The Aliens that Made Sci-Fi Great Quiz

Answer: Radio

"The War of the Worlds" by HG Wells was a pioneering work in science fiction. It told the story of an unnamed narrator and his brother who are trying to navigate their way around England when aliens from Mars invade. When Orson Welles adapted it for radio, his dramatic rendition and realistic interpretation caused enough anxiety amongst the listeners that police were called into the radio station to try and shut down the broadcast.

Answer: Worms

The sandworms of Dune live on the mostly desert planet of Arrakis. They are a very territorial creature and are very sensitive to vibrations on the sand. They will come from far away to attack creatures that are walking on the surface. They are also linked to the spice, Melange. The fremen, the wandering nomadic people of the planet, even use these sandworms to travel, since they can grow to be up to half a kilometer long.

The world of "Dune" was created by author Frank Herbert and continued by his son, Brian. Apart from the original books, the story and world of "Dune" has been adapted into film, television, as well as video games.

Answer: Klaatu

Klaatu was an alien sent to promote a peaceful and scientific Earth society in the movie "The Day The Earth Stood Still". It was originally released in 1951 and starred Michael Rennie and Patricia Neal. "Klaatu barada nikto" became such an iconic phrase that when the 2008 remake of the original film was scripted, actor Keanu Reeves insisted that it be included.

The film was remade in 2008 and remains an iconic example of science fiction with extraterrestrials.

Answer: Superman

Originally created by DC Comics author Jerry Siegel and illustrator Joe Shuster, the character of Superman has permeated many aspects of entertainment. There have been movies, television series, radio adaptations, video games, and more things all featuring the refugee from the planet Krypton.

When Kal-El's parents realized that their planet was not going to survive, they sent him away to Earth only to be found by Martha and Jonathan Kent, who adopted him. Living on Earth is advantageous for Clark, as he is named, because the yellow sun gives him energy that is superhuman. Though he fights enemies and his own demons, the Superman persona has become one of the hero archetypes.

Answer: False

The beginning of the 1977 film "Star Wars" features the iconic line "A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away....". It was only retroactively renamed "Star Wars: A New Hope" years later. So, thinking about it, everyone in the movie is an extraterrestrial. However, some iconic aliens came out of the film series: Chewbacca, the lovable Wookiee, Yoda, the sage and wise Jedi Master, Ewoks, Jawas, Gungans and more. This space opera became a huge hit and permeated all aspects of entertainment including cinema, television, video games, literature, and much, much more....

The cast for the original "Star Wars: A New Hope" became very well-known. Mark Hamill took the role of Luke and Carrie Fisher was Leia. Han Solo was portrayed by Harrison Ford while Sir Alec Guinness was Obi-Wan Kenobi. Interestingly, Sissy Spacek was originally cast as Leia, but when Carrie Fisher refused to do the nude scenes in "Carrie" (1976), they swapped roles. Jodie Foster was George Lucas' second option for Princess Leia. Also, while the role of Obi-Wan may have been the best-known role for Alec Guinness, it was the one he disliked the most.

Answer: Kree

Kree are aliens in the Marvel Universe. All the rest are alien races from the "Star Trek" universe. "Star Trek" started as a television series in 1966 by Gene Roddenberry and, despite not being super-successful initially, slowly gained a huge following. It was basically a soap opera in space, with extraterrestrials and space flight and nice special effects to make the series catchy. Since then, "Star Trek" has expanded to movies, literature, video games, and more. The cast of mostly humans usually has to deal with a moral problem in order to survive. Other alien species either help or hinder the crew in their quest.

"Star Trek" gave us species like Klingons, Romulans, Vulcans, Ferengi, Gorn, Borg, Betazoids, Tribbles, and many more.

An interesting fact: did you know that the first interracial kiss on mainstream television was shown on "Star Trek" when Captain Kirk and Lieutenant Uhura kissed?

Answer: Dr. Who

"Dr. Who" is a long-running British television series. The entire series centers around a time-travelling alien who uses an unreliable time machine, the TARDIS, to explore the Earth. Though the origin of the Doctor was originally unknown, having run since 1963, a bit more of the back-story has been revealed.

The Doctor is an alien from the planet Gallifrey that prefers to use brains to solve problems rather than to fight out of them. Having been around for so very long, the plot is intricate and interwoven.

When the thirteenth incarnation of the Doctor in "Dr. Who" was revealed, it was the first time that the Doctor was a female.

Answer: Halo

Humanity is pitted against an alien race known as the Covenant which is fervent to destroy us. The Spartans are a group of super-elite soldiers, but, there are too few of them left. Nevertheless, Master Chief John-117, usually known as Master Chief, helps defend humanity against the Covenant and to prevent the Halo Array from being activated and destroying all sentient life.

"Halo" was a huge success and became a benchmark for how good a video game was. As a first-person shooter quest, it was captivating and there was also the option of online play and player-vs-player modes. It had many sequels and spin-offs and there was music specifically made for the game. It was also adapted into a graphic novel as well as some books and a television series.

Answer: Ender

Andrew 'Ender' Wiggin is the protagonist of the novel "Ender's Game", a 1985 novel by Orson Scott Card. In it, he is drafted into a child army in order to stop the aliens, an insect-like species known as the Buggers, from invading Earth. There had been two attacks already, and Ender is being prepared through a series of games to help lead an army to defend Earth. What he doesn't know, actually, is that Earth is taking the battle to the Bugger home planet, which Ender unknowingly destroys.

"Ender's Game" was a huge success and led to many sequels and parallel series of books, as well as a movie adaptation, graphic novels, and a video game that never got off the ground.

Answer: Robert A. Heinlein

The "Starship Troopers" franchise started out as a 1959 novel written by Robert A. Heinlein. He was heavily influenced by the Cold War that was going on between the Soviet Union and the United States and these themes are prevalent in the book. The book, while revolving around the plot of a war between humans and the alien species known as Arachnids (or Bugs, colloquially), is often a discussion of philosophical points of view of human behaviour.

Since then, "Starship Troopers" became a movie in 1997, which then saw a bunch of sequels filmed, both animated and live-action. It also spawned some board games and video games as well as a television show.