Travicity
03-11-2011, 10:48 PM
Take MeTo Your TiVo: TV's Best Alien Invasions
You too, for one can help welcome our new alien overlords with UGO's list of TV's Best Alien Invasions!
27
Alien Nation
Space Invaders: The Tenctonese, or the "Newcomers"
Do They Come in Peace?: For the most part. The original Tenctonese arrived upon a slave ship that crashed in the Mojave desert. It wasn't until the rebel groups among the masters managed to overthrow the slave drivers that the INS intervened to begin integrating the aliens peacefully into society.
In fact, most of the time we were the aggressors, even purists.
26
Transformers
Space Invaders: Autobots and Decepticon
Do They Come in Peace?: You know the story. Decepticons bad, Autobots good. But have even the Autobots ever stopped to appreciate the warfare they've brought upon the planet? The fuel consumption? The amount of perfectly good film Michael Bay has wasted?
25
The X-Files
Space Invaders: The "Colonists"
Do They Come in Peace?: ...does that look friendly to you? And sure, this one isn't scheduled to take place until 2012. But considering the popularity of the inhuman David Duchovny these days, wouldn't you say the aliens are already among us?
24
Invasion
Space Invaders: Never named! But since the series depicted a hurricane and debuted around the time of Katrina, we dub them "Bad Timing"
Do They Come in Peace?: Well, it wasn't as if they had caused said hurricane, or sought to create mass destruction in their invasion, rather taking over host bodies through a form of cloning. At least it was a courteous invasion.
23
Aqua Teen Hunger Force
Space Invaders: The Moonites, the Plutonians, the Frat Aliens, Travis of the Cosmos...
Do They Come in Peace?: Not that any of their invasions were typically effective...or logical...or coherent, but it would seem most every week that the Aqua Teens find themselves fending off an alien invasion of one calliber or another.
Or, you know, getting distracted by their own vanities until everyone around them dies a bloody, horrible death. Usually Carl.
22
The Simpsons
Space Invaders: "Rigellians," most notably Kang and Kodo
Do They Come in Peace?: Don't let their bumbling ineptitude fool you, Kang and Kodos have taken multiple opportunities to attempt to enslave humanity, be they in two-party elections or Twilight Zone rip-offs.
Still, better to welcome our new alien overlords than vote for Ross Perot.
21
Dragon Ball Z
Space Invaders: The Saiyans
Do They Come in Peace?: As Goku and Vegeta would go on to prove, the Saiyans at least have the capacity to be friendly, but most Saiyans were a war-like race who sent infants to other worlds as seeds of their eventual conquest.
Not only that, but the alien Frieza made several invasion attempts with various other species of the Galaxy.
20
Saturday Night Live
Space Invaders: "Coneheads" was the name they adopted for themselves on Earth, so we suppose they were..."Remulak-ians?" Remulaks?
Do They Come in Peace?: The original group crash-landed accidentally upon the planet, but only sought the typical American dream. You know, consuming mass quantities, a single-serving six pack of beer, and erotically toss rings on one another's domes.
19
Power Rangers
Space Invaders: Rita Repulsa, Lord Zedd, the Putties...
Do They Come in Peace?: My goodness, did you ever stop to think as a child how many tragically lost their lives in each climactic fight with the Power Rangers?! Each villain managed to cause as much destruction as humanly possible, before typically engaging in a giant robot-fistfight through a crowded city.
Perhaps one day Zordon, the so-called "friendly" alien invader will answer for his horrific crimes.
18
Sliders
Space Invaders: The Kromaggs
Do They Come in Peace?: Okay, so the Kromaggs aren't technically aliens, but rather the evolutionary result of another prehistoric hominid from another dimension. Hey, close enough.
The Kromaggs continually conquered and invaded Earth after Earth, and shared a particular affinity for Nazi-like uniforms and eating human eyes. But darn it all, if they aren't just the cuddliest creatures you ever did see!
17
First Wave
Space Invaders: The Gua, though their original name before they adopted this remains unknown
Do They Come in Peace?: They might have, if they hadn't been invaded and enslaved on their dying world first! And yet, the ability to inhabit hybridized human clones, and test human resilience by systematically ruining people's lives as part of a three part invasion wave suggests that "Gua" doesn't translate to "hugs and puppies."
16
Justice League
Space Invaders: Darkseid, Apokolips, the Thanagarians...
Do They Come in Peace?: It's the DC Universe, so hardly a week goes by without an alien invasion of some manner. Choice highlights include the Thanagarians, who used Hawkgirl as a recon scout for their takeover, and the Lord of Apokolips himself, Darkseid, for invading Earth on at least two occasions.
Nobody from outer space just wants to cuddle, huh?
15
Battlestar Galactica
Space Invaders: The...Capricans? Sagitarons? Let's just go with the Thirteen Colonies.
Do They Come in Peace?: With all the war they've dragged from planet to planet, it's about damn time they come in peace. Not that the locals offer any real resistance, being primitives.
And this is the second Earth the people of Battlestar Galactica have invaded in search of a home! Greedy buggers.
14
Falling Skies
Space Invaders: We don't know their names yet! But their creepy, crawly, and have all kinds of hatred for Noah Wyle. So we'll call them "People Who've Seen The Librarian."
Do They Come in Peace?: Given that the series details life in the aftermath of a horrific alien take-over, we're going to vote nay on the whole "peaceful co-existence" thing. But the series, executive produced by Steven Spielberg drops on June 19th, so we'll sure as hell be watching to find out.
13
Smallville
Space Invaders: Kryptonians
Do They Come in Peace?: We hope Clark Kent's happy for all the destruction he's rained down upon the planet, as Kryptonian after Kryptonian seems to make their way to Earth across multiple Superman mediums, usually seeking the one called Kal-El.
Enslavement of the human race is usually just a nifty bonus for these invaders.
12
Roughnecks: The Starship Troopers Chronicles
Space Invaders: Bugs! BUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGGGGS!!!
Do They Come in Peace?: The films proposed the idea that the Bugs began the war only because of a percieved aggressive expansion into their territory, but the 1999 animated series wasn't so morally grey.
The final campaign of the show depicted the bugs invasion of Earth itself, though the show's cancellation left fate hanging in the balance.
11
Futurama
Space Invaders: The Brainspawn, the Decapodians, the Omicronians, The Thubans, Yivo...
Do They Come in Peace?: As Fry puts things in one of the Futurama comics, "Earth gets invade twice a week. It's how I remember to brush my teeth." Be it the desctruction of our most prized landmarks, forced mating, or abuse from the "Mobile Oppresion Palace," rarely do any of New New York's space invaders come in peace.
We'd laugh, it weren't so darn tragic.
10
Stargate: SG-1
Space Invaders: The Goa'uld
Do They Come in Peace?: Decidedly not. And they're far less anthropomorphic than their host bodies in Egyptian garb would have you believe, actually taking the form of small serpentine parasites.
Possibly owing to their unnaturally extended lifespans, the Goa'uld take nearly every opportunity to conquer and destroy, including silently infiltrating Trust for a full-scale invasion.
9
Invasion: Earth
Space Invaders: The "Echoes" and the nD
Do They Come in Peace?: While the Echoes could have certainly gone about it better, by the end they only sought aid in their war with the nD. The nD, on the other hand? They seek to either A) harvest any and all organic material to transform into living machines, or B) stretch their tentacles through universal portals to transform humans into living batteries.
Not so much with the fun, those.
8
The Twilight Zone
Space Invaders: The Kanamits
Do They Come in Peace?: Oh sure, lull us into a false sense of security by ending world hunger, rendering nukes inert and turning deserts into lush fields. But remember! "To Serve Man" isn't literal! It's ironic!
Anybody else hungry?
7
Star Trek
Space Invaders: The Vulcans
Do They Come in Peace?: Oh sure, the Vulcan arrival on Earth wasn't the most hostile of events. But this is one alien invasion we have to be grateful for, lest man never take to the stars in some kind of heavenly Trek!
Warp cores would stay online! New life and new civilizations would never have boldly been gone to! Nines would go un-Sevened!
6
War of the Worlds
Space Invaders: Some would still think of them as Martians, when they actually came from the planet Mor-Tax. And if that's a play on the only unavoidable things in life being "death and taxes," I'm a genius.
Do They Come in Peace?: Given that the TV series came as something of a sequel to the 1953 film, it's safe to say that very little friendly was to be found in the invading aliens' "heat-rays," though there was plenty of warmth.
Thank you, I'm here all week.
5
Dark Skies
Space Invaders: The Hive, or "Ganglions" as they've been nicknamed.
Do They Come in Peace?: They don't exactly look like the friendliest bunch, what with their small, spider-like appearance and tendency to attach themselves to a host's brain. And any "Greys" seen were mostly members of another race brainwashed to do their bidding.
Oh, and then there's the fact that they'd been covertly assimilating into history and attempting a subtle takeover of the planet, so...no peace.
4
Doctor Who
Space Invaders: The Daleks, the Cybermen...
Do They Come in Peace?: If there's one thing the Daleks or The Cybermen come to Earth for, it isn't the apple pie, and it certainly isn't peace. The robotic foes of many an incarnation of the good Doctor Who have attempted takeovers many times, and at many different points in history.
Luckily, our favorite wise-cracking Time Lord always has a hand and a screwdriver to intervene.
3
Earth: Final Conflict
Space Invaders: The Taelons, and later the Atavus
Do They Come in Peace?: You'd think, right? They don't look like they'd hurt a fly. Except that in exchange for sharing their technology with us, they secretly want to experiment on us in order to solve the infertility problem plaguing their race, and inadvertently unleash the wrath of their many enemies upon us.
Guess we should have read the fine print.
2
3rd Rock From The Sun
Space Invaders: The alien species was never named, so let's stick with "The Solomons"
Do They Come in Peace?: Mostly. Despite the occasional body-swap or visit from the aptly named Big Giant Head (William Shatner), the Solomons posed very little threat to Earth, only seeking to research its ways.
Not to mention, we could always beat them back with Jell-O! Which unfortunately, will surely one day destroy our planet as well.
1
V
Space Invaders: The Visitors
Do They Come in Peace?: As Zapp Brannigan would put it, now that's a wave of destruction that's easy on the eyes! Whether in 1983 or its 2009 counterpart, the Visitors always arrive with friendly intentions at the forefront, but eventually (and literally) shed their pleasing exteriors for more nefarious, lizard-like fare.
Though if they looked like Morena Baccarin, would you care?
UGO
You too, for one can help welcome our new alien overlords with UGO's list of TV's Best Alien Invasions!
27
Alien Nation
Space Invaders: The Tenctonese, or the "Newcomers"
Do They Come in Peace?: For the most part. The original Tenctonese arrived upon a slave ship that crashed in the Mojave desert. It wasn't until the rebel groups among the masters managed to overthrow the slave drivers that the INS intervened to begin integrating the aliens peacefully into society.
In fact, most of the time we were the aggressors, even purists.
26
Transformers
Space Invaders: Autobots and Decepticon
Do They Come in Peace?: You know the story. Decepticons bad, Autobots good. But have even the Autobots ever stopped to appreciate the warfare they've brought upon the planet? The fuel consumption? The amount of perfectly good film Michael Bay has wasted?
25
The X-Files
Space Invaders: The "Colonists"
Do They Come in Peace?: ...does that look friendly to you? And sure, this one isn't scheduled to take place until 2012. But considering the popularity of the inhuman David Duchovny these days, wouldn't you say the aliens are already among us?
24
Invasion
Space Invaders: Never named! But since the series depicted a hurricane and debuted around the time of Katrina, we dub them "Bad Timing"
Do They Come in Peace?: Well, it wasn't as if they had caused said hurricane, or sought to create mass destruction in their invasion, rather taking over host bodies through a form of cloning. At least it was a courteous invasion.
23
Aqua Teen Hunger Force
Space Invaders: The Moonites, the Plutonians, the Frat Aliens, Travis of the Cosmos...
Do They Come in Peace?: Not that any of their invasions were typically effective...or logical...or coherent, but it would seem most every week that the Aqua Teens find themselves fending off an alien invasion of one calliber or another.
Or, you know, getting distracted by their own vanities until everyone around them dies a bloody, horrible death. Usually Carl.
22
The Simpsons
Space Invaders: "Rigellians," most notably Kang and Kodo
Do They Come in Peace?: Don't let their bumbling ineptitude fool you, Kang and Kodos have taken multiple opportunities to attempt to enslave humanity, be they in two-party elections or Twilight Zone rip-offs.
Still, better to welcome our new alien overlords than vote for Ross Perot.
21
Dragon Ball Z
Space Invaders: The Saiyans
Do They Come in Peace?: As Goku and Vegeta would go on to prove, the Saiyans at least have the capacity to be friendly, but most Saiyans were a war-like race who sent infants to other worlds as seeds of their eventual conquest.
Not only that, but the alien Frieza made several invasion attempts with various other species of the Galaxy.
20
Saturday Night Live
Space Invaders: "Coneheads" was the name they adopted for themselves on Earth, so we suppose they were..."Remulak-ians?" Remulaks?
Do They Come in Peace?: The original group crash-landed accidentally upon the planet, but only sought the typical American dream. You know, consuming mass quantities, a single-serving six pack of beer, and erotically toss rings on one another's domes.
19
Power Rangers
Space Invaders: Rita Repulsa, Lord Zedd, the Putties...
Do They Come in Peace?: My goodness, did you ever stop to think as a child how many tragically lost their lives in each climactic fight with the Power Rangers?! Each villain managed to cause as much destruction as humanly possible, before typically engaging in a giant robot-fistfight through a crowded city.
Perhaps one day Zordon, the so-called "friendly" alien invader will answer for his horrific crimes.
18
Sliders
Space Invaders: The Kromaggs
Do They Come in Peace?: Okay, so the Kromaggs aren't technically aliens, but rather the evolutionary result of another prehistoric hominid from another dimension. Hey, close enough.
The Kromaggs continually conquered and invaded Earth after Earth, and shared a particular affinity for Nazi-like uniforms and eating human eyes. But darn it all, if they aren't just the cuddliest creatures you ever did see!
17
First Wave
Space Invaders: The Gua, though their original name before they adopted this remains unknown
Do They Come in Peace?: They might have, if they hadn't been invaded and enslaved on their dying world first! And yet, the ability to inhabit hybridized human clones, and test human resilience by systematically ruining people's lives as part of a three part invasion wave suggests that "Gua" doesn't translate to "hugs and puppies."
16
Justice League
Space Invaders: Darkseid, Apokolips, the Thanagarians...
Do They Come in Peace?: It's the DC Universe, so hardly a week goes by without an alien invasion of some manner. Choice highlights include the Thanagarians, who used Hawkgirl as a recon scout for their takeover, and the Lord of Apokolips himself, Darkseid, for invading Earth on at least two occasions.
Nobody from outer space just wants to cuddle, huh?
15
Battlestar Galactica
Space Invaders: The...Capricans? Sagitarons? Let's just go with the Thirteen Colonies.
Do They Come in Peace?: With all the war they've dragged from planet to planet, it's about damn time they come in peace. Not that the locals offer any real resistance, being primitives.
And this is the second Earth the people of Battlestar Galactica have invaded in search of a home! Greedy buggers.
14
Falling Skies
Space Invaders: We don't know their names yet! But their creepy, crawly, and have all kinds of hatred for Noah Wyle. So we'll call them "People Who've Seen The Librarian."
Do They Come in Peace?: Given that the series details life in the aftermath of a horrific alien take-over, we're going to vote nay on the whole "peaceful co-existence" thing. But the series, executive produced by Steven Spielberg drops on June 19th, so we'll sure as hell be watching to find out.
13
Smallville
Space Invaders: Kryptonians
Do They Come in Peace?: We hope Clark Kent's happy for all the destruction he's rained down upon the planet, as Kryptonian after Kryptonian seems to make their way to Earth across multiple Superman mediums, usually seeking the one called Kal-El.
Enslavement of the human race is usually just a nifty bonus for these invaders.
12
Roughnecks: The Starship Troopers Chronicles
Space Invaders: Bugs! BUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGGGGS!!!
Do They Come in Peace?: The films proposed the idea that the Bugs began the war only because of a percieved aggressive expansion into their territory, but the 1999 animated series wasn't so morally grey.
The final campaign of the show depicted the bugs invasion of Earth itself, though the show's cancellation left fate hanging in the balance.
11
Futurama
Space Invaders: The Brainspawn, the Decapodians, the Omicronians, The Thubans, Yivo...
Do They Come in Peace?: As Fry puts things in one of the Futurama comics, "Earth gets invade twice a week. It's how I remember to brush my teeth." Be it the desctruction of our most prized landmarks, forced mating, or abuse from the "Mobile Oppresion Palace," rarely do any of New New York's space invaders come in peace.
We'd laugh, it weren't so darn tragic.
10
Stargate: SG-1
Space Invaders: The Goa'uld
Do They Come in Peace?: Decidedly not. And they're far less anthropomorphic than their host bodies in Egyptian garb would have you believe, actually taking the form of small serpentine parasites.
Possibly owing to their unnaturally extended lifespans, the Goa'uld take nearly every opportunity to conquer and destroy, including silently infiltrating Trust for a full-scale invasion.
9
Invasion: Earth
Space Invaders: The "Echoes" and the nD
Do They Come in Peace?: While the Echoes could have certainly gone about it better, by the end they only sought aid in their war with the nD. The nD, on the other hand? They seek to either A) harvest any and all organic material to transform into living machines, or B) stretch their tentacles through universal portals to transform humans into living batteries.
Not so much with the fun, those.
8
The Twilight Zone
Space Invaders: The Kanamits
Do They Come in Peace?: Oh sure, lull us into a false sense of security by ending world hunger, rendering nukes inert and turning deserts into lush fields. But remember! "To Serve Man" isn't literal! It's ironic!
Anybody else hungry?
7
Star Trek
Space Invaders: The Vulcans
Do They Come in Peace?: Oh sure, the Vulcan arrival on Earth wasn't the most hostile of events. But this is one alien invasion we have to be grateful for, lest man never take to the stars in some kind of heavenly Trek!
Warp cores would stay online! New life and new civilizations would never have boldly been gone to! Nines would go un-Sevened!
6
War of the Worlds
Space Invaders: Some would still think of them as Martians, when they actually came from the planet Mor-Tax. And if that's a play on the only unavoidable things in life being "death and taxes," I'm a genius.
Do They Come in Peace?: Given that the TV series came as something of a sequel to the 1953 film, it's safe to say that very little friendly was to be found in the invading aliens' "heat-rays," though there was plenty of warmth.
Thank you, I'm here all week.
5
Dark Skies
Space Invaders: The Hive, or "Ganglions" as they've been nicknamed.
Do They Come in Peace?: They don't exactly look like the friendliest bunch, what with their small, spider-like appearance and tendency to attach themselves to a host's brain. And any "Greys" seen were mostly members of another race brainwashed to do their bidding.
Oh, and then there's the fact that they'd been covertly assimilating into history and attempting a subtle takeover of the planet, so...no peace.
4
Doctor Who
Space Invaders: The Daleks, the Cybermen...
Do They Come in Peace?: If there's one thing the Daleks or The Cybermen come to Earth for, it isn't the apple pie, and it certainly isn't peace. The robotic foes of many an incarnation of the good Doctor Who have attempted takeovers many times, and at many different points in history.
Luckily, our favorite wise-cracking Time Lord always has a hand and a screwdriver to intervene.
3
Earth: Final Conflict
Space Invaders: The Taelons, and later the Atavus
Do They Come in Peace?: You'd think, right? They don't look like they'd hurt a fly. Except that in exchange for sharing their technology with us, they secretly want to experiment on us in order to solve the infertility problem plaguing their race, and inadvertently unleash the wrath of their many enemies upon us.
Guess we should have read the fine print.
2
3rd Rock From The Sun
Space Invaders: The alien species was never named, so let's stick with "The Solomons"
Do They Come in Peace?: Mostly. Despite the occasional body-swap or visit from the aptly named Big Giant Head (William Shatner), the Solomons posed very little threat to Earth, only seeking to research its ways.
Not to mention, we could always beat them back with Jell-O! Which unfortunately, will surely one day destroy our planet as well.
1
V
Space Invaders: The Visitors
Do They Come in Peace?: As Zapp Brannigan would put it, now that's a wave of destruction that's easy on the eyes! Whether in 1983 or its 2009 counterpart, the Visitors always arrive with friendly intentions at the forefront, but eventually (and literally) shed their pleasing exteriors for more nefarious, lizard-like fare.
Though if they looked like Morena Baccarin, would you care?
UGO