star trek star wars crossover meme

Star Wars, Star Trek, What’s the Difference: 30 Memes from the Ultimate Sci-Fi Showdown

Hop on Space Nerd! It's time to answer the most critical question: Which franchise is better? Star Wars or Star Trek? Actually, this question is much deeper than you might think; It's not just about the different movies, TV shows, or certain Holiday specials we don't talk about. It's not even about the toys, the merch, or the soundtracks. It's also NOT about the Cons, The cosplays, or the hall H panels. This is actually about science vs. fantasy, about marine warfare vs. Medieval combat. It's torpedoes vs. swords, fleet commanders vs. knights.

Star Wars is a wonderful mish-mash of ancient legends, WW2 warfare, spaghetti westerns, knights, princesses, and monsters, all set in space. Star Trek is about giant ships discovering new grounds, finding new civilizations, and engaging in extremely slow and calculated combat in space.  So which one is better? Who cares? They are both amazing and both deserve the best memes possible!

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Star-Crossed: 15 Savage Star Trek VS. Star Wars Memes

Grab a buddy from the opposing franchise and go through this list together. If neither of you have bruises after, your friendship is real.

Since Star Wars premiered in 1977, there's existed a never-ending (we hope) debate between Trekkers and Warsies over which sci-fi franchise reigned supreme. Two of the fiercest fandoms in pop culture have been going at it for decades, arguing the merits of phasers vs. lightsabers, Kirk vs. Solo, the Enterprise vs. the Millennium Falcon. The battles have been fought in every conceivable venue, from convention halls to the deepest, darkest corners of Reddit. And as technology's moved forward, some new debate forums have opened up. Like memes!

RELATED:  20 Hilarious DCEU Memes That Will Split Your Sides

While funny captions on doctored photos don't provide the most trenchant support for whatever side you choose, the argument itself is (mostly) in good fun. While there are definitely people who argue way, WAY too hard that the Death Star would be no match for a Borg cube (if you feel like you just took a shot of adrenaline to the heart while you're making your point, you're arguing too hard), we like to think most of us can maintain some perspective. So, to keep us all laughing as a Star Trek series and a new Star War s movie come out in the same year, we've gathered some of the most ridiculous (and most savage) Star Trek vs. Star Wars memes the internet has to offer. Take a read-through and see if any of them change your mind. #1 certainly changed ours.

15 PICARD HAS IT COVERED

Not that it needs to be said, but only a plebe would pilot his own ship. The Millennium Falcon is neat and all, and the name is top-notch, really. But Picard's ship comes with replicators, transporters, holodecks and a bar. Oh, and pilots. Jean-Luc Picard is in command of the Federation Flagship, a.k.a. the U.S.S. You Want One. Its crew contains numbers in the thousands, and like, 200 of those guys are pilots. If their wearing red, they're disposable pilots. Not great for the environment, but sometimes sacrifices have to be made.

The Enterprise D is one of the most tricked-out ships in the galaxy, and it belongs to Picard. Basically, this meme points out the obvious -- JLP has levels of game Han Solo hasn't even read about. (We'll just overlook the spelling and grammar errors, btw. JLP never could spell.)

14 NO TWO WAYS ABOUT IT

In the grand tradition of either you like (fill in the blank) or you're wrong memes, here's Han Solo laying down a serious truth bomb. Either you like Star Wars , or you're wrong. While there are plenty of Star Trek and Star Wars fans that happily admit to "enjoying" the "other" franchise, there are just as many who refuse to give any credit to the opposing viewpoint. This meme is for them.

For the die-hard loyalists out there who would rather set fire to their autographed Death Stars than admit Star Trek might be better at SOME things than Star Wars...  we cherish you. But really, the funniest thing about this meme is that we can actually hear Harrison Ford's frustrated sarcasm whenever we read it. It's almost like Luke Skywalker timidly complimented Kirk's hair or something.

13 TRANSPORTERS: GAME. OVER.

Given the nerdy nature of the Star Wars and Star Trek fandoms, it's no surprise that the eternal debate over which is better eventually devolves into which characters would win in a fight based on SCIENCE. Yes, we've actually been known to debate which fictional side would win in a fictional fight based on our analysis of fictional science. It's really, really fun, too!

Star Trek  fans really like to sink their teeth into these because when it comes to Trek , they have some pretty impressive tech to show off. And, let's face it, the Rebels, while lovable underdogs, would have a really hard time deflecting an explosive that just magically appeared on their bridge. Blah, blah, blah, the Force, blah, blah, WE KNOW. But still, tech-to-tech, Star Trek definitely has an edge.

12 FAIR POINT

While Star Trek might be more intellectual and its crew careful to use their words before they use their fists, there's something to be said for more decisive action. In Star War s, the only force powerful enough to make use of diplomacy is the Empire, and the Rebels are, like, really committed to wiping them out. Kill or be killed situations typically don't leave a lot of room for stun settings.

Plus, despite the fact that a phaser has a kill setting (if there's a scorch mark on your shirt, you're dead; no scorch mark means stunned), it just works like the electric fence did in Jurassic Park . Remember how Tim just kind of buzzed and flew 50 feet? YAWN. Lightsabers can actually disembowel people with light. Take that, you silly handgun.

11 DON'T F**K WITH GARAK

Elim Garak and Boba Fett actually make pretty apt meme buddies. Both are wildly popular, morally questionable supporting characters, and both are indisputable badasses. Garak was a high-ranking operative in the feared and reviled Cardassian intelligence agency, the Obsidian Order. When he was exiled (by his father and boss, Enarbran Tain), Garak then survived years as an enemy of the order playing tailor on DS9 . Boba Fett was onscreen for less than 10 minutes and was on so much fire he still might get his own damn movie.

So who would win in a fight? In this meme's universe, both are armed, and it looks like Garak's got high ground. But knowing what we know about Boba Fett's skillz, we can't count him out. Draw? Let us know your pick in the comments!

10 DON'T F**K WITH DWIGHT

This meme is funny if you like The Office , but it's really funny if you have a basic understanding of the Kardashev scale. Type II civilizations are those that have gained the ability to harness the energy of their planet's parent star (the sun) and transfer it directly to their homeworld. An example of this would be the Dyson Sphere from the TNG episode, "Relics." It's a structure that's actually built to surround the star and transfer the energy directly to the planet. Dope, right? Type II civilizations are the very best!

Fools! No they are not! Because a Type III civilization can do the same thing, but with all the energy in its parent galaxy. The Force would constitute just such a thing, so by Kardashev's (and Dwight's) logic, Star Wars is the clear victor.

9 JACK SPARROW'S PROBABLY JUST DRUNK

If you're ever at a dinner party and you feel the conversation waning, slam both your hands on the table and loudly and resolutely declare that Star Trek is better than Star Wars . You'll make new friends, new enemies and lots of drama. The fun thing about this never-ending debate is that it's anything but niche. Both Star Wars and Star Trek are beloved (or at least known) the world over, and that makes it easy to find people with opinions.

Granted, if you say this at Star Wars Celebration wearing a red shirt, you should probably expect something similar to what's happening to Jack Sparrow to happen to you. And while that would make for a sick meme in and of itself, we beg you -- tread with caution!

8 DISNEY! ANYTHING BUT DISNEY!!

At first glance, this meme almost looks like the Enterprise is about to get blown to smithereens (or just get run over) by the Destroyer on its tail. If you're a Star Wars person, that might make you cheer... until you read the caption. This meme is poking fun at Disney's recent acquisition of the Star Wars franchise and collective fears the Mouse would pollute the story with its own fiercely held brand.

Star Wars is set in a dystopia, though generally a cheery and hopeful one, and Disney doesn't really do dystopia well. Fans were worried the studio's commitment to family entertainment would dull the series' edge. Star Trek fans clearly share the same concerns if this meme is any indication.

7 TRUTH BOMB

On the surface, it might seem as though Kirk, Sulu and Uhura are suffering from a loss of atmosphere on the Enterprise. That's usually what people gasping for air in space are suffering from -- unless they're within range of Darth Vader's Fist of Fury. Then it's probably him.

One of the reasons Darth Vader makes for such a compelling villain is that he rarely needs to make a big display to get his point across. Sometimes all it takes to make a point is a good air-strangling and people fall in line, and it's a good leadership strategy to never punish more than you have to. The thing is, if Darth Vader has access to the energy in the very fabric of the universe, it stands to reason his reach could extend across space/time and franchises.

6 MORPHEUS HAS UNSETTLING NEWS

On the off chance you haven't seen The Matrix (or haven't since it came out because you really couldn't see what all the fuss was about), this meme is parodying the Morpheus' famous revelation to Neo that their world is all an illusion. It's pretty paradigm shifting for The One they call Neo (or Ne-WHOA, as we like to call him), and there's definitely an adjustment period.

We get it. If someone told us that Star Trek's clear superiority was all some kind of computer simulation, we'd need some time, too. Kirk certainly seems to. That said, if you're one of those people who find themselves eternally torn between both franchises, odds are you can really relate to the reaction shots at the bottom. Half, "F**k yeah!" and half, "Go f**k yourself!"

We know this picture looks familiar, but we thought this variation deserved a spot on the list, if only for its ability to totally flip the script. This meme is particularly savage, given that it's clearly for people who are so unimpressed with Star Trek that they've never heard of Starfleet. That would be like a Trekker defiantly refusing to acknowledge that they knew Luke Skywalker's last name.

Of course, the other implication is that the Destroyer's firepower would blow the much-smaller Enterprise to smithereens. While it's true that size does matter, anyone who saw Rogue One knows that maneuverability is also pretty essential. We're not counting the Enterprise out just yet. Feel free to work out the spatial dynamics of that in the comments and let us know if you think Kirk & Co. would escape!

4 ANOTHER FAIR POINT

It makes sense that Dwayne Johnson would be Team Star Trek -- he did guest star on an (unfortunate) episode of Star Trek: Voyager  back when the WWE and Voyager were the jewels in UPN's Wednesday lineup. But in this movie still doctored into a meme, his mouth is shut pretty effectively by an epic takedown of Star Trek firepower compared to Star Wars .

Though it should be said, it's way easier to destroy a Death Star when you have blueprints, a structurally engineered fatal design flaw and the ability to walk around without worrying about getting turned into a cyborg. The same cannot be said of a Borg cube, AND their shields adapt to any weapon used more than once. Just sayin'...

3 TROOPER VS. RED SHIRTS

If you can't find it in your loyalist heart to like both sides of this meme, then we might suggest that you're taking the rivalry a little too seriously. This. Is. Hilarious. Because. It. Is. True. Trained Stormtroopers typically can't hit the broad side of a barn and redshirts legit might be disposable clones of the same five or six dudes.

If you're so far from a Trekker that that reference means nothing to you, it's poking fun at the fact that on the original Star Trek , every time the crew went on an away mission, someone usually died, and it certainly wasn't going to be any of the contract players. So, who would actually win in this fight? It would be the fans now imagining this imaginary confrontation of incompetence.

This meme is particularly savage on two different levels. Clearly whatever Starbucks decided to run this little experiment is surrounded by wealthy Star Wars fans. Unless someone unfolded the dollars to make it look like there were more in there (this fight gets dirty sometimes), Star Wars is the clear winner. Or it could be that the neighborhood Star Trek fans are just hella bad tippers. Trekker frowns, either way.

We would like to take the time to recognize the artistry and attention to detail in the dueling tip jars. If you look closely at the bottom corners of each jar, one has a "v" and one has an "s." Star Wars vs. Star Trek . You know, just in case you didn't catch that these guys aren't friends.

1 FIREFLY FTW

The only thing wrong with being completely obsessed with the eternal and unwinnable S tar Trek vs. Star Wars debate is that it steals your attention from other, worthy sci-fi space operas. Since the '70s, pop culture's become way more crowded with quality content, and new generations are really leaning into the concept of the universe blend. This meme is a welcome dose of perspective.

It's not just about Star Wars vs. Star Trek anymore. It's about Star Wars vs. Star Trek vs. Firefly vs. The Expanse vs. ... Orville ? Ok, that last one still has some dues to pay, but you get the idea. The best part about the fact that the SW/ST debate has never and will never die is just what makes it so interesting. The older it gets, the more jokes like the one directly above we'll get to see.

Trek or Wars: where do your loyalties lie? Let us know in the comments!

30 Funny Memes That Prove Star Trek Is Better Than Star Wars

These hilarious memes prove something sci-fan fans have always known: that Star Trek is better than Star Wars.

Uh oh. There it is, friends. The can is open, and there are worms freaking everywhere.

You know how the Star Wars and Star Trek fandoms can be. You know how most fandoms can be, come to that. We just don’t seem to get the whole concept of live and let live. Do you remember the vicious console wars of the 90s, that pitted Mario and Sonic against each other? Friendships were won and lost and mothers’ weight problems were relentlessly mocked on the schoolyard, simply because somebody’s allegiance was different to yours.

Nothing’s changed at all in that regard, to listen to all of the Nintendrone, Sony Pony and such snark that goes on. Can’t we all just get along? Most forward into a glorious new utopia, where we’re all simply gamers and not judged by the systems we game on?

Well, no. No, we can’t. By the same token, can’t we appreciate both Star Trek and Star Wars equally? Again, no. Not usually.

You’d think, what with sharing a genre and all, that we wouldn’t have to get all mutually exclusive about this. That it’s totally acceptable to support both intergalactic dramas with Star in the title. Sadly, though, it’s not as simple as that.

Now, in terms of mainstream popularity, Star Wars pretty well has Scotty and his buddies beat. That’s all well and good, but you do not want to attract the wrath of Star Trek meme-makers. Just check out this hilarious Wars -trumping crop of memes.

30 The Classic Star Trek Joke

Now, as we all know, Star Wars has its own share of iconic catchphrases and such. We’ve got the "Force is strong with this one," "May the Force be with you,"  and other bits of beautiful wisdom from Yoda (do, or do not. There is no try). When it comes to legendary movie lines, we’ve got reams and reams of material to pick from right here.

Having said all of that, Star Trek only needs two words.

Captain’s Log is a line that, regardless of your familiarity with the franchise, you can immediately identify. You know that there’s a Shakespeare play/J.D from Scrubs soliloquy coming up. Sometimes, if you’re powerful and super cool enough, a meager two words are all you need.

Even Admiral Ackbar’s beloved, meme-tastic It’s a trap! can’t match that.

29 When Snarky Spock Strikes

As fans of the more recent Star Wars movies will have noticed, the franchise has been experiencing a subtle shift in sense of humor. There has always been the occasional gag thrown in, just to cleanse the palette from all of the intense space drama action, granted. Lately, though, more and more visual jokes and such have been creeping in there. The way that Marvel movies like to do things.

By comparison, then, you may think that Wars has Trek beaten in that sense. That the latter would be quite po-faced and super serious in that regard; like the elderly, moth-ball smelling great Vulcan aunt that disapproves of her wayward space great nephew’s antics.

Don’t be fooled, though, because Star Trek can get down and snarky with the best of them. Spock’s no stand-up, but when he throws the shade, he goes all the way.

28 When Non-Fans Just Don't Get It

Now, this is exactly what you have to be careful of. As we’ve already seen, people do tend to support one franchise over the other. You can, of course, totally dig both equally, and rise above the flame wars and petty arguments that tend to arise. You can do that, of course you can, but then you’re being far too reasonable and sensible for the internet.

We don’t take kindly to that sort of thing online, buddy boy.

Whatever your sci-fi franchise preferences may be, you’re totally welcome to them. Just don’t vilify those who don’t share them. As tempting as that always seems to be, come on, people. It’s 2018. Let’s stop going all high and mighty clichéd PC gamer on everybody. Enough already.

27 When Worf Brings A Welcome Touch Of Sophistication To Proceedings

Worf, portrayed by Michael Dorn, has carved himself quite a place in Star Trek legend. The franchise’s first Klingon main character, he has since gone on to appear in more episodes than any other character.

Why the popularity? Because he’s the man, that’s why. There he is, on the bridge, defying every cheesy old stereotype about the Klingons you care to throw at him.

They’re a brutal, warlike race, you say? Not around here they aren’t, friend. That is to say, not always. Worf’s an enigma, a complex, beautiful, flawed being like the rest of us. He’s the kind of dude who’ll tear your head right off and then (apparently) sit and drink tea with his pinky finger sticking out, reflecting on the harsh reality of this life of ours. Maybe he’ll write a poem or two. We just don’t know.

26 When You Leave The Ewoks To Live Long And Prosper In Peace

Now, see, there are all sorts of reasons you might prefer one franchise over the other. Maybe the most practical of things. You might prefer the storylines, say, or the writing may appeal more in one franchise over the other. It might also be the flashy action of Star Wars that draws you in, or the very opposite may be true of Star Trek . Different strokes, that’s what it’s all about.

Maybe it’ll be something deeper than that, though. The primary characters’ reactions to the creatures they encounter on their travels, for instance. The Enterprise crew are all about innocent discovery and scientific curiosity, as pictured here, while the Star Wars guys prefer…

Well, sending teeny, adorable little Ewoks into battle against the Empire.

The message of which could probably be described as mixed, at best.

25 When Star Trek Just Tells It Like It Darn Well Is

Oftentimes, with the far-reaching, contradictory and confusing storylines of space dramas, we can find ourselves getting totally darn lost. Losing track of it all, and struggling to empathize with characters. That happens. When they’re huge, spider-like beasts with eighteen eyeballs, who live on an imaginary planet in the year eight trillion and two, we lose hold of our frame of reference somehow.

It’s all about being grounded in reality, friends.

That’s key to this particular Star Trek meme. It’s completely relatable. However far forwards in time you are, wherever you are in whichever galaxy, snarky jokes about hospital food can and will always remain. I can dig that. I really can.  The plots of these things can go from zero to batpoop crazy in a heartbeat, after all.

24 When Picard Is Unimpressed By Your 'Disney' Talk

Now, I’ll admit, I’m a little conflicted here. I’m not quite certain where I stand.

I see two different possibilities, both of which are obscured somewhat by Captain Jean Luc Picard’s inscrutable, charismatic face. are we inwardly envious that Disney hopped onto the Star Wars bandwagon and allied themselves with the franchise, or are we contemptuously dismissing the whole idea as beneath us? I just do not know.

Either way, it’s probably immaterial. What really matters here is that this is freaking hilarious. That’s the major takeaway from this meme. Picard, as we know, isn’t one to get all excitable and animated. By the same token, though, he’s no super stoic Spock, either. Which is something to be grateful for, because it means we’re sometimes treated to facial expressions like the one in the bottom right panel there.

23 When You Can Pull Off Amazing Puntastic Jokes Like This...

Ah, yes. Now, this, I can get on board with.

Often, here on the web, the unnecessarily picky correction squad will ruin your whole day. You know the sort. The people who’ll instantly drop a post correcting your grammar or other typos. The people who’ll see the slightest error in a quotation or fact that you state, and land on it like a sumo wrestler jumping from a fifth storey window onto a grape.

These are the persnickety people who knew exactly what you meant, but will mess with you anyway. Generally, I’m against that sort of thing, but sometimes, beautiful things are born from simple typos.

This, I’m sure we can all agree, is one of those times. Now, that’s a spin-off I’d like to see.

22 ...And Also Like This

I’ll admit, with that last one, I thought I’d seen it all. I thought that a world where Tony Stark takes a wrong turn and ends up on the Enterprise was… well, darn far enough. As far as questionable spin-offs go, this little doozy had Joey (remember how vomit-inducingly terrible that was, coming in the wake of Friends ?) written all over it.

Right when I was about done with everything, Dwayne ‘The Spock’ Johnson rode into town. At this point, we’re all familiar with the memes. The way that anything that rhymes with ‘Rock’ is fair game. It’s a cheap but brilliant shot, usually, but in this case, I think they’re really on to something.

Why not make this a thing? After all, Good old Dwayne’s been in just about everything else lately.

21 When A Star Wars Fan Tries To Get You Down

Here it is again, rearing its ugly, judgmental space-head.

In a way, I guess it’s natural. After all, here on the internet these days, everything’s all about popularity. About attention. About likes, shares, retweets, comments and adoring heart emojis on your Instagram selfies.

Life is a popularity contest online.

When you ally yourself with something, then, it becomes part of your self-image. If anybody questions your taste, in anything from pizza toppings to movies or TV shows, you’ve got to fight back. You’ve got to leap, jaguar-like, on any opinion that differs from your own, however reasonable or harmless it may seem.

Are showers better than baths? Are they really? Not in my freaking world, they aren’t. Stop that entirely reasonable water usage talk.

20 When It All Gets A Little Ridiculous

This is what the anonymity of the internet does to some of us, sadly. It can bring out the worst in people. When you’re safe there, hiding cosy behind your username, you think you’ve got carte blanche to get all up in everyone’s business. To be the best d-bag you can be. Some transcend this kind of pettiness, and others grasp the opportunity with both hands and go right at it.

In the case of two ‘rival’ sci-fi franchises, you tend to be able to dig a little deeper than usual. There are all kinds of scientific issues, and questions of realism, that you can dig up to compete over. This, right here, tends to be a popular one.

This is the sort of thing some of us lose sleep over.

19 When Jedis Have Nothing On The Star Trek Crew

Now, of course, this one’s endlessly debatable. As we’ve seen in the more recent Star Wars movies (which you may not have seen yet, so I’m not going to be too explicit here), the Jedis have some darn fancy tricks up their sleeves. Even back in the days of the original trilogy, Darth Vader and other high-ranking members of the Dark Side could pull some serious stuff. Force Lightning? That little thumb-and-finger choking motion Vader could do? This was darn cool stuff, there’s no denying.

Even the good guys had some pretty cool powers.

The life of a Jedi trainee, on the other hand, isn’t the most exciting. Granted, levitating rocks and such is quite neat, by us mere mortals’ standards, but over in Star Trek , they know what’s up.

Nice reality you have there. It’d be a shame if somebody… warped it.

18 When YOUR Franchise's Hapless Henchmen Are Much More Useless Than The Stormtroopers

As Star Trek fans will know, the series often utilizes an unfortunate range of stock characters, informally known as Redshirts. These background extras are recognized by two primary traits: their red Starfleet uniforms, and the fact that their life expectancy usually extends about as far as the commercial break.

Largely, this is due to an amazing phenomenon known as plot armour. This comes about because you want to convey that the main characters are in peril, but you can’t actually write them a horrific end yet because they’re too important to the plot. This is an issue across all manner of TV shows, movies and books, of course, but Star Trek has an elegant solution: wipe out the Redshirts.

It’s a thankless job, but somebody’s got to do it.

17 ...Or Maybe The Stormtroopers Are Worse After All

So, yes. The Redshirts have a mortality rate unmatched since the super grim days of the Black Plague. Meanwhile, the Star Wars franchise has its own crew of hapless henchmen: the Stormtroopers.

As we also know, these guys have an unfortunate reputation. They’re supposed to be the Empire’s military arm, striking fear into the hearts of victims wherever they go. Instead, wherever they go, their victims tend to say things like, oh, it’s fine, it’s just those guys. They couldn’t hit a huge darn AT-AT’s butt with those blasters.

It’s just not the message you want to give off.

Again, though, a lot of this is due to our old friend plot armour. If they had any semblance of aiming ability, the whole franchise would’ve abruptly ended during Luke and Han’s rescue of Leia in A New Hope .

16 When Star Trek And Star Wars Are Definitely Not The Same Thing

Uh oh. It was just inevitable that this one was going to crop up sooner or later. I have to say, though, I hadn’t quite mentally prepared myself for it.

You see, this is a real bugaboo of mine.

This is ignorance in its purest form.

It’s nobody’s fault, granted, but it’s still the sort of thing that really gets to fans. Like a hardened PlayStation gamer whose mama thinks that PS4 and Xbox One are the same thing.

There are similarities for the casual observer, of course. If you’ve never gamed in your life, how are you to tell one chunky console from another? How are you to tell one spacestastic franchise from another, either?

I’m not judging anybody, you understand. All I’m saying is, where’s freaking Scotty to beam me up?

15 When Luke Skywalker Takes The News Super Hard

First up, we’ve got to cut the poor soul some slack here. After all, Luke Skywalker had it pretty darn hard. That unfortunate business with his aunt and uncle, being rapidly drawn into a huge intergalactic conflict that was way beyond him, trying to square with his Jedi destiny, all those family issues... it’s not been an easy run for the poor guy.

As such, Star Trek fans, you could’ve been a little more considerate here. You know, introduced the idea gradually, subtly, so as to spare his feeling a little. Sadly, nope, it was not to be.

As though poor old Luke wasn’t having enough of an existential crisis at this point, Darth lent in and hit him with a second bombshell. Apparently. Harsh times indeed.

14 When It's All That Darn Jar Jar Binks' Fault

So, as we’ve covered pretty extensively already, people do tend to feel some kind of way about their fandoms. It’s always a little odd to me that somebody else’s opinion can be seen as a threat to your own in this regard, but there it is. Here on the web, if you say that you don’t like Harry Potter , for instance, Potterheads will respond like you’ve just personally roundhouse kicked their grandmas in the face.

There are certain things that even the most ardent of Star Wars fans will have to concede, though.

Mainly, the fact that Jar Jar Binks is a garbage monster.

To this day, there has never been a single documented case of anybody liking this character.

At first glance, I didn’t believe this guy could be as annoying as he looked. Then he opened his mouth.

13 When Star Trek Has The Edge In Predicting The Future

If you’re a fan of the sci-fi writers of the eighties and nineties, you’ll have noticed that… well, they were a little off the mark. To hear a lot of popular novelists and short story writers tell it, we should be living in a very different world right now.

Fancy flying bubble-cars a la The Jetsons , hoverboards, teleportation and much more should be a thing right now. What do we have instead? Precious darn little, that’s what. McDonald’s don’t even deliver yet.

Surprisingly, though, Star Trek ’s predictions have been completely on point over the years. The key, by the looks of it, was not being too outlandish about it all. It’s a little thing I like to call The Simpsons Effect, when your predictions are a little too accurate.

12 When J.J. Abrams Takes Over Both Franchises

You know what, J.J.? I admire your ambition, I really do. This is the sort of go-getter attitude we could all use a little more of. The kind of spirit you need to be able to say, nuts to it. One epic space drama franchise just doesn’t cut it for me. I want to get in on Star Wars as well.

Well, no. Of course, it wasn’t. It’s all about that money.

The Star Trek and Mission Impossible III director signed up for Star Wars: The Force Awakens , making all kinds of fans feel some kind of way in the process. Was this act, in some small way, an attempt by J..J. (the second J stands for Just Lens Flare Out The Wazzoo) to unite the two bickering fanbases?

11 When You Don't Let A Little Thing Like Continuity Hold You Back

So, as I say, J.J. Abrams is a veteran of both rival franchises. He’s dipped his toes into the murky waters of Star Trek and Star Wars , and as any director will, he’s had his own indelible influence on the franchise in the process.

Legendary penchants for lens flare aside, what has this meant for these two iconic series as a whole? That really depends on who you ask. After all, this is an inevitable effect of directors, writers and such moving around.

In the earlier days of Superman, say, the guy’s powers were constantly being altered, increased and exaggerated upon. There was a time when he could only leap tall buildings in a single bound, until suddenly only full-on flight would do. When it comes to Star Trek and Star Wars ’ expanding universes, offshoots and side stories, it’s tough to say what’s important and what isn’t.

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" I'm sure there's nothing to fear in letting Admiral Thrawn examine our works of art ." — Captain Picard , Worlds Without End Part VI

The Unity Saga is an epic Star Trek / Star Wars crossover by Chuck Sonnenberg telling the story of Unity, the path to peace between two galaxies.

• I: Worlds Without End
• II: Shadows of the Night
• III: Against All Odds
• IV: Paradise Lost
• V: Blood of Heroes
• VI: Dawn of Forever

Totaled, the saga is 250 chapters in length. Did we mention it's epic ?

• Affably Evil : Grand Admiral Thrawn, of course.
• Alternate History : The Oracle Janeway , among her various time-related abilities can see the past the way it would have been, were it not for the two galaxies interacting.
• Anyone Can Die : At least a few major characters from both franchises bite it in each of the six parts. The original characters don't exactly make it through unscathed either.
• Ascended to a Higher Plane of Existence : Picard, following the dénouement of Against All Odds .
• Author Appeal : At one point, Darth Whind says that the only one who can stop them her, Luke, and the Empire is the former Borg (with enhanced reflexes and strength) Seven-Of-Nine... and Ben Sisko. If you have ever watched SF Debris opinionated guides to Deep Space Nine, he's a massive fan of Ben Sisko and Seven of Nine is his favorite character from Voyager aside, perhaps, from the holographic Doctor.
• Awesomeness by Analysis : Thrawn can derive an uncanny amount about a civilization from analyzing their works of art and the Federation is so eager to exchange cultural information, they're basically an open book.
• Badass Boast : Admiral Piett. Piett : "We'll show the Borg whose resistance is futile."
• And then Luke decides to get more involved, as it were .
• Because Destiny Says So : Throughout, but it becomes most prominent in the latter trilogy.
• During the final lap of Dawn of Forever , events conspire to place Seven in the body of her counterpart from an Alternate Universe where Luke knew both women but married Mara, who here pulled a Heel–Face Turn . The two women end up on good terms and Mara even helps Seven make a difficult return journey to her home universe .
• Big Bad : Several, including Emperor Palpatine , but The Oracle really has to take the cake.
• Big Damn Heroes : Even the Borg manage to pull this off against the Vong .
• Shadows of the Night : Seven of Nine successfully shuts down the Borg Collective, finally freeing the galaxies from their threat, but after struggling the whole story, Luke Skywalker falls to the Dark Side, and even though Thrawn is assassinated by Delric Taar, it's clear that Darth Whind will continue her crusade using new pawns.
• Against All Odds : The Galactic Empire steamrolls both galaxies. This isn't made out to be as bad as could be, however, since Sisko's spirit has taken over Palpatine's clone body to continue controlling events from behind the scenes, whilst Darth Whind is dead, and Luke has returned to the Light and is expecting a child with Seven.
• Paradise Lost : After fifteen years, as in New Jedi Order , the Yuuzhan Vong have begun their invasion, and this time have more than one galaxy in their sights. On top of that, Luke has been killed by a corrupted version of Ben Skywalker, his son from an Alternate Universe . The silver lining is that Sebastian Skywalker, Luke and Seven's son in this universe, gets together with Jorielle Sunspring .
• Blood of Heroes : With Emperor Sisko and his successor Leia both dead, the war against the Vong rages on at increasingly morally-questionable prices, Seven is taken captive by the Oracle, while Jorielle and her unborn child were killed by Ben. A grief-stricken Sebastian, having reactivated the Borg Collective, voluntarily lets himself be assimilated to escape the pain .
• Dawn of Forever : The Galactic Empire and the Vong are both finally defeated, Seven finds definite closure with Luke's memory and Mara before dying, having managed to thwart the Oracle's plans once and for all, Ben has pulled a Redemption Equals Death , and after reforming the Borg from the inside, Sebastian now presides over two united galaxies. However, Q makes it clear that preserving Unity will be a life-long task. He does at least grant Sebastian that he can have his wife and child back .
• Boxing Lessons for Superman : Luke is able to benefit from learning Vulcan mind techniques to augment his Force powers. This has unexpected side-effects, since Luke's fall to the Dark Side results in him developing a Split Personality , which compartmentalises his innate "good" self while his body commits crimes under the influence of his "bad" self .
• The Chessmaster : The Oracle, aka Kathryn Janeway .
• A large source of Seven's angst stems from the fact that as a Borg, she cannot bear children.
• Cool Versus Awesome : Seven of Nine, a Borg, versus a Wookie during the Tsunkatse.
• Cosmic Plaything : Sebastian Skywalker.
• Curb-Stomp Battle : Quite a few. Klingon vs Jedi, because lightsabers slice right through Batt'leths. Early battles between the Empire and pretty much anyone they encounter in the Milky Way due to superior speed and firepower.
• Cybernetics Will Eat Your Soul : A recurring motif brought together by the various cyborgs of both universes. In this series, its more attitude than reality. In fact, Seven's implants come in very handy when she uses them to generate lightsabre-proof armour in her fight with Darth Whind
• Dead Person Impersonation : Quark died on DS9 , the one on DS13 is a holographic spy planted by Garak.
• Door Stopper
• Dysfunction Junction : Such a trope is likely to happen whenever you got a story involving Star Wars and the Dark Side but among the dysfunctional cast, Seven of Nine reaches the top of the highest mountain , requiring a good father-figure in Picard, a Battle in the Center of the Mind , two Jedi, two telepathic Betazoids and regular interventions from not one but two Physical Gods to get a semblance of closure.
• Not to mention all of those planets that Taar allows Tyrine to destroy off-screen when he gives him a superlaser to use at his discretion . At the very least, a Kazon planet and the Malon homeworld are destroyed.
• Easily Forgiven : Not quite, as Han never forgives Luke for killing Chewbacca during his stint on the Dark Side until after his erstwhile friend dies, but it's Played Straight by most of the other characters.
• Failsafe Failure : It turns out those arches in the holodeck are a safety feature which everyone just ignores; Troi is erased from reality by standing in the middle of the room when the simulation is turned off and the cleaning program glitches.
• Faking the Dead : The Blessed One, e.g. Darth Whind , helps Picard to do this after Thrawn orders his execution as a Xanatos Gambit .
• Fate Worse than Death : Borg assimilation, as always. But the fear of it in this story is one of the more prominent themes.
• Field Promotion : Picard has Seven of Nine made a Starfleet officer without going through the Academy, promoting her directly to Chief Science Officer.
• No, he made Janeway competent . In the reviews, his version of that character has become a very competent evil.
• Freudian Excuse : Done most tragically with Ben Skywalker, who was raised by a Mara Jade corrupted by the Dark Side .
• Done again when Vader realizes that the Emperor never came through on his promises to save Padme so he doesn't actually owe the man anything, and now he's ordering him to kill his own children. It prompts his return to the Light Side .
• Good Versus Good : The Rebel Alliance and the Federation start out on opposite sides because the Federation is initially duped by the Empire. To their credit, both sides eventually figure out who they're really dealing with and team up.
• Heel–Face Turn : Several, most notably the Borg .
• Hero with Bad Publicity : The Rebel Alliance gets a bad first impression of the Federation by reputation, because their initial information comes from all the species Janeway pissed off in the Delta Quadrant.
• Human Alien : The preponderance of these and the more subtle kinds of Rubber-Forehead Aliens in the Star Trek galaxy confuse the hell out of the Star Wars characters in the first book, not to mention that genetically identical humans apparently evolved in both galaxies somehow.
• Hold Your Hippogriffs : "Never check a free dewback's hide."
• I Die Free : Due to the nature of the Borg, many try, most fail.
• "I Know You Are in There Somewhere" Fight : Luke gets one in Against All Odds .
• Informed Attribute : Early on in Paradise Lost , the Galactic Empire is stated to have undergone reformations under Emperor Sisko , making it a less cruel place than it once was. Tell that to Molly O'Brien, whom we're introduced to as she is sentenced to medical experimentation .
• The triple-nacelle Enterprise and Warp 13 from the future-based scenes of the last episode of TNG show up here. Picard even comments upon it.
• Leia and Han get married and have the same children they had in Star Wars Legends .
• Jumping Off the Slippery Slope : Janeway, as the Oracle. Initially motivated by her guilt at bringing the Empire to the Milky Way Galaxy and leading to the downfall of The Federation , her mistake is to dabble in The Dark Side in order to further her goals of "fixing" history; by the end of the story, Janeway is willing to destroy Earth itself if it will lead to her victory.
• Love Before First Sight : Luke Skywalker and Seven of Nine.
• Ludd Was Right : This is what Senator Alixus believes, hence why she supports the Vong.
• Make Wrong What Once Went Right : Luke's journey to mastery as a Jedi is much more complicated because the final confrontation with his father never happened.
• Mama Bear : Janeway. And that's what breaks her .
• The Man Behind the Man : This trope is everywhere in Shadows of the Night . The Ssi-Ruuk are tricked into attacking The Republic by the Borg, who are under the leadership of Anansi (e.g. Grand Admiral Thrawn ), who is being manipulated by Darth Whind , who is being possessed by the reborn Emperor Palpatine , all according to the grand plan of Benjamin Sisko .
• Messianic Archetype : Sebastian, in case his impossible birth from Seven, an infertile Borg , didn't tip you off.
• The Mole : Data in Worlds Without End .
• Mother Nature, Father Science : Inverted Trope . Luke is the spiritual one. Seven is the scientific, logical one.
• Captain Janeway suffers this because she introduced the Galactic Empire to the United Federation of Planets.
• Luke Skywalker after he turns to the Dark Side and then comes back .
• Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot : Emperor Cyber-Jedi Sebastian.
• Obstructive Bureaucrat : Counselor Borui. She tends to put her duties above critical missions.
• Oh, Crap! "Sir, Borg cubes coming out of warp!" "What? How many? I said how many," "One hundred twelve, sir."
• One-Steve Limit : Averted, owing to the presence of Benjamin Sisko and Ben Skywalker.
• Organic Technology : The Yuuzhan Vong.
• Passed-Over Promotion : Picard pulls favors to get Seven of Nine commissioned as a Starfleet officer and promoted directly to chief science officer of the Enterprise without having to put in time at the Academy or climb ranks. Seven displaces Data, which becomes a sore spot for him later in Worlds Without End .
• The Peter Principle : Though Chuck Sonnenburg doesn't care for Janeway as a captain, he portrays her as being quite competent in certain other endeavors owing to her background as a science officer. For example, she figures out how to run transporter beams through hyperspace.
• He also simply opts to have Neelix Put on a Bus early on and never return. Now that's willpower.
• Data sacrifices himself to destroy the Death Star after killing Troi and betraying Seven.
• Reverse Cerebus Syndrome : The first trilogy plays the concept completely straight. The second one features the Borg becoming a corporation and characters from other fictional universes wandering into the plot.
• Science Cannot Comprehend Phlebotinum : Specifically, the Force defies analysis.
• Screw the Rules, I Have Supernatural Powers! : Q can make sound in space, because he has no respect for the physics of vacuum .
• Sex Is Liberation : Seven of Nine in Shadows of the Night .
• Picard questions his right to commit genocide against the Borg in a very similar manner to the Doctor in "Genesis of the Daleks", though this may also be a Call-Back to the other times Picard has pondered this subject, regarding both the Borg and the Crystalline Entity.
• Shut Up, Kirk! : Janeway protests the slaughter of thirty million people aboard the Death Star and gets this reaction from Han Solo.
• Summon Bigger Fish : The Federation's motivation for allying with the Galactic Empire, due to the threat of the Borg Collective. Naturally, this turns out to be a bad idea.
• Superpowered Evil Side : Luke's first act after giving in to the Dark Side is to destroy a bunch of Borg cubes.
• Suspiciously Apropos Music : Seven of Nine and "Puff the Magic Dragon.". NOT in regards to marijuana use.
• Techno Babble : Exploited Trope towards the end of Worlds Without End when Data needs to fool the defectors into launching an attack on the Death Star, so he makes up a plan to attack a false weakness with lots of technobabble to make them think it would work .
• Tempting Fate : Troi really should have known after Descent to tread more carefully when encouraging Data to explore powerful negative emotions.
• That Makes Me Feel Angry : Seven tends to talk like this, although she is rediscovering her emotions throughout much of this story.
• Then Let Me Be Evil : Luke basically talks himself into falling to the Dark Side, and the emotion that does it is fear... of falling to the dark side. He's so convinced that emotion-powered Force use is inherently evil and everyone will hate him for it, that after destroying a Borg fleet to rescue Seven, he falls into despair and switches sides. The disconnect means the real Luke never fell, and the Sith Lord version is just an emotional shell he built around himself that does evil for evil's sake, but doesn't enjoy it. Or something.
• Tyrant Takes the Helm : In Against All Odds , with the Borg no longer a distraction, the rebuilt Galactic Empire promptly launches a full-scale invasion of the Milky Way. How do the United Federation of Planets fend off the onslaught? Short answer; they don't, and all four Quadrants are placed under Imperial domination for the next two decades. Turns out that luck and a little pluck may have won the day in Worlds Without End , but It Only Works Once .
• It also goes the other way. The Empire never sends more than a tiny fraction of its forces into the Milky Way at a time because most of their fleet is required to hold down their own galaxy, meaning the other factions keep drastically underestimating their real power. When they invade in force during Against All Odds , it's a complete walkover.
• The Unintelligible : Chewbacca as always. It seems that even the Federation's universal translators can't handle the Wookie language.
• Utopia Justifies the Means : A rare heroic example by most of the main characters, but especially Sisko and Empress Leia .
• Worthy Opponent : Delric Taar, who despite being an Imperial TIE pilot who gets a good number of kills including Tom Paris is a very likable and engaging character, and one of the most developed throughout the whole story.
• You Can't Fight Fate : A major theme.
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20 hilarious star trek memes that will split your sides.

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Star Trek Returns To A DS9 & Voyager Location For The First Time In 25 Years

Star trek actors & executive producers react to peabody award, the fall guy's box office confirms a harsh reality after $2.4 billion phenomenon.

Star Trek is a treasure trove of meme humor, checking almost all the boxes for viral success. It's got a specialized audience, perfect for inside jokes, but it’s also generally well known to everyone. Even a person who’s never seen an episode or a movie has an emotional or cultural response simply by bringing up the franchise.

The beauty of Trek is that it leans into that cultural response, always being open with its commentary on current affairs. Science fiction has long tried to predict future technology and humanity, and while the series is trying to explain both, it’s also experimenting with philosophy, ethics, and sociology.

These memes are here to make fun of all of those efforts. Thankfully, the phenomenon has always had a sense of humor - whether it’s comparing captains, cuddling with tribbles, or debating Captain Kirk's character - the series has taken on a rich mythology over its decades in living rooms.

By injecting more lightness and humility into the Star Trek series to push and pull its audience, this list will hopefully succeed in aiding the original mission to explore the boundaries of our solar system, through these 20 Hilarious Star Trek Memes.

20. MEANWHILE AT CBS…

As a general rule, you always protect your parent network. When Star Trek: Discovery came out in 2017, it was announced that the series would only be aired on CBS’ new online streaming service, “CBS All-Access”.

It costs $5.99/month with ads, $9,99 per month without ads. That’s a whole lot of latinum just for Star Trek .

The prospect of a new series is enough to make a true fan pay almost any sum of money, but then again, should Star Trek only be marketed to true fans? Wouldn’t the show get a broader audience if released on its main network? Hopefully, CBS opens Discovery up to all audiences soon, instead of using it as an anchor to its streaming service.

19. THE WALKING DEAD

Red shirts! Take your pick of any of the red shirt memes, they all play on the same tendency scarlet-shirted crew members have to perish again and again. These tunics represent security and engineering officers.

It became a recurring plot point on Star Trek: The Original Series for those characters to show up unexpectedly and pass away at some point in the episode, usually defending the Enterprise from some kind of alien threat. Over the course of three seasons, this trend claimed 43 crew members.

The trope eventually became too predictable to be carried on into future renditions of the franchise. As an example, Captain Picard wore a red uniform in The Next Generation .

The red shirt plot device in Trek is apparently unrelated to the college sports convention.

18. PICARD V. SISKO

The Next Generation Captain Jean-Luc Picard is a fan favorite, while Deep Space Nine 's Captain Ben Sisko is remembered as passionate and easily angered. This meme accurately points out the difference in how the two Captains handled Trek’s classically omnipotent antagonist, Q.

The earlier series introduces Q as a radical plot device, pushing the Enterprise crew to their limits with his powers that defied logic and expectation. This made him an exciting villain for the audience as well.

Q gets such an earful from Sisko he doesn’t dare return, calling Captain Picard far more fun.

However in DS9, despite John de Lancie’s performance as a charming yet demanding demi-god, the character didn’t work with its more grounded themes and human conflicts.

17. DOUBLE FACEPALM

Even a quarter century later, the Picard and Riker characters were imagined so clearly that this meme detailing their frustration still summons memories of their personalities and working dynamic. Captain Picard and his second in command, Riker, were such a great team that fans can sympathize with the event that led them to this moment of frustration. Picard was always a more cerebral, patient diplomat, while Riker was the noble drill sergeant who wanted to be everyone’s friend at the same time.

Even as they served together, these guys were the top ship commanders in the Starfleet. Riker was even offered his own ship several times over the course of the series, but always passed up the opportunity to continue serving on the Federation flagship, Enterprise. The two stand today as an example of two alpha males able to do their jobs in their own, very different ways.

16. PROSPURR

While a lot of the original Star Trek series is only watchable for academic or nostalgic purposes now, Leonard Nimoy’s performance as Spock continues to stand out. Much ado has been made of William Shatner’s performance as Kirk and the ensuing legacy; Shatner does go on a journey with Kirk, learning to balance the swagger with measured confidence. Holding the show together all along, adding ballast to Kirk’s unflappable Captain, is Nimoy’s Science Officer.

Instead of appearing contrarian, Spock always seems cool, zen, and sophisticated.

In the episode "Assignment: Earth" Spock's unexpected petting and holding of Gary Seven's black cat charmed and surprised fans. When he described himself as " being strangely drawn to it, " it gave a whole new meaning to the famous Vulcan greeting.

15. SHERLOCK

Geordi La Forge and Data’s friendship on The Next Generation is one of the more endearing parts of the series. In the first season, fans are introduced to Data and his quest to explore humanity. Then around the second season, they pair La Forge and Data as friends, making a great human interest duo that shows recreation and a look at peer relationships in the space-based future.

Once the holodeck is developed, it’s only a matter of time until Data begins running his lesson on humanity through holographic realities. He inhabits the characters from literature he admires most, including Sherlock Holmes. Initially, Data struggles with the idea of the “fun” of a mystery, but his education doubles as a meditation on fiction and literature at large for the home viewer, and Star Trek continues using the sci-fi genre to explore narrative.

14. THREE BUTTONS

It’s amazing that for how inspirational Star Trek is purported to be and how much it supports science and technology, there’s not a lot of hard scientific grounding or accuracy in the show. While the producers definitely make an effort to get the science of the show mostly correct, the episodes aren’t really “about” science.

This meme proves how difficult it is to display true science via television.

These discursive lines of science-like dialogue, lovingly referred to as techno-babble, still have an effect on the tone of the show. By putting science front and center, not ignoring it or being afraid of it, the actual scientific facts become irrelevant. Especially because, since the series is based so far in the future, the science behind the warp drive doesn’t really exist yet anyway.

13. KIRK SR. = THOR

Before he was Thor (2011), Chris Hemsworth played James Kirk’s father in the opening minutes of 2009’s Star Trek reboot. Aside from the concept of Pine and Hemsworth potentially being related, this meme is also remarkable just because of the thread of celebrity that connects the two film franchises. No slight towards Mr. Hemsworth’s talents, but it’s surprising to see the same guy have such a pivotal role in two major franchises.

Hemsworth is nowhere near the first to crossover with the utopian sci-fi series. Other notable actors who guest starred in Star Trek include, but are not limited to: Kirsten Dunst, Ashley Judd, Seth McFarlane, Sarah Silverman, The Rock, Famke Janssen, Teri Hatcher, Kelsey Grammar, Jason Alexander, and Iggy Pop.

12. THE ORVILLE GENERATION

Seth McFarlane, (who once had a guest appearance in an episode of Star Trek: Enterprise ) debuted his series The Orville last year as an homage to the progressive optimism of TNG, along with a healthy dose of his trademark humor.

Not only is the star ship Orville traveling on much the same journey as the Enterprise, they’re even going on some of the same missions.

On the fourth episode of the new series "If The Stars Should Appear", the crew of the Orville travel to a planet whose inhabitants are unaware that they’re actually on a space station, orbiting into their destruction. A third season TOS episode, "For The World Is Hollow And I Have Touched The Sky", runs through a quite similar premise. Both episodes ask when, how, and even if it’s appropriate to intervene in alien species' development.

11. DANGEROUS MISSION

As many away missions as there have been, it’s amazing the main cast hasn’t faced more peril. These are the issues one consumes themself with once they’ve really spent a lot of time pondering the Enterprise’s shift schedules.

In this meme alone, four departments are without their crew chief, leading one to wonder just who’s in charge of the security or engineering departments while the department heads are off ship, out on a mission. All of these questions and more are why the world is clamoring for a Star Trek: Support Staff series.

Federation starships are enormous, from what audiences are led to believe. This meme makes you wonder: what plot lines are going on below the command decks?

10. WARP VS. LIGHT

For the record, as Captain Janeway here confirms, warp drive is many factors faster than light speed. Fans need to recall anyone of their favorite Captains barking orders to their helmsman to put themselves in the right frame of mind to evaluate starship acceleration.

As a base for comparison, warp factor one is equivalent to light speed.

Enterprise-class Federation ships cruise between fractions of warp one, or “impulse” power and they top out somewhere between Warp 9-10, the point where the space-time continuum begins to get a little shaky. Janeway goes a little too far here, comparing the technology of the future to that from a galaxy far, far, away.

Don’t neglect her subtext emanating from this meme. Star Wars fans may have light sabers and cool Jedi, but Star Trek is on the side of science.

9. EARLY ALIENS

Before fans complain about too much lens flare on the most recent attempt at modern day Star Trek , remember that production complaints could have been far worse. It was a different time, admittedly, but that dog just jumps off the screen; it’s far too adorable to be an alien.

Thanks to Star Trek ’s enduring pop culture presence and constant success, the full franchise is a good yardstick for special effects on television. Of course, there are huge glaring differences, like these cute little would-be aliens and “entities” with the characteristics of glorified disco balls.

Once the '90s roll around, a close observation allows one to track the newest special effects and techniques as they make their way to network television. Trek’s never been about special effects, really, but it’s still nice to be able to leave the pet dogs behind in the 20th century.

8. CHARACTER SQUARE

This meme approximates a tool resembling a Myers-Briggs test applied to the Deep Space Nine characters . The funny part is that it holds up pretty well. These stories have always been revered for their writing, narrative competence, and willingness to experiment. This tool is something a writers room might rely on, measuring the characters on scales of lawful vs. chaotic tendencies, and then good vs. evil, giving a sense of modality and morality.

On one extreme, Odo and Sisko represent the different extremes of goodness in the Trek universe. On the other, Gul Dukat and the Female Founder balance out the spectrum on the evil side. Meanwhile, Quark is right in the middle, sitting out of the moral quandaries of the galaxy, just looking to earn a little profit.

7. LEADING WOMAN

Before Sonequa Martin-Green and Daisy Ridley, Star Trek pushed the boundaries of gender representation in sci-fi. For seven seasons, Kate Mulgrew's Captain Kathryn Janeway, helmed the ship Voyager on her mission to make it home after getting hopelessly lost in space.

Star Trek had an even earlier agenda, trying to incorporate more women in sci-fi.

Most fans wouldn’t name Janeway their favorite Captain, but as the final ship leader of '90s Star Trek , she represents a great combination of diplomacy and communication that make her the best in some ways. Her mission didn’t let her be known for leading the Federation’s diplomatic core, but leading a lost crew for seven years, she may a favorite Captain among Starfleet crewmembers. Morale was her primary task over her journey, and through the series she made an impression by connecting with her shipmates on a more personal level than either Picard or Sisko.

6. CSI: ENTERPRISE

While it seems like every episode dealt with some kind of mystery, this meme honors the medical bay of the starship. DS9's Odo was the only formal lawman fans have seen in a major role. Usually, these kinds of human/scientific questions are taken up by the doctor of the ship. Everybody respects their doctor, but this show made a habit of elevating their physicians.

Drs. Crusher, Pulaski, Phlox, the EMH, and especially McCoy, have always been driving the human solutions of the scenarios encountered by the crew. In the original archetype, Dr. McCoy was labeled the pathos to Kirk’s ethos, and Spock’s logos, signifying his emotional response to each mission.

In later series, that passion isn’t toned down at all, just spread along an arc of logic and ethical thought as the Doctor’s problems often take up entire episodes.

5. KEEPING UP WITH THE CARDASSIANS

No one would have understood the reference at the time, but Keeping Up With The Cardassians would have been an appropriate title for the events of DS9 .

The series begins with Captain Sisko taking custody of the space station recently vacated by the occupying Cardassians.

DS9 goes on to tell the story of the continued presence of that race in the sector, their continuously evolving relationship with host species the Bajorans, and the role they play in local power dynamics.

Gul Dukat is a recurring antagonist of the space station, shifting from former captain, to supreme Cardassian commander, to rebellion leader. Garak, the other Cardassian most commonly seen on the show, is even more interesting - operating a clothing boutique on Deep Space 9, and acting as a double agent on the side.

4. ELEVEN OF NINE

Fans of Stranger Things may have noticed that the enigmatic super powered girl Eleven has a few things in common with Seven of Nine, the Voyager fan favorite. Both of them have had traumatic childhoods. Both were swept up by forces too big for them to understand when they were really young. For Eleven, it was the government and the experimental upside-down. For Seven, it was the Borg.

Both are hesitant to attempt fitting in at first, but they eventually make slow progress.

Seven’s arc across the last four seasons of Voyager gives a great look into the long term trauma recovery process and the importance of human connection. When she comes on the show, rescued from her Borg captivity, it’s almost impossible to see how she becomes a valued member of the crew. By the end, she becomes another positive example of female representation in the show.

3. AWESOME KIRK

Captain James Tiberius Kirk, played by the inimitable William Shatner, holds such a curious place in Star Trek lore. His version of the Captain during that original series is now considered a pop culture cornerstone. Considering how power dynamics in American technology and software industries have changed, it’s interesting to think about exactly how much impact Captain Kirk has had on the current state of masculinity.

Presumably, a huge portion of the little kids watching the show admired Kirk's character.

As this meme is quick to chime in, there’s a dark side to the bravado Kirk conducted himself with. Is it really a good idea for every man to measure themselves against a 1960s conception of a spaceship captain? Definitely not. But it’s also impossible to ignore the effect he had, even if his attitude toward women and his reluctance to opt for diplomacy before aggression tend to get swept under the rug.

2. OVERWHELMED?

Think you’ve got trouble? Try trifling with tribbles. So says this meme, referencing the original series episode and origin of this euphemism: "The Trouble With Tribbles". In this iconic episode, the Enterprise is tasked with a simple protection assignment that goes awry, and the mission is endangered by what seems like the silliest of tribulations.

As Star Trek is always quick to remind its fans, everyone has a hoard of tribbles of their own, storming through their lives at all times. The trick is how one reacts to them. In this episode, the tribbles had no malicious intent, no demands or end goal; they’d simply made their way onto the Enterprise , and began reproducing at an uncontrollable rate.

Worrying about problems never solved anything, so when feeling overwhelmed, look through the fluff to see the solution

1. ORVILLE V. DISCOVERY

A more generous reading of this meme doesn’t have to take a side in the The Orville vs. Star Trek: Discovery argument. Seth McFarlane’s The Orville is a satire, relevant today, that cloaks itself in the storytelling advantages of TNG . Discovery is an advance of the entire canon, an attempt to evolve the series to ride the mainstream of audiences today.

Both series could stand to make improvements in their second season, as all Star Trek shows normally do. The Orville could beef up its sci-fi storytelling, and commit to a reliable subplot instead of dancing around crew members. Discovery needs to fill viewers with more hope for Burnham’s journey. Without the moral balance, that version of Trek leans too closely to sensational action and fan service. Now fans have two dice to roll instead of one, so the future still looks as optimistic, as even TNG ever portrayed it.

Which memes brought back the most Star Trek nostalgia for you? Let us know in the comments!