"Yakamoz S-245" - Saving Humanity Quiz

Answer: Turkey

"Yakamoz S-245" was produced by OGM Pictures, located in Beyoğlu, Istanbul, Turkey. OGM makes television series not only for broadcast in Turkey but for the international digital streaming market, as well. The programme was filmed in the Turkish language and dubbed into English for streaming by NetFlix.

Answer: a Turkish military submarine

"Yakamoz" is the name and "S-245" is the hull number of a Turkish submarine. In the Ottoman Turkish language, "yakamoz" refers to the bioluminescent phosphorescence caused by the moving propeller of a ship, visible in the dark. Most of the action in this programme occurs on board this submarine; the rest occurs on short forays from it.

Answer: gamma rays from the sun

There is a change in the sun's polarity which causes severe explosions on the sun's surface. These emit massive amounts of deadly gamma rays which kill everyone on Earth exposed to them. This is discussed at greater length in the television series "Into the Night" from which "Yakamoz S-245" is a spin-off.

The survivors are those protected from the gamma rays, e.g. those under the sea or those deep inside mines.

Answer: explore the Erebus Trench

Defne Eren, played by Özge Özpirinçci, wants to hire Arman Kaya, played by Kivanç Tatlitug, to explore the Erebus Trench. Arman is a marine biologist who has built his own deep-sea submersible. The Erebus Trench is a fictional deep-sea region. Defne is his ex-girlfriend.

They do a test run together with a mutual friend Cem, played by Onur Ünsal, an oceanographer named Felix, played by Jerry Hoffmann, and her assistant Rana, played by Ecem Uzun. They are together beneath the sea when the fatal event occurs.

Answer: she stows away on the Yakamoz

Hatice Celik, played by Meric Aral, is a military intelligence officer stationed at Incirlik Air Base. She radiometrically detects unusual radiation coming from the sun but, when she tells her commanding officer, he tells her to keep it secret. Instead, she flees and stows away on board the Yakamoz (where she is discovered by the crew in episode 4).

Answer: to go to the Doomsday Vault

In Svalbard, Norway, there is a global seed vault called colloquially the Doomsday Vault. The motive for this vault was to collect and preserve heritage seeds (not sterile hybrids). The thinking was that these seeds could be used to repopulate the Earth in the event of a life-ending disaster. Arman wanted to go there to fetch and plant seeds before starvation became an issue.

Answer: a Polish science fiction novel

"Yakamoz S-245" was created by Jason George. George was inspired by Jacek Dukaj's 2015 Polish novel "The Old Axolotl." Dukaj's novel inspired two NetFlix original series -- "Into the Night" (Belgian, 2020) and "Yakamoz S-245" (Turkish, 2022) -- both produced by George. The stories occur in the same time frame and respond to the same solar-created near-extinction event.

Answer: soldiers

In the military history of most nations, navies developed separately from armies and thus use different unique terminology peculiar to their branch of the military. The most common collective term for members of the army is soldiers; the most common for members of the navy is sailors. Marines are a special case.

Although they look and function as do members of the army, they are part of the navy and do not respond well to being called soldiers, preferring the term marines. It sounds odd to Western ears but members of the Turkish navy are called soldiers, consistent with the sense that they are part of one unitary Turkish military.

Answer: Yonca Yilmaz

Erenay Yilmaz, played by Hakan Salinmis, is in command in episodes 1 and 2. He is killed when a deranged crew member detonates a hand grenade. Umut Sancakl, played by Ertan Saban, is Second in Command and takes over upon Yilmaz' death. Umut is arrested on the order of Yonca Yilmaz, played by Ece Çesmioglu, and she assumes command.

Answer: on Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean

Arman was estranged from his father Asil Kaya. Asil is incredibly rich and the owner of the company which underwrites the underwater exploration proposed by Defne. This was the basis for Arman's reluctance to become entangled. It was unclear, but it appeared that Asil was on the island of Diego Garcia, in the Indian Ocean, a part of the British Indian Ocean Territory. Arman spoke with Asil over a videophone and he appeared to be wearing a sort of spacesuit, doubtless affording protection against the gamma rays. And he wanted Arman to join him there.