The Grand List of Overused Science Fiction Clichés/Section III: Overused story events and plot devices

Section III: Overused Story Events and Plot Devices

 * 1) McCormick Sleep.svgDelta-shield.svg Discussions, ending with a joke, about how bureaucracies are the same everywhere in the galaxy.
 * 2) McCormick Sleep.svgDelta-shield.svg The most intelligent course of action is precluded by orders from a high-ranking ignoramus, on the basis of a transparently flawed rationale.
 * 3) McCormick Sleep.svgDelta-shield.svg Technological malfunction as a plot device.
 * 4) McCormick Sleep.svg The timer count-down on the Bad Guy Device being stopped by the hero with bare seconds left.
 * 5) McCormick Sleep.svg Alien contact is perceived or regarded as a spiritual/quasi-religious experience.
 * 6) McCormick Sleep.svgDelta-shield.svg Aliens who are vastly more intelligent and advanced than we are, but we beat them anyway by "ingenuity," plain guts, or exploiting an Achilles' Heel.
 * 7) Vraagteken.svg A teenage genius discovers an entire new field of science, and builds practical devices that use it, in his bedroom.
 * 8) Pig icon 05.svg The psychological trauma/attitude problem of female character is cured (or at least temporarily relieved) by a Dose of Good Luvin' from the hero.
 * 9) Bull icon 05.svgDelta-shield.svg Persons of different species interbreed without difficulty.
 * 10) McCormick Sleep.svgDelta-shield.svg The author lectures the viewer/reader; the lecture takes the form of a Platonic Dialogue between two characters, or of the Cosmic Message from the Ultra-enlightened Aliens to the Great Unwashed Human Masses.
 * 11) Vraagteken.svgDelta-shield.svg A conspiracy develops, involving lots of people, and remains secret for an extended period of time.
 * 12) McCormick Sleep.svg The author attempts to wittily euphemize the phrase "go screw yourself" by referring to it as "a physiologically impossible act".
 * 13) Vraagteken.svgDelta-shield.svg The availability of firearms notwithstanding, swordfighting returns as a significant method of combat.
 * 14) McCormick Sleep.svgDelta-shield.svg A Big Surprise awaits the reader/viewer at the end of the tale:
 * 15) The Barbaric Society is really post-cataclysmic Western civilization.
 * 16) The man and woman who flee from a doomed civilization and start rebuilding on the third planet of a medium-sized yellow star are named Adam and Eve.
 * 17) The alien children, slaves, or pets are really the parents, masters, or owners.
 * 18) The head of Terran government is a disguised Bad Guy or is under direct control of the Bad Guys.
 * 19) A major figure in the conflict is really another major figure in disguise.
 * 20) The Kindly Benevolent Aliens are neither.
 * 21) The reputedly inhospitable Outdoors is not only inhabitable, but markedly better.
 * 22) It was All Just a Dream/game/simulation.
 * 23) The alien threat was just a hoax to unite humanity.
 * 24) An ancient civilization was actually founded by space aliens.
 * 25) A major historical figure (Jesus, Einstein, Lincoln, Elvis) was really a space alien.
 * 26) The apparently-human leader of the robot/cyborg army is also a robot or cyborg, and this becomes apparent when his/her/its "skin" falls off.
 * 27) McCormick Sleep.svgDelta-shield.svg Telepaths use their power to achieve a heightened sexual experience.
 * 28) Green tick.svg Telepaths are regarded as witches or lunatics, and are dealt with accordingly.
 * 29) Green tick.svgDelta-shield.svg Inherited supernatural power (telepathy, lycanthropy, etc.) becomes pronounced at the onset of puberty.
 * 30) Vraagteken.svg Humans leave for the stars, forget all about Earth, and rediscover it later.
 * 31) Vraagteken.svg No matter how slowly the monster shambles along, or how quickly the victim runs, the monster is always right behind the victim when she/he trips or encounters an obstacle.
 * 32) Pig icon 05.svg When fleeing danger, females trip over their own shadows while men can sprint without caution.
 * 33) Green tick.svgDelta-shield.svg An alien artifact imbues human(s) with incredible abilities.
 * 34) Bull icon 05.svg A fighter pilot, upon destroying an alien vessel, yells "yeeeeeeee-haaaaaaa!"
 * 35) Bull icon 05.svg The time traveller helps the future society mellow out by introducing music from his period.
 * 36) McCormick Sleep.svgDelta-shield.svg Time travellers go back in time to prevent some Bad Thing from happening and in the process actually cause the Bad Thing to happen.
 * 37) Bull icon 05.svgDelta-shield.svg Time travellers go back in time to prevent some Bad Thing from happening; they succeed, but cause something worse to happen.
 * 38) Bull icon 05.svg When a player gets "killed" in a virtual reality simulation, they also die in real life.
 * 39) Bull icon 05.svg A war gets started over a stupid misunderstanding between two sides that otherwise have no reason to fight, and no effort is made to resolve the crisis diplomatically.
 * 40) Bull icon 05.svgDelta-shield.svg The two opponents in a war have been fighting for so long that they've forgotten how the war got started in the first place, but no effort is made to resolve the crisis diplomatically.
 * 41) Bull icon 05.svgDelta-shield.svg The two opponents in a war have been fighting for decades/centuries/millenia; the main characters end the war peacefully in a matter of days or hours.
 * 42) McCormick Sleep.svgDelta-shield.svg Humans have a special quality that makes us unique, so that even superbeings can learn something from us.
 * 43) McCormick Sleep.svgDelta-shield.svg A pet survives the disaster, and is discovered at the end of the story.
 * 44) Bull icon 05.svg So-called elite forces get their butts kicked by a smaller, less well-armed force.
 * 45) Vraagteken.svg A scientist develops an AI computer system that can understand natural language and draw inductive conclusions from incomplete data, and uses it on projects far less practical and/or profitable than such a computer would be.
 * 46) Bull icon 05.svgDelta-shield.svg Someone gets healed by contact with aliens (often by a laying on of hands).
 * 47) Vraagteken.svgDelta-shield.svg The greedy businessman refuses to recognize that his dangerous product/service will screw him over long before he can hope to make a profit.
 * 48) Racism icon-fr.svgDelta-shield.svg The monster kills/eats the token black guy first.
 * 49) McCormick Sleep.svgDelta-shield.svg Explorers are greeted as gods by the natives, who cling to this belief in spite of everything the explorers do and say.
 * 50) McCormick Sleep.svgDelta-shield.svg An alien custom throws humans into confusion, even though one or more human cultures share the custom and have followed it for centuries.
 * 51) Racism icon-fr.svg Low-brow white male human bar patron of the future spouts bigoted remarks that wouldn't be tolerated today, while protagonists look on in silent dismay at the "dark side" of the human race.
 * 52) Bull icon 05.svg A person's physical impairments vanish when they are possessed by the Alien Entity.
 * 53) Vraagteken.svgDelta-shield.svg A technologically advanced race conquers a technologically inferior race, and puts them to work doing things that the conqueror's machines can do far more efficiently.
 * 54) Bull icon 05.svg The gang of cute and/or misfit kids rescue the universe, where a large group of competent, organized and well-armed adults failed.
 * 55) Vraagteken.svgDelta-shield.svg The aliens' plan to exterminate the human race is stopped at the last moment when they notice a human exhibiting some virtue, such as love, humor, etc.
 * 56) McCormick Sleep.svg A fellow has Super Powers, but can only use them when he is emotionally agitated.
 * 57) Vraagteken.svgDelta-shield.svg The protagonists destroy the entire social structure and governmental system of the society they encounter, and only a few old fuddy-duddies complain.
 * 58) McCormick Sleep.svgDelta-shield.svg A problem involving an alien is resolved in a manner dependent on the unusual and heretofore-unknown location of the alien's reproductive organs.
 * 59) Bull icon 05.svg The human abdomen is an ideal incubator for Alien Eggs/Spawn, and this has no apparent effect on the host until the Alien Spawn erupts from their stomach in a messy fashion.
 * 60) Vraagteken.svgDelta-shield.svg No matter how large a ship is, any monster let loose on board will learn its way around in an hour's time, enabling it to sneak up behind its victims without fail.
 * 61) Pig icon 05.svg A female antagonist changes sides after receiving a Dose of Good Luvin' from the hero.
 * 62) Bull icon 05.svgDelta-shield.svg The crewmember who is Brainwashed or otherwise subverted into sabotaging/betraying the ship is allowed to return to duty, with no concerns that they remain a security risk.
 * 63) McCormick Sleep.svg Resolving the imminent threat to mankind requires that the drunken has-been get sober.
 * 64) Pig icon 05.svg A high-ranking matriarch, in a society that oppresses men, falls for the Hero's rugged charms.
 * 65) Vraagteken.svgDelta-shield.svg A crewmember has a radical change of personality, but the few people who notice don't seem particularly bothered by it.
 * 66) Vraagteken.svgDelta-shield.svg Human spies are sent to infiltrate an alien society in order to better understand it.
 * 67) Vraagteken.svg When the Evil Overlord dies, none of his surviving henchmen move into the power vacuum; instead, his empire collapses.
 * 68) McCormick Sleep.svg The Good Guys, after a setback, launch their counterattack with the help of members of a Rastafarian-like culture.
 * 69) McCormick Sleep.svgDelta-shield.svg The death of the Bad Guy involves a long fall.
 * 70) McCormick Sleep.svg At some point the protagonists must enter a hostile region called The Forbidden Zone.
 * 71) McCormick Sleep.svgDelta-shield.svg When the Heroes destroy the computer that runs an entire society, it's considered a good thing for the members of that society.
 * 72) Vraagteken.svgDelta-shield.svg When an ordinary crewmember transforms into the Enlightened Being of Cosmic Power, he departs the scene instead of staying around to help out his still-human buddies.
 * 73) Bull icon 05.svgDelta-shield.svg A society of humans adopts an artificial means of reproduction (such as cloning), forgets about sex and intimacy, and has to learn about it at some later point.
 * 74) Vraagteken.svgDelta-shield.svg Any weapon can be picked up and used by anyone, no matter how lacking they are in training and/or upper-body strength.
 * 75) Vraagteken.svg When defeat is imminent, it is avoided by a strategem, tactic, or weapon that could just as easily been used at the start of the fight.
 * 76) Vraagteken.svgDelta-shield.svg 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. Expendable flunkies are left behind to mind the store.
 * 77) Green tick.svgDelta-shield.svg Time travel from the future into modern times winds up in the year of the show's production.
 * 78) Green tick.svg Any class of people having superpowers will be persecuted by normal humanity.
 * 79) Vraagteken.svgDelta-shield.svg The lowest-ranking members of any mission team are doomed.
 * 80) Vraagteken.svgDelta-shield.svg A starship captain disobeys a direct order from a superior. When the dust settles, he's still a starship captain.
 * 81) McCormick Sleep.svg The episode ends with the two arch-enemies playing a game of chess.
 * 82) Vraagteken.svg Malignant aliens land in densely-populated regions, and are instantly targeted by a criminal (who is fatally defeated). Benevolent aliens land in the boondocks.
 * 83) Bull icon 05.svgDelta-shield.svg After a remonstration from the Good Guys, the Great Dictator confesses that he was merely trying to keep order, and reforms.
 * 84) Vraagteken.svgDelta-shield.svg The possessed human exhibits superhuman strength.
 * 85) McCormick Sleep.svgDelta-shield.svg The crewman in the leaky spacesuit is rescued with seconds of air to spare.
 * 86) McCormick Sleep.svgDelta-shield.svg The stranded heroes come across a crashed space vessel. The ship is returned to a serviceable condition after only a little bit of repair work.
 * 87) Vraagteken.svgDelta-shield.svg The characters in the distant future are interested in the period of Earth history during which the story was written.
 * 88) Bull icon 05.svg The time-traveler gets only one chance to change the past or the future, instead of repeating the trip as many times as necessary.
 * 89) Vraagteken.svgDelta-shield.svg In spite of chronic crewmember deaths and a complete lack of new personnel, there is no lack of manpower.
 * 90) McCormick Sleep.svgDelta-shield.svg Cryogenically frozen people are never thawed on schedule. They are either revived way, way too early or way, way afterwards.
 * 91) Vraagteken.svg The conquering aliens are dependent on a very rare resource to maintain their empire. Earth has some of it.

Tropers' additions to this list

 * 1) Overused time travel cliches:
 * 2) Bull icon 05.svg Travelers to the future get in trouble, and people in the present race against time to save them (which makes no sense since they have at least their own lifetimes to plan the rescue.)
 * 3) Someone finds a note written by their future selves.
 * 4) On returning to the present, the travelers find evidence that their trip already happened.
 * 5) The future keeps getting worse the farther you go.
 * 6) Even accidental trips to the past never go farther back than the dinosaurs.
 * 7) The number of ancestors met on a trip to the past is directly correlated to the number of the team sent.
 * 8) When traveling to the past, you are guaranteed to meet someone the average American aged 18–35 has heard of. Some guaranteed celebrities:
 * 9) Year 30: Jesus.
 * 10) 800-1200 AD: King Arthur.
 * 11) 1600's: Shakespeare.
 * 12) 1800's: Jack the Ripper, Sherlock Holmes/Arthur Conan Doyle.
 * 13) 1940: Hitler, Winston Churchill
 * 14) No matter how far forward or back you go, you always end up in the same geographic spot, ignoring movement of geological plates and Earth itself.
 * 15) World War 3 was/will be a historical fact.
 * 16) Racism icon-fr.svg Regardless of the time, everybody speaks English and if humans are still the ruling class, Caucasian. Brown people are still poor.
 * 17) The time you traveled from will be viewed as either a) a land of technological wizardry (for the past,) or b) a shameful time of ignorance, racism, and bigotry (for the future.)
 * 18) Newspapers you find will always give you the exact date of your arrival, and are usually found within seconds of arriving.
 * 19) Time travelers, on their first trip, usually have a bubble of safety that prevents their immediate death for at least a day or two.
 * 20) On trips after the first, it is usual to appear in the middle of a pitched battle or be attacked by natives.
 * 21) It is impossible to prevent the damage, theft, or energy loss of the time machine. However, two out of the three can never occur simultaneously, e.g. it is never damaged after being stolen.
 * 22) If the timeline can be changed, it's a comedy.
 * 23) If the timeline can't be changed, it's a tragedy.
 * 24) Bull icon 05.svg Nobody uses drugs in the future or past.
 * 25) It is always assumed that "naturally," once time travel is discovered, it will be two-way.
 * 26) Meeting yourself in the past is always considered "A Very Bad Thing." Rationale will vary though, with a 75% chance of invoking one of the Laws of Thermodynamics. For works after 1991, there is a 50% chance of "the butterfly effect" and/or "chaos theory" being the rationale.