# science fiction where humans watch broadcasts from other star systems? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 16, 2016, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-fiction-where-humans-watch-broadcasts-from-other-star-systems/754918 "2016-05-16T15:57:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![oara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/b77776/32.png) [@oara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/oara)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2016, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-fiction-where-humans-watch-broadcasts-from-other-star-systems/754918/1 "2016-05-16T15:57:52Z")
It’s very common to mention that broadcasts of The Ed Sullivan Show or I Love Lucy or Fantasy Island have reached such-and-such star. What science fiction is out there where humans are following the broadcasts from Arcturus or somewhere? ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2016, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-fiction-where-humans-watch-broadcasts-from-other-star-systems/754918/2 "2016-05-16T16:06:09Z")
In _Futurama,_ aliens invade Earth after the TV show _Single Family Lawyer_ is cancelled. ---
**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:** [May 16, 2016, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-fiction-where-humans-watch-broadcasts-from-other-star-systems/754918/3 "2016-05-16T16:16:44Z")
> [@oara](#): > > It’s very common to mention that broadcasts of The Ed Sullivan Show or I Love Lucy or Fantasy Island have reached such-and-such star. > > What science fiction is out there where humans are following the broadcasts from Arcturus or somewhere? Mr. Goober’s Show (excerpt here [Dream Factories and Radio Pictures by Howard Waldrop - ElectricStory.com, Inc.](http://www.baen.com/Chapters/9781597290838/9781597290838.htm) ) ---
**Author:** ![zwede](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ac91a4/32.png) [@zwede](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zwede)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2016, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-fiction-where-humans-watch-broadcasts-from-other-star-systems/754918/4 "2016-05-16T16:17:51Z")
In Star Trek TOS episode “Bread and circuses” the crew of the Enterprise watch TV broadcasts from an alien planet that is like modern earth where the roman empire never fell. > **[Bread and Circuses (Star Trek: The Original Series)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bread_and_Circuses_(Star_Trek:_The_Original_Series))** > > "Bread and Circuses" is the twenty-fifth and penultimate episode of the second season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek. Written by Gene Roddenberry and Gene L. Coon and directed by Ralph Senensky, it was first broadcast on March 15, 1968. > In the episode, Captain Kirk and his companions are forced to fight in gladiatorial games on a planet resembling the Roman Empire, but possessing mid-20th century Earth technology. > Its name is a reference to the phrase "bread and c... ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2016, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-fiction-where-humans-watch-broadcasts-from-other-star-systems/754918/5 "2016-05-16T16:32:40Z")
Silly. Earth is the only planet that counts. It’s like imagining Americans would watch TV from other countries. We are the center of the universe! ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2016, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-fiction-where-humans-watch-broadcasts-from-other-star-systems/754918/6 "2016-05-16T17:14:04Z")
_The Ophiuchi Hotline_ by John Varley had humans listening in on alien broadcasts. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2016, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-fiction-where-humans-watch-broadcasts-from-other-star-systems/754918/7 "2016-05-16T18:08:28Z")
The humans in the Tripod trilogy were enslaved by alien broadcasts on earth TV. That was not a matter of picking up original broadcasts from the aliens’ homeworld, though, but rather a deliberate attack from close range. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2016, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-fiction-where-humans-watch-broadcasts-from-other-star-systems/754918/8 "2016-05-16T19:10:42Z")
Wasn’t there an episode of \*\*\*Outer Limits \*\*\* where a scientist (Robert Culp, I think) made contact with an extraterrestrial through a television set? ---
**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:** [May 16, 2016, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-fiction-where-humans-watch-broadcasts-from-other-star-systems/754918/9 "2016-05-16T21:25:05Z")
In _Borderlands 2_, a side-quest involves tracking down the whereabouts of a podcast superstar who has billions of followers on many worlds. He’s dead. Welcome to Pandora. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Bredin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@John\_Bredin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Bredin)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2016, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-fiction-where-humans-watch-broadcasts-from-other-star-systems/754918/10 "2016-05-16T21:45:52Z")
Sci-fi novel with humans watching alien television, though not transmitted across deep space: Manhattan Transfer, by John Stith. It’s mentioned that the aliens’ video standards are not the same as ours so techs have to devise converters. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2016, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-fiction-where-humans-watch-broadcasts-from-other-star-systems/754918/11 "2016-05-16T22:23:57Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > In _Borderlands 2_, a side-quest involves tracking down the whereabouts of a podcast superstar who has billions of followers on many worlds. > > He’s dead. Welcome to Pandora. A _Serenity_ reference, I’m guessing. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2016, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-fiction-where-humans-watch-broadcasts-from-other-star-systems/754918/12 "2016-05-16T22:29:48Z")
On _Rick and Morty_, Morty has a cable box that enables you to watch an infinite number of channels from the multiverse. ---
**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:** [May 16, 2016, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-fiction-where-humans-watch-broadcasts-from-other-star-systems/754918/13 "2016-05-16T22:31:40Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > A _Serenity_ reference, I’m guessing. Possible, but the Cortex wasn’t interstellar, so I figured it wouldn’t count. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2016, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-fiction-where-humans-watch-broadcasts-from-other-star-systems/754918/14 "2016-05-17T00:20:00Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > Possible, but the Cortex wasn’t interstellar, so I figured it wouldn’t count. We never figured out if they were on planets or moons in our solar system. “She needs air to fire.” dammit. ---
**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:** [May 17, 2016, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-fiction-where-humans-watch-broadcasts-from-other-star-systems/754918/15 "2016-05-17T00:21:45Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > We never figured out if they were on planets or moons in our solar system. > > “She needs air to fire.” > dammit. _Serenity_ took place within one solar system, with more habitable planets & moons than ours does. There was a (extra-)solar map in River’s flashback at the beginning. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2016, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-fiction-where-humans-watch-broadcasts-from-other-star-systems/754918/16 "2016-05-17T01:06:10Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > _Serenity_ took place within one solar system, with more habitable planets & moons than ours does. There was a (extra-)solar map in River’s flashback at the beginning. Thanks, Ethilrist. ---
**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:** [May 17, 2016, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-fiction-where-humans-watch-broadcasts-from-other-star-systems/754918/17 "2016-05-17T01:26:35Z")
There was an episode of **Star Trek: the Next Generation** where Riker was captured while on under cover in a pre-warp civilization the Federation was monitoring. IIRC the planet’s chancellor was horrified at the prospect of the Federation judging them by their popular entertainment broadcasts. ---
**Author:** ![Arizona\_Mike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7cd45c/32.png) [@Arizona\_Mike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arizona_Mike)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2016, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-fiction-where-humans-watch-broadcasts-from-other-star-systems/754918/18 "2016-05-17T02:49:36Z")
GALAXY QUEST! of course. The aliens watched old episodes of the Star Trek-like series and recreated the space ship and sought the original cast at an SF convention. ---
**Author:** ![Arizona\_Mike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7cd45c/32.png) [@Arizona\_Mike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arizona_Mike)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2016, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-fiction-where-humans-watch-broadcasts-from-other-star-systems/754918/19 "2016-05-17T02:52:09Z")
For humans listening to aliens, Mary Doria Russell’s novel _The Sparrow_ concerns song-like transmissions received on a near-future earth from a planet orbiting a binary star. A team of Jesuits travels to the planet at the behest of the Vatican to make contact and disaster ensues. Good novel. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2016, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-fiction-where-humans-watch-broadcasts-from-other-star-systems/754918/20 "2016-05-17T03:05:14Z")
> [@Arizona\_Mike](#): > > GALAXY QUEST! of course. The aliens watched old episodes of the Star Trek-like series and recreated the space ship and sought the original cast at an SF convention. Isn’t this the exact opposite of what the OP asked for? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-fiction-where-humans-watch-broadcasts-from-other-star-systems/754918.md?page=2)