Science Fiction Trivia

[Disembodied]

OK: name three cats from three different SF films and/or TV shows (not books or games). No cat aliens, no superintelligent talking cats, no robot cats: these should be straightforward standard-issue domestic cats, Felis catus, who happen to live in SF universes. As such, I don't expect them to be stars of the show: they'll be supporting characters, at best!

[Malacandra]

Jones, Ripley's cat from Aliens

Spot, Data's cat from Star Trek: TNG

The Lord, Slartibartfast's cat from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. (Slarti says "The Lord knows I am not a cruel man" and then explains he doesn't mean God, he means his cat.)

[Disembodied]

The Lord, Slartibartfast's cat from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. (Slarti says "The Lord knows I am not a cruel man" and then explains he doesn't mean God, he means his cat.)

Hmmm … the only record I can find of this is a quote from "Man in Shack" (the Ruler of the Universe), speaking to Zarniwoop, taken from the radio series. I don't think this appears in either the TV show or the film … Jones and Spot are OK, but I think we still need a third!

[Cody]

<grins> I'm tempted to suggest Blofeld's cat, as in You Only Live Twice. Hijacked spacecraft must mean it's sci-fi, yes? <chortles>

[Disembodied]

<grins> I'm tempted to suggest Blofeld's cat, as in You Only Live Twice. Hijacked spacecraft must mean it's sci-fi, yes? <chortles>

New rule: the cat must have a name, and be called that name, or at least be referred to by that name, on screen (otherwise we get into "the cat in the background in that episode where …").

[Smivs]

<Smivs gets crafty and remembers a question he asked a few pages back...>
Neutron, played by Orangey, in This Island Earth!

[Malacandra]

And of course Slartibartfast couldn't have had a cat - that would have gone down very poorly with his employers!

[Disembodied]

Smivs sneaks in and takes the win! I would also have accepted Frankenstein, Lister's cat from Red Dwarf …

[Smivs]

I have no specific answer in mind for this challenge.
Name a sci-fi story (book, tv or film) which is set on Earth in the modern day or immediate past (last 100years) which does not contain robots, aliens, time travel, space ships or speculative technology.

[Cody]

The Poison Belt by Arthur Conan Doyle (but that was written/set in 1913).

[Smivs]

Close enough in time to qualify as I was mostly trying to avoid 'ancient mystery' type plots.
Cody takes the kipper!

[Cody]

A kipper? Hmm... need to pass that along fast, methinks, which calls for an easy one:

A knight returns to follow the Sun in this novel.

[Cody]

A clue: lox (and I ain't talking bagels).

[Disembodied]

I think I've solved the "lox" riddle - no smoking, I presume? - but I'm drawing a blank on the rest … a lot of noise on Google from Virgin Galactic's White Knight spaceplane!

[Cody]

<grins> Aye, no smoking. An addition: lox - an unusual way to commit suicide.