<![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas - io9 Comments]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas - io9 Comments]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> I tend to thing "Dex Ex Machina" is a cheat. If a random godlike being comes out of nowhere at the end of a story and fixes everything, it makes all the character's struggles to resolve things pointless. I prefer stories where characters accomplish something during the course of the story. One reason for the frequency of Deus Ex Machina endings is a lot of authors seem to go to great lengths to ramp up the danger/conflict/stress as much as possible, and create a situation where any plausible action by the characters would be ineffective.

I was cool with the Babylon 5 ending because Lorien could not wave his hands and fix everything.

The "Bad Wolf" ending pissed me off, because omnipotent beings make everything the characters do pointless.

The War of the Worlds ending was elegant and plausible. With billions of microbes, it would be difficult to test every one to make sure they don't harm you. Maybe the aliens did test to see if bacteria harmed them, and tested millions of varieties, but just missed one. It also had a message, the greatest can be felled by the lowliest primitive bacteria etc.

The "aliens are water soluble" ending always bugs me. If you don't like water, earth is the worst planet in the solar system to land on. There are plenty of water free planets to choose from in our solar system.

EdLincoln

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> Voyager had a total DEM ending. The ship is still millions of lightyears from earth when they finally discover some worm-hole super highway the borg built, but which we've never heard of and Seven just simply forgot to mention it?

Chiper

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> @Keen314: Kerrrrrrap. It's been so long since I'd heard their function, I must have mixed them up with something else.

Doesn't help that DS9 and Voyager didn't really mention them much.

Does Not Equal

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> @dave the wet sprocket: I'm somewhat inclined to say that it was Earth by David Brin, but your characterization of the ending wildly misses the mark if that is the case. As there was no conference of gods, nor did Gaia exist until after the sh*t hit the fan which caused the transformation mentioned by eris404. Of course even the god in the machine "good ending" had to come out of/beat the god in the machine style "bad ending."

ixel

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> @JennaW: Nice, I didn't know that. But the great part about it is that you didn't need to know Fray to understand it.

aspiringexpatriate

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> "Almost every season of Russell T. Davies' Doctor Who series has ended with some kind of unlikely miracle fix, but the first one was by far the hardest to swallow."

I protest. The Doctor defeating the Master's evil plan by marshalling the good will of humanity to turn into a ridiculous Tinkerbell Jesus was so hard to swallow that I'm still choking. More, it betrayed the season's theme of exploring what it meant to be Time Lord or human, and turned the kick-ass character of Martha into a mindless disciple. Bah. That's when I threw up my hands and said goodbye to the show.

Pouncer

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> @DSTRYA: They must be very dumb aliens indeed not to make detailed surveys of the planet before invading, even if they know not of this thing humans call "water." You don't notice our space explorers blithely walking out unprotected onto the surface of Venus, only to freak out that the air is acid (and super-hot).

SeeingI

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> Another for the DXM list is Neuromancer... or actually, every William Gibson novel ever. Invariably a supercomputer-gone-sentient will take control, fix the problem, adjust computerized records to make sure you don't go to jail for what you did, oh and by the way there's now a brazillion dollars in your bank account. Have a nice life. (For variety, you can replace the supercomputer with a billionaire with "connections" everywhere who has been tracking your progress all along.)

theczardictates

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> @dave the wet sprocket:

First, nice handle! :)

It was David Brin's _Earth_. I read it for a book club and I wanted to strangle the person who suggested it. It's disappointing when an author has an interesting premise but can't figure out what to do with it. I liked the character who becomes "Gaia" (literally the goddess in the machine), but it was also pretty obvious he liked her too. I guess that's why writers advise aspiring writers to "kill their darlings." :\

eris404

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> I tell you what, Lost is going to have a huge Deus Ex Machina unless they start answering questions tomorrow. Jacob, the Black Rock, the fact that Richard doesn't age... I can see three wrap-up episodes full of DXMs and can hear fan-screams from now.

eyeballpupil

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> @Does Not Equal: Actually, Heisenberg compensators allow transporters to work. It's technically impossible to scan a person and know the position and velocity of all the sub-atomic particles that constitute them. And if you can't do that, then you can't convert them to energy like the transporter does. Ergo, the Heisenberg compensator magically takes care of it.

Keen314

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> Let's not forget "The Stand" by Stephen King. I mean, literally, The Hand of God reaches down and sets of the nuke.

I was more than a little annoyed to have read the entire thing only to have an ending like that. Seems the Almighty might have done that at the beginning and saved everyone a lot of trouble. :)

Delthrien

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> @arachnophilia: In my view, that just makes it more non-sensical. An advanced civilsation make the effort of crossing the gulf of space to invade another world...but conveniently (for the humans) *forgets* to account for simple biological infection? Didn't they think to send scouts first?

Urael

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> @Smeagol92055: So you had no problem with her handing ass to a bar full of burly hench-types?

This scene neatly foreshadowed her later lethal gymnastics, and was also the first major example of the weapon River had been turned into; the grim event that the entire series had been uncovering, bit by bit, and slowly building up to.

In both contexts (series+film and film alone) it makes perfect sense for River to puree those reavers using her sinister ninja madskillz.

Urael

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> i'm inclined to give "war of the worlds" a pass, because while it's totally random and unexpected, it does kinda make sense.

if you go to a foreign country, you're probably gonna get sick at some point while your immune system adjusts. go to another planet with life on it? watch your immune system not be able to handle it.

arachnophilia

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> there was a book in the early 90's (i want to say it was by david brin, i could be wrong) about a wandering micro black hole that becomes embedded in the center of the earth.

the world is thrown into chaos, as the event happens while gaia/mother earth is at some conference of the gods, arguing about states' rights. so to speak.

the 'climax' comes when gaia gets back to the home she's been ignoring, and sees the havoc created by the black hole. she flicks the black hole out of the planet using her godly powers and vows to never neglect her children again.

i was young enough when i first read 'war of the worlds' that i thought the ending was profound. when i read THIS piece of junk, the book went right in the trash.

stephen king's 'dark tower' is a good example as well. not strictly sci-fi, but read 'waste lands' (book 3) and you'll see the connections. introducing himself as a character in the final books because he'd written himself into a corner? what crap. i couldn't even bring myself to finish book 7 and i'm still mad about it.

dave the wet sprocket

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> "The Doctor is facing an army of 100 trillion Daleks"

Okay, that number is a TAD over-exaggerated. There were half a million Daleks. 200 ships, more than 2000 per ship.

Z3Relic

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> I'd like to nominate Dogma for DXM. In this case unplugging God from the machine fixes all.

ixel

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> If we're going to discuss Gods showing up, what the hell about Stargate SG-1 got it an exemption? Every time something "really really bad" was about to happen, a God would show-up -even though they weren't supposed to so shhhh don't tell anyone- and fix everything. That got old fast. So what did they do? MAKE IT THE CLIMAX OF THE GODDAMN MOVIE!! [Ark of Truth] Yeah, that really annoyed me. This super-elite team suddenly turn into a bunch of whiners after 90min and managed to whine loud enough so that a good God comes to break the rules again and fight off the evil enemy.

*sigh*

volve

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> Also, the "It's all a dream" cop out. That one gets old.

ceilingFANBOY

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> @Damage: It's called "Reconfiguring the main deflector."

braak

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> Well, I don't have too much trouble with deus ex machinas if they are done skillfully.

Wells was skillful. He at least put a lot hints much earlier in the story with basic ideas about biology, the detailed explorations of Martian bio-engineering and the sudden blooms of red weed. If you think the hints through, the end doesn't come as a complete shock. You think, "Oh yeah. It was just a planning error. Whoops!"

The Matrix on the other hand--the less said about that the better! That was a terrible Deus Ex Machina!

corpore-metal

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> FAIL!

You all forgot the uber-technology/random saves the day Deux Ex Machina.

Countless (Actually, several bald or balding and toupee wearing) captains aboard the vessel of Enterprise comes to mind.

And my favorite Sci-Fi (Gundams) are guilty of this as well. Char's Counterattack has one Mobile Suit (nu Gundam) magically pushing away a big freaking piece of asteroid (Axis). Or a mobile suit (giant robot) that absorbs souls of the fallen comrades and enemies alike and using it as weapons. Etc. Etc. Etc.

You know, the technobabble is the most laziest and easiest Deus Ex Machina. And fits the meaning quite well, might I add.

Damage

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> Did everyone forget about Quantum Leap, God was the one in charge the whole time. Or a bartender named Al, who wasn't Al, but was God, or was God when he took a vacation in Pennsylvania mining towns.

BigKenW

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> @1369ic: Well, I'm glad you sorted that out.

They were completely entrenched (at least the Shadows were) until Old Guy said, "Beer?"

I mean, *Rob Corrdry voice* Co-o-o-ome o-o-o-on!

JennaW

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> @JennaW: Somebody has to be the last two in the kind of scenario JMS was using. All the other Old Ones had gone, or sorta/kinda gone, and the Vorlons and the Shadows were hanging around for ideological reasons so they could control the path taken by the younger races. So they were the last two. Somebody always hangs on too long, and somebody else always hangs around to thwart them, if nothing else.

And Lorien, because the two species revered him, was a good person to step in and say "Hey. Enough. Let's leave them to their own problems." Happens all the time in real life, from high school fights to somebody like Jimmy Carter stepping in to diffuse a crisis.

The whole thing was more or less like Vietnam, Korea and all the other smaller countries thumbing their noses at the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. and saying "take your ideologies and stick 'em," and England and France chiming in and telling the two big countries "trust us, this stuff never works. Better to move on." Except that the Vorlons and the Shadows listened. Now that I think about it that *was* the unrealistic. But then, they were aliens.

1369ic

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> What about Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and just being able to create a new planet?

ceilingFANBOY

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> @Tim Faulkner: I think the real question is when DMX will portray the DXM.

Priam

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> @Tim Faulkner: Also, Bad Uncle, lest it not be apparent from my above posts, Aristotle's criticism specifically referred to it being Gods. But DXM takes many forms. Post-Aristotle, when everyone HAD to listen to him, DXM just became DXM in human form. Much of the finest examples of literature are replete with DXM (Dickens, Austen) in the form of the wealthy uncle, the dark stranger, the fortuitous inheritance, etc...

Tim Faulkner

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> @BadUncle: I'm aware of Aristotle's critique, but I don't see how that lends credence to a value judgment.

1. Aristotle, while brilliant, wasn't always right.

2. His critique was more about a changing worldview and developing a new literary movement. The history of literary criticism shows all sorts of devices, styles, themes growing out of favor and being criticized only to be done better or revived in later times or on the periphery.

3. Aristotle didn't argue for the complete elimination of the Deus ex Machina. He argued that the central conflict should be wholly human and resolvable but that the DXM should remain as a peripheral device via choral commentary. (It wasn't completely valueless and cheap to Aristotle.)

4. Sophocles and Aeschylus certainly did use DXM. They just didn't rely on it as much as Euripides nor did as much of their work survive. In many cases, only the very best of S and A's work survived whereas we have most of Euripides's work -- good and bad.

5. The wave of post-Aristotle drama that conforms to his critiques is mostly forgotten and considered poor in comparison to Euripides who happened to be the whipping boy amongst the Big Three. Conversely, Euripedes rose in stature.

6. While Euripedes use DXM frequently, he was lauded by Sophocles for writing realistic characters rather than the idealized ones he wrote. He used less pageantry and extravagance on stage than S and A (maybe as much reason for his contemporary unpopularity than "cheating") and used more realistic speech, even misspeaking. That doesn't necessarily contradict that he needed to rely on DXM in his plays, but it does, anecdotally, indicate that he wasn't a "cheater" as a writer.

I don't disagree that it is often used to bad or cheap effect. I argue that that is not necessarily true. I can think of many examples where it is used with consideration, craft, purpose, and value.

Tim Faulkner

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> @Charlie Jane Anders:
What a silly question! Girl opinions are ALWAYS more important and dude opinions.

Dunny0

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> @Lizzie24601: Exactly. That drove me CRAZY! Right in the exact spot at the exact moment - and it didn't look like he was having any trouble fighting the 'pull' into the void. Groan. I know a lot of people hated the reset button at the end of season 3, but that was preferable to all those bloody coincidences just to keep Rose from dying.

Granted, now we know that was done for a future purpose.

draconismoi

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> @Lannon: Not sure what your point is here. People seem to enjoy reading these sorts of critiques of the genre, and debating whether different stories do or don't fit in. And why is it relevant that your friend is female? Does she get extra authority as a result? Also, io9 isn't just aimed at die-hard fans. We're aimed at anybody who enjoys SF or is interested in futurism.

Charlie Jane Anders

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> @Charlie Jane Anders: That is fair enough.

But the fact that the Bad Wolf resolves the subplot explicitly called out in Boomtown (i.e. "Why is Bad Wolf everywhere we go?") instead of merely magically fixing the crisis in the finale moves it further away from a strict deus ex machina.

Obviously, YMMV.

avidreader514

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> @Tim Faulkner: I have to disagree. Aristotle made a big deal about how the Deus Ex Machina was a literary cheat. So, there is an inherent judgement call. Also, while Euripides was guilty of using the DEM, others (Sophocles and Aschylus) did not.

BadUncle

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> Two you forgot:

Dark City: Rufus Sewell steps out of the machine and literally becomes God. You don't get much broader strokes than that.

Donnie Darko: Donnie actually says, "Deus ex machina." Then a car runs Gretchen over, causing the cokeheads to flee, and Donnie's personal god, Frank, steps out of the car, a machine.

LicenseFarm

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> @Priam: well it has been hinted at that Rose IS the reason why Jack eventually becomes the "Face of Boe".

Falconfire

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> @OW-Holmes: In defense of Trek (and many other sci-fi shows and movies), you have to have unrealistic technology with no major explanation or else the show won't work.

Heisenberg compensators make sure nobody dies while traveling at superluminal speed, the umbrellalike "life support system" not only provides air and atmosphere, but artificial gravity and whatever keeps those inside their ships from becoming so much red paste on the walls, and occasionally, you have to take Data's head off.

Without the tech, there are too many questions, but because the tech is impossible (by current standards), you can't give a real scientific explanation in-show, either.

@aspiringexpatriate: I get the idea there's reams of information about the Buffyverse that Whedon not only knows, but will never get the chance to divulge. You spend that much time on a setting, you'll never be able to explain it all, even if you want to.

Does Not Equal

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> @aspiringexpatriate: Oh, no, that's very wrong. Fray was way before Season 7.

The trade didn't come out until later, but the mini-series started in 2001. I also have the original "Tales of the Slayer" collection which was put out in November 2001 and it features Fray with the Slayer Scythe.

I ALSO remember geeking out when Buffy found the axe -- "OMG! It's Melaka's scythe!"

And yes there is foreshadowing in Fray *for* his vision for the Buffy story (not all of it yet realized, btw).

Also, many of us loved not being talked-down-to by Buffy.

JennaW

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> @JennaW: So Fray was published prior to the airing of the end of the seventh season?
I always wondered at that, but all I could get from a timeline was both were 2003, which is vague. It means Whedon knew, but didn't necessarily expect the audience to.

@Falconfire: Ah yes, that is an issue. Davies doesn't like 'explaining' things, whereas Moffat is open to it. Not that he always does. TBH, I don't mind it, but I do notice it from time to time.

It's like he's making a British Buffy, only not explaining it in a worse way than Whedon ever didn't explain something.

aspiringexpatriate

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> With Rose, I think the "badwolf" thing was set up to eventually make her into a Time Lady. The idea was explored with Ace outside of the show in literature, comics and webcasts. Rose has to have some kind of residual power left or she wouldn't be piercing through dimensions(remember that the alternate torchwood was screwing up reality with their devices at Canary Wharf). Then Again, I could be wrong. Who knows why they killed of Gallifrey?

Priam

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> @DSTRYA: An advanced species capable of spaceflight is going to know about water. H2O is one of the most common substances around. Even in space.

Ravac

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> @jesustonight: Something can be lazy, random, AND foreshadowed. Plus it's entirely possible that RTD stuck in the "bad wolf" clues early on in the season, with the thought that, "I'll figure out what this means later."

Charlie Jane Anders

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> the rose god thing was set up as far back as the second episode of doctor who it was not just some lazy random get out put in at the end.And as for it turning margret into a egg and rose into a god the tardis is alive rmmber it knows whats needed.
Matrix ending was great i didnt see it coming i still cant belive neo died not your typical hollywood movie.
A more unbelivable turn of events would be io9 coming up with a well thought out artical with out the hateful quips

jesustonight

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> Not strictly scifi, but I remember counting 7 deus ex machina's in the end of Harry Potter and the chamber of secrets. I don't remember all of them, but Potter was saved twice by a bird and pulled a sword out of a hat. The bird was fore shadowed, but appeared a bit too conveniently when needed. The sword was only explained later.

Bloodboiler

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> The Chrysalids actually takes place in Labrador. Newfoundland is mentioned as the "big island of Newf."

Marmy

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> @avidreader514: I'm not suggesting people are personally attacking each other. I am suggesting people are subjectively interpreting a plot device that doesn't inherently carry with it any judgment value and as a result feel a need to rationalize or justify the device in a particular piece because they subjectively like it.

I'm saying: don't say, "This isn't DXM because of x and y weak rationalization" instead say, "This is DXM, but one of the rare times where it was executed well and I liked it." It's the better argument.

Tim Faulkner

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> @Falconfire: Poorly explained Deus Ex Machina.

Dunny0

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> If you want a laundry list of Deus Ex Machina in sci-fi, try the last Dune book: Sandworms of Dune.

I think one review counted 5 in a span of 10 pages. Awful awful writing.

And who can forget the techno babble of Star Trek-- specifically Voyager.

@NefariousNewt: And how dare you cite Star Trek 5. It is apocryphal and all who speak of it are heretics.

OW-Holmes

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> Was Rose's being the BAD WOLF Deus Ex Machina, or just really poorly explained?

I mean when I think Deus Ex Machina, it comes out of left field. They hinted at BAD WOLF being somehow connected to one of them and in particular Rose from day 1.

Falconfire

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> I'm not sure the Diamond age setting is shitfucked before the mouse army shows up. And we don't know what happens afterword, much. For all we know Nell becomes an absolute dictator and is warped by the total power into something very dark and nasty. How ironic would that be?

Jeff-Minor

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> Are you people aware that you are writing for people who are already fans of the genre? As a female friend pointed out, most of these tutorial style entries read like that one guy who's trying to explain something he likes but is dumbing it down to get some moron girl into bed. We get it, that's why we are here. Read the commentary to these posts if you need proof. Boring.

Lannon

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> @Charlie Jane Anders: I always think of deus ex machina as a cheat - something new introduced at the last minute to resolve a plot. A planned resolution can still be weak, but it doesn't receive the same disdain I hold for rabbits pulled out of hats.

@
href="#c5318478">Tim Faulkner: It's only personal if you go ad hominem. It's all good.

avidreader514

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> @Dunny0: There is no reason for anyone to watch "Signs"

As much as I LOVE "The Diamond Age" I must agree with@BadUncle: . The Primer is a super-cool prop/character not a plot device that shows up at the end of a story to save the day. Otherwise, I'd ask that the Lazy Gun from "Against a Dark Background" by Iain M. be included.
Cool post though.

Grey_Area

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> Some really egregious examples can use more than one item on this list. Peter F. Hamilton's Night's Dawn trilogy did that when just as everything was going to be horrible forever, the hero manages to find a God! And he's a naked singularity! That should count as touching the soul of the machine, if by machine you mean space-time continuum. And so said God nicely solves all of the silly things humanity has been doing to itself, and puts them somewhere they will be happy and sort out all their problems.

icelight

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> OK, OK: it's been a while since i've seen Signs, but is it possible that the invading aliens were simply unfamiliar w/ the substance we call "water"? you guys are being anthropo-centric again-- or maybe terra-centric or something. It's possible that they had not before been to a world that had "water" in large quantities and didn't realize it was so toxic. or maybe salt water as such wasn't a problem but de-salinated water was a problem-- i mean, they are aliens, right? meaning we we have no familiarity w/ their body chemistry-- or their thought processes. you guys are taking a lot for granted in your arguments.

that being said, i would also guess that if they landed in, say, Florida, or somewhere equally humid, they wouldn't be able to leave their ships all naked b/c of the moisture in the air. it would be too irritating...

hmmm. it is dumb. but i did find the movie suspenseful & well photographed. and i for one liked seeing The Gibson play as a kind of awkward & pensive figure rather than a hard-boiled actioneer.

DSTRYA

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> @Dunny0: Shh I say! Shh!

@Tim Faulkner: Agreed. Plot devices are good!

And maybe this makes me a bad scifi fan, but I'll excuse any plot idiocy as long as it results in a more interesting emotional situation for the characters. (how else could I love Doctor Who so much? logic be damned, I just wanna see everyone in as much emotional distress as possible. bring on the parallel dimensions!)

Lizzie24601

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> @Tim Faulkner: Bah, a ton of typos in that last post, but I need to fix this:

"Foreshadowing or slight rationalization just DOES NOT change Deus ex Machina."

Do people really think if you say, "a machine will come later in this story to resolve this conflict that can't otherwise be resolved" early in a story that it's no longer deus ex machina? Sorry, complete and utter surprise does not solely define the device.

Tim Faulkner

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> @braak: Because they chose to.

Sorry. Somebody mentions The Matrix and whoa...

NefariousNewt

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> @JennaW: Touche. I had wondered if that was going to be my downfall. I did, however, read *about* Fray... ;)

I guess, in general, I can just remember at the time there being a fair amount of idling that season, and then suddenly the last handful of episodes had a relative high new-item-to-effectiveness-in-wrapping-up-the-story ratio. But, again, I didn't mind. The finale still brought a tear to my eye, scythes, amulets, and all.

pickmeohnevermind

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> @JennaW: Mainly due to a small rip in the space-time continuum... nothing the crew of the Enterprise can't fix on a good day.

NefariousNewt

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> Nice article. But you omitted the classic example of Case IV: God Shows Up:

Time Bandits

where at the end, the Supreme Being (who is not completely dim!) shows up and sets everything right.

It's Eeeeeeevillllll!

JimKakalios

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> I'm surprised that they listed "IV. God Actually Shows Up." but failed to list the one movie where that actually happened; "Time Bandits". It was the one of the few times where that ending works and it's not a cop out.

mekki

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> @tetracycloide: Well, okay. That's a valid point.

I'm just trying to keep the argument away from "Well, why did they go to Earth in the first place?"

braak

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> @pickmeohnevermind: The scythe is only a deus ex machina if you'd never read Fray. ;)

The amulet -- well, Buffy as a series always had magical items, prophecies, amulets, rings, etc. Since they were actively working for a way to fight the First, finding a way to do it is not entirely an unexpected result for that lot.

JennaW

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> @avidreader514: Don't worry, people, this shouldn't be seen as an attack on your favorite wankfest. Deus ex Machina does not carry with it any value judgment. It is not inherently weak. It doesn't mean the creator had no plan. Foreshadowing or slight rationalization just change Deus ex Machina. Virtually every Greek play is full of allusions to Zeus coming at the ending to resolve the problem, for example. That doesn't make it any less mechanical.

Some may prefer realism or try to paint the plot device as flawed, but it has its value and can be performed exquisitely. Just as all other plot devices can be characterized, become hackneyed, be poorly executed, and seem mechanical.

Just becausewe all learned about Deus ex Machina in grade school, it is frequently easy to identify, and is often badly done, doesn't make it evil.

Charlie Jane, didn't like War of the Worlds. I did and think it's one of the best, most perfectly conceived examples of science fiction ever. On the other hand, I think it's clever but completely pointless to have Dr. Moreau kill the Martians with biowarfare: the point was supposed to be that humans are unable to foresee and control both their own destruction and their salvation, not speculate on a plausible military campaign with cool weapons.

So, if you're personal favorite is called out (or not -- don't think something you loved didn't use Deus ex Machina or some other potential trite convention), don't take it personal.

Tim Faulkner

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> @Lizzie24601: Better question: Why wasn't *he* sucked into the Void? Did he have a lot of coins in his pockets?

Dunny0

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> props for the jeff wayne musical war of the worlds illustration!

regis

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> @avidreader514: And that makes it not a deus ex machina? How so?

Charlie Jane Anders

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> @avidreader514:
Only so long as it's consistent with the internal logic of the show. The Bad Wolf barely fits. From my understanding, Rose and The Vortex merged thanks to the TARDIS, and it was by giving the very underpinnings of the multiverse sentience that the god-like-thing was born.

The major flaw is the fact that this is nothing more than viewer speculation. Some of it was hinted at - barely - in various episodes, but a lot of it is supposition on my part.

Dunny0

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> @draconismoi: What, the thing where Pete reappeared in the exact right spot at the exact right moment to catch Rose before she got sucked into the Void? Tooootally plausible. Shh.

Lizzie24601

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> @JennaW: I'm not sure it's actually a deus ex machina in the strictest sense, because the season was spent tracking down and training Potentials. However, since much of that season also had them all getting beaten to a paste by the First/Caleb, it could be argued that the season's ending with the 1-2-3 run of episodes involving the discovery of the Scythe, its usefulness in dispatching the heretofore unstoppable Caleb, and its holding the power that activates the Potentials en masse - all vaguely explained in the penultimate episode - sort of does point to deus ex machina-ness, at least w/r/t the Scythe (and Spike's amulet, I suppose). Anyway, I liked it regardless.

pickmeohnevermind

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> @draconismoi: Yeah, I didn't include the 2nd series because I also thought it was too easy and clean.

And Jenna, yeah, I know, Rose and her mum got sucked into an alternate dimension, that was likely better than the old one. I mean, I liked the way she was one for good. (was being the operative word there)

@Jack: Hmm, fair point. But, again, I give DXM's passes when people endure suffering and torment (yeah, torment, torment is good) because of them.

Also: Spike's last two lines in Buffy were AWESOME. "No you don't, but thanks for telling me. You go on now, I wanna see how it ends."

aspiringexpatriate

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> @Pinkhamster: There's this weird timey wimey delay thing that makes having a conversation kind of tough on the gawker sites, but stuff shows up eventually... *most* of the time.

JennaW

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> @Carrespondent: *looks at you askance*

Oh, yeah. That's *way* different.

Lorien wasn't a god, he was just god-like; and he didn't resurrect Sheridan, 'cause he was only mostly dead...

;)

JennaW

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> My comment didn't show up. WTF?

Pinkhamster

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> @braak: I hate to bring the level of discourse down to the snark level but I think buying a rain coat for each trooper before invading would have been one of many better possible options.

it's really not hard at all to waterproof something, humanity's long history of attempting to keep dry stands in testament to this fact. it is even demonstrably easier to waterproof something than to, say, make a large solid object invisable.

tetracycloide

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> The ending of H.G. Wells's "War of the Worlds" was the entire point. The book was a commentary on British colonialism and how despite the massive technological advantage of the British empire, in Africa and elsewhere they were still defenseless against microbes the local population were resistent to. That's why the aliens in his book invade England. It's an irony thing.

Pinkhamster

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> @JennaW: The DXM in Buffy S7 was Spike's amulet. That was DXM, but DXM in the service of the viewer. I mean as cool as some of the fights were did you really want to see the Slayers slog through all of those Uber-vamps?

Jack

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> @Charlie Jane Anders: No, it means that the resolution had been set up from the outset, and not invented during a moment of writer's room panic.

avidreader514

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> I'll give Babylon 5 a pass on the Lorien thing. For one thing, he wasn't a god. More importantly, he did not wham-bam resurrect Sheridan. He managed to extend Sheridan's life, giving him 20 years, no more.

"I cannot create life, but I can breathe on the remaining embers."

Carrespondent

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> "What does God need with a starship?"

Sometimes "God's" appearance is more of a complication than a solution.

NefariousNewt

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> Space:1999 did that a lot. It was one of the weaknesses of the show. Well, that and it's scientific impossibility. I loved it anyway.

NefariousNewt

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> Hey, Rose becoming a god was pretty groovy. Plus, you can't forget that it gave the writers a reason to kill off Chris Eccleston and bring in the far superior David Tennant. So like, it was at least a multitasking deus ex machina.

Aethyr

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> @DocGratis: When you explain Signs that way, it makes sense.
Who better to enslave than a race that is immune to your one greatest weakness?
We make machines to do things that would kill us... They enslave races for the same reason.

Tada!

Although, I haven't actually seen Signs, so this is entirely based on what you've said. If I'm wrong, it's your fault.

Dunny0

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> @avidreader514: So just having some random graffiti on the walls in earlier episodes means that ANYTHING is plausible in the final episode?

Charlie Jane Anders

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> Oh, Babylon 5... you made my youth much more interesting indeed. I miss you.

Shiryu

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> Parting of the Ways doesn't count as a deus ex. All the Bad Wolf references were there from the start. Add a little "wibbly wobbly, timey wimey" and you have an ending that works.

Unlike the "save the Doctor" singalong from season 3. Just typing that makes me ill.

avidreader514

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> @Charlie Jane Anders: "The awesome thing about science fiction is that anything can happen - including the occasional incredibly convenient miracle."

That's the awesome thing about fantasy. Science Fiction ought to at least have some plausible science as a device to explain things. A genre with "science" as a descriptor has no room for miracles.

Ravac

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> @draconismoi: do you mean the third series? the 2nd was Rose getting stuck in another timeline.

JennaW

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> I found the bit at the end of RTD's second series of Doctor Who to be more improbable than Rose absorbing the time vortex. The TARDIS and Doctor have a tendency towards magical miracles - so I can forgive that.

draconismoi

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> @aspiringexpatriate: I agree that these were both interesting ways to use the sudden rescue -- there are horrific consequences for those involved even though they survive and overcome the bad guys:

Rose loses her Doctor though her entire focus was on saving him as he'd saved her so often; Martha and her family (and the Doctor) will never forget their terrible year though they saved everyone else from it...

JennaW

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> I'm not averse to the God in the Machine when it requires the hero/heroine to endure remarkable suffering or reach a new level of thinking in order to achieve it.

Rose in Parting of the Ways is a good example, or what Martha and her family endured at the end of Season 3. The bad Gods in the Machine are when they can just flick a button or do one specific thing, which I don't think was the case in B5. The God in the Machine took 13 episodes to unfold, and it was instigated by the "lesser races" taking a stand against the virtually omnipotent "older races," so I don't think it should deserve your contempt.

Also, it's not like the series ended there. They still had to solve two civil wars and a couple other rebellions.

aspiringexpatriate

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> @BadUncle:
I thought the production had been alluded to? Hmmm. I must read it again.
(like I need an excuse)

Miranda Kali

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> Thinking about it, Sherdian must be God's favored amongst mortals.
How many times has he been saved by divine intervention? (or nigh-devine..)
Angelic Vorlons, plucking him out of free-fall, Delen, coming to his rescue like a pissed-off Valkyrie with a fleet of superior ships...
Really, talk about a charmed life..

Miranda Kali

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> Inspiring post, Charlie Jane!

MrBabyMan

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> @Im a people person. Who drinks.: I see you aren't a topfive.com subscriber...

JennaW

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> The Diamond Age doesn't count. The AI primer is woven into the plot, and conclusion of the book is a result of that plot device. Stephenson is only guilty of not fully addressing the mass production of the books, which is only a hole in the storyline.

BadUncle

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> @eris404: Yes, it would only count if they'd all run in fully activated at the final battle in the nick of time. Since the entire arc of that season was about how they were tracked down, trained, and ultimately activated thanks to a plan by Buffy & her Scoobs, then, no. Not a deus ex machina.

JennaW

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> As for the Matrix Trilogy -- nothing says "great ending!" like sacrificing the love of your life in order to achieve détente!

JennaW

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> You missed Star Trek: The Motion Picture!!! "Oh so wait, all we need to do is take the dad from Seventh Heaven, have him make out with Persis Khambata in front of a bigazz NASA probe and everything just melts away into the light? FUCK YEAH LET'S DO THIS THING!"

rileyjam514

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> @DocGratis: Well, again, it's only a bad idea if you're assuming that they had a lot of other options.

braak

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> @wka: Yeah! The deus ex machina is when Old Guy shows up and says to the implacable enemies of the the prior almost-four seasons, "Hey... you guys wanna get out of here?"

And the Shadows and the Vorlons shrug and say, "Sure. Why not."

I have hated B5 ever since.

JennaW

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> @DocGratis: Now I'd pay good money to see THAT movie.

aspiringexpatriate

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> "but not the cute Lynda-with-a-Y, because Rose is glad she's dead. Rose is a mean God, sadly."

Mean Gods are more fun. Fickle Gods one can reason with or manipulate. Omnipotent, fair, benevolent Gods are boring and can't be good scapegoats.

I like my Gods with thunderbolts coming out their arses and lasers out their eyes!

aspiringexpatriate

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> C'mon, how about Serenity? I'm a loyal browncoat, but even I had trouble swallowing that last sequence.

I mean, sure, we knew River could shoot people around corners using only math, but to suddenly have her turn into... well, a terminator, and puree a whole room full of Reavers?

That was pushing it a little.

Smeagol92055

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> @braak: You don't think the aliens knew that?

They don't do like.. a life science scan?

"This planet is perfect, primate biped for our slaves.. oh except this one thing.."
-Yes?
"Well their planet is covered by acid"
-How do they live, these bipeds?
"Apparently, they are unaffected, in fact they themselves are 80% acid..."
-Mehh, you subjugate the planet you find, not the planet you wish to find...

It sounds a little like humans invading a planet of Aliens (yes from Aliens) for slaves...

DocGratis

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> @Charlie Jane Anders: That awesomely balls-out Space:1999 episode of yours is how they should've done it, but sadly, it actually sounds like three or four ep mashup your imagination edited together. And you know what that means: it's Final Cut Pro time!

Rus

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> @Lizzie24601: Re: Buffy - I don't think so - wasn't the whole point of the season to get as many potentials as possible?

eris404

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> @The_Real_Quiet_Desperation: Besides, that was just really a cool episode. Does it count if you actually like the book/episode/movie in question?

eris404

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> Ditto the Forevers confusion: Peace was innocuous, if unsatisfying; Free was carp, pure and unadulterated, from the moment HIMSELF showed.
B-5 had lots of dxm situations, though ... the arrival of the Mindbari fleet; the arrival of Kosh's folks; the White Star Fleet that's been built off-screen from purest phlogiston, you name it.
But it's a legitimate, if mildly lazy, plot device: take the tension/danger higher than can be resolved given everything known about the universe in the book, then resolve it anyway just after the reader/viewer has started to hyperventilate, even if that means using the arrival of God.
Ahh, the classics.




SavannahJack

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> Look, there's a lot of things to criticize about Signs. But your argument is backwards.

It's not, "The aliens weakness is so they decide to invade a planet that's mostly water."

It's, "The aliens need slaves, so they invade a planet that's mostly water, despite their weakness to it."

This is not a logical inconsistency unless you apply a priori information to the situation.

braak

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> @Lizzie24601:

Possibly. Though I still think Buffy should have died then. I didn't like s7 all the much except for the start of it with Spike gone crazy.

Vactus

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> @Dunny0: Fixed "Forever Peace" to "Forever Free". Thanks!

Charlie Jane Anders

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> [pedantic_fanboy]
In Babylon 5, Sheridan dies at the end of the third season, not fourth.
[/pedantic_fanboy]

wka

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> @Im a people person. Who drinks.: It's deeply metaphysical and brilliant... actually I was hoping a miraculous divine intervention would make me think of a sixth example, but then I forgot. Fixed it now. Thanks!

Charlie Jane Anders

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> You forget the most classic use of the Deus Ex Machina of all time: the "it's all been a dream" on Dallas.

What? Not Sci-Fi, you say? Well, then how else would you explain Patrick Duffy's hair? That stuff defies physics!

Smeagol92055

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> @Ed Grabianowski: And for that matter, "Lord of the Flies."

Lizzie24601

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> @Im a people person. Who drinks.: The Matrix Revolutions went unnumbered for some reason. Best forgotten...

Mathmos

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> Yeah okay, the Bad Wolf thing was incredibly dumb, but it still looked better and played better than the Deus Ex Doctor last season.

[not a spoiler, I don't read spoilers, just my own speculation]
Plus, you know, I can't wait for the Doctor to see BAD WOLF written somewhere that he knows he never went with Rose and then he'll be all "whaaa?" and then Rose will show up and it will be fantastic.

Also, does the Buffy season 7 cavalry of newbie Slayers count?

Lizzie24601

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> I submitted by email as well.. but it just to clarify, it was the end of Season 3/start of Season 4 with the whole Lorien and Sheridan thing.

I just re-watched it. =D

Vactus

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> Jurassic Park III, perfect example of "The Cavalry Arrives."

"Crap, we're being chased through the jungle by a bunch of dinosaurs and we're sure to die horrible dea...oh, hey! The Marines! Hai Guyz!"

Ed Grabianowski

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> Forgive me - I can't help myself... Title says 6 - only 5 are listed. Is the 6th some sort of strange meta thing or did something ust get fucked up?

Im a people person. Who drinks.

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> @Dunny0: And god came out of the machine and closed the italics... and lo it was good...

I would say that the Diamond age isn't that bad...

If there is an explanation, it makes it less of a Deus Ex Machina

DocGratis

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> I love the Deus Ex Machina scene at the end of Matrix Revolutions. I'm sure the fact that Neo was blind when he was "talking to God" was some Biblical reference that passed over my head, but I don't care. That machine looked bad-ass.

extracrispy

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]>
Can someone loan me a close italics tag? I seem to have misplaced mine.

Dunny0

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> Yo Charlie,

I think you've been tripping. Crashing eagles? That could be ALL of the Space 1999's eps.

The "best" Space 1999 It's a Test Ep was and is War Games. The Alphans have to make a choice and the aliens play it out for them in a giant mind fuck. The Alphans sort of "win" the war by causing the planet to blows up and everyone dies in the end.

ManchuCandidate

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> @ CJA: You've got two novels mixed up in the Forever Peace bit.

Forever Peace was the semi-sequel that was sequel in tone only, and ended with the non-aggressive humans. There was a bit of Enders Game style war-game stuff tool, but it was kinda lame.

Forever Free is the actual sequel that has god showing up in the last act to kind of undo everything, point out that the whole thing was a setup to test a theory, then buggers off just after setting things back to the way they were before he wiped everyone out. There's also a shape changing alien and some other stupid stuff. I tossed the book across the room when I got to that copout ending.

I thought that the whole "killed by the flu" worked in "War of the Worlds" because, well... How many people died during the various colonization efforts in our own history because of a lack of immunity to decease? I mean, small-pox blankets anyone?
Sure, it's a bit far fetched, but I always thought it made sense.

The less said about Bad Wolf, the better. I was okay with her getting God Powers from the Vortex, but the explanation of how Bad Wolf got spread everywhere was just bullocks. "I create myself"?
Still, it was better than Floaty Jesus Doctor.

Dunny0

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> Wouldn't a better Matrix deus ex machina be the first one when he gets up after being shot and is "The One", the sequels make 'sense' in neo = jesus/computer error type way.

Log1c

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> The Diamond Age by Stephenson rocked! The Primer was one of the best tech devices ever created in sci-fi literature.

BullfightsOnAcid

]]> <![CDATA[The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas]]> Forever Free, not Forever Peace.

Can you really ding a story for Dues Ex Machina if that is, in fact, what it's about?

And the Babylon 5 example really doesn't qualify. Lorien != God.

The_Real_Quiet_Desperation

]]>