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* ''{{Animorphs}}'': Rachel morphs a crocodile but finds out they can't use stairs. Normally she'd just demorph, but there are people watching.
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* The robot Claptrap in ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands}}''. In the second game, this is pointed out, and the player is forced to use a crane to hoist him. Averted in ''Videogame/BorderlandsThePreSequel'', in which Claptrap is playable, the justification being that Handsome Jack installed a special wheel on him.
to:
* The robot Claptrap in ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands}}''. In the second game, this is pointed out, and the player is forced to use a crane to hoist him. Averted in ''Videogame/BorderlandsThePreSequel'', in which Claptrap is playable, the justification being that Handsome Jack installed a special wheel on him.him that he removed once he destroyed the entire Claptrap line of robots.
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-->'''Professor X:''' Though, some obstacles are more irritating than others.
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* The robot Claptrap in ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands}}''. In the second game, this is pointed out, and the player is forced to use a crane to hoist him. Averted in ''Videogame/BorderlandsThePreSequel'', in which Claptrap is playable, the justification being that Handsome Jack installed stair climbing software into him.
to:
* The robot Claptrap in ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands}}''. In the second game, this is pointed out, and the player is forced to use a crane to hoist him. Averted in ''Videogame/BorderlandsThePreSequel'', in which Claptrap is playable, the justification being that Handsome Jack installed stair climbing software into a special wheel on him.
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-->-- '''[[OneWheeledWonder Claptrap]]''', [[VideoGame/BorderLands2 Borderlands 2]]
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-->-- '''[[OneWheeledWonder Claptrap]]''', [[VideoGame/BorderLands2 Borderlands 2]]
VideoGame/{{Borderlands 2}}
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* The robot Claptrap in ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands}}''. In the second game, this is pointed out, and the player is forced to use a crane to hoist him.
to:
* The robot Claptrap in ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands}}''. In the second game, this is pointed out, and the player is forced to use a crane to hoist him. Averted in ''Videogame/BorderlandsThePreSequel'', in which Claptrap is playable, the justification being that Handsome Jack installed stair climbing software into him.
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[[quoteright:266:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/but_the_robot_with_wheels_got_up_just_fine_9306.png]]
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[[quoteright:266:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/but_the_robot_with_wheels_got_up_just_fine_9306.png]]
[[caption-width-right:266:"I always take the elevator. I don't have any stair drivers installed."]]
[[caption-width-right:266:"I always take the elevator. I don't have any stair drivers installed."]]
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* Classic ''TabletopGame/{{Traveller}}'' Adventure 2 ''Research Station Gamma''. The animal care, janitorial and security robots cannot climb stairs because their movement systems won't allow it. They have to use the station elevator instead.
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->''"There's no stopping us now, Minion! Together, we shall free Pandora! I will lead you into battle! I will destroy Handsome Jack with my bare hands! I will.... Stairs? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!''"
to:
->''"There's no stopping us now, Minion! Together, we shall free Pandora! I will lead you into battle! I will destroy Handsome Jack with my bare hands! I will.... Stairs? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!''"[[BigNo NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO]]!''"
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** A related joke is that ''[[NoTrueScotsman real]]'' Daleks don't climb stairs, they level the building.
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* In [[https://what-if.xkcd.com/5/ one post of]] ''Blog/WhatIf'', written by the creator of ''{{Webcomic/XKCD}}'', the question of the week is: "What if there was a robot apocalypse? How long would humanity last?" According to the writer, current robots not only wouldn't be able to chase us upstairs, but might not even be able to get over the threshold of ''a door''.
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* In ''Literature/HaloContactHarvest'', Maccabeus the Brute expresses mirth at watching [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy Elites]] attempt to use ladders, due to their backwards-facing knees.
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->''"There's no stopping us now, [[PlayerCharacter Minion!]] Together, we shall free Pandora! I will lead you into battle! I will destroy [[BigBad Handsome Jack]] with my bare hands! I will.... Stairs? [[BigNo NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!]]''"
to:
->''"There's no stopping us now, [[PlayerCharacter Minion!]] Minion! Together, we shall free Pandora! I will lead you into battle! I will destroy [[BigBad Handsome Jack]] Jack with my bare hands! I will.... Stairs? [[BigNo NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!]]''"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!''"
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-->-- '''[[OneWheeledWonder Claptrap]]''', [[VideoGame/BorderLands2]]
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-->-- '''[[OneWheeledWonder Claptrap]]''', [[VideoGame/BorderLands2]]
[[VideoGame/BorderLands2 Borderlands 2]]
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-->-- '''[[VideoGame/BorderLands2 Claptrap]]''' encounters his one weakness.
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-->-- '''[[VideoGame/BorderLands2 Claptrap]]''' encounters his one weakness.
'''[[OneWheeledWonder Claptrap]]''', [[VideoGame/BorderLands2]]
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-->-- '''[[VideoGame/BorderLands2 Claptrap]]''' encounters his one weakness.''
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-->-- '''[[VideoGame/BorderLands2 Claptrap]]''' encounters his one weakness.''
weakness.
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-->-- '''[[VideoGame/BorderLands_2 Claptrap]]''' encounters his one weakness.''
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-->-- '''[[VideoGame/BorderLands_2 '''[[VideoGame/BorderLands2 Claptrap]]''' encounters his one weakness.''
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-->-- '''[[VideoGame/BorderLands 2 Claptrap]]''' encounters his one weakness.''
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-->-- '''[[VideoGame/BorderLands 2 '''[[VideoGame/BorderLands_2 Claptrap]]''' encounters his one weakness.''
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-->-- '''[[VideoGame/Borderlands2 Claptrap]]''' encounters his one weakness.''
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-->-- '''[[VideoGame/Borderlands2 '''[[VideoGame/BorderLands 2 Claptrap]]''' encounters his one weakness.''
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->''"There's no stopping us now, [[PlayerCharacter Minion!]] Together, we shall free Pandora! I will lead you into battle! I will destroy [[BigBad Handsome Jack]] with my bare hands! I will.... Stairs? [[BigNo NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!]]''"
-->-- '''[[VideoGame/Borderlands2 Claptrap]]''' encounters his one weakness.''
-->-- '''[[VideoGame/Borderlands2 Claptrap]]''' encounters his one weakness.''
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* A plot point in Rudy Rucker's book, The Hacker and the Ants, was the extreme difficulty in designing a robot to handle stairs.
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** {{Enforced|Trope}} {{subverted|Trope}} in "Dalek", where the Doctor tells folks the pursuing Dalek won't be able to follow them up the stairs. The Dalek announces "EL-E-VATE!" and begins levitating up them. This was put in after one of the writers asked his girlfriend why she thought the Daleks made rather pathetic villains in the original show, and she told him how easy they were to foil.
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** {{Enforced|Trope}} {{subverted|Trope}} in "Dalek", where the Doctor Rose tells folks the pursuing Dalek won't be able to follow them up the stairs. The Dalek announces "EL-E-VATE!" and begins levitating up them. This was put in after one of the writers asked his girlfriend why she thought the Daleks made rather pathetic villains in the original show, and she told him how easy they were to foil.
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** Subverted, however, in "Remembrance of the Daleks." The first episode cliffhanger was the Doctor fleeing up the stairs and thinking he was safe from the Dalek chasing him, only for him to start levitating up the stairs after him.
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** Subverted, however, in "Remembrance of the Daleks." The first episode cliffhanger was the Doctor fleeing up the stairs and thinking he was safe from the Dalek chasing him, only for him it to start levitating up the stairs after him.
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A subtrope of WeaksauceWeakness
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A subtrope of WeaksauceWeakness
WeaksauceWeakness.
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A subtrope of WeaksauceWeakness.
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A subtrope of WeaksauceWeakness.WeaksauceWeakness
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* [[http://loltubes.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Professor-X-has-one-weakness.jpg Lampshaded]] in ''ComicBook/UltimateXMen''; Mister Sinister refers to stairs as "Charles Xavier's one weakness" directly before [[StaircaseTumble dumping him out of his wheelchair and down some]].
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* The ED-209 in ''Franchise/{{Robocop}}''. [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] in-story, as it was a poorly-conceived design in several ways, which is why the project was abandoned in favor of the titular character.
* Averted in-story, but in full force in RealLife, on the set of ''Franchise/StarWars''. In ''Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack'', [=C3PO=] technically couldn't use the stairs, and the filmmakers "cheated" by having the human characters walk down, the camera would lose 3PO for a second, and he'd rejoin them from behind once they passed the stairs. ''Film/AttackOfTheClones'' shows [=R2D2=] getting slowed down by Naboo city steps, but he still manages to keep up with the humans. Also see the ''VideoGame/LegoStarWars'' example in Video Games below.
* Averted in-story, but in full force in RealLife, on the set of ''Franchise/StarWars''. In ''Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack'', [=C3PO=] technically couldn't use the stairs, and the filmmakers "cheated" by having the human characters walk down, the camera would lose 3PO for a second, and he'd rejoin them from behind once they passed the stairs. ''Film/AttackOfTheClones'' shows [=R2D2=] getting slowed down by Naboo city steps, but he still manages to keep up with the humans. Also see the ''VideoGame/LegoStarWars'' example in Video Games below.
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* In ''Film/TheWolfOfWallStreet'', Jordan Belfort has to descend a flight of stairs while so high on quaaludes that he's crawling on the ground. He rolls himself down the stairs.
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Examples:
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!!Examples:
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[[/folder]]
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----
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* Elderly people who are beginning to lose their mobility are likely to have trouble climbing more than moderate flights of stairs.
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* [[http://loltubes.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Professor-X-has-one-weakness.jpg Lampshaded]] in ''Comics/UltimateXMen''; Mister Sinister refers to stairs as "Charles Xavier's one weakness" directly before [[StaircaseTumble dumping him out of his wheelchair and down some]].
to:
* [[http://loltubes.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Professor-X-has-one-weakness.jpg Lampshaded]] in ''Comics/UltimateXMen''; ''ComicBook/UltimateXMen''; Mister Sinister refers to stairs as "Charles Xavier's one weakness" directly before [[StaircaseTumble dumping him out of his wheelchair and down some]].
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Stairs are one of the oldest human inventions, and one that tends to be suited uniquely to a creature with multipedal locomotion using legs of roughly human length. Creatures with differing forms of locomotion sometimes have... trouble with them. Hence this trope.
For some reason this is often the case with hostile robots, but it's not required to be either hostile or a robot to count as this trope, just a creature or device that logically will often be called upon to deal with stairs, yet has a great deal of trouble navigating them.
Bonus points if the creature [[TooDumbToLive attempts to navigate the stairs anyway]], resulting in a StaircaseTumble. Extra bonus points if it is actually destroyed in the resulting fall, or disabled so thoroughly that TheHero can dispatch it at his leisure.
A subtrope of WeaksauceWeakness.
Examples:
[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder:Comics]]
* [[http://loltubes.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Professor-X-has-one-weakness.jpg Lampshaded]] in ''Comics/UltimateXMen''; Mister Sinister refers to stairs as "Charles Xavier's one weakness" directly before [[StaircaseTumble dumping him out of his wheelchair and down some]].
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Film]]
* The ED-209 in ''Franchise/{{Robocop}}''. [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] in-story, as it was a poorly-conceived design in several ways, which is why the project was abandoned in favor of the titular character.
* Averted in-story, but in full force in RealLife, on the set of ''Franchise/StarWars''. In ''Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack'', [=C3PO=] technically couldn't use the stairs, and the filmmakers "cheated" by having the human characters walk down, the camera would lose 3PO for a second, and he'd rejoin them from behind once they passed the stairs. ''Film/AttackOfTheClones'' shows [=R2D2=] getting slowed down by Naboo city steps, but he still manages to keep up with the humans. Also see the ''VideoGame/LegoStarWars'' example in Video Games below.
* In ''Film/TheWolfOfWallStreet'', Jordan Belfort has to descend a flight of stairs while so high on quaaludes that he's crawling on the ground. He rolls himself down the stairs.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Literature]]
*The anti-heroic TortureTechnician Inquisitor Glotka in ''Literature/TheFirstLaw'', was himself [[BeingTorturedMakesYouEvil previously the victim of debilitating torture]], with the result that while he can use stairs, it causes him agonizing pain, since his torturers smashed bones in his legs and feet and cut off his toes. He jokes to himself that if he could torture any man, it would be the inventor of stairs (and that if he could shake the hands of any man, it would be the inventor of chairs).
* The Golem King in Terry Pratchett's ''Literature/FeetOfClay''. Golems are invulnerable unstoppable robotic killing machines created by an alchemical marriage of magic and pottery. There is just one drawback: they are far too heavy for a normal set of stairs to take without collapsing.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Live Action TV]]
* A RunningGag about the Daleks in ''Series/DoctorWho''.
** Subverted, however, in "Remembrance of the Daleks." The first episode cliffhanger was the Doctor fleeing up the stairs and thinking he was safe from the Dalek chasing him, only for him to start levitating up the stairs after him.
** {{Enforced|Trope}} {{subverted|Trope}} in "Dalek", where the Doctor tells folks the pursuing Dalek won't be able to follow them up the stairs. The Dalek announces "EL-E-VATE!" and begins levitating up them. This was put in after one of the writers asked his girlfriend why she thought the Daleks made rather pathetic villains in the original show, and she told him how easy they were to foil.
[[/folder]]
%% [[folder: New Media]]
%% * [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DIPYeOIXV4#t=3m00s Dachsunds With Erections Can't Climb Stairs]]
%% [[/folder]]
[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
* ''TabletopGame/{{Paranoia}}'' supplement ''Acute Paranoia''. The Playing Robots chapter allowed the creation of robot {{PC}}s. One of the movement options was "wheels", and the text noted that robots with wheels couldn't go up stairs.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Video Games]]
* The robot Claptrap in ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands}}''. In the second game, this is pointed out, and the player is forced to use a crane to hoist him.
* The Star Wars examples under Film above actually get carried over into the ''VideoGame/LegoStarWars'' games where droid characters like [=C3PO=] can't jump or navigate stairs Many levels have sections that require the player to go through an elaborate puzzle solving process in order to move the droids across the area that the human characters can easily jump or climb a staircase to access.
* In ''VideoGame/PokemonXAndY'' this is why you can't make off with the Skiddo at the place where you can ride them. They jump ledges but can't do the stairs just outside the broken fence area.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Webcomics]]
* In ''Webcomic/{{Freefall}}'', Qwerty the robot [[http://freefall.purrsia.com/ff400/fv00320.htm never learned to use stairs]]. Dvorak (who rolls on wheels) somehow got up, but Qwerty (who walks on legs) can't use stairs.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Western Animation]]
* On ''WesternAnimation/{{Pelswick}}'', the school bully picks on Pelswick as the favored target, [[EvenEvilHasStandards but knows he can't use physical force on a kid in a wheelchair]] and opts toward psychological abuse. One of his methods was to jump on top of a staircase so Pelswick couldn't follow.
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' episode "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS11E9GriftOfTheMagi Grift of the Magi]]", Bart injures himself and is forced to use a wheelchair. He finds it difficult to enter the school due to the stairs, since Principal Skinner [[NoOSHACompliance can't afford a ramp system]]. Enter Fat Tony of the Springfield Mafia, who offers to build one with his construction outfit, "Valdezzo Bros. Olive Oil". By the time an inauguration ceremony is held for the needlessly complex ramp system, Bart's suddenly healed enough to have no more use of the wheelchair, rendering the whole effort a waste. Skinner pats a ramp in confidence that at least they're ready for "the new millennium", only for the whole ramp system to collapse. It turns out it was built out of breadsticks, paint, and shellac. The mob has conned the school out of $200,000, resulting in its closure.
* PlayedForLaughs in ''WesternAnimation/XMenEvolution'' when Professor X (who is, famously, paralyzed from the waist down) talks to Jean about overcoming limitations... and then finds himself at the top of a staircase.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Real Life]]
* The Roomba. Justified considering how costly it would be to engineer that ability into them. Some of the more advanced models can at least be programmed to avoid them.
* Wheelchairs. Fortunately, various workarounds exist.
* Racing greyhounds have to be stair-trained after retirement, because being caged means they don't learn as puppies.
* It is commonly said that cows can go up stairs, but they can't go down stairs, due to the design of their knees. This is only partially true; cows ''can'' go down stairs, but not very long ones or they lose their balance. Many other ungulates such as sheep and horses hate stairs for the same reason, and thus are reluctant to use them.
[[/folder]]
For some reason this is often the case with hostile robots, but it's not required to be either hostile or a robot to count as this trope, just a creature or device that logically will often be called upon to deal with stairs, yet has a great deal of trouble navigating them.
Bonus points if the creature [[TooDumbToLive attempts to navigate the stairs anyway]], resulting in a StaircaseTumble. Extra bonus points if it is actually destroyed in the resulting fall, or disabled so thoroughly that TheHero can dispatch it at his leisure.
A subtrope of WeaksauceWeakness.
Examples:
[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder:Comics]]
* [[http://loltubes.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Professor-X-has-one-weakness.jpg Lampshaded]] in ''Comics/UltimateXMen''; Mister Sinister refers to stairs as "Charles Xavier's one weakness" directly before [[StaircaseTumble dumping him out of his wheelchair and down some]].
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Film]]
* The ED-209 in ''Franchise/{{Robocop}}''. [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] in-story, as it was a poorly-conceived design in several ways, which is why the project was abandoned in favor of the titular character.
* Averted in-story, but in full force in RealLife, on the set of ''Franchise/StarWars''. In ''Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack'', [=C3PO=] technically couldn't use the stairs, and the filmmakers "cheated" by having the human characters walk down, the camera would lose 3PO for a second, and he'd rejoin them from behind once they passed the stairs. ''Film/AttackOfTheClones'' shows [=R2D2=] getting slowed down by Naboo city steps, but he still manages to keep up with the humans. Also see the ''VideoGame/LegoStarWars'' example in Video Games below.
* In ''Film/TheWolfOfWallStreet'', Jordan Belfort has to descend a flight of stairs while so high on quaaludes that he's crawling on the ground. He rolls himself down the stairs.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Literature]]
*The anti-heroic TortureTechnician Inquisitor Glotka in ''Literature/TheFirstLaw'', was himself [[BeingTorturedMakesYouEvil previously the victim of debilitating torture]], with the result that while he can use stairs, it causes him agonizing pain, since his torturers smashed bones in his legs and feet and cut off his toes. He jokes to himself that if he could torture any man, it would be the inventor of stairs (and that if he could shake the hands of any man, it would be the inventor of chairs).
* The Golem King in Terry Pratchett's ''Literature/FeetOfClay''. Golems are invulnerable unstoppable robotic killing machines created by an alchemical marriage of magic and pottery. There is just one drawback: they are far too heavy for a normal set of stairs to take without collapsing.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Live Action TV]]
* A RunningGag about the Daleks in ''Series/DoctorWho''.
** Subverted, however, in "Remembrance of the Daleks." The first episode cliffhanger was the Doctor fleeing up the stairs and thinking he was safe from the Dalek chasing him, only for him to start levitating up the stairs after him.
** {{Enforced|Trope}} {{subverted|Trope}} in "Dalek", where the Doctor tells folks the pursuing Dalek won't be able to follow them up the stairs. The Dalek announces "EL-E-VATE!" and begins levitating up them. This was put in after one of the writers asked his girlfriend why she thought the Daleks made rather pathetic villains in the original show, and she told him how easy they were to foil.
[[/folder]]
%% [[folder: New Media]]
%% * [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DIPYeOIXV4#t=3m00s Dachsunds With Erections Can't Climb Stairs]]
%% [[/folder]]
[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
* ''TabletopGame/{{Paranoia}}'' supplement ''Acute Paranoia''. The Playing Robots chapter allowed the creation of robot {{PC}}s. One of the movement options was "wheels", and the text noted that robots with wheels couldn't go up stairs.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Video Games]]
* The robot Claptrap in ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands}}''. In the second game, this is pointed out, and the player is forced to use a crane to hoist him.
* The Star Wars examples under Film above actually get carried over into the ''VideoGame/LegoStarWars'' games where droid characters like [=C3PO=] can't jump or navigate stairs Many levels have sections that require the player to go through an elaborate puzzle solving process in order to move the droids across the area that the human characters can easily jump or climb a staircase to access.
* In ''VideoGame/PokemonXAndY'' this is why you can't make off with the Skiddo at the place where you can ride them. They jump ledges but can't do the stairs just outside the broken fence area.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Webcomics]]
* In ''Webcomic/{{Freefall}}'', Qwerty the robot [[http://freefall.purrsia.com/ff400/fv00320.htm never learned to use stairs]]. Dvorak (who rolls on wheels) somehow got up, but Qwerty (who walks on legs) can't use stairs.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Western Animation]]
* On ''WesternAnimation/{{Pelswick}}'', the school bully picks on Pelswick as the favored target, [[EvenEvilHasStandards but knows he can't use physical force on a kid in a wheelchair]] and opts toward psychological abuse. One of his methods was to jump on top of a staircase so Pelswick couldn't follow.
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' episode "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS11E9GriftOfTheMagi Grift of the Magi]]", Bart injures himself and is forced to use a wheelchair. He finds it difficult to enter the school due to the stairs, since Principal Skinner [[NoOSHACompliance can't afford a ramp system]]. Enter Fat Tony of the Springfield Mafia, who offers to build one with his construction outfit, "Valdezzo Bros. Olive Oil". By the time an inauguration ceremony is held for the needlessly complex ramp system, Bart's suddenly healed enough to have no more use of the wheelchair, rendering the whole effort a waste. Skinner pats a ramp in confidence that at least they're ready for "the new millennium", only for the whole ramp system to collapse. It turns out it was built out of breadsticks, paint, and shellac. The mob has conned the school out of $200,000, resulting in its closure.
* PlayedForLaughs in ''WesternAnimation/XMenEvolution'' when Professor X (who is, famously, paralyzed from the waist down) talks to Jean about overcoming limitations... and then finds himself at the top of a staircase.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Real Life]]
* The Roomba. Justified considering how costly it would be to engineer that ability into them. Some of the more advanced models can at least be programmed to avoid them.
* Wheelchairs. Fortunately, various workarounds exist.
* Racing greyhounds have to be stair-trained after retirement, because being caged means they don't learn as puppies.
* It is commonly said that cows can go up stairs, but they can't go down stairs, due to the design of their knees. This is only partially true; cows ''can'' go down stairs, but not very long ones or they lose their balance. Many other ungulates such as sheep and horses hate stairs for the same reason, and thus are reluctant to use them.
[[/folder]]
