A stereotypical sci-fi TV series (movie, cast, shows, actors)

[Mouldy Old Schmo]

What stock characters, situations, and effects do you need to have a stereotypical sci-fi TV series?

[jim9251]

A washed up pilot, an old starship, a muppet type creature, a pretty girl.

[bs13690]

Characters:

The tech guy. This has expanded even to cop shows, for goodness' sake.
The disgraced/demoted pilot/commander. There always has to be somebody who needs to redeem themselves.

Situations:

Time loops. Sci Fi shows love Groundhog Day type episodes. They only need to write about 10 minutes of dialouge since most of it will be repeated throughout the show.

[MatildaLoo]

Don't forget the woman-doing-a-"man's"-job character, i.e. Kaylee on Firefly or Starbuck on BSG.

As for the set, make sure you have a lot of automatic sliding doors and lasers that go "Pew, Pew." Silver is the background color of choice, too.

[D. Scott]

Various characters, Including one misfit, one person nursing a personal loss and a rebel. and an attractive woman.

Suburban setting largely featured.

Time travel, weird alien, And a "message' that the series gets at Ex Don't mess with nature, Don't contact ET's, Don't eat the yellow snow and so on.

[Mouldy Old Schmo]

How about actors who act like robots, even when they're not playing robots?

[Copanut]

At least one woman with a full sweater and empty head.

[trlhiker]

A handsome hulky guy, a hot girl, and a fast ship.

[124c41]

Don't forget the "loser" that doesn't know he has the power to free the people from the oppressor, but is soon to learn it from a.The stranger that gives him cryptic orders to follow b.The beautiful, unapproachable girl that he is sure he can nail eventually c.The spaceship that he goes inside to investigate, and is taken to a far away planet or, the best one d.The magic sword/amulet/arm mounted laser gun that will give him tactical advantage over the whole planet of ruling oppressors.
I say combine all the post ideas here, and it could be a blockbuster movie! Get the popcorn!

[DanielAvery]

Even if the show is set in the far future, characters have hairstyles that look suspiciously like present-day styles.

In all points in human history we see people dressing up in highly personal styles that reflect their wealth, their creativity, or their jobs. In most sci-fi shows, however, characters all wear tight-fitting, bland clothing that projects little individuality.

The whole "Red Shirt" thing from Star Trek bleeds over into all sci-fi shows. If two main cast members go off to investigate danger and bring along some guy/gal we never saw before, chances are good he/she is not coming back.

It will be demonstrated early on that the Evil Villain of The Week is impervious to bullets, and yet characters will continue to unload their guns at him/it as if they just weren't doing it right the first twenty times.