Leonard Nimoy in Star Trek.

I probably stand a good chance of finding my car tyres slashed after I write this, but I may be one of the very, very few people who never quite got the reason behind all the hype surrounding Star Wars.

I’m sure that coming from someone who writes a pop culture column, this statement has managed to shock you right off your morning breakfast.

Go ahead, shake your head in disapproval. Mock my tastes. But the truth remains that the George Lucas franchise – and this latter word should give you a hint as to why I never completely warmed to the set – is pretty much just another sci-fi movie in my book.

Before you start getting out the feathers and the tar, I hasten to add that yes I am very well aware of the reasons that make the original Star Wars a pretty groundbreaking offering as movies of the day went.

The special effects were considered ‘wild’ for the late 1970s. This was the first time that a movie was professionally marketed as a blockbuster. It was Lucas who kicked off the merchandising trend (though how this benefits the end consumer, besides by making him spend inordinate amounts of money on useless stuff, still escapes me) and to date Star Wars is referenced in scores of other movies. In short, it pretty much did for sci-fi movies what Tolkien did for fantasy literature.

Which is not to say that I’m in love with it. In the same way that I find Tolkien’s style boring and long-winded (go on, get the tarring brushes out), I find that Star Wars was great for its day but there really is no excuse to keep flogging the dead horse, book, movie or whatever.

In case you’re wondering, this whole rant comes courtesy of an ‘argument’ I had with a close friend earlier this week. “You’re not nuts about Star Wars? I thought you were! You’re no friend of mine.” End of argument.

The argument, in turn, cropped up when said friend suggested re-watching, for the umpteenth time, the BluRay edition that was released a couple of years ago.

Still, being the good friend that I am, I obliged. And yes, I could have chosen worse ways to spend my free time, but I still refuse to be blinded by the supposed awesomeness that is Star Wars.

I still refuse by to be blinded by the supposed awesomeness that is Star Wars

Maybe part of my diffidence is because I belong to Team Star Trek as opposed to Team Star Wars. And by Star Trek, I mean the series, not the later movies that were quite okay but not a patch on the originals.

Sure, the effects in the movies are way sexier, but for sheer story intensity all five seasons in the series (I don’t count the animated version) win hands down. My favourite, believe it or not, is the very original, with William Shatner in the role of Captain Kirk. Yes. I’m a strange animal.

If we’re being honest in our Star Wars/Star Trek comparisons, Captain Kirk – and his successor Captain Picard – were way cooler than Luke or even Anakin Skywalker.

The only cool thing Star Wars had going for it was the presence of Harrison Ford in the role of Han Solo and he was only there for three of the movies anyway.

As for Darth Vader’s trademark badassery, I raise a peaceful five fingers in Vulcan salute.

ramona.depares@timesofmalta.com