Hey everyone,
You can find a list of commonly used science fiction story cliches (including racist, sexist ones to avoid using) at http://www.geocities.com/evilsnack/cliche.htm
The cliches range from the harmless ones that have been overused, to cliches that are scientifically impossible (with explanations of why they aren't scientifically possible) and bigoted cliches we should all avoid using.
Go read!