Whispering Woods Aliens & #Giveaway

01/24/2013

I had a post last week about aliens. It's been mentioned that technically, Regulus is an alien. In case you aren't familiar with my Whispering Woods characters, Regulus is from a different dimension. He appears to be physically like any guy you'd pass on the street.

I enjoyed the blog comments last week from my post, Obsessed With Aliens.

Rusty Carl of The Blutonian Death Egg remarked,

"I wouldn't say I *love* aliens, but I like them a lot. I wish there were more movies that portrayed them in more alien-y fashion."

I guess I want to feel safe and pretend aliens would look just like us.

I found an interesting explanation that talks about how Star Trek developed a justification at one point as to why there were humanoid lifeforms in the storyline. The following explanation was copied from Wikipedia .

In much of science fiction, the reason for the abundance of humanoid aliens is not explained and requires suspension of disbelief. In some cases, however, explanations have been offered for this. In Star Trek, the abundance of humanoid aliens within the Star Trek universe is explained by advancing the story of a primordial humanoid civilization, the Ancient humanoids, who seeded the galaxy with genetically-engineered cells to guide the evolution of life on a multitude of worlds toward a humanoid form.[7] In the television series Stargate SG-1, the Jaffa are explained as being an offshoot of humanity bred by the Goa'uld to suit their purposes, hence their almost-human appearance and physiology, while many other "alien" characters are actually the descendants of humans who were removed from Earth by the Goa'uld for use as slaves.

So, are you a Trekkie? Ever wonder why the aliens looked so similar to us? Have a vote for most interesting movie/book/television alien ever? Think you have aliens for neighbors?

This concludes my two-part pondering on aliens. For a more interesting topic, here's my January giveaway. Entry options change throughout the month, so there are different ways to enter if you visit often.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Comments

Alex J. Cavanaugh link

01/24/2013 7:39pm

Big Trek fan and I though they looked like us due to small special effects budget.

Brinda

01/26/2013 7:27am

I'm sure the budget had a lot to do with it.

Shelley Munro link

01/24/2013 10:59pm

I've heard this before and agree, but in the romance genre in which I write, if the hero is an alien he needs to be compatible. He or she can't be too scary or too physically different that a reader will go "yuck!" And throw the book at the nearest wall. They need to be humanoid enough that the reader wants to step into the hero/heroine's shoes. That's my theory and I'm sticking to it.

Brinda

01/26/2013 6:12pm

I agree with you. Who wants to go "yuck" when reading a romance!

Ciara Knight link

01/25/2013 6:19am

I never thought about the human-like appearance. I just love science fiction. Interesting reason why they were developed that way.

sarah elizabeth link

01/25/2013 9:25am

I'm not a trekki, i never watch star trek if i can help it. i figure the aliens are usual humanoid because of budgets!
my favourite aliens were from the cast of the tv show roswell. i absolutely love that show and will happily watch episodes back to back all weekend long :)

Michael Offutt link

01/25/2013 10:28am

For the record, I HATED the episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation in which they revealed why all the aliens look humanoid (having descended from a common dough-faced ancestor). It was completely stupid.

My favorite alien of all time is E.T. Something about that movie just captured my imagination as a young boy. Maybe I just related to Henry Thomas who was the same age as me. But to this day, I can't stop from tearing up when E.T. says goodbye to Elliot and hugs him and rubs his red hoodie with his fingers. And then he says "Ouch" and points at his heart.

That movie is a masterpiece.

Now, I also like the hot aliens that you create. Yours are so much better than the ones created by that fiction company that spews out the "I Am Number Four" books.

Brinda

01/26/2013 6:14pm

That may be the nicest thing said to me all day. :)

I haven't seen ET is years. This made me want to watch it again.

Mary link

01/25/2013 11:12am

I think it's more convenient to invent aliens that look like us. But I think it's arrogant to think they would. Even if they do, I don't believe they'd think anything like us. Their experiences and perspectives would be completely different. I love Star Trek. I think it's hard to create a good alien on screen though that doesn't look like it jumped straight out of a comic book. And most importantly, in fiction it needs to be a character humans can relate to. I'm thinking that has a lot to do with how they look and behave in ficiton.

Brinda

01/26/2013 6:15pm

Aliens would most likely look like something we've never seen before. :) Right?

Elaine Cougler link

01/25/2013 11:18am

Ok, I admit it. I'm a trekkie, trekker fan, although I don't watch any of the incarnations anymore. Star Trek the original first caught my attention. Then along came Jean Luc and The Next Generation, followed by Deep Space Nine and Voyager. All of them allowed me to imagine a world different from my own but in many instances based on earth. I have always thought there is probably life somewhere out there because it seems pretty arrogant to think we are the only sentient beings.That being said, I don't want to meet any of them in some dark or even light alley.
Fun post, Brinda! I'm waiting for Scotty to beam me up.

Lisa Vazquezanzua

01/25/2013 11:51am

I wouldn't say I'm a "Trekkie" but I do love watching the TV series. My dad always watched Star Trek and Star Wars movies. So watching them from when I was younger I grew to love these shows. My favorite back then was Battlestar Galactica! I LOVED that series!! Then Roswell series came along and fell in LOVE with this series. I had to buy all three seasons because like Sarah (above) commented, I also will watch the series over and over!! And with a few of the above people that commented I have to agree with them on having the aliens look more human when there is a love story because really, what human would want to kiss and fall in love with an alien that looks like E.T. or green and slimy?

Brinda

01/26/2013 6:16pm

We all love Roswell!

Sherry Isaac link

01/25/2013 12:11pm

I loved Star Gate, the movie, but not so much for the alien aspect as the whole travel by portal business, and the alternate universe. I never got into the television series.

While not a Trekkie, I loved Star Trek The Next Generation, but to me, the show was not about aliens, but about the potential of the human race, and the hope of mankind living in a time that transcended prejudice.

Tami Clayton

01/25/2013 1:13pm

Like Sherry, I, too, like watching any of the sic-fi shows and movies out there for the parallels is draws to our frailties as humans across time and space as well as the possibility of living in a world without the things we're doing to destroy each other and the planet.

I had to laugh out loud at your question about whether my neighbors were aliens. Several years ago, my oldest (then 9 years old) was talking about aliens and space and the possibility of other life forms out there in the universe. Someone joked with her that maybe our neighbors across the street could possibly be aliens. She responded quickly and confidently that the neighbors were definitely not aliens. When asked how she knew this to be true, she said, "Because they don't have a giant zipper on their bodies."

Brinda

01/26/2013 6:16pm

*checking myself for giant zipper* lol

Rusty Carl link

01/25/2013 1:30pm

Hey! I feel like an internet celebrity! Shucks.

I'm a huge trekkie from way back, they did try to do really alien things as far back as the original series, the silicon rock monster comes to mind... TNG had the crystalline entity, the giant jellyfish whatschamacallits from the Encounter at Farpoint episode, and a few others. But even if it started as a budgetary concession in the beginning, it's still really hard to tell entertaining, accessible stories if you have aliens that no one can make any sense of.

Once I figured out that Star Trek was making their aliens as different human cultures and beliefs I understood better what they were trying to do... I liked it a little less when I found out, but I at least understood.

And yes, the TNG episode where they revealed why so many aliens look so similar to humans was a wee bit implausable, but I recall that was a two part episode when it aired, and I was really on the edge of my seat trying to figure out what the hell was going on. So I think it worked right up until the big reveal.

So, what did I just say? Oh, I think it's hard to tell weekly stories where you meet incomprehensibly weird aliens all the time. It would be the ship showing up, seeing a whole bunch of stuff they didn't understand, and leaving without figuring out what the hell just happened.

I love it that you've been musing about aliens.

Brinda

01/26/2013 6:21pm

Yes, you are right. Aliens that look like maybe an oil spot on the floor would be difficult to cast or give lines to for interaction. :) I guess everyone on the ship could show up and stare at it, slip and fall, place kitty litter on it, and return to ship.

deb p

01/25/2013 7:30pm

I like Star Trek and Star Wars. The dog ,from Men in Black was a different looking alien .

01/25/2013 9:25pm

I love watching Star Trek. Not all aliens look like us, the Alien mother scares me I canna watch those movies.
Z

Jamie Ayres link

01/25/2013 9:55pm

Well, you're not gonna believe this, but I was voted "Most Likely to Warn the World Aliens Are Coming" in high school, lol. I carried an alien purse and pretended to communiate on my shoe with them when I was bored in class. I prefer Star Wars to Star Trek though, and there's plenty of references to it in 18 Things:-) Glad I stumbled upon your blog today!

Sharon Clare link

01/26/2013 6:35am

Very interesting post, Brinda. I watched every Star Trek episode as a teenager, but didn't follow the later series, so I'm still with Capt. Kirk. I admit I didn't ponder the existence of humans elsewhere in the universe.
When I wrote Love of Her Lives, the hero also comes from a different dimension and is very much human. He gets his body from the spell of an elf, but even in the Upper World dimension, I pictured him as human. Perhaps this is why my books appeal to readers who typically don't read paranormal. Maybe. Who knows.

Brinda

01/26/2013 6:22pm

Sharon,
I liked him with the body of a human as well. It was a nice body.

tara tyler link

01/26/2013 8:36am

we make things in our own image, with tweaks. it works for us, hard to think of another way so aliens have to have a heart in there somewhere! lately the studios have been more creative

star wars, galaxy quest, & independence day are my fave alien movies - oh, and mars attacks! ack ack!!

Carol Kilgore link

01/26/2013 9:19am

I think I always knew they were actors and not real aliens. I often wonder about some people, though - LOL.

Michelle link

01/27/2013 5:43pm

Nah, not a trekkie... ahem :)

Julie Flanders link

01/28/2013 12:56pm

I totally love Regulus and love this pic of him. Yum! :D This reminds me how I am eager to read the next installment in the Whispering Woods series.

Thanks again for including me in your giveaway!! :)

Comments are closed.