[...] I've actually got a copy of the Ringworld RPG - it's pretty much unplayable, at least from the GM's point of view. Characters are hundreds of years old with ridiculous skill levels and finding something to challenge them is a total pain.
I can hear you ...
Quick disclaimer about big D's concern (i.e. comics) -- most of the classic era sci-fi stories came with extended, comic-like/graphic presentations; thus comic presentation of the "realms" wouldn't had been quite the captures I've been looking for ...
Just to bring in my 0.02 cr, I think E. A. Van Vogt's Isher stories are also a miss for big media.
OK - since you mention Teaspoons, the big Doctor Who fanfic site is called "A Teaspoon and an Open Mind," so let's have some Dr. Who trivia.
Give me five Doctor Who enemy races (from old or new Who, but not things that have only appeared in books, comics, Torchwood, etc.) whose names only contain one vowel - it can be used more than once.
E.g. Daleks would not be a good answer because the name contains A and E, but Vorlons (two Os) would be fine if they were an actual Doctor Who enemy race.
And Vardans make five! The oblate spheroid is in your court.
Some others that could have been used
The Macra, giant crablike creatures, old and new Who
The Gelth, invading mind parasites from new Who
The Kraal, from old Who
The Krotons, a crystaline race from old Who
and not forgetting the Ood from New Who, of course, though they are as much victims as monsters. Or should it be Ooood in the Ooliteverse?
Okay, five SF tales (books, short stories, etc. - one per universe) where environment/ecology is a key theme. This doesn't have to involve environmental degradation or destruction, although it can (and it certainly doesn't have to be set on Earth).
Again Im going with a video game(not sure if it has to be a book/short story/comic but its all I can currently think of). Phantasy Star Online(Dreamcast-Gamecube) It was environmental disaster on their homeworld that made the colony Pioneer 2 move to the Planet Ragol.
It was environmental disaster on their homeworld that made the colony Pioneer 2 move to the Planet Ragol
Hmm … I don't think I can allow it. A game would be OK, but in this case the environmental issues seems like more of a plot point (it happened, people left their homeworld, and now here's the game) rather than a key theme. The ecology/environment should be a major part of the story.
An example (which can count towards the 5): Brian Aldiss's Helliconia trilogy. The environmental changes undergone by the planet as it swings around its elliptical orbit is crucial to the story.
Pitch Black - The planet goes into a state of pitch darkness which lets hordes of nasty aliens(who don't like the light) loose over the surface of the planet
