Science Fiction Trivia

[RockDoctor]

Clue - the author was not an astronomer or astrophysicist, but at least one common term used in planetary astronomy (not relevant to Mars) originated in one of his stories.

Hmm, faint bell there ; I'll let the brain cell work on it for a bit.

But "Robinson Crusoe on Mars"? A book? I do hope it wasn't as cringe-inducing as the film.

[ffutures]

Clue - the author was not an astronomer or astrophysicist, but at least one common term used in planetary astronomy (not relevant to Mars) originated in one of his stories.

Hmm, faint bell there ; I'll let the brain cell work on it for a bit.

But "Robinson Crusoe on Mars"? A book? I do hope it wasn't as cringe-inducing as the film.

Sorry - that should have read "stories", not "novels" - I was thinking of the film.

OK, another clue: when the hero's girlfriend realises that he has taken off for Mars and failed to return, she finds his blueprints and other documents, uses them to build her own ship, and follows him to Mars intending to rescue him, taking all of the plans etc. with her - and is promptly marooned by the vacuum tube in her drive failing!

and another: The author was a Hugo award winner, but not for this story.

[ffutures]

and another clue - apart from the author's original novels and stories, he is probably best known for a long series of media adaptions.

and another, which may jog memories - both spaceships are essentially wooden crates sealed to be airtight.

[Old Murgh]

Clue - the author was not an astronomer or astrophysicist, but at least one common term used in planetary astronomy (not relevant to Mars) originated in one of his stories.

Would that be the term "gas giant" coined by the frequently mentioned in this thread-James Blish..? And therefore his book, Welcome to Mars?

[ffutures]

Clue - the author was not an astronomer or astrophysicist, but at least one common term used in planetary astronomy (not relevant to Mars) originated in one of his stories.

Would that be the term "gas giant" coined by the frequently mentioned in this thread-James Blish..? And therefore his book, Welcome to Mars?

Exactly right! Have a chocolate-coated burned out vacuum tube! Your turn!

[Old Murgh]

Exactly right! Have a chocolate-coated burned out vacuum tube! Your turn!

OK. Ugh.

A work in which two people separately become beset with visions of a mound, leading to obsessive sketching and various media sculpting of said mound..

[spud42]

close encounters of the third kind ? Devils Tower being the mound?

[Old Murgh]

close encounters of the third kind ? Devils Tower being the mound?

Indeed!
Your speed tells me this was much too easy. I should at least have asked that the different sculpture media be listed.

[spud42]

finally something i knew..lol i think 1 was drawn in crayons and the sculpture started at dinner with mashed potatoes?? been a long time since i last saw that movie.

ok , well , umm, dang now i need to ask a question......

ok Vincent Price, Charlton Heston , Will Smith

whats the connection?

[Old Murgh]

finally something i knew..lol i think 1 was drawn in crayons and the sculpture started at dinner with mashed potatoes?? been a long time since i last saw that movie.

Yes, you just forgot the shaving foam.

ok Vincent Price, Charlton Heston , Will Smith

whats the connection?

I think I know this from the hip.
Lead roles of the three film versions of I Am Legend by Richard Matheson: The Last Man on Earth, The Ωmega Man and I Am Legend

[ffutures]

Too easy! (Except I got beaten to it!)

I Am Legend by Richard Matheson - they all played the leading character in various film adaptations:

Vincent Price as Dr. Robert Morgan in The Last Man on Earth (1964) - probably the closest to the original book apart from the character's name.
Charlton Heston as Dr. Robert Neville in The Omega Man (1971) - fighting mutants, not vampires
Will Smith as Dr. Robert Neville in I Am Legend (2007) - seems to be a cross between the two.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Am_Legend_(novel) - links to the films on the page.

[spud42]

both correct, but Old Murgh wins by a nose...

all yours sir.

[Old Murgh]

both correct, but Old Murgh wins by a nose...

all yours sir.

The nose has it. Allright, in the Jeopardy format:

This character is the non-human survivor (of a total of two survivors) of an alien attack and subsequent self-destruction of a corporate freighter ship..

[Disembodied]

The nose has it. Allright, in the Jeopardy format:

This character is the non-human survivor (of a total of two survivors) of an alien attack and subsequent self-destruction of a corporate freighter ship..

Who is Jones the Cat?

[Old Murgh]

Who is Jones the Cat?

That is entirely correct.

Your baton, sir.