11 sci-fi stories that show what goes wrong if you sleep too much
Most of us get pretty cranky without enough sleep—and Healthy Week at NBC Universal is here to remind us that sleep is a good thing, But there is such a thing as too much sleep, especially in sci-fi. Sadly, that's where these folks come in.
The old cliche of a main character falling into a coma or coma-like state is pretty common in fiction, and has been done to death more than a few times. But there are a few coma story lines that still pack a punch.
Sleep is healthy, folks, but too much sleep ... not so much. Let's try to keep everything in moderation. If not, well, you might just end up like some of these guys.
[Warning: Spoilers ahead!]
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The Matrix
After the robots have enslaved humanity, they keep us all in a coma-like state to use us as giant human batteries. But, at least we have the fictional world of The Matrix to keep us distracted.
Angel
Late in its run, the popular Buffy The Vampire Slayer spin-off introduced a coma storyline surrounding popular character Cordelia (Charisma Carpenter), who winds up in a coma-like state for a several episode arc after giving birth to a higher being who tries to take over the world.
The Dead Zone
Stephen Kingâs classic coma tale has been adapted into both a film, and long-running cable series. It focuses on average-joe Johnny Smith, who falls into a coma for several years following an accident. When he wakes up? He now has premonitions that show him the future/past of individuals.
Walking Dead
Getting shot in the line of duty as a police officer would suck. Finally waking up, and finding the world has been overrun with zombies? That would suck a lot more. Luckily, Rick Grimes keeps his wits about him and eventually tracks down his family in the post-apocalypse.
Coma
This recent A&E miniseries, based on a previous film and book of the same name, followed a grand conspiracy where scientists were experimenting on patients in comas and performing grotesque experiments on them.
Kill Bill
This kick ass sword-fighting assassin gets knocked into a coma, but she uses all that time to plot her revenge. Once she finally wakes (and regains control of her atrophied muscles) The Bride is on the prowl for vengeance.
Vanilla Sky
A grossly under-appreciated mind freak, Vanilla Sky focuses on a surreal tale of a man forced to decide between his fantasies and reality. Turns out, the protagonist is in a coma after trying to kill himself, and the entire world around him is a screwed up lucid dream that malfunctioned.
The Cell
Arguably the most surreal film on this list, The Cell mostly takes place in peopleâs subconscious minds, after scientists develop a way to interact with coma patients. It doesnât make a lot of sense, but itâs worth the price of admission for the visuals alone.
28 Days Later
If the zombie apocalypse does hit, the safest place to be might actually be a coma. Jim (Cillian Murphy) wakes up to find London a surreal, deserted wasteland... with zombies.
Insidious
Little kids are always kind of creepy in horror movies, even moreso when theyâre possessed. The tiny tot in Insidious falls into an apparent coma, but it turns out to be some evil spirits are hitching a ride on him.
John Carter
In this classic literary tale by Edgar Rice Burroughs, and the recent good-but-failed film based on it, the namesake protagonist is transported to an amazing alien world of Mars when his body is in a coma-like state on Earth.
