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1[[quoteright:261:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tf20051028a_2.png]]
2[[caption-width-right:261:Smooth...]]
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4''[[http://techfox.comicgenesis.com/d/19990214.html 21st Century Fox]]'' (no relation to [[Creator/TwentiethCenturyStudios the entertainment conglomerate]] or its former parent company) by Scott Kellogg is a science-fiction UsefulNotes/{{Furry|Fandom}} comic that calls itself a "Romantic Comedy of the Future". Takes place in the year 2066, but every animal down to insects is sapient. Characters include Jack Black (no resemblance to [[Creator/JackBlack the actor]]), a red fox and traveling robotics engineer; Cecil Stewart, a giraffe and Jack's partner in his travels; Jenny Curtis, a rocket scientist vixen who starts dating Jack (after getting over her abusive ex), and Barb Kendall and Beth Regina, giraffe programmers who are both enamored with Cecil (and now both married to him, see below). Has many, many [[ShoutOut shout outs]]. Also several cameos from other comics, most often ''Webcomic/{{Freefall}}'', ''Webcomic/TheSuburbanJungle'', or ''Webcomic/{{Newshounds}}''.
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7!!This comic provides examples of:
8* AIIsACrapshoot: Robots using the Roykirk 2.0 operating system have... issues. From spontaneous singing to throwing horses out into space.
9* TheAllegedCar: Jenny's uncle Red has a [[http://techfox.comicgenesis.com/d/20161003.html homemade van]] made out of wood, which terrifies both Jack and Jenny's dads following a grocery run. And then Jack's uncles [[http://techfox.comicgenesis.com/d/20170320.html get hold of it]].
10* AllHailTheGreatGodMickey:
11** We're not told if the anthropomorphic animals have supplanted humanity (as the Ape religion teaches) or stand-in for them entirely (as most other religions teach), but Disney movies have a cult dedicated to them. Its tenants are that everyone is a god and therefore should act the way they think the capital-G God would act towards people, and that LuddWasRight because ScienceIsBad. This leads to a ''lot'' of terrorism from them, but just as many are decent folks, largely from how ''' ''they'' ''' interpret the "scriptures." Which are the Franchise/DisneyAnimatedCanon.
12** It's unclear if [[http://www.hirezfox.com/21cf/d/20191028.html the feline religion]] is an offshoot of Disneyism, but they have two major sects founded by the opposing prophets [[Manga/KimbaTheWhiteLion Kimba]] and [[Franchise/TheLionKing Simba]]
13** Primates (or at least the Ape Supremacists from the submarine salvage arc) worship nuclear bombs, thinking that the PreCursors wiped themselves out with them, and the resulting fallout of that nuclear war caused animals to evolve into people.
14* AltText: It seems to have been dropped sometime around April 2008; before then, some comics had different alt text for each panel.
15* AmazinglyEmbarrassingParents: Jack is staggering into the kitchen when he discovers that not only his parents, but Jenny's parents as well as a crowd of relatives have arrived [[http://techfox.comicgenesis.com/d/20160919.html here]].
16* AmoralAttorney: Willy Nixon, as well as a thief and hacker.
17* AnimalsNotToScale: Generally averted, though Veronica the vampire bat was originally the same size as the foxes. Later revised to a more realistic mouse size.
18* ArtEvolution: Compare the [[http://techfox.comicgenesis.com/arch1.html ancient archaeology]] strips to [[http://techfox.comicgenesis.com/d/20160229.html a more recent one]].
19* ArtificialLimbs: Tora Scobee's right eye, right arm, right shoulder, spinal column, pelvis, tail, and both legs.
20* ArtificialMeat: [[http://techfox.comicgenesis.com/d/20030613.html Scientifically Produced Animal Matter.]]
21* AsTheGoodBookSays: On more than one occasion, a robot has been told, "Well done, good and faithful servant." This is a quotation from the [[https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+25%3A21&version=NIV Gospel according to St. Matthew]].
22** When Dr. Fayette Cavor is helping Dr. Carlson make up his mind about an unfaithful girlfriend, she quotes [[https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+13%3A4-7&version=NIV St. Paul's First Epistle to the Corinthians]], and asks Dr. Carlson [[ArmorPiercingQuestion if he thinks his girlfriend is capable of such a thing.]] This convinces him to dump his girlfriend for good.
23* BarefootCartoonAnimal: The entire cast--but Jack still gets offered a ShoePhone at one point.
24* BigEater: After his experience of AmazinglyEmbarrassingParents (and hiding under the bed because of it!), Jack tells what both families are doing at that moment... [[http://techfox.comicgenesis.com/d/20160926.html eating like a large family would]]!
25--> '''Jack:''' We don't have relatives... we have ''' ''LOCUSTS.'' '''
26* BrainUploading: Dr. Roykirk attempted to create a superintelligence based on his own brainscans, but it decided it knew better than his egomaniac self. While Kaledistan runs a 40-year old personality reconstruction of their "supreme leader" that was designed for celebrities.
27* TheCameo: Too many to list here. Mostly cast members of the author's friends' comics.
28* CampGay: A certain dog falls for Jenny while believing her to be Ace. He shows her a photo of himself "cosplaying" [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic Pinkie Pie]] naked. But he must not be all gay, because when he learns she's female, he replies, [[Film/SomeLikeItHot "Nobody's perfect."]]
29* CarnivoreConfusion: It's perfectly acceptable to kill and eat another sentient being, but predation was temporarily banned in one arc due to the invention of a genetically modified organism without a nervous system called SPAM (Scientifically Produced Animal Matter).
30* CatchPhrase: Various animals have exclaimed, "Johnny Freakinouter!"
31* ChurchOfHappyology: The Disney Fundamentalists, especially John Walker Bambi's sect.
32* CloningBodyParts: Cloned replacement parts are available but Tora Scobee opted for bionics instead because he couldn't stand to be out of commission for several months, even though he later came to hate being a cyborg. After the Disneyist arc he was implied to at least start looking into cloning.
33* CompoundInterestTimeTravelGambit: The crew of station "Tsing Tsingatsong" are planning this through the use of [[HumanPopsicle cryogenics]].
34** At least until [[spoiler: Jack hacked into their bank accounts, emptied them, and [[InvoluntaryCharityDonation donated it all.]]]]
35* CripplingOverspecialization: Back in her school days, Dr. Cavor was a member of her school's orchestra. [[http://techfox.comicgenesis.com/d/20070827.html Artillery section]]. [[http://techfox.comicgenesis.com/d/20070903.html At least she was reasonably well suited to her instrument]].
36* {{Crossover}}:
37** An early story arc has Jack and Cecil hide from a hurricane under a bridge with Dover (a cheetah who [[StrangeSyntaxSpeaker can only talk in the BASIC or Hypertext Markup programming languages]]) from ''WebComic/TheSuburbanJungle''
38** [[WebComic/SabrinaOnline Sabrina and Zig-Zag]] cameo at various points; albeit not always together.
39** [[WebComic/FreeFall Sam, Florence, and Helix]] are seen separately at various points.
40* CyberneticsEatYourSoul: Averted, apparently any personality changes are due to post-traumatic stress disorder, though there is some prejudice against cyborgs.
41* DesignerBabies: Gamete screening has been commonplace in first world countries for a couple generations, though it wasn't available in Cecil's African homeland when he was conceived. Jack and Jenny have a bit of a debate on whether their gametes should be randomly or professionally mixed.
42* DontTryThisAtHome: When Jack, Cecil and [[RoboSpeak some other stranded drivers]] hide from the tornado under an overpass, there is a disclaimer that '''''this is actually a very, very bad idea.'''''
43->''In reality, sheltering under a highway overpass during a Tornado is a very, '''Very BAD''' idea.''
44* DudeLooksLikeALady: [[http://techfox.comicgenesis.com/d/20000502.html Dr. Tangent]], being a ''male'' French Poodle.
45-->'''Jack:''' (whispering) *PSST!* Cecil! All French Poodles have long eyelashes...!
46* ElectronicEyes: In the Kaledistan arc Jack temporarily wears an eye patch that feeds data directly into his visual cortex after getting blinded in one eye by a Kaled laser.
47* ExoticExtendedMarriage: Cecil, Barb and Beth. Fairly normal for herd species like giraffes.
48* ExplodingCloset: Full of [[http://techfox.comicgenesis.com/d/20180604.html throwaway gags]]
49* FanService:
50** The "Predation is now Illegal" story arc starts out with the sexy bunny newscaster character drawn in several angles that show off her CleavageWindow.
51** Not to be outdone, a rival network station has ''' ''THREE'' ''' [[BuxomBeautyStandard extra-busty newscaster ladies]]!
52** The Dr. Roykirk arc has a [[NudeNatureDance dancing naturist]] who's [[BunnyEarsLawyer surprisingly good with computers]]; a CaptainErsatz of [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic Fluttershy]], and a pretty, scantily clad CatGirl outright called "Skanky."
53* FantasyConflictCounterpart: One arc is UsefulNotes/TheWarOnTerror, but with technophobic Disney cultists.
54* {{Fembot}} / RobotGirl: Starting [[http://techfox.comicgenesis.com/d/20110523.html here]], we have examples of [[strike:gynoids]] go-go-bots on a ship headed for a Chinese-controlled location. Jack reprograms one of them into a bodyguard to help him escape.
55* FictionalDisability: Pawtism and Asbarker's Syndrome are like a combination of autism spectrum disorders with behavioral atavism in that animals with said disorders have trouble fitting in with neurotypical society but are often very intelligent. Such as Jenny's aunt Liska, who cannot tolerate wearing clothes and lacks the manual dexterity to put them on anyways.
56* ForeignLookingFont: [[http://techfox.comicgenesis.com/d/20180910.html When Jack arrives in Kaledistan]], one of the hangars has writing that's supposed to be Arabic. If you try to read it like the Arabic script, it says nothing. If you read it like the Latin script, it reads [[LampshadeHanging "total gibberish"]].
57* GenialGiraffe: All the giraffes so far.
58* GirlyGirlWithATomboyStreak: At [[http://techfox.comicgenesis.com/d/20070917.html one point]], we learn that Dr. Cavor has been this in the past. Dr. Cavor's musical tastes were "'''most''' unladylike".
59* GodGuise: When the land-dwelling species made FirstContact with the fish, they largely outgrew the worshiping but the Devonian (shark) GodEmperor is still said to "swim on land".
60* GreyGoo: Denounced as actually kind of stupid [[http://techfox.comicgenesis.com/d/20100419.html here.]]
61-->"You know, if the people who think that ''self replicating nanites'' will accidentally escape from ''ideal, sterile laboratory conditions'' and turn Earth , from the ''tropics'' to the ''Arctic'', from the oceans to the ''deserts'', into '''a glob of grey goo''', ever read the instructions of a packet of seeds, they'd all sleep better at night."
62* HateSink: If there are as many characters that fall into the [[Jerkass]] territory, then, they have this in spades.
63** URExample ... Tora Scobee.
64** Another example? The [[BearsAreBadNews bear]] who gives Jack a thrashing in the hurricane arc... but Cecil settles the bruin bully's hash with a stomp, posthaste!
65* HeroicBSOD: Jack's realization of '''''WHO''''' is [[http://techfox.comicgenesis.com/d/20020527.html Jenny's previous boyfriend]] after she told Jack not to fight him ... [[spoiler:even as CrazyJealousGuy Tora Scobee verbally abuses her right in front of him]]!
66** Complicated even more [[http://techfox.comicgenesis.com/d/20020528.html when Jack is]] trying to [[TimeForPlanB figure out how to defuse the situation]].
67* HeroicSacrifice: Jack does this when he realizes that his injured friend needs immediate help, the helpless victims need to get out of the hurricane, and rescue plane would be too heavy to if he gets on board. But Jack gets better [[http://techfox.comicgenesis.com/d/20010402.html later on]].
68* HumongousMecha: North Korea actually made [[Franchise/StarWars AT-ATs]] capable of [[http://techfox.comicgenesis.com/d/20100510.html riverdancing]]; eventually they were redesigned as [[http://techfox.comicgenesis.com/d/20100705.html med-evac vehicles.]]
69** Later we see some old "[[http://techfox.comicgenesis.com/d/20190513.html murgadroids]]" owned by Kaledistan, Hyena Centurion 47 dismisses them as militarily useless, only good for terrorizing unarmed civilians, and she could take them out with her [[PocketRocketLauncher gyrojet]]. [[spoiler: Jack uses them for a diversion while escaping the country.]]
70* HugeGuyTinyGirl: Way back in the ancient archaeology of strips, Cecil (giraffe) and Veronica (bat) dated briefly, but broke up because the size difference made things a bit, difficult. And Jenny (vixen) was previously engaged to Tora (wolf), her parents mention she dated [[http://techfox.comicgenesis.com/d/20161024.html a whale]] once too.
71** Became more noticeable when Veronica was made even smaller to be more species-accurate.
72* HurricaneOfPuns: The stars are not generally punsters, but it's just shy of WorldOfPun. But a systems optimization test whips up a pretty decent, not to mention [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] pun cloud burst for [[http://techfox.comicgenesis.com/d/20140804.html this strip]].
73* InsufferableGenius: Dr. Roykirk is rude, egotistical, and, even worse, not nearly as competent as he thinks he is, but capable of programming a level 3 AI (smart as a toddler) by himself, a project that usually takes a team of 1,000 people.
74* InterspeciesAdoption: A mixup at the fertility clinic results in Jack and Jenny being given a maned wolf pup in addition to their two kits, they name him Thomas.
75* InterspeciesRomance: There are some examples, such as Johann (mouse) and Veronica (vampire bat), but overall it's not as big a part of the story as many other furry comics.
76** Also, there are no hybrids, though there is a genetic procedure [[http://techfox.comicgenesis.com/d/20041029.html that allows interspecies couples to have kids]].
77* JerkAss: Too many to point out.
78** In one arc, Jack and Jenny have to deal with [[SmallNameBigEgo Dr. Roykirk]], who [[DisproportionateRetribution fired]] [[KickTheDog a]] [[http://techfox.comicgenesis.com/d/20070528.html tech]] all because said tech used a ''' ''different OS'' ''' in his qualifications!
79* JukeboxMusical: A few strips have the characters just singing whatever song pops into their head.
80* KineticWeaponsAreJustBetter: Small arms in the 2060s tend towards a mix of sedative paintball markers, recoilless rifles, gyrojets, and old-fashioned cartridges. While vehicle-mounted lasers are in common use the only handheld laser seen was intended to blind animals instead of burn holes in them.
81* LuddWasRight: The philosophy of the Disney Fundamentalists.
82* MagicalNativeAmerican: Subverted by Jenny's grandmother Ravenwing, she dresses the part and was trained as a medicine woman, but then she went to university and achieved a doctorate in ethnobotany. She now sits on the boards of three separate pharmaceutical companies and has a Nobel prize in Medicine.
83* MakesSenseInContext: Even though [[http://techfox.comicgenesis.com/d/20020603.html Barb wanted to kick Tora into orbit]], [[http://techfox.comicgenesis.com/d/20020610.html Cecil pointed out]] that Jenny would be feeling sorry for '''her abusive boyfriend''', not Jack.
84* MassiveNumberedSiblings: Jenny has [[http://techfox.comicgenesis.com/d/20170522.html 6 brothers from three litters]]. Jack's implied to have a similar number of siblings but no numbers are given.
85* MobileSuitHuman: Veronica, a realistically-sized bat, uses something like that to assist in a rescue operation on the Moon. More conventional [[PoweredArmor powered exoskeletons]] are also used in several emergencies.
86* MurderArsonAndJaywalking: http://www.hirezfox.com/21cf/d/20230102.html "Police aren't certain which charges to bring against the hijacker but we believe there will be charges of murder, hijacking and double parking"
87* MyBelovedSmother: Both Jenny and Jack's mothers have their own ideas for the wedding that they keep trying to push on them, especially Jenny's.
88* MyFriendsAndZoidberg: Jack gets the wrong end of this [[http://techfox.comicgenesis.com/d/20190204.html when medals are handed out]] after a Kaledistanian official is rescued.
89* {{Nanomachines}}: Yes, but they're delicate, usually used for medical purposes.
90* NoodleIncident: Mentioned [[LampshadeHanging by name]] in [[http://techfox.comicgenesis.com/d/20161205.html this strip]]... with an additional warning to avoid [[SpitTake a possible spit-take]]!
91* NotInTheFace: A [[InvisibilityCloak cloaking device]] equipped black jaguar assassin runs afoul of Jack's similarly equipped hyena bodyguard and her shield [[http://www.hirezfox.com/21cf/d/20231127.html here]].
92* NuclearTorchRocket: In one arc Jenny has to present a proposal for a fusion scramjet-propelled Jupiter probe to a Congressional committee. One senator (a sheep) freaks out whenever he hears the word "nuclear" and tries to fillibuster, which leads Jenny to resort to repeating "[[BrownNote nuclear]]" until he runs bleating from the room in abject terror. In a later arc, a people-safe version is shown taking a shipment to the off-world colonies while the crew make nuclear physics puns.
93* ThePasswordIsAlwaysSwordfish: Top-level government artificial intelligence access codes (ex. "Define the word 'is'" and "I am not a crook") are so easily guessed that kids use them to access R-rated movies. After the Disney cultists show everyone what a huge problem this is, the government still refuses to fix the problem because some senator's wife won't be able to remember them if they're changed.
94* PocketRocketLauncher: Arms dealer Dr. Shere Kaos has his BodyguardBabes armed with fire-and-forget gyro-jet pistols.
95* {{Polyamory}}: Apparently the norm with some species, most notably giraffes and other herd animals.
96* ThePreciousPreciousCar: Jack's Thunderbird that later gets hit by a hurricane... it, like its owner, survive. But the car is never quite the same.
97* QuicksandSucks: Averted. In [[http://techfox.comicgenesis.com/d/20101011.html a flashback]], Jack recounts how he got stuck up to his chest in a pool of quicksand as a cub, and some kindly turtles dragged him out quite easily. His enthusiasm for a certain megastructure project is entirely to pay them back.
98* ReferenceOverdosed: Has cameos and shout outs from eveything from 50s radio dramas to 90s tv to other sci-fi and furry webcomics to current events.
99* RelationshipUpgrade: After about 18 years of buildup, Jack and Jenny marry.
100* RidiculousFutureInflation: In one early strip, it's remarked that $70 for one gallon of gas is the lowest they've seen in a while, and apparently a can of Coca-Cola costs $20.
101** Though to be fair, that's not too ridiculous — (very) roughly 6% inflation per year, on average, would give prices close to that.
102* ScoobyDoobyDoors: Complete with LampshadeHanging as Jack is running from tigers with guns on the [[http://www.hirezfox.com/21cf/d/20081124.html Scooby Deck]].
103* SeanConneryIsAboutToShootYou: Cavor Is About To Roundhouse-Kick You.
104* ShoutOut: Far too many to count, mostly to various sci-fi.
105* TheSingularity: [[http://techfox.comicgenesis.com/d/20130506.html Roykirk]] claims that he's started it with his level 5 AI, meanwhile the background slideshow to his speech Bluescreens.
106* SlidingScaleOfRobotIntelligence: [[http://techfox.comicgenesis.com/d/20121210.html In-universe]] there is a scale, most AIs are level 2 (small child) or almost level 3 (person-level). Roykirk is trying to create a level five (borderline DeusEstMachina) but he and his team seem incapable of building even a level four.
107* SlidingScaleOfSillinessVersusSeriousness: Usually towards the silly end.
108* SmartGun: Shere Kaos' bodyguards use [[http://www.hirezfox.com/21cf/d/20081208.html gyrojet guns]] with [=iMudd=] AI systems that can recognize unauthorized users and self-destruct, and the usual override codes don't work on them.
109* {{Squee}}: When Jenny's mother learns that there was even a little bit of the romantic in Jack, she [[http://techfox.comicgenesis.com/d/20160822.html "went ultrasonic"]] and lets out a squee that can be heard on Maui (presumably the other end of the Hawaiian archipelago from parents' location) or possibly on Mars.
110* SweetPollyOliver: Jenny briefly disguises herself as [[http://www.hirezfox.com/21cf/d/20110606.html "Ace" Curtis]] to retrieve Jack from a Chinese space station.
111* SweetOnPollyOliver: A chinese cosmonaut gets a man-crush on the star pilot personna Jenny assumes to rescue Jack from a space station he'd been shanghai'd to ([[IncrediblyLamePun sorry]]).
112* TinyGuyHugeGirl: Tommy Khan (Pomeranian) and Fuschia (Husky).
113* ThreeLawsCompliant: All robots, though their safeties can be bypassed using certain government-mandated code phrases (such as "define the word 'is'", and "I am not a crook") that lock [=AIs=] out of their own systems. With the possible exception of the [=iMudd=] software in smart weapons (and Chinese "Go-Go-Bots").
114* TronLines: Color-changing fibre-optic piping is sometimes seen on ladies's fashions.
115* TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture: Circa 2066.
116* UnfortunateNames: One strip details how the boffins give weapons elegant names, and the significantly cruder Poor Bloody Infantryman will give it a much coarser one. Therefore, an x-ray laser antimissile system with a name made up of several $200 words (adjusted for inflation) gets renamed the "X-Lax" by the common soldiery
117* UnsoundEffect: What kind of sound does an idler pulley make when a tracked robot takes damage from some falling rocks? Apparently, it makes a [[http://techfox.comicgenesis.com/d/20150209.html "sprocket"]] noise, among others. Not to mention all the noises in the background caused by an earlier EarthShatteringKaboom.
118* UnusualEuphemism: [[WordofGod Word of God]] has it that "Johnny Freakinouter" was coined by a friend.
119* UnusualUserInterface: The standard personal computer is a pair of heads-up-display glasses that seem to respond to brainwaves, though characters are often seen giving voice commands. These glasses are frequently used for full VR, but some claim that a true virtual experience requires a neural jack.
120* UterineReplicator: Jack and Jenny's kits are transferred to a pair of artificial gestators that look like lava lamps for prenatal gene therapy. And due to a mixup at the clinic they end up taking home a third lamp containing a maned wolf fetus.
121* WackyCravings: Some time after dismissing the results of an improvised pregnancy test, Jenny clears the fridge of [[http://techfox.comicgenesis.com/d/20170911.html pickles and mice cream]], then she starts demanding fresh-caught wild Alaskan salmon, and changes her mind to Vienna sausages en route to Juneau.
122* WaveMotionGun: Parodied with some firefighters and their [[http://techfox.comicgenesis.com/d/20020211.html Wave Water Gun]].
123* WebcomicTime: [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] in one [[http://techfox.comicgenesis.com/d/20120709.html strip]] where a few months feel more like 14 years.
124* WeCanRebuildHim: Tora as part of his backstory, with a parody of the TropeNamer in [[http://www.hirezfox.com/21cf/comics/tf20050401KathyL.jpg this guest strip]].
125* YouKeepUsingThatWord: Bit character Fuscia is quite fond of using "unmitigated" inappropriately.
126* ZeroGSpot:
127** [[http://techfox.comicgenesis.com/d/20041006.html Apparently]] one of the reasons why Cecil, Barb, and Beth had their honeymoon in space.
128** Jack and Jenny got in on that action after escaping the Chinese [[http://www.hirezfox.com/21cf/d/20120227.html space station.]]

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