Search/Recent Changes
DBTropes
...it's like TV Tropes, but LINKED DATA!

Starman

 Starman
type
TVTItem
 Starman
label
Starman
 Starman
page
Starman
 Starman
comment
Advertisement:propertag.cmd.push(function() { proper_display('tvtropes_mobile_ad_1'); })John Carpenter's 1984 film Starman is a kind of E.T. for adults, played as a Road Trip Plot of all things. Fans will argue that it's a beautiful, beautiful love story between a man from the stars (Jeff Bridges) and an Earth woman (Karen Allen), while dissenters will counter that it's a mediocre Cliché Storm.Starman arrives on Earth as a result of Earth having transmitted welcome messages to any alien life, and clones himself an environment suit — the naked form of Jenny Hayden's dead husband. Jenny is very freaked out by this, and at first only wants to get away from the freaky dead ringer for her deceased husband. But she (eventually) agrees to take him to Winslow, Arizona, where he has his only chance to meet up with the other aliens and go home. Naturally, this leads to a long road trip (Starman has gotten dressed by this point) involving a lot of learning about life on Earth, bonding, and ultimately romance.Advertisement:propertag.cmd.push(function() { proper_display('tvtropes_mobile_ad_2'); })As usual, the U.S. military has it in for friendly aliens. They are led by the hard-as-nails George Fox (Richard Jaeckel), who wants to dissect or kill Starman. His obligatory Morality Pet Mark Shermin (Charles Martin Smith) vainly attempts to convince him to do otherwise.The movie was followed by a 1986–87 TV series starring Robert Hays of Airplane! fame, set 15 years after the events of the film and featuring a Walking the Earth premise.Not to be confused with the Robot Master from Mega Man 5, or the enemies from the first two Mother games, or the David Bowie song from Ziggy Stardust. And definitely not to be confused with the DC Comics hero(es) of that name.
 Starman
fetched
2022-09-07T03:26:41Z
 Starman
parsed
2022-09-07T03:26:41Z
 Starman
isPartOf
DBTropes
 Starman / int_17fe1048
type
Naked on Arrival
 Starman / int_17fe1048
comment
Naked on Arrival: Starman.
 Starman / int_17fe1048
featureApplicability
1.0
 Starman / int_17fe1048
featureConfidence
1.0
 Starman
hasFeature
Starman / int_17fe1048
 Starman / int_19a9ec7d
type
Superhuman Trafficking
 Starman / int_19a9ec7d
comment
Superhuman Trafficking
 Starman / int_19a9ec7d
featureApplicability
1.0
 Starman / int_19a9ec7d
featureConfidence
1.0
 Starman
hasFeature
Starman / int_19a9ec7d
 Starman / int_2164d2a1
type
Energy Beings
 Starman / int_2164d2a1
comment
Energy Beings: Starman comes from a race of these with no concept of death or biological needs, who takes on a human form to appear less threatening.
 Starman / int_2164d2a1
featureApplicability
1.0
 Starman / int_2164d2a1
featureConfidence
1.0
 Starman
hasFeature
Starman / int_2164d2a1
 Starman / int_30d1e0df
type
Full-Name Basis
 Starman / int_30d1e0df
comment
Full-Name Basis: Starman does this with Jenny, though he says "Jennyhayden" as one word, instead of "Jenny Hayden".
 Starman / int_30d1e0df
featureApplicability
1.0
 Starman / int_30d1e0df
featureConfidence
1.0
 Starman
hasFeature
Starman / int_30d1e0df
 Starman / int_31add7fe
type
Out of the Inferno
 Starman / int_31add7fe
comment
Out of the Inferno: After their car crashes into an oil truck, Starman carries a wounded Jenny out of the resulting blaze in this fashion.
 Starman / int_31add7fe
featureApplicability
1.0
 Starman / int_31add7fe
featureConfidence
1.0
 Starman
hasFeature
Starman / int_31add7fe
 Starman / int_35e077
type
Fourth-Date Marriage
 Starman / int_35e077
comment
Fourth-Date Marriage: According to Jenny, she and Scott got married after only a few months of dating. He would die less than a year later.
 Starman / int_35e077
featureApplicability
1.0
 Starman / int_35e077
featureConfidence
1.0
 Starman
hasFeature
Starman / int_35e077
 Starman / int_392b364
type
Fictional Accent
 Starman / int_392b364
comment
Fictional Accent: Jeff Bridges uses a bizarre accent that sounds alien to most but feels right at home with his sudden, jerky movements and strange mannerisms.
 Starman / int_392b364
featureApplicability
1.0
 Starman / int_392b364
featureConfidence
1.0
 Starman
hasFeature
Starman / int_392b364
 Starman / int_3a169a21
type
Post-Sex
 Starman / int_3a169a21
comment
Post-Sex: Starman wears an unbelievably goofy smile after having sex with Jenny. Better than Dutch apple pie.
 Starman / int_3a169a21
featureApplicability
1.0
 Starman / int_3a169a21
featureConfidence
1.0
 Starman
hasFeature
Starman / int_3a169a21
 Starman / int_3a5e2f68
type
Klingons Love Shakespeare
 Starman / int_3a5e2f68
comment
Klingons Love Shakespeare: Starman can't get enough of Dutch apple pie, to the point that eating it is nearly a sexual experience for him. Turns out our primitive biological needs do have their upside.
 Starman / int_3a5e2f68
featureApplicability
1.0
 Starman / int_3a5e2f68
featureConfidence
1.0
 Starman
hasFeature
Starman / int_3a5e2f68
 Starman / int_46c1dc8e
type
Someone to Remember Him By
 Starman / int_46c1dc8e
comment
Someone to Remember Him By: Jenny's child will be this for both her dead husband and Starman, as he was conceived by Starman with her husband's DNA.
 Starman / int_46c1dc8e
featureApplicability
1.0
 Starman / int_46c1dc8e
featureConfidence
1.0
 Starman
hasFeature
Starman / int_46c1dc8e
 Starman / int_4ac8b81f
type
Humans Are the Real Monsters
 Starman / int_4ac8b81f
comment
Humans Are the Real Monsters: The rest of us, as usual.
 Starman / int_4ac8b81f
featureApplicability
1.0
 Starman / int_4ac8b81f
featureConfidence
1.0
 Starman
hasFeature
Starman / int_4ac8b81f
 Starman / int_5028baf2
type
What Is This Thing You Call "Love"?
 Starman / int_5028baf2
comment
What Is This Thing You Call "Love"?: Starman has no knowledge of the concept of death.
 Starman / int_5028baf2
featureApplicability
1.0
 Starman / int_5028baf2
featureConfidence
1.0
 Starman
hasFeature
Starman / int_5028baf2
 Starman / int_56b53152
type
Green Aesop
 Starman / int_56b53152
comment
Green Aesop: Starman doesn't approve of deer hunting - killing is a foreign and horrible concept to an immortal Energy Being with no biological needs. It has less to do with hunting and more to do with the alien's concept of death - there is no death, survival or even food consumption where he comes from, so he's shocked that a living creature would willingly kill another.
 Starman / int_56b53152
featureApplicability
1.0
 Starman / int_56b53152
featureConfidence
1.0
 Starman
hasFeature
Starman / int_56b53152
 Starman / int_5c446b43
type
Aliens in Cardiff
 Starman / int_5c446b43
comment
Aliens in Cardiff: Alien in Chequamegon Bay, Wisconsin.
 Starman / int_5c446b43
featureApplicability
1.0
 Starman / int_5c446b43
featureConfidence
1.0
 Starman
hasFeature
Starman / int_5c446b43
 Starman / int_5e544ae6
type
We Come in Peace — Shoot to Kill
 Starman / int_5e544ae6
comment
We Come in Peace — Shoot to Kill: Played rather Anviliciously.
 Starman / int_5e544ae6
featureApplicability
1.0
 Starman / int_5e544ae6
featureConfidence
1.0
 Starman
hasFeature
Starman / int_5e544ae6
 Starman / int_61a78c5d
type
Male Restroom Etiquette
 Starman / int_61a78c5d
comment
Male Restroom Etiquette: Starman becomes quite interested in seeing a man use the urinal at a gas station's men's room, much to the man's annoyance.
 Starman / int_61a78c5d
featureApplicability
1.0
 Starman / int_61a78c5d
featureConfidence
1.0
 Starman
hasFeature
Starman / int_61a78c5d
 Starman / int_6b5a92dc
type
Uncanny Valley
 Starman / int_6b5a92dc
comment
Uncanny Valley: In-universe, Starman took on a human form at least partially to not scare humans. Unfortunately, his bizarre not-quite grasp of language, human customs, or even biological needs have a tendency to make him appear quite creepy.
 Starman / int_6b5a92dc
featureApplicability
1.0
 Starman / int_6b5a92dc
featureConfidence
1.0
 Starman
hasFeature
Starman / int_6b5a92dc
 Starman / int_8485d41a
type
Interspecies Romance
 Starman / int_8485d41a
comment
Interspecies Romance: Possibly a subversion as Starman in human form seems to be almost biologically indistinct from human - after all, he and Jenny managed to reproduce. Could be justified by his body, a copy of her husband, essentially being a clone that is just that biologically accurate.
 Starman / int_8485d41a
featureApplicability
1.0
 Starman / int_8485d41a
featureConfidence
1.0
 Starman
hasFeature
Starman / int_8485d41a
 Starman / int_84df9a79
type
Second-Face Smoke
 Starman / int_84df9a79
comment
Second-Face Smoke: Shermin does this to Fox after allowing Starman to escape.
 Starman / int_84df9a79
featureApplicability
1.0
 Starman / int_84df9a79
featureConfidence
1.0
 Starman
hasFeature
Starman / int_84df9a79
 Starman / int_868a972f
type
Quiet Cry for Help
 Starman / int_868a972f
comment
Quiet Cry for Help: Starman, having just formed, sends a nonverbal distress signal about being on an environmentally hostile planet. While Starman is compelling Jenny to drive him to Arizona, they make a rest stop at a filling station. Jenny scrawls a distress message with a pen and a paper towel, then sticks it to the mirror. Starman then inspects the ladies room and sees the message, but has to ask Jenny what "kidnapped" means.
 Starman / int_868a972f
featureApplicability
1.0
 Starman / int_868a972f
featureConfidence
1.0
 Starman
hasFeature
Starman / int_868a972f
 Starman / int_905438eb
type
Recycled IN SPACE!
 Starman / int_905438eb
comment
Recycled In Space: During its release, it was called ET The Extraterrestrial for adults!
 Starman / int_905438eb
featureApplicability
1.0
 Starman / int_905438eb
featureConfidence
1.0
 Starman
hasFeature
Starman / int_905438eb
 Starman / int_916c72b3
type
Rule of Symbolism
 Starman / int_916c72b3
comment
Rule of Symbolism: Many, not the least of which is the shot of Starman resurrecting a deer.
 Starman / int_916c72b3
featureApplicability
1.0
 Starman / int_916c72b3
featureConfidence
1.0
 Starman
hasFeature
Starman / int_916c72b3
 Starman / int_916ecb1
type
But I Can't Be Pregnant!
 Starman / int_916ecb1
comment
But I Can't Be Pregnant!: After he and Jenny made love on the train, Starman proclaims "I gave you a baby tonight." Jenny says that this is impossible because she is incapable of having a child. Starman explains that he used his powers to alleviate this.
 Starman / int_916ecb1
featureApplicability
1.0
 Starman / int_916ecb1
featureConfidence
1.0
 Starman
hasFeature
Starman / int_916ecb1
 Starman / int_a5f998ea
type
Stockholm Syndrome
 Starman / int_a5f998ea
comment
Stockholm Syndrome: Jenny starts out freaked out by Starman and thinks of herself as kidnapped, but this doesn't last long when she realizes that Starman is a wholly benevolent Energy Being that's just trying to get home.
 Starman / int_a5f998ea
featureApplicability
1.0
 Starman / int_a5f998ea
featureConfidence
1.0
 Starman
hasFeature
Starman / int_a5f998ea
 Starman / int_aa88f109
type
Humanity Is Infectious
 Starman / int_aa88f109
comment
Humanity Is Infectious: Taking on the form of a human has caused Starman to become more humanized over the course of the film.
 Starman / int_aa88f109
featureApplicability
1.0
 Starman / int_aa88f109
featureConfidence
1.0
 Starman
hasFeature
Starman / int_aa88f109
 Starman / int_ad641426
type
Trademark Favorite Food
 Starman / int_ad641426
comment
Trademark Favorite Food: Starman has quite a fondness for Dutch apple pie.
 Starman / int_ad641426
featureApplicability
1.0
 Starman / int_ad641426
featureConfidence
1.0
 Starman
hasFeature
Starman / int_ad641426
 Starman / int_af696bef
type
Fish out of Water
 Starman / int_af696bef
comment
Fish out of Water: Starman, obviously.
 Starman / int_af696bef
featureApplicability
1.0
 Starman / int_af696bef
featureConfidence
1.0
 Starman
hasFeature
Starman / int_af696bef
 Starman / int_b13bb418
type
Alien Among Us
 Starman / int_b13bb418
comment
Alien Among Us: The entire premise of the film is of an alien visiting Earth to study humanity, only for things to go to shit in the process.
 Starman / int_b13bb418
featureApplicability
1.0
 Starman / int_b13bb418
featureConfidence
1.0
 Starman
hasFeature
Starman / int_b13bb418
 Starman / int_b30dd522
type
Quizzical Tilt
 Starman / int_b30dd522
comment
Quizzical Tilt: Starman spends most of the movie this way given he is learning the human experience as he goes, and everything is therefore bewildering and confusing to him.
 Starman / int_b30dd522
featureApplicability
1.0
 Starman / int_b30dd522
featureConfidence
1.0
 Starman
hasFeature
Starman / int_b30dd522
 Starman / int_bf298865
type
Alien Autopsy
 Starman / int_bf298865
comment
Alien Autopsy: A live vivisection is what the military seems to have in store for Starman.
 Starman / int_bf298865
featureApplicability
1.0
 Starman / int_bf298865
featureConfidence
1.0
 Starman
hasFeature
Starman / int_bf298865
 Starman / int_c10da874
type
The '80s
 Starman / int_c10da874
comment
The '80s: Retconned to The '70s in the TV show so that Jenny's kid could be a teen in the contemporary 1980s.
 Starman / int_c10da874
featureApplicability
1.0
 Starman / int_c10da874
featureConfidence
1.0
 Starman
hasFeature
Starman / int_c10da874
 Starman / int_c3b51bb3
type
You Are Better Than You Think You Are
 Starman / int_c3b51bb3
comment
You Are Better Than You Think You Are: Starman's answer to his own question in the page quote: "You are at your very best when things are at their worst."
 Starman / int_c3b51bb3
featureApplicability
1.0
 Starman / int_c3b51bb3
featureConfidence
1.0
 Starman
hasFeature
Starman / int_c3b51bb3
 Starman / int_ca87e3ec
type
No Name Given
 Starman / int_ca87e3ec
comment
No Name Given: Starman never gives his name and is never referred to as anything, not even "Starman" (although that is how he's named in the credits).
 Starman / int_ca87e3ec
featureApplicability
1.0
 Starman / int_ca87e3ec
featureConfidence
1.0
 Starman
hasFeature
Starman / int_ca87e3ec
 Starman / int_dab2f3ee
type
Good Smoking, Evil Smoking
 Starman / int_dab2f3ee
comment
Good Smoking, Evil Smoking: Shermin blows smoke in Fox's face after arranging for Jenny and Starman to get away.
 Starman / int_dab2f3ee
featureApplicability
1.0
 Starman / int_dab2f3ee
featureConfidence
1.0
 Starman
hasFeature
Starman / int_dab2f3ee
 Starman / int_dcd29760
type
They Would Cut You Up
 Starman / int_dcd29760
comment
They Would Cut You Up: Jenny and Shermin's concerns of what awaits Starman if Fox catches him. Seeing as the military have an autopsy table with restraining straps waiting, their fear is justified.
 Starman / int_dcd29760
featureApplicability
1.0
 Starman / int_dcd29760
featureConfidence
1.0
 Starman
hasFeature
Starman / int_dcd29760
 Starman / int_e0207930
type
Humans Are Special
 Starman / int_e0207930
comment
Humans Are Special: Or at least one particular human... Starman states that humanity is special, because while his race have evolved to a state where they have no physical needs and no knowledge of violence or death, they feel they've lost something, and hope to regain it by studying these humans who are so different to themselves.
 Starman / int_e0207930
featureApplicability
1.0
 Starman / int_e0207930
featureConfidence
1.0
 Starman
hasFeature
Starman / int_e0207930
 Starman / int_e2ccee25
type
Animal Motifs
 Starman / int_e2ccee25
comment
Animal Motifs: Jeff Bridges studied ornithology and the behavior of birds to prepare for his role as an alien in human form. He particularly used the sudden jerky head movements, amongst other nuances and mannerisms, of birds. He figured that the alien would not have human characteristics and, being encased in a human body, would act with base primitive animal instincts.
 Starman / int_e2ccee25
featureApplicability
1.0
 Starman / int_e2ccee25
featureConfidence
1.0
 Starman
hasFeature
Starman / int_e2ccee25
 Starman / int_f4aeb714
type
Human Aliens
 Starman / int_f4aeb714
comment
Human Aliens: Averted. Starman takes on human form while on Earth, his natural form being a floating blob of light.
 Starman / int_f4aeb714
featureApplicability
-1.0
 Starman / int_f4aeb714
featureConfidence
1.0
 Starman
hasFeature
Starman / int_f4aeb714
 Starman / int_f6e10f3e
type
Big-Lipped Alligator Moment
 Starman / int_f6e10f3e
comment
Big-Lipped Alligator Moment: invoked Invoked in-universe, as Shermin learns: "He yelled 'Greetings!' and melted his lug wrench?!"
 Starman / int_f6e10f3e
featureApplicability
1.0
 Starman / int_f6e10f3e
featureConfidence
1.0
 Starman
hasFeature
Starman / int_f6e10f3e
 Starman / int_fe8a4ee2
type
Spheroid Dropship
 Starman / int_fe8a4ee2
comment
Spheroid Dropship: The ship that comes to pick up Starman at the end, which looks like a chrome-plated planet.
 Starman / int_fe8a4ee2
featureApplicability
1.0
 Starman / int_fe8a4ee2
featureConfidence
1.0
 Starman
hasFeature
Starman / int_fe8a4ee2
 Starman / int_fec81854
type
Sensory Overload
 Starman / int_fec81854
comment
Sensory Overload: Sweet food makes Starman swoon like a baby, and after having sex, he wears the goofiest grin possible.
 Starman / int_fec81854
featureApplicability
1.0
 Starman / int_fec81854
featureConfidence
1.0
 Starman
hasFeature
Starman / int_fec81854
 Starman / int_ff481077
type
Sci-Fi Writers Have No Sense of Scale
 Starman / int_ff481077
comment
Scifi Writers Have No Sense Of Scale: Averted. In the beginning Voyager II arrives at a "planet", leading the viewer to think this trope - there are no planets that look like that within the distance Voyager II traveled in the amount of timenote Voyager II barely left our solar system in 2018, however at the end of the film it is revealed that wasn't a planet, it was a starship.
 Starman / int_ff481077
featureApplicability
-1.0
 Starman / int_ff481077
featureConfidence
1.0
 Starman
hasFeature
Starman / int_ff481077
 Starman / int_name
type
ItemName
 Starman / int_name
comment
 Starman / int_name
featureApplicability
1.0
 Starman / int_name
featureConfidence
1.0
 Starman
hasFeature
Starman / int_name
 Starman / int_name
itemName
Starman

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

 StarMan
sameAs
Starman
 Starman
hasFeature
A Form You Are Comfortable With / int_9a354d0e
 Starman
hasFeature
Alien Works / int_9a354d0e
 Starman
hasFeature
Aliens Speaking English / int_9a354d0e
 Starman
hasFeature
Alternate Landmark History / int_9a354d0e
 Starman
hasFeature
But I Can't Be Pregnant! / int_9a354d0e
 Starman
hasFeature
Creator's Oddball / int_9a354d0e
 Starman
hasFeature
Doppelgänger Gets Same Sentiment / int_9a34d4ee
 Starman
hasFeature
Fictional Accent / int_9a354d0e
 Starman
hasFeature
Full-Name Basis / int_9a354d0e
 Starman
hasFeature
Good Smoking, Evil Smoking / int_9a354d0e
 Starman
hasFeature
Greasy Spoon / int_9a354d0e
 Starman
hasFeature
Happier Home Movie / int_9a354d0e
 Starman
hasFeature
Human Mom, Non-Human Dad / int_9a354d0e
 Starman
hasFeature
Humanity Is Infectious / int_9a354d0e
 Starman
hasFeature
Humans Are Special / int_9a354d0e
 Starman
hasFeature
Innocent Swearing / int_9a354d0e
 Starman
hasFeature
Intrigued by Humanity / int_9a354d0e
 Starman
hasFeature
Klingons Love Shakespeare / int_9a354d0e
 Starman
hasFeature
Life Imitates Art / int_9a354d0e
 Starman
hasFeature
Male Restroom Etiquette / int_9a354d0e
 Starman
hasFeature
No Social Skills / int_9a354d0e
 Starman
hasFeature
Pietà Plagiarism / int_9a354d0e
 Starman
hasFeature
Quiet Cry for Help / int_9a354d0e
 Starman
hasFeature
Quizzical Tilt / int_9a354d0e
 Starman
hasFeature
Recycled: The Series / int_9a354d0e
 Starman
hasFeature
Second-Face Smoke / int_9a354d0e
 Starman
hasFeature
Sinister Geometry / int_9a354d0e
 Starman
hasFeature
Spheroid Dropship / int_9a354d0e
 Starman
hasFeature
Sufficiently Advanced Alien / int_9a354d0e
 Starman
hasFeature
The Mountains of Illinois / int_9a354d0e
 Starman
hasFeature
They Would Cut You Up / int_9a354d0e
 Starman
hasFeature
Too Good for This Sinful Earth / int_9a354d0e
 Starman
hasFeature
We Come in Peace — Shoot to Kill / int_9a354d0e