What about the teenage genius who is able to save the day when older, more experienced people have no idea what to do?

I just have to say, I really REALLY want Sean Connery to come out of retirement just so he can play a Klingon now.

Most "Mad Scientists" are really just mad engineers. I mean, what hypothesis are they really trying to prove with that giant laser? Where are the controls to the experiment? And if the giant laser doesn't prove their hypothesis, are they prepared to revise the hypothesis and try again? Is the giant laser experiment going to be double-blinded?

"We shot World A with a giant laser, and World B with a giant flashlight. The populace of the worlds were not told which they would be shot with, and the people pulling the trigger did not know which device they were firing. Let's interview everyone and see the result. Is there a placebo effect for being shot with a giant flashlight? If so we should see a near 20% positive laser shot reaction in world B."

As far as the monocultural aliens go, well that's why they want to take over Earth all the time. Diversity is a rare challenge for a would be despot, and since all other sentient beings long ago worked out their differences, taking them over just isn't as fun. Multiculturalism is candy!

Re: The Monocultural Alien

This one always annoyed me too, what's worse is that 99.999% of all aliens look just like humans, but with either ridges or magnets on their foreheads. DC Comics has taken the monoculture concept one step farther and says that Earth is the only planet in the cosmos divided up by nations, like that’s plausible. Maybe your next list should be clichéd Sci-Fi themes: 1. In the future and in space, all cultures get along.

How about the overly-sexualized and scantily-clad female alien. A female alien who, no matter what planet she is from, has the curves and rack that would make a Victoria's Secret model blush?

Sure she's green, eats humans, speaks with clicks and grunts, but WOW check out those sponge puppies!!

My favorite Evil Twins were the Bizzaros from Sealab 2112. "Bizzaro! I'm helping! Bizzaro!"

The chain of inferiority:

Science Fiction
Sci-fi
Syfy

MST3K managed to showcase just about all of these cliches. I think the only ones they didn't get to was the genetically superior smug human beings and the Captain Ahab (unless you count Dr. Forrester's insane quest for the "White Whale" of bad movies).

The Animated Adventures of Gene Roddenberry's Star Trek episode entitled "The Magicks of Megas-Tu" focuses on Kirk defending The Devil during a Salem witch trial. He is specifically referred to being the Devil and Satan.

Where does the Baron Vladimir Harkonnen,encompasser of Atreides doom,fit into all this?

Shoulda gone whole hog and found all the Star Trek examples of each trope. 6/10 ain't bad though.

Number 5 as always annoyed me, though I've generally focused on the mono-geographical (not even sure that's right) planets. I hate all the 'desert planets' and 'ice planets' and so forth. As if nothing else can be as diverse in terrain as Earth. Ugh. It's just laziness on the part of the writer/creator.

Monocultural aliens are pretty horrible, too. It applies to a lot of Fantasy, too.

Got to agree about the 'teenager saves us all!' cliche that somebody else mentioned, too. That's easily one of the ones I hate most.

Oh, yeah, seriously. The Captain Ahab line of storytelling needs to go. It's officially every other Star Trek plot, even right up the the new movie. Which I still love BTW. But really, how many madmen are willing to sacrifice large chunks of the universe to chase petty and selfish means in the STU? It's pretty much everyone BUT the Federation.

About the accidental time tourist... it still pisses me off that the sci-fi world veered away from one of the originals: The Time Traveler (his name in the story) in H.G. Wells The Time Machine. Not only did he want to travel through time, but he built a machine to do it. Then, he had the chutzpah and tell stories to people about what he saw and did.

He also wasn't one of the obsessed scientists, either. The man had a dream and the know-how to make it happen. He admitted it was dangerous, that it could lead to personal sorrow, but that -- all-in-all -- he rather enjoyed his experiences.

This is what I love about Dr. Who. The guy or whatever he is whips around time and space all willy-nilly. Oh, the Doctor is marginally concerned about polluting the time continuum, but... not all the much in the end.

Finally, Terry Pratchett has the right of it with his "trousers of history" theory. No matter which leg one travels down whether it be in the past, present or future, history will work itself out. Plus, it also helps if you have a monastic order who is dedicated to keeping history intact and correct.

Just the other day I had a whole big long discussion with my Dad (college prof in anthropology and social sciences) about monocultural aliens. its globlization taken to its final end where all cultures and ethnic groups have blended together. Its predicted that us humans in several hundred years will mostly be light coco skined. so we always see these aliens after they've reached this point, which is kinda a bummer. i'd like to think that there were different cultures, that for some reason or other didn't make it... like the Vulcans engaging in ethnic cleansing of their neighbors before they went all super logical.

Dad argues that variation, if it isn't being expressed physically, then it must be at the genetic level. and that even the klingons demonstrate variation in skin tones that implies geographic adaptations to climates.

This from the same guy who says aliens probably come to earth for the cheap beer.

could not agree with this list more for sci fi seems with everything it does keeps using this list over and over again espically the robot being nuts or wanting to be more human. and the evil twin all done to death

I am officially using this list as a warning of things to avoid in future storylines in my comics! Man, now I have to start THINKING and being creative. Drat.

Scottish Klingons: play through Star Trek Bridge Commander and the Klingon who joins your crew half-way through is 100% Scottish.

Evil twins: genetics rules - if they're monozygotic twins, and one of them is evil then there should be a very high likelihood that the other one will also be evil.

Where must the line be drawn again?

Why is a Futurama pic used? I always thought Futurama parodied these cliches more than actually included them.

I never realized how much I saw the evil twin thing used all over the place. The KITT vs KARR episodes of Knight Rider were funny, but it got even worse when they had David Hasselhoff playing Garthe Knight (who was really just the Hoff wearing a fake goatee and talking like a bigger douchebag).

Non sequitir:

Nichelle Nichols was so fucking hot in that episode.

Good Lord *choke*

All these replies, and NOBODY mentions the 'game changer' in the Monoculture game?

Tuvok.

BLLLAAACK VULCAN!

discuss.

(Tuvok was one of the few good things about ST:Voyager. Yes I said it.)

Re: The Monocultural Alien

That was one of the things that I loved about the Star Fleet Battles-version of Star Trek--the Klingons Empire had "client races," other sapient species that had been conquered and incorporated into the Empire. Some of the even served as troops in the Klingon Empire's armed forces.

Many are the Slirdarian bear-ape shock troops and glorious are their battles! Qapla'!

I don't know if this counts for Sci Fi or not but one cliche I am so tired of is "The Company".

In far too many movies, there's always some organization of spooks and scientists, be it the government or firm or whatever, that wants to capture the sci fi character in question to study (though never just flat out kill it). E.T., Johnny Five, Bumblebee, Alien, Predator all had to deal with these assholes. No matter what else is going on, there's always that organization that wants to capture the creature and genually make life harder for our heroes.

Tom Baker should be the narrator of a new Doctor Who episode.

I would just like to point out the recognition of the beauty that is Dr. Pepper. Thank you.

I like the way planet of the apes handled "multiculti" issues; there were gorillas, and chimps and orangutans, etc and they all seemed to have their own "culture" if you will. i think it worked nicely.

One thing that is abused is 'The Mutation'
Often caused by tachyon particles or radiation or genetic experimentation.
Its down right annoying anymore. Make up some new problem or outcome of said experimentation, although any change in the basic structure of the control in said experimentation is by definition a mutation, but still.

I'm amused by Patrick Stewart being the prime example of the Captain Ahab type since he's actually played Captain Ahab in a Moby Dick movie. :)

I have to admit I love the evil twin. It's such a parody that no one takes seriously, so typically it's hilarious when it's done in a show or movie.

"Picard freaking out about how the Borg touched him in a bad way"

BWAHAHAHAHA!

I think one of the biggest cliches that irritated me is that humans are always the enlightened beings who are trying to get everyone else to play nice or are the little guys who are constantly getting their ass kicked, but win due to plucky nature and will to survive.

Why must we be the nice guys who are constantly trying to fix things? That really bugs me.

I'd just be happy to see a universe where hominids aren't the norm, and in fact, are unusual. It would be cool to see a series where every alien species is amazed that Earthlings managed to get as far as they did with only two manipulator limbs, or a completely lack of telekinetic ability, or other things that ARE "normal" in the space-faring community.

But where's the one-dimensional female character that is only there for sex appeal and can be replaced or killed off with the drop of a hat??

Wait. That transcends all genres, doesn't it?

Also, no love for the cliched Red Shirts?

"KHAAAAAAAN!!"

Someone had to say it.

Besides the Monocultural races, you also have the duocultrual races, with a society of two polar opposites, who in the end learn to get along

Wasn't there a Scottish Klingon in "How Much for Just the Planet?" I know there was the scene with them playing golf with Scotty and Chekhov, but I think there waa one of them that had an accent considered unusual amongst Klingons.

Of course, Ford's Klingons were about a billion times better than the VIKINGS IN SPAAAAAAAAACE Klingons we got from TNG on.

All these cliches and more brought to you by Star Trek.

Star Trek: Where no one has had an original idea for 40 years, and when they do everyone cries and wants it removed from canon.

Yeah I've always found it odd how many SCIENCE fiction treats science as EVIIIIIIIIIIIIILLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

Also you forgot the "Smug I'm better than humans, in everyway alien"

You forgot the Ancient Civilization of Super-Beings that died out or left for parts unknown but left behind insanely powerful weapons that might as well be magic.

Stargate's Ancients, Star Trek's Founders, Babylon 5's First Ones, the list goes on.

90% of aliens fit into the following categories:

1 The wise old ancients
2 The noble warriors
3 The rigid hive/caste society
4 The evil conquerers
5 The enigmatic recluses
6 The hard-bargaining traders
7 The eco-friendly spiritualists

There are more broad types, but the above seem to show up repeatedly (and to be fair, most of the races I've dreamed up fit these types as well).
For the most part, a truly alien race with its own inscrutable culture and motives doesn't always make for a good story.

How about that annoying genius teenager, who spends most of the series whining like a baby but then turns around and saves the day for some inexplicable reason...

There's got to be a thousand of those on tv right now.

The only sci-fi show I know that didn't do the "mono-cultured" alien thing was the Alien Nation TV Show. Those the aliens had been slaves, once freed, they practiced different religions and the such.