Worst Sci-fi Plots out there

[Archaeis]

So many series out there have used many of the same plots in different forms. I'm curious what people think are some of the worst out there. Here are my top dislikes:

1) Dream (holodeck)

2) Time Travel

3) Alternate Universe

4) Body switching/clones/robot copies

[AvatarIII]

what about

main charaters memories erased.
disease/parasite that makes people violent.
something that increases everyones libidoes

[Wyrminarrd]

The worst IMO is time travel, at least for sci-fi shows since once you have that going on you have to wonder why people aren´t going back in time all the time to fix things that went wrong? Movies with the right focus can pull of time travel if only because you don´t have time to figure out all the problems with the time travel while your watching the movie.

I hated many of the holodeck episodes of Star Trek, especially on Voyager.

[Coremae]

So many series out there have used many of the same plots in different forms. I'm curious what people think are some of the worst out there. Here are my top dislikes:

1) Dream (holodeck)

2) Time Travel

3) Alternate Universe

4) Body switching/clones/robot copies

We call these, lack of imagination ease away. When one is in doubt: 'hey lets do another time travel story.' Though HEROES has taken this to the superlative degree: introduce characters and plots, then via time travel, alternative universe (example : Peter left his Irish girl friend in an alternative future, punk) body switching (Peter's supposedly future bad @$$ self took Peter and placed him in the body of a guy with sonic scream abilities, then the guy who had the scream got killed and so did Peter's supposedly bad @$$ future self) and dream (Matt was punched through by a guy who was super strong who relied on a person's fears to make him such, but it was all in his head, he was essentially dreaming.)


For all their lackluster story telling, At least Heroes has the audacity to throw all those pieces together in a meat grinder with tons of left overs and dare call the gnarled concoction cuisine. StarGate just introduces all those plot lines then shies away when everything gets dangerous.

Weir went to the past and met ancients, Sheppard went to the future and met an AI with Rodney's memories. All of them went to alternative universes, but we've never seen an alternate universe bad guy become a main player. Or an alternative universe good guy become a main player. Or Oneil's younger clone take a more active roll or the fake atlantis with the fake keller where the fake atlantis team and weir were cloned, and the city was destroyed by drones, fell into the sea and the replicators ceased to exist? Or the alternative universe bad guys with the blue skin who almost kicked Sheppard's and Ronon's buttocks. All that huff and puff and pfffrrbbt. So anti climatic.


All of it is tied in a neat little bundle and left for us to step in like so much poo.

Sucky Ducky indeed.

[Bagpuss]

How about these:

1.Mysterious Parasite coming out of victim's ear once destroyed ,or in it's panic to escape the Host.
* See SG-1''s "Legacy" and

Spoiler:

Sanctuary's "Requiem"

or "Wrath Of Khan" for examples.
I hate to be a nitpicker,but I think the victim should be in agony and deaf in that ear,as the eardrum and/or ear canal would be perforated .To say nothing of brain tissue damage...shock ...yadda !

2.Countdowns : Overdone ,boring ,and seldom ever consistent in real time with the events that then unfold in the ep/movie.
Fictitious example :
"OMG ! we have only X-minutes to save the World/get a shave/defuse the doohickey/save the audience from switching channel !"
(Oh,but they actually have about 20 minutes longer by my watch,so no rush .Just enough time to get a nice cuppa made and ignore the mayhem...for the Hewo always wins.)

3.Holodecks and holo-characters .I know it's been added already,but it used to bug me so much in Trek,esp Voyager,but ignoble mentions for TNG and DS9 too.

[Randy_Watson]

So many series out there have used many of the same plots in different forms. I'm curious what people think are some of the worst out there. Here are my top dislikes:

1) Dream (holodeck)

2) Time Travel

3) Alternate Universe

4) Body switching/clones/robot copies

I tend to agree with those, although there are always exceptions. I think Farscape did a fantastic job with clones.

AU I usually dislike and I used to hate Time Travel, but have softened on that one. 1-3 all have the problem of ending the episode by hitting the reset switch.

[AvatarIII]

How about these:

1.Mysterious Parasite coming out of victim's ear once destroyed ,or in it's panic to escape the Host.
* See SG-1''s "Legacy" and

Spoiler:

Sanctuary's "Requiem"

or "Wrath Of Khan" for examples.
I hate to be a nitpicker,but I think the victim should be in agony and deaf in that ear,as the eardrum and/or ear canal would be perforated .To say nothing of brain tissue damage...shock ...yadda !

don't forget that ep of the x files!! or even, dare i say it.... animorphs!

[Bagpuss]

Hehe..I hadn't forgotten the X-Files ep.I just could not for the life of me remember the title !

( Must look up Animorphs...)

[AvatarIII]

the baddies were slug type parasite things that came out of your ear, if i remember rightly

[Bagpuss]

Was that Animorphs ep called "The Alien" ? I did a quick look on the net ,and it seems to fit ?

ETA :
Might be this slug -like critter:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yeerk

[Crazedwraith]

There's was episode of Enterprise where it was all a dream Hoshi was faking while she was being transporter. *le sigh*

Most time travel plots. Especially where the leave a main character behind in the past and you zoom in on a now changed photo of them in past.

Continuum! I'm looking at you!

[maneth]

Time travel plots. Boring.

Alternate universe plots, with a very few exceptions.

Silly holodeck plots (playing fictional characters, like Robin Hood). Some holodeck plots are decent, though, particularly in the last two seasons of TNG and DS9.

Parasites or diseases that completely change a character.

Gratuitous sex. I'm not a prude and I like sex if it is meaningful from the plot POV. But showing skin for the sake of showing skin is stupid (I hate it when TV shows pander to the 15-35 male demographic, as if that was the only group who watch sci-fi shows...)

Vampires. I don't know why, but I don't like them, and the fad's gone on for long enough.

[rlr149]

strange/obscure radiation the sensors can't penetrate..............yawn

[Insipid]

My Top Five Least Favourite Plot Devices In No Particular Order;

-Amnesia
-Amnesia
-Amnesia
-I can't remember
-Amnesia

[343_Guilty_Spark]

thes ones that do my head in are, Tim travel. Paradox's, mutated viruses, and my number one Bugs Flesh eating bugs. how many times can u bring them nasty freaking things into scifi??