Master and Commander Trivia Questions

Answer: fiddle and cello

Jack and Stephen actually met, in the books, at a concert.

Answer: Stick insect

Stick insects are also known as "walking sticks", "stick bugs" and "ghost insects". They have bodies adapted to resemble twigs or leaves so that they merge into these backgrounds and become all but invisible. Aubrey has to use a magnifying glass to see the specimen Maturin shows him. The name "phasmid" comes from the Greek for "phantom", and "The Phantom" is what the crew of the Surprise calls the Acheron.

Answer: don't answer

That's what happened when the "Acheron" pounded the "Surprise's" rudder...her steering didn't answer. Barrett Bonden said so.

Answer: The French Captain

The French captain deceived Jack into thinking he was a doctor and that the captain was dead. He then gave Jack the captain's sword, to symbolize the surrender of the ship, stating he was acting on orders given to him by the dying captain. Jack learned later that the French doctor had died before the battle, and the man surrendering the sword must have been the captain.

To Stephen's consternation, the HMS Surprise was once again diverted away from the Galapagos Islands and in pursuit of the Acheron. Though it wasn't explained in the movie, the presence of the French captain on the Acheron could have presented a threat to the unsuspecting British prize crew.

Answer: To announce the time

Though an officer may have had a pocket watch, by far the majority aboard would have no means of telling the time, apart from the ringing of the ship's bell. The bell was struck every half-hour, the number of strikes increasing by one each half-hour up to a maximum of eight. "Eight bells" marked the end of a watch and the beginning of the next watch. The strikes were grouped in twos, giving the classic "ding-ding, ding-ding, ding-ding, ding" pattern at seven bells, for example. All watches were four hours long except for the two two-hour Dog Watches between 1600 and 1800 (First Dog), and 1800 - 2000 (Last Dog).

Answer: Peter Calamy

"Now tell me that wasn't fun?!"

Answer: He has a pudding made in the shape of a map of the islands.

Aubrey serves slices of the islands to his officers, while helping himself to a small model of the Acheron. Boiled or steamed puddings such as 'spotted dick', a suet pudding, were often served onboard ship to both officers and crew. They were a practical way of preparing the rations of flour and suet (animal fat).

Recipes for British puddings, including Spotted Dick (or its variant, Spotted Dog) can be found online.

Answer: The Acheron's surgeon

Once the prize is taken, Aubrey sends it into Valparaiso with his First Lieutenant, Tom Pullings, in command. Later, Maturin tells Aubrey that there was no surgeon on the Acheron as he had died of fever months earlier, and the wounded would have to put up with Maturin's assistant, Higgins. Aubrey realises the "surgeon" he had met must have been the Captain in disguise. The film ends with the Surprise changing course to intercept the Acheron, hoping to catch her in time. Let's hope the stage was being set for a sequel!

Answer: jonah

Everyone pretty much knows the story: Jonah offends God, God causes bad luck to rain down on the ship that carries him.

Answer: Cricket

The Surprise puts in at the Galapagos Islands so that Higgins, Dr Maturin's assistant, can operate on the doctor, who has been injured, on dry land. (The doctor ultimately performs the operation himself.) While the crew brew alcohol and play cricket, Dr Maturin, his servant Padeen, and Midshipman Blakeney investigate the islands' flora and fauna.

Answer: he commits suicide by jumping into the water holding gun shot

I thought it was a sad twist of irony that the "Surprise" got her wind the next day.

Answer: When Captain Howard of the Royal Marines fires at an albatross and misses

Captain Howard is the marine officer on board Surprise. While firing at an albatross, an act many sailors would have considered likely to bring bad luck on the ship, he hits Dr Maturin instead.

The Royal Marines were formed in 1664 as sea-going infantry. In addition to their role in battle, the marines served a disciplinary purpose. As they lived slightly apart from the seamen (despite the cramped quarters) and under the command of their own officer, they could generally be relied on to assist in preventing or suppressing mutiny.

Answer: Jack won't let Stephen off the ship to explore the Galápagos Islands, like he promised

The movie did a great job of recreating the dynamic between Stephen and Jack as it was in the book. They disagreed on everything from women to politics, almost killed each other in a duel once, but are virtually inseparable friends.

Answer: Padeen Colman

Padeen is deeply loyal to the doctor, who is the only person on board with whom he can communicate effectively (the doctor also speaks Gaelic). Plaice is the seaman into whose skull Maturin drills (trepanning) to reduce pressure after a head injury, to the general entertainment of Surprise's crew. Preserved Killick is Jack's ill-tempered steward, Barret Bonden his coxswain.

Answer: study some pictures

But it was just to get his bearings!

Answer: Phasmida

The name Phasmatodea or Phasmida comes from the Classical Greek word for a phantom. Dr Maturin shows live examples of stick insects (a type of phasmid) to Midshipman Blakeney, as well as lending him a book on the subject. Blakeney develops an interest in natural history during the course of the film and becomes quite adept at drawing insects despite the loss of his right arm early in the action. Captain Aubrey is inspired by the phasmids to use a disguise to lure the Acheron close to Surprise. The Acheron's captain is led to believe the frigate is a whaler and therefore a valuable prize.

Hymenoptera include wasps, bees and ants. Diptera include 'true' flies, mosquitos and midges. Lepidoptera are moths and butterflies.

Answer: Stephen's rare phasmid

Answer: Maturin

Throughout the film and in the course of Patrick O'Brian's remarkable series of books, Dr Maturin's passion for natural philosophy causes tension between him and his friend and commanding officer, Aubrey. The demands of naval service rarely leave enough time for Maturin's pursuit of scientific knowledge and he comes to loathe the standard naval injunction to 'lose not a moment'.

Answer: he's actually the ship's Captain

The rare phasmid was that strange bug that disguised itself as a stick to confuse its enemies.