History Main / HowUnscientific

* The early 1980s detective series ''MattHouston'' had one episode where a faked alien abduction was somehow involved in a crime the eponymous hero was investigating. Then, at about the 3/4 mark of the show, Houston, driving by himself, is actually abducted by the stereotypical little gray buggers. He doesn't remember it happening, there's no witnesses, and it has no effect whatsoever on the plot of the episode, and is never mentioned again.

** Lighter example - Rui is fond of saying this about things like Atom's [[LuckyCharm lucky underwear]].

* The ''Manga/BattleRoyale'' manga is fairly realistic, then out of nowhere '''{{holy|ShitQuotient}} [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome shit]] [[KiManipulation Ki Attacks]].'''

** There were a few other giant monsters, as well. Though all of them had sorta-scientific rationales behind them, they still stretched the WillingSuspensionOfDisbelief by playing fast & loose with the SquareCubeLaw (more so than the relatively modest sized HumongousMecha of the title, anyway). The first OAV featured a giant monster that was created by a MadScientist doing experiments on abiogenesis that somehow [[EvolutionaryLevels rapidly evolved]] from an amoeba to a humanoid Kaiju that inexplicably had [[TheBigGuy Yamazaki's]] face. TheTV series had a Patlabor sized giant rat created by growth hormone experiments and the monster from the 3rd movie, which was a grotesque giant zombie/fish thing created from genetically altered human cancer cells and alien DNA from a meteor.

* ''Franchise/{{Rayman}}''. [[VideoGame/{{Rayman1995}} The first game]] is a light-hearted platformer where you fight musical instruments and colorful wildlife. [[VideoGame/{{Rayman2}} 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 though, that probably falls under MoodWhiplash more than this trope.

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

** ''VideoGame/HeavyRain'', another Creator/QuanticDream title had a DummiedOut sub-plot about psychic powers in what was otherwise a very realistic FilmNoir thriller.

* [[Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer Buffy]] has fought robots several times, including one becoming a major part of the sixth season, despite the show being virtually entirely focused on magic and demons and the like. Series/{{Angel}} has as well, though less frequently and in a less important role.

* In ''ComicBook/ThePhantom'', TheCowl of the title seems to live in [[ArbitrarySkepticism surprisingly strong denial]] of the weirder side of his LowFantasy world, refusing to admit in the existence of things like aliens or magic when he keeps several monsters (a unicorn, a stegosaurus and a family of primeval humanoids) as pets or his ancestors' journals discuss one ancestor who used magic to regenerate his gouged-out eyeballs.

* TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}} campaigns can very easily come across this way, due to the extent of the FantasyKitchenSink being somewhat hidden at first. On the surface, at least, the setting of Golarion seems like pretty straightforward Tolkeinian High Fantasy - elves, dwarves, orcs, wizards, gods, demons, all present and correct. The technology level by default doesn't ever exceed muskets and cannon. There's teleportation and interdimensional travel but it's always portrayed in MagiBabble that squares it with the expected parameters of a High Fantasy setting. So it can be a little jarring the first time you find out that Golarion is ''also'' home to some alien lifeforms both organic and robotic that rode in on a crashing spaceship, or that some of the setting's "demigods" are actually very powerful artificial intelligences, or that one of the planets in Golarion's solar system is canonically a [[ThatsNoMoon dormant space station]], or that the planet Earth implicitly exists in the same universe and (thanks to the Public Domain) [[CosmicHorrorReveal actual literal Cthulhu]] is currently asleep beneath its oceans.

* During the last few episodes of ''{{Felicity}}'', a to-that-point relatively tame romantic drama about college life, the main character began to wonder whether or not she'd chosen the right man in her life. So her friend cast a spell that sent her back in time a few years. No, really.

* Sega's ''Rent A Hero'', aside from the powered suit of the title character, is set in early 90s Japan where he has to deal with thugs, loan sharks, mob bosses and undergo tasks like looking for a missing child, protecting innocents, investigating cases of industrial espionage and so on. All rooted in reality, until some archeologists unearth a sarcophagus from where the spirit of an ancient pharaoh, King Glutenramen, emerges. He possesses one of the archeologists and it's up to Hero to take him to rest again. Unlike the other missions, this one is not further referenced and [[BigLippedAlligatorMoment has no bearing on the overall plot.]] Also, an Egyptian sarcophagus in Japan?

** And again [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MilbCV_jk9E in the live action movie]]: "Such things could not exist!"

* ''Series/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.

* ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'' parodies this. The entire show is ridiculous, but it focuses almost entirely on the (physically-possible if really unlikely) exploits of a group of mundane, if wacky, modern-day New Yorkers. But every so often they throw in a one-shot gag about time travel, [[RuleOfFunny just because]].

* The ''Series/{{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.

* A Hallowe'en special of ''Series/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.)

* 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 sales. 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.

[[folder:Anime & Manga]]

** There were a few other giant monsters, as well. Though all of them had sorta-scientific rationales behind them, they still stretched the WillingSuspensionOfDisbelief by playing fast & loose with the SquareCubeLaw (more so than the relatively modest sized HumongousMecha of the title, anyway). The first OAV featured a giant monster that was created by a MadScientist doing experiments on abiogenesis that somehow [[EvolutionaryLevels rapidly evolved]] from an amoeba to a humanoid Kaiju that inexplicably had [[TheBigGuy Yamazaki's]] face. TheTV series had a Patlabor sized giant rat created by growth hormone experiments & the monster from the 3rd movie, which was a grotesque giant zombie/fish thing created from genetically altered human cancer cells & alien DNA from a meteor.

* In the ''ComicBook/{{Tintin}}'' story ''Flight 714'', we had a [[spoiler:thrilling hijack plot and Tintin & Co. being trapped on a remote island. And then out of the blue... Aliens!]]

[[folder:Myths & Religion]]

* TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}} campaigns can very easily come across this way, due to the extent of the FantasyKitchenSink being somewhat hidden at first. On the surface, at least, the setting of Golarion seems like pretty straightforward Tolkeinian High Fantasy - elves, dwarves, orcs, wizards, gods, demons, all present and correct. The technology level by default doesn't ever exceed muskets and cannon. There's teleportation and interdimensional travel but it's always portrayed in MagiBabble that squares it with the expected parameters of a High Fantasy setting. So it can be a little jarring the first time you find out that Golarion is ''also'' home to some alien lifeforms both organic and robotic that rode in on a crashing spaceship, or that some of the setting's "demigods" are actually very powerful artificial intelligences, or that one of the planets in Golarion's solar system is canonically a [[ThatsNoMoon dormant space station]], or that the planet Earth implicitly exists in the same universe and (thanks to the Public Domain) [[CosmicHorroReveal actual literal Cthulhu]] is currently asleep beneath its oceans.

* Aliens once appeared in an episode of ''Series/MacGyver''. So did Sasquatch. And a Soviet psychic. Also, Time Travel. To medieval Scotland. To save his ancestor. It was AllJustADream, OrWasItADream

* ''Series/TheNewAdventuresOfRobinHood'' was mostly a ''{{Xena}}'' homage Fantasy, but the episode "Dragon from the Sky" was about an alien crash-landing in Sherwood and repairing his space-ship in time before the Sheriff dissected him.

* In older editions of ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}'' and ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40K'', the two verses were connected through the Chaos Wastes via the Warp, which is how some lucky champions got their hands on chainswords and plasma guns.

* The ''VisualNovel/AceAttorney'' games are in a realistic-ish setting, with spirit channeling appearing on the side, holding no real effect on the game for the most part, and not appearing in the latter games, which while featuring rather unlikely concepts, feature nothing on the scale of mediums.