Did Star Wars cash in on Star Trek?

Discussion in 'General Trek Discussion' started by Flake, May 18, 2013.

  1. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

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    I guess that depends on whether you're defining it in terms of market footprint or in terms of fan passion. It was ST that prompted such things as huge SF conventions and the proliferation of fanzines, not to mention that fanfic tropes like "slash" (from K/S) and "Mary Sue" were coined in Trek fandom and only later generalized to other franchises.


    You said it "wouldn't be the case" that SW was "the lesser." You didn't specify how you meant "lesser."


    Okay, I went back and reviewed the original post, and I guess the question was whether SW succeeded because it was riding the wave of ST's success. I'd agree that that wasn't what happened there. It's true that Lucas was influenced by ST and hoping to benefit from the interest of its fanbase, so he was "cashing in" to that extent, but it's also true that his little Flash Gordon pastiche turned out to be far huger than he or anyone else could ever have anticipated. It wasn't just borrowing the success of some other franchise or film, but achieved success beyond what any other movie ever had up to that time and for years to come.
     
  2. CorporalCaptain

    CorporalCaptain Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Right.

    And I was a bit terse when I said "lesser", because I didn't know how to expound on it, with any sort of reasonable brevity. It goes beyond just ticket sales and market share.

    Part of what I meant by SW not being the lesser is covered by the statement that SW "can't be pigeonholed as only riding the wave of ST's success".

    Part of it is that Star Wars wasn't to Star Trek what the grade B knock-offs of SW, such as—oh—Starcrash, were to Star Wars.

    I'd definitely say that the makers of Starcrash/Stella Star tried to "cash in on" Star Wars.
     
    Last edited: May 24, 2013
  3. Greg Cox

    Greg Cox Admiral Premium Member

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    For what it's worth, way back in 1977, I didn't perceive STAR WARS (the original movie) as a Star Trek ripoff. I remembered being thrilled that somebody was finally doing an old-fashioned Edgar Rice Burroughs type space fantasy right. I saw STAR WARS as being very much in the tradition of John Carter of Mars, Flash Gordon, etc., with a hefty dose of King Arthur thrown in.

    The idea that it was inspired by Trek never crossed my mind . . ..
     
  4. plynch

    plynch Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Though a dedicated 70s Trekkie kid, I remember being really enthused about Wars, as something very different but great. "Space" was big in the 70s though, even before SW. I remember a furniture company that had space scenes in the background of its ads on tv.
     
  5. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

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    I don't really remember what I thought of Star Wars when it first came out. I don't think it really stood out in my mind as more than just one of the various sci-fi properties I was interested in. The only one of those properties that stood above the rest in my mind was ST.

    Of course, for me, SW was a novel first, or maybe a comic, since we had that oversized Marvel special that adapted the first third (?) of the film. I didn't see the movie until some months later.
     
  6. Greg Cox

    Greg Cox Admiral Premium Member

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    I'd read the first three issues of the Marvel comic before I saw the movie . . .
     
  7. Nerys Myk

    Nerys Myk A Spock and a smile Premium Member

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    Yeah, when I saw Star Wars back in 77, all I thought was, "That was a cool movie. I hope there's another one". My best friend and I were pretty excited beforehand, devouring every scrap of information we could find in the limited genre resources of the day. The only thing that bothered us was the name "Luke Skywalker", as we had created a character name "Michael Starwalker" the summer before.
     
  8. publiusr

    publiusr Admiral Admiral

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    World War II fighter battle also were a big inspiration for Lucas. Now Gene looked at spacecraft more like bomber pilots looked at their "ships."

    I think a movie maker who helped destroy Enterprise in Search for Spock had flown in Hueys. Wreck one, get another--so the love of ships is lost on that mindset.

    This is one reason I want bigger Trek ships. I want to see a Space 1999 Eagle, The Falcon Spikes Swordfish, a Viper and Hatchet fighter, all together in a Federation Hanger bay.

    A scene that would really work well would be for a turbolift door to open and you see the Tardis interior beyond.