History Literature / Expedition

* TheDreaded: The Eosapiens are not intelligent and powerful hunters capable of dispatching even the most dangerous of the planet's creatures with only the assistance of crude clubs and spears. Little wonder, then, that almost every animal on the planet flees immediately upon so much as catching a glimpse of one, even the ones that regarded the probes with indifference or aggression. Even the titanic Sea Striders seem to be rattled by their presence.

* BizarreAlienSenses: Sonar seems to be the primary sensory input for Darwin IV species, with thermographic sense as the closest they come to "vision". Retconned in ''Alien Planet'', where the Eosapiens are able to "see" projected images by the probes; possibly they were detecting the slight heat generated by the light beams.

[[https://waynebarlowe.wordpress.com/artwork/expedition/ The author's website for the book can be found here.]] And the Discovery Channel's [[http://dsc.discovery.com/convergence/alienplanet/ website for the movie is here.]]

* AdaptationalBadass: The Littoralopes gain some cool-looking black armor for ''Alien Planet''.

** The book describes the Emperor Sea Strider as being 600 feet or 183 meters in height, but the documentary scales it down to a more realistic 80 feet or 24 meters (it's still described as being the biggest creature on Darwin IV AND Earth).
** Prongheads are just depicted in a single picture in the book, but the documentary goes as far as to portray their predatory behaviors hunting Gyrosprinters, as well as their social behavior in packs.
** Littoralopes are shown as having black armor in the documentary: they just had pale, leathery skin in the book.
** The plants growing on the Groveback are depicted in the book as commensals, dying once the Groveback begins to move again. The documentary on the other hand adds a symbiotic relationship instead, with the plants providing the Groveback with sugars, who trade them water in return.
** The Amoebic Sea is portrayed as an active predator in the documentary. In the book, it was mostly inert and defenseless even as many shorline creatures feed on its gelatinous matrix.

* AdaptedOut: Of the over 50 creatures in ''Expedition'', only a handful make it into ''Alien Planet''. The Yma are also not featured.
* AfterTheEnd: Darwin IV itself, possibly. There are many indications from the drones' observations that, as beautiful and unspoiled as the planet is, its biosphere is a mere shadow of its former self. Apparently, Darwin is currently in the process of recovering from [[UnspecifiedApocalypse a mass-extinction event of uncertain origin]] sometime in the recent ([[TimeAbyss as in a couple million years]]) evolutionary past that was so horrific it not only wiped out most of the planet's lifeforms but also radically altered the composition of its atmosphere and oceans - in fact, all surface water is ''gone''; this catastrophe led to the evolution of the Amoebic Sea, as organisms banded together to trap what water was left. It's possibly similar to prehistoric Earth's "Oxygen Catastrophe" or, [[AbusivePrecursors more ominously]], the current runaway Greenhouse Effect.
* AHeadAtEachEnd: Littralopes have a head-like tail and a tail-like head. Given that nothing on Darwin IV has any eyes or mouths, this trick works just fine.
** The Symet too, a bipedal herds-dweller that does the same trick.

* AlienSea: The Amoebic Sea. It's purple, gelatinous, slimy...and ''alive!'' What's a more alien sea than a Texas-sized living blob that sends out tentacles to ensnare unfortunate critters flying above it? (Only in the documentary though, it's mostly inert and defenseless in the original book.)
* AliensNeverInventedTheWheel: On Darwin neither jawbones nor eyeballs ever evolved, not that this hinders the aliens much.

* AlwaysABiggerFish: In ''Alien Planet'', a probe is saved by an Eosapien from a Skewer.
** Eosapiens, in a rather...unsettling parallel to us humans, are able to hunt predators like Arrowtongues and Raybacks, seemingly for sport.
** The food chain on Darwin IV is mighty bizarre. The top land predator, the Arrowtongue, is the Darwin equivalent of a ''T. Rex'' yet itself is preyed on by the flying Skewer, a winged beast that hunts ''practically everything else''. And just when you thought that nothing could prey on such a fierce predator...it itself is caught by the sessile Butchertree!
* AnimalsLackAttributes: Averted with many fauna, possessing a phallus so prominent it resembles a second tail.

** One notable criticism of Darwin IV is the seeming lack of relationships between animals: in fact, the only attempt at classification the book gives them is based on their number of legs, which make about as much sense as saying humans are birds because they're both bipedal. Compare and contrast with ''WebOriginal/{{Snaiad}}'', which portrays a basic body plan for all the large fauna and classifies them based on morphological similarities with clearly-defined relationships between its species.
** Some of the creatures appear to be inspired by man-made Earth machines. For example, the Skewer's gas pods and birdlike shape evoke a World War II jet fighter, and the Gyrosprinter's leg arrangement, flat seat-like tail and handlebar-like halteres bear more than a passing resemblance to a motorcycle.
** The lack of eyes is incredibly unlikely- if Earth's evolutionary history is any indication, sight is incredibly easy to evolve and provides a massive evolutionary advantage, meaning that it's almost a certainty in any ecosystem with light.

* AuthorAvatar: ''Expedition'' is written in the first-person perspective of a scientist in the far future named...Wayne Barlowe. As in, you know, the author.
* BenevolentAlienInvasion: By [[HumansAdvanceSwiftly humanity]] or in ''Alien Planet'' human-built AI drones.
** Even moreso by the Yma who, you know, prevented [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIT the end of the world]] via over-pollution on Earth.
* BinarySuns: An aspect of the Darwin system, a dim red giant and a much smaller but brighter white dwarf. The term "''suns''light" is used to remind us.
* BioluminescenceIsCool: Many species have this. Which is odd, since no eyes ever evolved on the planet, so visible light is pointless. However, the bio-luminescence may just be a side effect of generating ''heat'' for thermographic signaling.
* BizarreAlienBiology: Plenty bizarre, but [[MostWritersAreHuman recognizable]]. Some, however, are odd halfway critters neither flora nor fauna.

* BizarreAlienLocomotion: All sorts. There's the Rimerunner, a vaguely kangaroo-like creature that hops on one leg, the Skewer, which flies with jets of gas generated in its stomach, the Tundra Plow, which drags its face along the ice, the Gyrosprinter, a horse-like creature with ''a single front leg and a single hind leg'', and the Forest Slider, which is born a quadruped but loses its hind legs when its ''hind skid'' replaces them.

* BizarreSexualDimorphism: Largely averted as the Darwinian creatures are mostly hermaphroditic.
** The Sac-back is an exception, having male and female forms. While the male waddles about on three limbs, the female is an immobile, sessile creature buried underground, requiring feedings from her mobile mate as she is unable to move around.
* BodyHorror: Earth's remaining fauna are subject to this due to environmental pollution. A picture of malformed earth cows is shown at the beginning of the book, with no eyes, ears, horns, or even ''anything that could be recognized as a face.''
* ButtMonkey: In a world of amazing, strange of frightening creatures, there's the Bladderhorn, a big, blue beast with balloon-like antlers and a comically flatulent call. It serves rather as comic relief in all the weirdness going on.

* CoolStarship: The ''Von Braun'' from ''Alien Planet.''
* CrapsackWorld: Earth, but the [[BenevolentAlienInvasion Y]][[HumansNeedAliens ma]] are helping to fix it.
* CreatorsPet: InUniverse. Check out the ''Expedition'' badge - an Emperor Sea Strider is emblazoned on it.
* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass: The Gyrosprinter looks feeble as it awkwardly hobbles along on its mismatched legs, but should danger threaten, it bursts forward with the speed of a cheetah and the manuverability of a mountain bike.

* DeathByAThousandCuts: Beach Quills attack this way, propelling themselves in huge numbers at whatever happens to get too close, piercing into them and delivering fatal doses of neurotoxin. This allows them to bring down creatures as large as the ''Groveback.''

* DeusExMachina: The Skewers, Barlowe even calls them that [[http://waynebarlowe.wordpress.com/artwork/expedition/ here]]. In this case it's less in the sense of "resolves plot elements" and more in the sense of DeathFromAbove.

* TheDreaded: The Eosapiens are not only intelligent but extremely powerful. They are capable of dispatching even the most dangerous of the planet's creatures with only the assistance of crude clubs and spears. Little wonder that almost every animal on the planet flees ''immediately'' upon so much as catching a glimpse of one, even the ones that regarded the probes with indifference or aggression. Even the titanic Sea Striders seem to be rattled by their presence.

* EverythingsBetterWithDinosaurs: T. Rex-like Arrowtongues, Raptor-like Daggerwrists, and sauropod-like Grovebacks.
* ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin: Names like Arrowtongue, Groveback, Daggerwrist, Rayback, and Gyrosprinter.

* {{Expy}}: Considering Wayne Barlowe was a co-designer in ''Film/PacificRim'', it's really no big surprise that one Kaiju in the film, named Mutavore, shares features of some creatures found in the book, the Keeled Slider being an uncanny look-alike.

* EyePop: The rimrunner does this with its single primitive eye (see below).

* HumanAliens: Averted. Aside from dexterous hands, the Eosapiens (Darwin IV's only sentient species) have nothing in common with us Earthlings.
* HumanoidAliens: The Yma.

* LosingYourHead: Apparently a part of the life cycle of the Mummy-nest Flyer, whose head detaches from its body and flies about, using its ''still-living body as a home'', that is, it camps out inside its former torso's cavity.

** Grovebacks, though, have a wide gaping mouth used in filter-feeding and the Forest Gulper is the only true jawed creature.

* NotSoDifferent: The probes and the Eosapiens both have large sacs of gas comprising their body, tentacle-like arms sprouting beneath those, and a long, flat tail jutting outwards.
** This may actually have been the probes' downfall as the Eosapiens might have mistaken them for their own kind and freaked out at the disk resembling a weapon, like how you might react to what appears to be a human pointing something you'd mistake for a gun at you.

* RaptorAttack: The pack-hunting Prongheads, frequently compared to the prehistoric dromeosaurs. The Daggerwrist also looks and acts a lot like a ''Franchise/JurassicPark''-style "Velociraptor".
** Some (thankfully feathered) Velociraptors appear briefly in a scene in ''Alien Planet'' depicting the Gyrosprinter.

* SensoryTentacles: The gyrosprinter has these sticking out on either side of its torso - they're actually extremely sensitive ''balance'' organs, like the human inner ear.

* SpeculativeDocumentary
* StarfishAliens: Most of the species presented. Though granted, they typically evoke an earth animal in niche and design.

* StockSoundEffect: The Prongheads make sounds similar to some monsters from the video game ''Silent Hill''.
** The Unth's honking call sounds similar to Jurassic Park's velociraptors.

* TripodTerror: The Prismalopes are three-legged and in fact do look quite a bit like the Martian tripods, though ultimately subverted as they're small, harmless creatures.
** Certain animals, such as the Keeled Slider and the Groveback, have two front legs and a skid-like rear limb, making a tripod of sorts. Again, not particularly a cause of terror, unless you're an unlucky Arrowtongue that gets too close in the way of its rear skid.

* VisualPun: The Gyrosprinter has one foot in front of the other.

** The book describes the Emperor Sea Strider as being 600 feet in height, but the documentary scales it down to a more realistic 80 feet (it's still described as being the biggest creature on Darwin IV AND Earth).

* AlienSea: The Amoebic Sea. It's purple, gelatinous, slimy...and ''alive!'' What's a more alien sea than a Texas-sized living blob that sends out tentacles to ensnare unfortunate critters near its shore? (Only in the documentary though, it's mostly inert and defenseless in the original book.)

* DiesDifferentlyInAdaptaion: Both ''Expedition'' and ''Alien Planet'' feature a scene with a dying Groveback. In the book, it simply dies of old age, but in ''Alien Planet'' it is killed by a swarm of Beachquills.

* ArtisticLicensePhysics: Many of the much larger creatures of Darwin IV, such as the Flipstick, the Groveback, and the Emperor Sea Strider are highly questionable in regards to SquareCubeLaw, being motile terrestrial life-forms of {{kaiju}} scale. Even taking into account the lower gravity of Darwin IV (stated to be 0.6 G), something as massive as a Sea Strider would, at minimum, need to be tens of thousands of tonnes just to stand up, but would certainly collapse under its own weight if it actually tried to walk around. And there's the Flipstick, which is a ''fifty metre tall'' (the same height as the first ''Godzilla'') organism which only moves by ''leaping'' hundreds of feet into the air and somehow isn't pulverized into a fine paste on impact.

* {{Adorkable}}: The three probes, which have surprisingly expressive faces. It doesn't hurt they were programmed with the curiosity of 5 year olds.

* BizarreSexualDimorphism: Mostly averted as the Darwinian creatures are mostly hemaphroditic.

* {{Planimal}}: Grovebacks, large, dinosaur-like creatures with trees sprouting on their backs ([[VideoGames/PokemonDiamondAndPearl Torterra,]] anyone?). There is also the Butchertree, a carnivorous creature that outwardly resembles a plant.

* AdaptationalBadass: The Littoralopes gain some cool-looking black armor for ''Alien Planet''. The Yma are also not featured.

* AdaptedOut: Of the over 50 creatures in ''Expedition'', only a handful make it into ''Alien Planet''.

* AlienSea: The Amoebic Sea. It's purple, gelatinous, slimy...and ''alive!'' What's a more alien sea than a Texas-sized living blob that sends out tentacles to ensnare unfortunate critters near its shore?

* ArtisticLicenseBiology: Some of the creatures appear to be inspired by man-made Earth machines. For example, the Skewer's gas pods and birdlike shape evoke a World War II jet fighter, and the Gyrosprinter's leg arrangement, flat seat-like tail and handlebar-like halteres bear more than a passing resemblance to a motorcycle.

* AllCavemenWereNeanderthals: The Eosapiens may be sentinent, but their level of technology is limited to sticks and clubs. They also end up smashing the two probes, not out of hostility, but because they mistook the camera as an attack.

* HumanAliens: Averted. Aside from dexterous hands, the Eosapiens (Darwin IV's only sentinent species) have nothing in common with us Earthlings.

* DeusExMachina: The Skewers, Barlowe even calls them that [[http://waynebarlowe.wordpress.com/artwork/expedition/ here]]

* FantasticFaunaCounterpart: Darwin IV's fauna has a number of species resembling either extant or extinct Earth species. Gyrosprinters are fast, antelope-like herbivores, unths are large tusked arctic beasts similarly to mammoths, prismalopes are the equivalents of rodents, arrowtongues are large predators resembling a ''Tyrannosaurus rex'', prongheads are pack-hunters similarly to wolves while physically resembling velociraptors, etc.
* GeniusLoci: The Amoebic Sea. Subverted in that it is not sapient, but is nonetheless a superorganism effectively acting as a place.

** The Emperor Sea Strider is estimated in ''Expedition'' to be ''620 feet tall'', as tall as London's BT Tower[[note]]Although ''Alien Planet'' sizes it down to a still-impressive six stories, or about 80 feet.[[/note]]. That is, by Creator/{{Toho}} standards, ''three Franchise/{{Godzilla}}s standing on each others' shoulders!'' Given that Darwin IV has much less gravity, the Sea Strider has less issues with size constraint(and can support such a mass, considering it literally eats its enviroment.). The beast is also less dense than earth creatures, making it lighter.

** The Emperor Sea Strider is estimated in ''Expedition'' to be ''620 feet tall'', as tall as London's BT Tower[[note:Although ''Alien Planet'' sizes it down to a still-impressive six stories, or about 80 feet.]]. That is, by Creator/{{Toho}} standards, ''three Franchise/{{Godzilla}}s standing on each others' shoulders!'' Given that Darwin IV has much less gravity, the Sea Strider has less issues with size constraint(and can support such a mass, considering it literally eats its enviroment.). The beast is also less dense than earth creatures, making it lighter.

** The Emperor Sea Strider is estimated in ''Expedition'' to be ''620 feet tall'', as tall as London's BT Tower. That is, by Creator/{{Toho}} standards, ''three Franchise/{{Godzilla}}s standing on each others' shoulders!'' Given that Darwin IV has much less gravity, the Sea Strider has less issues with size constraint(and can support such a mass, considering it literally eats its enviroment.). The beast is also less dense than earth creatures, making it lighter.

* RedShirt: The probe ''Balboa'', whose only role in ''Alien Planet'' was to show how easily things can go wrong on missions like this. It was even colored red.

* AbsentAliens: The Yma are absent in ''Alien Planet''.