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Description
I'm sure you've noticed them before; they're everywhere - the typical characters that seem to pop up in everything. Whether it is in Shakespeare for your English class, or your favorite movie, they are used far and wide. Science fiction television has no immunity from these character archetypes; they just have a geeky twist.

The Hero: It's raining aliens but I'm still just me!

Is this character bland? Normal? Does the story revolve around him or her? Sounds like the hero to me. These characters are meant to be relatable and can easily cross over into boring territory. Some heroes are used to introduce the setting of the sci-fi show, the character learns with the audience and asks all the questions the audience has. The hero's job is to accept the reality of the sci-fi setting so that we can enter these worlds.

An example is Dr. Will Zimmerman, from Sanctuary. He is introduced at the start of the first episode and we learn about the strange world of abnormals – creatures with abnormal abilities – as Will stumbles into a job with a 150 year old caretaker in a gothic Victorian mansion.

But there are different flavors of heroes. The most important subtype is the anti-hero. In sci-fi these heroes have usually fought and lost a fight, or have dubious morals, like Captain Mal Reynolds, from the iconic Firefly. He fought against an oppressive government, and after losing, he turned to smuggling and other less-than-legal career choices.

The Geek: Someone needs to open the doors in this alien universe.

Where would science fiction be without the geeks, the scientists, the nerds, in their white lab coats or comic book t-shirts? The typical geek or nerd takes the form of scientist or tech support. They're usually needed to deal with some alien technology or some sort of tech problem. A key skill for every geek is to be able to open the locked door, behind which lies adventure, salvation, or maybe a bunch of aliens.

Some of these scientists have a quirk to them. For example, Dr. Rodney McKay of Stargate Atlantis is extremely rude and extremely smart. He can solve an, "impossible," problem in a couple of minutes. In Sanctuary, Henry Foss, the main technician for the Sanctuary is a werewolf and in Fringe, Walter Bishop is a genius, but has a piece of his brain missing.

The geek is by far the most iconic sci-fi character. Every science fiction television show and movie has a geek, and sometimes he has the added bonus of being a robot, like Data on Star Trek: The Next Generation.

The Token Alien: My people are humans too!

When we're talking science fiction, aliens are eventually come up (probably sooner rather than later). There is a natural progression from space travel to discovering different races. Some are primitive and some are hostile and some become regular characters in the drama.

In most sci-fi the token alien is a stoic warrior that could help bring down the big baddy. Teal'c, from Stargate SG-1. Bald, tall, and imposing, is the perfect example. He was the right hand man for one of the main villains, but turned to the human's side when he helped the main characters escape the wrath of his boss. Throughout the television show Teal'c provided useful information on his race that eventually helped defeat the baddies.

Another token alien is Chewbacca from Star Wars; he is the only non-human in the cast of main characters, other than the dynamic droid duo, C3P0 and R2D2.

The Mentor: Seeking pure good.

This character is less common in sci-fi than geeks or aliens, but they're still there, giving sage advice. The mentor has strong morals and time and again gives advice to the main characters. The most notable mentor in science fiction is from Star Wars, Obi Wan Kenobi. He guides Luke along his journey to become a Jedi, and when he dies, another mentor, Yoda, takes over.

Dr. Elizabeth Weir of Stargate Atlantis is a mentor for an entire crew of adventuring Earthlings exploring the Pegasus galaxy. She has a strong moral compass and often steers the main characters to a moral truth that ensures they do the right thing, even under difficult or impossible circumstances.

The Opposition: Pure evil.

Every story needs conflict, and sci-fi often gets its conflict from a powerful enemy who may (or may not) want to terminate all of humanity. It's common in science fiction for the villain to be an organization or group of beings that outnumber the side the main characters are on. It can take the form of an oppressive government, like The Alliance in Serenity or The Empire in Star Wars. The enemy can also take the form of an entire race of aliens, for example the Wraith in Stargate Atlantis or the Daleks in Doctor Who. In science fiction, the opposition is usually a poorly developed character with clearly pure evil intentions.

The Expendable Character: But I didn't mean to push that button …

Every sci-fi plot needs them; the guys that die. These characters are mostly introduced in one episode, only to be killed in the very same 45-minute period. These characters sometimes die to save other people, usually the main characters, but that's a death better suited to heroes and is rarely reserved for the expendable characters. Of course the most infamous expendable characters are the, "red shirts," from the original Star Trek show. If you didn't know the character's name and/or he was wearing a red uniform, he would probably be dead by the end of the episode.

Expendable characters often exhibit some typical human flaw that gets them killed. Too boastful, too curious, too irritable. They are a walking cautionary tale.

Even with all these archetypical character, there are exceptions. A character is often an assorted bag of different archetypes. The perfect example of a mixture of types is The Doctor from Doctor Who. He is the hero of the show, but he is also an alien and has many geeky qualities. The Doctor is also over 900 years old, and often imparts advice on his companions. Add a little anti-hero and you've got The Doctor. A less complicated example is Spock, as he's both geek and token alien.

Characters in science fiction are called upon to make the fantasy world real for viewers. Each contributes a particular (and sometimes peculiar) characteristic that signals to us that we are watching science fiction and translates an alien and strange setting into stories we can relate to as humans.

Description
I'm sure you've noticed them before; they're everywhere - the typical characters that seem to pop up in everything. Whether it is in Shakespeare for your English class, or your favorite movie, they are used far and wide. Science fiction television has no immunity from these character archetypes; they just have a geeky twist.

The Hero: It's raining aliens but I'm still just me!

Is this character bland? Normal? Does the story revolve around him or her? Sounds like the hero to me. These characters are meant to be relatable and can easily cross over into boring territory. Some heroes are used to introduce the setting of the sci-fi show, the character learns with the audience and asks all the questions the audience has. The hero's job is to accept the reality of the sci-fi setting so that we can enter these worlds.

An example is Dr. Will Zimmerman, from Sanctuary. He is introduced at the start of the first episode and we learn about the strange world of abnormals – creatures with abnormal abilities – as Will stumbles into a job with a 150 year old caretaker in a gothic Victorian mansion.

But there are different flavors of heroes. The most important subtype is the anti-hero. In sci-fi these heroes have usually fought and lost a fight, or have dubious morals, like Captain Mal Reynolds, from the iconic Firefly. He fought against an oppressive government, and after losing, he turned to smuggling and other less-than-legal career choices.

The Geek: Someone needs to open the doors in this alien universe.

Where would science fiction be without the geeks, the scientists, the nerds, in their white lab coats or comic book t-shirts? The typical geek or nerd takes the form of scientist or tech support. They're usually needed to deal with some alien technology or some sort of tech problem. A key skill for every geek is to be able to open the locked door, behind which lies adventure, salvation, or maybe a bunch of aliens.

Some of these scientists have a quirk to them. For example, Dr. Rodney McKay of Stargate Atlantis is extremely rude and extremely smart. He can solve an, "impossible," problem in a couple of minutes. In Sanctuary, Henry Foss, the main technician for the Sanctuary is a werewolf and in Fringe, Walter Bishop is a genius, but has a piece of his brain missing.

The geek is by far the most iconic sci-fi character. Every science fiction television show and movie has a geek, and sometimes he has the added bonus of being a robot, like Data on Star Trek: The Next Generation.

The Token Alien: My people are humans too!

When we're talking science fiction, aliens are eventually come up (probably sooner rather than later). There is a natural progression from space travel to discovering different races. Some are primitive and some are hostile and some become regular characters in the drama.

In most sci-fi the token alien is a stoic warrior that could help bring down the big baddy. Teal'c, from Stargate SG-1. Bald, tall, and imposing, is the perfect example. He was the right hand man for one of the main villains, but turned to the human's side when he helped the main characters escape the wrath of his boss. Throughout the television show Teal'c provided useful information on his race that eventually helped defeat the baddies.

Another token alien is Chewbacca from Star Wars; he is the only non-human in the cast of main characters, other than the dynamic droid duo, C3P0 and R2D2.

The Mentor: Seeking pure good.

This character is less common in sci-fi than geeks or aliens, but they're still there, giving sage advice. The mentor has strong morals and time and again gives advice to the main characters. The most notable mentor in science fiction is from Star Wars, Obi Wan Kenobi. He guides Luke along his journey to become a Jedi, and when he dies, another mentor, Yoda, takes over.

Dr. Elizabeth Weir of Stargate Atlantis is a mentor for an entire crew of adventuring Earthlings exploring the Pegasus galaxy. She has a strong moral compass and often steers the main characters to a moral truth that ensures they do the right thing, even under difficult or impossible circumstances.

The Opposition: Pure evil.

Every story needs conflict, and sci-fi often gets its conflict from a powerful enemy who may (or may not) want to terminate all of humanity. It's common in science fiction for the villain to be an organization or group of beings that outnumber the side the main characters are on. It can take the form of an oppressive government, like The Alliance in Serenity or The Empire in Star Wars. The enemy can also take the form of an entire race of aliens, for example the Wraith in Stargate Atlantis or the Daleks in Doctor Who. In science fiction, the opposition is usually a poorly developed character with clearly pure evil intentions.

The Expendable Character: But I didn't mean to push that button …

Every sci-fi plot needs them; the guys that die. These characters are mostly introduced in one episode, only to be killed in the very same 45-minute period. These characters sometimes die to save other people, usually the main characters, but that's a death better suited to heroes and is rarely reserved for the expendable characters. Of course the most infamous expendable characters are the, "red shirts," from the original Star Trek show. If you didn't know the character's name and/or he was wearing a red uniform, he would probably be dead by the end of the episode.

Expendable characters often exhibit some typical human flaw that gets them killed. Too boastful, too curious, too irritable. They are a walking cautionary tale.

Even with all these archetypical character, there are exceptions. A character is often an assorted bag of different archetypes. The perfect example of a mixture of types is The Doctor from Doctor Who. He is the hero of the show, but he is also an alien and has many geeky qualities. The Doctor is also over 900 years old, and often imparts advice on his companions. Add a little anti-hero and you've got The Doctor. A less complicated example is Spock, as he's both geek and token alien.

Characters in science fiction are called upon to make the fantasy world real for viewers. Each contributes a particular (and sometimes peculiar) characteristic that signals to us that we are watching science fiction and translates an alien and strange setting into stories we can relate to as humans.