Storyline
F is off to a flying
start here, the storylines are long, complex, and epic in size and
scope. They often cover several generations, cross continents and
invoke powerful magics against spectacular monsters. There’s love
and hate aplenty, friendships made and lost, and re-made at the end,
usually when someone’s dying. There’s sacrifice and loss,
redemption and even resurrection. F has it all.
S is also off with a
rocket, matching F blow for blow on epicness, scale and grandeur
across time, space and reality. There are also huge monsters, and
instead of magic they have technology. F might have dragons, but S
has cool robots, both cute and deadly.
Looks like we’ll
have to call this one a draw.
Characters
F is almost expected
to have to characters with an interesting past and a preordained
future, with plenty of baggage and secrets and a mysterious
ring/tattoo/birthmark shaped like a bagel. (No, you’re thinking of
a beagle.) Many of these characters are now household names, like
Harry
Potter, Gandalf,
and Tyrion
Lannister. They, or their clones, appear in all sorts
of places, and you can probably hire a generic wizard costume in any
fancy dress hire shop, which will almost certainly look like Gandalf.
S is no slouch when
it comes to beaming down its own collection of fully-rounded
characters, with their own pasts, secrets, and coincidently, the same
mysterious ring/tattoo/birthmark shaped like a bagel, which seems to
be something of a universal constant. Most people know Darth Vader on
sight, who’s costume will be hanging next to Gandalf’s in the
shop. Kirk
and his crew are widely known, as is the Alien
from the Alien franchise, and the Predator
from the Predator franchise, not to mention the Alien
Versus Predator franchise, which is unrelated to this
particular Versus challenge.
Another draw in this
very close competition.
(Re)Watchability
F has a high
watchability factor, mainly due to the complex characters, involved
backstories, and detail put into the world-building. F does lose a
little in this area due to the epic nature of some stories, which
build to the inevitable conclusion of the main characters triumphing
over evil, even if they lose a few on the way.
S, particularly
modern S, is as epic in scope and scale as any F, with the same
attention to detail, complex plots and off shoots. S also suffers the
same as F, despite some classic, “I
am your father!” moments, we all know good is going
to stomp on evil, (unless it’s film two) and everyone’s happy at the
end, including the robots.
The true test of
rewatchability is if you watch the same films, or read the same
books, over and over, because despite knowing what happens, the
material is so good. Most S and F have this factor by the bucket
load.
We’ll have to call
this one a draw.
Humourousness
Neither S nor F are
known for humour, with some obvious
exceptions. Some characters are obviously put there
for comic relief, Merry
and Pippin, R2D2
and C3PO, Joffrey
Baratheon, but even then their contributions to the more
lighter moments are scarce. What is it about S and F creators that
makes them so serious? Most other genres, including crime, have some
humour, even if it’s dark. Come on peeps, lighten up.
Neither side come
out well here, no points awarded.
Identifiability
We all need heroes,
and F provides them in a wide variety. The heroes of LoTR
and Willow
are little people who don’t let their stature affect them, using
smarts and guile when height isn’t enough. Although F has a history
of locking pink-clad flowery princesses away in towers/dungeons/macho
fantasies, recent princesses have been more realistic and more
capable.
Everyday people in F
worlds are also becoming more gender balanced, particularly warriors,
although most still insist on giving them ranged weapons, because
women can’t stab people with swords, right?
S is about the same,
giving us male and female heroes of various kinds, although, apart
from Han
Solo, most of them are young. We have more ethnic
diversity as well, which in a S story should have been there right
from the start. It’s a wide galaxy after all, and infinitely
varied.
So, both good and
getting better, so another draw.
Betterment of
Mankind
F has made a major
contribution to improving the lives of its fans by allowing them to
forget their daily cares for a few hours. Immersing yourself in a
deep story in a strange world populated by weird creatures is a great
way to relax, even if the story is dark and scary.
S has made a similar
contribution to F, in that it’s provided people with a place to go
to shelter from the stark
realities of reality. In addition, S invented robots, space travel,
personal transport, computers, time, solar power, radio, gravity, and
mobile phones, as well as many other life-changing scientific
breakthroughs, all created by S writers before being actually
discovered by science. (But not, apparently, fax machines.) Without
all these things humanity would be physically, mentally and
philosophically poorer.
So S takes the point
right at the last minute, snatching victory from under the elven
noses of F.
In conclusion, S and
F are pretty equal, but S is more equal than F and so wins the
tournament. Let S bask in the glory of its own success.
If you disagree with
the result, noticed some bias creeping in at the last minute, or want
to congratulate me on a concise and witty article, please contact me.