Sci-Fi Movies by Spacecraft Trivia Quiz

Answer: Event Horizon

The Event Horizon was constructed as an experimental vessel powered by an artificial black hole. Seven years after disappearing on her maiden voyage, she materialized in a decaying orbit over Neptune. A mixed crew of scientists, engineers and technicians sent to investigate the derelict vessel experienced hallucinations and misfortune.

Instead of the black hole drive bending space/time, it would seem that Event Horizon came back sentient and evil causing the rescue crew to turn on one another to feed some other worldly need she now possessed.

Event Horizon was basically a haunted house in space. The added layer of despair was that simple escape from the house meant eating vacuum.

Answer: Starship Troopers

This film was a departure from the flashback format of Robert Heinlein's novel, "Starship Troopers" and contained more action laid out chronologically. The story followed a young man's journey through war.

After an attack which destroyed Buenos Aires, Johnny Rico sought to avenge the death of his mother and gain full citizenship in the Terran Federation by going to war against an insectoid race simply referred to as the bugs. The Rodger Young was the vessel that carried Rico and company to the war.

Answer: The Black Hole

Returning from an exploration mission, the USS Palomino discovered the comparatively giant and missing USS Cygnus. After having mechanical troubles, the crew of Palomino was forced into an extended stay on Cygnus where terrible secrets as to Cygnus's missing crew were revealed.

"The Black Hole" was one of about three movies we'd ever get to watch in middle school. It was lengthy, not terribly packed with action, but visually stunning. Really, it was a sci-fi take off of the broken down car in front of the mad scientist's castle, with Igor being a twin rotary bladed levitating robot that threatened to carve soft humans into pulp.

Answer: Alien

The Nostromo answered a distress call on an alien moon. An investigation by some of the crew revealed a crashed space ship with a giant humanoid skeleton and a room full of eggs. Most of the crew was then doomed by a parasitic killer that worked its way on board Nostromo.

Answer: Star Trek VI - The Undiscovered Country

The parallels between the fall of the Soviet Union and the Klingon Empire, beginning with the Chernobyl/Praxis disaster, were well done and a timely commentary, as was much of the original TV series.

Kirk and company saved the day again from future cold warriors that didn't want the old ways to end. Again the trusty Enterprise versatilely served every role from hosting a diplomatic dinner to forcefully stopping a rogue Klingon from turning a political assassination into a hot war.

Answer: Silent Running

Bruce Dern was at his crazy, conflicted best in an ecologic parable of caring for a Noah's Ark of Earth plants carried by several space freighters in the American Airlines fleet in orbit around Saturn. When ordered to destroy his cargo and return the Valley Forge to Earth, Dern's character committed murder to save life he deemed more important than his fellow humans, which was only the beginning of this introspective tale.

Answer: Space Cowboys

Once part of a high altitude flight crew, the title cowboys possessed the knowledge to stop a cold war, technology nearly as old as themselves. Clint Eastwood, Tommy Lee Jones, Donald Sutherland, and James Garner reunited to stop a soviet orbital nuclear platform from falling back to Earth. The old timers were guided by a seeming bygone morality and the power to improvise.

Answer: Star Wars Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back

After escaping an Empire offensive against a rebel outpost, Luke continued his jedi training while Han and the Princess ran from the Imperial Fleet.

'Episode V' introduced Boba Fett as the tireless hunter who tracked a crippled Millenium Falcon in his faithful steed Slave 1. Revealed, also, were many new horrors of the empire including AT-AT walkers and a gigantic super star destroyer.

Further, a glimpse was had into the Empire's chain of command and officer promotion protocols.

Answer: Star Trek Generations

An awkward passing of the torch between movie franchises attempted to finish off Captain Kirk to clear the way for the next generation.

"Generations" began with a dry run launch of the Excelsior class Enterprise B. Special dignitaries Captain James T. Kirk, Scotty and Pavel Chekov rounded out the affair.

A distress call pressed the unfinished Enterprise B into service to rescue two El-Aurian refugee vessels trapped against an energy ribbon - a ribbon that mixed not at all well with starships. Some refugees were rescued including Guinan (Whoopi Goldberg) and Dr. Tolian Soran (Malcolm McDowell). Kirk sacrificed himself while saving the Enterprise B from the energy ribbon.

Flash forward nearly a century and Dr. Soran became a problem of the Enterprise D's crew where it was revealed that the ribbon contained a Nexus akin to the Elysian Fields where anyone could have their own paradise. Soran wanted back in and destroyed stars to steer the ribbon to a planet.

On one attempt to stop Soran and save a heavily populated planet, Captain Picard found himself in the Nexus along with the presumed deceased Kirk. Picard snapped out of his better than life scenario, and he and Kirk stopped Soran's plan. Billions were saved, but Kirk and the Enterprise D were sacrificed in the process.

Answer: 2010: The Year We Make Contact

Nine years had passed since contact was lost with Dave Bowman, Hal 9000, and Discovery. The unresponsive Discovery now was in a decaying orbit over Jupiter and all hands were presumed lost. The Soviets and the Americans were in a high state of tension, as the U.S.S.R. readied a mission to investigate.

In a form of detente, an American team, that consisted of Dr. Heywood Floyd, engineer Walter Kurnow, and Hal 9000 creator Dr. Chandra, were invited to accompany the Soviets to solve the mystery of what went wrong with Discovery.

Hal and Discovery were reactivated. Mysterious events occurred involving the Jovian moon Europa and a mysterious monolith. Tensions on Earth escalated to "technically a state of war" between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. and the crews were ordered to separate.

Dave Bowman appeared to Floyd warning him that both crews needed to leave in two days for "something wonderful" was about to happen. The two crews worked together to save themselves using Discovery as a booster rocket for Leonov. The enigmatic monolith reproduced around Jupiter which imploded into a small sun that provided life-giving heat and light to Europa.

Also, the monolith, or implied intelligence therein, sent a message to Earth which put a stop to the war. The new nightlight in the sky served as a reminder that we were not alone in the universe.

As with most Arthur C, Clarke works, 2010 was heavy with wonder, possibility and straight up physics.