What tropes in science fiction annoy you?

Discussion in 'Science Fiction & Fantasy' started by Gingerbread Demon, Jul 21, 2018.

  1. Marsden

    Marsden Commodore Commodore

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    Marsden is very sad.
    Like Gwen Cooper in Torchwood: Miracle Day? I hated that too.
     
  2. suarezguy

    suarezguy Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    I don't like the mantra, mostly in comic books/fantasy but I think also sci fi, that if a hero kills one villain they become totally evil, unworthy of any respect, no better than the villains.

    Even if there's something to that (there is) going so far feels very condescending if not outright pretentious, trying to make some profound statement of something that largely is actually mostly a commercial restriction on the stories rather than an artistic decision. Plus most of the time it's just really unconvincing and so extreme it feels like a disingenuous response to the dilemma.
     
  3. Forbin

    Forbin Admiral Admiral

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    I said out, dammit!
    Shapeshifting aliens that can assume human form, which is obviously done to avoid having to put an actor in alien makeup for an entire TV series.
     
  4. Forbin

    Forbin Admiral Admiral

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    I said out, dammit!
    Corollary to that - our hero has just killed a couple of dozen henchmen, but when he's got the main villain in his sights, someone says "Don't do it - if you kill him, you'll be no better than him!" Um, but it was okay to slaughter his gang??
     
  5. Scout101

    Scout101 Admiral Admiral

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    to be fair, most of the henchmen didn't even have names, so were they really even people? ;)
     
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  6. Pauln6

    Pauln6 Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Nobody thinks of the evil henchmen's families.
     
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  7. stj

    stj Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    And on the subject of evil henchmen, I'm really tired of the trope where the evil henchmen are so eager to do their master's bidding, they will not only fight to the death, they will chase the heroes like lemmings rushing over a cliff.
     
  8. Trekker4747

    Trekker4747 Boldly going... Premium Member

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    Things that work or won't work a certain way because if it did, then it's be too much of an advantage/disadvantage for plot reasons.

    Example: Star Trek, Ships can't use weapons when cloaked.
     
  9. Mr. Laser Beam

    Mr. Laser Beam Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    That reminds me of this bit from the Superboy TV series.



    Really? The world goes to hell just because Superboy killed Luthor? How the HELL does that work? :confused:
     
  10. Greg Cox

    Greg Cox Admiral Premium Member

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    Hah!

    To be fair, though, the "Don't do it! moment often comes after the villain has been defeated, when he's at the hero's mercy. Said henchmen are usually killed in battle before the good guys win and when the outcome is still in doubt.

    It's usually not a case of "Well, let's spare the ringleader, but slaughter all his henchmen even though they've already surrendered . . .. "
     
    Last edited: Oct 11, 2018
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  11. Gingerbread Demon

    Gingerbread Demon I love Star Trek Discovery Premium Member

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    Said all the Bond henchmen from the Bond movies.....

    They fight to the death even when their boss is killed.
     
  12. Greg Cox

    Greg Cox Admiral Premium Member

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    I think it was "The World is Not Enough."
     
  13. Gingerbread Demon

    Gingerbread Demon I love Star Trek Discovery Premium Member

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    OK that was the other title I was thinking of thank you @Greg Cox .
     
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  14. The Borgified Corpse

    The Borgified Corpse Admiral Admiral

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    Ouch! Forgotten already? You were just down ther
    Turns out there's a correlation between technological development and kinky alien nudism! :evil:

    I think there's an ebb & flow to it. Regional cultural differences may become less pronounced but we've already seen the internet bring about a splintering of what we consider "pop" culture. Sub-cultures will probably become more pronounced. Predicting the rise of a monolithic culture certainly seems counterintuitive in an age where every day people are writing thinkpieces about how "We're more divided than ever!"

    I'm not even sure you can refer to Americans as being culturally "American." In my experience, the U.S. is really more like 5 separate countries that are just kinda tied together politically.
     
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  15. The Borgified Corpse

    The Borgified Corpse Admiral Admiral

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    Ouch! Forgotten already? You were just down ther
    As for the rapidly aging kid trope, I like the extreme example of Connor on Angel where he went from infant to surly teenager within the span of a few episodes thanks to a Hell Dimension. It seemed like a pisstake on the whole concept.

    And there was another TV trope that Connor embodied after he left at the end of Season 4-- A regular character leaves and is never mentioned again, as if no one else even remembers he ever existed. In this case, it was literal. Except for Angel, everyone's memories of Connor were completely erased.
    Buffy did the opposite with Dawn in Season 5-- A new character joins the regular cast and everyone acts as if she's always been there. Again, it was literal. Everyone's memories were literally altered thanks to magic.
     
  16. Greg Cox

    Greg Cox Admiral Premium Member

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    Heck, you can get different sub-cultures within the same region. Just drive from a big college town to a small rural community (or vise versa) and you can feel the difference sometimes.
     
  17. Samurai8472

    Samurai8472 Admiral Admiral

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    Ah. Since "Lifeforce" is on Amazon Prime that reminds me. Mathilda May. YOW!


    Alien's that arrive on earth to procreate. Usually they start off naked and some homeless person is the first one to suffer the consequences.
     
  18. Nyotarules

    Nyotarules Vice Admiral Moderator

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    They do it so their loved ones can get the million dollar life insurance money lol
     
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  19. JD

    JD Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    I just remembered another one, a hero with a mysterious past who turns out to have a connection to the big bad that makes them the only one who can defeat them.
     
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  20. Nyotarules

    Nyotarules Vice Admiral Moderator

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    Yeah I rolled my eyes at Spectre