Humans on TV - alien interpretations

We've been beaming television signals into space since the 50s. Eventually, those signals are going to get to some interesting places in space that aliens inhabit. My question is - what the heck will the aliens think of us based on our television shows? We have problems with what other cultures on earth think of us based on our television shows!

Will they think we're friendly? Ready to invade their sector of space? Oversexed? Looking for alien romance? Ignorant and primative? Violent criminals?

What the heck will they think of us after watching television?

What about when they get all the UFO special documentary's from the history channel. Haha

Heh, It depends on what they see, and how they weigh it.

For instance, if they saw cops, lets hope they understand its law enforcement doing its job, rather than some twisted game show. Or if its a game show, like fear factor, lets hope they understand its a game show instead of a comming of age contest. Or what about the news, especially war coverage. They'd know that we are nothing more than warring tribes a long way off of unification.

In other words, I think it depends with a higher likelyhood of a negative reaction on their part.

they will be like who the fudge is "i love lucy?"

What will they think about My Favorite Martian, or In Search Of ... (UFOs)?

If I see an alien and the first thing it asks is "Who shot JR?" I swear I'll freak!

AWAAS,

There's a movie made just to answer that question:

it's called Galaxy Quest....

and it's quite the critic's favorite

here's a typical review for ya

Galaxy Quest review 1

The premise of this movie intrigued me from the very first time I heard about it. A group of out-of-work-actors from an old Star Trek-type television show (Galaxy Quest) are mistaken for actual intergalactic travelers by real-life aliens and recruited to help the space people conquer some actual other-worldly bad guys.

The movie proved to be even better than I expected.

The pathetic actors are forced to spend their time attending Galaxy Quest conventions and the openings of electronic super stores. Tim Allen (studly and pathetic at the same time) is the commander of the ship and the only actor still seeming to enjoy his notoriety. Sigourney Weaver is the sole female crew member and proves she is a fantastic comic actress. Hung over, Tim travels with the aliens on a first voyage, thinking it is another promotional appearance. Upon returning, he realizes it's all very real and tells his cast mates about his adventure. They don't believe him, of course, but when the aliens return for additional help, the whole group goes, thinking Tim is going to a gig on his own.

The aliens have watched every episode of the TV program and believe them to be historical documents. Their ship is an exact duplicate of that from the show. The space people expect the crew to know how to operate the ship. In fact, the only people who truly know about the ship are some teenage geeks from a Galaxy Quest convention. (That was a touch of brilliance.)

here's another

second Galaxy Quest review

For four seasons, from 1979 to 1982, the crew of the NSEA Protector donned their uniforms and set out on thrilling and often dangerous missions in space-then their TV series was canceled. Nearly twenty years later, the five stars of the classic sci-fi series "Galaxy Quest" are still in costume, making appearances at science fiction conventions for legions of faithful fans ... but some of those fans have a little too much faith!

The Thermians, a race of aliens from the Klatu Nebula, have mistaken intercepted television transmissions of the show for "historical documents." Arriving on earth, they whisk "Commander Peter Quincy Taggart" and his crew into space to help them defeat an all-too-real and very deadly adversary.

With no script, no director, and no clue about real space travel, the actors have to turn in the performances of their lives to become the heroes the Thermians believe them to be.

and here's a few more

Galaxy Quest reviews

nice question

They won't think. Or feel. They will understand.

And they will pull the trigger.

Just like that.

What if they see the news shows, they'd be too scared to come down here because of all the killings and disasters.

Mostly, it depends on when they'll catch those signals...

Unless some spaceship is close and can read them, decode them into a sequence of pictures, and understand it...

If no spaceship close to here can do that, they'll receive the signals, likely, in a few hundreds, thousands, millions maybe of years... By then, those broadcasts would be totally outdated, and liley not useful for them.

By the time aliens recieve signals from us, we humans will be long gone, or extremmeley different and diverse.

By the time aliens relay signals to us, same thing. Assuming there ARE aliens.

And assuming they actualy pick up our signals.

And aassuming our signals actually reach them.

And assuming they know what signals are.

I'm just imagining the aliens trying to track down Melmac, Ork, Cardassia, Hoth, Endor, etc. and contact the "natives"

"Galaxy Quest" is a great take on this by the way.....

Originally posted by AWingAndASigh
What will they think about My Favorite Martian, or In Search Of ... (UFOs)?

If I see an alien and the first thing it asks is "Who shot JR?" I swear I'll freak!

Ha Ha!! Yeah, that would be somewhat of a let down for their first words.
I think they would be completely fascinated by it all! Can you imagine if we were to pick up Alien TV shows one night, and saw all this completely out-there stuff from outer space!? I for one would be engrossed by it! They would maybe be the same.

I tend to like the way the movie "Contact" had it.
The first TV signals were of a warlike nature. If an alien species were to be able to capture then decipher the signals, their first impression of the human race would be one that they may interpet as us being a race that needs to be wiped out before we contaminated the universe.

Add to that, if they were to capture the radio signals that were broadcasted out before TV, they would agin think that we are either extremely warlike (and will most likely wipe ourselves out) or that we were crazy. Remember the "War of the Worlds" broadcast or the radio dramas, comedies which we sent out willy-nilly.

Or they'll see Mork and Mindy and assume that the only aliens we'll tolerate are idiots. The dumbing down of space for the benefit of humans - why does that sound so right on the money?

I can see the first encounter now - nanoo, nanoo!

among the first TV broadcasts were coverage of the nazi/hitler marches, right? now yes they will understand that is not fiction and as for the fiction, they would still wonder why the heck humans get off on blood, violence massacre, carnage so much.

yet aren't that physically nor intelligently strong. so we are broadcasting our insecurity/weak spot to them for them to come take advantage of sooner or later. Earth might be slash-burn clean slate and repopulated with a more efficient, productive sentient race. than a frail, diseased one driven by entertainment, humor, and material/physical indulgence, greed, extiction and ecological destruction.

i mean, who in their right mind poisons the land they live off of?

and theres alot of flics with killing, dissecting aliens upon first contact.

hey, ET, free examination! @@: