Super Sci-Fi Saturday Night Trivia Quiz

Answer: 7

Clue 1 states that the program with Doctor Whatserface airs first, and the earliest timeslot is 7pm.


Science fiction can be any book, movie, etc. that imaginatively draws on scientific knowledge and/or speculation. It overlaps most of the time with fantasy, horror, adventure, and/or romance. Sometimes it is basically a Western set in the future on a distant planet instead of in the 1870s in Arizona.

Answer: 11

Clue 2 states that the program with Inspector Doodad airs last, and the latest timeslot is 11pm.


Theater technician, author, and critic Wilson Tucker coined "space opera" in 1941 to critique substandard science fiction, the "the hacky, grinding, stinking, outworn space-ship yarn", but by the 21st-century the term had lost its sting and was even embraced by the creators of sci-fi TV shows.

Answer: 10

Clue 3 states that "Vivacious Voyage" airs two hours after the show with Captain Hotpants. The timeslots that fit this restriction are 9pm, 10pm, and 11pm.
Clue 4 indicates that "Vivacious Voyage" cannot air at 11pm, the final timeslot. That leaves 9pm and 10pm for "Vivacious Voyage".
Returning to clue 3, then, Captain Hotpants must entertain Bob at 7pm or 8pm (2 hours before "Vivacious Voyage").
Clue 1, however, indicates that Doctor Whatserface appears at 7pm (first broadcast of the night).
Therefore, Captain Hotpants takes control at 8pm, and "Vivacious Voyage" airs at 10pm.


The phrase "science-fiction" first appeared in print in 1851.

Answer: 8

All the reasoning for this question applies to question 3, so please reread that to see how we figured out that Captain Hotpants' show airs at 8pm while "Vivacious Voyage" airs at 10pm.


In the USA, the longest-running non-anthology sci-fi TV program of the 1960s was "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea", created and produced by Irwin Allen, who also created and produced the feature film on which the series was based. It depicted the adventures of a submarine sea crew, and was notable for the fact that in most episodes not one female character would appear.

Answer: 10

Doctor Whatserface appears at 7pm (clue 1).
Captain Hotpants appears at 8pm (questions 3 and 4).
Inspector Doodad appears at 11pm (clue 2).
That leaves 9pm or 10pm.
Professor Positron does not appear at 9pm (clue 5), so she uses her brain at 10pm.


Serious science-fiction fans say "sci-fi" connotes camp or schlock; many prefer the abbreviation "SF".

Answer: 9

Doctor Whatserface appears at 7pm (clue 1).
Captain Hotpants appears at 8pm (questions 3 and 4).
Professor Positron appears at 10pm (question 5).
Inspector Doodad appears at 11pm (clue 2).
Therefore, Engineer Ed appears at 9pm.


The long-running UK sci-fi series "Doctor Who" first aired in 1963, it was intended to be a children's show, one that educated them on science and history.

Answer: 8

Clue 6 states, essentially, that "Nanobots from Andromeda" is either at 8pm or 10pm (1 hour before or after the 9pm show).
But we've already determined that "Vivacious Voyage" airs at 10pm (question 3).
Therefore "Nanobots from Andromeda" is on at 8pm -- and features the hipster derring-do of Captain Hotpants (questions 3 and 4).


In "Doctor Who", the Doctor wasn't revealed to be a Time Lord until 1969, three years after the show's premiere, and the home planet Gallifrey was never mentioned by name until 1973. The idea of regeneration was invented because of the poor health of William Hartnell, who played the First Doctor from 1963 to 1966.

Answer: 9

"Nanobots from Andromeda" is at 8pm (question 7).
"Vivacious Voyage" is at 10pm (questions 3 and 4).
Clue 7 states that "Planet of the Cats" does not feature Doctor Whatserface. Doctor Whatserface's show airs at 7pm, so there goes that timeslot.
Clue 8 indicates that "Planet of the Cats" airs sometime before "Starlight Zone"; this means "Planet of the Cats" can't air during the last timeslot, 11pm.
By elimination, "Planet of the Cats" must air at 9pm -- featuring the mechanical talents of Engineer Ed (question 6).



The first popular sci-fi show in the USA was the DuMont Television Network children's serial "Captain Video and His Video Rangers" (1949-1955). Within months other networks tried to cash in with their children's serials.

Answer: 11

Clue 8 states that "Starlight Zone" airs sometime after "Planet of the Cats".
"Planet of the Cats" airs at 9pm (question 8), leaving 10pm and 11pm for "Starlight Zone".
But we figured out in question 3 that "Vivacious Voyage" airs at 10pm.
Therefore, "Starlight Zone" airs at 11pm -- featuring the deductive powers of Inspector Doodad (clue 2).


Eventually, American TV networks realized there was an adult sci-fi audience, which led to well-acclaimed anthology series like "The Outer Limits" and the "Twilight Zone".

Answer: 7

"Nanobots from Andromeda" is on at 8pm (question 7).
"Planet of the Cats" airs at 9pm (question 8).
"Vivacious Voyage" is on at 10pm (question 3).
"Starlight Zone" airs at 11pm (question 9).
Therefore, "Jupiter 2525" is on at 7pm, the first show of the evening -- featuring the mysterious Doctor Whatserface (clue 1).

Another approach: "Vivacious Voyage" can't be at 7pm (clues 3 and 4), nor can "Nanobots" (clue 6), nor "Starlight Zone" (clue 8), nor "Planet of the Cats" (clue 7). Therefore, "Jupiter 2525" airs at 7pm.

When you think of "The Twilight Zone", you might picture Rod Serling introducing each episode with piercing remarks, but these on-camera introductions, before which the camera would whip-pan over to Serling, did not begin until the second season. Furthermore, Serling said "submitted for your approval" on only three episodes.