You did better than me. I saw the original Star Wars in the theater and hated it more as it went along mostly because I’m too darned realistic when it comes to outer space. It drove me crazy to see star fighters bank to change directions in a vacuum where there’s no air to push on. The armament and planetary destruction were also awfully noisy with nothing out there to carry the sound. I never watched Alien, but I liked its tag line: In space, no one can hear you scream.

For those reasons and more I also never liked Star Trek. I saw as many of those as I did because when I was in the military everyone else insisted on having the TVs welded to the channel showing Star Trek rather than other programs. That’s when I heard stirring dialog that when something like, “More power, Mr. Scott! We’re falling out of orbit!” To which I practically screamed at the screen, “You idiots! What kind of orbit are you in?” The whole purpose of an orbit is that you don’t need power. Step on the gas, and you leave the planet. Hit the brakes, and you’re in for a fiery demise — although one even more unforgivable episode had the Enterprise hovering among the clouds.

A final gripe is seemingly instant communications across the galaxy. It takes about 14 minutes to send a message one way from Earth to Mars. Watch the news as reporters deal with a second or two delay talking with each others as signals are relayed among satellites. Maybe future space communications with be based on entanglements, which would be instantaneous, and that would be neat. However, the only entanglements I see right now are those battling fundamental physics.

That’s why I’m not a fan of Star Trek or Star Wars science fiction. At the same time, dialog stoked for Hollywood aside, I have seen Apollo 13 many times and will likely catch it again. Give Ron Howard super bonus points for realism. For me, fact is more fun and less aggravating than fiction.