The trope is "the first time you meet a new alien race, fuck it." It's a bit more specific than just Interspecies Romance, because it needs to also be a First Contact situation and it's normally not a long term relationship.
The examples I'm familiar with seem to be correct.
edited 20th Mar '11 8:23:54 PM by shimaspawn
Reality is that, which when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away. -Philip K. Dick
Well, I noticed a few examples that are wrong, debatable, or just simple Interspecies Romance, and these are only the ones I'm familiar with:
- Battlestar Galactica, second bullet: mostly talks about human/Cylon relationships, which don't fit in terms of first contact, and the Cylons aren't technically aliens anyway.
- Everything from Babylon 5, except the subversion with Ivanova and the alien diplomat.
- Almost everything from the mass o' bullets under Mass Effect is either incorrect or at least debatable.
- Everything from Knights Of The Old Republic - given how multicultural the Star Wars galaxy is, these don't come anywhere near the idea of first contact.
Now, I know I could just fix it myself, but the fact that 4 bad examples (lengthy examples in a few cases) on a page that's already small might indicate there should be some clarification here. The description really needs some fleshing out.
edited 20th Mar '11 9:05:33 PM by nrjxll
It's easy, mmkay?
I see this trope as being "sex with aliens as Wish-Fulfillment".
At first I didn't realize I needed all this stuff...
![[up]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/smiles/arrow_up.png "[up]"){kind=icon}
That's no where in the trope description or anything else on the page. Where do you get that idea from?
The trope probably needs a bit of clean up then. It happens.
So, to clarify - is it sort like Girl of the Week, but with aliens?
This is really a subtrope of First Contact where the contact happens to be sexual. It's got a lot of different connotations than the standard First Contact trope and it tends to set a different mood.
It can sometimes be a subtrope girl of the week, but it doesn't have to be. For example, it can only happen once ever. They can go on to have a longer term interaction. She doesn't have to be gone by the end of the next episode. In fact, it doesn't in fact have to have anything to do with Girl of the Week. None of the requirements for that trope are requirements for this one.
edited 20th Mar '11 11:59:05 PM by shimaspawn
Reality is that, which when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away. -Philip K. Dick
Welcome, traveller, welcome to Omsk
Maybe this needs a more illustrative name. The current one isn't awful, but very general, and the trope is pretty much calling out for a pun on "contact".
It does not matter who I am. What matters is, who will you become? - motto of Omsk Bird
Except, to be clear, it's not a subtrope of the trope we call First Contact (humans discover that aliens exist, period). It's a subtrope of that other thing you might want to call "first contact", which is about the first meeting with a specific alien race.
132 is the rudest number.
Ah, this is true. So it's not actually a subtrope of any trope. It's just strongly related to several of them.
Reality is that, which when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away. -Philip K. Dick
Ravenous Sophovore
Yup, it's first contact, lowercase, which is an anthropological term that describes the first meeting between two cultures. First Contact, uppercase, is a Speculative Fiction trope that predates this site that describes humanity's very first contact with aliens. Potentially confusing, but a preexisting term, unfortunately.
So it wouldn't be amiss to mention that it's a kind of first contact, just be sure to mention that it doesn't have to be First Contact.
Waiting on a TRS slot? Finishing off one of these cleaning efforts will usually open one up.
Should we move this to the Trope Repair Shop?
grimAuxiliatrix
I'd say so. It's got misuse and is named for a work.
Wait, namef for what work? None as far as I know...it's a pun on Boldly Going. The name needs no help here.
The Other Troper
Well I say the trope name does need help, as it's not indicative of the name.
I'm on the internet. My arguments are invalid.
Dragon Writer
^^ If it's the same pun I think it is ... eww. I hate that word.
An Ear Worm is like a Rickroll: It is never going to give you up.
Yes, yes it is. *passes the Brain Bleach*
Dragon Writer
I'm going to need a paper bag and blindfold over my head for this one, but ... Where No Man Has Boinked Before?
An Ear Worm is like a Rickroll: It is never going to give you up.
I have no idea, and the two-sentence description does very little to help. The closest thing I can make out is "humans have sex with aliens (or possibly, specifically Green-Skinned Space Babe aliens)" which, from my point of view, looks like just The Same But More Specific for Interspecies Romance. The only other trope I can make out - supported by the majority of the quotes - is parodies of James T. Kirk's approach to interstellar diplomacy, which makes this more of a Stock Parody then anything else.
At any rate, it's confusing. I didn't post this on TRS as there may not be an actual problem, but there very well might be - feel free to move it if that's the case.
Link.
edited 20th Mar '11 8:18:23 PM by nrjxll