History Main / MistakenForAliens

** In another episode, Kahn's nephew (who only speaks Laotian) arrives in Arlen and meets Dale. From his eccentric clothing, high-tech car and saying "Arlen" as "Ay-len", Dale thinks he's an alien and agrees to get in what he believes is a spaceship and leave Earth. Then he sees that the car's clock is in military time, displaying 20:48, which he thinks actually is the year, causing Dale to think that he's a time traveler instead (which is somehow worse than him being an alien) and tries to escape the car, only to knock himself out while trying to do so.

->''"Mars and Venus?! You mean he thinks we're from--"''
-->-- '''Charlie Bucket''', ''Literature/CharlieAndTheGreatGlassElevator''

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* ''Manga/FrankenFran'' helps an actress who has fallen for a male lead who is obsessed with anime features, and wants to star opposite him in live-action adaptations. She insists on ever more extensive surgery but fails to take Fran's advice at the hazards in her rush to bed the actor, and cosmetically falls to pieces. He flees in terror, then goes on so many talk shows raving about Grays trying to abduct him that he doesn't get any more roles.
* A running gag in ''Manga/SquidGirl'' - [[HotScientist Cindy Campbell]] and her [[StupidScientist colleagues]] are convinced that [[CuteMonsterGirl Ika Musume]] is from outer space, and they would very much like her to [[TheyWouldCutYouUp visit their laboratory]].

* The Comicbook/{{Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles|Mirage}} do this on purpose in the third Mirage comics volume; aliens having openly made contact with Earth, it's apparently easier for people to accept that than homemade mutant freaks.

* In ''Go to Mars'', ''Creator/AbbottAndCostello'' land an experimental rocket ship in New Orleans, and the locals' large papier-mâché Mardi Gras costumes convince them that they've landed on Mars.
* PlayedForLaughs in ''Film/TheAvengers2012'' where Bruce Banner as the Hulk falls on a warehouse, half-destroys it and becomes human again. There, he speaks to an old man, a security guard, who believes Bruce is some sort of alien. The security guard is played by Harry Dean Stanton, [[ActorAllusion who was in]] ''Film/{{Alien}}''.

%%* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnJatP5Ebu8 This scene]] from ''Film/{{Eraser}}''.
* In ''Film/BigGame'', the first question Oskari asks Moore is what planet he's from, and the second is whether he comes in peace. While the escape pod does look like a space capsule, it has big USAF written on it, which should tip the kid off.

* In Creator/SpiderRobinson's ''The Free Lunch'', when the protagonists notice that there's something very odd about some of the attendees at the theme park where they live, their initial deduction is aliens. [[AuthorAppeal This being Spider Robinson]], however, they're actually time travellers.
* ''Take Me to Your President'' by Leonard Wibberley was about a fellow nicknamed "A-1" from a small British town called Mars, who accidentally got loaded into an experimental rocket. When it landed somewhere other than it was expected to, and he came out wearing the space suit he'd found and saying he was from Mars, well....
* In Amy Thomson's ''Literature/TheColorOfDistance'' has the protagonist, Dr. Juna Saari, spend five years among the alien Tendu, who give her a moist color-changing skin and internal linings that keep her hair from growing and help with the planet's aversion to NoBiochemicalBarriers. When humanity comes back to pick her up, the first contact is with a suited man who thinks she's one of the Tendu, and she plays along for a bit before saying "I believe the line is 'Dr. Livingston, I presume?'"
* Christine Peacock sees mysterious lights in a field near the vicarage in ''[[Literature/AuntDimity Aunt Dimity Digs In]]'', and she's convinced she saw aliens land there. She's even more convinced when a circle of trampled-down grass is found on the spot the next morning. In fact, [[spoiler: Sally Pyne and one of the archaeology students were exercising there at night, mostly because Sally was embarrassed to be seen exercising]].

* Weirdly inverted in 1895 science fiction novel ''Journey to Mars''[[labelnote:Full Title]]''Journey to Mars the Wonderful World: Its Beauty and Splendor; Its Mighty Races and Kingdoms; Its Final Doom''[[/labelnote]] by Gustavus W. Pope. When the protagonist sees Martians for the first time, he mistakes them for inhabitants of [[HollowWorld the land inside the earth's core]] (note that the existence of such a land was [[ScienceMarchesOn still considered possible by scientists at the time of writing]], and the concept of extraterrestrials was still relatively obscure even in fiction).
* Depending on your definition of "another world", the fact Rincewind twice (''Literature/{{Eric}}'' and ''Literature/TheLastContinent'') appears in a summoning circle and is therefore assumed to be a demon probably counts.

* "Tomorrow is Yesterday" from ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries''.
* ''Series/DoctorWho'': In the 50th anniversary special, when the Tenth Doctor is tracking down a [[VoluntaryShapeshifting shapeshifting]] Zygon through the woods, he comes across a large rabbit. He says he's not fooled and begins to give a BadassBoast, realizing midway through that it's a harmless Earth rabbit.

* In ''Series/TheAddamsFamily'' episode "[[Recap/TheAddamsFamilyS1E27TheAddamsFamilyAndTheSpaceman The Addams Family and the Spaceman]]", the Addams are mistaken for aliens by the military, who approach them claiming to wish peace and asking them lots of questions. As a consequence, The Addams believe the army men are aliens as well because of the crazy coincidences.
* In the episode "Consequences," of ''Series/{{CSINY}}'', an urban paintball player is mistaken for an alien by a schizophrenic woman. She thinks the green paint dripping down his gear is his blood. He gets caught in the BearTrap she had set in the alley to catch aliens and spends most of the episode in her bathtub.
* [[Series/StargateSG1 SG-1]] deliberately invokes this when they're stranded in 1969, presumably figuring that it's a quicker explanation than the actual one. The main reason was to avoid paradox. (Although that didn't stop Jack from going by the names of fictional characters, some of whom already existed and others didn't, but [[RuleOfFunny who cares]]? They didn't want to [[ButterflyOfDoom endanger the Stargate program by accident]].
* Subverted in ''Series/{{Community}}'': Abed plans to 'mess with' Troy by using the classic sitcom set up for this, except that he didn't fool Troy for a second.
* Done in the ''Series/{{Torchwood}}'' episode "Countrycide", where the team thinks that some aliens are responsible for disappearances and attacks. Turns out, it's a bunch of [[IAmAHumanitarian humanitarians]].

* On ''Series/ILoveLucy'', Lucy accidentally gets a large racing trophy stuck to her head. Unable to see or get it off, she enlists Ethel to help her, necessitating a trip downtown to get some oil. They take the subway, Lucy wearing a veil in an unsuccessful attempt to look normal. At one stop, Lucy gets caught up in a crowd and ends up separated from Ethel and dragged off the train, losing her veil. Stumbling around blindly, Lucy asks a nearby man where she is. The man replies, "You're on Earth!" in a terrified voice before running for it.

* Played straight and then subverted in [[https://bobadventures.thecomicseries.com/comics/162/ this]] strip from ''Webcomic/TheInexplicableAdventuresOfBob.''

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': A crossover with ''Series/TheXFiles'', "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS8E10TheSpringfieldFiles The Springfield Files]]" features Homer reporting an alien sighting. It turns out the whole time it was Mr. Burns, who was mistaken for an alien from the results of the various dubious medical treatments he undergoes and glowing green in the dark, a side effect of working at the nuclear power plant.
* Bloo mistakes Cheese for an alien in an episode of ''WesternAnimation/FostersHomeForImaginaryFriends''.
* ''WesternAnimation/SpongebobSquarepants'' had an episode with them using Sandy's rocket to land "on the moon" (actually they circle around the moon and land back in Bikini Bottom) and go to hunt "moon clone aliens" which look exactly like their friends on earth.
* An episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheMask'' animated series featured a government agent and a scientist mistaking The Mask for a hostile alien due to a series of coincidences (not that it's hard to mistake him as such in the first place...)
-->'''Agent''': Hmm...Subject has green skin. Imagine! Just like in the funny papers!
* Inverted and played straight in one episode of ''WesternAnimation/VivaPinata''. Fergie Fudgehog is conned onto going onto a defective rocket ship that crashes. When he comes out, his foggy helmet makes his friends look like aliens to him, and it makes him look like an alien to his friends! Needless to say, {{Hilarity Ensues}}.
* The ''WesternAnimation/HeyArnold'' Halloween episode. Also doubles as a ParodyEpisode due to all the ''Creator/OrsonWelles'' references.
* In ''The Santa Claus Brothers'', one of the elves is mistaken for an alien.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' episode "[[Recap/SouthParkS3E13StarvinMarvinInSpace Starvin' Marvin in Space]]", the people of Australia thought Marvin was an alien. To be fair, he ''did'' emerge from a spaceship.

* The ''WesternAnimation/GoofTroop'' episode "Close Encounters of the Weird Mime" had Goofy's attempts at taking up mime and Max and PJ's attempt at making a home sci-fi movie collide hilariously when the boys accidentally broadcast their video of aliens threatening the Earth.
* One episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheFlintstones'' has Fred and Barney trying to help a pop-music group that has an "alien" gimmick get to the concert, at the same time that the radio announcer uses an overly-cryptic ad warning people "The Way-Outs are coming!" in a ''Radio/WarOfTheWorlds''-style fashion, and ''this'' makes the rest of Bedrock pull out the TorchesAndPitchforks (he releases a retraction explaining that it was just a joke when the cops come barging into the studio and JustInTime to prevent said angry crowd from setting Fred and his friends on fire).
* In the ''WesternAnimation/DextersLaboratory'' episode "Smells Like Victory", an experiment gone wrong leaves Dexter's lab all smelly and dirty, which leads to a paranoid general mistaking it for a ground base for "evil filthy aliens". Meanwhile, Dexter is convinced by a garbled transmission that the safety-mask-wearing soldiers busting into his lab are the evil filthy aliens.
* Invoked in the ''WesternAnimation/MillyMolly'' episode "Aunt Maude is an Alien". The two titular girls, in order to teach a rude boy Humphrey a "lesson", lie to him that the grumpy neighbourhood lady Aunt Maude is an alien.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Gasp}}'': In "Alien Trash", Gasp leads a mission to the backyard to make peace with the aliens in the new spaceship...that turns out to be a worm farm.
* ''WesternAnimation/GetAce'': In the first episode, Ace's little sister Becky concludes that he's an alien impostor after witnessing him do weird things throughout the episode ([[HowDoIShotWeb which is him getting used to his new superpowered braces]]). Throughout the series, Becky tries to probe Ace or record his powers on video in order to prove that he's an alien, sometimes even believing that other people are aliens as well. She never considers any other possible explanation for Ace's strange powers, probably due to her pre-existing fixation with extraterrestrials. In one episode, Becky works with an alien hunter to help capture her brother, who turns out to be a real alien in the end (unbeknownst to her). So aliens ''do'' exist, but she's totally wrong about every person she believes to be one, and when a real extraterrestrial shows up, she's completely oblivious.

* The ''WesternAnimation/{{Daria}}'' episode "The Lawndale Files" is largely based on this. Some [[MenInBlack mysterious government agents]] coming to the school, plus various characters acting odd for various reasons, make Daria and Jane start to low-key wonder if aliens are invading, even though they both know that's ridiculous. Meanwhile, other characters misinterpret their comments to think that ''they're'' aliens.
-->'''Daria:''' No, I'm not saying [[LovableAlphaBitch Quinn]]'s an evil space creature.\\
'''Jane:''' Oh, go ahead. It sounds so cool.
* Toward the end of ''WesternAnimation/TheLittleRascals'' episode "Rascals' Revenge", Butch and Woim, believing themselves to have been sent to the moon, panic at the sight of Pete, whom Darla had disguised as a moon creature.
-->'''Butch:''' We're surrounded by aliens!
* ''WesternAnimation/KingOfTheHill'': Done twice by the show's resident ConspiracyTheorist Dale Gribble.
** In the episode "Of Mice and Little Green Men", Dale finally figures out why [[ChocolateBaby his son is very different-looking from him]] and why his wife was able to conceive a child during his absence... aliens impregnated her! Believing his son Joseph is a half-alien hybrid, Dale gives him whatever he wants so that the aliens will spare his life in the oncoming invasion. Joseph, not being the sharpest tool in the shed either, also starts believing this and decides to run away to rejoin his "real" alien family. After that's resolved, Dale convinces himself that the aliens abducted him beforehand and used his DNA to artificially inseminate his wife.
** In another episode, Kahn's nephew (who only speaks Laotian) arrives in Arlen and meets Dale. From his eccentric clothing, high-tech car and saying "Arlen" as "Ay-len", Dale thinks he's an alien and agrees to get in what he believes is a spaceship and leave Earth. Then he sees that the car's clock is in military time, displaying 20:48, which he thinks actually is the year, causing Dale to think that he's a time traveler instead (which is somehow worse than him being an alien) and tries to escape the car, only to knock himself out while trying to do so.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'' special ''WesternAnimation/{{Wishology}}'' had Timmy Turner mistaken for being an alien by the agents of M.E.R.F. on the basis that there's no record of his existence (because Jorgen Von Strangle wiped everyone's memory of Timmy in a misguided attempt to protect Timmy from the Eliminators) and he is being followed around by an army of killer robots (the aforementioned Eliminators).

* Similarly, when John Glenn was orbiting in the Friendship 7 in 1962, the mission planners weren't exactly sure where the capsule would land - somewhere near Australia, as in any part of Australia or the surrounding oceans or islands for a pretty far distance. Glenn was worried what the aboriginal Australians might think when seeing a man in silver emerge from something that fell from the sky so he took a short speech with him rendered phonetically: "I am a stranger. I come in peace. Take me to your leader, and there will be a massive reward for you in eternity."

* An InvokedTrope in TheNineties remake of ''Series/TheProfessionals''. A former ColdWar scientist is selling control of a laser-armed KillSat. To obfuscate his testing and demonstration of the weapon for an ArmsDealer he's selling it to, he has a couple of his men spread stories of UFO's. In the end everyone gets their just deserts, including the arms dealer who's arrested by [=CI5=] for being an [[IncrediblyLamePun illegal alien]].

** In another episode, Kahn's nephew (who only speaks Laotian) arrives in Arlen and meets Dale. From his eccentric clothing, high-tech car and saying "Arlen" as "Ay-len", Dale thinks he's an alien and agrees to get in what he believes is a spaceship and leave Earth. Then he sees that the car's clock is in military time, displaying 20:48, which he thinks actually is the year, causing Dale to think that he's a time traveler instead (which is somehow worse than him being an alien) and tries to escape the car, only to get knocked out.

** In another episode, Kahn's nephew (who only speaks Laotian) arrives in Arlen and meets Dale. From his eccentric clothing, high-tech car and saying "Arlen" as "Ah-len", Dale thinks he's an alien and agrees to get in what he believes is a spaceship and leave Earth. Then he sees that the car's clock is in military time, displaying 20:48, which he thinks actually is the year, causing Dale to think that he's a time traveler instead (which is somehow worse than him being an alien) and tries to escape the car, only to get knocked out.

-->'''Troop leader:''' "Excuse me, ma'am. Can you tell us where we are?"
-->'''Woman:''' "Earth!" ''(slams door in their faces)''

* ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'' special ''WesternAnimation/{{Wishology}}'' had Timmy Turner mistaken for being an alien by the agents of M.E.R.F. on the basis that there's no record of his existence (because Jorgen Von Strangle wiped everyone's memory of Timmy in a misguided attempt to protect Timmy from the Eliminators) and is being followed around by an army of killer robots (the aforementioned Eliminators).

* An InvokedTrope in TheNineties remake of ''Series/TheProfessionals''. A former ColdWar scientist is selling control of a laser KillSat, and to cover up his testing firings and demonstrations for an ArmsDealer he's selling it to, he has a couple of his men spread stories of UFO's to obfuscate what's happening. In the end everyone gets their just deserts, including the arms dealer who's [[IncrediblyLamePun charged with being an illegal alien]].

* Allegedly happened to an SAS troop doing a training exercise involving a High Altitude Low Opening parachute jump. Having landed in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night, they walked up to the nearest farmhouse to get directions. A woman opened the door and found herself facing several tall beings dressed head-to-toe in black including oxygen masks and blinking formation lights.

* ''WesternAnimation/GetAce'': In the first episode, Ace's little sister Becky concludes that he's an alien impostor after witnessing him do weird things throughout the episode ([[HowDoIShotWeb which is him getting used to his new superpowered braces]]). Throughout the series, Becky tries to probe Ace or record his powers on video in order to prove that he's an alien, sometimes even believing that other people are aliens as well. She never considers any other possible explanation for Ace's strange powers, probably due to her pre-existing fixation with extraterrestrials. In one episode, Becky works with an alien hunter to help capture her brother, who turns out to be a real alien in the end (unbeknownst to her). So aliens ''do'' exist, but she's totally wrong about every person she believes to be one and when a real extraterrestrial shows up, she's completely oblivious.

* After UsefulNotes/YuriGagarin became the first human to enter space and return successfully, a woman who saw his capsule land asked him "Can it be that you have come from outer space?" He replied [[http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Yuri_Gagarin "As a matter of fact, I have!"]]

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnJatP5Ebu8 This scene]] from ''Film/{{Eraser}}''.

* An episode of WesternAnimation/{{Gargoyles}} has an actual alien think the title characters are also aliens.

* ''WesternAnimation/ArthurChristmas'': One of the running sub-plots is NORAD mistaking the old, steampunk sled of Grandpa Claus for a UFO, and at the climax Grandpa and Arthur have to fend off a bunch of fighters deployed by the military in an attempt at stopping a Christmastime "AlienInvasion".

* ''WesternAnimation/GetAce'': In the first episode, Ace's little sister Becky concludes that he's an alien impostor after witnessing him do weird things throughout the episode ([[HowDoIShotWeb which is him getting used to his new superpowered braces]]). Throughout the series, Becky tries to probe Ace or record his powers on video in order to prove that he's an alien, sometimes even believing that other people are aliens as well. She never considers any other possible explanation for Ace's strange powers, probably due to her pre-existing fixation with extraterrestrials. In one episode, Becky works with an alien hunter to help capture her brother, who turns out to be a real alien in the end (unbeknownst to her). So aliens ''do'' exist, but she's totally wrong about every person she believes to be one and when a real extraterrestrial shows up, she's totally oblivious.

* Played straight and then subverted in [[http://bobadventures.comicgenesis.com/d/20070717.html this]] strip from ''Webcomic/TheInexplicableAdventuresOfBob.''

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* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'':
** The Winchesters visit a small town where people claim to have been abducted by aliens. It turns out they are faeries, who are exploiting belief in aliens as a cover.
** More than once, the Winchesters interview a witness who assumes the supernatural creature or event they assume it was aliens.