History Main / RubberForeheadAliens

* ''Manga/OutlawStar'': The C'tarl-C'tarl, are essentially {{Cat Girl}}s(and boys of course) from space. [[spoiler: ''Were''-Catgirls, as we later found out.]]

* While ''ComicBook/LesMondesDAldebaran'' features a huge variety of alien species, the only sapient aliens encountered so far look very much like humans, except that they are entirely hairless and have a flat nose reminiscent of a cat's muzzle (an impression reinforced by their yellow eyes and slit pupils). They do have a semi-aquatic life cycle, [[spoiler: much like the Mantrisses, who come from the same planet.]]

* Zaphod Beeblebrox in ''Literature/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy'' could be considered one. He looks perfectly human except for his extra head. In the movie, the head is implied to be artificial just like his third arm, but [[LiveActionAdaptation all versions]] of Zaphod's (and Ford's?) species seem to require more than two sexual partners to reproduce: "He shares three of the same mothers as me." Not to mention that such an arrangement could result in one black kid and one white kid, meaning skin tone must work more like hair color does for humans.

* Warhok and Warmonga, the [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy Proud Warrior Race]] aliens who appear in season four of ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'' are an animated version of this. They're nine feet tall and have green skin, but otherwise identical to humans.

* In ''Literature/{{Wasp}}'' by Eric Frank Russell, the Sirians are similar to humans, their most striking feature being their purple skin, a "bow-legged gait", and a number of other minor differences. This helps Mowry (a human) in passing as a Sirian without suspicions.

* Creator/CJCherryh's series ''Literature/{{Foreigner}}'' deals with the deceptively humanoid alien race known as the Atevi. While they look similar to us, they [[InhumanEmotion think]] very different than Humans.

* ''ComicBook/{{Invincible}}'': Every Viltrumites has black hair, and all Viltrumite men have mustaches, which makes it pretty easy to tell them apart from humans. (The young protagonist, who has a human mother, does not have a mustache.) [[spoiler:In fact, one character simply removed his fake beard, showing his Viltrumite mustache, in a pretty hilarious [[TheReveal reveal]].]]

* OlderThanFeudalism: The very first "science fiction" novel, ''Literature/TrueStory'' by the {{Ancient Rom|e}}an author Lucian, has rubber forehead aliens living on the Moon... and the Sun and several stars. A Moon-person looks basically human but has one toe on each foot, a marsupial pouch in his belly, a leaf growing out of his butt, and leaves for ears. They do have a lot of BizarreAlienBiology (removable eyes and genitals, hermaphroditic/all-male reproduction, the ability to grow people on trees, etc.)

Creator/GeneRoddenberry gave more reasons for this in an interview once. Budget constraints aside, if you try to make aliens look completely alien, you'll firstly make them look ridiculous (cf. ''Series/DoctorWho''), and secondly make it doubly hard for the actor playing the alien to do anything mildly resembling acting. This has actually been isolated to extremely specific requirements: if an audience can't see an actor's ''eyes'' or ''mouth'', their ability to empathize with or emotionally invest in that character is significantly impaired. If they can see neither, it's difficult to empathize with them at all. This is one reason why {{mooks}}, especially SF mooks like the [[Series/BattlestarGalactica1978 Cylons]] or the [[Franchise/StarWars Imperial Stormtroopers]], are so often uniformed in [[FacelessGoons face-obscuring helmets]]. While not totally undoable with the post TOS ''Star Trek'' budget, the flamboyant and outlandish alien designs of ''Franchise/StarWars'' appeal to a more pulp SpaceOpera aesthetic from which ''Star Trek'' has historically chosen to distance itself, at least onscreen; the expanded universe of comics and novels is a different beast. Additionally, Roddenberry had always insisted that ''Franchise/StarTrek'' was about human issues and that the aliens are intended as vehicles for social commentary. This required aliens that may have been scientifically implausible (humanoid appearance, ability to communicate in English and emote like humans, etc) but easy for the human characters to interact with and the audience to relate to in the narrative. Trek fans may assume that the pure hard science fiction adventures and alien encounters occur offscreen.

* The Kree, from ''Franchise/MarvelUniverse'', are extraterrestrials with two main races: the blue-skinned (such as Ronan the Accuser), and others who seem completely human (such as ComicBook/{{Captain Marvel|MarvelComics}} and [[ComicBook/YoungAvengers Marvel Boy]]). There's a little problem: the blue Krees are dominant in the Kree social hierarchy, and treat the others as worthless slaves. With such a background, [[FantasticRacism Ronan's original opinion of us humans]] is nobody's surprise. He eventually [[HeelFaceTurn got better]], up to and including marrying the human-looking Inhuman princess Crystal and defending her and her kind against other blue Kree who called them 'pink-skinned lab apes', and later becoming an ally to the Guardians of the Galaxy, but the social attitude still persists in other Kree.
* ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'':

** In ''[[ComicBook/Supergirl1982 Supergirl (Volume 2)]]'' issue #21, Franchise/{{Superman}} and ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} come upon the Seeders, basically humanoid but with pink skin, blue-hair and vaguely-feline features.

* ''Franchise/WonderWoman'':

* Tamaraneans such as Starfire of ''ComicBook/TeenTitans'' fame, are indistinguishable from humans, save the solid green eyes and gold/orange colored skin, yet are specifically stated to taxonomically be ''felines'' rather than apes. Anyway, Tamaranians look enough like humans that for a time, ComicBook/{{Starfire}} had a successful career as a fashion model.

* The Atlantines in ''ComicStrip/DanDare'' are human but with blue skin and a visible lump on the forehead. A nice subversion [[spoiler:later reveals that they are descendeats of people kidnapped from Earth aeons ago, and their differences from Earth people are adaptations that evolved to enable them to survive on Venus]].

* {{Lampshaded}} slightly in ''Fanfic/AChangedWorld'', based on ''VideoGame/StarTrekOnline''. Dr. Warragul Wirrpanda, USS ''Bajor'''s chief medical officer and a human, tells a time-shifted Bajoran that "the only significant difference between you and a female of my species is some uterine quirks. Now, Bolians, those are a real challenge."

* ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy'' has multiple examples among its main cast, to say nothing of ''hundreds'' of extras:

* Creator/CJCherryh's series ''Literature/{{Foreigner}}'' deals with the deceptively humanoid alien race known as the Atevi. While they look similar to us, they [[InhumanEmotion think]] very different then Humans.

* ''Series/AlienNation''. They're bald and their foreheads look like Mikhail Gorbachev's turned UpToEleven.

** One interpretation of "Eye of the Beholder". [[spoiler: It's revealed at the end that the doctors' snoutlike noses and enlarged upper lips are the norm, while the seemingly beautiful patient is considered hideously deformed. She may be a HumanAlien in a Rubber Forehead race.]]
* Kind of a given on the make up effects reality show Series/FaceOff. Though there are a few challenges where they are forced to come up with more unique designs, like the [[AlienAnimals Alien Zoo challenge]] and the [[ChromaKey Green Screen Alien challenge.]]

* Astaroth from ''VisualNovel/MarcoAndTheGalaxyDragon'' is an alien who looks like a bald, extremely muscular man with chalk-white skin and black sclera, and he has snake-like appendages growing from the base of his skull. This is in contrast to his daughter Haqua, who is a straight-up HumanAlien.

* [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy Starfire]] of the WesternAnimation/TeenTitans (and the rest of her race) has orange skin and BizarreAlienBiology (including superpowers), but looks entirely human otherwies.

* On ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice,'' Rannians are depicted this way, with pale yellow skin, pointed ears and, at least in Alanna's case, purple eyes. This is a change from the comic books, where they're HumanAliens.
* The Bortronians from ''WesternAnimation/ReadyJetGo'' resemble humans, but are all very stretchy, have thin faces, and wear space-suits.

* ''ComicBook/ElfQuest'': Elves are humans with pointy ears and four fingers. This is because their shapeshifting alien ancestors deliberately took on a human-resembling form before landing (they even reshaped their spaceship to look like a palace). But even before that (flashbacks), said ancestors already looked fairly human in shape, and would have qualified as HumanoidAliens at least.
* ''ComicBook/{{Invincible}}'': All Viltrumites have black hair, and all male Viltrumites have mustaches, which makes it pretty easy to tell them apart from humans. In fact, one character simply removed his fake beard, showing his Viltrumite mustache, in a pretty hilarious [[TheReveal reveal]].
* Harry Vanderspeigle, the protagonist of ''ComicBook/ResidentAlien'', is one. He has a similar physique to a human but has characteristics like purple skin and pointed ears to set him apart.

** ''ComicBook/LastDaughterOfKrypton'': Reign -who belongs to some unnamed alien species- is grey-skinned, her eyes' sclera is pitch-black, she lacks eyebrows, and her very flat and wide nose resembles a monkey's.
** In ''ComicBook/SupermanVsShazam'', [[BigBad Karmang]] is a Martian whose skin is completely chalk-white and hairless.

* Most Martian civilizations in ''ComicBook/WarlordOfMars'' are indistinguishable from humans except for their unusual skin tone and laying eggs instead of giving birth. The First-Born are grey skinned, the Okarans have golden-skin and the Red Martians are reddish-copper toned. The Therns are the closest to HumanAliens and the Green Martians [[HumanoidAliens are on way another level]].

* ''ComicBook/{{Hawkman}}'': Thanagarians look exactly like humans save for the giant wings sprouting from their backs.

* The Atlantines in ''ComicStrip/DanDare'' are human but with blue skin and a visible lump on the forehead. A nice subversion later reveals that they are actually human: the descendents of people kidnapped from Earth aeons ago, and their differences from Earth people are adaptations that evolved to enable them to survive on Venus.

* ''Film/ThisIslandEarth'''s aliens were similar to humans except for huge foreheads and white hair.

* ''Franchise/StarWars'' has a ''lot'' of humanoid aliens. The most human-like aliens are called [[http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Near-Human near-human]], and are considered to have descended from humans
** The blue-skinned, red-eyed but otherwise human Chiss are a typical example.

* The Psychlos in the book version of ''Literature/BattlefieldEarth'' are vaguely-described, but come across as big, hairy humans, save for inexplicable "eyebones" and "mouthbones" instead of eyelids or lips.

* The Classic SpaceOpera ''The Literature/{{Lensman}} Series'' had human, humanoid and utterly alien species. It also had a guiding sentient race that was controlling evolution on many different planets.

* In the original novel of ''Film/TheManWhoFellToEarth'', Thomas Newton is described as having albino-white, curly hair, fair, hairless skin, pale blue eyes, thin and long fingers, and an "elfin"-looking face with wide, "boyish"-looking eyes; but he only have 4 toes on each feet, no appendix and no wisdom tooth, and a more well-built respiratory system that makes him "impossible ... to develop hiccups".
* ''Literature/{{Wasp}}'': The Sirians are very similar to humans, their most striking feature being their purple skin, a "bow-legged gait", and a number of other minor differences. This helps Mowry (a human) in passing as a Sirian without suspicions.

* Some of the aliens in ''Series/DoctorWho'' fit in this category.
** Thals are essentially no different from humans other than bleach-blonde hair (with makeup-like facial markings in the Cushing movies). The Kaleds, encountered later, are all black-haired humanoids (until they became Daleks, anyway).
** Both the races in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS2E7TheSpaceMuseum "The Space Museum"]] — Moroks have exaggerated hairlines, while Xerons have a second set of eyebrows and heavily shadowed eyelids.

** The Teknix in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS3E4TheDaleksMasterPlan "The Daleks' Master Plan"]], which look human but have no hair or eyebrows.
** Dominators in "The Dominators" look like tall, dark-haired men, but all have sideburns, dark crags in their faces, and heavily red-rimmed eyes.
** The Inter Minoran bureaucrats in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS10E2CarnivalOfMonsters Carnival of Monsters]]" have grey skin and bald pates. ([[SpecialEffectFailure One slips off in the ending scene, if you're looking for it.]]) The Inter Minoran functionaries have snouts. The Lurmans have orange-toned skin.

** {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E10Midnight "Midnight"]], where two characters discuss meeting an alien with a large forehead.
** According to ''The Writer's Tale'', the aliens that were to become the [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E17E18TheEndOfTime Vinvocci]] were called the [[LampshadeHanging Prostheticons]] in the rough draft.
** The Kahler from [[Recap/DoctorWhoS33E3ATownCalledMercy "A Town Called Mercy"]] look almost completely human except for a rune-like birthmark on one side of their forehead. The Doctor exploits this: knowing that the cyborg-assassin AntiVillain is trying to avoid unnecessary civilian casualties, he paints the birthmark of his intended victim onto the faces of several humans and forces him to disable his auto-targeting software.

** The Unas are humans with scales, chin spikes, and only 4 fingers, which puts them more in the HumanoidAlien category.

The {{anime}} equivalent is the alien with PointyEars, [[FacialMarkings colorful facial markings]], [[AmazingTechnicolorPopulation chromatic skin tones]] (sometimes [[YouGottaHaveBlueHair hair too]], if Humans are restricted to normal colors), or [[LittleBitBeastly cutesy animal-like traits]].

* Used in ''Franchise/PowerRangers'' on those rare occasions when aliens aren't either people in full-body rubber suits or [[HumanAliens regular actors using a silly name]]. [[Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers Aquitians]], for example, have a purple... thing on their head (external braincase?), and [[Series/PowerRangersTimeForce Xybrians]] have [[YouGottaHaveBlueHair green hair]] and a gem embedded in their forehead.

* The Gems in ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'' generally look like human [[OneGenderRace women]] except for their [[AmazingTechnicolorPopulation skin tones]], [[YouGottaHaveBlueHair hair colors]], [[ImprobableHairstyle hairstyle]], and having a gemstone embedded somewhere in their bodies. That said, their figures are often drawn more exaggerated than humans, and the series increasingly shows types of gems [[HumanoidAliens that are still humanoid but with blatantly inhuman features]] (Nephrite is a {{Cyclops}} whose gem functions as an eye; Sapphires, Aquamarines, and Rutiles are TheNoseless; many types are inhumanly large or small), and that's before getting into [[FusionDance gem fusions]] which are generally larger, frequently possess ExtraEyes and [[MultiArmedAndDangerous limbs]], and sometimes only partially humanoid. Technically, their gemstones is their HeartDrive and ''actual'' form, while their bodies are a HardLight projection, so they can actually shape-shift at will as a result, meaning their normal shapes are preferred forms than anything else.

*** The same thing happened when the appearance of the Trill was retconned from their first appearance in ''TNG''. When the makeup was applied to Creator/TerryFarrell as she prepared to play Jadzia Dax on ''[=DS9=]'', even the minimal Bumpy Forehead they made for her was thought to obscure her beautiful features too much, so they toned it down still further to the leopard spots that became the appearance of all subsequent Trills. (The ''[=DS9=]'' novels eventually reconcile this and other differences with ''TNG'' by saying that they simply represent ethnic variations among the Trill humanoid species.)

*** The same thing happened when the appearance of the Trill was retconned from their first appearance in ''TNG'' as BumpyForeheadAliens. When the makeup was applied to Creator/TerryFarrell as she prepared to play Jadzia Dax on ''[=DS9=]'', even the minimal Bumpy Forehead they made for her was thought to obscure her beautiful features too much, so they toned it down still further to the leopard spots that became the appearance of all subsequent Trills. (The ''DS9'' novels eventually reconcile this and other differences with ''TNG'' by saying that they simply represent ethnic variations among the Trill humanoid species.)

** Lampshaded when the Bajoran Ro Laren, who has something of a chip on her shoulder, refers to herself as "the token bumpy-forehead". Behind the scenes, Bajoran makeup was specifically designed to be minimal so that the actress who played Ro would remain attractive.

* ''Series/TheTwilightZone'':

Creator/GeneRoddenberry gave more reasons for this in an interview once. Budget constraints aside, if you try to make aliens look completely alien, you'll firstly make them look ridiculous (cf. ''Series/DoctorWho''), and secondly make it doubly hard for the actor playing the alien to do anything mildly resembling acting. This has actually been isolated to extremely specific requirements: if an audience can't see an actor's ''eyes'' or ''mouth'', their ability to empathize with or emotionally invest in that character is significantly impaired. If they can see neither, it's difficult to empathize with them at all. This is one reason why {{mooks}}, especially SF mooks like the [[Series/BattlestarGalactica1978 Cylons]] or the [[Franchise/StarWars Imperial Stormtroopers]], are so often uniformed in [[FacelessGoons face-obscuring helmets]]. While not totally undoable with the post TOS ''Star Trek'' budget, the flamboyant and outlandish alien designs of ''Franchise/StarWars'' appeal to a more pulp SpaceOpera aesthetic from which ''Star Trek'' has historically chosen to distance itself, at least onscreen; the expanded universe of comics and novels is a different beast. Additionally, Roddenberry had always insisted that ''Franchise/StarTrek'' was about human issues and that the aliens are intended as vehicles for social commentary. This required aliens that may have been scientifically implausible (humanoid appearance, ability to communicate in English and emote like humans, etc) but easy for the human characters to interact with and the audience to relate to in the narrative. Trek fans may assume that the [[MohsScaleOfScienceFictionHardness pure hard SF adventures and alien encounters]] occur offscreen.

The next step past Rubber Forehead Aliens (catlike or buglike or lizardlike aliens that can still sit in chairs and hold weapons) is HumanoidAliens, possibly overlapping with {{Intelligent Gerbil}}s. Contrast with StarfishAliens. The UncannyValley can result if your RF Alien looks a little ''too'' human. Possible sister trope to BizarreAlienLimbs, if the make-up crew opts for weird rubber hands instead of facial appliances. A definite stster is PaletteSwappedAlienFood, where alien food looks like oddly-colored human food.

On a side note, [[https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2909963/ Bill Blair]] holds the [[Literature/GuinnessWorldRecords Guinness World Record]] for the most Rubber Forehead Aliens (202). His first science fiction makeup role was in ''Series/AlienNation'' and he never stopped. For starters, not only has he played in various ''Star Trek'' franchises as Cardassians, Jem'Hadar, Klingons, Borg and Vulcans (yes, all plural), but he has appeared in nearly every ''Series/BabylonFive'' episode as well as both movies. His credit on the show? [[HisNameReallyIsBarkeep "Alien Actor"]].

On a side note, [[https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2909963/ Bill Blair]] holds the [[Literature/GuinnessWorldRecords Guinness World Record]] for the most RubberForeheadAliens (202). His first science fiction makeup role was in ''Series/AlienNation'' and he never stopped. For starters, not only has he played in various ''Star Trek'' franchises as Cardassians, Jem'Hadar, Klingons, Borg and Vulcans (yes, all plural), but he has appeared in nearly every ''Series/BabylonFive'' episode as well as both movies. His credit on the show? [[HisNameReallyIsBarkeep "Alien Actor"]].

On a side note, [[https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2909963/ Bill Blair]]holds the [[Literature/GuinnessWorldRecords Guinness World Record]] for the most RubberForeheadAliens (202). His first science fiction makeup role was in ''Series/AlienNation'' and he never stopped. For starters, not only has he played in various ''Star Trek'' franchises as Cardassians, Jem'Hadar, Klingons, Borg and Vulcans (yes, all plural), but he has appeared in nearly every ''Series/BabylonFive'' episode as well as both movies. His credit on the show? [[HisNameReallyIsBarkeep "Alien Actor"]].

** [[TheDarkChick Nebula]], Gamora's adoptive sister, an originally purple-skinned, [[BaldWoman bald]] alien woman, now a {{cyborg}} with extensive areas of blue grafted synthetic skin.

* The Kree, from ''Franchise/MarvelUniverse'', are extraterrestrials with two main races: the blue-skinned (such as Ronan the Accuser), and others who seem completely human (such as ComicBook/CaptainMarVell and [[ComicBook/YoungAvengers Marvel Boy]]). There's a little problem: the blue Krees are dominant in the Kree social hierarchy, and treat the others as worthless slaves. With such a background, [[FantasticRacism Ronan's original opinion of us humans]] is nobody's surprise. He eventually [[HeelFaceTurn got better]], up to and including marrying the human-looking Inhuman princess Crystal and defending her and her kind against other blue Kree who called them 'pink-skinned lab apes', and later becoming an ally to the Guardians of the Galaxy, but the social attitude still persists in other Kree.

Creator/GeneRoddenberry gave more reasons for this in an interview once. Budget constraints aside, if you try to make aliens look completely alien, you'll firstly make them look ridiculous (cf. ''Series/DoctorWho''), and secondly make it doubly hard for the actor playing the alien to do anything mildly resembling acting. This has actually been isolated to extremely specific requirements: if an audience can't see an actor's ''eyes'' or ''mouth'', their ability to empathize with or emotionally invest in that character is significantly impaired. If they can see neither, it's difficult to empathize with them at all. This is one reason why {{mooks}}, especially SF mooks like the [[Series/BattlestarGalactica1978 Cylons]] or the [[Franchise/StarWars Imperial Stormtroopers]], are so often uniformed in [[FacelessGoons face-obscuring helmets]]. While not totally undoable with the post TOS ''Star Trek'' budget, the flamboyant and outlandish alien designs of ''StarWars'' appeal to a more pulp SpaceOpera aesthetic from which ''Star Trek'' has historically chosen to distance itself, at least onscreen; the expanded universe of comics and novels is a different beast. Additionally, Roddenberry had always insisted that ''Franchise/StarTrek'' was about human issues and that the aliens are intended as vehicles for social commentary. This required aliens that may have been scientifically implausible (humanoid appearance, ability to communicate in English and emote like humans, etc) but easy for the human characters to interact with and the audience to relate to in the narrative. Trek fans may assume that the [[MohsScaleOfScienceFictionHardness pure hard SF adventures and alien encounters]] occur offscreen.

* The Czarnians (''SelfDemonstrating/{{Lobo}}'''s species) were (or just barely ''are'', since Lobo is [[LastOfHisKind the last one]]) basically human except for red eyes, pale gray skin, and ''huge'' EightiesHair (usually black).

Creator/GeneRoddenberry gave more reasons for this in an interview once. Budget constraints aside, if you try to make aliens look completely alien, you'll firstly make them look ridiculous (cf. ''Series/DoctorWho''), and secondly make it doubly hard for the actor playing the alien to do anything mildly resembling acting. This has actually been isolated to extremely specific requirements: if an audience can't see an actor's ''eyes'' or ''mouth'', their ability to empathize with or emotionally invest in that character is significantly impaired. This is one reason why {{mooks}}, especially SF mooks like the [[Series/BattlestarGalactica1978 Cylons]] or the [[Franchise/StarWars Imperial Stormtroopers]], are so often uniformed in [[FacelessGoons face-obscuring helmets]]. While not totally undoable with the post TOS ''Star Trek'' budget, the flamboyant and outlandish alien designs of ''StarWars'' appeal to a more pulp SpaceOpera aesthetic from which ''Star Trek'' has historically chosen to distance itself, at least onscreen; the expanded universe of comics and novels is a different beast. Additionally, Roddenberry had always insisted that ''Franchise/StarTrek'' was about human issues and that the aliens are intended as vehicles for social commentary. This required aliens that may have been scientifically implausible (humanoid appearance, ability to communicate in English and emote like humans, etc) but easy for the human characters to interact with and the audience to relate to in the narrative. Trek fans may assume that the [[MohsScaleOfScienceFictionHardness pure hard SF adventures and alien encounters]] occur offscreen.

You'd think that alien species would be radically different -- insectoids, three-legged wombats, [[MegaNeko giant cats]], etc. -- but animal-cruelty laws tend to discourage fitting animals with prosthetics, and the effects budget only allows for latex and makeup, so we get humans with brow ridges, humans with extra nostrils, humans with PointyEars, humans with bony protrusions, and so on. (Of course, the makers of ''Franchise/StarWars'' found a way around this by building and operating startlingly lifelike puppets, making HumanoidAliens and StarfishAliens possible.) One odd consequence of this, however, is that in the Federation Council scenes in the ''Star Trek'' movies, you often see very strange, non-humanoid (or only partly humanoid) aliens, because the movies have the necessary additional budget for them. These additional races are, of course, never seen in the TV series at all.