Alien Hair: Difference between revisions

3,813 bytes added ,  2 months ago
no edit summary
m (Mass update links)
No edit summary
 
(10 intermediate revisions by 4 users not shown)
Line 4:
When humanoid aliens on TV have hair, it almost always falls into one of the following styles:
 
*# '''"Generic Humanoid" Hair:''' Almost always included a recessed hairline to show off the [[Rubber Forehead Aliens|rubber forehead]], which on [[Cute Monster Girl|female characters meant to be attractive]] is usually only slightly bumpy. Also almost always assumes that Aliens Have No Eyebrows, as is frequently the case in ''[[Star Trek]]'' and in ''[[Babylon 5]]''. If this type of alien does have eyebrows, they will be [[Unusual Eyebrows|unusually shaped]] (probably swept-up Romulan-style). The hair can be and frequently is any color.
*# '''"Klingon" Hair-:''' varies Varies from long and thinning (Malons from ''[[Star Trek: Voyager|Voyager]]'') to long, full and luxuriant (Worf, [[Green-Skinned Space Babe|Green Skinned Space Babes]] from ''[[Star Trek: The Original Series|TOS]]'') to long, full and mangy or unkempt (Martok, other Klingons, Nausicaans, Kazon). Again, the hairline is recessed to show off the [[Rubber Forehead Aliens|craggy forehead ridges]]. Almost always [[Hair Colors|brown or black hair]]. May or may not come with eyebrows and/or facial hair.
*# '''"Romulan/Vulcan" Hair-:''' typicalTypical of Space Nazis and Space Communists. Varies from the near-human looking hair of Vulcans to the [[Eighties Hair|super-sleek-and-shiny wigs]] of ''Next Generation''-era Romulans. Often comes in a bowl cut, or slicked back. Cardassian hair is an example of this. Almost always black hair. Rarely comes with facial hair, unless it is a [[Beard of Evil|goatee]]. Usually look like wigs, and often are. [[Ditto Aliens]] love this style.
*# '''"[[Star Wars|Wookiee]]" Hair-:''' Not so much hair as ''fur'', because it covers the entire body. Usually [[People in Rubber Suits|a rubber suit alien]], but more increasingly represented by [[Muppet|Muppets]]s or [[Serkis Folk]]. Can be expensive to pull off well. Usually varying shades of brown.
# '''"Tenctonese" Hair:''' Otherwise known as naturally bald... at least on the head. Usually accomplished by a shave or a bald cap, often with a pigment pattern or odd texture, and frequently (but not always) are complimented by enlarged craniums suggesting superior intelligence. Again, this is an alien hairstyle that does not often come with eyebrows.
*# '''Not-hairHair-atAt-allAll hair"Hair":''' If the writer (and the budget) allow for aliens who don't have hair but have something else on their heads that they wear like hair. Feathers, scales, or even flowers or vines for [[Plant Aliens]] can make for a [[Bizarre Alien Biology|creative physical difference]]. One subvariety is '''"Predator" Hair''': not actually hair, but bundles of head tentacles/antennae that look like dreadlocks. Usually placed on the head in the same pattern as the Klingons, back from the forehead. Some writers have gone so far as to posit unique sensory organs or symbiotic species. An alien who otherwise looks nothing like [[Cthulhu]] might have tentacles.
# '''Multiple/Combinations''': There's no reason a species can't more than one of the above. They might be features of subspecies or races, or the result of a particularly [[Bizarre Sexual Dimorphism]], or because the aliens are just like humans in that they can't agree on a single hairstyle that everyone has to have.
 
Note that any and all of these hair types might be a genetic trait of the alien species in question -- or they may be a ''style'' popular or even enforced by the dominant/primary/only culture of their world.
* "Klingon" Hair- varies from long and thinning (Malons from ''[[Star Trek: Voyager|Voyager]]'') to long, full and luxuriant (Worf, [[Green-Skinned Space Babe|Green Skinned Space Babes]] from ''[[Star Trek: The Original Series|TOS]]'') to long, full and mangy or unkempt (Martok, other Klingons, Nausicaans, Kazon). Again, the hairline is recessed to show off the [[Rubber Forehead Aliens|craggy forehead ridges]]. Almost always [[Hair Colors|brown or black hair]]. May or may not come with eyebrows and/or facial hair.
 
All of these hair types have a tendency to manifest on and/or typify [[Ditto Aliens]] -- even alien species that readers/watchers might not think of as Ditto Aliens.<ref>Think about it -- when did you last see a Vulcan with naturally curly hair?</ref>
* "Romulan/Vulcan" Hair- typical of Space Nazis and Space Communists. Varies from the near-human looking hair of Vulcans to the [[Eighties Hair|super-sleek-and-shiny wigs]] of ''Next Generation''-era Romulans. Often comes in a bowl cut, or slicked back. Cardassian hair is an example of this. Almost always black hair. Rarely comes with facial hair, unless it is a [[Beard of Evil|goatee]]. Usually look like wigs, and often are. [[Ditto Aliens]] love this style.
 
{{examples}}
* "[[Star Wars|Wookiee]]" Hair- covers the entire body. Usually [[People in Rubber Suits|a rubber suit alien]], but more increasingly represented by [[Muppet|Muppets]] or [[Serkis Folk]]. Can be expensive to pull off well. Usually varying shades of brown.
== Type 1 - Generic Humanoid Hair ==
** ''Mister Owl, do Wookiee-types have eyebrows?''
=== Live-Action TV ===
** ''The world may never know.''
* Frequently the case in ''[[Star Trek]]''. Old-style Klingons from ''[[Star Trek: The Original Series]]'' are a good example, as well as most of the "aliens" who were visually indistinguishable from a normal human.
 
=== Real Life ===
* "Tenctonese" Hair- bald... at least on the head. Usually accomplished by a shave or a bald cap (for example, Babylon 5's female Centauri), often with a pigment pattern or odd texture, and frequently (but not always) are complimented by enlarged craniums suggesting superior intelligence. Again, this is an alien hairstyle that does not often come with eyebrows. [[The Greys|Grey Aliens]], Martians from ''[[Mars Attacks (Film)]]!'', Tenctonese from ''[[Alien Nation (TV series)|Alien Nation]]''. The Minbari in Babylon 5 have this is well as "Tenctonese" hairstyles: they are bald with a bony crest that the females have carved and shaped. Although, some Minbari have beards --the ones descended from Valen/{{spoiler|Sinclair}}, [[Fan Wank|maybe]]? --and obviously, Delenn grew hair after her transformation. Dr. Lazarus on ''[[Galaxy Quest]]'''s [[Show Within a Show]] had a ridged scalp, but was otherwise shorn.
* Humans. After all, ''we're'' the aliens to everyone else.
 
== Type 2 - "Klingon" Hair ==
* Not-hair-at-all hair: If the writer (and the budget) allow for aliens who don't have hair but have something else on their heads that they wear like hair. Feathers, scales, or even flowers or vines for [[Plant Aliens]] can make for a [[Bizarre Alien Biology|creative physical difference]].
=== Live-Action TV ===
** "Predator" Hair: not actually hair, but bundles of head tentacles/antennae that look like dreadlocks. Usually placed on the head in the same pattern as the Klingons, back from the forehead. Most famously used on the title species of the ''[[Predator]]'' franchise. Some writers have gone so far as to posit unique sensory organs or symbiotic species. An alien who otherwise looks nothing like [[Cthulhu]] might have tentacles, like the unnamed green-skinned Mulder and Scully analogs from the B5 spinoff ''Crusade,'' or Ka D'Argo from ''[[Farscape]]''. Quarren from ''[[Star Wars]]'' don't count because they are generic "squidheads." The Protoss of ''[[Starcraft]]'' naturally have a long bundle of cable-like nerve cords growing out of their head like a ponytail; Dark Templar crop theirs to sever their connection to their race. The [[Avatar (film)|Na'vi]] have tendrils growing out of their head, but in a twist they have hair growing on top of all this over the neural cables. Decapodians from ''[[Futurama]]'' have bald heads, but tentacle ''mustaches''.
* As befits the classification name, this kind of hair can be seen throughout the ''[[Star Trek]]'' franchise:
** Gensai from D&D 4th edition have crystals (Windsoul, Stormsoul) or fire (Firesoul) in place of hair, other are simply bald (Earthsoul,Watersoul)
** Malons from ''[[Star Trek: Voyager|Voyager]]'' had the long and thinning variety.
** Long, full and luxuriant hair was sported by Worf in ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation|TNG]]'' and ''[[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine|DS9]]'', as well as all the [[Green-Skinned Space Babe]]s from ''[[Star Trek: The Original Series|TOS]]'')
** Martok, most other Klingons, Nausicaans, and Kazon all demonstrated the long, full, mangy or unkempt type.
 
== Type 3 - "Romulan/Vulcan" Hair ==
=== Live-Action TV ===
* Again, as might be expected from type name and the descriptive above, seen in ''[[Star Trek]]'':
** Do we really need to repeat the bit about Vulcans and Romulans?
** Cardassian hair is an example of the the "slicked back" variety.
 
== Type 4 - "Wookiee" Hair ==
=== Film - Live Action ===
* ''[[Star Wars]]'', naturally enough.
** {{quote|''Mister Owl, do Wookiee-types have eyebrows?''
** ''The world may never know.''}}
 
=== Live-Action TV ===
* Cousin Itt of ''[[The Addams Family]]''. Even though Itt is {presumably) human.
 
== Type 5 - "Tenctonese" Hair ==
=== Film - Live Action ===
* [[Captain Obvious|The Tenctonese]] from ''[[Alien Nation]]'' and its [[Alien Nation (TV series)|TV series adaptation]].
* Deltans, who first appeared in ''[[Star Trek: The Motion Picture]]''.
* The Martians from ''[[Mars Attacks!]]!''
* Dr. Lazarus on ''[[Galaxy Quest]]''{{'}}s titular [[Show Within a Show]] had a ridged scalp, but was otherwise shorn.
 
=== Live-Action TV ===
* ''[[Babylon 5]]'' has a few:
** The Minbari are genetically bald with a bony crest that the females have carved and shaped. Oddly, some male Minbari have beards—the ones descended from Valen/{{spoiler|Sinclair}}, [[Fan Wank|maybe]]? -- and obviously, Delenn grew hair after her transformation.
 
=== Modern Myth/Urban Legends ===
* [[The Greys|Grey Aliens]]
 
== Type 6 - Not-Hair-At-All "Hair" ==
=== Film - Live-Action ===
* The Predator from [[Predator|the film of the same name]] and its various series and spinoffs. Looks like it has dreadlocks, probably doesn't.
* Quarren from ''[[Star Wars]]'' don't count because they are generic "squidheads."
 
=== Live-Action TV ===
* The green-skinned species seen in the episode "Visitors From Down The Street" of ''[[Crusade]]'' (the short-lived ''[[Babyon 5]]'' [[Spin-Off]]).
* Ka D'Argo from ''[[Farscape]]''.
 
=== Oral Tradition, Myths and Legends ===
* The [[w:Gorgon|Gorgons]], females with snakes in place of hair. [[Depending on the Writer]], they may have wings, or have once been human, or both, or neither, but they always have the snakes. [[Medusa]] is the most famous of the Gorgons.
 
=== Video Games ===
* The Protoss of ''[[StarCraft]]'' naturally have a long bundle of cable-like nerve cords growing out of their head like a ponytail; Dark Templar crop theirs to sever their connection to their race.
 
== Type 7 - Multiple/Combinations ==
=== Film - Live-Action ===
* The Na'vi from ''[[Avatar (film)|Avatar]]'' have nerve tendrils growing out of their head, but have actual hair growing over the neural cables.
 
=== Live-Action TV ===
* ''[[Babylon 5]]''
** The Centauri are an interesting case. If the (male) examples we've seen are any indication, they seem to have an average hairline much higher upon their heads than humans, borderline qualifying them for "Generic Humanoid Hair". At the same time, they have very specific gender-based hairstyles, at least for the upper class Centauri we get to see in the show: Centauri females shave their heads, and males style theirs into an up-thrust "fan", the height of which corresponds to their social standing. Centauri males can go bald like humans, and aren't required to wear false fans in that case, as seen with Emperor Turhan. And the mad Emperor Cartagia defied convention by keeping his hair short -- a practice which was ''not'' continued by his immediate successors, Mollari II and Cotto.
 
=== Tabletop Games ===
** Gensai from D''[[Dungeons &D Dragons]]'' 4th edition have crystals (Windsoul, Stormsoul) or fire (Firesoul) in place of hair,; otherothers are simply bald (Earthsoul, Watersoul).
 
=== Western Animation ===
* Decapodians from ''[[Futurama]]'' have bald heads, but tentacle ''mustaches''.
 
{{Needs More Examples}}
 
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Alien Hair{{PAGENAME}}]]
[[Category:Fantastic Sapient Species Tropes]]
[[Category:Hair Tropes]]
[[Category:Alien Hair]]