# Contemporary Sci-Fi/Fantasy that don't go "all in" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 22, 2013, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/contemporary-sci-fi-fantasy-that-dont-go-all-in/656365 "2013-04-22T02:01:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/contemporary-sci-fi-fantasy-that-dont-go-all-in/656365/1 "2013-04-22T02:01:35Z")
I’ve been watching Buffy, Doctor Who, and Torchwood (not at Angel in the Buffy timeline yet) for the first time, and one thing that strikes me is how a lot of contemporary/earth-centric sci-fi and fantasy like to go “all in” so to speak. It’s not enough to **just** have vampires and demons, or just have interesting aliens and time travel. Instead every single solitary myth and urban legend ends up being true. Maybe werewolves just exist, maybe werewolves are aliens. Those Yetis are just a family from another planet, aliens are just imps exiled from hell. It’s not just these series; Harry Potter does it, Halloweentown did it, and so on. It seems to me that Sci-Fi taking from fantasy (i.e. “werewolves are aliens”) is generally more likely than fantasy explaining aliens. But in general it seems that universes that accept one supernatural element snowball and suddenly half of all myths in the history of humanity are true (oftentimes modified to fit the premise, i.e. all are alien activity, they’re all really manifestations of demons, etc). There’s nothing wrong with it, and it works perfectly well if executed correctly, but I’m wondering what universes **don’t** do this. Are there any that say “Okay, so there’s witches. AND NOTHING ELSE.” ETA: By “contemporary” I mean series that focus on a contemporary earth, not ones that were recently written. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/contemporary-sci-fi-fantasy-that-dont-go-all-in/656365/2 "2013-04-22T02:06:39Z")
The _Walking Dead_ pretty much sticks to a single supernatural/weird science theme. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/contemporary-sci-fi-fantasy-that-dont-go-all-in/656365/3 "2013-04-22T04:13:56Z")
I’m waiting for space aliens to show up in **True Blood** ; it’s just about the only thing they haven’t done. Neither **Firefly** or **Battlestar Galactica** had aliens, but the later had mysterious being who worked for an entity that didn’t like to be called God :rolleyes: (but spent billions of years manipulating evolution on at least 2 different planets). ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 10:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/contemporary-sci-fi-fantasy-that-dont-go-all-in/656365/4 "2013-04-22T10:59:34Z")
_Secret Circle_ seemed to only have witches and the related witch hunters, from what little I watched. Possibly also demons, but that’s understandable with witches. The _Underworld_ series seemed to restrict itself to interrelated werewolves, vampires and hybrids of same. ---
**Author:** ![epbrown01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@epbrown01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown01)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/contemporary-sci-fi-fantasy-that-dont-go-all-in/656365/5 "2013-04-22T13:57:05Z")
I’ve only seen the first season on Netflix, but \*Teen Wolf \*just has werewolves and hunters, doesn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![Renifer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/71c47a/32.png) [@Renifer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renifer)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/contemporary-sci-fi-fantasy-that-dont-go-all-in/656365/6 "2013-04-22T14:53:18Z")
Stories that center on ghosts (The Ghost Whisperer, e.g.) usually don’t have vampires or werewolves. No vampires or werewolves in Dead Like Me either. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/contemporary-sci-fi-fantasy-that-dont-go-all-in/656365/7 "2013-04-22T14:57:37Z")
> [@Jragon](#): > > …It’s not just these series; Harry Potter does it… Not so. Luna Lovegood’s crank of a dad publishes a newspaper filled with nonsense that other wizards recognize as such. Not every farfetched idea in the Potterverse is actually “true.” ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/contemporary-sci-fi-fantasy-that-dont-go-all-in/656365/8 "2013-04-22T14:58:10Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > The _Walking Dead_ pretty much sticks to a single supernatural/weird science theme. Yes - the survivors are the ones who are dead from the neck up. But yes, f’reals - they have admirably not cluttered up the basis and story line. ---
**Author:** ![FordPrefect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e99b99/32.png) [@FordPrefect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FordPrefect)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/contemporary-sci-fi-fantasy-that-dont-go-all-in/656365/9 "2013-04-22T15:04:05Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > Yes - the survivors are the ones who are dead from the neck up. > > But yes, f’reals - they have admirably not cluttered up the basis and story line. Instead, they seem to have chose the route of no real story line, whatsoever. ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/contemporary-sci-fi-fantasy-that-dont-go-all-in/656365/10 "2013-04-22T17:57:10Z")
I can’t remember its title, but when _Buffy_ was on, there was a short-lived series about a secret police department that fought all kinds of magical creatures–but they made a point of the fact that vampires were a myth. Also, Syfy did a movie in which supposedly werewolves were real, but nothing else, and another one like it for mermaids. Oh, and a few years ago there was one about dragons, too. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/contemporary-sci-fi-fantasy-that-dont-go-all-in/656365/11 "2013-04-22T18:40:19Z")
> [@Dendarii\_Dame](#): > > I can’t remember its title, but when _Buffy_ was on, there was a short-lived series about a secret police department that fought all kinds of magical creatures–but they made a point of the fact that vampires were a myth. “Special Unit 2” I think [Special Unit 2 - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_Unit_2) ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/contemporary-sci-fi-fantasy-that-dont-go-all-in/656365/12 "2013-04-22T18:48:24Z")
You neglected to mention a Scifi chow that goes all in: Stargate SG1. Unlike Doctor Who or Torchwood, it never switches to fantasy, but otherwise goes all in, explaining every myth except the Christian God. I think you’ll find that this is uncommon in Scifi, which is why I am pointing it out. Most Scifi avoids the fantasy stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/contemporary-sci-fi-fantasy-that-dont-go-all-in/656365/13 "2013-04-22T22:09:19Z")
Alien Nation had aliens, and that’s it. And, for the most part, they were just alien–not demonic, unless genetically modified, which doesn’t really count. I’ll probably get lambasted by the fanbase, but to me, Star Wars was all explained by use of the force–there was no magic, no demons, no possession or vampires. Just psychic powers. In the literary world, the Wild Cards series of collected anthologies posited a world where people were granted super-powers, some of which seemed to be magical, but were all just manifestations of psychic ability. In the Watchmen, the only superpower was Dr. Manhattan, with no mystical anything (except for Ozymandias catching a bullet, and I think he had armored gloves). ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2013, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/contemporary-sci-fi-fantasy-that-dont-go-all-in/656365/14 "2013-04-23T01:50:47Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > In the Watchmen, the only superpower was Dr. Manhattan, with no mystical anything (except for Ozymandias catching a bullet, and I think he had armored gloves). In the comic, it’s a plot point that celebrity Robert Deschaines had bona fide psychic powers; he apparently never used 'em to fight crime or become a costumed villain, but near as I can tell things would’ve been different for humanity in general and _“sensitives worldwide”_ in particular if he’d lacked those peculiar abilities. (Note, too, that this means there really is a worldwide population of sensitives, who in fact react unusually when a psychic resonator amplifies a signal pulse.) ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2013, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/contemporary-sci-fi-fantasy-that-dont-go-all-in/656365/15 "2013-04-23T03:03:12Z")
Anne Rice’s older books were pretty restricted when it came to supernatural species. Vampires and their equivilent of gods (and maybe the devil) in the Interview with the Vampire sequels. And with the Mayfair series it was just witches and taltos. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2013, 9:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/contemporary-sci-fi-fantasy-that-dont-go-all-in/656365/16 "2013-04-23T09:08:22Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > In the Watchmen, the only superpower was Dr. Manhattan, with no mystical anything (except for Ozymandias catching a bullet, and I think he had armored gloves). Nope, psychic powers were definitely in existence (or the Bad Event wouldn’t have worked). And Ozy caught the bullet barehanded - I _think_ he did it by lining up the “tube” of his closed hand precisely with the bullet’s path, since there was blood on his palm. But don’t try that at home. ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2013, 9:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/contemporary-sci-fi-fantasy-that-dont-go-all-in/656365/17 "2013-04-23T09:56:22Z")
Nobody mentioned Red Dwarf yet? A sci-fi show set way, way in the future in outer space, and not a single alien to be found in the whole series! Everything that they encounter in the show originally came from Earth or descended from something that came from Earth. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2013, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/contemporary-sci-fi-fantasy-that-dont-go-all-in/656365/18 "2013-04-23T11:42:30Z")
It always bugged me that on, say, _The X-Files_ it was always true. You’d think a good quarter of the things they investigated would end up hoaxes or natural phenomena. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2013, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/contemporary-sci-fi-fantasy-that-dont-go-all-in/656365/19 "2013-04-23T11:48:21Z")
All I can think of right now is the outstanding counter-example: \*Supernatural \*goes out of its way to toss in everything anyone’s ever heard of including the proverbial kitchen sink. I love it 'cause you never know what’s next. ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2013, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/contemporary-sci-fi-fantasy-that-dont-go-all-in/656365/20 "2013-04-23T11:50:20Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > I’ll probably get lambasted by the fanbase, but to me, Star Wars was all explained by use of the force–there was no magic, no demons, no possession or vampires. Just psychic powers. I always liked the fact too that even though thousands of species are living side by side, and obviously do have sex of a sort, there are no hybrids. Yea its absurd they would be able to live in similar atmospheres/food etc but it was refreshing coming from Trek where hybrids are common. SW has often seemed harder scifi than ST except for that whole psychic powers thing. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/contemporary-sci-fi-fantasy-that-dont-go-all-in/656365.md?page=2)