History Main / CantUseStairs

* ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings'': The Gag Reel for ''Film/TheFellowshipOfTheRing'' reveals this about Christopher Lee's Saruman [[RobeAndWizardHat costume]].

* The B-plot of one episode of ''Series/HillStreetBlues'' revolves around Officers Bates, Coffee, Hill and Renko becoming probably the first [[NoCommunitiesWereHarmed not-Chicaco-we-swear]] cops in living memory to arrest a genuine cattle rustler after finding a very large steer in a fourth-floor apartment, and then having to figure out how to get the damn thing back to ground level so they can return it to its rightful owners. The police department eventually have to hire a crane.

[[folder:Webcomics]]

* The wheelchair-bound [[TheWoobie Tavros]] from ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'' needs to get to the top of his house, so [[{{Jerkass}} Vriska]] builds a system of staircases for him. [[BullyingTheDisabled Then she repeatedly pushes him into the bottom stair and tells him to apologize for being paralyzed, which is also her fault to begin with.]] [[MoralityChain Kanaya]] eventually convinces her to build a rocket car for him, at least.

* A RunningGag about the Daleks in ''Series/DoctorWho''.

* 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. It comes up again in the final mission [[spoiler:where this very weakness keeps him from joining you in the final battle against Jack]].

** A related joke is that ''[[NoTrueScotsman real]]'' Daleks don't climb stairs, they level the building.

** In ''Film/TheForceAwakens'', BB-8 has difficulty managing a long flight of steps, although he manages to roll down them one at a time with difficulty. 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. In ''Film/TheForceAwakens'' BB-8 has difficulty managing a long flight of steps, although he manages to roll down them one at a time with difficulty. Also, see the ''VideoGame/LegoStarWars'' example in Video Games below.
* The Gag Reel for ''Film/TheFellowshipOfTheRing'' reveals this about Christopher Lee's Saruman [[RobeAndWizardHat costume]]

* 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).

* A plot point in Creator/RudyRucker's book, ''The Hacker and the Ants'', was the extreme difficulty in designing a robot to handle stairs.

* ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'':
** Rachel morphs a crocodile but finds out they can't use stairs. Normally she'd just demorph, but there are people watching.
** At one point Jake morphs into a rhino and has some understandable problems using stairs without breaking them.

[[folder:Web Comics]]
* In ''Webcomic/{{Lackadaisy}}'', when the bar is attacked by some angry pig farmers, Viktor who is outside at the start tries to get back in through the cellar, but due to having been recently kneecapped, finds he can't handle the stairs. Ivy finds him just sitting on the top step.

* 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''.

%%* ''WesternAnimation/HeyArnold'': Seven words: "Stoop Kid's afraid to leave the stoop!"

* ''WesternAnimation/RobotChicken'' had a multi-part sketch where [[Film/ShortCircuit Johnny 5]] is DrivenToSuicide when he can't ascend the stairs to the basement he came alive in.

* The wheelchair-bound [[TheWoobie Tavros]] from ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'' needs to get to the top of his house, so [[{{Jerkass}} Vriska]] builds a system of staircases for him. [[{{Jerkass}} Then she repeatedly pushes him into the bottom stair and tells him to apologize for being paralyzed, which is also her fault to begin with.]] [[MoralityChain Kanaya]] eventually convinces her to build a rocket car for him, at least.

** {{Subverted|Trope}}, however, in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS25E1RemembranceOfTheDaleks Remembrance of the Daleks]]." The first episode cliffhanger has the Seventh Doctor fleeing up the stairs and thinking he was safe from the Dalek chasing him, only for it to start levitating up the stairs after him.

* [[MemeticMutation Famously]], the ED-209 in ''Film/RoboCop1987'', ostensibly built for urban law enforcement, was designed without the ability to navigate a simple staircase. {{Justified|Trope}} in-story, as it was ''intentionally'' a poorly-conceived design in several ways, which is why the project was abandoned in favor of the titular character.

* [[MemeticMutation Famously]], the ED-209 in ''Film/RoboCop1987'', ostensibly built for urban law enforcement, was designed without the ability to navigate a simple staircase. {{Justified|Trope}} 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.

** Referenced directly onscreen by the Doctor in "Destiny of the Daleks" as he taunts a Dalek to try and follow him up the stairs.
** {{Subverted|Trope}}, 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 it to start levitating up the stairs after him.
** {{Enforced|Trope}} and subverted in "Dalek", where 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.

** Averted in ''VideoGame/BorderlandsThePreSequel'', in which Claptrap is playable, the justification being that Handsome Jack installed a special wheel on him that he removed once he destroyed the entire Claptrap line of robots.

* 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. In ''Film/TheForceAwakens'' BB-8 has difficulty managing a long flight of steps, although he manages to roll down them one at a time with difficulty. Also see the ''VideoGame/LegoStarWars'' example in Video Games below.

* In Vadim Shefner's story ''Debtor's shanty'', metamorphants are very dangerous creatures which devastated almost all their planet; their flaw was inability of passing by any roughness, but since stairs were not invented on the planet (inhabitated by HumanAliens, so it's strange, though justified for them having very different psychology), this was not exploited until terrestrials arrived.

* In ''Literature/HaloContactHarvest'', Maccabeus the Brute expresses mirth at watching [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy Elites]] attempt to use ladders, due to their backwards-facing knees.

** Referenced directly on screen by the Doctor in "Destiny of the Daleks" as he taunts a Dalek to try and follow him up the stairs.
** {{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 it to start levitating up the stairs after him.
** {{Enforced}} and subverted in "Dalek", where 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.

* One song by British comedy songwriter Les Barker is entitles "Dachshunds With Erections Can't Climb Stairs".

* In the fandom for ''Tabletopgame/{{Warhammer40000}}'', it's commonly joked that the 7 to 10 foot tall SuperSoldier Space Marines cannot use stairs because their enormous PoweredArmor boots can't physically fit on stairs built for humans. Official art depicting the Space Marines gets around the issue by giving all Imperial buildings [[UnnecessarilyLargeInterior ridiculously huge architecture]] with stairs two meters long per step. Tactical Dreadnought marines get around the issue by just teleporting up or down.

** Averted in ''Videogame/BorderlandsThePreSequel'', in which Claptrap is playable, the justification being that Handsome Jack installed a special wheel on him that he removed once he destroyed the entire Claptrap line of robots.
* The ''Star Wars'' examples under Film above actually get carried over into the ''VideoGame/LegoStarWars'' games where protocol 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.

* 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.

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASoCJTYgYB0 Honda's Asimo]] proves this by falling down a set of steps in this Youtube video.

* A plot point in Rudy Rucker's book, The Hacker and the Ants, was the extreme difficulty in designing a robot to handle stairs.

* The parapalegic Professor X in ''ComicBook/UltimateXMen'', as {{lampshaded}} by [[{{Jerkass}} Mr. Sinister]]; Sinister refers to stairs as "Charles Xavier's one weakness" directly before [[StaircaseTumble dumping him out of his wheelchair and down some]].

* 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.

* Those with arthritis or other joint issues, if knees or hips are affecting, tend to find the extra joint flexing involved in stairs rather painful.

* ''WesternAnimation/HeyArnold'': Seven words: "Stoop Kid's afraid to leave the stoop!"

* 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 that he removed once he destroyed the entire Claptrap line of robots.