In the Simpson’s episode where James Bont is killed by Hank Scorpio, what are the origins of the word “Arcturus”, the name of the evil scheme for global blackmail? Swear I’ve heard it before somewhere.
Well. Arcturus is an actual star. Beyond that, I can’t say. Whilst I won’t say that you couldn’t pay me to watch The Simpsons, I would hold out for at least four figures per episode.
Obligatory link to the Simpsons’ Episode Guide capsule of that episode. The only time ‘Arcturus’ is used in that entire capsule is in the quote “Project Arcturus couldn’t have succeeded without you.” That is, it’s not included in their list of references, which is pretty thorough.
The m-w.com definition:
Main Entry: Arc·tu·rus
Pronunciation: ärk-'tur-&s, -'tyur-
Function: noun
Etymology: Latin, from Greek Arktouros, literally, bear watcher
: a giant fixed star of the first magnitude in Boötes
My conclusion: ‘Project Arcturus’ is just a evil-sounding-plot and is not a reference to something else.
I beleive Arcturus Minsk (sp?) is also a character in the Starcraft computer game.
Yup. Starcraft came out in 1998 and the Simpsons episode in question aired in 1996, though, so it’s not derived from that.
If anybody still has Starcraft installed then check out the leader of the rebels. I forget his name but he looks and sounds exactly like Scorpio. I’m not sure if it is Arcturus Mengsk though. I saw this episode last night and thought the very same thing as Paprika. Not from Australia are you Paprika?
I suppose there is a slight possibility as the voice of Mr Burns is in the Starcraft game (science vessel I believe)