Home ¤ Is Farscape Clichéd?: Section II: Overused Setting and Characterizations

Is Farscape Clichéd?
Joan Hedman ¤ updated March 2002

Introduction
Section 1: Overused Plots and Storylines
Section II: Overused Settings and Characterizations
Section III: Overused story events and plot devices
Section IV: Silly Science

Section II: Overused Settings and Characterizations
Intro ¤ Section 1 ¤ Section II ¤ Section III ¤ Section IV ¤ Send a Comment ¤

1. Aliens whose thinking is so different from ours that no communication is possible. ¤NA¤
2. Alien races that find our women attractive, while we find theirs to be repulsive. ¤NA¤
3. Alien races who differ from us only in skin color and/or facial features.
   Cliché alert! OK, there are a lot of bipeds on Farscape, but cut these guys some slack, will ya? There are also a lot of truly alien aliens, and the makeup on the humanoid ones is often spectacular.
4. Extra breasts on the alien women. ¤NA¤ (that I've noticed, so far)
5. Aliens that are incomprehensible to humans but understand humans perfectly. ¤NA¤
6. Alien species depicted as having no ethnic, religious, cultural, philosophical or political variance, especially:
   1. Wise mystics
      Cliché alert? Maria P. thinks that Delvians qualify for this pretty well; do you agree?
   2. Stoic warriors
      Cliché alert? Maria P. says we've yet to see a non-Warrior Luxan, but I don't think the Orrican ("Vitas Mortis") was either stoic or a warrier...
   3. Pastoral innocents
   4. Cowardly sneaks
      Cliché alert? Maria P. weighs in again here, asking, "Hynerians, anyone?" but again, I've a different POV.
   5. Amazon babes
      Cliché alert! Only once, really, in "Jeremiah Crichton" (1.14) We can't condemn the entire series for this one lapse, though. Besides, the babes and warriors were very easy on the eyes.
7. Alien species with personality traits or cultural mores that are treated as invariable laws of nature. ¤NA¤
8. Alien races whose names all have lots of hard consonants.
   Cliché alert! Too many examples to list, but c'mon -- you try generating dozens of alien-sounding names and see what you come up with.
9. Lots of apostrophes packed into alien words and phrases for no apparent reason.
   Cliché alert! T'raaltix is the example that first comes to mind, but why exactly is there an apostrophe in Pa'u, anyway? Still, this is another minor quibble.
10. Humans of future depicted as having no ethnic, religious, cultural, philosophical or political variance. ¤NA¤
11. Cities of future depicted as though sanitation workers have been on strike from now until then.
    Cliché alert! The "future" designation isn't really applicable, but we've seen some pretty grubby places, most vividly in "The Choice." (3.17)
12. Entire story setting dominated by huge impersonal business conglomerates. ¤NA¤
13. Planets with the same exact climate planet-wide (planets without atmosphere excepted). ¤NA¤
14. Super-intelligent AI's that speak, behave, and act in a manner indistinguishable from the human characters. ¤NA¤
15. The incredibly competent man-of-action with more skills/degrees than you can shake a blaster at. ¤NA¤ Crichton is pretty competent, as is D'Argo, but they both screw up often, too. Neither is perfect.
16. The incredibly competent woman-of-action with large breasts, no sexual inhibitions, and more skills/degrees than you can shake a blaster at.
    A near miss, here. Chiana nearly qualifies, but misses on the degrees issue. Jool whines too much, and Aeryn is still inhibited. Zhaan pretty much fit the bill, but she's gone now -- and besides, she was a priestess, which puts a whole 'nother spin on it. Maria P. writes, and I agree, "Main characters aside, Jenavian from the "Look at the Princess" trilogy seems to qualify."
17. Shadowy malevolent Pentagon officials.
    Cliché alert? Joan C. notes that both "I, ET" and "A Human Reaction" featured malevolent military types, but none of them seemed particularly "shadowy" to me. I'm thinking more of the "Cigarette Smoking Man" from The X Files to fit this item.
18. Each and every character has a tainted history.
    Cliché alert! Yep. Except Crichton, maybe. He has hinted at skeletons in his own closet that may yet be revealed. However, the real character development that is the core of the series has effectively used the tainted histories as springboards. Sure, it's a cliché, but it works.
19. A society consists of:
    1. A handful of ultra-powerful ultra-rich;
    2. Criminal lords who control everything not controlled by the ultra-rich;
    3. Police whose only principle of operation is maintenance of the status quo;
    4. Hordes of poor people starving in the streets;
    5. Absolutely no middle class whatsoever.
       Cliché alert! KaraS says, "Sounds like Litigara ("Dream a Little Dream") to me. EIther you're a lawyer or you're not."

    Nonetheless, the society manages to remain at a high technological level. ¤NA¤

20. Societies where all technology has been destroyed except automobiles and their equivalents, which are still running yet there are no mechanics, workshops, or gas stations. ¤NA¤
21. Heroes who are so emotionally stunted that they don't care about close friends/relatives that die as long as they complete some mission. ¤NA¤
22. Any character with a perpetual two-day growth of beard. ¤NA¤
23. Futuristic societies where only the ultra-rich can afford quality health care, and everyone else is reduced to selling their bodily organs. ¤NA¤
24. Beings of pure energy.
    Another close call. Stark can be dispersed ("The Ugly Truth") and reform his body elsewhere ("The Locket"). Handy, isn't it? Then there's also Maldis ("That Old Black Magic" and "Picture if You WIll") who has now been dispersed twice. At least both these guys spend part of their time in corporeal form. Joan C. adds the riders from "Losing Time", as wells as the inter-dimensional being in "Through the Looking Glass," but I'm not sure that last applies.
25. A society in which everyone is required to die on his or her Nth birthday.
    Cliché alert! Several readers, including hlc, Joan C, KaraS, Maria P., wrote to remind me of the 22nd birthday mandatory jump in "Taking the Stone."
26. Creatures from our mythology (e.g., centaurs, dragons) occur among the wildlife native to an alien planet. ¤NA¤
27. Aliens whose sociology, values and beliefs are indistinguishable from those of an Oriental culture, e.g., feudal Japan.¤NA¤
28. Eccentric scientists.
    Yes, but... Calling NamTar ("DNA Mad Scientist") eccentric may be the understatement of the decade. However, this brilliant character comes nowhere near cliché.
29. The assistant to the scientist who is either deformed or dating the scientist's daughter.
    Cliché alert! Back to "DNA Mad Scientist", again; NamTar's assistant Cornata is truly grotesque. I'll let this one stand as cliché; it was over-the-top in an otherwise outstanding episode.
30. Future societies that have relapsed into feudalism. ¤NA¤
31. Alternative Earths where society is just like some society of the past, with some technodoodads added. ¤NA¤
32. Palace guards who are ineffectual due to ineptitude or inattentiveness.
    Cliché alert! We have seen this a number of times, but the most egregious examples occur in "Look at the Princess" and "LIars, Guns, and Money".
33. Fantastic but non-viable creatures (men with tortoiseshell backs, gigantic insects) made possible by high levels of radiation, and don't suffer any ill effects from it. ¤NA¤
34. Aliens that speak human languages without error, having taken no pains to learn how.
    Translator microbes, anyone? Again, we've got to cut 'em some slack here. In a weekly series, they can't be wasting huge chunks of time just establishing communications.
35. An alien tongue is translated into perfect English, except for gratuitious use of alien units of time and distance.
    Cliché alert! You know, microt and arn and metra. Let's not forget the ever-popular frell and dren, either, shall we? Yes, I do realize those are not units of measure.
36. Aliens whose vocal apparatus is just like ours, so that they can speak human languages with only a slight accent.
    Cliché alert! Again, this is an area where we've got to be realistic in our expectations of what can be accomplished in a series.
37. Omnipotent pacifist aliens who impose their philosophy on us without bothering to protect us from the races they have left alone. ¤NA¤
38. Men and women live in separate societies (and I'm not talking Mars and Venus, either). ¤NA¤
39. Clones are inexplicably different from regular people in a particular manner (mentally unstable, don't mind being used as cannon fodder, etc.).
    Cliché alert? Anna H. wonders if the "alternate" Crichtons from "My Three Crichtons" qualify here.
40. The vast majority of alien races consider 20ºC to be room temperature.
    Cliché alert? Anna H. points out that everyone seems very comfortable on Moya, whatever her ambient temperature is, in spite of Peacekeepers' sensitivity to heat and Luxans apparently distaste for cold. David D. points out that no matter where they go, no one is either sweating or shivering.
41. Societies that are utopian in every regard except for one serious drawback that completely outweighs the utopian aspects, such as having the death penalty for some really minor offense. ¤NA¤
42. Disembodied live brains living in tanks (with apologies to Gharlane of Eddore). ¤NA¤
43. Eyes that glow (sometimes accompanied by minor-key chords in TV and film). ¤NA¤
44. Sentient artificial intelligences that wish to eliminate the human race. ¤NA¤
45. Sentient artificial intelligences that select a human figure to holographically represent themselves. ¤NA¤
46. Computers with voice synthesizers either use a sensuous female contralto, a threatening male baritone, or a nasally tinny neutral voice. ¤NA¤
47. Bad guys who miss everything they shoot at.
    Cliché alert! Also called "StormTrooper syndrom"; evident in "Liars, Guns, and Money"
48. Beginning warriors who hit everything they shoot at.
    Cliché alert! Well, maybe Crichton practices a lot.
49. Characters who are always ready for intimate relations. ¤NA¤ Wait -- do you think Chiana qualifies?
50. All genetically superior humans have an innate drive to rule, conquer, or kill everyone else.
    Cliché alert! In "My Three Crichtons," the "evolved" Crichton was an obnoxious, power-hungry jerk. Still, that was only one episode.
51. Alien vampires that feed on brainwaves/life-force/exotic biochemicals/psychic energies that can only be obtained from sentient life forms.
    Cliché alert! Maldis, again; "That Old Black Magic", and "Picture if You Will". Joan C adds Karvok from "Eat Me", sipping at twinned brains, as wells as The Energy Riders from "Losing Time," with their "sip, sip, desire."
52. Post-cataclysmic societies that treat items of the lost technology as holy relics. ¤NA¤
53. Alien monsters that find humans edible, tasty, and non-toxic.
    Cliché alert! We can't be sure, but I think the Keedva ("Home on the Remains") would've eaten Crichton if given a chance. Also, M'Lee in "Bone to be Wild".
54. The evil duplicate of the hero, sidekick, universe, etc.
    Another close call: "Eat Me" gave us two Crichtons, but not with usual good/evil split. They were exact duplicates. Hell of a thing, that.
55. The grammatical differences between the languages used by humans and aliens are cited as conclusive proof of radically different ways of thinking. ¤NA¤
56. Sentient AIs that communicate with other sentient AIs via their voice synthesizer. ¤NA¤
57. The intelligent and confident woman who can be bribed with a dress. ¤NA¤
58. Androids with intelligence equal to an IQ of around 1000 who can't seem to figure out human emotions, humor, or verbal contractions. ¤NA¤
59. Everyone in the post-catastrophic future dresses like heavy metal musicians.
    Maybe not exactly, but they do seem to be into leather. I hear it wears well.
60. A common proverb gets "translated" into more generic terms, resulting in obfuscation of the meaning.
    Cliché alert? KaraS thinks misquoted "Crichtonisms" such as "She gives me a woody" or "Let's go out on a swing" apply; I don't think they do since so far they've been played for laughs and no plot point has ever hinged on one. OK -- in "Through the Looking Glass," it was important that D'Argo time his starburst correctly, but the fact that he was counting saying "Mippippippi" didn't really matter.
61. An alien race has a trait that greatly complicates interacting with them, but even after centuries of contact with humans they still manage to keep it secret. ¤NA¤
62. The ancient spacefairing alien race that:
    1. Has existed for zillions of years;
    2. Went into hiding, left this universe/dimension, or went extinct so long ago that no current spacefaring race has ever met them;
    3. Is known solely through legends, ancient artifacts of amazing technological advancement, and/or evidence that they created one or more (sometimes all) currently living races.
       Two close calls: The Builders, and The Ancients. I'm not dinging them here because we actually have met them and heard their rationales for their behavior.
63. Aliens whose language is not pronounceable by humans, but who can still speak human langauges with relative ease.
    Cliché alert! Maria P. wrote in to remind me that in "The Way We Weren't", we get to hear some of Pilot's native language.
64. The villain who can infallibly predict how the protagonists will react to a given turn of events. ¤NA¤
65. All religious figures are:
    1. Intolerant hatemongers who make Hitler look like Jesus;
    2. All-tolerant lovemongers who make Jesus look like Hitler;
    3. Ignorant, unwashed rabble.¤NA¤
66. A society of aliens and/or villains that are amazingly similar to an Infamous Human Political Movement.
    Cliché alert? Maria P. writes, "The Peacekeepers do seem to qualify for an intergalactic version of the Nazis, one would think. They may not have the leader-cult and sexism, but they more than make up for it with xenophobia and militarism." Joan C writes that the Peacekeepers remind her of "a co-ed Sparta." Personally, I think the Peacekeepers are more a blend of several terran cultures, taking features from feudal Japan and revolutionary Russia as well as the Nazis.
67. Societies wherein gender roles and attitudes are completely reversed.
    Cliché alert? Joan C. suggests the tag of "The Flax", in which we find out that Staanz is "the female of the species", qualifies.
68. Whiz kids. ¤NA¤ Thank God.
69. Most aliens breathe oxygen, just like humans do.
    Cliché alert! hlc asks, "Have we met an alien that couldn't breathe oxygen yet?" Joan C concurs. How could I have missed this one?!
70. Bored, omnipotent, immortal beings. ¤NA¤
71. An immortal being that wants to die. ¤NA¤
72. People with cyborg implants will needlessly exhibit the benefits of this hardware just to relieve boredom or show off. ¤NA¤
73. Children with access to the highest levels of military planning, scientific research, and governmental decision-making. ¤NA¤
74. A smart, courageous, gorgeously attractive woman who is rarely if ever asked out. ¤NA¤
75. Every planet seems to have a surface gravity of 9.8 meters per second squared, just like Earth.
    Cliché alert? Joan C. notes that with the exception of the heavy gravity mention at the beginning of "Relativity", no one ever pays any attention to it.
76. All of the spacefaring races have roughly the same level of technology. ¤NA¤
77. Aliens that transform into a colorful puddle when they die. ¤NA¤
78. The Free Love Utopia, populated only by fabulously good-looking people, that somehow remains free of sexually transmitted diseases, has no relationship turmoil, and is not inundated with hordes of people looking for easy sex.
    Cliché alert? Joan C writes that's that the society of "Thank God It's Friday, Again," could fit this description. I suppose it could, but on the other hand, everyone was slaving away in the tannot root fields, so it's not exacly Club Med, either.
79. The untrained, average Joe who can take on and defeat highly trained and well-equipped operatives.
    Cliché alert? Joan C. things everyone on Moya could use the Tavlek's gauntlets better than they could in "Throne for A Loss." I disagree; what do you think?
80. The Wise Race of Ancients who do nothing for the protagonists except offer advice. The Ancients embedded the wormhole knowledge in Crichton's brain, and encouraged his research. That's a fair cry from both "doing nothing" and "offering advice."
81. The Wise Race of Ancients that secretly supports the protagonists. ¤NA¤ see 80.
82. The former Great Man of Action who is now just a washed-up drunk¤NA¤ .
83. An interstellar realm is ruled by a handful of powerful families, each scheming to eliminate the rest, instead of forming alliances. ¤NA¤
84. Except for the distinguishing marks on aliens and bad guys, everyone has perfect skin.
    Cliché alert? Joan C. writes, "The women all have perfect skin, perfect figures, and variations on good hair -- eye candy in various hues. Except for Crichton, and the occasional appearance by Crais, all the men are creatures. I call this rank discrimination." I think Joan may have a point here. More eye candy for the females of the species, please!
85. Upon arrival in a distant epoch, the time travellers can speak the local language without accent. We've got Translator Microbes, dude!
86. The city's main computer can be accessed from any of a number of public-access terminals located conveniently throughout the city. ¤NA¤
87. The less technologically advanced a culture is, the more spritually advanced it is. ¤NA¤
88. The modification of one custom, law, or common belief would transform Western society into Utopia. ¤NA¤

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