In 1977, George Lucas’ filmStar Wars hit theaters and met instant popularity and critical acclaim. The following year, another science fiction story was released—tv series Battlestar Galactica and its pilot film Saga of a Star World.Since then, countless super-nerds (among them the author and her browncoat, toaster, trekker, and Jedi comrades) have deliberated the merits and flaws of the two stories, observing similarities and debating which has greater value. Such discussion was not long limited to the realm of sci-fi fanaticism; the debate promptly entered the courtroom in Twentieth Century Fox v. MCA Inc., et. al., a case requiring the court to decide whether Battlestar had stolen ideas created by Star Wars.