"Star Trek" Extracts Trivia Quiz

Answer: Poker player

Stephen Hawking, born in 1942, has one of the finest minds ever to reside in one body. Born in Britain, this amazing, and yes, inspirational, man is a theoretical physicist, cosmologist, author and the University of Cambridge's Director of Research at the Centre for Theoretical Cosmology. He believes that space flight and mankind's colonisation of other planets throughout the universe is necessary for the very survival of our species. Born with a great sense of humour in addition to possessing a brilliant mind, he is also known for his own television specials - and the occasional light-hearted appearance on television shows related to science. While guest starring on "Star Trek: The Next Generation" in the episode "Descent", his role is a holographic representation of himself, playing poker with Data, Albert Einstein and Isaac Newton - and winning.

While touring the set before shooting began, Stephen wheeled his chair past the ship's fictional warp drive, a device that enabled the ship to travel faster than the speed of light. He paused, looked at it, then said, "I'm working on that".

Answer: By terrorist activity

Data (played by Brett Spiner), our ever-entertaining android with the brilliant mind, is doing a study on the historical effects of terrorism on earth's past history in this episode. He notes that the country of Ireland was only reunified in 2024 following a successful terrorist campaign.

As a result of this, and hilariously so, that episode was banned from being shown on free to air television in the United Kingdom and in the Republic of Ireland for many years.

Answer: The possibility of a Klingon civil war

In this episode, Captain Picard (played by Patrick Stewart), and his security officer, the Klingon Lieutenant Worf (played by Michael Dorn), must decide what to do as the Klingon Empire begins to move more and more towards a violent and destructive civil war. President Reagan (1911-2004) visited the set of "Star Trek: The Next Generation" during the filming of this episode, and remarked that he liked Klingons.

When asked why, he maintained a perfectly straight face, and replied, "They remind me of Congress".

Answer: Both

The 2009 movie "Star Trek" is the eleventh in this series of mighty movies. It takes us back to the very beginning of the original "Star Trek" series as the crew begins their years long mission in space - with new actors of course playing the respective roles of the main characters. In the course of this movie, Kirk moves through time and space to meet a much older Spock from 129 years in the future - played by the great Leonard Nimoy himself. Just seeing him, by then so old and feeble, will give you tears in the eyes.

The younger Spock was played by Zachary Quinto, but Zachary couldn't smoothly manage the Vulcan salute no matter how hard he tried. That is where the four fingers of the hand are held apart in groups of two, and usually accompanied by a Vulcan saying "Live long and prosper". Finally the movie's director, J. J. Abrams, solved the problem by gluing the actor's fingers together. You have to "hand it" to him for his ingenuity.

Answer: Spock

The genetically superior villain, Khan Noonien Singh (played by Ricardo Montalban) and his band of followers, including one of the Enterprise's officers, had been marooned on a far distant planet fifteen years earlier by Captain Kirk. Fifteen years in the future sees most of Khan's followers and his wife dead, and Khan seeking revenge on Kirk. In the ensuing battle between these two giants, the Enterprise is badly damaged and cannot escape the pull of Khan's ultimate weapon of destruction. Spock sacrifices himself to save it. His death scene is very moving...sniff.

On a lighter note, the actors who played the roles of Khan's remaining fit and powerful henchmen were all Chippendale male strip-tease dancers in real life. Hard to reconcile those murderous fiends with male striptease dancers who prance around wearing "nothing but a button and a bow-ow-ow-ow-ow" ("Little Egypt" lyrics) isn't it? They were picked for their fine physiques however, and fortunately refrained from stripping during the movie.

The movie also featured eels that were killers. In one scene one makes its way into Chekov's ear. A giant rubber replica of actor Walter Koenig's ear was used for the shot. The following morning, the crew discovered a giant Q-tip beside the ear, placed there overnight as a joke by the make-up department. Not to be outdone, the prop department placed a cardboard replica of Montalban's miniature co-star in "Fantasy Island", Herve Villechaize, on the head of a small robot and had it come rolling in during one of Montalban's scenes - causing the "evil, humorless Khan" to fall apart with helpless laughter.

Answer: Assimilate this

Love that line. That takes place in a struggle to the death between Picard, Worf and Lieutenant Hawk against the Borg who are trying to call in further Borg reinforcements. To prevent that happening, the three Enterprise members need to manipulate the ships deflector dish on the external deck of the Enterprise. Hawk is lost during this struggle, and Worf's space suit is torn in his hand to hand combat with a Borg. We lose sight of him then, with a sinking feeling that the mighty Worf has finally died - but no! In the next shot we see of him, Worf has tied one of the Borg's ripped off lines around that tear, just before he sends the Borg off into space with a shot and the grimly satisfied words, "Assimilate this!"

In the second season of "Star Trek: The Next Generation", the appearance of Worf's forehead has rather drastically altered from that in the first Season. That is because, of all things to steal, somebody made off with that plastic mould he wore in his every scene. Why anyone would want to steal that is incomprehensible. It's not as if they could wear the very wrinkled and grooved piece of work without it being detected by the law. "I don't understand their sense of humour either" Mr Worf. That was one of Worf's first lines in "The Next Generation". He was talking about humans and delivers the line superbly. My favourite "Star Trek" character, Worf takes himself so seriously that it makes him incredibly funny.

Answer: Insurrection

In the 1998 film "Star Trek: Insurrection", the Enterprise crew are on a planet occupied by the peaceful Ba'ku people, while trying to retrieve an apparently malfunctioning Data. This planet, which seems so idyllic at first, is a place where the crew begin to feel remarkably well, full of energy, and younger looking. It turns out to possess a unique form of regenerating radiation which is under threat by a band of renegade Federation officers and an apparently different race of people, who plan to steal it. It is while he is on the planet that Geordi's natural vision is restored and he can miraculously see as we do. Alas though, this effect is only temporary.

Played to perfection by Levar Burton, Geordi LaForge began his career in "Star Trek: The Next Generation" as a helmsman during the first season. By the third season, however, he had been promoted to chief engineer. Geordi's character is blind in "The Next Generation" but he wears a special visor which allows him to see - but not as we do. Levar Burton hated wearing that visor. Ironically so, it cut his vision down to practically zero and he constantly tripped over objects and banged into structures on the set. He also found it really hard to maintain a straight face during his dialogue's technobabble. That and the fact that if he'd been made a Jamaican, which was initially discussed, he possibly would have been endowed with dreadlocks. How absolutely side-splittingly funny!

Answer: Chris Pine

This movie, which is set in the year 2250 for the most part, takes us back in essence to the very beginning of the "Star Trek" series and movies. It sees the newly graduated Kirk (played by Chris Pine) eventually amassing that very familiar crew about him to fight a terrible threat to Vulcan and Earth. To be honest, I didn't particularly care for this film. Most of the scenes were too epic, too dark, or too violent. For me it lacked the intimacy of the various series and other movies, which allowed us to become familiar with all the personality quirks and lovabilities of the major characters.

Did you know that the sound of the automatic opening and closing doors used for this movie were created by using recordings of flushing Russian toilets? The crew of all the "Star Trek" television series and movies were expert at creating goods and effects that gave the illusion of the 23rd century (and beyond) machines and devices, and for we lucky viewers, allowing us to escape into a beautiful make-believe world of excitement, adventure and romance. The hand-held scanners? They were those old flip top mobile phones. And so on. My very favourite piece of those futuristic marvels of engineering were the replicators. One could just about replicate anything with them, except for people, dilithium or latinum.

BUT - and this is far, far more thrilling - In 2014, it was announced by the administrators of Nestle that that multinational food and beverage company are working on technology similar to replicators, which will be able to provide food especially suited for every individuals' dietary needs! How absolutely amazing is that?

Answer: "The Motion Picture" (1979)

In the 1979 "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" the first of that series of movies, the Enterprise and her crew go to battle a deadly alien force known as "V'Ger" which is on its way to earth, destroying all in its path in its search for the creator. Excellent twist to this movie, but I won't ruin it for you if you haven't seen it. There is one particularly gasp evoking scene in this film. It occurs with a malfunction in the transporter device during an entire refit of the Enterprise. When two officers are caught in that malfunction, a pale-faced Kirk asks Starfleet if they've rematerialised safely back down there. The chilling reply was "Enterprise, what we got back didn't live long, fortunately".

The "Star Trek" transporter device dematerialises a person into energy waves, aims that pattern down to its destination, and then rematerialises the person (or goods) back into the original pattern. Transporters, as a method of quickly moving people or goods from place to place, weren't originally in Gene Roddenberry's plans for "Star Trek". He had envisaged star ships doing that type of work, landing and taking off from various sites. However, the projected cost of those effects was too high, so the transporter device was created instead. The glimmering effect of that marvellous device was created with a combination of computer animation, an upside down camera filming in slow motion, and, initially, shiny grains of aluminium floating down against a dark backdrop. Swirling glitter in water was added at a later date.

Answer: Constantly tugging his uniform top down

This occurs in almost every scene in which Captain Picard rises from the captain's chair, particularly in the television series "Star Trek: The Next Generation". Once you take note of it, you'll smile every time you see it. In the first two seasons of "Star Trek: The Next Generation" the uniforms were so tight that Patrick Stewart's chiropractor insisted long term wear could damage his spine.

The uniforms were changed for the remainder of that series into a snugly fitting two piece instead. The reason for the snug fit was to emphasise the physique of the actors, and the tops in particular were made one size too small for that purpose.

This tended to irritate Patrick Stewart (who played Captain Picard) somewhat, and you'll notice that almost every time he stands up from the captain's chair, he gives the offending top a business-like tug back down with both hands.

The name given to this habit by the cast and crew, the Picard Manoeuvre, was based on Picard's earlier piloting skills as a young man when he created a daring battle manoeuvre during a space engagement.