Hatrack River Forum: The Grand List of Overused Science Fiction Clichés

This is topic The Grand List of Overused Science Fiction Clichés in forum Books, Films, Food and Culture at Hatrack River Forum.

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Posted by James Tiberius Kirk (Member # 2832) on :

Heheh. Apologies if this has been posted before (I did check). Some of my favorites:

quote:
Bad guys who miss everything they shoot at.

The artificial gravity is the last system of all to fail.

Laser guns have recoil.

The alien forces are dependent on the mothership, such that destroying the mothership disables them.

Every planet seems to have a surface gravity of 9.8 meters per second squared and rotates around its axis in about 24 hours, just like Earth.

A smart, courageous, gorgeously attractive woman who is rarely if ever asked out.

A fighter pilot, upon destroying an alien vessel, yells "yeeeeeeee-haaaaaaa!"

http://enphilistor.users4.50megs.com/cliche.htm

--j_k

[ April 30, 2005, 11:39 AM: Message edited by: James Tiberius Kirk ]

Posted by Morbo (Member # 5309) on :

I always laughed at some Star Trek (original series) cliches--almost all the aliens are humanoid, and many even wanted to mate with Kirk!

And almost all of them spoke English.

edit: I posted before I went to the link. Wow, it's encyclopedic!

[ April 30, 2005, 12:04 PM: Message edited by: Morbo ]

Posted by Morbo (Member # 5309) on :

quote:
73. Children with access to the highest levels of military planning, scientific research, and governmental decision-making.

LOL

It has a red x with it:

quote:
The red cross marks those items which flatly contradict the known laws of nature, introduce an irreconcilable contradiction, require the characters involved to have the IQ of a banana peel, or are abysmally stupid for some other reason.

Posted by James Tiberius Kirk (Member # 2832) on :

quote:
Most aliens breathe oxygen, just like humans do.

The timer count-down on the Bad Guy Device being stopped by the hero with bare seconds left.

Away teams going on dangerous missions are comprised of irreplaceable members of the ship's crew, such as the captain, medical chief, chief engineer, etc. Expendible flunkies are left behind to mind the store.

--j_k

Posted by Morbo (Member # 5309) on :

Yeah, I often laughed when the Captain and 1st Officer left the ship together on dangerous missions.

quote:
Expendible flunkies are left behind to mind the store.

Don't forget the expendible flunky they would bring along to get fried by an alien in Act 2!

At a Science Fiction Worldcon a dealer had a red Star Fleet security shirt with a huge bullseye, an homage to those bit players that died before the second commercial break.

edit:III 67. The lowest-ranking members of any mission team are doomed.

[ April 30, 2005, 01:05 PM: Message edited by: Morbo ]

Posted by Narnia (Member # 1071) on :

"I died...in episode 81!" [Big Grin]

Posted by Morbo (Member # 5309) on :

[Smile]

I like that movie a lot.

Posted by Teshi (Member # 5024) on :

The key is: Which of these apply to Firefly?

Posted by Morbo (Member # 5309) on :

Good question Teshi.
Let's see, the Captain often leaves the ship...but it has a tiny crew, not 400+ like the Enterprise.

Posted by Teshi (Member # 5024) on :

I'm going down the list, and there's pratically none. Post some if you find them.

Posted by Morbo (Member # 5309) on :

18. Each and every character has a tainted history?

Posted by Morbo (Member # 5309) on :

22.Any character with a perpetual two-day growth of beard.
Well, that's a general TV/movie cliche, not just sci-fi.

Posted by jebus202 (Member # 2524) on :

I like the way all sci-fi shows have recognised universal up and down directions in space for all species.

Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :

Well, we ALL know the enemies gate is...

Nevermind....

[ April 30, 2005, 03:44 PM: Message edited by: Kwea ]

Posted by Dobbie (Member # 3881) on :

Two things that really bother me about science fiction.
1.People who put effort into inventing fictitious alien languages.
2.Aliens who always seem to miraculously speak English.

Posted by romanylass (Member # 6306) on :

[ROFL]

That's why we love Star Trek; it offends almost all of these. I could easily go through with a TARDIS symbol, too, and maybe a little lightsaber.

Posted by romanylass (Member # 6306) on :

[ROFL]

That's why we love Star Trek; it offends almost all of these. I could easily go through with a TARDIS symbol, too, and maybe a little lightsaber.

Posted by Alcon (Member # 6645) on :

*rolls eyes* He just listed most avalible plot lines that exist in science fiction and end happily. Come on, there are only so many basic plot lines that can be written. Yeah, I'm sure there are more, but come on. Most of the plot lines he mentions I've only seen once or twice, and they weren't done badly. This guy needs to give SF a break.

I do love how Star Trek is guilty of almost all of them though [Big Grin]

Thats the problem with inventing most of them [Razz]

[ April 30, 2005, 05:28 PM: Message edited by: Alcon ]

Posted by James Tiberius Kirk (Member # 2832) on :

*grin* Yeah, after reading this, I could eliminate pretty much every work of science fiction I've ever read. However, some stories use certain clichés better than others.

--j_k