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RoundRobin Since: Jun, 2018
7th Feb, 2020 06:54:52 AM

I commented out the entry in question and left an edit reason saying the the tropers involved in the dispute should work it out between themselves. I didn't report the incident because I hoped it'd get resolved without mod intervention; I hope that wasn't a mistake on my part.

I haven't seen Picard yet, so I don't have a horse in this race and I can't really comment on whether the examples are valid or not.

- Fly, robin, fly! - ...I'm trying!
Ambaryerno Since: Aug, 2011
7th Feb, 2020 07:31:03 AM

I don't even know what "dispute" I'm in. I removed those entries once and I'm edit-warring? WTFH?

The two shows are not dealing with the same themes. The anti-droid plot isn't even the plot in Mandalorian. It's the characterization of the Mandalorian himself, but has very little to do with the overall story arc. Whereas the anti-synth storyline is the very heart of Picard. There's no evidence that the Child is directly connected to Yoda in anything other than species and Force affinity, whereas Dahj and Soji are literally Data's daughters. And what "familiar character" is in Mandalorian? Not one character has ever appeared in any media before, and at best are an Expy or Suspiciously Similar Substitute. Whereas Picard is dealing with characters (Picard, Seven, Hugh, Data, Maddox, Riker, Troi, etc.) who have appeared across multiple previous series and media.

About the only thing they have in common is being streaming service Sci-Fi series.

Edited by Ambaryerno
RoundRobin Since: Jun, 2018
7th Feb, 2020 08:14:11 AM

^ Cool your jets there. You're not edit-warring, Batman is. You were called here because we need to deal with this before it becomes a problem.

Take the time to present your arguments in a less in-your-face manner so that everyone who reads this thread and isn't familiar with one or both these works can formulate an opinion.

- Fly, robin, fly! - ...I'm trying!
Ambaryerno Since: Aug, 2011
7th Feb, 2020 10:05:40 AM

My apologies. I'm a little peeved because Batman decided to contact me directly and accuse me as such.

Anyway to break it down in more detail:

"Anti-Droid Plot"

In Picard, a fundamental aspect of the show's plot is that synthetics have been banned in the Federation after the Mars incident. Additionally, the Zhat Vash, a Romulan cadre explicitly out to wipe out all synthetic life in the galaxy, are the primary antagonists. So the question of the place of synthetics in the Federation is an inherent part of the series itself, with the advanced synthetic Soji being the main catalyst for all sides.

In Mandalorian, the only real anti-synthetic prejudice we see is in respects to Mando's characterization, and even that appears to have been addressed by the end of the first season with IG-11's sacrifice. Other than Mando's position, very few characters demonstrate any outright prejudice against droids (at least nothing more intense than what has already been established for the universe, where they're generally treated like second-class citizens). They're ubiquitous as laborers throughout the setting, and more or less just there.

"Familiar Characters"

Picard features several characters who have appeared in previous installments of the franchise. Picard himself, Hugh, Data, Riker, and Troi all appeared in TNG, with Bruce Maddox from the same series being a fundamental part of the myth arc. The series also includes Seven of Nine from Voyager.

However Mandalorian features no characters who appeared in a previous iteration of Star Wars. Its connections to past shows are ultimately derived from its setting (X-wings, the Darksaber, IG-series droids, etc.) Mando is at most a Suspiciously Similar Substitute of Boba Fett (also, likely The Artifact since the show began as a Boba Fett series).

"Family Connections"

In Picard, Soji and Dahj are explicitly indicated to be Data's "daughters," based on Maddox's correspondence with and work with Data. Maddox based their appearances on one of Data's paintings, and Picard believes that Maddox may have used parts of Data's personality engrams in developing them.

The idea that the Child in The Mandalorian is pure Fanon. They are the same species, and they are both Force-sensitive, but no one in the show has made any direct connection between the two characters. Quite the opposite, the only character who has any inkling of what the Child is was the Armorer, and even she only knew vague stories about the Jedi, and certainly not enough to connect the Child to Yoda himself.

At most I could see the argument for Fandom Rivalry simply because of the rivalry that already exists between Star Wars and Star Trek, however that is something that would be a better fit for the Franchise pages for the respective overall series.

I would also call into question how well Dueling Shows even applies to streaming-based content now that it's trivial for someone to watch both (contrast, for example, Firefly and Farscape, which aired opposite one another in the same time slot on two different networks)

Willbyr MOD (Y2K)
7th Feb, 2020 11:46:59 AM

Suspended them over the edit warring.

Ambaryerno Since: Aug, 2011
7th Feb, 2020 11:50:08 AM

Do we have a consensus, then, on removing Dueling Shows from those pages?

Ghilz Since: Jan, 2001
7th Feb, 2020 12:16:24 PM

Yeah that entry seems dumb

RoundRobin Since: Jun, 2018
7th Feb, 2020 12:22:53 PM

^^ Yes, Kill It with Fire. As you said, the "similarities" are superficial at best.

- Fly, robin, fly! - ...I'm trying!
HighCrate Since: Mar, 2015
7th Feb, 2020 01:54:36 PM

I agree with deleting the entry.

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