, loyal, and a little bit geeky. Oh, and invincible.



So, now that I’ve nearly got deported from the country, (alright, maybe not deported), for bringing you this idea, do you have any characters you’d want as a security team?

Keep on glowing in the dark,
Elora