List of Crap 61: Top 50 Fictional Species/Races Countdown

[Darth Geek]

While searching for a Christmas present for his teenage son, inventor Randall Peltzer (Hoyt Axton) discovers a small, furry creature called a Mogwai in an antique store in Chinatown.

That was Hoyt Axton?  I just saw Gremlins for the first time, and I could have SWORN that was Joe Don Baker.

No, Hoyt Axton actually has talent.

Although the Hor-Riff-ic Productions riff of Gremlins does reference him as such. Highly recommended riff, by the way.

[Johnny Unusual]

Sorry, nw entries to begin shortly. 5 hour car trip.

[Johnny Unusual]

5. Vulcan
(134 points, on 13 of 23 lists - Top Vote #3 by Gunflyer)

      

Genus: Vulcan Sapien

Vulcans are an extraterrestrial humanoid species in the Star Trek universe who evolved on the planet Vulcan, and are noted for their attempt to live by reason and logic with no interference from emotion. They were the first extraterrestrial species in the Star Trek universe to observe First Contact protocol with Humans. They gave massive assistance to a devastated post-World War III Earth, enabling the planet to eliminate poverty, disease and suffering within a single century. For this reason, Humans even in the 24th century view Vulcans in many ways as their best friends — "the good guys," as told to Zefram Cochrane in 'First Contact' by the crew of the time travelling USS Enterprise-E. They later became one of the founding members of the United Federation of Planets. Vulcans appear in all six Star Trek series, four of which feature a Vulcan or a half-Vulcan as a main character.

Vulcans are depicted as similar in appearance to humans. The main physical differences are their eyebrows and ears: the former are arched and upswept, while the latter feature pinnae which taper to a point at the top. The ears have been the subject of jokes on multiple occasions. Vulcans have been portrayed as various races. Most caucasoid-like Vulcans (a majority of those shown throughout the series' runs) typically appear with a subtle greenish hue to their skin, due to Vulcans' copper-based blood, which is green in color. According to Dr. McCoy, Spock, and presumably all Vulcans, have almost no blood pressure. Other features described include an inner eyelid, or nictitating membrane, which protects their vision from bright lights, an adaptation for their bright and hot home world. In addition, their hearts are located on the right side of the torso, in between the ribs and pelvis, as Dr.McCoy once says about Spock: “He is lucky that his heart is where his liver should be, or he’d be dead!” (ST:TOS, A Private Little War)

 Notable representatives:
Spock, others (it’s all about Spock)
   

For the Dar-Win!
with your host, Charles Darwin

A logical and wise race, the Vulcans look exactly like humans but are a bit stiff.  This is why they need to be in a comedy where they are partnered up with a fun, party-loving race and they end up teaching each other about how to laugh about love… again.

[D.B. Barnes]

Oh yeah, now we're cookin'.

[Johnny Unusual]

4. Xenomorph
(141 points, on 9 of 23 lists - Top Vote #2 by Relaxing Dragon)

      

Genus: Periplaneta Extrema

Unlike many other recurring enemy extraterrestrial races in science fiction, the Aliens are not an intelligent civilization, but predatorycreatures with no higher goals than the propagation of their species and the destruction of life that could pose a threat. Like waspsor termites, Aliens are eusocial, with a single fertile queen breeding a caste of warriors. The Aliens' biological life cycle, in which their offspring are violently implanted inside living hosts before erupting from their chests, is in many ways their signature aspect. Their design deliberately evokes many sexual images, both male and female, to illustrate their blurring of human sexual dichotomy.

When standing upright, the Aliens are vaguely bipedal in form, though they adopt a more hunched, quadrupedal stance when walking or sprinting. They have a skeletal, biomechanical appearance and are usually colored in muted shades of black, blue or bronze. Aliens do not radiate heat, so their body heat matches the ambient temperature of the environment in which they are found. In most of the films, adult Aliens are capable of running and crawling along ceilings and walls. They have great physical strength, having been shown to be capable of breaking through welded steel doors.

Aliens have segmented, blade-tipped tails. The sharp tip was initially a small, scorpion-like barb, but from Aliens onwards the blade design increased in size and changed in appearance to more closely resemble a slashing weapon. From Alien Resurrection onwards, the tails have a flat ridge of spines at the base of the blade. This was introduced to help them swim convincingly, and was left intact in the subsequent cross-overs. The original shooting script for Aliens and the novelization both featured a scene in which Lieutenant Gorman is "stung" by the barb tail and rendered unconscious. In the final cut of the movie, Gorman is knocked out by falling crates. As a weapon, the strength of the tail is very effective, having been shown to be strong enough to impale and lift a Predator with seemingly little effort. They are also adept at using their tails as blunt weapons, sometimes to deadly effect, as seen in Alien.

Notable representatives:
They are basically nameless
   

Up Your Ash!
with your host, Ash

<a href="http://static.movieclips.com/embedplayer.swf?shortid=9NJr" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://static.movieclips.com/embedplayer.swf?shortid=9NJr</a>

[ScottotD]

4. Xenomorph

Awesome

[Johnny Unusual]

3. Wookiee
(152 points, on 12 of 23 lists - Top Vote #4 by DB Barnes)

      

Genus: Ursus Majorly Lovable

The Wookiees, whose name for themselves translated to the People of the Trees, were a species of hairy bipedal humanoids that were inhabitants of the planet Kashyyyk.

The Wookiees' natural habitats were the dense forests of the planet Kashyyyk (though one source does imply that they were immigrants to this planet). Kashyyyk was covered with massive wroshyr trees, in which the Wookiees constructed their homes and cities. Reportedly, Wookiees were descended from tree-climbing mammals.

They had the ability to easily learn most languages. However, Wookiees lacked the vocal structure to speak anything other than their own languages.

Adult Wookiees were tall, in excess of two meters in height, and were covered with a uniform, mid-length coat of thick hair in various shades of brown. Although albino Wookiees were rare, they were not unheard of. However, such a birth was generally held to be a bad omen, as white hair did not blend in with the earth-tones of their forest surroundings.

Young Wookiees (pups) were large at birth (averaging slightly less than one meter). Wookiees possessed vicious-looking retractable claws for climbing. Female Wookiees had six breasts and gave birth to live-born young, with their gestation period nearly a year long. After birth, a Wookiee grew very fast, fully conscious and able to walk unassisted within one standard year. The average lifespan of Wookiees was around 600 years. In spite of their bestial appearance, Wookiees were highly intelligent and had mastered advanced technology, including hyperspace travel. Wookiees also possessed exceptional skill in mechanical repair. An old saying was "Give a Wookiee a knife and send him into a forest in the morning, and by evening he would have carved you a table to eat dinner on - and a house to put it in."


 Notable representatives:
Chewbacca, Lumpy, Itchy, Mala
   

For the Dar-Win!
with your host, Charles Darwin

This is a tough call, but I’m going to say, biologically speaking, that these are the most huggable creatures on the list.  Some of the smaller ones, you have to bend down to hug, but here, you just run up with your arms outstretched and if it doesn’t swat you down, you are in for a treat.  A hug treat.

[D.B. Barnes]

3. Wookiee
(152 points, on 12 of 23 lists - Top Vote #4 by DB Barnes)

      

WOOTINI!!! 

Man, that was gettin' down to the wire. I was starting to get nervous, but 12 lists and #3!

RRRRAAARRRRGGGGHHH!!!

[Thrifty]

I bent my wookie.

[Johnny Unusual]

2. Muppet
(164 points, on 8 of 23 lists - Top Vote #1 by @ScottOTD & Johnny Unusual)

      

Genus: Felt

The Muppets are a group of puppet characters created by Jim Henson starting in 1954–55. Although the term is often used to refer to any puppet that resembles the distinctive style of The Muppet Show, the term is both an informal name and legal trademark owned by the Walt Disney Company in reference to the original characters created by Henson.

Henson has said the word "Muppet" predated the show Sam and Friends. He would sometimes tell people the term had been created by combining the words "marionette" and "puppet", but he also said that it was really just a made-up word.

After earlier unsuccessful attempts, the Walt Disney Company bought the Muppets in 2004.[2] Exceptions include characters appearing on Sesame Street (as they were previously sold to Sesame Workshop, although they have always had creative rights, only reimbursing the Jim Henson Company to create and provide their Muppet characters for their use) and the Fraggles of Fraggle Rock (which are still owned by the Jim Henson Company). The legal trademark on the term "Muppet" is currently held by The Muppets Studio, a wholly owned division of the Walt Disney Company, although Sesame Workshop and the Jim Henson Company continue to occasionally use the term on their characters with certain permissions from Disney.

A common design for a Muppet is a character with a very wide mouth and large protruding eyes.

The puppets are often molded or carved out of various types of foam, and then covered with fleece, fur, or any other felt-like material. Muppets may represent humans, anthropomorphic animals, realistic animals, robots, anthropomorphic objects, extraterrestrial creatures, mythical beings or other unidentified, newly imagined creatures, monsters, or abstract characters.

 Notable representatives:
Kermit, Miss Piggy, Fozzie, Gonzo, Sam the Eagle, Rowlf, Dr. Bunsen Honeydew, Beeker, Bounce Bounce, and the Claw
   

For the Dar-Win!
with your host, Charles Darwin

I need to put rockets on the Beagle and get to Koozbane some time.  A lot to learn there.

[D.B. Barnes]

Oh god. I didn't know Muppets counted.

Well, this is embarrassing. 

[Johnny Unusual]

Yeah, I'm surprised so many people thought of it.  Easy to miss, but in the show and such, they are specifically referred to as Muppets, despite the fact that they never expressly say what a muppet is.

[MontyServo]

 Notable representatives:
Spock, others (it’s all about Spock)

Also notable for being the only time Kirstie Alley was hot.

[MontyServo]

Oh god. I didn't know Muppets counted.

Well, this is embarrassing. 

#4 on my list.  Wonder what #1 is going to end up being.

[Johnny Unusual]

1. Dragon
(209 points, on 11 of 23 lists - Top Vote #1 by Darth Geek)

      

Genus: Draconis Major

A dragon is a legendary creature, typically with serpentine or reptilian traits, that features in the myths of many cultures. There are two distinct cultural traditions of dragons: the European dragon, derived from European folk traditions and which is ultimately related to Greek and Middle Eastern mythologies, and the Chinese dragon, with counterparts in Japan, Korea and other East Asian countries.

The two traditions may have evolved separately, but have influenced each to a certain extent, particularly with the cross-cultural contact of recent centuries. The English word "dragon" derives from Greek δράκων (drákōn), "dragon, serpent of huge size, water-snake", which probably comes from the verb δρακεῖν (drakeîn) "to see clearly".

A dragon is a mythological representation of a reptile. In antiquity, dragons were mostly envisaged as serpents, but since the Middle Ages, it has become common to depict them with legs, resembling a lizard.

Dragons are usually shown in modern times with a body like a huge lizard, or a snake with two pairs of lizard-type legs, and able to emit fire from their mouths. The European dragon has bat-type wings growing from its back. A dragon-like creature with no front legs is known as a wyvern.


 Notable representatives:
The big one from the Hobbit (spoiler alert), the one from the “Red-Cross Knight”, the ones in every video game ever and countless others
   

For the Dar-Win!
with your host, Charles Darwin

The acme of evolution.  Granted, that would seem to go against certain things I’ve written about the nature of evolution but these guys rule.  WOOOO!