History Main / HowUnscientific

** At the very end of the episode when Booth and Bones visit the gravesite Bones is shown actually seeing and acknowledging the ghost of the dead soldier, but since she was apparently never shown a photo of the deceased, she never realizes she's seen someone who is dead.

-->-- '''Edgeworth''', ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneyTrialsAndTribulations''

** In an official {{Yonkoma}} for ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsAlpha'', Asuka repeats the line when [[GiantRobo Alberto the Shockwave]] does the same thing to an [[Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion Angel]], although the former at least fights it to a draw.

A violation of GenreConsistency. May be caused by AchievementsInIgnorance or PowerBornOfMadness. May also be the result of {{Filler}} or other {{Padding}}. A character who can consistently do this is InexplicablyAwesome. See also: ArbitrarySkepticism, MagicRealism, SkepticismFailure, SomethingCompletelyDifferent, ThisIsReality, ScrewTheRulesIHavePlot. Contrast MagicAIsMagicA, MinovskyPhysics.

A violation of GenreConsistency. May be caused by AchievementsInIgnorance or PowerBornOfMadness. A character who can consistently do this is InexplicablyAwesome. See also: ArbitrarySkepticism, MagicRealism, SkepticismFailure, SomethingCompletelyDifferent, ThisIsReality, ScrewTheRulesIHavePlot. Contrast MagicAIsMagicA, MinovskyPhysics.

* With the possible exception of London's level of stupidity, ''Series/TheSuiteLifeOfZackAndCody'' was completely realistic, but its sequel series ''TheSuiteLifeOnDeck'' introduced supernatural elements and at one point crossed over with ''Series/WizardsOfWaverlyPlace''. Admittedly, there were two episodes in the original series that implied a [[OurGhostsAreDifferent ghost]] and a visit to an AlternateUniverse were real in their [[TheStinger credit scenes]].

A moment within a show that doesn't work within [[{{Consistency}} the conventions of the genre]]. For instance, a [[HappyDays UFO abduction in a]] DomCom, ''[[Anime/HeavyMetalLGaim or the sudden appearance of magical elves]]'' in a RealRobotGenre series.

* ''Anime/SailorMoon'' was, most of the time, a MagicalGirl show set in the modern day, where the only non-ordinary elements are the Sailor Team itself and the season-specific villain faction. The [[BeachEpisode beach episodes]] (once a season), however, were strange exceptions: episode 20 had Usagi, Ami and Rei confronted by an (apparently) real ghost, not connected to the Dark Kingdom in any way [[spoiler:it is actually the result of little esper girl manifesting something she couldn't control]]. Episode 67 featured no villains and thus no need for the girls to use their powers, instead presenting a couple of living ''dinosaurs''. Seriously.

** At the very end of the episode when Booth and Bones visit the gravesite Bones is shown actually seeing and acknowledging the ghost of the dead soldier, but since she was apparently never shown a photo of the deceased she never realizes she's seen someone who is dead.

* ''Series/SeeingThings'': This light-hearted 1980's Canadian dramedy was usually squarely in the MundaneFantastic camp. It had a single fantastic element: Toronto Gazette reporter Louis Ciccone suddenly starts manifesting precognitive flashes, which allow him to uncover and solve the show's typical mystery-of-the-week mysteries. However, in one very out-of-character episode, a mysterious, befuddled old man found wandering the streets of Toronto and claiming to be an alien actually turns out to BE an alien, complete with anti-gravity levitation powers and a laser battle with hostile reptilian aliens in a Toronto park.

* The ''Series/BabylonFive'' follow-up "The Lost Tales" introduces a demon from Hell into what had until then been a fairly hard sci-fi universe. The fans were not pleased.

* ''{{SinCity}}'' is mostly just a very exaggerated FilmNoir, except for the mute characters, Miho and Kevin. Both are implied to be supernatural entities of a type (confirmed via WordOfGod), though what they are exactly (aside from Miho being good and Kevin being evil) is never explained.

* The "silly clowns" option in ''VideoGame/QuestForGloryII'', a game that takes place in a middle-eastern fantasy setting. Granted, these games basically run on AnachronismStew combined with an overabundance of cheesy gags, but there's just something about seeing a brightly dressed clown walk through the streets of the Sultan's palace.
* ''VideoGame/TrueCrimeStreetsOfLA'' is a grity, if [[LargeHam cheesy]] cop story, mostly dealing with the right and wrong sides of the law, and how doing the right thing can take a backseat to vengeance at the expense of being a good guy, among other things. Except for the part where you [[BigLippedAlligatorMoment descend into the bowels of LA, confront a Japanese mystic guy, and fight off dragons composed entirely of fire that shoot skulls at you]]. And then Nick, the protagonist, ''doesn't mention it ever again''.

* ''Franchise/ScoobyDoo'' has occasionally been known to replace the guy in a monster mask with an actual monster. Generally, if Shaggy and Scooby are alone (or with Scrappy), the monsters are real. If Fred or Velma is there, they aren't. The films, both live-action and Direct-to-Video, usually have real monsters regardless of their cast.

!!Examples

[[folder: Anime and Manga ]]

** Episode 67 had so little to do with the overall plot, it was actually left out of Creator/{{ADV}}'s DVD releases of the series. The DVD release simply skips over it.

[[folder: Comic Books ]]

[[folder:Films -- Animated]]

[[folder: Literature ]]

[[folder: Live Action TV ]]

[[folder: Mythology ]]

[[folder: Tabletop Games ]]

[[folder: Video Games ]]

[[folder: Western Animation ]]

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-->-- '''Edgeworth''', ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorney: Trials and Tribulations''

* ''VideoGame/{{Fahrenheit}}'', known as ''Indigo Prophecy'' in North America, has a notorious game shift toward this. What begins as a realistic murder mystery in an American city with vague supernatural elements transforms halfway through into a fantasy game featuring ancient Aztec temples and fight scenes straight out of Manga/DragonBallZ.

* ''VideoGame/IndigoProphecy'', known as Fahrenheit outside North America, has a notorious game shift toward this. What begins as a realistic murder mystery in an American city with vague supernatural elements transforms halfway through into a fantasy game featuring ancient Aztec temples and fight scenes straight out of Dragon Ball Z.

* ''Series/{{Merlin|2008}}'' deals with fantasy tropes, but one (widely disliked) episode has him battle a manticore that introduces the rather sci-fi concept of parallel dimensions. Of course, plenty of mythologies around the world, including the British ones ''Merlin'' is a derivitive of, include the concept of 'other worlds' so sci-fi hardly has the monopoly on this. It's merely the way 'other worlds' are introduced that would slot the concept into a sci-fi or fantasy.

* ''Series/DiagnosisMurder'' was a light-hearted murder mystery programme which involved a lot of {{Contrived Coincidence}}s but nothing actually unbelievable. Except that one episode where the murderer was an honest-to-gods ''vampire''. Who died when she telikenetically flew herself into a chair leg. And was never spoken of again.

* ''Series/SeeingThings'': This light-hearted 1980's Canadian dramedy was usually squarely in the MundaneFantastic camp. It had a single fantastic element: Toronto Gazette reporter Louis Ciccone suddenly starts manifesting precognitive flashes, which allow him to uncover and solve the show's typical mystery-of-the-week mysteries. However, in one very out-of-character episode, a mysterious, beffudled old man found wandering the streets of Toronto and claiming to be an alien actually turns out to BE an alien, complete with anti-gravity levitation powers and a laser battle with hostile reptilian aliens in a Toronto park.

* Mild example in a HalloweenEpisode of ''Series/HawaiiFive0'', which has a main plot involving around a creepy, yet realistic story where the team pursues a serial killer involved in black market organ sale. However the episode also strongly implies that a series of misfortunes that hit Danny are due to him being cursed after trespassing on an ancient Hawaiian burial ground, and it's also implied at the end of the episode that the woman who recommended an apartment to him (that he's able to get for cheap due it belonging to one of the murder victims) is in fact a ghost.

* ''Series/NaturallySadie'' was teen drama/sitcom about a girl coping with the vagarcies of high school life. Except for the episode "Ghouls Just want To Have Fun" which featured Hal's girlfriend Tabitha handing out wristbands that turned people into zombies.

* Leslie Charteris' ''Literature/TheSaint'' often encountered the paranormal, though he mostly had mundane adventures facing blackmailers, gangsters, kidnappers, and so forth. He encountered advanced technology sought by Dr. Rayt Marius (a no plans, no back-up situation) in ''The Last Hero'', oversized ants in ''The Man Who Liked Ants'', machine to produce gold, advanced aeronautics, zombies, and the Loch Ness Monster. The anthology ''The Fantastic Saint'' collects most of these stories.

* The fourth season finale of ''{{NCIS}}'' (a show that is usually firmly grounded in reality) had a doctor encounter a little girl who was heavily implied to be the [[TheGrimReaper Angel of Death]].

* ''GhostInTheShell: Man-Machine Interface'' arbitrarily features a psychic who keeps astrally manifesting to the protagonist as a raccoon dog and a teenaged girl whose body is made out of a dragon, commenting on her activities in a {{Trickster}}-like manner. Motoko's own comment on her first manifestation is "How unscientific" (added with a footnote that it's unscientific to dismiss a phenomenon on the drop of the hat, implying that the author has his own opinions on the subject).

-->-- '''Edgeworth''', ''PhoenixWrightAceAttorney: Trials and Tribulations''

A moment within a show that doesn't work within [[{{Consistency}} the conventions of the genre]]. For instance, a [[HappyDays UFO abduction in a]] DomCom, ''[[Anime/HeavyMetalLGaim or the sudden appearance of magical elves]]'' in a RealRobot series.

This usually falls outside the main characters' GenreBlindness, allowing them to see and [[LampshadeHanging comment]] on how manifestly [[ThisIsReality weird]] it is. It is not, however, based on [[TheParody parodying]] of the intrusive element (though some [[SatireParodyPastiche satire]] may be involved).

ScienceFiction and {{Fantasy}} also cross each other often, as they're opposite sides of the same SpeculativeFiction coin--not to mention equivalent, per [[ClarkesThirdLaw Arthur C. Clarke's third law]]. If that's the case, expect to hear the intruding elements described in terms that match the original genre (after all, to a starship captain there's NoSuchThingAsSpaceJesus, only SufficientlyAdvancedAliens). If the two sides can't play nice and one view takes over, that's either DoingInTheWizard or DoingInTheScientist; if they can live together harmoniously, it's ScienceFantasy.

* The ''Manga/BattleRoyale'' manga is fairly realistic, then out of nowhere '''[[{{HSQ}} holy]] [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome shit]] KiAttacks.'''

* Back when TheMasquerade was still in place in ''MahouSenseiNegima'', Chisame remarked on pretty much every development with this attitude.

* The ''ComicBook/{{Asterix}}'' book, ''Asterix and The Falling Sky'', features two groups of ''aliens'' fighting for control of the magic potion. With Comicbook/{{Superman}} clones. And lasers. In an otherwise LowFantasy version of AncientRome.
* Some of the humor in ''AtomicRobo'' comes from LampshadeHanging on things that are too ridiculous for its universe, such as [[AttackOfTheFiftyFootWhatever giant ants]]. This really comes into play, however, when Robo fights the talking raptor Dr. Dinosaur, who claims to have time-traveled from the death of the dinosaurs with a [[PowerCrystal crystal-powered time machine]]. Robo points out the grossly bad science in this backstory before pointing out that Dr. Dinosaur is probably just a genetic experiment gone wrong (which is implied to be true).
* {{Lampshaded}} in ''ComicBook/CaptainAmerica'' #600, where Patriot of the ComicBook/YoungAvengers meets Rikki Barnes, the dimension-hopping AlternateUniverse granddaughter of BuckyBarnes. He notes how implausible her back story is, but then accepts it after remembering that one of his best friends is a teenage [[TimeTravel time traveler]].

* In the chapter of [[TheLeagueOfExtraordinaryGentlemen The Black Dossier]] that deals with Les Hommes Mysterieux, it's specifically mentioned that team leader, air pirate Jean Paul Robur from RoburTheConqueror and MasterOfTheWorld, specifically avoided using cavorite for his flying ships, instead developing heavier than air flight, for exactly this reason.

* ''Film/MontyPythonsLifeOfBrian'' has [[spoiler:an alien abduction scene set in a decidedly non SciFi context]]. It has [[BigLippedAlligatorMoment little bearing on the plot and never comes up again]], which is [[TropesAreNotBad oddly appropriate]] in a movie explicitly about InsaneTrollLogic.

* Leslie Charteris' Literature/TheSaint often encountered the paranormal, though he mostly had mundane adventures facing blackmailers, gangsters, kidnappers, and so forth. He encountered advanced technology sought by Dr. Rayt Marius (a no plans, no back-up situation) in ''The Last Hero'', oversized ants in ''The Man Who Liked Ants'', machine to produce gold, advanced aeronautics, zombies, and the Loch Ness Monster. The anthology ''The Fantastic Saint'' collects most of these stories.

* Enoch Root in ''Literature/{{Cryptonomicon}}'' appears to not age in the half century between his appearances in both the WorldWarII era and the modern era. In ''Literature/TheBaroqueCycle'', this is elaborated upon, but to someone just reading Cryptonomicon the presence of this unaging man sees pretty much no explanation.

* A Hallowe'en special of ''BoyMeetsWorld'' has Eric, in typical Eric fashion, convinced that Jack's new girlfriend is a witch. As it turns out, [[SkepticismFailure she is a witch]], and the episode builds to the attempted ritual sacrifice of Jack and Shawn. Then Eric hooks up with [[Series/SabrinaTheTeenageWitch Sabrina]], who turns Shawn into a toad. (Another episode featured Sabrina, as part of a crossover, but all she did was set off SomethingCompletelyDifferent -- in the 1940's -- with no other supernatural elements.)

* Gradually took over the show in ''FamilyMatters'', with the many and varied inventions of Steve Urkel. It started as a middle-class SitCom starring predominantly black characters. However, after Urkel's ascent to popularity and building of gadgets, rather than this feeling out-of-place it was effectively [[ReTool retooled]] to become the Wacky Adventures Of Steve Urkel, Harmless But MadScientist.

* Excluding very few anachronisms and the main character being BeenThereShapedHistory in steroids, ''TheYoungIndianaJonesChronicles'' was a docutainment with a fairly realistic depiction of early 20th century history and WorldWarOne. Until one certain episode where the main character was sent to investigate abductions in Transylvania and ended battling {{Dracula}} himself.

* Apparently, the ''HappyDays'' universe contains [[MorkAndMindy wacky aliens]]. Good to know?
** It actually makes the spinoff cartoon with the alien girl a little less nonsensical.

* An episode of ''TheGuidingLight'' actually featured a character gaining superpowers after a freak accident with Halloween decorations.

* In one episode of ''TheUnit'', Kim Brown is investigated because she knew vague details of a mission which she claimed to have learned in a dream. The Colonel brings in a psychic specialist, and by the end of the episode (even though none of the characters realize it), the audience is pretty convinced that Kim is a high-level psychic medium.
* ''MarriedWithChildren'' had aliens as a plot element in one episode, and also the whole trip to England plot arc which was based on a 17th century curse by a witch. By this point though the show had basically become a live action cartoon that ran on NegativeContinuity and thus these episodes were largely brushed off by fans.
* The ''{{Baywatch}}'' spinoff ''BaywatchNights'' centered around Sgt. Garner Ellerbee and [[Creator/DavidHasselhoff Mitch Buchannon]] starting a detective agency and was a fairly realistic crime show. Then the low ratings prompted the producers to ditch Ellerbee, [[GenreShift turn the show into an]] ''[[Series/TheXFiles X-Files]]'' ripoff and have David Hasselhoff fighting aliens and mutants.
* The crossover episodes of ''WareHouse13'' and ''Series/{{Eureka}}'' feel like this. The two shows had existed on the opposite sides of SpeculativeFiction ({{Fantasy}} and SciFi) until they were revealed to be the same universe. (Not even to mention the actor paradoxes.)

* ''{{Benson}}'' was generally a perfectly straightforward sitcom, but it had a couple of episodes like this, like the time the mansion staff acquires a robot, and the Halloween episode where Benson ends up challenging Death to a game of Trivial Pursuit to save the lives of a busload of children. Plus there was the [[AllJustADream dream sequence]] episode where Benson and Krauss are the only two humans left on Earth.

* ''AccordingToJim'' is, for the most part, a realistic SitCom. However, in the episode after [[CousinOliver the twins]] were born, {{Satan}} comes to collect Jim's soul, resulting in Cheryl hating him. (ItMakesSenseInContext.) The episode's plot then revolves around him trying to win Cheryl's heart back. [[spoiler: Of course, it was AllJustADream, so this might be a SubvertedTrope.]]
* ''Series/{{Merlin}}'' deals with fantasy tropes, but one (widely disliked) episode has him battle a manticore that introduces the rather sci-fi concept of parallel dimensions.
** Of course, plenty of mythologies around the world, including the British ones ''Merlin'' is a derivitive of, include the concept of 'other worlds' so sci-fi hardly has the monopoly on this. It's merely the way 'other worlds' are introduced that would slot the concept into a sci-fi or fantasy.

* With the possible exception of London's level of stupidity, ''TheSuiteLifeOfZackAndCody'' was completely realistic, but its sequel series ''TheSuiteLifeOnDeck'' introduced supernatural elements and at one point crossed over with ''Series/WizardsOfWaverlyPlace''.
** Admittedly, there were two episodes in the original series that implied a [[OurGhostsAreDifferent ghost]] and a visit to an AlternateUniverse were real in their [[TheStinger credit scenes]].
* ''DiagnosisMurder'' was a light-hearted murder mystery programme which involved a lot of {{Contrived Coincidence}}s but nothing actually unbelievable. Except that one episode where the murderer was an honest-to-gods ''vampire''. Who died when she telikenetically flew herself into a chair leg. And was never spoken of again.

* In the TV version of ''LogansRun'', Logan and Jessica don't just deal with Sandmen, leftover technology, and strange little civilizations Outside; there are episodes with aliens, people with psychic powers, and even magicians trying to resurrect one of their own. (The desperation of the writers was pretty palpable with this last.) Interestingly, the setting-logical idea of mutants is never brought up, except in a perfunctory manner.

* ''{{Sliders}}'' was obviously science-fiction to begin with, with the premise of sliding between worlds. Spirituality and psychic phenomena (over which some worlds are depicted as having overt control) came under its domain in short order. ''Then'', all of a sudden, they find themselves in a world of wizards, shapeshifters, dragons, and what can only be described as magic. Scientists Quinn and Professor Arturo, to their credit, are genuinely baffled by this. Quinn's analysis gets as far as something about string theory and fundamentally different laws of physics, but by that time, he is also tempted to settle on "[[{{Hamlet}} More things in Heaven and Earth, Horatio...]]"

* Mild example in a HalloweenEpisode of ''HawaiiFive0'', which has a main plot involving around a creepy, yet realistic story where the team pursues a serial killer involved in black market organ sale. However the episode also strongly implies that a series of misfortunes that hit Danny are due to him being cursed after trespassing on an ancient Hawaiian burial ground, and it's also implied at the end of the episode that the woman who recommended an apartment to him (that he's able to get for cheap due it belonging to one of the murder victims) is in fact a ghost.

** Except, of course, the part at the end where Athena literally descends from the heavens to protect Odysseus from the disgruntled families of the dead suitors, the TropeMaker for DeusExMachina.

[[folder: Table Top Games ]]

** In ''[[VideoGame/SuperRobotWars4 Super Robot Wars F]]'', [[Anime/MobileFighterGGundam Master Asia]] takes out several military HumongousMecha using nothing but his own martial arts skills. [[Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion Asuka Langley Soryu]] [[TropeNamer utters the trope's title]]; rather hypocritical, given she comes from a series where the antagonists are {{Eldritch Abomination}}s and mankind's {{Super Robot}}s have human souls residing in them.

** While ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsOriginalGeneration'' manages to subvert this, it's played straight once a new SuperRobot from a [[BeneathTheEarth subterranean world]] assists the cast with two talking cats in two. In fact, this happens so often in ''Original Generation'' that a battleship bridge operator lampshades this when he teases the vice-captain, who is thinking of leaving the ship, that he'll miss the latter's constant moments of this trope. The vice-captain doesn't know what the operator means, when he's almost hit with another out-of-this-world experience.

* The first ''VideoGame/{{Rayman}}'' game is a light-hearted platformer where you fight musical instruments and colorful wildlife. The second has you fighting evil robot pirates who have blown up the heart of the world and enslaved all of your friends.
** Given the ludicrousness of the series in general, that probably falls under MoodWhiplash more than this trope.

* VideoGame/TeamFortress2's Halloween events. [=TF=]2 is normally about a (not so) normal war going on between two companies, but every Halloween supernatural elements come into play. For example, in 2013 you had to send your employer's dead brother to Hell, while fending off skeletons with magic.

* ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaLordsOfShadow2'' has for half of the game the supernatural elements in a Medieval castle that are the staple of other CastleVania games, the other half is set in the modern world, where the player as Dracula has to face mooks in PoweredArmor, robotic enemies, genetically enhanced super-soldiers and shotgun wielding mutants.

* ''ScoobyDoo'' has occasionally been known to replace the guy in a monster mask with an actual monster. Generally, if Shaggy and Scooby are alone (or with Scrappy), the monsters are real. If Fred or Velma is there, they aren't. The films, both live-action and Direct-to-Video, usually have real monsters regardless of their cast.
* The ''{{Daria}}'' episode "Depth Takes a Holiday" involves Daria meeting personifications of the holidays asking her to find other missing personifications of them who have run off. Quite different for a show mostly about life in high school. Do yourself a favor and don't bring it up to fans.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Gargoyles}}''. Goliath, Elisa Maza, Angela, and Bronx during their world tour arrive on Easter Island and run into Nokar, who is an alien sentinel who was sent by his race to protect Earth from another unmentioned race of aliens.
** This is a little less weird than it seems, though, as science fiction elements had been in the show from fairly early on, with cybernetics and genetic manipulation having already put in appearances.

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** In ''[[VideoGame/SuperRobotWars4 Super Robot Wars F]]'', [[MobileFighterGGundam Master Asia]] takes out several military HumongousMecha using nothing but his own martial arts skills. [[Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion Asuka Langley Soryu]] [[TropeNamer utters the trope's title]]; rather hypocritical, given she comes from a series where the antagonists are {{Eldritch Abomination}}s and mankind's {{Super Robot}}s have human souls residing in them.