Complex Numbers

You-niverse

PROMPT January 7th

What movie universe would be the best to live out the rest of your life in?

Oooh, good question. Haven't really thought about it. For me, fiction is fun but I don't imagine myself living there. So let's think about some of the more popular cinematic universes. Some of these might not meet the strict definition. I don't care. I figure if there's more than one movie (and/or TV show) that have continuity with each other, they count.

Marvel. This is the obvious choice, really, but it has major downsides, including the ever-present threat of godlike beings messing around with Earth. One could argue that this is what the heroes are for, but on the other hand, I'd hate to be between, say, Hulk and whatever Hulk wants to smash. So... pass.

Star Wars. Upside: Space travel, cool outfits. Downside: Ewoks, Sith, Space Fascists, and whateverthefuck JarJar was. Pass.

James Bond. Fun if you're an elegant, martini-swilling spy with cool gadgets. Not so much fun if said spy ever fails and some villain takes over the world. So, nope.

Harry Potter. You know, if you think about it, this might be the most ill-conceived universe after Twilight (which is itself a hard pass). So much of the "wizards are operating in secret" thing doesn't make logical sense unless you figure they're Jedi-mind-tricking everyone on a regular basis, and I don't want my mind messed with like that.

DC Extended Universe. Same problem as their traditional rival, Marvel, see above, with the added downside of really spotty writing. No.

The Matrix. Hell no. We have enough problems in our own world with people thinking we're living in a simulation.

John Wick. No. Hey, don't get me wrong; I love those movies but I wouldn't want to live in one.

Doctor Who. Only if I get to be a companion. All of time and space.

Star Trek. This one may be a bit of a cheat, since it's meant to be not an alternate universe but a future-us. And it started out as TV only, but more than enough movies have been made for it to count as a cinematic universe. And the upsides are plentiful: a post-scarcity society with warp drive, transporters, advanced medical science, and a unified humanity. So this is a real contender, for me. On the downside, though, you also have powerful aliens deciding to mess up Earth's day on a regular basis, just like in the MCU. I wouldn't mind living in the Trek universe. Preferably the original timeline, not the Kelvin one.

Also, coincidentally, on my current run-through of all the Star Trek episodes / films in chronological order of release, I'm approaching the end of Season 5 of TNG. One of the greatest Trek episodes -- hell, one of the greatest TV episodes -- of all time, in my opinion at least, was The Inner Light. In it, Picard, because of some alien technology, appears to experience the rest of his life on a different world (while he's passed out on the Bridge -- it makes sense in the context of the episode). I just had to mention this here because I was watching it when this prompt came up, and Picard actually got to do what we're talking about, albeit not of his own volition.

But I think the winner, for me, is the cinematic universe created by Kevin Smith: The View Askewniverse. It's a lot like our own universe, but with a lot more comedy and nerdy reference jokes.

Nootch.