# What’s your favorite alien? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 8, 2019, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-your-favorite-alien/841486 "2019-10-08T18:04:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2019, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-your-favorite-alien/841486/41 "2019-10-09T17:40:28Z")
Mexicans. ---
**Author:** ![GreenWyvern](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/greenwyvern/32/2834_2.png) [@GreenWyvern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenWyvern)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2019, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-your-favorite-alien/841486/42 "2019-10-09T17:43:51Z")
> [@Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](#): > > Yeah, that’s exactly the sort of aliens I love : those that are _really_ alien. I’ve always been unhappy with the many, too human aliens in SF. There are the calibans in C.J. Cherryh’s _Forty Thousand in Gehenna_. They are lizard-like creatures, initially classified as animals by human colonists, and not particularly intelligent animals at that. But it becomes gradually apparent that they have a different _kind_ of intelligence, if it can even be defined as intelligence in human terms. At any rate, they are more complex and more different than it may be possible for humans to fully understand. The book covers several generations of humans stranded on the planet, some of them forming a semi-symbiotic relationship with the calibans, and in the process becoming less intelligible to normal humans. There is never any clear or simple resolution to the nature of caliban intelligence, though eventually they are classified as intelligent beings by the human race in general, and their world protected. Actually, Cherryh’s books have a number of interesting alien species. e.g. The dangerous and complex social-insect-like Majat in _Serpent’s Reach_, and the various different species in the _Chanur_ novels, of which the Kif are the most interesting. And the Atevi in the _Foreigner_ series, who have no concept of affection or love. “Atevi aren’t friends. Atevi can’t be friends. They don’t like you. They’re not capable of liking you. The wiring isn’t there. Never forget it. Never expect it. Start building that construct to satisfy your needs and you’re dead.” On the other hand they have highly complex notions of loyalty and obligation, and fourteen different words for betrayal. ---
**Author:** ![Limmin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f04885/32.png) [@Limmin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Limmin)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2019, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-your-favorite-alien/841486/43 "2019-10-09T18:12:56Z")
For me, it’s any alien race sufficiently thought out. Just slapping on some plastic prosthetics (ears, scalloped forehead) and acting like better or worse humans doesn’t do it for me. Actually it’s become a pet peeve. But aliens dreamed up by some of authors already mentioned here, such as Niven’s Puppeteers or Brin’s Traeki, now these have promise. An alien race’s behavior should be informed by their physiology, right? In a deep, mechanical way. Chemicals flowing from one waxy torus to another should indicate slow, deliberate thinking, as seen in the Traeki. Having cloven hoofs, eyestalks and a herd instinct make you awkward and perhaps ungainly, which may lead to caution…and a strong desire to promote group safety. The Puppeteers’ creations all spring from this: direct control over their planets’ trajectory through space (away from disaster), “fun” and safe cities, super-safe starships they sell, like Volvos, to customers throughout the galaxy. To contrast, how do pointy ears indicate superior intelligence? It doesn’t work for me organically. On the other hand, they’re a lot easier to handle in a makeup department, and people in prosthetics are easy to film, standing right next to “regular” humans. ---
**Author:** ![dorvann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2019, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-your-favorite-alien/841486/44 "2019-10-09T18:52:12Z")
The Yip Yips(or the Martians) from Sesame Street are a sentimental favorite of mine. Known for saying , “Yip-yip-yip-yip… Uh-huh. Uh-huh”. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TStPNqex3uA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TStPNqex3uA) ---
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2019, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-your-favorite-alien/841486/45 "2019-10-09T19:23:30Z")
> [@dorvann](#): > > The Yip Yips(or the Martians) from Sesame Street are a sentimental favorite of mine. Known for saying , “Yip-yip-yip-yip… Uh-huh. Uh-huh”. > > [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TStPNqex3uA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TStPNqex3uA) Henson’s Puppeteers! ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2019, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-your-favorite-alien/841486/46 "2019-10-09T19:25:13Z")
Whatever species [Shahna](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0708466/reference) was. Rowr. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2019, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-your-favorite-alien/841486/47 "2019-10-09T19:47:18Z")
On the other hand, I kind of have respect for Hal Clement’s approach: His aliens are different in the ways dictated by their environment, but otherwise similar to humans, because why wouldn’t they be? Like, the alien main character in _Mission of Gravity_ is shaped like a centipede, has an extreme fear of heights, breathes pure hydrogen, drinks liquid methane, and considers water a fine structural material for transparent objects, because those are all perfectly reasonable traits for a living thing on its planet. And it’s also resourceful, adventurous, and always willing to make a good deal, not because of its species, but because it’s the captain of a spice-trading ship, and those are all perfectly reasonable traits for a spice-ship captain. With a sample size of one, it’s equally justified to assume that humans are basically typical, or that aliens are so different from us as to be beyond any hope of comprehension. ---
**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:** [October 9, 2019, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-your-favorite-alien/841486/48 "2019-10-09T20:04:22Z")
Whichever species is in _Explorers_ would be fun to be around, when they’re old enough to not have to rely on stealing their dad’s spaceship. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2019, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-your-favorite-alien/841486/49 "2019-10-09T20:13:18Z")
Klaatu. I could never figure out why Patricia Neal didn’t just grab her kid, dump that loser boyfriend, and walk right up into K’s flying saucer. ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2019, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-your-favorite-alien/841486/50 "2019-10-09T20:21:50Z")
ALF (Alien Life Form). Not sure what the name of the main ALF character was, but that guy cracked me up. He loved his cats. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2019, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-your-favorite-alien/841486/51 "2019-10-09T20:56:13Z")
Heavily influenced as I am by my childhood interests, I have to go with Superman. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2019, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-your-favorite-alien/841486/52 "2019-10-09T21:27:02Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > Whatever species [Shahna](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0708466/reference) was. Rowr. Or Kamala, a Kriosian, in The Perfect Mate STTNG Se 5: E 21. She’s a hot empath trained to fulfill her mates every desire. ---
**Author:** ![dorvann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2019, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-your-favorite-alien/841486/53 "2019-10-09T21:28:40Z")
> [@wguy123](#): > > ALF (Alien Life Form). Not sure what the name of the main ALF character was, but that guy cracked me up. He loved his cats. It was Gordon Shumway; I actually remembered that and only had to look it up to confirm it. ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2019, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-your-favorite-alien/841486/54 "2019-10-09T21:35:47Z")
> [@dorvann](#): > > It was Gordon Shumway; I actually remembered that and only had to look it up to confirm it. Ha! That’s it! ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2019, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-your-favorite-alien/841486/55 "2019-10-09T21:37:13Z")
The Valkyries from _Battle Beyond the Stars_. Sadly, we only get to see one of them and the actress wasn’t that good. But cool concepts and all that. Magnificent. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2019, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-your-favorite-alien/841486/56 "2019-10-09T21:47:26Z")
I don’t know if ALF’s name was ever given in the live-action TV show, or if he was only called Gordon Shumway on the _Alf Tales_ cartoon (set on his home planet). ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2019, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-your-favorite-alien/841486/57 "2019-10-09T22:57:37Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > The Valkyries from _Battle Beyond the Stars_. > > Sadly, we only get to see one of them and the actress wasn’t that good. But cool concepts and all that. > > Magnificent. Actress NOT THAT GOOD!!! That was the immortal **Sybil Danning** > **[Sybil Danning](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sybil_Danning)** > > Sybil Danning (born Sybille Johanna Danninger, May 24, 1947) is an Austrian–American actress, model, and film producer. She is best known for her frequent appearances in B movies during the 1970s and 1980s. > Born in Austria, Danning spent most of her childhood on military bases and traveling with her family around the world. After their return to Austria, she landed a job as a dental hygienist to support her family following her parents' divorce. At the age of sixteen, Danning left her home and r... Show her some respect! By the way – there are two different versions of the film. In one of them, Danning’s Valkyrie costume is a LOT skimpier. She’ll show you how a Valkyrie can go sown. ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2019, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-your-favorite-alien/841486/58 "2019-10-09T23:34:28Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I don’t know if ALF’s name was ever given in the live-action TV show, or if he was only called Gordon Shumway on the _Alf Tales_ cartoon (set on his home planet). I am pretty sure it was during the original series. IMDb has some quotes supporting that. Brian ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2019, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-your-favorite-alien/841486/59 "2019-10-09T23:54:05Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I don’t know if ALF’s name was ever given in the live-action TV show, or if he was only called Gordon Shumway on the _Alf Tales_ cartoon (set on his home planet). He called himself Gordon [at the end of the first episode](https://seriesinenglish.blogspot.com/2016/01/alf-season-1-episode-1-part-1-uncut.html). Shumway was revealed [in 1x07](https://seriesinenglish.blogspot.com/2016/05/alf-season-1-episode-7-uncut-version.html). ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2019, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-your-favorite-alien/841486/60 "2019-10-10T00:11:44Z")
Farscape’s Dominars. I love Rigel. (And there’s D’Argo and Chiana, too.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-your-favorite-alien/841486.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-your-favorite-alien/841486.md?page=4)