Mystery
The hero has a haunted past.
It's never the obvious suspect.
Someone close to the hero ends up betraying him.
Usually ends with a final showdown between the protagonist and the bad guy.
Sometimes there is a race against time.
Being Knocked unconscious for plot convenience.
Having a relationship with alcohol.
A Sherlock Holmes expert mystery / famous detective.
The snitch gets killed at some point.
They always have to travel to some place outside their comfort zone.
The serial killer is brilliant and articulate.
Science Fiction
People with access to advanced weaponry will eventually end up using primitive stuff to survive.
Offworld exploration crew ends up with a deadly virus.
Every alien race has exactly one language, one culture, one belief system, one moral system, and also dress the same.
Humans from the future aren't much different in the way they think and their morality than people from the 20th century.
All humans are grouped under a single faction/alliance/ or federation.
A scientist unlocks a technology, goes against 'nature', and is then set back in his place, proving once and for all that humans can't play god.
Robots built to look like humans to complete tasks that could be more efficiently done by robots that look like anything that isn't a human.
Protagonists are not tempted by evil.
Giant alien is able to fit (or take the form of) a much smaller alien or human.
A common animal on earth turns out to be an alien race in disguise.
Security measures lock out the ship from badguys, but can easily be overridden by the protagonist.
The captain of the ship is always a pureblooded human.
Alien good guys always look human, alien bad guys usually look... well... alien.
The protagonist destroys the entire social or government structure of a planet, and is only resisted by a handful or people in charge.
Smaller aliens are usually furcovered, larger aliens are usually furless.
Futuristic weapons look exactly like their modern components, except they mated with an ipad.
Human technology is easily compatible with all alien technology.
Perfectly engineered super soldiers.
An entire society of pacifists with absolutely no means of protecting themselves.
Future tech is usually quite flashy and full of buttons.
Alien species usually look like humans, but with single trait changes.
The red shirt companion meant to die with no real backstory/personality.
Deus Ex Machina solutions, usually using science sound Jargon.
Advanced alien species hate humans and see them as savages. So much for enlightened.
Reconstructing a new person from DNA restores all memories and learned skills.
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