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The crew from season two onwards
"We are in 2034, the situation on Earth is catastrophic. The ozone layer has been completely destroyed by the Carbon dioxide from cars, the chemical industry and spray cansnote . Results: The Earth is cooking under the sun's rays, harvests are burning, there's almost no drinking water left and sunscreen manufacturers are becoming rich. The situation becomes urgent: A new planet must be found to relocate 6 billion moronsnote . It is thus that on October 28th 2034, the spaceship Romano Fafard leaves Earth for the edges of the universe. Where the hand of Man has never set foot..."
- Season 1 and 2 Intro

Dans une galaxie près de chez vous (In A Galaxy Near You), abbreviated as Dans une galaxie, DUG or DUGPDCV, is a cult French-Canadian series parodying the sci-fi genre, most notably Star Trek and Lost in Space. It was written by Claude Legault and Pierre-Yves Bernard. The series is first and foremost a comedic show filled with absurd humor, but has its moments of heart-rending drama and serious, if not slightly anvilicious, environmental message.

The premise is that in the year 2034, the Earth has become so polluted it will soon be unable to sustain human life. The World Federation pulls its resources together and sends the spaceship Romano-Fafard and a crew of seven to find a habitable planet for humanity. However, not long into the first episode, the crew is informed that there are no habitable planets in the Milky Way Galaxy, and they will have to venture outside the Galaxy, effectively rendering all communications with Earth impossible. In their travels, the crew members explore far-flung new worlds (including a Casino planet named O'Vegas, a planet covered with nothing but telephone poles and another planet filled with dogs) and meet odd (if sometimes inexplicable) characters (including Réal Estate, a planet salesman; a Sith lord; and even the devil himself).

The series lasted for four seasons (1998-2001) and spawned two movies—the first in 2004, the second in 2008.


This series provides examples of

  • Aborted Arc: A minor case, but it counts; at one point when the crew is temporarily incapacitated, Brad reveals to Serge that he repaired the remote control that accesses his 1001 personalities and functions (which was previously broken by Pétrolia), intending to control him against his will. After the episode ends, the remote is never brought up again.
  • Abnormal Ammo: The spaceship's canon can shoot everything from rocks to laser. Flavien accidentally blows up a whole planet with a "geometric progression" charge (although the Captain mentions the planet must have been loaded with inflammable gas for that to happen).
  • Absurdly High-Stakes Game: At the age of ten, Brad lost all his money at card so he bet his grandma. He got lucky and ended up with four grandmas spoiling him with sweets.
  • Absurdly Ineffective Barricade: Brad put a few table in front of a door to stop the brainwashed crew from entering, Gervais has to remind him those are sliding doors. Brad then tries to use tape on the door which doesn't do much either.
  • Accidental Misnaming: No one can get Prince Richard Lion Leg's name right, although he seems oblivious to this. The Captain has this problem with almost every alien he meets and even Serge in the movie.
    • Malicious Misnaming: In regards to Captain Presswood, it gradually becomes this once the Romano-Fafard's crew finds out about his true intentions.
  • Ace Pilot: Bob. The only pilot on Earth who knows how to handle a manual transmission spaceship.
  • Actually Pretty Funny: After Pétrolia says that Serge being delayed by 5 seconds isn't so bad, the Captain passive-aggressively quips that they just get the impression of talking to someone from Australia over the phone. Serge laughs at this...5 seconds later.
  • Adam and Eve Plot: Because of time travel shenanigans, Brad ended up killing Adam and Pétrolia said the only option was to have Brad replace him. Serge vetoed the idea by saying it will make humanity thin, hypocritical and liable to soil their pants at the first sign of trouble.
  • Affably Evil: The Devil is quite amiable, although he still wants two souls to punish the crew for playing Paul Piché songs. When Valence brings up old wounds, he cowers and is willing to relent.
  • Aliens Are Bastards: A lot of alien races do despicable thing such as slavery, gambling and gratuitous murder. Humans are still said to be the worst but that's more because they keep their emotions on the inside making them more unpredictable.
  • Aliens Speaking French: Mostly played straight, but not always; the Zorglons communicate with musical tones, while the natives of the planet Ouch speak with their own language (which requires subtitles, for the viewers' convenience, and Valence's attempts to imitate it go poorly).
  • All Men Are Perverts: The male crew are frequently swoon by pretty women and all too eager to do a strip search or scanner, Bob and the Captain even have porn magazines. Not that Valence and Pétrolia don't have their moments.
  • All Planets Are Earth-Like: Averted and Parodied, the planets shown and are at least somewhat Earth-like are either inhabited, conveniently uninhabitable (radioactive surface, truth gas atmosphere, too small for the human population, etc.) or otherwise, just plain weird.
  • Alternative Continuity: The movies are set in a different continuity than that of the main series. Differences between the two continuity include the design of the ship, the Captain having a sister on Earth, Petrolia ending up with Flavien instead of Bob, etc.
    • The only episode of the series that is explicitly contradicted by the movies is the last one ( where they find a planet and then Earthlings proceed to immediately start waging war over it, followed by the crew deciding to keep on looking for their own planet), which the first movie essentially took its main plot from. Pétrolia even only finally chose Bob in the last episode, and Flavien in the first movie, so it's a remarkably clean split.
  • Anti Anti Christ: Valence invokes this by trying to convince the Devil to pick Flavien as his successor, so that he can use his powers to seal the gates of Hell and be rid of the forces of evil until the end of time.
    Flavien: So, I'll have the powers of the Devil inside of me? What if I don't digest them?
  • Ascended Fridge Horror: For the entire show, the viewers must take for granted that the Earth is facing an environmental crisis, and it's generally not elaborated on. The first movie actually shows the resulting devastation in the opening minutes.
  • And I Must Scream: After a mishap with Valence's dream machine, Flavien and the Captain end up trapped inside Bob's head. Ironically, it's Bob himself who freaks out when he is informed about it.
  • Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking:
    • The Encyclopedia of the Forces of Evil contains everything you need to know about werewolves, demons, vampires and real estate agents.
    • The Encyclopedia of the Forces of Good contains everything you need to know about Angels, Fairies and Aunt Rita
    Flavien: There's always one (Aunt Rita) in every family, and she's always really kind.
    • Combined with I Take Offense to That Last One, the crew makes a (literally) several hours long list of Brad's personality flaws which are read aloud to him, including Traitor, Murderer, Liar, Thief, Scum, Stinks, Coward, Baby, Crybaby, Dishonest, Ignoble and Not Nice. Brad only takes offense to that last one.
    Brad: Not nice? Don't you guys think you're exaggerating a little bit?
    Captain: You've been hypocrite, bandit, petty, pretentious, mean and [wearing] yellow!
    • Inverted when Brad tries to switch Serge into a proper attack function, cycling through a sumo wrestler, an Iroquois chief and a marine.
    • While the crew is frustrated over finding yet another unsuitable planet, Brad tells the captain that all the planets they find are either uninhabitable, already inhabited, or back-ordered.
    • While trying to cheer up Flavien, the captain lists virtues that make a man great: Honesty, Perseverance and... Digestion?
    • Bob lists the ship's armament as one laser cannon, three conventional cannons, six missiles launcher air-ground and a few slingshots.
    • When listing off the companies that worked on the ship, big sounding names like Titanus motors or Spitfire Corporation, the Captain heartwarmingly reads "Jean-Paul Robidou and spouse's portholes" at the end.
    • In the first movie, the Captain got attacked by a mutant created by Brad with the DNA of a scorpion, a tarantula and a lawyer note 
  • The Artifact: Pétrolia remains the ship's doctor, even after Serge gets rebuilt for the second time.
  • Artifact of Attraction: Mirasphalta. A space rock that Bob uses as a Replacement Goldfish for Mirabella, makes people obsess over it and act like zombies if they touch it.
  • Awesomeness by Analysis: This is the reason why the Captain stated that Flavien must be the Jedi apprentice, since he perfectly figured out how Brad and the Captain's game of CheckMars would go if they weren't locked in a stalemate.
  • Awful Truth: Poor Flavien really shouldn't have learned about his true father... His father was an alien prince who had to marry and had children inside the realm so he could inherit the kingdom, he met Flavien's mother and had him out of wedlock. The prince abandoned his mother who died of depression afterward.
  • Bad Boss: Captain Pommerleau, who the captain Patenaude looks up to, is known for having always completed his missions, but Flavien reveals that in order to do that he sacrificed sixty-seven crew members, something the Patenaude can't afford.
    Flavien: To complete our mission we have to be alive, dead we are worthless.
  • Back from the Dead: Three times with Flavien, including one with Bob too.
    • Serge is often demolished and rebuilt.
    • The Captain has a mini defibrillator attached to his heart that can bring him back from death by cardiac arrest.
  • Backseat Driver: Bob tries to teach Pétrolia how to drive in one episode, while really supportive he starts getting a nose bleed the moment she hit a cone.
  • Bad Liar:
    • Valence trying to cover up the Captain's Heroic BSoD, as he is walking around half-naked screaming nonsense while hitting a cauldron on his head, saying it's a therapy to combat anxiety. While she admits she doesn't believe Brad will ever fall for it, the rest of the crew however...
    Bob: Not being successful with women gives me anxiety [hits pans on his head.]
    Flavien: I don't have self-confidence and it gives me anxiety [hits pans on his head.]
    Serge: I have no anxiety and it gives me anxiety [hits pans on his head.]
    Captain: Heureux d'un printemps qui m'chauffe la couennedu du du du.
    • Brad when it comes to injuries or covering his betrayals. Otherwise, when manipulating the crew, he can bring his A-game.
    • Mirabella says she is good at bluffing but she never comes up with good lies whenever someone doubts her medical knowledge. Valence sees through it and the Captain has some doubts while everyone else are either too dumb or indifferent to notice.
    • Flavien, pure-hearted as he is, is pathetically unable to lie his way out of awkward situations.
    Captain: *referring to a puppy being smuggled* What is that doing here?
    Flavien: *acting poorly* But I do not know, captain. *acting shocked* It's you! A real magician! Normally they pull out rabbits, but...
  • Bad Mood as an Excuse: Played for laughs in an otherwise serious moment.
    Captain: Yes, if someone grabs the jackhammer and breaks the rocks around the ship, we would be able to get out.
    Petrolia: But will the person have time to come back inside the ship before the asteroid is driven away?
    Captain: OF COURSE NOT, YOU DUMBASS! Excuse me, I'm tired.
  • Batman Gambit: An elaborate one is made by the rest of the crew to get Brad demoted for poisoning the Captain. They don't have proof so they stage the Captain's death and a haunting story so Brad will confess out of guilt and fear. And even if he didn't, he tried getting rid of Flavien, who acted suspiciously toward him.
  • Beneath the Mask: Brad takes pride in being a bastard but when someone seriously considers using his memory to make the universe's best horror movie, he does not take it well. He starts beating up the alien while yelling that all the people he hurt, it was by accident (he has an in and out Vitriolic Best Buds relationship with the crew and he never really knew any kindness).
    Brad: I'm not a monster!
  • Big Book of War: From the first movie, Brad's personal items include "Betrayal for Dummies." In the series he also has a book about how to be a jerk.
  • Big Budget Beef-Up: The movies definitely benefit from this compared to the show's meager budget, since they have more intricate battle uniforms for the crew, visited planets that actually make use of more than one set or two, fancier special effects and more detailed CGI sequences.
  • Big Eater: Bob, full stop. The pantry has a sign that says it's his home.
  • Big Fun: Bob again, natch!
  • Big "NO!": Played straight, mocked and parodied so many times that it could have its own section.
  • Black Comedy: The show sometimes indulges in this:
    • Brad's childhood is a straight example of Hilariously Abusive Childhood. He was outright abused by his parents, violently assaulted by classmates and his own teachers. Even his Imaginary Friend tried to kill him. Yet stories of Brad's childhood memories are some of the show's funniest moments.
    • Some of Brad's own actions. For example, the crew adopts a mime (who are an alien life form apparently). Said mime gives birth to a egg. Brad, who is allergic to mime fur, decides to get rid of the mime and its egg while the crew is sleeping, by beaming the mime to an exoplanet that's passing by, only to realize as he's beaming the egg after disposing of the Mime that the exoplanet has moved out of range and deciding to instead beam it on another nearby planet where the Egg will shatter, and the sun will roast its content. The scene includes Brad beating the Mime as it tries to rescue its egg. And yet the scene is hilarious as through all this Brad is hamming it up, narrating his own actions to himself in the third person (and framing himself as a good guy for what he's doing). He then casually takes the time to clean the Mime's nest and notes he could really go to bed, since he's had a long day.
    Brad: Brad is good. Brad feeds the animals!
    • During a feverish Imagine Spot by the Captain, seeing Flavien desperately trying to revive crew members dying from extreme heat, the latter strangles Brad to death in the middle of it.
    • In the first movie's opening, Charles' sister, living in Montreal, tells her son that global warming has melted Toronto's environmental dome, killing everyone living there. Her son's reaction? Asking if this means the Toronto Maple Leafs are eliminated.
  • Blackmail: Brad extorts money from Flavien when he finds out he has yet to tell Bob about his relationship with Pétrolia.
  • "Blind Idiot" Translation: Done on purpose by Brad, who "translates" the Zorglons' musical tones and claims that he's the only communicator who is important to them and chosen as their planet's leader. No one buys it except for Bob.
  • Blunt "Yes": When Brad questions if they are really gonna keep Pétrolia.
    Valence: What? Did you expect we just throw her back into space?
    Brad: A li'l bit.
  • Bottle Episode: Much like its template, many episodes take place solely within the Romano-Fafard, with planet exploration often happening off-screen. Season 1 in particular is comprised entirely of these.
  • Breaking Speech: On separate occasions, Valence has done this to Brad and the Devil.
  • Bread, Eggs, Breaded Eggs: When Brad asks Bob's opinion on Serge when the crew has to vote if they either save him or continue on their mission without the delay.
    Bob: He is a robot. And uh, he is nice. To sum him up, I'd say he is a nice robot. That's why I'm gonna vote to save him.
  • Brilliant, but Lazy: Brad, the ship's original designer and engineer. While he can basically build or repair anything as the story requires, he only does the absolute strict minimum amount of work out of laziness and greed. He made a portable cloning machine and only uses it because he needs a slave to do chores.
  • Broken Win/Loss Streak: Flavien is known to be extremely good at games and consistently defeat anyone at them, yet the only one he can't win is "Save the king if you can.", mainly because it's far too difficult to beat.
  • Brown Note: In the first movie, the aliens vomit at the sound of the word "Earthling"note . This works even for the robot clones of the cast!
    • It also works if you say something close enough to the French word for "Earthling"note . Valence exclaims that "You are nothing"note  and it makes a nearby alien vomit.
  • Butt-Monkey: Brad. Everybody hates him, rightfully so considering his constant failed attempts to assume command or trying to sell out his friends to the monster of the week, thus the Captain approves of any physical violence upon his person, taking part in it on a regular basis.
    • Even being absent from an episode doesn't keep him immune from misfortune, as Pétrolia once briefly suggested to Valence that he should be awakened from regenerescence instead of Bob (since interrupting the process before a full week can kill people, if not done properly).
  • Call-Back: The crew trying to hide the fact that they come from Earth and that they are Humans at the start of the second movie comes from the running gag of aliens vomiting at the sole mention of the word "Earthling". Good thing the Creamys don't have this prejudice.
    • Happens also in the series, with their interaction with the Barzots or when the crew tries to hide that they are Earthlings when talking to a custom agent or when the see signs that says Earthling are forbidden.
  • Calling Out for Not Calling: Played for Laughs when Valence is reunited with the captain, who has been missing for some months between two seasons. She embraces him then slaps him, saying he could have called her. He says it would have been too expensive.
  • Captain Ersatz:
    • Captain Patenaude of another famous science fiction captain, of course.
    • Brad is based on Dr. Smith from Lost in Space. The show even hangs a lampshade over it by having him called as such in an episode. Unlike his inspiration, Brad is treated as more of a joke.
      • Brad can also be seen as an expy of Arnold J. Rimmer, though this one is proud of his opportunistic cowardice.
    • Valence, as the Ms. Fanservice advisor to the captain and ship's psychiatrist is an obvious stand in for Councillor Troy.
  • Casts No Shadow: Played for Laughs in the first movie. Brad is so unlikable that his own shadow left him, asked right of asylum to Valence and even flips Brad off when he asks it to come back.
  • Catchphrase: "Going where the hand of mankind has never set foot.note "
    • After briefing his crew, Patenaude always ends with "Question? Action!!!"
  • Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: The sentient onboard computer, Gervais, was all but forgotten after the second season, without being Put on a Bus like Mirabella and Falbo.
  • Clap Your Hands If You Believe: In this show's universe, ghosts will only appear so long as people pay attention to them.
  • Clones Are People, Too: When an alien woman plans on cloning the crew and use them as attraction for a zoo, her attempts to shrug it off as not being them for real fall into deaf ears as the Captain still won't accept copies of them being used as slaves and animals. Averted however with the clone of Brad that got mixed with a Ricky Martin CD (It Makes Sense in Context) as the Captain considers it a surreal being and Brad said he'll preserve the genetic code in memoriam as they turn him back into a virtual state. Human cloning has been outlawed on Earth for unspecified reason.
  • Companion Cube: The Captain is really attached to the ship, with the last episode promising he'll visit it every day when it's converted into a museum and admits he'll uphold Going Down with the Ship.
  • Comedic Sociopathy: Brad is the source (and subject) to this often. He's so unrepentantly, gleefully vile that his evil deeds become hilarious, even when he's talking about murdering an alien mime and its child. And on the other end, Brad's vileness allows the show to do all sorts of terrible things to him (He gets frequently beaten up by the crew and knocked unconscious by his superior officer) that this remains hilarious.
  • Covert Pervert: Brad uses intergalactic sex lines one episode. It's mostly because he feels really lonely. Bob reads Spaceboys: the most beautiful aliens naked in one episode.
    Bob: *unfolds a poster* Huh!! She's got EIGHT PAIRS OF...!!
  • Creator Provincialism: Turns out that Canada is the remaining superpower in-universe.
    • Interestingly, this was caused by Executive Meddling. The series was threatened with receiving no more subsidies from the Canadian federal government after the first two seasons because the Ministry of Heritage thought the series lacked "Canadian content" (which was their way of saying it was in French and mentioned Quebec a couple times but never Canada). The creators's response was to put a Canadian flag patch on each uniform and add a line in the opening about how "The Planetary Federation asked the first world power, Canada. It's Canadian know-how that allowed...". As a result, the subsidies kept coming.
  • Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: The whole crew is this, sure they are a bunch of idiots but they have defeated ghosts, hostile aliens, a Sith Lord and even Satan using their talents and resources.
  • Curse Cut Short: A few time when someone is about to talk about shit.
    • "The Mad Man"
    Captain:What's the point of dining? All we drink we piss, all we eat we sh-
    Valence: Shhhh.
    • "Spit-Barishny-Fire"
    Flavien: Well, if the Captain has a turd on the heart (i.e rancor), Brad is full of-
    Brad: That means nothing, I'm a really sane and balanced person. Whoever disagrees, I shove my fist down his throat and tie up his esophagus.
    • "Rintintinos"
    Serge: [talking about Rintintinos] Hey, it's full of dogs! We can't take 3 steps without putting our 2 feet into one pile of-
    Captain: Thank you very much, yes, I had already noticed, from the smell coming from your boots.
  • Darkest Hour: The next-to-last episode. Food supplies are down to just one day's worth, oxygen is almost out and only a few planets are within range where they could possibly pick supplies. The first few planets all turn up barren, and everyone is afraid of the last probe returning because another barren planet would mean the entire crew would die and with the failure of their mission, the entire human race. It's a viable planet with breathable air and edible food!
  • Department of Redundancy Department: Used a few times
    Captain Patenaude: Brad, you are mean, and on top of that you are not nice!
  • Despair Event Horizon: This ends up happening in the second film when the cast ends up in Limbo where they gets news that they have much less time than previously thought. They end up fulfilling the Creamy leader's Batman Gambit of making them destroy a civilization of harmless aliens or, as it actually happened, make them evacuate their own planet so he can use the artifacts inside.
  • A Devil Am I: Brad (temporarily) become The Devil.
    The Devil: "They call me Satan, the devil, Beelzebul, but my real name... IS STEVE!"
  • The Devil Is a Loser: He's evil. He has no friends, no family, no girlfriend and thinks he sucks. He just want to retire. All he need is a successor.
  • Dissimile: According to Bob, the planet Yippee-Ki-Yaynote  is like a potato field, but with no potatoes.
  • Disability Superpower: Too Dumb to Live Bob is immune to mental attacks because his brain is so small it can hide into the back of his head.
  • Distinction Without a Difference: When Bob suggests killing Brad because he is so dangerous he almost got everyone in the ship killed at least twenty times, the Captain says he exaggerates, and after counting says fifteen tops.
    • While watching Bob to see if he's dreamt three times, Pétrolia gets scolded by Flavien for falling asleep. She goes on to say she wasn't sleeping, but taking a nap.
  • Do Not Do This Cool Thing: Done in-universe.
    Captain: Brad, it's true that sometime we want to say "Just dang it, to hell with laws, to hell with rules".
    Brad (excited): Yes.
    Captain: Anarchy! Devils!
    Both: Yeaaaargh!
    Captain: But today, this is not one of those times.
  • Doom Magnet: The ship, which is lampshaded when it gets invaded by the Devil himself.
    Captain: Why does it always have to happen to us? We can't just run into a hitchhiker wanting to go to Ste-Agathe, no, we end up with the Devil!
  • Double Take: The Captain does several of these when he notices Pétrolia wearing muffins on her hair (since Bob ate the cinnamon buns she wore to imitate Princess Leia, in anticipation of the Jedi)
    Pétrolia: Bob ate my former hairdo.
  • Downer Ending: The TV series ending and the second film's. See "Shaggy Dog" Story below.
  • Dreaming of Things to Come: Whenever Bob has a particular dream 3 times in a row, it comes true. This usually causes problems for the crew (e.g. a dream about all of the Romeo-Fafard's toilets overflowing at the same time).
  • Driving Stick: The Romeo-Fafard has a manual transmission and a clutch. Only Bob knows how to work it properly. Bob even leans and turns backwards when backing off the ship as if he's looking through a rear windshield. The only thing he should be able to see this way is the Captain's chair, the ladder up to the defense station, and the door out of the bridge.
  • Dumb Muscle: Falbo acts like an hyperactive teenager and has a reputation of being Earth's most terrifying mercenary. He made a tank cry uncle.
  • Eat the Camera: After Bob realizes that the Devil threatens to blend the crew into smoothies, he starts a particularly long shriek, as the camera zooms into his mouth.
  • Epic Fail: As part of a book-reading activity, Bob talks about the back of a cereal box he read. In the form of a story. Valence and the Captain are less than amused.
    Captain: You have read the back of a cereal box!
    Bob: It sure was a challenge, you should see some of the words that were on there! I nearly sprained my jaw while saying the word "riboflavin"-- *does so*
  • "Eureka!" Moment: Occasionally happens. What is perhaps the silliest case is when Bob, Flavien and the Captain are presently dealing with the ship being trapped in the gravitational field of two stars, then the latter sees Flavien swinging his shirt.
    Captain: Flavien, you are a genius!
    Flavien: You are exaggerating, I'm not the one who invented making wind...
  • Everyone Has Standards: Since Brad is an unpleasant backstabbing coward, the crew is mostly fine with calling him names and physically assaulting him as he can take as much as he can dish. However, when the Captain is so angry at him stalling the mission so he can loot a planet for diamonds, he calls him a wuss (feluette) and everyone winces at it. Pétrolia says the Captain would have been better throwing rocks at him and he apologizes to Brad in the next scene.
  • Evil Counterpart: The crew of the Roberto-Menard. Their ship is a bigger version of the Romano-Fafard, they are dressed in yellow to contrast the crew's Red Is Heroic and have zero qualms about cleaning an alien planet of all sapient life. For comparison, when Brad took over in the third season and tried to do the same with the Barzot, the crew reluctantly followed him and made sure to make no casualties, with Flavien almost strangling Brad to death when he decided to use a Neutron Bomb.
  • Evil Laugh: Brad attempted one once, only to choke in mid-laugh.
  • Evil Lawyer Joke: In the movie, the Captain is yelling at Brad for creating a giant monster by mixing the genes of spider, scorpion and lawyer, Valence correct him by saying it's a real estate agent.
    Brad: To get rid of the spiders I thought about mixing a stray cat with a banker.
  • Evil Chancellor: Brad is the original 2nd officer, and his dream is to become captain of the ship.
  • Exact Words: When Pétrolia chews out Brad over deciding to use a neutron bomb.
    Pétrolia: You promised us a clean war!
    Brad: Promise kept! I took a shower this morning!
  • Explain, Explain... Oh, Crap!: When Brad in a complaining rant does something ridiculously stupid while handling explosives. Luckily, they were near the canon so they could shoot it out of the ship.
    Captain: Brad, what do you have in your hand?
    Brad: A pin.
    Captain: Your other hand?
    Brad: A grenade.
    Captain: Can you explain what's wrong with what you just said?
    • While Bob is suffering from Earth melancholia and is piloting the ship back to Earth, the crew subdue him and turn the ship around, during which the crew takes their eyes off of him and he escapes.
    Serge 2: Captain, he is running down the corridor B8.
    Captain: Bingo! It's the corridor that leads... to the airlock.
    • In the first movie when Flavien and Bob sees flies taking off with a deer.
    Bob: Hey, how much does a deer weigh?
    Flavien: Four hundred kilos.
    Bob: Combined how much do we weigh?
    Flavien: We're leaving!
    • When the Jedi master makes his appearance, he goes on to explain that he seeked the Jedi apprentice on the ship, since he came to destroy him. This catches the crew off-guard.
  • Expansion Pack Past: Brad, to the point that the movies do away with it entirely.
  • Failed Attempt at Drama: Frequently.
    Barzot leader: Tell me, where do you come from?
    Captain: I am Charles [unveil a soiled flag representing Earth] Flavien what happened to the flag?
    Flavien: Oh that's Bob that used it as table cover.
  • False Reassurance: Happens while the Devil is thoroughly fed up with the crew's attempts to get rid of him:
    The Devil: Okay, that's enough! You will all be...murdalized!
    Brad (getting back up): Is that gonna hurt?
    The Devil: It's just gonna pinch a little.
  • Fantastically Indifferent: The crew all in all take meeting with supernatural beings rather well, mostly bothered by what they are attempting to do than their nature. The captain's reaction to a ghost hijacking his ship to go back to Earth is simply being unnerved with what happens if he succeeds.
    Captain: If we arrive on Earth without having found a planet, there'll be at least five billion humans lining up to give us a good beating.
    Brad: Well then Captain, do something.
  • Fantastic Racism: While a lot of aliens have prejudices over Earthling, most are willing to at least hear the crew out (and Brad screws it up by confirming their prejudices). Other aliens, however, will shoot on sight or refuse privileges they give to other races.
  • Fate Worse than Death: The only thing worse than not finding a suitable planet is having to face the people of Earth empty-handed.
  • Faux Horrific:
    • Therapy with Valence. Aside one case where she used an experimental Percussive Therapy on Brad, she is usually caring.
    • When the Devil leaves on Flavien his mark, which is the logo of the New Jersey's hockey team, Bob says that Flavien likely went catatonic by seeing them do the trap.
    Bob: It led to a game that's really boring. And that's what scared Flavien.
    • Earlier in the same episode, he asks Flavien if seeing his bank account is what scared him stiff.
  • Flanderization: In the first season, Bob is highly skilled for his job and not so much dumber than Flavien or Falbo. He's so dumbed down after the first season that he's rewritten as absolutely incompetent when he’s not working with Flavien.
    • Serge's mortality rate is taken to ridiculous levels in the movies. In the series itself, his deaths are more sporadic.
    • Brad's flaws and personality became increasingly exaggerated, as detailed on his character page.
  • Fictional Video Game: "Try to save the king if you can." It's a virtual reality game that seems to be a parody of King's Quest, right down to the Trial-and-Error Gameplay (it took Flavien 34 tries to get past the first puzzle (get past a acid-urinating skunk)), Moon Logic Puzzle (the solution was to piss on said skunk) and Nintendo Hard (the last "puzzle" is to defeat Olaf the warrior and apparently, no one has ever beaten him before). The goal of the game is to go through 10 challenges to save the king. The only difference is that injuries in the game become real. Really, this game that appears in a single episode could have it's own trope list.
    • Anti-Climax Boss: Captain's trademark "No Brad" karate chop seems to work on Olaf too. But only for a moment.
    • Big Bad: Olaf the warrior. Doubles as a Final Boss.
    • Bottomless Pit: Subverted, as the pit under the bridge does have a bottom. It just takes a long while to reach it.
    • Game Mod: Brad replaced the king's picture with the Captain's, just to have fun with the Game Over animation.
    • Have a Nice Death: When the last player gives up, Olaf decapitates the king.
    • Hello, [Insert Name Here]: When Olaf presents himself as "Olaf, son of Bartok", Flavien replies by saying "Flavien Bouchard, son of... some guy, you know?" since he didn't know his father.
    Olaf: It's a real shame for your father some guy you know, who will no doubt mourn you greatly, for the time of your death has come.
    Serge: *screams* I still don't see the bottom! *continues screaming* If I had known, I would have brought a book! *resumes screaming yet again*
    Olaf: If you want to save him, you have to beat the ten challenges. I AM THE TENTH CHALLENGE!!!
    Captain (reading Flavien's notes): "After 45 tries (to solve a riddle), I found out that there is a trick. Just put your right leg parallel to the ground, your left hand pointed to the sky, your head down, your right hand under your armpit... Come on! This is ridiculous!
    • Nausea Fuel: Invoked in universe by Serge after he completed the eighth challenge (a rope bridge over a chasm).
    Serge: That game's completely crazy! Lucky I don't have a digestive system or I would've emptied it.
  • First-Name Basis: Aside from the Captain, everyone is called by their first name unless they are victim of Full-Name Ultimatum (Brad got wise to it after a few) or the person is so angry they call him by last name. Valence calls the captain Charles in private but she is the only one he will let. Also, a flashback episode shows the Captain was on a Last-Name Basis at the start, until he warmed up to the crew.
    Charles: (to Pétrolia) I'm the one in charge and everyone calls me daddy, I mean Captain.
  • Freudian Excuse: Brad's evil is often blamed on his parents, who outright hated him, and an all around crappy childhood. Once, it was mentioned he wanted a career in ballet, but his father forced him to become a scientist.
  • From Zero to Hero: In his first appearance, Flavien is even dumber than Bob and is listed as the least important man on the ship in importance AND utility. At the end of the series and in the movies, he’s an heroic and reasonable Second officer.
  • Giver of Lame Names: Pétrolia starts calling planets over bottle of shower products in the second movie. When the Captain calls her out on it, she says it's not her fault they discovered multiple planets, comets, stars and star systems and yet still need to find one to call home.
  • Glamour Failure: The first movie's robot clones of the cast can be indentified by vomiting at hearing the word "Earthling". This works even for the Bob clone in the beginning but everyone thought he had reflux from eating too much berries. He was dispatched when Flavien noticed he didn't ask a stupid question.
  • A God Am I: Downplayed with captain Romano-Fafard during his takeover of the ship, claiming that he is the only one that commands onboard after God.
  • Going Down with the Ship: The Captain says in times of crisis, a captain must be on deck and go down with the ship, then gets lost in comparisons.
    Captain: Or melt with his spaceship, faceplant with his horse, crash with your bicycle and all sorts of beautiful things.
  • Good Parents: Bob is the only one mentioned to have nice and caring parents that were around to raise him. Bob meets them when the spaceship is temporarily in limbo and breaks down crying.
  • Gosh Dang It to Heck!: The Captain decides to invent new swear words which is pretty close to this.
  • Great White Hunter: The Captain in one episode gets a bit too much into hunting a creature on the ship, dressing as such and covering himself in female monster's urine.
    Captain: You'll know that Charles Patenaude is the last of a bloodline of famous hunters. The Patenaude Of Michamekhwan. I won't sleep until I see your monster's fur in front of my bed.
  • Green Aesop: Half of the premise of the show.
  • Guilt by Association Gag: Serge sometimes gets blamed for being in cahoots with other crew members, when they make big mistakes. This gets hilariously reversed when he, Bob and Flavien are called out by Captain Patenaude.
    Captain: Trio of idiots!
    Bob: Serge has nothing to do with this.
    Captain: Duo of morons!
    Flavien: It wasn't Bob's idea, it was mine.
    Captain: Single imbecile!
    Flavien: But Captain, with the situation at hands, we need to vent some steam.
    Captain: There's gotta be a culprit!
  • Hanging Judge: When the crew puts Brad on trial for fooling the Captain into exploring a seemingly hazardous planet, Bob acts as one. He's not very good at it, though.
    Bob: I sentence you to the electric chair!
    Flavien: Bob, we don't have an electric chair in the ship...
    Bob: No? Okay...I sentence you to the musical chair!
    Mirabella: Bob, the musical chair is actually fun.
    Bob: Oh yeah, that's right, that's right...I sentence you to the rocking chair!
  • Hearing Voices: Bob fishes in a paddling pool because a voice in his head says him he can rescue Flavien and Pétrolia, previously lost in space, by doing that.
    • It works well.
    Captain: Serge, bring a straitjacket, medium, it's for me.
  • Heart Is an Awesome Power: Flavien's super hearing. It sounds useless on the surface until you realize that he's the ship radar operator and his ability to detect incoming asteroids is borderline precognition.
  • Hell Is That Noise: In-Universe, the Zorglon's greeting annoys the Captain because he vaguely remembers it. He finally realizes it's the same signal the U.S.S Creampuff received before they were destroyed.
  • Here We Go Again!: Shortly after dealing with the matter of Captain Romano Fafard's invasion of the ship and Flavien learning that he's not his father (due to mismatching shoe sizes), Bob arrives with a pizza box coming from a deliveryman ghost that he, Flavien, and Serge were trying to summon at the start of the episode. Everyone except the Captain immediately decides to track him down, despite the Captain's insistence to ignore the pizza.
  • Heroic Bastard: Eventually, it's revealed that Flavien is actually the illegitimate son of Prince Richard, who abandoned Flavien's mother after his birth, since all children of the prince's lineage must be born within the kingdom, otherwise he can't be crowned. When Flavien found out about this, he didn't take it too well.
  • Hilariously Abusive Childhood: The Captain's, Brad's and Flavien's. Brad's parents didn't like him because they wanted a daughter (and dressed him as a girl for the first few years of his life), Flavien was an orphan who was moved from foster home to foster home (one of his mothers once sent him to a girl's summer camp because the boy's was full and she didn't want him around during the summer), and the Captain had a very distant relationship with his father, even though he doesn't seem to realise it (he considers his father telling him "it's raining" a very intimate moment).
    • Brad's childhood in particular borders on a running gag, as it doubles as his Freudian Excuse. He once insults Flavien by saying terrible things about his childhood, culminating with "Kids at school once had a contest of whom could throw the biggest rock at you, and your teacher won." only to stop and say "No wait, that's my childhood."
    • Brad's parents apparently somehow both wanted a girl and dressed Brad up as one, and disapproved of his dream of becoming a ballet dancer and forced him to go into science. At some point you just have to wonder if they weren't fucking with him on purpose.
  • Human Alien: Most of the time, any time an alien will show up, they'll end up looking no different than the crew. Otherwise, they will be Rubber-Forehead Aliens or outright Starfish Aliens.
  • Humans Are Bastards: And how. The crew usually refer to the 4 billion humans left on Earth as morons, and when encountering alien life forms who know about Earth, their reaction is usually unpleasant. In the movies, aliens went so far as to vomit when hearing the word "Earthling". A prophet the crew visited claimed that they would eventually find a habitable planet, but that a terrible creature would guard it. The terrible creature turned out to be a second human crew, who, unlike the original team, had no problem with killing the tribes that were already inhabiting the "promised" planet or the original crew for taking too long.
    • The final episode has the crew finding their goal of a perfect planet to move humanity and sends a signal back home. When the first ships get there... they just start a whole NEW war and force the crew to leave in a hurry, determined to find another perfect planet to leave behind the population of massive idiots.
  • Humans Are Warriors: Brad tries this with less than stellar success in the film. The Romano-Fafard's defense post is capable of taking over planets because most aliens aren't that well armed. Even Zorglons, a race that lures human ship to destroy them, get taken down with one shot while they were bombarding the Romano-Fafard.
    Brad: He threatens us with a fruit, ooooh we scared. We come from a civilization that spend 30 thousand billion of dollars in armament per year. So it's not a fruit [gets hit by the fruit] heyy.
  • Hyperspace Arsenal: Brad always has a few hidden weapons, be it a gun behind his hair or a pipe in his vest, to attack someone in a cowardly manner. When he is part of a competition that forbids weapons, the Captain suspects he is armed and orders him to hand them over while Bob and Flavien, the other contestants, give him a judging look as Brad planned everything from shooting them with a pistol to slugging them with a hockey stick.
    • The ship appears to be compact, yet has a vast inventory of objects, from those that are useful (e.g. food, laser guns, research documents) to more trivial (e.g. party supplies, lawn chairs, firewood that intentionally isn't lit up). The food supply also apparently included livestock, which was eventually exhausted as well.
    Captain: There is no chickens left and we ate our last cow last month.
    Bob: (sobbing) Mireille!
  • Hypocritical Humor: Bob criticizing Elvis Presley's weight/eating habits, jealousy aside, when Elvis is seen eating an amount of food Bob is known to multiply up to eleven by the hour.
    • When Valence and Pétrolia worry about the Captain, Flavien and Serge not returning from a fishing trip, the former tells the latter to stop being nervous...when she is the one who is shaking Pétrolia and panicking.
    • The Captain keeps butchering Crapin's name only for the alien to politely correct him. When Crapin calls him Padenaute, the Captain lashes at him angrily for not being able to call someone by their name.
  • I Don't Like the Sound of That Place: Some of the planets the Romano Fafard visits have dangerous-sounding names, like Terrifia (a planet inhabited by cannibal fleas), Psoriasis 2 (an inhabitable planet within Prince Richard's solar system, despite being named after a skin disease) and Ouch (a planet so named, because of the local natives having a habit of hurting strangers).
    Brad (about to be clubbed by an angry caveman): I'm starting to understand why this is called the planet "Ouch"!
  • I Have Many Names:
    The Devil: "I am Satan! Lucifer!! Beelzebub!! The demon!!! But my real name is... Steve."
  • Iconic Sequel Character: Pétrolia and Serge were introduced in Season 2, but managed to be as iconic as the other main characters and even eclipse in popularity their Season 1 predecessors (AKA Mirabella and Falbo).
  • Imaginary Enemy: During Valence's therapy with Brad she mentions that there is so little good that came out of him that even Stephane, Brad's initial Imaginary Friend, tried to strangle him.
  • Imagine the Audience Naked: The Captain tells Flavien to do this during a presentation, then he realizes Flavien is just staring at Valence.
    Captain: (covering Valence with his captain's vest) Enough with the peeping!
  • I Need to Go Iron My Dog: When the Captain has to retreat and think of a new plan, he tells the Barzot captain he has a baptism to attend to since he is the godfather.
  • Informed Attribute: Bob is definitely the largest member of the crew, but his weight is heavily exaggerated by everyone acting like he's very fat, when he's less fat than he is a Big Eater. If anything, his weight seems to be in muscles as well.
  • Insignia Rip-Off Ritual: When Brad was finally demoted after nearly killing the captain. Took about 3 times to finally get all of Brad's hidden insignias off.
  • Insistent Terminology: Throughout the entire series, the aliens are referred to as E.T.s
  • Insult Backfire: When the captain lashes at Brad who says they shouldn't waste their time finding the Captain's "little friends" (said friends being his mentor)
    Captain: My friends as you said might be in life threatening danger! But what do you know of it, you never had friends!
    Brad: Once! I bought some and then I got bored and resold them, at a higher price.
  • Intoxication Ensues: After eating pizza that Bob unknowingly made using an alien mushroom, Flavien starts hallucinating about a monster (which happened to be real but not as outlandish as Flavien repeatedly describes it) and goes outright bonkers after admitting that he is a cheese puff.
  • It May Help You on Your Quest: While Serge and the Captain brought useful fishing supplies, Flavien has a curling iron (amongst the things he brought in his 17 bags of supplies), just in case they catch a hairy catfish. It actually winds up coming in handy when the Captain wants to prevent Flavien from falling asleep in the cold, so that he can repair the radio and contact the ship.
  • It Only Works Once: When Brad gets possessed by the Devil's powers, Valence decides to talk him down like she did for the said Devil. Instead of being cowed, he paralyzes her on the spot.
  • Jerkass: Dear lord, Brad Spitfire. He's not just a self-serving conniving bastard who will sell out everyone faster than he can yell "Please kill HIM first!" but is immensely proud of that fact, stating that this is the essential survival trait that has made the Spitfire family thrive and succeed. When he recovers his memory after alien Phlebotinum gives everyone Easy Amnesia, the first thing he does is try to be sure he's back to normal:
    Brad: "Okay, think back. You're ten years old and it's Christmas morning. You're on the porch with grandpa and the snowblower is coming... What do you say... Five bucks or your wheelchair ends up on the snow pile! (proudly) YES! I'M A DIRTY BASTARD!!!"
  • Just Eat Gilligan: Justified with Brad, since he is the ship's scientist, so the crew can't get rid of him no matter how much they want to. Hilariously enough, Serge does suggest that they cook and eat him at one point, only for Valence to turn that down and say there isn't enough meat on him to make it worth the trouble.
    Captain: That Flavien kills Brad, I'm fine with it. But that he kills our only scientist kind of bothers me.
  • Killer Rabbit: The monster that terrorizes the ship during "La Créature"note  is actually an alien mouse.
  • Kick the Dog: They made a cake for Brad's five thousandth dick move, the milestone being his reaction to Bob dying.
    Brad: Wow, we aren't gonna carry a flu forever because the other imbecile got a virus.
    Valence: You have a better solution, Brad!?
    Brad: We toss him into Space.
  • Know When to Fold 'Em: When faced with a formidable personal threat and (initially) left with no other options, the Captain sometimes orders a retreat without hesitation (which doesn't help much when said threat is in the ship).
  • Lack of Empathy: Played for Laughs when a newly rebuilt Serge suggests Just Eat Gilligan above, Valence admits she might need to rework the emotional system.
  • Lampshade Hanging: When the Captain asks Pétrolia why she hasn't finished fixing up Serge yet, she replies that she never has the time to do anything because something always happens, "it's like being in an adventure tv series".
  • Large Ham: Patenaude, especially considering his "template".
    Brad: "If you don't (let me go), I'll blow up the ship's hull with EXPLOOOOOOSIVE CHAAARGES!"note 
    • The Devil himself is no slouch either, thanks to the talents of his actor and Radio Enfer regular Alexis Martin.
  • Lawyer-Friendly Cameo: The Dark Jedi/Sith lord is a Darth Maul analogue, but with orange facepaint instead of red.
  • Literal-Minded: The Captain increasingly becomes this as the result of an artificially-induced memory loss, which annoys Brad to no end.
  • Lock-and-Load Montage: Played for laughs in one occasion; while the other crewmembers arm themselves up with appropriate firearms, Brad gets stuck with a set of plastic toy bow & arrows, since the rest of the weaponry was in the washer at the time.
  • Logic Bomb: When Serge is repeatedly being encouraged by the body-swapped Brad and Captain to disobey the other, he winds up so confused that he blows a fuse.
  • Love Triangle: Both Bob and Flavien compete for Petrolia's affections. In the series finale, she chooses Bob and lets down Flavien gently, who backs down gracefully and wishes them well.
  • Luke, I Am Your Father: Flavien is sometimes obsessed by his unknown father who’s finally an Alien Ofthe Week in season 4.
  • Mama Bear: Brad in one episode is shown to have huge maternal instinct for his alien baby.
    Valence: They are both harmless!
    Captain: Brad just tossed us a grenade!
    Valence: It's natural for a mother to protect her child.
  • Mayfly–December Romance: Pétrolia and Flavien when the latter is revealed that his alien genes make him seemingly immortal in the second movie. Pétrolia, being quite insecure about their relation even before the reveal, thinks he'll likely forget about her in two hundred years and date a multi-breasted alien.
  • Metaphorgotten: Patenaude has a lot of trouble getting his metaphors and proverbs right.
  • Mid-Season Upgrade: Serge after being destroyed in the virtual game comes back with new applications as Serge 2. With every crew member putting some add-ons. Among other thing, he was given enough encyclopedic knowledge to become the new doctor (and the only competent one the ship ever had), an emotional tank so he can release his emotions properly instead of going on rampage when Pétrolia is in danger, super hearing and a thermometer in his pinky finger. As Serge 3 he keeps everything but also a 1001 functions he can be set to with a remote, from plumber to stupid teenager, but the crew stopped using it because of how easy it was to exploit Serge.
  • Mind Screw: In-universe case with the interstellar war board game called "CheckMars note ". It is so complex that only smart people like Brad and Patenaude can play it. Even then, their match eventually ends up in a draw.
    Bob: "It's really complicated!" *proceeds to fall down and pass out*
  • Mood Whiplash: In the second movie, the crew ends up in limbo where they see dead humans and even relatives such as Bob's parents. Then Serge's mom, a vending machine, is there as a ghost too.
    Serge (holding a soda can): Junior!!!
    • In the series the crew picks up a mime (It Makes Sense in Context) on a planet who lays an egg (kind of sense) and become Flavien's pet. Brad, being allergic to Mimes, telefaxed him on a shooting planet (planet who moves too fast they go out of orbit). At first, it sounds funny, but then they found the footage where Brad beat the mime who tried to stay with his egg on the ship. After succesfully getting rid of the mime, Brad realized the egg is still there but the planet with the mime is too far, so he decides to telefax the egg on another planet to be eaten by beasts then it's back to being funny with Brad's nonchalant attitude.
    Brad: Brad is good. Brad feed the animals. Well let's just clean that and after that uncle Brad is going to bed because [yawn] been a long day.
    • In the episode "Hamlet with Cheese note ", a completely random song and dance number ends with Patenaude joining the others to strike a pose, only for him to immediately pass out, to the crew's distress.
  • Mundane Made Awesome: What does the Devil intend to do with the crew if they don't comply to his demands? Put them in the blender and press '3'. Which, according to Bob, is purée.
  • Mundane Fantastic: The Devil, the paranormal and the afterlife surprise mostly because the crew got caught unprepared, otherwise there are many books that can help with it. There is even a book about saving on taxes if you are a Jedi.
  • Mundane Utility: Bob asks Serge during a spiritualist session to summon a dead pizza deliveryman, turns out he doesn't do delivery past eleven pm.
  • My Friends... and Zoidberg: "My friends... and Brad."
  • My God, What Have I Done?: Captain Patenaude did it twice over the series, the first time when he covered for Brad expelling a mime to avoid Brad from being lynched, only for him to see the video of how Brad did it, and once when he almost killed the whole crew over his obsession with ending the mission fast.
  • Mushroom Samba: In one episode, Flavien accidentally eats samples recovered from a planet and begins to hallucinate horrific monsters. We never see them, but the description implies they are rather horrific to look at. The real monster is a mouse (See Killer Rabbit above).
  • Names to Run Away from Really Fast: This is the first sign to the viewer that Nikotine is not trustworthy.
  • Neutron Bomb: The T-bomb is specifically this trope, a bomb that damages no buildings but kills all lifeforms. The first movie has the Roberto-Menard crew contemplating using a similar clean bomb that does this and adjusts the pants leg size.
    Brad (singing): A T-bomb a day, keeps the doctor forever away!
  • New Powers as the Plot Demands: Flavien's half-alien powers seem to largely be situational, as he has super strength, can shrug off various charges, has some level of telepathy (done for the sake of a gag), can phase through walls and his alien half can resurrect him, should his human half die.
  • Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: A possessed Gervais inadvertently suggests to Brad how to save the crew from Mirasphalta.
    Gervais: Hurry gang! Hurry and enter before Brad shoots the rock through the cannon!
    Brad: Hey, that's a good idea! I didn't even think of that!
    Gervais: Oh shit!
  • No-Sell: Prince Richard Lionleg can take a paralyzing charge and a destructive one without problem, his son Flavien can do the same if angered enough.
  • Nobody Can Die: Despite the high risks and consequences for failure, the characters, both main and special guests (except the Sith Lord), ultimately survive, as crewmembers come back from the brink of death and Serge gets rebuilt semi-regularly. The movies completely subvert this, as the Romano-Fafard crew has to blow up one of their own Earth crews, and it's ultimately revealed that people on Earth like Bob's parents have started to die out en masse.
  • Not So Above It All: Brad will sometime participate with the crew's celebration and goes with some stupid antics.
    • While Valence is the ship's psychologist, even she isn't immune to going crazy when under pressure.
  • Not With the Safety On, You Won't: Brad really should have listened during weapons training before the rest of the crew were possessed by an alien rock. Thankfully, even while possessed, the Captain is lucid enough to show him how to take the safety off on the paralysing gun.
  • Noodle Incident: In 2023, the United States tried to invade Lachine, not China but rather the borough of the city of Montreal called Lachine. With the help of the surrounding city of Longueuil and Laval, they were able to fend them off. It's only relevant to explain how two American missiles went off course in space and accidentally hit Barzotti, the Barzot's homeworld.
  • Noodle Implements: Serge was built with all sorts of random junk, which Pétrolia realizes while attempting to fix him early on.
  • The Nudifier: The crew has a few guns that strips the target of their clothes. It's usually accidentally used against another crew member though.
  • Oh, Crap!
    • Bob, when he is knocked down by an explosive on a war torn planet.
    Bob: Flavien, I there is something hard under my hand (blows the sand) IT'S A MINE, I PUT MY HAND ON A LANDMINE!
    • Flavien when the Sith Lord announces his intention for the Jedi apprentice.
  • Off-the-Shelf FX: The statue of the "god" that the Ouch natives worship is clearly a novelty laughing Buddha statue, only painted in brown(actually mint green).
  • One-Steve Limit: According to Bob, Bob is also the first name of his mother.
  • Opening Narration:
    • The show has one. The first movie too, which darkly subverts the opening by changing the "6 Billion Morons" line to "6 Billion Morons... No, 5 Billions... In fact there's only 4 (billions) left."
    • We find out that all of Bob's dreams, prophetic or not, also have one.
  • Open Secret: Valence and Charles being a couple was supposed to be hidden for the first two seasons but aside from Brad, who wants to use it to demote the captain, no one cared and just rolled their eyes when they tried justifying why they are naked or tongue kissing each other.
    • Bob's crush on Pétrolia, to the point that when he confesses to Brad about it, his response is a sarcastic "No?".
  • O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Flavien is a doormat who sees the captain as a surrogate father and has Undying Loyalty toward him so when he disobeys an order, it means things are bad. The biggest example being when the captain (who was in Despair Event Horizon mode after figuring out it's been four years the mission was undergoing) tries to rush through two stars instead of taking a detour, even though the heat would kill most of the crew even if it works, Flavien finally had enough when the rest of the crew lost consciousness and disobeyed.
    • When Bob taking Brad's advice on becoming meaner leads to him appalling everyone else and being rejected by Pétrolia, he stays tucked in his bed and refuses to budge, thinking that he's a loser. Then Flavien states to the Captain that Bob...didn't have supper. Which appeared on-screen in big letters. He normally eats a lot.
    • One time after waking up from regenerescence, when Brad gets ignored by an amnesiac Bob and Flavien, he assumes that they decided to drive him crazy instead of beating him up. It's only when the Captain also ignores him that Brad realizes something's wrong, as he rationalizes that the Captain wouldn't partake in Bob and Flavien's shenanigans.
  • Out-of-Character Alert: In the first movie, Flavien suspects that Bob was replaced by an exact robot duplicate and shoots him dead. He explains that Bob stayed silent when the Captain asked if anyone had any questions when he knew Bob could never resist asking a stupid question. A quick examination of the body proves Flavien is entirely correct and the real Bob is located shortly after.
  • Out-of-Character Moment: When things are going well Brad does show camaraderie with the others who respond in kind despite hating each other on a daily basis. Lampshaded once when Brad politely asks Serge to wait a moment before being telefaxed, calling him honorable robot on top of it, when the crew believes they found the right planet.
    Brad: I'm kind these days it's funny, I should get a hold of myself.
  • Overly Long Gag: Each time the crew tries to list Brad's character flaws, it takes very long. In one instance, characters have gone to bed for the night mid-way through the process to return the next day and find this still ongoing (Some of the crew decided to pull an all nighter to attend this).
    • When the Captain teaches Serge how to fish, Serge ends up throwing the line with so much strength that it goes on for a long distance before finally plopping into the lake, to Flavien and the Captain's astonishment.
    Serge: I'm proud to be a robot! *chuckles*
  • Pass the Popcorn: As Flavien and Brad argue on if they should make a detour to fix Serge or not, and their debate grows more and more hostile, Captain Patenaude pulls out a hotdog and a soda can, sipping from his can and eating his hotdog as he watches the argument like it's a sports game. He finally decides to break it up right before it outright becomes violent.
  • Percussive Therapy: "Fronto-Laminated Board Therapy", invented by Dr. Gaetan Vunderbarf, according to Valence is a therapy that consists of slamming a patient's (Read:Brad's) head into their laminated MDF board piece of furniture until the patient's good side comes out. It actually works. When Bob slams Brad hard enough, it makes Brad's super nice alternate personality "Linda" come out.
  • Pet the Dog: Brad eventually feels some genuine remorse for his action in the final two episodes, although he never really makes up for the mountains of crap he caused up to that point. He did save the crew's life a few time but they tend to forget or get sidetracked by more pressing matter.
  • Pineapple Surprise: In "Le Minerai", Brad mindlessly pulls the pin of a grenade, which leads to this conversation:
    Captain: Brad, what are you holding in your hand?
    Brad: A pin.
    Captain: The other hand.
    Brad: A grenade.
    Captain: Can you tell me what's wrong with what you just said?
    (Beat, as Brad realises what he has done)
    Brad: Oh my God, I'm gonna explode! No! There will be Brad juice all over the ship!
  • Politically Incorrect Villain: Brad goes full supremacist on aliens (even donning a Hitler mustache when saying what he plans to do with the Barzots), has a misogynistic streak (when Valence is the next in line to be captain after Charles and Flavien became amnesiac, he reacts with horror at the thought that a woman might find the planet) and is pro-slavery (not by race, just anyone that's not him). Also, he once classified Bob's gender as "primate".
  • Precision F-Strike: Whenever the Captain is particularly displeased, he sometimes simply says "Shit!".
  • Projectile Toast: Due to Pétrolia upgrading the ship's toaster with "turbine springs note ", two toasts got launched at supersonic speeds. Bob ends up having one of the toasts embedded into his skull, missing his brain. The other bounced all over the place, without losing momentum.
    • Brad: "Incredible. You could stick a french baguette in his head and still not hit his brain."
  • Properly Paranoid: Flavien once got suspicious of the planet salesman Réal Estate, even when looking at his ad before they meet up with him, leading to arguments with the captain about the offer for the planet Eden being too good to be true. Sure enough, it turns out that Eden's plant life has a high level of radioactivity, which the crew learned about after Bob had the misfortune of eating one of its fruits.
  • Prophecy Twist: Bob's dreams don't end the way the crew thinks they do. Most notably, the Jedi in his dream sought a chosen apprentice...to destroy him.
    Bob: So that's the part I always forget.
  • Psychic Nose Bleed: When Flavien is forced to fight a Sith Lord in a mental battle, he ends up getting one to show that he is no match for him.
  • Put on a Bus: During the first season, there were two additional characters, Mirabella Romario (a fake doctor) and Falbo Gotta (a mercenary). In the first episode of season 2, Mirabella's secret is exposed and she escapes to a jungle planet. Falbo is sent after her and is lost as well. The two characters never returned, but were mentionned a few times afterward.
  • Random Events Plot: The movies. Then again, since the show is episodic to begin with, this might have been on purpose.
  • Rank Inflation: During an imagine spot where a Jedi master praises Flavien, he cites his test results for magic (98%), dark side studies (99%) and street-hockey (114%).
  • Red Alert: Parodied, and how. Some of the most outrageous alerts include "Yellow Alert with Mauve Socks" and "Dark Blue Alert with a little dog on the side".
  • Relationship Revolving Door: Flavien and Pétrolia. This gets exaggerated in one episode, when Flavien states to Valence that they broke up 86 times. Note that this happened in a single day.
  • Rhetorical Question Blunder: Happens a lot with Bob.
    Brad: Bob, have I ever told you you're the worst imbecile in the known universe?
    Bob: Yes.
    Brad: Ah, I should renew my insults.
  • Right Behind Me: When Bob and the captain have a heart-to-heart talk about how Elvis Presley's presence has caused the crew's behavior to change for the worst and how they can't just tell him to leave the ship, they both turn around and see him. They then turn back and Bob claims they weren't talking about him, since there are plenty of Elvises. Thankfully, he is just as disappointed about it as they are and decides to return back to cryogenic sleep of his own accord.
  • Rousseau Was Right: A space custom agent runs an emotional scan on the crew and find them to have too much repressed emotions, what he judges are the reason why Earthling are more aggressive than most races, save for Pétrolia and Serge, both having never lived on Earth (and Serge is a robot), implying it's more society than humanity that is inherently corrupt.
  • Running Gag: The best way to stop Brad is to simply karate chop his neck and exclaim "No, Brad!".
    • Hilariously done in the movie, where all the main cast does it simultaneously.
      • This happens often enough in the series that Brad once fell down on command after the captain only said the line, without having struck him.
    • Serge getting destroyed repetitively in the first movie.
    • Whenever the captain mentions The Mission, it's with dramatic emphasis on those two words and everyone assumes a dramatic fists-on-hips pose, looking up and to the right into the distance.
    • Most times when a pungent smell comes up, the crew raises up their thumbs to their foreheads in disgust.
    • Whenever a crewmember pushes the Captain's Berserk Button (usually when Pétrolia breaks the "no inventions" rule) and makes him angry enough to start shouting, the scene cuts to a shot of a log in a fireplace with soothing music and a warning that the Captain's anger is too violent for the audience to witness.
  • Sanity Slippage: Despite being a comedy, a lot of the crew does suffer from the stress and missing their loved ones on Earth. Brad tries everything in the first episode to go back on Earth when he realizes the mission will take longer and might have him die anonymously, the Captain goes crazy at the end of Season 2 and Bob suffers from an acute melancholia during one episode known as "Earth sickness note " that makes him even worse than Brad when he tried to turn back to Earth.
  • Shmuck Bait: The extreme video game franchises, games that every injuries translate to real life injuries for the thrill. "Save the King if you can" is the most subtle.
    Captain: Hang gliding in volcano country, kick the hornet nest, French kiss the boa and even goalkeeping without a jock-strap.
  • Schizo Tech: Actually a plot point in one episode, when Serge needs a transistor to live. Brad and the crew point out that this technology is decades behind and nothing in the modern Romano Fafard has one. Except boomboxes and other commodity items who are generally used as gags.
  • Sci-Fi Writers Have No Sense of Scale: Mostly because they don't care, using kilometers and Celsius to measure things in space and giving numbers that are either too small (the distance between stars) or too high (space temperature is beneath absolute zero).
  • Screw Destiny: Valence tries to enforce this to discredit a fortuneteller who said they will never find an habitable planet, as she is pretty much shown to be the real deal. They try screwing up small predictions. Used word for word by Bob.
    Bob: (quoting his father) My dumbest of son, leaving to save humankind. Bob, you screwed destiny.
  • Screw This, I'm Outta Here: When the Captain suggests someone must assist him in a dangerous mission to save Pétrolia who has gone full Death Seeker, Brad runs so fast he leaves his two shoes smoking behind.
  • Senseless Sacrifice: Brad's Alternate Identity Amnesia, Linda, sacrifices herself so Brad can return when the ship's windshield develops a crack that threatens to depressurize the entire ship. No one can read the planetary scan reports and figure out which planet it would be safe to do repairs on, and Linda being Brad's opposite, is friendly and sociable but inept at science. When Brad's personality returns, he immediately reads the report and points out that any of the planet would've been safe to use. The crew could've just picked one at random.
  • Serial Escalation: Done in-universe when Flavien's descriptions of the monster he saw on the ship keep getting more horrifying.
  • "Shaggy Dog" Story: The second movie. The crew discovers that they have reached the end of the universe and that there is no habitable planets for the humans, yet in their discoveries, they found a time rift which leads to a past version of Earth (in 2008, the year the movie was released). Charles Patenaude sends a message to the Earthlings only for it to become an Internet Meme. So not only did they fail to find a planet for the humans, but the process will repeat itself in an other timeline.
  • Shout-Out: Pretty much to ANYTHING related to Science Fiction, but mostly Star Trek.
    • Otherwise, Hockey and especially the Montreal Canadiens.
    • At the end of the first movie, Flavien is only allowed half a question by an old sage who could possibly reveal the location of a viable planet. The complicated legalese he uses to pad out the second part of his question (so that only the first half remains and provides his complete question in a useful form) is a historical shoutout to the 1980 Quebec Referendum which is notorious for formulating its question in a convoluted, confusing wording.
    • One episode is about an asteroid the size of Saskatchewan about to collide with Earth. Brad refuses to do something about it and assumes Earth can defend itself by sending Bruce Willis or something.
    • One episode has the crew going to an ion cloud in order to advance. However, since those ions are so powerful, they are given the scientific term "The Ion King".
    • In the first movie, the Captain comes across a mirage of The Little Prince, to his utter and complete confusion.
    Captain: You again, just shove your sheep up your ass!
    • When they discovered a planet named O'Vegas, the Captain has an inner monologue where he asks some existential questions… and some that are not so existential:
    Captain: Have we finally found the planet we’ve been looking for? Will we save the human race? Who are we, and why? Where's Waldo? Who Framed Roger Rabbit?
    • When an alien named Nikotine arrives on the ship, she tries to get her hands on hair strands belonging to each member of the crew. She finds one on the Captain’s shoulder, who then mentions it belongs to Valence:
    Nikotine: Ah! Just some hair here on your shoulder. Would you allow me to keep it as a souvenir?
    Captain: It's from Valence— I mean from Dr. Leclerc.
    (Valence arrives in the room.)
    Valence: Excuse me?
    Captain: Yes, huh, what's up, Doc?
    • The crew once met a planet real estate agent named Réal Estate. They got an offer to buy a planet named Eden, but when the Captain is still hesitating to buy it, Valence says the following to him:
    Valence: Captain, you're the one in charge. And like the great Winston Churchill said, "With great power comes great responsibility." (to Flavien after realizing her mistake) Oh. No, was it Spider-Man who said that?
    Flavien: Well yeah.
  • Snapback: Among other changes, the movies go with the assumption that Valence never found out about Brad's childhood and deep-seated emotional issues, and was about to make a breakthrough with him until the captain interrupted her session.
  • So Unfunny, It's Funny: Whenever the Captain unsuccessfully tries to get the crewmembers to laugh with his jokes.
  • Space Madness: Bob once suffered from a form of this, as mentioned under Sanity Slippage above.
  • Spaceship Slingshot Stunt: Features in season 2. Brad's neurosis and resulting interference in the rest of the crew's options causes the maneuver to fail. The "catapulta" effect in season four relies on the same concept but using twin stars for the gravity pull, it's considered suicide because of the heat present in the zone.
  • Spooky Séance: Serge starts one with Flavien and Bob one episode and ends up summoning the captain Romano Fafard.
  • Sorting Algorithm of Mortality: Invoked in-universe when the crew is faced with a peril that forces them to send "the most expendable member of the crew" to fulfill a Suicide Mission. Mission control prepared a sorting order of usefulness to the mission in order to know who is the least necessary onboard to the continued progress of the mission, decided upon their role in the ship. Bob, Mirabella and Brad score top three as the ship's pilot, doctor and scientist respectively, making them critical to the mission. Captain Patenaude is shocked to find that he is number 5, and Valence enraged by ranking number 6 (she makes a list of emotions to feel later, because the situation was inconvenient). Flavien ranks dead last and tries to prove he is not useless during the rest of the episode.
  • Stock Scream: These are heard occasionally, with Serge being the most likely to use them.
  • Super Doc: Mirabella was supposed to be one but she actually lied to escape the police, Serge has some of the greatest doctors coded on his program so he can pull it off. Subverted with Petrolia who became the ship's doctor when Serge was destroyed and Valence supported her so she could cope with her friend's death. She only got the job when trying to split the specialties (making Bob a chiropractor and Brad a dentist despite them never having studied) was even more impractical than a Back-Alley Doctor like Pétrolia.
  • Sworn Brothers: Bob and Flavien made a pact by mixing their saliva in the principal's coffee.
  • Take My Hand!: After being lost in space and abandoned on an unknown planet, Flavien and Pétrolia are rescued when Bob's hand open a passage between a paddling pool on the ship and the spring on the planet.
    Valence: What's great about science-fiction is that you can say anything!
  • Take That!: O'Vegas ends with a not-so-subtle jab at Loto-Québec, a government who controls gambling industries and make money out of gambling addict.
  • Tap on the Head: The Captain regularly knocks out Brad cold instantly via a karate chop to the shoulder, calmly exclaiming "No Brad", when the later get particularly agitated or evil. Flavien and Bob both try to do it to Brad with no success, though they do manage to perform it on each other once.
  • Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Brad and Falbo do it one episode where they have to work together for precise shooting. When the Captain forces them to drop their enmity, they work flawlessly together.
  • Teleporter Accident: Ironically not with the Telefax, but with Pétrolia's demoleculariser device. Flavien gets fused with a stray dog, while Brad and the Captain swap bodies.
  • They Killed Kenny Again: Serge is killed often in the movies and this is Played for Laughs.
  • Token Minority: Bob. He desperately tries to subvert this when Mirabella get outed as a fake doctor.
    Bob: Hahaha! She is not a real doctor so what? Me? I'm not a real black!
  • Tomboy and Girly Girl: Mirabella (later replaced by Pétrolia, who is kinder but more prone to violence) and Valence.
  • To the Pain: Flavien's plan for Brad after he killed a mime and his child. Bob mentions he stole every pointy and sharp object in the armory, including the staples.
    Flavien: Here is the schedule, 8:25, pulverize the hands of Brad...
  • Trademark Favorite Food:
    • Bob's favorite food is by far Pogo brand corn dogs, a typical Canadian grocery store offering.
    • Brad is the only crew member to take his egg exclusively over easy with the yolk intact.
    • Falbo loves chocolate milk.
  • Tyrant Takes the Helm: When Brad becomes captain at the end of season 2, his first order is to attack the Barzots and take their planet. He pretty much dresses like a nazi and wants to use a bomb that injures only living being after realizing the crew's bombardment made no casualties.
  • Understatement: Used a few times when the situation goes From Bad to Worse.
    Captain: So, in summary, we are stuck in a different era and we killed the father of humanity. That makes for a charged morning.
  • Undignified Death: Captain Romano Fafard (before the movie retconned that all spaceships are named more or less the same by a certain Roberto Chouinard) choked on a chicken bone before he was sent for the mission.
  • Unexpectedly Dark Episode: The show has moments and plots that are serious, but tends to be balanced out by the comedy. The penultimate episode, however, is almost completely devoid of humor (putting aside the Clip Show segments), as the crew deals with a food shortage.
  • Ungrateful Townsfolk: When the humans in Limbo tries to kill the crew for taking so long in the second movie, the captain replies that it's not like they stopped in every Bed'n Breakfast and how ungrateful they are that they risked their life trying to find a new planet for them. The spirits calm themselves but reveals the scientists underestimated the climate changes and two billions already died and more will if they don't find a solution.
  • Universe's Most Beautiful Woman: Nikotine deliberately turned herself into a Vule, a race which is considered to be the most beautiful women in the universe, so that she can get close to Earthlings and steal their DNA.
  • The Unreveal: Throughout the Jedi episode, a recurring phrase that was originally whispered by Brad into Flavien's ear to anger him causes the receiver to say "Those things can't be said!" and punch or otherwise harm whoever uttered it. As such, after Pétrolia asks about it, Flavien's explanation is drowned out by interlude music and the narrator claiming that it would shock younger audiences.
  • Used Future: The ship looks like it's made out of recycled junk... and probably IS! As of the second movie, it is also possible that it's simply getting old. Considering all the damage it took during the course of the show, it makes sense.
    • The ship was revealed to be built by Spitfire Corporation, and thus built on the cheap by cutting every possible corner and with planned obsolescence. Truly a hallmark of Spitfire Corporation if there was one, it's a wonder it even made it off the Earth to begin with.
    Brad: It's garanteed to last three years.
    Captain: And after three years?
    Brad:It's guaranteed to break! And it's been three years and four days. We're reliable, aren't we?
    • The lack of proper replacement parts means that every time android Serge explodes, he's rebuilt a bit more cheaply by Petrolia. She already made him out of junk and transistors to begin with, which makes the compatibility an issue.
  • Verbal Backspace: Used a lot by Brad.
    Brad: I will kill this monster with my bare hands, that hold a gun.
  • A Villain Named "Z__rg" : Seemingly subverted with the Zorglons, an unseen race of aliens that speak with musical tones, so Flavien uses an electronic piano to contact them and they get along fairly well. Sure enough, they are actually hostile.
  • Villain Respect: The ghost of Captain Romano Fafard admits he watched Captain Charles Patenaude from the realm of the dead and liked what he saw. Unfortunately, he is too stubborn in accomplishing his mission and wants his original crew on Earth, losing considerable time by doing it, making him the Monster of the Week.
  • Voices Are Not Mental: Brilliantly used when Pétrolia's demoleculariser device causes Brad and the captain to switch bodies, owing to their actors imitating their respective characters' usual mannerisms.
  • We Want Our Jerk Back!: Averted. If it wasn't because Linda didn't possess Brad's scientist degree, they would have kept her. Bob and Flavien were even willing to gamble their life over having Brad back to his old personality. The Captain even has to stop Valence from smacking Brad again when he says they didn't need him.
  • Weaksauce Weakness: The Devil hates Paul Piché's songs, so Flavien uses "Heureux d'un printemps" to exorcise Brad.
  • Weirdness Magnet: The ship. This is Lampshaded.
    Captain (who just got tossed around by a ghost): We are gonna have a lot to talk about at the end of our trip
  • What Do You Mean It's Not Heinous?: Done in-universe. When Valence tries to convince the Devil to choose Flavien as his successor, she tells Flavien to bring up an evil deed he did. Flavien goes on to say that he lied to a hare when he was 6 years old. He then sobs and apologizes profusely, while Valence pretends to be afraid of him, and the Devil is visibly unimpressed.
  • What the Fu Are You Doing?: Before undertaking a long trip to the Tommy-Cod Constellation, Serge teaches a self-defense class to the crew. It doesn't go particularly well, from Pétrolia not even restraining herself from punching Brad to Flavien cutting a wooden plank by pulling out an electric saw. This leads to Brad karate-chopping houseflies afterwards.
    Captain: You have something to be proud of. Now you are prepared to defend yourselves against anyone.
    Flavien (in pain): Yeah right. As it is, even my grandmother could give me a beating with a stump.
  • What the Hell, Hero?: When the Captain intends for the ship to cross between two stars to reach a solar system with possible inhabitable planets (and speed up the mission), the rest of the crew objects to it.
    • After Flavien tries to prove his usefulness after finding out he is the most expendable by attacking a paranoid Falbo.
    Captain: A hostage does nothing! You failed at doing nothing!
    Bob: You thought you could take on Falbo? Are you crazy? This guy made a tank cry uncle.
    Brad: Poor Valence, risking her life because a number seven couldn't learn his place.
    • When Flavien scrambled the telefax coordinates to their location on purpose so that the girls wouldn't disturb their fishing session, Serge and the captain systematically called him out on this thoughtless decision. Serge in particular quickly devolved from arguments to playing a game of "Nosebleed" with Flavien.
  • Who's on First?: This exchange occurs when the Devil appears in the ship:
    Bob: It's the Devil!
    Valence (confused): Of New Jersey?
    Captain: No Valence, it's the one from hell!
  • With Catlike Tread: While Brad and Pétrolia are sneaking around looking for the creature that Flavien saw, the former sneezes, his cell phone rings, he steps on a squeaky toy, and he stumbles into a drum set that just happened to be there.
    Pétrolia: You, I won't take you fishing.
    Brad: It could have been worse.
    Pétrolia: Yeah, you could've accidentally set off a jackhammer.
  • Write Back to the Future: Failed epicly in the second movie via YouTube.
  • The Worf Effect: After Captain Romano Fafard shows his intent to take over the ship, Patenaude sics Serge on him, only for Fafard to promptly toss him aside.
  • Would Hit a Girl: When Valence interrogates a female alien in the movie by slapping her, Brad comments he could have done it.
  • You Are Fat: When people run out of ways to insult Bob.
    Brad: The captain wants you to go on regenerescence because, because uh because you're fat, alright. And when you're fat we DON'T WANT TO SEE YOU!
  • You Are Number 6: When Brad temporarily shares captain duties with Flavien as part of a promotion initiation, his take on running the ship involves treating everyone else as such.
  • You Can Keep Her!: Brad's parent refused to pay when he was kidnapped as a child and they even tried selling him but no one wanted him either.
  • Your Princess Is in Another Castle!: Thanks to the Romano Fafard having pushed away a giant asteroid from its planned trajectory, the Earth has been saved from certain danger! Then the crew finds out the ship is stuck onto said asteroid.

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