h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Aristotle includes deus ex machina in his work "Poetics" as something the best plays of the 5th Century BCE avoided. This 4th Century BCE analysis of the plays of the previous century shaped many of our modern ideas of what makes good and bad theatre when it was rediscovered during the Renaissance and perverted into a sort of "Plays: The Greek Method" rulebook. Much of what Aristotle wrote still makes good sense today, but just because the Greeks couldn't handle writing a decent sub-plot doesn't mean nobody can.