# I need hard science fiction and fantasy trivia quesstions **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 11, 2020, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-hard-science-fiction-and-fantasy-trivia-quesstions/847762 "2020-02-11T03:32:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2020, 8:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-hard-science-fiction-and-fantasy-trivia-quesstions/847762/21 "2020-02-11T08:12:15Z")
James Doohan was in an episode of _ **Twilight Zone** _ with an actress who would later play an important role on _ **Dallas** _. Name her. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2020, 8:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-hard-science-fiction-and-fantasy-trivia-quesstions/847762/22 "2020-02-11T08:35:51Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Nitpick: Life, not live. Thought I corrected that–the phone already changed it once. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2020, 8:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-hard-science-fiction-and-fantasy-trivia-quesstions/847762/23 "2020-02-11T08:40:46Z")
Complete these lines in _ **Plan 9 from Outer Space** _: “Imagine a \_\_\_\_ \_\_ \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ is your Sun” and “Now go on. Take off into your \_\_\_\_\_ \_\_\_\_\_ \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_.” ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2020, 8:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-hard-science-fiction-and-fantasy-trivia-quesstions/847762/24 "2020-02-11T08:50:26Z")
One of the actors featured in \*\*\*Robinson Crusoe on Mars \*\*\*would go on to become an iconic TV star of the '60s. Name him. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2020, 9:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-hard-science-fiction-and-fantasy-trivia-quesstions/847762/25 "2020-02-11T09:12:11Z")
A really hard one: What is the SF connection between _ **Mr Ed** _, _ **Star Trek** _, and _ **Family Affair** _? ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2020, 9:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-hard-science-fiction-and-fantasy-trivia-quesstions/847762/26 "2020-02-11T09:30:53Z")
Easy one: On _ **Star Trek** _, what did the various fixtures on the walls of the _Enterprise_’s corridors consist of? ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2020, 9:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-hard-science-fiction-and-fantasy-trivia-quesstions/847762/27 "2020-02-11T09:31:46Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > The star of the syndicated Canadian show _ **Police Surgeon** _ also had a featured role on a network SF series. Name the actor, the character, and the series. The star of the \*British \*show _ **Police Surgeon** _ also had a featured role on a SF series. Name the actor, the character, and the series. Ian Hendry, who was the credited star of the first season of The Avengers, playing Doctor David Keel. Bit of a stretch, since the show didn’t have any science fiction in it until the 4th season, but I couldn’t resist the similarity. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2020, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-hard-science-fiction-and-fantasy-trivia-quesstions/847762/28 "2020-02-11T12:03:47Z")
> [@E-DUB](#): > > Sure that one is SF? Yes. It’s fantasy, too. ---
**Author:** ![GWF\_Hefel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/898d66/32.png) [@GWF\_Hefel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GWF_Hefel)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2020, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-hard-science-fiction-and-fantasy-trivia-quesstions/847762/29 "2020-02-11T12:26:41Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > The star of the \*British \*show _ **Police Surgeon** _ also had a featured role on a SF series. Name the actor, the character, and the series. > > Ian Hendry, who was the credited star of the first season of The Avengers, playing Doctor David Keel. Bit of a stretch, since the show didn’t have any science fiction in it until the 4th season, but I couldn’t resist the similarity. Although your country of origin correction is correct, your answer is wrong. Ian Hendry was the star of the greatest SF TV show ever made: The Adventures of Don Quick. (OK, maybe not the greatest :)) ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2020, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-hard-science-fiction-and-fantasy-trivia-quesstions/847762/30 "2020-02-11T12:37:23Z")
Okay I’ll bite. Who is is Geoffrey Avalon? There is a character by that name in the Black Widowers stories by Asimov. These are usually not fantasy or science fiction. Is it that the character is loosely based on L. Sprague de Camp? ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2020, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-hard-science-fiction-and-fantasy-trivia-quesstions/847762/31 "2020-02-11T12:39:03Z")
> [@GWF\_Hefel](#): > > Although your country of origin correction is correct, … No correction intended. There were two different shows called Police Surgeon. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2020, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-hard-science-fiction-and-fantasy-trivia-quesstions/847762/32 "2020-02-11T12:55:03Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > Okay I’ll bite. Who is is Geoffrey Avalon? > > There is a character by that name in the Black Widowers stories by Asimov. These are usually not fantasy or science fiction. Is it that the character is loosely based on L. Sprague de Camp? Yes. de Camp wrote both fantasy and SF (In fact, he wrote The Science Fiction Writer’s Handbook). If you think the fact that the Asimov stories are themselves mysteries, and not themselves SF/Fantasy, and therefore don’t qualify for this trivia test, then you and I have different standards for what constitutes Appropriate Material, and you probably wouldn’t like the one about Austin Carter, either. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2020, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-hard-science-fiction-and-fantasy-trivia-quesstions/847762/33 "2020-02-11T12:59:33Z")
“According to Tolkien (in some of his earliest writings on the topic), which two Vala were most sympathetic to, and often aligned with Melko?” Makar and his sister Meássë ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2020, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-hard-science-fiction-and-fantasy-trivia-quesstions/847762/34 "2020-02-11T13:00:44Z")
If that’s your standard, then you might as well ask trivia questions about _Half a Sixpence_. And I’ve no idea who Austin Carter is. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2020, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-hard-science-fiction-and-fantasy-trivia-quesstions/847762/35 "2020-02-11T13:24:27Z")
Besides the Jules Verne novel alluded to above, a submarine figures prominently in a _fourth_ literary work by Verne, as well. Name it. ---
**Author:** ![GWF\_Hefel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/898d66/32.png) [@GWF\_Hefel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GWF_Hefel)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2020, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-hard-science-fiction-and-fantasy-trivia-quesstions/847762/36 "2020-02-11T13:41:38Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > No correction intended. There were two different shows called Police Surgeon. Sorry. I had never heard of the Canadian show. I didn’t realize you were proposing a parallel question. Ian Hendry is a great answer to a SF trivia question. He was also a star of the SF movie \* Doppelgänger.\* (Mr Hendry’s selection process for work was somewhat impaired.) ---
**Author:** ![Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiendish_astronaut/32/3295_2.png) [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiendish_Astronaut)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2020, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-hard-science-fiction-and-fantasy-trivia-quesstions/847762/37 "2020-02-11T13:53:45Z")
On the cover of Action Comic #1, Superman is depicted for the first time. What is he lifting? ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2020, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-hard-science-fiction-and-fantasy-trivia-quesstions/847762/38 "2020-02-11T13:59:45Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Besides the Jules Verne novel alluded to above, a submarine figures prominently in a _fourth_ literary work by Verne, as well. Name it. The third would be _Master of the World_. What’s the fourth? ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2020, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-hard-science-fiction-and-fantasy-trivia-quesstions/847762/39 "2020-02-11T14:20:55Z")
In _2001: A Space Odyssey_, on what date did HAL first become operational, and what does HAL stand for? [spoiler]The correct reply to the first question is “in the book, or in the movie?” HAL became operational on January 12th; 1992 in the movie, 1997 in the book. The second question is easier, **H** euristically Programmed **AL** gorithmic Computer.[/spoiler] > [@terentii](#): > > James Doohan was in an episode of _ **Twilight Zone** _ with an actress who would later play an important role on _ **Dallas** _. Name her. Would that be Suzanne Cupito, by any chance? ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2020, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-hard-science-fiction-and-fantasy-trivia-quesstions/847762/40 "2020-02-11T14:27:33Z")
On _3rd Rock from the Sun_, when Dick meets the Big Giant Head, they discover that they have an unusual experience in common. What was it? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-hard-science-fiction-and-fantasy-trivia-quesstions/847762.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-hard-science-fiction-and-fantasy-trivia-quesstions/847762.md?page=3)