MacNisi

Spelling Rules, OK?

2011-08-31T20:06:00.000-07:00

SPELLING RULES , OK?

Every tried looking up a science fiction name? Couldn’t find it? Well here are some of the reasons we can’t spell sci fi words!

1. They spell existing words funetically :

Abe’s Oddysee (game) (Odyssey); Abe’s Exoddus (game) (Exodus); Cyberia (game) (Siberia); Sibonetics (Fiend without a Face),(cybernetics); Kamelion (Doctor Who: the King’s Demons) (chameleon); Kameo (Gunsword) (cameo), Karbunkle (BMM) (Carbuncle) , Karibdis (BG Murder on the Rising Star)(Charybdis) , Kheel (Kyle XY: What’s the Frequency Kyle?) (Keel; ,Knute (Appleseed (Canute), Koofoo (Butt Ugly Martians) (Khufu), Koopa (Super Mario Brothers)(Cooper); Kosmonaut (game) (cosmonaut); Kowalsky (Stargate) (Kowalski) ; Kreed (game) (creed); Superman: Shadow of Apokolips (title) (Apocalypse); Toombs (Chronicles of Riddick) (tombs); Xerconian Ceramic Armour (Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind)(Zirconian) ; Z Krypt (Starblazers) (Crypt)

2. They add an apostrophe, anywhere in the word :

Ba’ku (Star Trek: Insurrection); G’Kar (Babylon 5), Goa’uld (Stargate); Jem’Hadar (Deep Space 9); Loque’eque (Enterprise: Extinction); Raa’Keel ( Farscape: Lava’s a Many Splendored Thing); Rya’c (Stargate SG1: Bloodlines);Teal’c (Stargate SG1); T’raltixx (Farscape: Crackers Don’t Matter),

3. They use lots of consonants with few or no vowels:

Kcrackic (Farscape: The Flax), Kltpzyxm (Smallville: Jinx); Zdyb (Earth Final Conflict: If You Could Read My Mind); ZZyzx Labs (KXY The List is Life); [Refer to the blog : Sesquipaedialisms Or: the longer is not the Better).

4. They spell words starting in ‘C’ with ‘K’ :

Kandy Man (Doctor Who: the Happiness Patrol) (candy); Krystal (Star Foxx Adventures)(Crystal); Krypt (Starblazers (Crypt); Klone (Blackstar) (clone); Kosmonaut (game) (cosmonaut);

5. They swap ‘ph’ and ‘f’ :

Phage (Star Trek Voyager); Zixx Phunkee Zee (Zixx Level One ) Funky

6. They spell words ending in ‘ck’ with ‘k’: Chik (Black Mask); Jak (Jak and Daxter) ; Nik (The Girl from Tomorrow); Zak (Deep Water Black)

7. They double X :

LeLexx (series title/ ship); Rixx (Star Trek Next Generation : Conspiracy); Vexx (Game/character); Zaxxon (Game); Zixx: Level One (Game).

8. They change ‘I’ to ‘y’ :

G Gryffen (K-9 Regeneration); Kryss (Earth Final Conflict: The Fields); Klytus (Flash Gordon);Sybok (Star Trek: The Final Frontier); Trychus (Operation Neptune); Trykers (The Saga of Ryzom); Trymon (The Colour of Magic), Zyra (When Worlds Collide);

9. They change ‘u’ to ‘oo’ : Koofoo (Butt Ugly Martians) (Khufu),

10. They double ‘a’ for no good reason, without an apostrophe to change emphasis :

Kaarvok (Farscape), Raahm (Tracker: Roswell ), Raaja (Earth Girl Arjuna); Raakin (E Borderland), Raatib Singh (The Phantom 2009 ), Raalgon Empire (Irresponsible Captain Taylor); Saahm (Tracker: Roswell); Skaara (Stargate SG1); Staanz (Farscape); Traag (Fantastic Planet); Zaat (Film, 1972); Zhaan (Farscape)

11 They double ‘I’ for no valid purpose: Hiigaran (Homeworld 2); Vidiian (Star Trek Voyager); Viinerine (TNG Face of the Enemy);

12 They double ‘u’ when not necessary:

Gomtuu (Star Trek: Tin Man);

13 They add a gratuitous ‘h’ :

Kharak (Blakes’ 7: the City at the Edge of the World); Kheel (Kyle XY: What’s the Frequency Kyle?); Khefka IV (Deep Space 9: Invasive Procedures); Rhaam (Jeff Hawke, First citizen of the Space Age, 1956), Rhed Thorrn (Farscape: A Bug’s Life), Rhee (Tracker: Pilot), Rho-ha (Earth Final Conflict: The Secret of Strand Hill), Ruby Rhod (Fifth Element), Rhondium Particles (Doctor Who: Planet of the Dead), Rovhu (Farscape: Eat Me);

14 They put capital letters anywhere:

eXtinction (game); Hypersonic eXtreme (Game); MegaMan xTreme (game); Space HoRSE (game); seaQuest DSV (series title); tranCendenZ (eXistenZ), Wormhole X-Treme! (Stargate SG1: Wormhole X-Treme!);

15 They're inconsistent

Jack and Jak;

Kryten (Red Dwarf), Kriton (Star Trek: Elaan of Troyius), Crichton;

Komar (Star Trek Voyager Cathexis), Komarr (Lois McMaster Bujold Vorkosigan Series), Comarre (Clarke: The Lion of Comarre),

Rhys (Torchwood), Reece, Reese

16 They use X for Z :

Xander Bly (Power Rangers Mystic Force) ; Xanxia (Doctor Who: The Pirate Planet ); Xarai

(Farscape: Eat Me ); Xax (Andromeda: Rose in the Ashes ); Xybo, Mr (Slider’s The Return of Maggie Beckett ); Xylok (Sarah Jane Adventures: The Lost Boy)

17 They use ‘z’ for ‘s’ : Gruntz (game) ; Toolzz (The Bots Master);

Sci fi newspapers

2011-05-11T16:33:00.000-07:00

Sci Fi Newspapers

In film media newspapers are a useful plot device. They are used regularly in sci fi to provide information to the audience or to advance the narrative by giving the characters information. A quick look through the following list shows that a series like Sliders and Quantum Leap relied heavily on the newspaper motif to provide the characters with information about the world/time they had landed in. The Star Trek franchises on the other hand are nearly all absent from the list. Information in that Universe is imparted from above or in social situations. The news from back home is generally given by relatives or Admirals.

It doesn’t seem to occur to anyone in the Sci Fi universe that newspapers are moving online. Spinning headlines, multiple viewpoints shown by successive front pages, useful papers wrapped around your fish and chips or blowing down the street, are all things of the past. If all the power goes out now in an apocalyptic scenario, there won’t be any old papers to read. The news will all be stored in those non-operational computers in dark rooms with no air con.

Still, there will normally be papers online for characters to read, some of the print papers we have now are moving online and there will surely be new ones. What sort of names will we expect them to have?

A short survey of sci fi movies and TV series reveals five categories of newspaper names, with newspapers grouped by their purpose:

Archival, Broadcasting, Investigative, Protective and Reflective.

Most of the names used in these categories will be prefixed by a town or city name, or the word ‘Daily’. There are very few imaginative names.

Archival:

Some newspapers see themselves as the means of recording events to store them for the future. These papers are the daily back up services, presumably looking for news that is worthwhile in both local and broad historical terms. Other papers may also keep back copies and see themselves as responsible for a daily record, but these papers take it very seriously:

Chronicle : Daily Chronicle (Bride of the Monster/ Slider’s : Rules of the Game/ The Invaders: The Experiment/ The Twilight Zone: Time Enough at Last/ The Twilight Zone: And When the Sky Was Opened); Herbertville Chronicle, The (Read All About It : The First Edition); Hunstanton Chronicle (Torchwood: From Out of the Rain); Los Angeles Chronicle (Slider’s : California Reich); New York Chronicle (When Worlds Collide ); San Francisco Chronicle (Slider’s: Post Traumatic Slide Syndrome ); The Chronicle (The Invaders: The Organization /Iron Man);

Copy Hard Copy (Sliders: In Dino Veritas);

Gazette : Baton Rouge Gazette (Quantum Leap: For Your Love); Crown Point Gazette (Quantum Leap: The Leap Back ); Daily Gazette (Outer Limits: I Hear You Calling/ The Quatermass Experiment: Persons Reported Missing); Hackney Gazette (Goodnight Sweetheart: Turned Out Nice Again ); Minot Progress Gazette (The Lone Gunmen: Like Water for Octane ); New Gotham Gazette (Birds of Prey: Primal Scream ); Midland Gazette (Stepford Wives 2 ); New York Gazette (When Worlds Collide ); South Florida Gazette (Farscape: Kansas ); Weehawken Gazette(Lois and Clarke: Neverending Battle );

Journal: Tallahassee Journal (The Invaders: Vikor ); Times Journal (SGA Outcast ); Washington Journal (The Atomic Submarine );

Ledger: Smallville Ledger (Smallville);

Monthly: News Monthly (Slider’s: Obsession/ The Young and the Relentless );

Record: Dallas Record (Iron Man 2 ); The Record (The Day the Earth Stood Still 2 );

Register: San Francisco Register (Slider’s :The Prince of Wails );

Report: Hawks Report, The (Slider’s: A Current Affair);

Text: Times Text (seaQuest DSV: alone );

Tribute: Roswell Tribute (A Roswell Christmas Carol );

Weekly: Artists’ Weekly (Dark Angel: Medium is the Message); Lakeview Weekly (Quantum Leap: A Portrait for Troian); Racegoers Weekly (The Infinite Worlds of H.G. Wells );

Broadcasting

There is a range of names used for real papers and sci fi ones that indicate the news should be broadcast around like a paper boy at his stand yelling it out. These names rely on metaphors of sound , bright light or running. There are no secrets with these papers around because even a whisper travels quickly:

Bee: Modesto Bee (Jericho: Condor);

Bugle: Daily Bugle (SMAC/ Spiderman 1,2,3); Elgin Bugle (The Twilight Zone : The Fever); Dallas Bugle, The (Lexx: P4X );

Clarion: Charlemont Clarion (Quantum Leap: Star Light, Star Bright);

Courier: San Francisco Courier (The Invaders: Wall of Crystal ); Seattle Courier, the (Kyle XY: Kyle Got Game /4400 Becoming ); Wheeling Courier (The Invaders: Panic);

Dispatch: Braxton Dispatch (Threshold: Vigilante ); Daily Dispatch and Business (Slider’s : Please Press One); DC Dispatch (Outer Limits: Birthright ); New York Dispatch (When Worlds Collide ); Peoria Dispatch (Quantum Leap: Good Morning, Peoria ); The Star Dispatch (The Invaders: Counter-attack );

Echo: Blackbury Echo (Johnny and the Bomb: Mrs. Tachyon and the Bags of Time ); Liverpool Echo (Goodnight Sweetheart: The Leaving of Liverpool);

Express: Daily Express (Goodnight Sweetheart: Turned Out Nice Again);

Herald: City Herald (Underdog); Daily Herald (Slider’s : The Return of Maggie Beckett ); Los Angeles Herald (Slider’s: A Current Affair ); Miami Herald (Lexx: Stan Down ); Richmond Herald (The Lone Gunmen: Three Men and a Smoking Diaper ); Roswell Daily Herald (Roswell: Pilot ); San Francisco Herald (Star Trek The Next Generation: The Big Goodbye ); The National Herald (Doctor Who : The Unicorn and the Wasp ); Washington Herald (X-files: Piper Maru);

Mail: Daily Mail (Bride of the Monster); Western Mail (Doctor Who: Boom Town );

Post: Bristol Post (Torchwood: Captain Jack Harkness); Capitol City Post (Underdog); Daily Dallas Post (The Astronaut Farmer ); Palisadian Post (Betaville ); Smallville Post (Lois and Clarke: The Man of Steel Bars); Washington Post (Return from Witch Mountain);

Star: Daily Star (Slider’s: Fever/ Quantum Leap: Blind Faith); Metropolis Star (Lois and Clarke: Neverending Battle/ The Rival ); New York Daily Star (Lois and Clarke: Pilot); Sandy Point Star (The Invaders: The Condemned ); Halfway Across the Galaxy Turn Left) Zyrgon Morning Star.

Sun: Los Angeles Sun (My Favourite Martian: Pilot);

Telegram: Fort-Worth Star Telegram (Roswell: The Summer of ’47 );

Telegraph: Metro City Telegraph (Megamind ); Daily Telegraph (Doctor Who: Love and Monsters/ Goodnight Sweetheart: Wish Me Luck);

Torch: Smallville High Torch (Smallville);

Voice: London Voice (Lois and Clarke: Pilot);

Whisper: Daily Whisper (Lois and Clarke: I’m Looking Through You ); National Whisper (Lois and Clarke: Pilot );

Investigative

Some newspapers see their role as locating hidden information to give to the reader as a scoop. There is a danger this function can fall into the scurrilous category, particularly if there is a need to invent secrets and conspiracies (because there are none). It can also be seen as unpatriotic or illegal, as is the case with The Lone Gunmen, even though the journalists would argue they are very patriotic, and only want to protect their homeland from its enemies, including itself. In the extreme this form of journalism can be accused of treason or terrorism, as is the case with a certain online publication.

Examiner : Cardiff Examiner (Torchwood: Ghost Machine/ Captain Jack Harkness ); Examiner (X-files: The Blessing Way); The Washington Examiner (StargateSG1 : 2010);

Focus (Day of the Triffids, serial 2 );

Informer: The Informer (X-files: Pusher/X-files: Small Potatoes/ Earth Final Contact: Subterra);

Inquirer/Enquirer : Philadelphia Inquirer (The Happening ); The Enquirer (Doctor Who :The Unicorn and the Wasp );

Inquisitor: Inquisitor (Smallville);

Monitor: Metro City Monitor (Megamind);

Observer: Guadalupe County Observer (K-Pax);

Reflective

Lots of newspapers see themselves as ephemeral. They reflect the day’s events and then move on, with nothing permanent or significant in their function, a lot like the office ‘round tuitt’. These papers have the most boring names.

Bulletin: New York Bulletin (When Worlds Collide ); Paris Bulletin(Lois and Clarke: Pilot );

Globe: New York Globe (When Worlds Collide );

Life: Caprican Life (Battlestar Galactica 2);

Mirror: Daily Mirror (Doctor Who: Silver Nemesis );

Network: Business News Network (Slider’s: The Good, the Bad and the Wealthy );

News: Ann Arbor News, The (The Lone Gunmen: The Cap’n Toby Show ); Daily News (BG1980: Galactica Discovers Earth/ The Day the Earth Stood Still 2/The Birds ); Metro City Daily News (Megamind); Santa Fe Daily News (First Man into Space ); South Wales News (Torchwood: Captain Jack Harkness ); News (9); The New York News (Iron Man 2 );

Newspaper: Data Universal Daily Newspaper (Slider’s : Please Press One);

Paper: Baton Rouge Paper (Quantum Leap: So Help Me God);

Planet : Weekly World Planet (The Tick 1994); The Daily Planet (Superman/Lois and Clarke/Smallville);

Press: The Pittsburgh Press (Quantum Leap: Mirror Image );

Standard: Evening Standard (Doctor Who: World War Three/ Day of the Triffids, serial 2 ); The Standard (K-9 and Company );

Times: Herald Times (Dark Angel: Dawg Day Afternoon ); Los Angeles Times (The Thirteenth Floor ); New Alexandria Times (Slider’s: Slide Like an Egyptian ); New York Times (Timecop); Taelon Times (Earth Final Conflict: First Breath ); Times, The (Slider’s: Murder Most Foul );

Today: Universe Today (Babylon 5: Divided Loyalties); USA Today (Timecop/Transformers the Movie/2 ); BSA Today (Slider’s: The Prince of Wails );

View: World View, the (Slider’s: The Exodus);

Worker: Daily Worker (Quantum Leap: Lee Harvey Oswald );

Protective

This is a very disappointing category. The role of the Press is increasingly seen as protecting the reader’s right to know the Truth. In the USA this means protecting the first amendment , guaranteeing Freedom of Speech. This Freedom is not always self evident , it constantly needs to be re-examined and assessed to ensure it remains intact. Australians only have the implied right to Freedom of Speech so there is less pressure on newspapers to be seen as guardians of Democracy.

There are not many names here.

Guardian: Boston Guardian (Iron Man 2 ); The Guardian (K-9 and Company );

Sentinel: Eastern Sentinel (Quantum Leap: Return of the Evil Leaper);

Tribune: Oakland Tribune (Quantum Leap: Jimmy ); Richmond Daily Tribune (Stargate SG1 : Ex Deus Machina); (Tribune roughly equates to a protector. There were several types of Roman Tribunes: One type were Army Officers who worked in the capacity of bodyguards. Another type was the Tribune of the Plebs who protected working class people against the decisions of judges, but could also prosecute people who attacked the state. )

Odds n’ Sods

There are a few newspapers that don't fit any category

Advance: Seattle Advance (4400 As Fate Would Have It ); Times Advance (4400 Rebirth);

Advertiser Advertiser, the (Finders Keepers );

Business: Globe Business (Stargate Atlantis: Outcast ); Texas Business Day (Slider’s : The Good, the Bad and the Wealthy );

Glob (Monsters, Inc.);

Stars and Stripes, the (Slider’s: The Exodus );

So where might names for news go on the Internet? Google Investigator? Amazon Storehouse? Yahoo Echo? Bing Today? The challenge is to be more imaginative, but let’s hope there will still be some Guardians and Sentinels for all of us.

acronyms and initialisms

2011-03-26T16:17:00.000-07:00

Smarten up - Acronyms and Initialisms

It’s trendy at present to complain about the difficulty of interpreting text speak, but shortening up phrases has been going on for a long time. See if you can decode this discussion I had with a teacher recently:

In the morning during roll call I supervise RATS, then if I’m off class I’ll go to the ILC and see my ESL student . She’s working on the HSC after checking out the VCE in Melbourne and the International Baccalaureate OS. She wants a good UAI so she asks the STLA lots of questions. Yesterday she had an assessment using AV so she wanted to know the DPI on the TV’s LCD screen. She got confused between this AV and TV and the same initials on her DSLR camera. She had previously had a problem with FF on the remote control and ff in her music script. Now she was also having a problem with her SIM card for her phone. Then she asked a question about the ALP so I went on the QT as we’re not allowed to do political Q and A. When the bell rang for RI I went back to the staffroom for some R&R before PGD, but then I had to set up the DVD for the C of E teacher. (Decodings at the end of the blog).

These groups of letters can be defined as acronyms or Initialisms depending on how they are pronounced by speakers. This however is not always clear. AV is recognizable as an initialism, but it is pronounced as a word. This problem can be complicated by dialect and social strata.

Initialisms: Groups of letters formed from the first letters of words in a phrase, often military or technological.

Acronyms

These are words formed from the initial letters of other words e.g. KISS or AIDS. Beware! Where a writer is using word play to create an acronym they may be using other word plays as well e.g. Homophones: BMEWS = Bemuse

Considering then that we use a lot of Initialisms and acronyms in our daily life, we would expect science fiction writers to use them as well. The questions are – in what way? And do es the use of acronyms differ from that of initialisms?

1. Designations for groups of people, countries or planets.

Acronyms: AFRIC (Lexx: Moss)American Freedom Rangers of the Idaho Convention; B.A.T. (B.A.T.)

Bureau of Astral Troubleshooters; CONSENT( Gundam Savior The Congress of Settlement Nations);

ESTA(Star Hyke) Exploration of Space and Time Agency; K.I.F.T. (Knight Rider 2000) Knight Industries

FourThousand ; K.I.T.T. (Knight Rider 1982) Knight Industries Two Thousand; MIST (Parasite Eve)

Mitochondrian Investigation and Suppression, organization investigating this ; MUFON (X-files:

Memento Mori) Mutual UFO Network, Inc.; S.E.T.I. (X-files: Little Green Men/My Favourite

Martian/Starman/Alien Hunter/Lexx: Tex Lexx) Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence; SHIELD (Iron

Man) Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement Logistics Division; UNIT (D? Aliens of London/World

War Three) United Nations Intelligence Taskforce; WARP (Lexx: Texx Lexx) World Association of

Research Physicists;

2. Other life forms: Robots, Cyborgs, Aliens and Computer Intelligences

ALF (ALF) Alien Life Form; BOYZZ (Bots Master) Brain Operated Young Zygoetopic Zoids; D.I.C.E

(D.I.C.E.)DNA Integrated Cybernetic Enterprises; FRANS 1. (W.E.I.R.D. World) Free Roving Android

NeutralisingSystem. 2. (W.E.I.R.D. World) Robot created by Noah Lane as a security device; F. R. E. D.(

Stargate SG1:Children of the Gods ) Field Remote Expeditionary Device; HoRSE (Space HoRSE)

Holistic Robotic SlaveEngineers ; K9 (K9 and Company)Pun for canine ; M.A.L.P. (Stargate SG1:

Mobile, Stargate Atlantis)Mobile Analytic Laboratory Probe; MEGAS (Megas XLR) Mechanized Earth \

Guard Attack System; M.I.N.D. (Blakes’ 7: Afterlife) Machine Induced Neural Directions;

RALF (Flight of the Navigator) Robotic Assistant Labor Facilitator; S.E.R.C.H. (Star

Hyke ) Ship’s Emergency Recovery Computer Hologram; VICI (Small Wonder) Voice Input Child

Identicant; V.I.N.CENT (The Black Hole) Vital Information Necessary CENTralized; V.I.K.I. (I, Robot)

VirtualInteractive Kinetic Intelligence; ZAFT (Gundam Seed ) Zodiac Alliance of Freedom Treaty;

3. Weapons and other pieces of technology

BMEWS (War Games) Ballistic Missile Early Warning System; DRADIS (Battlestar Galactica 2:

Fragged Aka Direction, Range and Distance); I.C.E. (Babylon 5 : Born to the Purple/Eye of the Storm) Intrusion Countermeasures Electronics; P.O.P. (The Jetsons: Invasion of the Planet Pirates) Pneumo Osmatic Precipitator; TIA (The Last Enemy) Total information awareness; ZEAF (Terra Hawks) Zelda Earth Atmospheric Fighter

4. And the Left Overs

AQUARIUM (Earth Final Conflict: Guilty Conscience ) A quiet ubiquitous Atavus reveals its

underhanded motives; CAG (Battlestar Galactica 2) Commander Air Group ; CREAM (Dark Angel:

C.R.E.A.M. Cash rules everything around me.); F.E.A.R. (game) First Encounter Assault Recon;

F.R.E. (Island City) First Rule of Engagement; PLANT (Gundam Seed) Productive Location Ally on Nexus Technology; SETI (PEP comics #1) Sacrum, Heart, Innervation, Eyes, Lungs and Derma; WAG (Weber) Wild Assed Guesses; W.A.R.S. (Transformers: Robots in Disguise)not defined ;

Initialisms

The same categories work for initialisms as for acronyms, with a different balance between the categories. There are a lot more entries in the initialism category for groups than in acronyms, partly thanks to the use of various forms of ‘united’ in the naming of groups. It’s not just that easy to make words out of the letters for groups. Perhaps we also like the formality of letters, letting ourselves stand back from groups, keeping a bureaucratic distance.

However, there are about the same number of initialisms and acronyms for other life forms. The initialisms for robots etc. are more generic, less personalized than acronyms. Writers like to give a name to most other life forms, acknowledging that they have some form of life rather than just being machinery. Humans also like to feel superior to their creations, so using a familiar name demotes the non-human to its rightful child-like status.

There are also more entries for weapons and technology under initialisms. Who wants to feel warm and cuddly with a gun or a weapons defense platform? These need to be distanced by the formality of letters.

A trick here is that existing Initialisms may be used with different meanings for the letters e.g. C.I.A.

1. Designations for groups of people, countries or planets.

ACS (Weber) Astro-Control Service; A E U G (Zoids Genesis) Anti-Earth Union Government; AOSS '

(Space Conquest: A Galactic Odyssey)Association of Solar Systems ; CDA (Monsters Inc) Child '

Detection Agency; CDC (X-files: One Son/Medusa; Threshold: Vigilante) Center for Disease Control;

C.I.A. (Doctor Who: TheDeadly Assassin ) Celestial Intervention Agency; CIC (1. McCaffrey, Pegasus

in Space CentralIntelligence Control 2. Weber, Field of Dishonor Combat Information Centre); CNC

(Babylon 5: Midnight on the Firing Line) Command and Control ; CPB (Total Recall 2070) Citizens

Protection Bureau; C.P.S. (Hex) Centre for Paranormal Studies; CRP (Weber, The Short Victorious War)

Citizen’s Rights Party; CRU (Weber, The Short Victorious War) Citizen’s Rights Union; CUFON (The

Silencers) Citizen’s UFO Network; ENSA (Goodnight Sweetheart: How I Won the War) Entertainments

National Service Association; ESS ( Jupiter Moon)European Space Service; FCA (Deep Space 9: Bar

Association) Ferengi Commerce Association; FSA (Blake’s 7: Dawn of the Gods) Federation Space

Academy; FSP(McCaffrey, Sassinak ) Federation of Sentient Planets; FSA (Blake’s 7: Dawn of the

Gods) Federation Space Academy; FSP(McCaffrey, Sassinak ) Federation of Sentient Planets; FSA

(Blake’s 7: Dawn of the Gods) Federation Space Academy; FSP(McCaffrey, Sassinak ) Federation of

Sentient Planets; IPC (Mars) Interplanetary Mining Corporation; IPX Crusade/ Babylon 5 :Third Space)

Interplanetary Expeditions; ISA (Babylon 5 : Rising Star) Interstellar Alliance /(Alien Worlds )International

Space Authority. ; ISC (Mercy Point ) Inter Species Council 2. (Time Runner ) Intelligence Security

Command; N.E.B. (Screamers) New Economic Block ; NCA (2001: A Space Odyssey) National Council

of Astronautics;

NCIC (Earth Final Conflict: Truth)Group not identified;

RAFTA (Sliders: The Return of Maggie Beckett) Reticulum American Free Trade Agreement; RCA

(McCaffrey The Ship Who Sang) Race Conservation Agency; TCS (Armitage III) Technological Criminal

Squad; UCM (Zone of the Enders: Dolores I) United Colonies of Mars ; U.E.O.(SeaQuest 2032: Brave

New World) United Earth Oceans; UHR (Cyber Tracker) Union for Human Rights; UPSF (Irresponsible

Captain Tylor) United Planets Space Force; USG (Legends of the Galactic Heroes) Abbreviation of

United Space Government; USM (Alien Resurrection) United Systems Military; USMC (Freedom)

United States Military Council; USR (I, Robot ) United States Robotics (company); USSD (Bubblegum

Crisis) United Nations Strategic Space Defence Forces; W.A.A.F. (Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons)

World Army Air Force ;

2. Other Life Forms: Robots, Cyborgs, Aliens and Computer Intelligences

AFM’s (Scott: The Empress of Earth) Automatic Farm Machines; AHW (Pilot Candidate) Automatic

Humanoid Weapon; CAL (Doctor Who: Silence in the Library) Charlotte Abigail Lux; CMDF

(Fantastic Voyage) Combined Miniature Deterrent Forces; C.O.C.(Cyber Chase) Chief Operating

Cyborg; CRPR’s (Shadow Raiders) Combat Ready Processing Rigs; DHP (Silent Mobius) Dummy

Humanity Projection; EBE (X-files E.B.E.) Extraterrestrial Biological Entity ; EMH (Deep Space 9: Dr.

Bashir, I Presume?/Star Trek Voyager); Emergency Medical Hologram ; GMO (Threshold) Genetically

modified organisms; IL (Battlestar Galactica 1: Lost Planet of the Gods) Illustrious Leader; LMH (Deep

Space 9: Dr. Bashir, I Presume?) Long term medical hologram; MM (McCaffrey The City Who

Fought)Mutant Minorities; P P A (Star Fleet) Perfectly Programmed Android; RAI (Teknoman) Robotic

Artificial Intelligence; U A V (Stargate SG1 :One False Step) Unmanned Aerial Vehicle; ULF (Sphere)

Unknown Life Form; WOPR (Wargames) War Operation Plan Response; Z.A.R. Zones for Artificial

Resources.

3. Weapons and Other Pieces of Technology

CELSS (Pegasus in Space) Controlled Environment Life Support System; CTR Drive (Starlost) Controlled

Thermonuclear Reactor; DHD (Stargate SG1: Solitudes etc.) Dial Home Device ; EMB (Chameleon 3)

Electro Magnetic Bomb ; EMD (Primeval 4/1 ) Electro -magnetic disruptors; E.S.S. ( E.S.S. Mega)

European Space Simulator. IC (2099) Ident-Chip; IEM (Mars) Image Enhancement Module ; IFTL

(McCaffrey Sassinak) In Faster Than Light; MPPT (Time Trax) Miniature Pellet Projecting Tube; RDD

(Doctor Who: The Robots of Death) Robot Deactivation Device; RDS (Doctor Who: The Invisible Enemy)

Relative Dimensional Stabiliser; UART (K-9 and Company) Universal Asynchronous Receiver Transmitter;

UXB (Johnny and the Bomb: Déjà Voodoo) Unexploded bomb; ZPM Stargate Atlantis: Movie Zero Point

Module;

4. And the Left Overs

ATC (Weber: On Basilisk Station)Advanced Tactical Training School ; ATF (Lexx)Alcohol, tobacco and firearms ; BCFMO (Babylon 5 : Secrets of the Soul) Brightly Coloured Fast Moving Object ; CME( Solar Attack Coronal Mass Ejection); CRS (Earth Final Conflict: Floats Like a Butterfly( Companion Reaction Syndrome ;

EBO (X-files: Unusual Suspects) Engineered Biological Operation ; ECRO ( Silver Sun) Emergency Close Retrieval Orbit ; ECT (Stargate SG1: Family)Electro-convulsive therapy ; ECU (Jupiter Moon)European Currency Unit ;

FCF (McCaffrey, Partnership) First Contact Form; FRT (Space Camp ) Flank Readiness Test; F.T. (Attack of the Killer Tomatoes) Fuzzy Tomato; FTL (Battlestar Galactica 2)Faster than Light; FUBAR (Stargate SG1, Dark Angel, Battlestar Galactica 2) Fucked up beyond all recognition.

GNS (Weber) Grayson naval ship ; IKS (Deep Space 9: Sons of Mogh ) Imperial Klingon Ship;; I.L.F. (Doctor Who: Kinda) Intelligent Life Form; IOA (Stargate) ; ISN (Babylon 5 : And Now for a Word..) Interstellar Network News;

JOAT (McCaffrey: The Ship Who Fought) Jack of All Trades;

MBS (Knight Rider) Molecular Bonded Shell ; MIB (X-files: Jose Chung’s From Outer Space)Men in Black ; MJ (Spiderman) Mary Jane; MPS (Weber The Honor of the Queen)Miles per second ; MRI (Doctor Who: Smith and Jones) Magnetic Resonance Imaging Chamber;

NDE (Earth Final Conflict: The Sleepers) Near Death Experience; NDS (Absolon) Neurological Degeneration Syndrome; NEA (Real) Near Earth Asteroid.

P.O.A. (Stargate SG1: Within the Serpent’s Grasp) Point of Arrival ; RC (Legends of the Galactic Heroes)

Reich Calendar; RDX (TCSC The Riddle of Astro) not defined;

T.I.V. (Red Dwarf: Better Than Life) Total immersion video games ; TKO (Quantum Leap: The Right Hand of God/Babylon 5 episode title] The Knock Out

UC ( Legends of the Galactic Heroes) Universal Calendar ; UFO (UFO) Unidentified Flying Object/(The Abyss) Underwater Flying Objects; UGO (Wargames) Unidentified Grounded Objects; UNN (System Shock 2) Unified National Nominate ; URJ (New Eden) Unrecyclable Junk;

VR.5 Series title Virtual Reality; VTF (Chronicles of Riddick) Visible Thermal Front;

Z.P.G. (Z.P.G.) Zero Population Growth

ALP – Australian Labor Party;AV – audio visual/ aperture value; C of E – Church of England ; DPI – Dots per inch; DSLR – Digital; DVD – Digital video drive ; ESL – English as a Second Language; FF – fast forward; ff – fortissimo; HSC – Higher School Certificate; ILC – Independent Learning Centre; OS – Overseas; PGD – Playground Duty; Q and A – Questions and answers; QT – quiet; R&R – Rest and relaxation; RATS – Reading Across the School; RI – Religious instruction; SIM – Subscriber Identification module; STLA – Support teacher learning activities; TV – television/ time value; UAI – Universities Admission Index; VCE – Victorian Certificate of Education;

Bioblog

2011-01-23T23:49:00.000-08:00

Following on from ‘cryo’ and ‘hyper’, bio is another prefix that has become popular since the 1980’s. It’s use is partly entwined with the prefix ‘cyber’, but this will have to be covered in another blog, or this blog will become too big.

Prior to World War II ‘bio’ was only used for a few words e.g. biology, biography. But in the 2009 Collins Ultimate Scrabble Word List there are over two hundred entries beginning with ‘bio’, and that does not include the science fiction words found here.

What Happened to Make Bio so Popular?

After World War II bioengineering, biotechnology and bionics all developed as separate studies. With the unlocking of DNA and the human genome, these sciences have developed rapidly in the last twenty years, not always in directions ordinary people feel comfortable with. Writers have played with the extremes of scientific advancements, but they have not always seen what was happening under their bio-noses.

Bioengineering developed after World War II. As early as the 1920’s scientists worked on improving air conditioning by studying the effects of temperature and humidity on humans. After World War II this field developed into one of its own and bioengineers worked on improving medical procedures, making prosthetics and biomaterials.

Genetic engineering began to develop in the 1970’s with new knowledge about DNA, and the first test tube baby.

Biotechnology was another new science, invented in 1980 when the US Supreme Court decided that live, human made micro-organisms could be patented and sold. Since then courts have allowed human genes to be patented as well. Companies really exist with names like Genex and Genentech, using genes to make medicines and to engineer disease resistant crops and farm animals. Biotech also uses micro-organisms to help industry.

Bionics has developed as a way of combining different sciences to study living systems, looking for ideas to apply to artificial lifeforms and systems. Robots have been developed, although artificial intelligence has not developed far yet.

Scary! A lot of people are frightened of these new sciences, especially when their products have not always been what we expected i.e. safe for human beings and the environment. Science Fiction has locked onto the scary nature of the biological sciences, extrapolating what uses these sciences could be put to in the future.

There seem to be two threads running through the language: the creation of cyborgs and cybernetic machines complete with weapons, and the development of medical, scientific and environmental equipment. Bad cop, good cop.

Words and Phrases using ‘bio’

If we initially exclude the words invented for different kinds of artificially created life forms, there are many new words in science fiction using this prefix. Many of them relate to medical and environmental equipment, sadly some relate to weapons.

Biobed E Cold Station 12 Medical beds equipped with technology giving patient read-outs.

Biocarbon Amalgamated Scanners Malevolent organization rounding up genetically altered people in order to dominate the world. Run By Revok.

Biochemical Residue Earth Final Conflict: Dream Stalker Human imprint left on everything touched, used to identify murderers.

Biochemical Storage The Next Generation: Transfigurations Process of encoding information onto nucleic acid chains, completed by the Zalkonians. Decoded by Wesley and Data providing valuable navigation charts.

Biochip Birds of Prey: Three Birds and a Baby Computer piece, inserted into a human. One found in Guy and one in his mother, with a passkey to Synchron Labs.

Bioconvention of Geneva Doctor Who: Rise of the Cybermen International agreement that new life forms must be ratified by the whole Earth. Cybermen defied the convention and would not have been ratified.

Biocrystal The Osiris Chronicles A living rock which needed to be watered, gave affection and glowed in random colours. Nova asked for one of these as a pet.

Biocryonic Vibrations Doctor Who: The Ark in Space Process which placed Sarah into cryogenic suspension.

Biodiversity Project X-files: F. Emasculata Group employing Dr. Robert Torrence to collect specimens from Guanacaste Rain Forest, Costa Rica. Related to Cancer Man, the disease developed from this project was spread among prisoners in Cumberland State Correctional Facility.

Biodome 1. Earth 2: After The Thaw Name given to the structures in which the group camped during the

winter. Had originally been food growing centres.

2. Doctor Who: The Waters of Mars One section of Base Bowie One where food was grown, but infected with

alien water that mutated Andy when he ate a carrot.

3. Earth Final Conflict: The Fields Building at Norton where Kryss was grown in human beings and harvested

for Taelons. Housed humans and hothouse plants for consumption.

Bio-electric Conducting Gel Space Above and Beyond: Hostile Visit Goo on the Chig fighter into which the

pilot put his arms to connect with the ship.

Bio-electric Dampening Field Doctor Who: Journey’s End Force-field put in place by Doctor-Donna to stop the Reality Bomb.

Bioelectric Feedback Battlestar Galactica 2: A Measure of Salvation Method by which the dying Cylons were made to transmit the virus to the Resurrection ship.

Bio-Electric Signature Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century Measurement of the electricity generated by a body.

Bio-Electronic Source Doctor Who: The Keeper of Traken Power source used in the Traken Union to maintain peace and prosperity. It augmented the power of the Keeper of Traken, who could only be a Traken and was the only one who controlled the Source. Resembled a pearl the size of a boulder. Able to calcify any evil which approached it. The Master used Kassia to take control of the Source and then used it to regenerate himself.

Bioenzymatic Food The Next Generation: Liaisons Gift given to Troi by Loquel after she showed him desserts.

Bioequipment Silver Sun Biological equipment, including Harvest Clones. Designed to maintain the welfare of the crew.

Bioetheric Centre Final Fantasy Institute where scientists researched bioetheric energy, looking for a way to use this to destroy the phantoms. [< bio, biological + ether, the medium ancients thought filled the heavens.]

Bioetheric Energy Final Fantasy Power created from single celled organisms, which repulsed the phantoms, used for weapons and shields.

Bioetheric Laser Final Fantasy Weapon used to destroy phantom pathogens within a human body.

Biofilters 1. Deep Space 9: Babel Parts of the transporters designed to remove bacteria and viruses.

2. The Next Generation: Unnatural Selection Parts of the transporters able to remove diseases if they had been previously identified. Unable to remove the aging disease as it was new.

3. The Next Generation: Man of the People Transporter part which proved Sev Maylor had degenerated massively within three days of boarding Enterprise.

Biogenic Weapon Deep Space 9: For The Uniform Nerve agent made from rhodium and selenium, dropped on Veloz Prime by the Maquis who promised to drop it on every Cardassian planet.

Biohazard Zone seaQuest 2032 :Equilibrium Area of the sea declared contaminated. In this case the Sargasso Sea in the South Atlantic Ocean.

BioKentro Zoids Genesis Zoid piloted by Souta, designed on a Kentrosaurus, with a double row of spikes on its back and a scythed tail called a Backlance. Specialized in melee combat.

Biolab Stargate Atlantis: Echoes Section of Atlantis not accessed until McKay needed to know what the Flagisallus were. Used to study planetary animal life, developed communications with the Flagisallus which remained garbled but intelligible if cleaned up.

Bio-link 1. Max Steel Communication device used by Dr Roberto Martinez allowing him to see and hear everything that Max Steel saw and heard.

2. McCaffrey, Sassinak Link used by the Ssli to communicate in addition to the computer interface. This link was much harder for people to monitor, thus considered more secure.

Biological Depository Star Trek Voyager: Phage Laboratory on a rogue planet where Vidiians stored body parts taken from other species. Included a Kazon liver.

Biological Neutraliser Farscape: Die Me, Dichotomy Green light used by the Diagnosan to kill germs while it had its face mask off.

Bioluminescence 1. Farscape: Crackers Don’t Matter Normal light emitted by Moya , hugely amplified by Traltixx for his own purposes.

2. Journey to the Centre of the Earth 2009 Feature of the bird Cyanus Roseopterix found under the Earth.

Bio Magazine Bionic Woman 2007: Sisterhood Reading favoured by Sarah Corvus.

Bio-Magnetic Restraint Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century Restraint system used in mental hospitals.

Biomatter resequencer Enterprise: Breaking the Ice Technology converting waste into usable items for use on the Enterprise.

Biomed Scanner Sliders: World Killer Medical tool used by Quinn to identify the population taken into an alternate dimension as opposed to the ones who should have been there.

Biometric Fluctuations Deep Space 9: The Begotten Changes in life-signs, given by the baby Changeling in this case.

Biometric Hologram Enterprise: The Council Xindi technology producing an image of a Guardian.

Biometric Sensor Array Stargate Atlantis: Sanctuary An internal/external sensor version from Ancient Technology. Contained the biometric signatures of everyone on Atlantis, making it able to detect that Chaya was an Ancient.

Biomimetic Gel 1. Deep Space 9: Distant Voices Illegal drug Altovar wanted Bashir to sell him, attacking him when Bashir refused. Illegal to even ask for it.

2. Deep Space 9: In The Pale Moonlight Illegal drug, 85 litres of which were taken from Bashir by Sisko were used to pay for a Cardassian information rod.

Biomolecular Probe Enterprise: Dead Stop Aka bio-scan. Examination of a star-ship by an alien entity. Used by the repair station to alter its atmosphere and language to suit humans.

Biomolecular Replication Deep Space 9: Prophet Motive Work done by Bashir for which he was nominated for the Carrington Award.

Bionet Men in Black Force filed placed around Manhattan to stop aliens entering or leaving.

Bioneural Circuitry Star Trek Voyager: The Caretaker New technology on Voyager consisting of gel packs which held more information than previous technology.

Bioneural Filters Star Trek Voyager: State of Flux Part of the replicators sold to the Kazon, blowing them up and fusing them to metal.

Bionic Translator The Sheriff and the Satellite Kid Device used by H7-25 to learn English.

Biopod Enterprise: Precious Cargo Aka stasis pod. Casket resembling a cryogenic chamber, using stasis to transport an unwilling person.

Biopolymer Stargate Atlantis: The Seed Growth which infected Keller, using her intelligence to find energy to grow. Would have developed into a Wraith ship if Carson hadn’t found a phage to destroy it.

Biopolymerisation X-files: Leonard Betts Modern mummification, used on Leonard Betts to enable study of his head. [< biopolymer, DNA molecules and proteins which can be separated by a process of electrophoresis using a gel, for microscopic study]

Bioport eXistenZ Link implanted into the spine of a person, allowing them to directly interface their mind with a biological game. Experienced the game as if it was reality.

Bioprobe Earth 2: All About Eve Technology injected into every member of the Eden Project except Devon, allowing the computer to track their location. Began to degrade and kill everyone.

Bioprogramming Doctor Who: The Hungry Earth Technology recognised by the Doctor as that used on Jungle Planets. An attack method by the Silurians to stop the drilling, caused the Blue Grass.

Bioreactor Enterprise: Carpenter Street Machine needed to create a virus to destroy humanity.

Biorhythmic Control Lois and Clarke: The Man of Steel Bars Bodily control Clark claimed to possess when the extreme heat in Metropolis didn’t worry him.

Bioroid Care Centre Appleseed Medical facility to provide life extension to bioroids Invaded and partly destroyed by Landmates.

BiOsanitation Battalion The Black Hole Aka Old Bob. Robotic unit on which the STAR robots were based.

Bioscan Enterprise: Fight or Flight Sub-molecular assessment of the life forms of one ship by another.

Biosculpt Weber, Honor Among Enemies Cosmetic surgery [< biological + sculpture]

Biosensor 1. Stargate SG1: Upgrades Piece of Tok’ra technology monitoring all aspects of a person’s physical condition. Resembled a small metal disc placed on the body.[< biological + sensor]

2. Zeta Gundam Psychommu system which Camille Bidan designed into the Zeta Gundam. Combined with Newtype abilities to give the pilot the ability to give the suit orders through impulses, no mental orders being necessary. Made the suits faster and more lethal.

BioShifter Genetic Species A unit capable of controlling living creatures and cyborgs.

Biosign Enterprise: Fortunate Son Evidence of some form of life detected by sensors.

Bioslurry Earth Final Conflict: Time Bomb Taelon material associated with decomposition, found on the outside of Ma’el’s ship.

Biospectral Phase Discriminator Deep Space 9: Hippocratic Oath Technology O’Brien was sent to the runabout to retrieve to assist Bashir’s work on Ketracel white. Knocked out his guard and escaped instead.

Biospectral Scan The Next Generation: Timescape Test run on the Romulan engine to learn if the cellular clusters in it were alive, they were.

Biosphere 1. Starlost Components of the ark, held in clusters. Home to the remnant of humanity searching for a new planet.

2. Silent Running Ships dedicated to food production.

Biotech Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century Company owned by Mr. Barclay [< biological + technology]

Biotech Frontiers Dark Angel: Prodigy Magazine Max pretended to represent when she attended the ConGen2 Conference as Rachael Glass.

Biostatic Energy Amplification Darts Super Robot Monkey Hyperforce Team Go! Attack used by Gibson, fired small blasts of electricity. Renamed Spin Shocker by Otto, who complained that the original name was too long.

Biostereometric Facility Buck Rogers in the 35th Century Laboratory for producing holographic photographs.

Biotronics Inc Brain Twisters Company paying Professor Rothman to conduct experiments on his students, investigating the results of exposure to patterns of light and sound stimulation. Killed Rothman when he discovered the results.

Bio Vizier Lexx: Brizon Post held by Brizon under the Divine Order, stated to be the Supreme Bio Vizier. A teaching position in which Brizon taught Mantrid whom he considered uncreative.

Bioweapon 1. Now and Again Type of weapon used to kill people on a train at the time Newman was fatally injured at the railway station.

2. Enterprise: Rajin Form of assault favoured by more extreme species of Xindi to use against humans.

Bioxenic Microton Torchwood: Something Borrowed Instrument Owen could have used to removed the eggs from Gwen, but it was not portable.

Cyborg or Bioroid?

Since the 1970’s there has been a change away from using the words ‘cyborg’ and ‘android’. Both these words usually meant a human being made or enhanced by some artificial process, and since the words are useful they keep being used. Once again the word usage splits into two linked areas: supersoldiers and animalistic fighting machines to be used by humans, modified or not, including space ships. Note that even clones are being re-named in this process.

Bio-Borgs SkySurfer Strike Force 1995 Form of robot. Chronozoid, Dr. Five Eyes, Grenader, Laserette, Noxious, Replicon, Zachariah Easel.

Bioderms Missionforce : Cyberstorm Game 1996 Cloned pilots used in battling the Cybrids.

Biodread Captain Power Series 1987-8 Large, robotic looking living machines developed using synthetic DNA. Had high levels of destructive force, and were self repairing. Only two in existence, Soaron and Blastarr.

Bio-engineered Combat Unit X-Files: Nothing Important Happened Today 1993-2002 Aka First generation super soldier as seen in Knowle Rohrer and Shannon McMahon.

Biological Machines Blake’s 7 : The Web 1971-81 Organic machine, genetically engineered to perform specific tasks.

Biological Metacrisis Doctor Who: Journey’s End 2008 Melding of Donna and the Doctor’s DNA creating a half human clone and giving Donna Timelord memories and intelligence. Unstable for Donna who had her memories of the Doctor wiped to save her.

Bioloid 1. Farscape: A Constellation of Doubt 2000-2004 Robotic impersonation of Aeryn sent to Moya by the Scarrans.

2. Farscape: We’re So Screwed: La Bomba Biomechanical replication used by the Scarrans, in this case Stark.

Biomech Captain Power aka Trooper. Mechanical soldier, with limited intelligence and no sentient thought, under the control of a larger computer. Higher ranks e.g. First, Second and Third Phalanx, had more skills.

Biomechanical weapon Enterprise: The Shipment 2001-4 Xindi rifle analysed by Trip, found to have a self reproducing creature inside. Knocked out by delta radiation as it thrived on omicron radiation.

Biomechanoid Farscape Combination of living matter and technology, usually to create space vessels e.g. Moya. First hypothesized in The Ship Who Sang by A. McCaffrey.

Biomechanoid Virus Farscape: They’ve Got a Secret Original theory as to what was wrong with Moya, causing her to shut down life support. She was actually pregnant.

BioMegaRaptor Zoids Genesis Series 2005 Zoid based on the MegaRaptor using combat data from Major Zairin’s battles to mass produce this model for Digald.

Biomorph Farscape: Beware of Dog Creature with two parts, one hidden inside the other.

Biomorphic Organisational Systems Supervisor Doctor Who: The Green Death 1973 Computer controlling Global Chemicals, gave Stevens his orders, using his brain as a way to expand its understanding of humans. determined to take over the. The Doctor confused it with a paradox and dehypnotised Stevens who then overloaded the system, blowing it up. Voiced by John Rolfe.

Bionic-1 Bionic Six Series 1987 Leader of the Bionic Six, real name Jack Bennett. Most powerful of the team, he possessed extreme strength, super eyesight and hearing. Voiced by John Stephenson.

Bionic Commando Game, 1987. A soldier with a bionic arm is sent to infiltrate an enemy fortress.

Bionicle Game, 2003; Bionicle Heroes Game, 2006; Bionicle : Matoran Adventures Game, 2002; Bionicle : Tales of Tohunga, LEGO Game, 2001; Bionicle: The Mask of Light Film, 2003; Bionicle 2 : Legends of Metru-Nui Film, 2004, Animated; Bionicle 3 : Web of Shadows Film, 2005, Animated; Bionicle Heroes Game, 2006

Bions Fury3 Creatures which were trying to exterminate humanity.

BioPtera Zoids: Genesis Zoid piloted by Captain Felme. Based on a pteranadon, capable of flight. Armed with a plasma gun in its mouth and cannons on its wings.

BioRaptor Zoids: Genesis Standard Zoid soldier used by Digald, armed with teeth, clawed hands and feet and a plasma weapon in its mouth.

Bioreplicant Star Trek: The Next Generation: Rightful Heir 1987-94 Clone, as seen in the copy of Kahless.

Bioroid 1. Appleseed Clone, unable to reproduce, needing life extension sessions to live longer. Lacking strong emotions such as love and hate, help humans remain stable. Half the population, Hitomi was one.

2. Snatcher Life form which killed people in order to take their place in society. Nicknamed Snatchers.

3. Dual! Parallel Trouble Adventure Artificially constructed biological and mechanical being.

Bioscholars Lexx: The Game Scientists who created Kai, gave him knowledge of strategy to help him be a better assassin.

Biosynth Dark Angel :Rising 200-1 Name for the type of human Max was.

Bio-Tech Force Enhancement The Incredible Hulk 2008 Super-soldier serum developed after the war but put on ice. Used by General Ross to turn Blonsky into a super-soldier with enhanced strength and healing ability.

Biotransmuter The Pirates of Dark Water Series 1991-2 Title used by Slagon to describe his practice of swapping parts of animals bodies to create new creatures. He did malicious and unnecessary modifications.

BioTricera Zoids: Genesis Zoid piloted by Georg. Powerful and well armoured, designed to resemble a triceratops. Armed with a plasma gun in its mouth. Its horns extend, attached by wires to impale targets and then return.

Biotron Micronauts Mobile roboid, one of two running the space ship Endeavour II.

BioTyranno Zoids: Genesis Large Zoid based on a T-rex.

Bio Volcano Zoids: Genesis Zoid piloted by Major Zairin who was stressed by its use of personal will. Modified BioMegaRaptor with armour and spines completely immune to metal Zi.

Bio Zoids Zoids: Genesis Zoids used by Digald. They include: BioKentro, BioPtera, BioMegaRaptor, BioRaptor, BioTricera, BioTyranno and BioVolcano.

Game titles

Games nearly all come from the 1990’s and 2000’s, and problematically use artificially created beings as enemies. It looks like the premise of Space Above and Beyond that in vitros would be discriminated against is correct.

Bio Challenge Game, 1989. Player takes the role of K.L.I.P.T, a cyborg built to save humanity when their genetic code begins to degrade. His goal is to survive against biological challenges designed by the scientists to test it.

Bioforge Game, 1995. A group of religious fanatics called Mondites want to take over the galaxy. Player takes role of a prisoner who has been experimented on with cybernetic implants.

Bio F.R.E.A.K.S. Game, 1998. Short form of Biological Flying Robotic Enhanced Armored Killing Synthoids. Player controls a bionically enhanced fighter whose goal is to win a series of one on one fights.

Bio-Hazard Battle Game, 1992. Genesis, Wii. Published by SEGA. The planet Avaron is overrun by biogenetical creatures created by the advanced society living there.

Bio Menace Game, 1993. Published by Apogee. DOS. Earth is invaded by aliens, the player’s goal is to stop them.

Bioshock 1. Game, 2007, Player is guided by Atlas through the underwater city of Rapture. Objective is to shoot genetically altered inhabitants to restore the peace. Plasmids allow a choice of superhuman abilities, reconstitution units allow players to be resurrected. 2. Game, 2008 PS3 Same game

Film and Episode Titles

Most of the film titles using ‘bio’ relate to the Six Million Dollar Man franchise, with few other films using the prefix. Nor are there many episode titles using the prefix ‘bio’ which is a surprise. Note that there is a flush in the late 1970’s, with some use in the 1980’s and 1990’s. There is now renewed use probably due to advances in gene technology.

Biocrine : Starhunter, Season 2, 2001

Biofeedback : The Bionic Woman, Season 2, 1977

Biogenesis, Part 1 : X Files, Season 6, 1999

Biohazard Film, 1984. A psychic makes contact with aliens.

Biohazard: The Alien Force Film, 1994 Aliens lay eggs in human beings.

Biography: The Voltron Force : Voltron 3D, Season 1, 1998

Bionic Beauty : Birds of Prey, Season 1, 1976; The Bionic Woman, Season 1, 1976

Bionic Blunder From Down Under: Gadget Boy’s Adventures in History, 1998

Bionic Dog, The Pt 1 & 2 : The Bionic Woman, Season 3, 1977

Bionic Ever After Telemovie , 1994. The Six Million Dollar Man Steve and Jaime marry, even though Jaime contracts a computer virus.

Bionics On! The First Adventure : Bionic Six, Season 1, 1987

Bionic Showdown Telemovie, 1989 The Six Million Dollar Man Yagher Secret documents are stolen from the World Unity Games in Montreal, by someone with bionic powers. Reunion TV movies: Return of the Six-Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman; The Bionic Showdown; Bionic Ever After

Bionic Six Series, Animated, 1987. Jack Bennett and his family are implanted with bionic systems to save their lives.

Bionic Woman, The 1. Series following The Six Million Dollar Man 1976-78, US.

2. Series 2007. After an accident Jaime Somers is turned into a super soldier.

Bioparticle Gun : Episode title, Zoids Genesis, Season 1, 2005

Biot In Red, The : Phantom 2040, Season 1, 1994

Bioyomon Gets Firepower: Digimon : Digital Monsters, Season 1, 1999

Bio Zoid : Zoids Genesis, Season 1, 2005

Bioblog

Following on from ‘cryo’ and ‘hyper’, bio is another prefix that has become popular since the 1980’s. It’s use is partly entwined with the prefix ‘cyber’, but this will have to be covered in another blog, or this blog will become too big.

Prior to World War II ‘bio’ was only used for a few words e.g. biology, biography. But in the 2009 Collins Ultimate Scrabble Word List there are over two hundred entries beginning with ‘bio’, and that does not include the science fiction words found here.

What Happened to Make Bio so Popular?

After World War II bioengineering, biotechnology and bionics all developed as separate studies. With the unlocking of DNA and the human genome, these sciences have developed rapidly in the last twenty years, not always in directions ordinary people feel comfortable with. Writers have played with the extremes of scientific advancements, but they have not always seen what was happening under their bio-noses.

Bioengineering developed after World War II. As early as the 1920’s scientists worked on improving air conditioning by studying the effects of temperature and humidity on humans. After World War II this field developed into one of its own and bioengineers worked on improving medical procedures, making prosthetics and biomaterials.

Genetic engineering began to develop in the 1970’s with new knowledge about DNA, and the first test tube baby.

Biotechnology was another new science, invented in 1980 when the US Supreme Court decided that live, human made micro-organisms could be patented and sold. Since then courts have allowed human genes to be patented as well. Companies really exist with names like Genex and Genentech, using genes to make medicines and to engineer disease resistant crops and farm animals. Biotech also uses micro-organisms to help industry.

Bionics has developed as a way of combining different sciences to study living systems, looking for ideas to apply to artificial lifeforms and systems. Robots have been developed, although artificial intelligence has not developed far yet.

Scary! A lot of people are frightened of these new sciences, especially when their products have not always been what we expected i.e. safe for human beings and the environment. Science Fiction has locked onto the scary nature of the biological sciences, extrapolating what uses these sciences could be put to in the future.

There seem to be two threads running through the language: the creation of cyborgs and cybernetic machines complete with weapons, and the development of medical, scientific and environmental equipment. Bad cop, good cop.

Words and Phrases using ‘bio’

If we initially exclude the words invented for different kinds of artificially created life forms, there are many new words in science fiction using this prefix. Many of them relate to medical and environmental equipment, sadly some relate to weapons.

Biobed E Cold Station 12 Medical beds equipped with technology giving patient read-outs.

Biocarbon Amalgamated Scanners Malevolent organization rounding up genetically altered people in order to dominate the world. Run By Revok.

Biochemical Residue Earth Final Conflict: Dream Stalker Human imprint left on everything touched, used to identify murderers.

Biochemical Storage The Next Generation: Transfigurations Process of encoding information onto nucleic acid chains, completed by the Zalkonians. Decoded by Wesley and Data providing valuable navigation charts.

Biochip Birds of Prey: Three Birds and a Baby Computer piece, inserted into a human. One found in Guy and one in his mother, with a passkey to Synchron Labs.

Bioconvention of Geneva Doctor Who: Rise of the Cybermen International agreement that new life forms must be ratified by the whole Earth. Cybermen defied the convention and would not have been ratified.

Biocrystal The Osiris Chronicles A living rock which needed to be watered, gave affection and glowed in random colours. Nova asked for one of these as a pet.

Biocryonic Vibrations Doctor Who: The Ark in Space Process which placed Sarah into cryogenic suspension.

Biodiversity Project X-files: F. Emasculata Group employing Dr. Robert Torrence to collect specimens from Guanacaste Rain Forest, Costa Rica. Related to Cancer Man, the disease developed from this project was spread among prisoners in Cumberland State Correctional Facility.

Biodome 1. Earth 2: After The Thaw Name given to the structures in which the group camped during the

winter. Had originally been food growing centres.

2. Doctor Who: The Waters of Mars One section of Base Bowie One where food was grown, but infected with

alien water that mutated Andy when he ate a carrot.

3. Earth Final Conflict: The Fields Building at Norton where Kryss was grown in human beings and harvested

for Taelons. Housed humans and hothouse plants for consumption.

Bio-electric Conducting Gel Space Above and Beyond: Hostile Visit Goo on the Chig fighter into which the

pilot put his arms to connect with the ship.

Bio-electric Dampening Field Doctor Who: Journey’s End Force-field put in place by Doctor-Donna to stop the Reality Bomb.

Bioelectric Feedback Battlestar Galactica 2: A Measure of Salvation Method by which the dying Cylons were made to transmit the virus to the Resurrection ship.

Bio-Electric Signature Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century Measurement of the electricity generated by a body.

Bio-Electronic Source Doctor Who: The Keeper of Traken Power source used in the Traken Union to maintain peace and prosperity. It augmented the power of the Keeper of Traken, who could only be a Traken and was the only one who controlled the Source. Resembled a pearl the size of a boulder. Able to calcify any evil which approached it. The Master used Kassia to take control of the Source and then used it to regenerate himself.

Bioenzymatic Food The Next Generation: Liaisons Gift given to Troi by Loquel after she showed him desserts.

Bioequipment Silver Sun Biological equipment, including Harvest Clones. Designed to maintain the welfare of the crew.

Bioetheric Centre Final Fantasy Institute where scientists researched bioetheric energy, looking for a way to use this to destroy the phantoms. [< bio, biological + ether, the medium ancients thought filled the heavens.]

Bioetheric Energy Final Fantasy Power created from single celled organisms, which repulsed the phantoms, used for weapons and shields.

Bioetheric Laser Final Fantasy Weapon used to destroy phantom pathogens within a human body.

Biofilters 1. Deep Space 9: Babel Parts of the transporters designed to remove bacteria and viruses.

2. The Next Generation: Unnatural Selection Parts of the transporters able to remove diseases if they had been previously identified. Unable to remove the aging disease as it was new.

3. The Next Generation: Man of the People Transporter part which proved Sev Maylor had degenerated massively within three days of boarding Enterprise.

Biogenic Weapon Deep Space 9: For The Uniform Nerve agent made from rhodium and selenium, dropped on Veloz Prime by the Maquis who promised to drop it on every Cardassian planet.

Biohazard Zone seaQuest 2032 :Equilibrium Area of the sea declared contaminated. In this case the Sargasso Sea in the South Atlantic Ocean.

BioKentro Zoids Genesis Zoid piloted by Souta, designed on a Kentrosaurus, with a double row of spikes on its back and a scythed tail called a Backlance. Specialized in melee combat.

Biolab Stargate Atlantis: Echoes Section of Atlantis not accessed until McKay needed to know what the Flagisallus were. Used to study planetary animal life, developed communications with the Flagisallus which remained garbled but intelligible if cleaned up.

Bio-link 1. Max Steel Communication device used by Dr Roberto Martinez allowing him to see and hear everything that Max Steel saw and heard.

2. McCaffrey, Sassinak Link used by the Ssli to communicate in addition to the computer interface. This link was much harder for people to monitor, thus considered more secure.

Biological Depository Star Trek Voyager: Phage Laboratory on a rogue planet where Vidiians stored body parts taken from other species. Included a Kazon liver.

Biological Neutraliser Farscape: Die Me, Dichotomy Green light used by the Diagnosan to kill germs while it had its face mask off.

Bioluminescence 1. Farscape: Crackers Don’t Matter Normal light emitted by Moya , hugely amplified by Traltixx for his own purposes.

2. Journey to the Centre of the Earth 2009 Feature of the bird Cyanus Roseopterix found under the Earth.

Bio Magazine Bionic Woman 2007: Sisterhood Reading favoured by Sarah Corvus.

Bio-Magnetic Restraint Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century Restraint system used in mental hospitals.

Biomatter resequencer Enterprise: Breaking the Ice Technology converting waste into usable items for use on the Enterprise.

Biomed Scanner Sliders: World Killer Medical tool used by Quinn to identify the population taken into an alternate dimension as opposed to the ones who should have been there.

Biometric Fluctuations Deep Space 9: The Begotten Changes in life-signs, given by the baby Changeling in this case.

Biometric Hologram Enterprise: The Council Xindi technology producing an image of a Guardian.

Biometric Sensor Array Stargate Atlantis: Sanctuary An internal/external sensor version from Ancient Technology. Contained the biometric signatures of everyone on Atlantis, making it able to detect that Chaya was an Ancient.

Biomimetic Gel 1. Deep Space 9: Distant Voices Illegal drug Altovar wanted Bashir to sell him, attacking him when Bashir refused. Illegal to even ask for it.

2. Deep Space 9: In The Pale Moonlight Illegal drug, 85 litres of which were taken from Bashir by Sisko were used to pay for a Cardassian information rod.

Biomolecular Probe Enterprise: Dead Stop Aka bio-scan. Examination of a star-ship by an alien entity. Used by the repair station to alter its atmosphere and language to suit humans.

Biomolecular Replication Deep Space 9: Prophet Motive Work done by Bashir for which he was nominated for the Carrington Award.

Bionet Men in Black Force filed placed around Manhattan to stop aliens entering or leaving.

Bioneural Circuitry Star Trek Voyager: The Caretaker New technology on Voyager consisting of gel packs which held more information than previous technology.

Bioneural Filters Star Trek Voyager: State of Flux Part of the replicators sold to the Kazon, blowing them up and fusing them to metal.

Bionic Translator The Sheriff and the Satellite Kid Device used by H7-25 to learn English.

Biopod Enterprise: Precious Cargo Aka stasis pod. Casket resembling a cryogenic chamber, using stasis to transport an unwilling person.

Biopolymer Stargate Atlantis: The Seed Growth which infected Keller, using her intelligence to find energy to grow. Would have developed into a Wraith ship if Carson hadn’t found a phage to destroy it.

Biopolymerisation X-files: Leonard Betts Modern mummification, used on Leonard Betts to enable study of his head. [< biopolymer, DNA molecules and proteins which can be separated by a process of electrophoresis using a gel, for microscopic study]

Bioport eXistenZ Link implanted into the spine of a person, allowing them to directly interface their mind with a biological game. Experienced the game as if it was reality.

Bioprobe Earth 2: All About Eve Technology injected into every member of the Eden Project except Devon, allowing the computer to track their location. Began to degrade and kill everyone.

Bioprogramming Doctor Who: The Hungry Earth Technology recognised by the Doctor as that used on Jungle Planets. An attack method by the Silurians to stop the drilling, caused the Blue Grass.

Bioreactor Enterprise: Carpenter Street Machine needed to create a virus to destroy humanity.

Biorhythmic Control Lois and Clarke: The Man of Steel Bars Bodily control Clark claimed to possess when the extreme heat in Metropolis didn’t worry him.

Bioroid Care Centre Appleseed Medical facility to provide life extension to bioroids Invaded and partly destroyed by Landmates.

BiOsanitation Battalion The Black Hole Aka Old Bob. Robotic unit on which the STAR robots were based.

Bioscan Enterprise: Fight or Flight Sub-molecular assessment of the life forms of one ship by another.

Biosculpt Weber, Honor Among Enemies Cosmetic surgery [< biological + sculpture]

Biosensor 1. Stargate SG1: Upgrades Piece of Tok’ra technology monitoring all aspects of a person’s physical condition. Resembled a small metal disc placed on the body.[< biological + sensor]

2. Zeta Gundam Psychommu system which Camille Bidan designed into the Zeta Gundam. Combined with Newtype abilities to give the pilot the ability to give the suit orders through impulses, no mental orders being necessary. Made the suits faster and more lethal.

BioShifter Genetic Species A unit capable of controlling living creatures and cyborgs.

Biosign Enterprise: Fortunate Son Evidence of some form of life detected by sensors.

Bioslurry Earth Final Conflict: Time Bomb Taelon material associated with decomposition, found on the outside of Ma’el’s ship.

Biospectral Phase Discriminator Deep Space 9: Hippocratic Oath Technology O’Brien was sent to the runabout to retrieve to assist Bashir’s work on Ketracel white. Knocked out his guard and escaped instead.

Biospectral Scan The Next Generation: Timescape Test run on the Romulan engine to learn if the cellular clusters in it were alive, they were.

Biosphere 1. Starlost Components of the ark, held in clusters. Home to the remnant of humanity searching for a new planet.

2. Silent Running Ships dedicated to food production.

Biotech Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century Company owned by Mr. Barclay [< biological + technology]

Biotech Frontiers Dark Angel: Prodigy Magazine Max pretended to represent when she attended the ConGen2 Conference as Rachael Glass.

Biostatic Energy Amplification Darts Super Robot Monkey Hyperforce Team Go! Attack used by Gibson, fired small blasts of electricity. Renamed Spin Shocker by Otto, who complained that the original name was too long.

Biostereometric Facility Buck Rogers in the 35th Century Laboratory for producing holographic photographs.

Biotronics Inc Brain Twisters Company paying Professor Rothman to conduct experiments on his students, investigating the results of exposure to patterns of light and sound stimulation. Killed Rothman when he discovered the results.

Bio Vizier Lexx: Brizon Post held by Brizon under the Divine Order, stated to be the Supreme Bio Vizier. A teaching position in which Brizon taught Mantrid whom he considered uncreative.

Bioweapon 1. Now and Again Type of weapon used to kill people on a train at the time Newman was fatally injured at the railway station.

2. Enterprise: Rajin Form of assault favoured by more extreme species of Xindi to use against humans.

Bioxenic Microton Torchwood: Something Borrowed Instrument Owen could have used to removed the eggs from Gwen, but it was not portable.

Cyborg or Bioroid?

Since the 1970’s there has been a change away from using the words ‘cyborg’ and ‘android’. Both these words usually meant a human being made or enhanced by some artificial process, and since the words are useful they keep being used. Once again the word usage splits into two linked areas: supersoldiers and animalistic fighting machines to be used by humans, modified or not, including space ships. Note that even clones are being re-named in this process.

Bio-Borgs SkySurfer Strike Force 1995 Form of robot. Chronozoid, Dr. Five Eyes, Grenader, Laserette, Noxious, Replicon, Zachariah Easel.

Bioderms Missionforce : Cyberstorm Game 1996 Cloned pilots used in battling the Cybrids.

Biodread Captain Power Series 1987-8 Large, robotic looking living machines developed using synthetic DNA. Had high levels of destructive force, and were self repairing. Only two in existence, Soaron and Blastarr.

Bio-engineered Combat Unit X-Files: Nothing Important Happened Today 1993-2002 Aka First generation super soldier as seen in Knowle Rohrer and Shannon McMahon.

Biological Machines Blake’s 7 : The Web 1971-81 Organic machine, genetically engineered to perform specific tasks.

Biological Metacrisis Doctor Who: Journey’s End 2008 Melding of Donna and the Doctor’s DNA creating a half human clone and giving Donna Timelord memories and intelligence. Unstable for Donna who had her memories of the Doctor wiped to save her.

Bioloid 1. Farscape: A Constellation of Doubt 2000-2004 Robotic impersonation of Aeryn sent to Moya by the Scarrans.

2. Farscape: We’re So Screwed: La Bomba Biomechanical replication used by the Scarrans, in this case Stark.

Biomech Captain Power aka Trooper. Mechanical soldier, with limited intelligence and no sentient thought, under the control of a larger computer. Higher ranks e.g. First, Second and Third Phalanx, had more skills.

Biomechanical weapon Enterprise: The Shipment 2001-4 Xindi rifle analysed by Trip, found to have a self reproducing creature inside. Knocked out by delta radiation as it thrived on omicron radiation.

Biomechanoid Farscape Combination of living matter and technology, usually to create space vessels e.g. Moya. First hypothesized in The Ship Who Sang by A. McCaffrey.

Biomechanoid Virus Farscape: They’ve Got a Secret Original theory as to what was wrong with Moya, causing her to shut down life support. She was actually pregnant.

BioMegaRaptor Zoids Genesis Series 2005 Zoid based on the MegaRaptor using combat data from Major Zairin’s battles to mass produce this model for Digald.

Biomorph Farscape: Beware of Dog Creature with two parts, one hidden inside the other.

Biomorphic Organisational Systems Supervisor Doctor Who: The Green Death 1973 Computer controlling Global Chemicals, gave Stevens his orders, using his brain as a way to expand its understanding of humans. determined to take over the. The Doctor confused it with a paradox and dehypnotised Stevens who then overloaded the system, blowing it up. Voiced by John Rolfe.

Bionic-1 Bionic Six Series 1987 Leader of the Bionic Six, real name Jack Bennett. Most powerful of the team, he possessed extreme strength, super eyesight and hearing. Voiced by John Stephenson.

Bionic Commando Game, 1987. A soldier with a bionic arm is sent to infiltrate an enemy fortress.

Bionicle Game, 2003; Bionicle Heroes Game, 2006; Bionicle : Matoran Adventures Game, 2002; Bionicle : Tales of Tohunga, LEGO Game, 2001; Bionicle: The Mask of Light Film, 2003; Bionicle 2 : Legends of Metru-Nui Film, 2004, Animated; Bionicle 3 : Web of Shadows Film, 2005, Animated; Bionicle Heroes Game, 2006

Bions Fury3 Creatures which were trying to exterminate humanity.

BioPtera Zoids: Genesis Zoid piloted by Captain Felme. Based on a pteranadon, capable of flight. Armed with a plasma gun in its mouth and cannons on its wings.

BioRaptor Zoids: Genesis Standard Zoid soldier used by Digald, armed with teeth, clawed hands and feet and a plasma weapon in its mouth.

Bioreplicant Star Trek: The Next Generation: Rightful Heir 1987-94 Clone, as seen in the copy of Kahless.

Bioroid 1. Appleseed Clone, unable to reproduce, needing life extension sessions to live longer. Lacking strong emotions such as love and hate, help humans remain stable. Half the population, Hitomi was one.

2. Snatcher Life form which killed people in order to take their place in society. Nicknamed Snatchers.

3. Dual! Parallel Trouble Adventure Artificially constructed biological and mechanical being.

Bioscholars Lexx: The Game Scientists who created Kai, gave him knowledge of strategy to help him be a better assassin.

Biosynth Dark Angel :Rising 200-1 Name for the type of human Max was.

Bio-Tech Force Enhancement The Incredible Hulk 2008 Super-soldier serum developed after the war but put on ice. Used by General Ross to turn Blonsky into a super-soldier with enhanced strength and healing ability.

Biotransmuter The Pirates of Dark Water Series 1991-2 Title used by Slagon to describe his practice of swapping parts of animals bodies to create new creatures. He did malicious and unnecessary modifications.

BioTricera Zoids: Genesis Zoid piloted by Georg. Powerful and well armoured, designed to resemble a triceratops. Armed with a plasma gun in its mouth. Its horns extend, attached by wires to impale targets and then return.

Biotron Micronauts Mobile roboid, one of two running the space ship Endeavour II.

BioTyranno Zoids: Genesis Large Zoid based on a T-rex.

Bio Volcano Zoids: Genesis Zoid piloted by Major Zairin who was stressed by its use of personal will. Modified BioMegaRaptor with armour and spines completely immune to metal Zi.

Bio Zoids Zoids: Genesis Zoids used by Digald. They include: BioKentro, BioPtera, BioMegaRaptor, BioRaptor, BioTricera, BioTyranno and BioVolcano.

Game titles

Games nearly all come from the 1990’s and 2000’s, and problematically use artificially created beings as enemies. It looks like the premise of Space Above and Beyond that in vitros would be discriminated against is correct.

Bio Challenge Game, 1989. Player takes the role of K.L.I.P.T, a cyborg built to save humanity when their genetic code begins to degrade. His goal is to survive against biological challenges designed by the scientists to test it.

Bioforge Game, 1995. A group of religious fanatics called Mondites want to take over the galaxy. Player takes role of a prisoner who has been experimented on with cybernetic implants.

Bio F.R.E.A.K.S. Game, 1998. Short form of Biological Flying Robotic Enhanced Armored Killing Synthoids. Player controls a bionically enhanced fighter whose goal is to win a series of one on one fights.

Bio-Hazard Battle Game, 1992. Genesis, Wii. Published by SEGA. The planet Avaron is overrun by biogenetical creatures created by the advanced society living there.

Bio Menace Game, 1993. Published by Apogee. DOS. Earth is invaded by aliens, the player’s goal is to stop them.

Bioshock 1. Game, 2007, Player is guided by Atlas through the underwater city of Rapture. Objective is to shoot genetically altered inhabitants to restore the peace. Plasmids allow a choice of superhuman abilities, reconstitution units allow players to be resurrected. 2. Game, 2008 PS3 Same game

Film and Episode Titles

Most of the film titles using ‘bio’ relate to the Six Million Dollar Man franchise, with few other films using the prefix. Nor are there many episode titles using the prefix ‘bio’ which is a surprise. Note that there is a flush in the late 1970’s, with some use in the 1980’s and 1990’s. There is now renewed use probably due to advances in gene technology.

Biocrine : Starhunter, Season 2, 2001

Biofeedback : The Bionic Woman, Season 2, 1977

Biogenesis, Part 1 : X Files, Season 6, 1999

Biohazard Film, 1984. A psychic makes contact with aliens.

Biohazard: The Alien Force Film, 1994 Aliens lay eggs in human beings.

Biography: The Voltron Force : Voltron 3D, Season 1, 1998

Bionic Beauty : Birds of Prey, Season 1, 1976; The Bionic Woman, Season 1, 1976

Bionic Blunder From Down Under: Gadget Boy’s Adventures in History, 1998

Bionic Dog, The Pt 1 & 2 : The Bionic Woman, Season 3, 1977

Bionic Ever After Telemovie , 1994. The Six Million Dollar Man Steve and Jaime marry, even though Jaime contracts a computer virus.

Bionics On! The First Adventure : Bionic Six, Season 1, 1987

Bionic Showdown Telemovie, 1989 The Six Million Dollar Man Yagher Secret documents are stolen from the World Unity Games in Montreal, by someone with bionic powers. Reunion TV movies: Return of the Six-Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman; The Bionic Showdown; Bionic Ever After

Bionic Six Series, Animated, 1987. Jack Bennett and his family are implanted with bionic systems to save their lives.

Bionic Woman, The 1. Series following The Six Million Dollar Man 1976-78, US.

2. Series 2007. After an accident Jaime Somers is turned into a super soldier.

Bioparticle Gun : Episode title, Zoids Genesis, Season 1, 2005

Biot In Red, The : Phantom 2040, Season 1, 1994

Bioyomon Gets Firepower: Digimon : Digital Monsters, Season 1, 1999

Bio Zoid : Zoids Genesis, Season 1, 2005

Bioblog

Following on from ‘cryo’ and ‘hyper’, bio is another prefix that has become popular since the 1980’s. It’s use is partly entwined with the prefix ‘cyber’, but this will have to be covered in another blog, or this blog will become too big.

Prior to World War II ‘bio’ was only used for a few words e.g. biology, biography. But in the 2009 Collins Ultimate Scrabble Word List there are over two hundred entries beginning with ‘bio’, and that does not include the science fiction words found here.

What Happened to Make Bio so Popular?

After World War II bioengineering, biotechnology and bionics all developed as separate studies. With the unlocking of DNA and the human genome, these sciences have developed rapidly in the last twenty years, not always in directions ordinary people feel comfortable with. Writers have played with the extremes of scientific advancements, but they have not always seen what was happening under their bio-noses.

Bioengineering developed after World War II. As early as the 1920’s scientists worked on improving air conditioning by studying the effects of temperature and humidity on humans. After World War II this field developed into one of its own and bioengineers worked on improving medical procedures, making prosthetics and biomaterials.

Genetic engineering began to develop in the 1970’s with new knowledge about DNA, and the first test tube baby.

Biotechnology was another new science, invented in 1980 when the US Supreme Court decided that live, human made micro-organisms could be patented and sold. Since then courts have allowed human genes to be patented as well. Companies really exist with names like Genex and Genentech, using genes to make medicines and to engineer disease resistant crops and farm animals. Biotech also uses micro-organisms to help industry.

Bionics has developed as a way of combining different sciences to study living systems, looking for ideas to apply to artificial lifeforms and systems. Robots have been developed, although artificial intelligence has not developed far yet.

Scary! A lot of people are frightened of these new sciences, especially when their products have not always been what we expected i.e. safe for human beings and the environment. Science Fiction has locked onto the scary nature of the biological sciences, extrapolating what uses these sciences could be put to in the future.

There seem to be two threads running through the language: the creation of cyborgs and cybernetic machines complete with weapons, and the development of medical, scientific and environmental equipment. Bad cop, good cop.

Words and Phrases using ‘bio’

If we initially exclude the words invented for different kinds of artificially created life forms, there are many new words in science fiction using this prefix. Many of them relate to medical and environmental equipment, sadly some relate to weapons.

Biobed E Cold Station 12 Medical beds equipped with technology giving patient read-outs.

Biocarbon Amalgamated Scanners Malevolent organization rounding up genetically altered people in order to dominate the world. Run By Revok.

Biochemical Residue Earth Final Conflict: Dream Stalker Human imprint left on everything touched, used to identify murderers.

Biochemical Storage The Next Generation: Transfigurations Process of encoding information onto nucleic acid chains, completed by the Zalkonians. Decoded by Wesley and Data providing valuable navigation charts.

Biochip Birds of Prey: Three Birds and a Baby Computer piece, inserted into a human. One found in Guy and one in his mother, with a passkey to Synchron Labs.

Bioconvention of Geneva Doctor Who: Rise of the Cybermen International agreement that new life forms must be ratified by the whole Earth. Cybermen defied the convention and would not have been ratified.

Biocrystal The Osiris Chronicles A living rock which needed to be watered, gave affection and glowed in random colours. Nova asked for one of these as a pet.

Biocryonic Vibrations Doctor Who: The Ark in Space Process which placed Sarah into cryogenic suspension.

Biodiversity Project X-files: F. Emasculata Group employing Dr. Robert Torrence to collect specimens from Guanacaste Rain Forest, Costa Rica. Related to Cancer Man, the disease developed from this project was spread among prisoners in Cumberland State Correctional Facility.

Biodome 1. Earth 2: After The Thaw Name given to the structures in which the group camped during the

winter. Had originally been food growing centres.

2. Doctor Who: The Waters of Mars One section of Base Bowie One where food was grown, but infected with

alien water that mutated Andy when he ate a carrot.

3. Earth Final Conflict: The Fields Building at Norton where Kryss was grown in human beings and harvested

for Taelons. Housed humans and hothouse plants for consumption.

Bio-electric Conducting Gel Space Above and Beyond: Hostile Visit Goo on the Chig fighter into which the

pilot put his arms to connect with the ship.

Bio-electric Dampening Field Doctor Who: Journey’s End Force-field put in place by Doctor-Donna to stop the Reality Bomb.

Bioelectric Feedback Battlestar Galactica 2: A Measure of Salvation Method by which the dying Cylons were made to transmit the virus to the Resurrection ship.

Bio-Electric Signature Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century Measurement of the electricity generated by a body.

Bio-Electronic Source Doctor Who: The Keeper of Traken Power source used in the Traken Union to maintain peace and prosperity. It augmented the power of the Keeper of Traken, who could only be a Traken and was the only one who controlled the Source. Resembled a pearl the size of a boulder. Able to calcify any evil which approached it. The Master used Kassia to take control of the Source and then used it to regenerate himself.

Bioenzymatic Food The Next Generation: Liaisons Gift given to Troi by Loquel after she showed him desserts.

Bioequipment Silver Sun Biological equipment, including Harvest Clones. Designed to maintain the welfare of the crew.

Bioetheric Centre Final Fantasy Institute where scientists researched bioetheric energy, looking for a way to use this to destroy the phantoms. [< bio, biological + ether, the medium ancients thought filled the heavens.]

Bioetheric Energy Final Fantasy Power created from single celled organisms, which repulsed the phantoms, used for weapons and shields.

Bioetheric Laser Final Fantasy Weapon used to destroy phantom pathogens within a human body.

Biofilters 1. Deep Space 9: Babel Parts of the transporters designed to remove bacteria and viruses.

2. The Next Generation: Unnatural Selection Parts of the transporters able to remove diseases if they had been previously identified. Unable to remove the aging disease as it was new.

3. The Next Generation: Man of the People Transporter part which proved Sev Maylor had degenerated massively within three days of boarding Enterprise.

Biogenic Weapon Deep Space 9: For The Uniform Nerve agent made from rhodium and selenium, dropped on Veloz Prime by the Maquis who promised to drop it on every Cardassian planet.

Biohazard Zone seaQuest 2032 :Equilibrium Area of the sea declared contaminated. In this case the Sargasso Sea in the South Atlantic Ocean.

BioKentro Zoids Genesis Zoid piloted by Souta, designed on a Kentrosaurus, with a double row of spikes on its back and a scythed tail called a Backlance. Specialized in melee combat.

Biolab Stargate Atlantis: Echoes Section of Atlantis not accessed until McKay needed to know what the Flagisallus were. Used to study planetary animal life, developed communications with the Flagisallus which remained garbled but intelligible if cleaned up.

Bio-link 1. Max Steel Communication device used by Dr Roberto Martinez allowing him to see and hear everything that Max Steel saw and heard.

2. McCaffrey, Sassinak Link used by the Ssli to communicate in addition to the computer interface. This link was much harder for people to monitor, thus considered more secure.

Biological Depository Star Trek Voyager: Phage Laboratory on a rogue planet where Vidiians stored body parts taken from other species. Included a Kazon liver.

Biological Neutraliser Farscape: Die Me, Dichotomy Green light used by the Diagnosan to kill germs while it had its face mask off.

Bioluminescence 1. Farscape: Crackers Don’t Matter Normal light emitted by Moya , hugely amplified by Traltixx for his own purposes.

2. Journey to the Centre of the Earth 2009 Feature of the bird Cyanus Roseopterix found under the Earth.

Bio Magazine Bionic Woman 2007: Sisterhood Reading favoured by Sarah Corvus.

Bio-Magnetic Restraint Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century Restraint system used in mental hospitals.

Biomatter resequencer Enterprise: Breaking the Ice Technology converting waste into usable items for use on the Enterprise.

Biomed Scanner Sliders: World Killer Medical tool used by Quinn to identify the population taken into an alternate dimension as opposed to the ones who should have been there.

Biometric Fluctuations Deep Space 9: The Begotten Changes in life-signs, given by the baby Changeling in this case.

Biometric Hologram Enterprise: The Council Xindi technology producing an image of a Guardian.

Biometric Sensor Array Stargate Atlantis: Sanctuary An internal/external sensor version from Ancient Technology. Contained the biometric signatures of everyone on Atlantis, making it able to detect that Chaya was an Ancient.

Biomimetic Gel 1. Deep Space 9: Distant Voices Illegal drug Altovar wanted Bashir to sell him, attacking him when Bashir refused. Illegal to even ask for it.

2. Deep Space 9: In The Pale Moonlight Illegal drug, 85 litres of which were taken from Bashir by Sisko were used to pay for a Cardassian information rod.

Biomolecular Probe Enterprise: Dead Stop Aka bio-scan. Examination of a star-ship by an alien entity. Used by the repair station to alter its atmosphere and language to suit humans.

Biomolecular Replication Deep Space 9: Prophet Motive Work done by Bashir for which he was nominated for the Carrington Award.

Bionet Men in Black Force filed placed around Manhattan to stop aliens entering or leaving.

Bioneural Circuitry Star Trek Voyager: The Caretaker New technology on Voyager consisting of gel packs which held more information than previous technology.

Bioneural Filters Star Trek Voyager: State of Flux Part of the replicators sold to the Kazon, blowing them up and fusing them to metal.

Bionic Translator The Sheriff and the Satellite Kid Device used by H7-25 to learn English.

Biopod Enterprise: Precious Cargo Aka stasis pod. Casket resembling a cryogenic chamber, using stasis to transport an unwilling person.

Biopolymer Stargate Atlantis: The Seed Growth which infected Keller, using her intelligence to find energy to grow. Would have developed into a Wraith ship if Carson hadn’t found a phage to destroy it.

Biopolymerisation X-files: Leonard Betts Modern mummification, used on Leonard Betts to enable study of his head. [< biopolymer, DNA molecules and proteins which can be separated by a process of electrophoresis using a gel, for microscopic study]

Bioport eXistenZ Link implanted into the spine of a person, allowing them to directly interface their mind with a biological game. Experienced the game as if it was reality.

Bioprobe Earth 2: All About Eve Technology injected into every member of the Eden Project except Devon, allowing the computer to track their location. Began to degrade and kill everyone.

Bioprogramming Doctor Who: The Hungry Earth Technology recognised by the Doctor as that used on Jungle Planets. An attack method by the Silurians to stop the drilling, caused the Blue Grass.

Bioreactor Enterprise: Carpenter Street Machine needed to create a virus to destroy humanity.

Biorhythmic Control Lois and Clarke: The Man of Steel Bars Bodily control Clark claimed to possess when the extreme heat in Metropolis didn’t worry him.

Bioroid Care Centre Appleseed Medical facility to provide life extension to bioroids Invaded and partly destroyed by Landmates.

BiOsanitation Battalion The Black Hole Aka Old Bob. Robotic unit on which the STAR robots were based.

Bioscan Enterprise: Fight or Flight Sub-molecular assessment of the life forms of one ship by another.

Biosculpt Weber, Honor Among Enemies Cosmetic surgery [< biological + sculpture]

Biosensor 1. Stargate SG1: Upgrades Piece of Tok’ra technology monitoring all aspects of a person’s physical condition. Resembled a small metal disc placed on the body.[< biological + sensor]

2. Zeta Gundam Psychommu system which Camille Bidan designed into the Zeta Gundam. Combined with Newtype abilities to give the pilot the ability to give the suit orders through impulses, no mental orders being necessary. Made the suits faster and more lethal.

BioShifter Genetic Species A unit capable of controlling living creatures and cyborgs.

Biosign Enterprise: Fortunate Son Evidence of some form of life detected by sensors.

Bioslurry Earth Final Conflict: Time Bomb Taelon material associated with decomposition, found on the outside of Ma’el’s ship.

Biospectral Phase Discriminator Deep Space 9: Hippocratic Oath Technology O’Brien was sent to the runabout to retrieve to assist Bashir’s work on Ketracel white. Knocked out his guard and escaped instead.

Biospectral Scan The Next Generation: Timescape Test run on the Romulan engine to learn if the cellular clusters in it were alive, they were.

Biosphere 1. Starlost Components of the ark, held in clusters. Home to the remnant of humanity searching for a new planet.

2. Silent Running Ships dedicated to food production.

Biotech Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century Company owned by Mr. Barclay [< biological + technology]

Biotech Frontiers Dark Angel: Prodigy Magazine Max pretended to represent when she attended the ConGen2 Conference as Rachael Glass.

Biostatic Energy Amplification Darts Super Robot Monkey Hyperforce Team Go! Attack used by Gibson, fired small blasts of electricity. Renamed Spin Shocker by Otto, who complained that the original name was too long.

Biostereometric Facility Buck Rogers in the 35th Century Laboratory for producing holographic photographs.

Biotronics Inc Brain Twisters Company paying Professor Rothman to conduct experiments on his students, investigating the results of exposure to patterns of light and sound stimulation. Killed Rothman when he discovered the results.

Bio Vizier Lexx: Brizon Post held by Brizon under the Divine Order, stated to be the Supreme Bio Vizier. A teaching position in which Brizon taught Mantrid whom he considered uncreative.

Bioweapon 1. Now and Again Type of weapon used to kill people on a train at the time Newman was fatally injured at the railway station.

2. Enterprise: Rajin Form of assault favoured by more extreme species of Xindi to use against humans.

Bioxenic Microton Torchwood: Something Borrowed Instrument Owen could have used to removed the eggs from Gwen, but it was not portable.

Cyborg or Bioroid?

Since the 1970’s there has been a change away from using the words ‘cyborg’ and ‘android’. Both these words usually meant a human being made or enhanced by some artificial process, and since the words are useful they keep being used. Once again the word usage splits into two linked areas: supersoldiers and animalistic fighting machines to be used by humans, modified or not, including space ships. Note that even clones are being re-named in this process.

Bio-Borgs SkySurfer Strike Force 1995 Form of robot. Chronozoid, Dr. Five Eyes, Grenader, Laserette, Noxious, Replicon, Zachariah Easel.

Bioderms Missionforce : Cyberstorm Game 1996 Cloned pilots used in battling the Cybrids.

Biodread Captain Power Series 1987-8 Large, robotic looking living machines developed using synthetic DNA. Had high levels of destructive force, and were self repairing. Only two in existence, Soaron and Blastarr.

Bio-engineered Combat Unit X-Files: Nothing Important Happened Today 1993-2002 Aka First generation super soldier as seen in Knowle Rohrer and Shannon McMahon.

Biological Machines Blake’s 7 : The Web 1971-81 Organic machine, genetically engineered to perform specific tasks.

Biological Metacrisis Doctor Who: Journey’s End 2008 Melding of Donna and the Doctor’s DNA creating a half human clone and giving Donna Timelord memories and intelligence. Unstable for Donna who had her memories of the Doctor wiped to save her.

Bioloid 1. Farscape: A Constellation of Doubt 2000-2004 Robotic impersonation of Aeryn sent to Moya by the Scarrans.

2. Farscape: We’re So Screwed: La Bomba Biomechanical replication used by the Scarrans, in this case Stark.

Biomech Captain Power aka Trooper. Mechanical soldier, with limited intelligence and no sentient thought, under the control of a larger computer. Higher ranks e.g. First, Second and Third Phalanx, had more skills.

Biomechanical weapon Enterprise: The Shipment 2001-4 Xindi rifle analysed by Trip, found to have a self reproducing creature inside. Knocked out by delta radiation as it thrived on omicron radiation.

Biomechanoid Farscape Combination of living matter and technology, usually to create space vessels e.g. Moya. First hypothesized in The Ship Who Sang by A. McCaffrey.

Biomechanoid Virus Farscape: They’ve Got a Secret Original theory as to what was wrong with Moya, causing her to shut down life support. She was actually pregnant.

BioMegaRaptor Zoids Genesis Series 2005 Zoid based on the MegaRaptor using combat data from Major Zairin’s battles to mass produce this model for Digald.

Biomorph Farscape: Beware of Dog Creature with two parts, one hidden inside the other.

Biomorphic Organisational Systems Supervisor Doctor Who: The Green Death 1973 Computer controlling Global Chemicals, gave Stevens his orders, using his brain as a way to expand its understanding of humans. determined to take over the. The Doctor confused it with a paradox and dehypnotised Stevens who then overloaded the system, blowing it up. Voiced by John Rolfe.

Bionic-1 Bionic Six Series 1987 Leader of the Bionic Six, real name Jack Bennett. Most powerful of the team, he possessed extreme strength, super eyesight and hearing. Voiced by John Stephenson.

Bionic Commando Game, 1987. A soldier with a bionic arm is sent to infiltrate an enemy fortress.

Bionicle Game, 2003; Bionicle Heroes Game, 2006; Bionicle : Matoran Adventures Game, 2002; Bionicle : Tales of Tohunga, LEGO Game, 2001; Bionicle: The Mask of Light Film, 2003; Bionicle 2 : Legends of Metru-Nui Film, 2004, Animated; Bionicle 3 : Web of Shadows Film, 2005, Animated; Bionicle Heroes Game, 2006

Bions Fury3 Creatures which were trying to exterminate humanity.

BioPtera Zoids: Genesis Zoid piloted by Captain Felme. Based on a pteranadon, capable of flight. Armed with a plasma gun in its mouth and cannons on its wings.

BioRaptor Zoids: Genesis Standard Zoid soldier used by Digald, armed with teeth, clawed hands and feet and a plasma weapon in its mouth.

Bioreplicant Star Trek: The Next Generation: Rightful Heir 1987-94 Clone, as seen in the copy of Kahless.

Bioroid 1. Appleseed Clone, unable to reproduce, needing life extension sessions to live longer. Lacking strong emotions such as love and hate, help humans remain stable. Half the population, Hitomi was one.

2. Snatcher Life form which killed people in order to take their place in society. Nicknamed Snatchers.

3. Dual! Parallel Trouble Adventure Artificially constructed biological and mechanical being.

Bioscholars Lexx: The Game Scientists who created Kai, gave him knowledge of strategy to help him be a better assassin.

Biosynth Dark Angel :Rising 200-1 Name for the type of human Max was.

Bio-Tech Force Enhancement The Incredible Hulk 2008 Super-soldier serum developed after the war but put on ice. Used by General Ross to turn Blonsky into a super-soldier with enhanced strength and healing ability.

Biotransmuter The Pirates of Dark Water Series 1991-2 Title used by Slagon to describe his practice of swapping parts of animals bodies to create new creatures. He did malicious and unnecessary modifications.

BioTricera Zoids: Genesis Zoid piloted by Georg. Powerful and well armoured, designed to resemble a triceratops. Armed with a plasma gun in its mouth. Its horns extend, attached by wires to impale targets and then return.

Biotron Micronauts Mobile roboid, one of two running the space ship Endeavour II.

BioTyranno Zoids: Genesis Large Zoid based on a T-rex.

Bio Volcano Zoids: Genesis Zoid piloted by Major Zairin who was stressed by its use of personal will. Modified BioMegaRaptor with armour and spines completely immune to metal Zi.

Bio Zoids Zoids: Genesis Zoids used by Digald. They include: BioKentro, BioPtera, BioMegaRaptor, BioRaptor, BioTricera, BioTyranno and BioVolcano.

Game titles

Games nearly all come from the 1990’s and 2000’s, and problematically use artificially created beings as enemies. It looks like the premise of Space Above and Beyond that in vitros would be discriminated against is correct.

Bio Challenge Game, 1989. Player takes the role of K.L.I.P.T, a cyborg built to save humanity when their genetic code begins to degrade. His goal is to survive against biological challenges designed by the scientists to test it.

Bioforge Game, 1995. A group of religious fanatics called Mondites want to take over the galaxy. Player takes role of a prisoner who has been experimented on with cybernetic implants.

Bio F.R.E.A.K.S. Game, 1998. Short form of Biological Flying Robotic Enhanced Armored Killing Synthoids. Player controls a bionically enhanced fighter whose goal is to win a series of one on one fights.

Bio-Hazard Battle Game, 1992. Genesis, Wii. Published by SEGA. The planet Avaron is overrun by biogenetical creatures created by the advanced society living there.

Bio Menace Game, 1993. Published by Apogee. DOS. Earth is invaded by aliens, the player’s goal is to stop them.

Bioshock 1. Game, 2007, Player is guided by Atlas through the underwater city of Rapture. Objective is to shoot genetically altered inhabitants to restore the peace. Plasmids allow a choice of superhuman abilities, reconstitution units allow players to be resurrected. 2. Game, 2008 PS3 Same game

Film and Episode Titles

Most of the film titles using ‘bio’ relate to the Six Million Dollar Man franchise, with few other films using the prefix. Nor are there many episode titles using the prefix ‘bio’ which is a surprise. Note that there is a flush in the late 1970’s, with some use in the 1980’s and 1990’s. There is now renewed use probably due to advances in gene technology.

Biocrine : Starhunter, Season 2, 2001

Biofeedback : The Bionic Woman, Season 2, 1977

Biogenesis, Part 1 : X Files, Season 6, 1999

Biohazard Film, 1984. A psychic makes contact with aliens.

Biohazard: The Alien Force Film, 1994 Aliens lay eggs in human beings.

Biography: The Voltron Force : Voltron 3D, Season 1, 1998

Bionic Beauty : Birds of Prey, Season 1, 1976; The Bionic Woman, Season 1, 1976

Bionic Blunder From Down Under: Gadget Boy’s Adventures in History, 1998

Bionic Dog, The Pt 1 & 2 : The Bionic Woman, Season 3, 1977

Bionic Ever After Telemovie , 1994. The Six Million Dollar Man Steve and Jaime marry, even though Jaime contracts a computer virus.

Bionics On! The First Adventure : Bionic Six, Season 1, 1987

Bionic Showdown Telemovie, 1989 The Six Million Dollar Man Yagher Secret documents are stolen from the World Unity Games in Montreal, by someone with bionic powers. Reunion TV movies: Return of the Six-Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman; The Bionic Showdown; Bionic Ever After

Bionic Six Series, Animated, 1987. Jack Bennett and his family are implanted with bionic systems to save their lives.

Bionic Woman, The 1. Series following The Six Million Dollar Man 1976-78, US.

2. Series 2007. After an accident Jaime Somers is turned into a super soldier.

Bioparticle Gun : Episode title, Zoids Genesis, Season 1, 2005

Biot In Red, The : Phantom 2040, Season 1, 1994

Bioyomon Gets Firepower: Digimon : Digital Monsters, Season 1, 1999

Bio Zoid : Zoids Genesis, Season 1, 2005

HYPER WHAT!

2010-12-22T17:17:00.000-08:00

After the revelations of ‘cryo’ here goes with the prefix ‘hyper’.

This prefix is derived from the Greek word huper meaning ‘over’ or ‘beyond’. It has been used regularly in English word building, but it’s use has extended since World War II ended.

There are general words in the dictionary such as hyperborean, hyperbole, hyperbola and hypernym which have been used since at least the 19th century.

Medical words often use ‘hyper’ as a prefix: hypercalcemia, hyperglycaemia, hypermetropia, hyperthermia, hyperthyroidism and the infamous hyperactive.

Then there are words which have been coined since World War II such as hyperinflation, hypersonic (more than five times the speed of sound), hypertense, hypertext.

It’s thought that the word ‘hyperspace’ was invented by John Campbell Junior in Islands of Space in 1931. Heinlein used it in Starman Jones in 1953. In this context hyperspace is an extra dimension which can be entered via gates or wormholes, allowing travel across vast distances of our Dimension. Other writers have seen hyperspace differently – Frederik Pohl saw it as a pocket universe in The Mapmakers in 1955, George R.R. Martin thought travel there would take longer, (in FTA 1974), and in 1990 John E. Smith wrote Redshift Rendezvous in which light only travelled at 22mph in hyperspace.

The word hyper also appeared in comics in 1940 with Hyper Mystery Comics. This featured a Golden Age Flash Gordon clone, with no name or origin, surnamed ‘the Phenomenal’. He used ray guns and had nothing ‘hyper’ about him.

Uses of ‘hyper’ in Sci Fi Film, Television and Games

‘Hyper’ as a General Prefix

Like everyone else, sci fi writers use ‘hyper’ to mean extra or super, attaching it to just about anything they can.

Hyperactive Spaceballs Mode Dark Helmet’s hyperjets used to reach ludicrous speed.

Hyperbaric Chamber seaQuest DSV: Lostland Container in which the skull from the helmet was locked.

Hyperbolic Resting Chamber My Favourite Martian Replacement for the lounge suggested by Martin. [< hyperbola , a geometric shape]

Hyperboomers Bubblegum Crisis Three Boomers built by Largo to fight the Knight Sabers, but destroyed by Priss at Genom Tower.

Hyperchip McCaffrey, Partnership Polyon’s new version of the hyperchip. Contained a program which allowed him to override and control any system that they were installed in.

Hypercloak Blinx 2 : Masters of Time & Space Special cloak which allowed the Tom Tom Gang to move unseen as long as they moved slowly.

Hypercube Cube 2 Cube which had every face another cube, forming a tesseract. Used in this case as a prison.

Hyper-Galactic Star Cruiser Atomic Betty Spaceship commanded by Atomic Betty, crewed by X5 and Sparky.

Hypergiant Enterprise: Cogenitor Sun with only one hundred years to go supernova examined by Enterprise and the Vissians.

Hyper Gravity ST Animated: Beyond the Farthest Star Property of a dark planet inhabited by an energy being. It sucked ships into orbit for the being to use to escape.

Hyperjets Spaceballs Engines on Dark Helmet’s ship capable of ludicrous speed when they went into hyperactive.

Hyperman Adventures of Hyperman Superhero alien from the planet Do-wop, junior agent for W.A.R.P. sent to protect Earth.

Hypernauts Series, Christy Marx, 1996.

Hyperonic Radiation TNG The Ensigns of Command Type of radiation found on Tau Cygna Five, fatal to humans, also blocking communications and transporters. The settlers had discovered ways to become immune to its influences. Data adapted a phaser to work under its influence.

Hyperoptic DriveThe Osiris Chronicles A form of interstellar drive.

Hyper Police Series, Anime, 1997

Hyper Rage Farscape: Thank God It’s Friday, Again Condition suffered by D’Argo causing him to flee to the Skyaran people where he found peace for five days.

Hyper reality probe seaQuest DSV :To Be or Not To Be Design feature of seaQuest not created by Bridger.

Hyper Sapien: People From Another Star Film, 1986, Canada.

Hyperseal, deadlocked handcuffs Torchwood: Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang Items John used on Gwen to make the team find a way to release the personalised bomb attached to him.

Hypersleep 1. Alien Cargo Cryogenic sleep state used by SSS to rotate crew on freighters.

2. Alien 3 Cryogenic stasis used during long space journeys.

Hypersonic Soundwaves D? The Lazarus Experiment Use of sound above the range of human hearing to create a resonance in the rejuvenation chamber. Recreated by the Doctor using an organ in a Cathedral bell tower, changing Lazarus back into a normal human.

Hyperspanner Enterprise: Minefield Tool used by Archer to defuse the Romulan mine.

Hyperspectral Imaging Andromeda: Phear Phactor Phenom Technology used to find nanobots present in human secretions.

HyperStone Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The HyperStone Heist Device which Shredder acquired from Dimension X. Shrank buildings.

Hypertrichosis Lanuganosa X-Files: The Post-Modern Prometheus Aka Hirsutism. Real condition of over hairiness, possibly caused by persistent growth of baby hair.

Hypertime Clockstoppers State of being in which a human moved so fast that time appeared to stand still. Accessed by the use of molecular accelerators, or time watches. This would allow surgeons to perform operations between beats of a heart.

‘Hyper’ relating to Hyperspace

Hyperspace is a word used by mathematicians to mean spaces of more than three dimensions. It is used commonly in Science Fiction, but with slight variations in its meaning. New words have developed to describe parts and theories of this other dimension, and for the engines required to travel into it.

1.Star Trek the Next Generation 1987 - 1993; Star Wars 1977 ; Deep Space Nine 1993-2000; Star Trek Voyager 1995-2001 ; Crusade 1998.

An area of space separate to normal Space-time, usually approached through a wormhole, stargate or slipstream not following the usual rules of time and distance. Originally hyperspace was pictured as a rushing void, often twisting like a vortex. In later programs, such as Crusade it has been depicted as having distance, artefacts and life-forms.

2. Babylon Five Soul Hunter A layer of space where travel was much faster because the distance between points was less. Entered through a Jump Gate, beacons provided a guide for ships to prevent them from becoming lost. Appeared to be red in colour.

3. Doctor Who: The Stones of Blood Alternate dimension parallel to ours used to bypass time distortion when travelling faster than the speed of light. Cessair of Diplos trapped her pursuer’s ship in hyperspace for 4000 years.

4. Sliders: Pilot Title of text read by Quinn even though his travels through a wormhole into different dimensions don’t seem to involve hyperspace.

5. Weber, On Basilisk Station A compressed dimension of space where the distance between two points was shorter than in normal space. Existed in multiple bands, the ‘higher’ the band, the shorter the distance between points.

6. Lexx: The Game Called The Other Zone. Location where Kai chose to play Prince a game of chess. Entered through a portal, separate to our Universe, it appealed to Prince.

Hyperspace Drive Stargate SG1: Fail Safe Function of the Hatak vessel, repaired and used to take the asteroid through Earth rather than crash into it.

Hyperspace Field Stargate Atlantis: No Man’s Land Area of space used by ships travelling faster than light. Prevented the launch of small ships from a larger ship e.g. Darts and Daggers.

Hyperspace Physics Test Star Trek: The Next Generation: Coming of Age Part of the test sequence undergone by Wesley to see if he was ready for Starfleet. Everyone in the group passed.

Hyperspace Portal Stargate Atlantis: Inferno Opening in the fabric of space to allow a ship to travel vast distances in no time. Used by McKay to take the Orion away from Taranis.

Hyperspace sub-beam Blake’s 7: Seek, Locate, Destroy A Federation message scrambler.

Hyperdrive and a few others

Hyperdrive 1. Star Trek the Next Generation 1987 - 1993; Star Wars 1977 ; Deep Space Nine 1993-2000; Star Trek Voyager 1995-2001 ; Crusade 1998.

Engines on a star-ship allowing travel faster than light, and entry to hyperspace.

2. Blake’s 7 Space Fall Engine allowing a ship to travel faster than the speed of light.

3. Lost in Space Secondary drive for the Jupiter 2 usually forming a gate for travel.

4. Stargate SG1: Company of Thieves Engine driving the Odyssey.

5. Weber: Mission of Honor Usual type of engine, replaced with Streak Drive which was faster.

6. Star Wars: A New Hope Engine used by the Millenium Falcon, class 0.5.

7. Series, 2006, Britain. This is more a sitcom than a serious science fiction show, so hyperdrive and hyperspace aren’t very important.

Hyperdrive Sequence Dark Star Preparation to travel to another system, begun after a bomb dropped with enough time to leave a system before the planet exploded.

Hypergate Lost in Space Device allowing control over the entry into hyperspace. Once a second gate was installed at any destination, instantaneous travel was possible. With no gate there was no exit vector.

Hyper generators Weber, On Basilisk Station Machines used to accelerate a ship into hyper.

Hyperlaunch Stargate SG1: Within the Serpent’s Grasp Process of accelerating a Goa’uld ship into hyperspeed.

Hyperlight Drive Lois and Clarke: Foundling Technology allowing Superman’s spaceship to travel from Krypton to Earth.

Hyperspeed Stargate SG1: Within the Serpent’s Grasp Goa’uld referent for speeds faster than light.

Hyperwall Weber, On Basilisk Station The limit on the edge of a solar system where gravity ceased to interfere and hyper can be entered.

Hyperwave Red Dwarf: Ouroboros Phenomenon in space travelling through non-space to the next dimension. Allowed an unstable linkway to form between dimensions, and the transferral of Kochanski.

Where to now? FTL

In the 2000’s the word hyperspace is still used, but less commonly. Series like Battlestar Galactica and Stargate Universe use the term ‘FTL’ meaning faster than light, to describe the style of engines being used in starships and the speed at which they go. This has possibly been in response to criticisms that ‘hyperspace’ and ‘hyperdrive’ did not describe the speeds being travelled at. It would be theoretically possible to travel in ‘hyperspace’ at sub-light speeds. Star Trek did at least develop sub-light engines as well as warp engines to help with these problems.

In Cryo

2010-12-03T14:11:00.000-08:00

Recently I read Lois McMaster Bujold’s new Miles Vorkosigan novel: Cryoburn. Devoted Bujold fans will be over the moon to have new book in this series, but other readers will get a lot out of it as well. Cryoburn presents a planet where the corporations have taken over the process of cryostasis as a business, encouraging everyone to use their facilities. Underneath the main cities there are miles of tunnels full of cryopods. These are so huge that when Miles gets lost in them, there is a real possibility he will be lost forever, but then he’s Miles Vorkosigan, so he doesn’t. When a cryostasis chemical fails and many people in the pods die, the companies plot to move off planet and save their money.............

What’s unusual in this novel is that instead of using cryosleep to take people to distant stars, companies use it to help people circumvent actual death. Even Miles thinks old people should use it instead of dying. But, his mother asks, what would they wake up to?

So where did the idea of cryosleep come from and how did the words associated with it develop?

Derivations

The word ‘cryonics’ was made up in the 1960’s by Karl Werner Aspenstrom, a Swedish poet and essayist. In 1967 the Cryonics Society of California began freezing people who had just died. (And a lot thawed out in 1981 during a power failure, leaving the company to be sued.)

The prefix cryo comes from the Greek word ‘Kryos’, meaning frost. Cryogenesis comes from blending cryo with the word ‘genesis’ which is of Greek origin meaning development. So the first meaning of anything to do with cryo is to be put on ice, or frozen. All the additions to the concept of replacing blood with a special fluid and using a special container, came later.

‘Cryo’ has become a popular prefix. Here’s a short list of words from the Encyclopaedia Britannica:

Cryobanking

Cryoflora

Cryoglobulinemia

Cryoglobulins

Cryolite

Cryolophosaurus

Cryomedicine

Cryophilic

Cryoprecipitate

Cryoprotective

Cryopump

Cryosphere

Cryostat

Cryosurgery

Cryovegetation

None of these words has anything to do with cryonics, but they all have something to do with low temperatures. And yes, it is a dinosaur!

Prior to the use of the prefix ‘cryo’ writers used the term ‘Suspended Animation.’ SA can mean freezing, but it also involves hypnotic trances and gas induced sleep. SA often involves Earth being visited by creatures or people from the past, and spins off into Mummy genres so it is used in nearly the opposite way to ‘cryo’.

For the purpose of this blog I will leave out accidental freezing, in glaciers or the Arctic, as stories about these freezings have different purposes, even though some social problems they discuss overlap.

1940’s and 1950’s

This time period only includes Suspended Animation, which is seen in novels:

Far Centaurus by A.E. Van Vogt in 1944 had sleepers in cryo beaten to their planet by ships with FTL.

The Insurgents by Vercors in 1957.

The Door into Summer by Heinlein in 1957.

1960’s

In this decade cryonics was described in novels, not in films. It was used for different purposes in different books:

Dumarest series by E.C. Tubb, saw two forms of space travel, one using drugs and using cryo.

The Age of the Pussyfoot by Frederik Pohl in 1969. Cryo suspension for travel into deep space.

Why Call Them Back from Heaven? By Clifford Simak in 1967. Asked whether people could be tried for letting people die, not freezing them.

Zapiski iz budushchego by Nikolai Amosov, 1969. Translated into English in 1970 as Notes from the Future.

1970’s

This is the first decade in which cryogenesis appears in film, but it was rudimentary with only words for containers being used, and no systematic language use evolving.

Cryogenic Capsule Blake’s 7: Time Squad Unit providing extremely cold temperatures, used to suspend the aging process of people for long term travel at sub-light speed.

Cryogenic suspension Blake’s 7 Headhunter A booth to maintain life at its lowest viable point.

Cryogenic Freezer Compartment Dark Star Unit in which the fatally injured Commander Powell was kept so that he could be consulted in emergencies.

Cryotube Battlestar Galactica: Lost Planet of the Gods Medical support chambers, kept pilots alive until Dr. Salik found a cure for their infection.

Novels in this time period included:

Absolute Zero by Ernest Tidyman poses an industrialist building up a cryonics industry, but sends up the idea.

Looking Backward, from the Year 2000 by Mack Reynolds, 1973 used freezing for space travel.

Ozymandias by Terry Carr, 1972 had people escape a war by using cryo.

The Defenceless Dead by Larry Niven showed that the dead could be exploited as a resource.

The Dream Millennium by James White, 1974 examined psychological results of long term freezing.

1980’s

Cryogenic Laboratory Timelapse Location where Hardy was reanimated twelve years after his murder.

Suspended Animation Red Dwarf: Confidence and Paranoia Said to be the state someone held in stasis stayed in.

1990’s

This is the decade when cryo gets going as a concept, with lots of new words appearing to deal with the state of being in cryo, the containers again, and some equipment.

Cryoco Terminator 2 Brand of liquid nitrogen tanker driven by the T1000.

Cryocon Demolition Man Convicts placed in cryogenic suspension, to be revived if their skills are useful to society. Run by Cocteau Industries.

Cryogenic Freezer B5 The Long Dark Container creating a state of hibernation for humans. Mariah Cirrus was revived after one hundred years in one of these

Cryogenic Hibernation SG Out Of Mind Being in a state of cryogenic suspension. SG1 was placed into this state and then revived by Hathor, who created the illusion that they were in an SGC in the year 2077.

Cryogenic Lockers B5 The Illusion of Truth Cryogenic suspension chambers used to freeze a person on Babylon 5 until they could be transferred to Earth for treatment.

Cryogenic Pods 1. Lexx: Wake the Dead Units in which five teenagers stayed for three hundred years after they failed to set up the right code for a wake up call.

2. . SQDSV When We Dead Awaken Containers held in a secure location, one holding Alison Brody who needed a cure for the virus General Brody gave her.

3. . SG1 Into the Fire Device into which Raully placed O’Neill to kill the symbiote in him. [< resembled scene with Han Solo in Return of the Jedi]

Cryogenic Units B5 The Illusion of Truth Suspension chambers used on Babylon5.

Cryo Reversal Stargate: Out Of Mind Process of being brought out of cryogenic hibernation.

Cryostasis 1. Demolition Man To be suspended animation in sub zero conditions. Used as a punishment.

2. Lexx State of suspension in which the dead Kai was held until he was next needed.

3. Lost in Space State of suspended animation required for a long space trip, involving freezing in individual tubes.

Cryosuit Lost in Space Thick leather suits worn by crew when in suspended animation.

Cryotransport Mercy Point Mobile bed allowing a patient to remain in cryostasis.

Cryotube 1. System Shock 2 Medical pod in which G65434-2 woke on the Von Braun with amnesia.

2. Lexx Clear container in which Kai was placed in stasis until he was next needed.

2000’s

Once again, there have been a lot of words coined to deal with new concepts in this field. Notice that cryogenesis is shortened to cryo most of the time.

Cryobank James Cameron’s Avatar Storage facility for cryovaults in the habitation section of a space ship travelling to Pandora. Resembled drawers in a cupboard.

Cryocorps Cryoburn Businesses selling cryogenic services to the population of Kibou-daini, including WhiteChry and NewEgypt. Badly affected when a lot of customers died due to a failure of cryo fluid. Planned to set up new companies on Komarr and flee.

Cryo Device A Past is Prolix Chamber in which Trance was placed when her temperature was out of control due to the approach of her sun. Launched into space and drenched with plasma to save her.

Cryogenic Casket Torchwood: Sleeper Container in which Beth was placed to keep her from activating into an alien agent. Failed as she emitted a false image.

Cryogenic Pods Farscape: Season of Death Containers holding creatures ready for harvest when the Diagnosan needed body parts. Supposedly at the point of death, not all were. Jool was held in one of these.

Cryo Neck Cooler Andromeda: When Goes Around----- Object around Harper’s neck, initially cooling him but imminently causing problems.

Cryopods Farscape: Die Me Dichotomy Stasis chambers, used by Grunchlk to store people in order to harvest their body parts for paying customers.

Cryosleep James Cameron’s Avatar State of suspended animation in which soldiers and others sent to Pandora were kept for the trip in cryovaults.

Cryosync The Incredible Hulk 2008 Cryogenic freezing chamber in which the super soldier serum was kept.

Cryostasis Farscape :Thank God It’s Friday, Again State Rygel was kept in until Aeryn worked out what was wrong and how to cure it. Kept him at 105 degrees below Galerian frost point.

Cryovault James Cameron’s Avatar Container in which people were kept in cryosleep for the trip to Pandora. Laid flat in a cryobank, had hardly any headroom for the sleeper.

That Darned Container

The container a human is placed in to be frozen has had a lot of names:

Cryovault, cryosync, cryopods, cryogenic pod, cryogenic casket, cryo device, cryotube, cryogenic locker, cryogenic unit, cryogenic tube, cryogenic capsule, cryogenic freezer or freezer compartment.

Hmmm – no consensus yet.

Stasis

Cryostasis is a word used in Demolition Man/Lexx /Farscapeand Lost in Space. It’s use is valid in that it means to be frozen for huge amounts of time, remaining stable and not decaying. But it’s meaning is likely to be mixed up with the concept of ‘Stasis’ which relates to Quantum Physics. Theoretically a living being could be placed outside the space time continuum and then be returned hundreds or thousands of years later, feeling as if they had been gone a second or two.

This is of course, what happened to Lister in Red Dwarf.

Stasis Chamber 1.Red Dwarf The End Container in which normal space/time can be ‘switched off’ leaving the occupant outside our reality.

2. Deep Space 9 Vortex Container used to keep Croden’s daughter Yareth safe.

3. Doctor Who: 42 Medical containment cylinder the Doctor wanted Korwin kept in, placed in it himself when infected. This didn’t seem to operate like a normal stasis chamber.

4. Stargate Atlantis: The Kindred Ancient device in which Carson’s clone was placed until the drug needed to keep him alive could be synthesised.

5. Stargate Atlantis : The Last Man Ancient device in which Sheppard had to remain for hundreds of years until the solar activity was sufficient to send him back to his own time.

Stasis Generator Slider’s :The Unstuck Man Machine creating a field to hold Geiger who had become unstuck between dimensions.

Stasis Gun Farscape : A Bug’s Life Weapon placing victims in suspended animation rather than killing them.

Stasis Leak Red Dwarf: Stasis Leak A leak from the stasis chamber, floor 16, froze time in a particular place, creating a doorway through time which Lister, Rimmer and the Cat used to travel back in time. People could come back from the past unless they belonged in the future.

Stasis Lock Transformers 1984 Automatic shutdown of systems in a Transformer to prevent the loss of spark when severely damaged.

Stasis Pod 1. Transformers 1984 Container which held protoform until given a solid form. Able to scan life forms and use them as a template for the form of the Transformer.

2. The Next Generation: The Neutral Zone Containers holding the frozen bodies of dead humans, kept in orbit around Earth until the container drifted far into space.

3. Enterprise: Precious Cargo Type of biopod for transporting people over long distance.

4.Stargate Atlantis: Whispers Containers in an abandoned lab, left by Michael with creatures he made from the DNA of several animals. They could not be controlled so they were left there.

5. Earth Final Conflict: Trapped by Time Containers housing three astronauts from Apollo 20 who returned before they left. X Trammel.

6. The Wizard of Mars Aka jazzy columns. X Column

7. Doctor Who: The Hungry Earth/Cold Blood Suspended animation chambers used by the Silurians to survive what they thought was an Apocalypse. View of multiple chambers in Roman Army camp pattern resembled Star Wars 2.

Once again, the word ‘stasis’ is used in the 1960’s in the Wizard of Mars and in the 1980’s in Transformers. But its widespread use is in the 1990’s and 2000’s. There is a similar confusion of its meaning, with some uses being what is really cryogenesis.

There are stasis pods and chambers, so there is more agreement on the naming of the devices used here than there is for cryogenesis.

What's in the Water?

2010-11-10T14:40:00.000-08:00

What’s in the Water?

Having looked at the metaphor of water in sci fi, it’s time to move on to what’s in that water, including creatures, aliens, humanoids, dolphins, undersea kingdoms and cities. There’s at least an equal number of films, series and novels on engineered humans and dolphins, as there are sea creatures.

There’s a phenomenon in this genre where sea creatures are present in space, either as theory or as satire. There’s also a lot of amusing stuff here as well, depending on your humour (especially if 1950’s films make you giggle.)

Good creatures:

Considering how much we use the sea there aren’t many good creatures in it in sci fi. Penguins are downgraded to villains in Batman and fish are evil in Darius+. But there are a few goodies:

Sealab 2020 (1972) featured an underwater facility where the crew looked after the ocean and its inhabitants.

seaQuest DSV Darwin is a sentient, speaking dolphin who helps the ship.

Star Trek: The Way Home Kirk has to find whales in the past to bring to the present to save the planet from an alien ship.

Cocoon A group swam around the Atlantis site, attracted to the aliens. Present in the opening scenes as the aliens landed.

The New Adventures of Ocean Girl has a sacred whale called Mandrool.

Bad Creatures

Most of the animals we envisage coming from the sea are evil, often having been created from pollution or scientific experiments. They usually want to dine on human beings or take over the planet, regularly stomping through cities in their attempts. It’s a lot like plants again, writers don’t like anything non-human.

Generally bad creatures are large and live alone in the water or near the water using it to approach humans e.g. The Host.

20,000 Leagues Beneath the Sea (novel 1870; films 1907, 1916, 1954; Game 1998) A giant squid attacks the Nautilus.

Frankenfish (2004) had a monster mutated fish killing people in the bayou.

Godzilla In the 1998 film this creature was formed by undersea nuclear testing and later returned to the sea to lay eggs.

It Came from Beneath the Sea (1955) A giant octopus from the Mindinao trench followed shipping to San Francisco.

The Phantom from 10,000 Leagues (1956) showed a monster created from radioactive rocks in the ocean.

Leviathan (1989) Deep Sea creatures are adversely affected by genetic modification.

Primeval (2006), season one episode four, featured monsters living in the water, who initially appeared from the vortex , in a pool.

Silurians ( aka Sea Devils) in Doctor Who (The Silurians/Warriors of the Deep/The Hungry Earth) are reptilian creatures living under the sea, often shown with a third eye. They repeatedly tried to take over the Earth as they originally owned it. Started in season 7, 1963 and continues until the present season.

Snakehead Terror (2002?) shows monstrous crocodilians living in a lake where they are disturbed.

The Beast from 20,000 fathoms (1954) Although this beast is a defrosted dinosaur it is a rhedosaurus which returns to the ocean.

The Creature from the Black Lagoon (1955) A half human, half marine creature plays tricks on a group of tourists.

SeaQuest DSV dagger redux (1994) A genetically engineered creature, released by the Marauder to eat the skin off seaQuest was beaten off against undersea rocks.

SeaLab 2021 Happycake (2000) A giant variety of squid which found the happycake oven.

Red Dwarf: Nanarchy (circa 1995) A despair squid nearly destroyed the crew.

Hyperdrive: A Gift from the Glish (2006) The whale people of Jorrain are really rude.

The creatures in Surface initially appear to be small and cute, with only one example, but there are others that multiply to take over the oceans.

An interesting digression from the good creature/bad creature dichotomy is shown in Deep Shock (2002) where electric eels melting the ice caps are ancient inhabitants of the Earth. Seen as a threat by the authorities who bomb their home, they are valued as an intelligent species by a scientist and her military partner and saved.

It’s odd how relatively few giant squids there are in sci fi, especially when there are lots of giant spiders, maggots, turtles (Gamera), flies, claws, gila monsters, leeches, and behemoths.

Humanoids

For humans to live in the sea, or even work in it, they must be genetically engineered, usually with gills. Startide Rising has humans working with dolphins on a starship using equipment in the water compartments. This would be time consuming when alternatives exist.

Engineered ‘tritons’ are described in the pulp sci fi story Crisis in Utopia by Norman L. Knight in 1940.

The same idea is presented again by Knight, writing a novel with James Blish in 1967 called A Torrent of Faces.

City Under the Sea (1957) and Beyond the Silver Sky (1961 by Kenneth Bulmer both describe artificially engineered humans living under the sea.

The Space Swimmers (1963) by Gordon R. Dickson and Ocean on Top (1967) by Hal Clement also describe artificially altered people.

Humans however, can live in the sea but generally need to be adapted to sea life with gills:

Gill girl and guy in Dark Angel Gill Girl; Gill men in The City Under the Sea (1965); Piccolo in seaQuest DSV.

Does Princess Neri have gills in The New Adventures of Ocean Girl ? or the original Neri (Ocean Girl 1994-7)? She should have.

The Mariner in Waterworld (1995) has natural gills to survive after the melting of the polar ice.

A departure from the idea of engineering humans is presented in 1974 in the novel The Godwhale by Thomas J. Bass with a cyborg whale.

Humans and Dolphins

seaQuest supposed that dolphins could be given equipment to allow them to speak. Novels that examine this idea are:

The Jonah Kit by Ian Watson, 1975

A Deeper Sea by Alexander Jablokov, 1992

Into the Deep by Ken Grimwood, 1995

Undersea Kingdoms and Cities.

Atlantis is an enduring themes, presented in many ways, but there have been other cities and kingdoms imagined under the sea.

Old novels on Atlantis include:

The Crystal City Under the Sea by Andre Laurie in 1895

The Sunken World by Stanton A. Coblenz in 1928

The Maracot Deep by Arthur Conan Doyle in 1929

They Found Atlantis by Dennis Wheatley in 1936

The Deep Range was a novel by Arthur C. Clarke in 1957.

Undersea Quest described underwater colonization in 1954. This became a trilogy, by Frederik Pohl and Jack Williamson.

Films and series include:

Atlantis (Stargate Atlantis: The Lost Continent/Atlantis: The Lost Empire/Atlantis: Milo’s Return/Lost Atlantis);

City Beneath the Sea (1963)

Gungan City (Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, 1999);

Landau Munitions Depot (SeaQuest DSV Brothers and Sisters);

Rapture (Bioshock, 2007/8) In this game the player kills genetically altered inhabitants to restore the balance. Not very edifying.

Undersea Kingdom (Undersea Kingdom) Another Atlantis story with the villains wanting to take over Earth.

Space Leviathans

Another odd thing I’ve noticed is how many marine creatures end up in space:

Ben Bova includes ‘leviathans’ in his book Jupiter. These huge creatures save an Earth probe by pushing it up out of danger.

Doctor Who: The Beast Below A whale powers the City of London through space.

Farscape: Moya as a space Leviathan kept in control, as was her son Talyn.

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy : A whale appears in space over Magrathea.

Terry Pratchett: An enormous turtle flies through space supporting four elephants who hold up Discworld.

Treasure Planet has a fleet of space whales.

Star Trek: The Next Generation Galaxy’s Child has a space whale baby which imprints on the Enterprise.

Raft by Stephen Baxter: A fleet of space whales saves the hero, Rees.

Aliens in the Water

Occasionally aliens set up camp in Earth’s oceans, waiting for us to discover them or to attack us:

Atomic Submarine from 1959 had an alien ship at the North Pole attacking submarines.

Abyss : Aliens have an underwater base that glows, but had not been found as it was very deep.

Sphere : Some kind of space ship lurked in the depths, making dreams come true for those who found it.

Sundiver and Startide Rising by David Brin in 1983 has a dolphin commander, Crideiki, hide his ship in the ocean of another planet.

Conclusions:

I’ve learned that sci fi writers don’t like the sea much, but they don't actually hate it. Any body of deep water brings fear of the unknown. As usual there are more monsters and villains than good guys, and lots of suspicious engineered humanoids. But, probably thanks to the lack of films and series in this genre, there’s not the same feeling of hatred there is to trees and other vegetation in sci fi.

But it really is time to rethink our ocean stories. With the collapse of the Gulf Stream and the melting of the polar caps there have been some stories coming out of the ocean, but there should be more.

Water

2010-10-11T16:19:00.000-07:00

Water

We’re living in times when water matters. The poles are melting, faster than expected, raising sea levels faster than was ever believed possible. People protest they are no longer allowed to build too close to the coast. The current protests about the plan for the Murray-Darling river system shows how difficult water issues are now and will be even more so in the future.

There is not enough fresh water, glaciers are melting bringing down floods, but the glaciers are not being replaced. Water is being divvied up by countries around the globe, not always happily. There will be wars about who owns water.

Rivers are dying because we are using all the water. ‘Water rights’ are being bought up from farmers so that rivers can flow again. Or are the water rights really being sold to agribusinesses who will control our food in the future?

We search for water on the Moon, on Mars, on every planet, hoping there will be enough to sustain life.

Did science fiction writers foresee these problems with water? What did water signify to them? Is water a theme or a metaphor in sci if, or both?

Water on Earth

Water, water everywhere: Waterworld showed a flooded Earth were everyone lived on rafts. With a vague memory of dry land, the Mariner struggles to save himself and give his ‘family’ a new life. Very few of us believe the whole planet will flood, but the idea was interesting.

More in line with what is happening is the idea that the government or large companies will take control of the water.

The Girl from Tomorrow as an Australian teenage series that presumed the misuse of water in our time would lead to dreadful water shortages in the future, and a military state to control everybody. The criminals Draco and Silverthorn steal water from the present to make a fortune for themselves in the future, destroying the far future as a result. Everything has to be set right, and the characters determine to be environmental activists to help the future be better.

Tank Girl has the Water and Power Company keeping strict control of water, stopping renegades like Tank Girl taking it.

Flash Gordon the series portrays Ming controlling the water on Mongo, then stealing it from Earth when he begins to run out.

The main idea seems to be that water shortages will lead to militaristic governments and companies controlling the water and the population.

How do we cope on other planets?

Arrakis is the most famous ‘other planet’ in this genre. In Dune Frank Herbert invented a planet that had very little water. On Arrakis the people wear ‘still suits’ to recycle every drop of water. Even at death people must return their water to their clan. An indoor garden is the greatest luxury you can have on Arrakis. When the ecology of Arrakis was changed to be wetter, this was a disaster and had to be reversed.

In Star Trek Voyager The Ocampa planet had underground supplies of water which it traded with the Kazon. Janeway is able to impress the Kazon by replicating water and beaming it in containers to the surface, then letting it run away when they won’t co-operate.

Stargate Universe has an episode Water where characters search for water on a likely planet, finding some that has creatures in it. At least water is acknowledged as a basis of life fundamental to survival.

In Earth 2 the groups has to find water that is safe to drink, trusting the Terrians to lead them to the right source.

Stargate Fire and Water has Daniel held in a laboratory underwater where he can’t escape.

Lexx has planet water refusing to share with water with planet fire, causing a war.

Finding safe water on other planets will be testing for humans. If there are other races competing for water there will be danger.

What about Underwater Cities?

Sci fi is fond of cities underwater with pretty domes and lights shining through the murk. No-one has built one yet, and seaQuest shows how difficult they could be.

Star Wars: Phantom Menace (film) The Gungans have an underwater city, which is quite dangerous to reach. Full of glass and lights with no information on how they grow food.

The Abyss (film) has an alien city in the depths of the ocean, with no realistic details.

City Beneath the Sea (film) has a race of water breathing humanoids called aquanoids.

The Neptune Factor (film) shows the rescue of people from an underwater lab.

Xardion (game) has Oceansphere.

Seastalker ( game) has the city Aquadome.

AquaNox (game) has the city Neopolis which is a battleground .

Blackstar (series) has the underwater kingdom of Aquaria.

The Fin(comic) had the underwater kingdom of Neptunia

Red Dwarf Nanarchy (series) showed Ocean World, with its Despair Squid.

seaQuest DSV (series) shows a number of underwater installations, most of which are imperfect.

Summing Up

Water gives life and with that it gives incredible power.

The lack of water can destroy a group, or lead to the dominance of a bullying leadership.

Uneven distribution of water can lead to war.

Living underwater is difficult and dangerous.

The ecology of this planet and others has to be respected. Altering an ecology successfully is difficult.

We may not be the only races needing water.

Intelligent creatures could develop gills to live underwater.

Water greedy gardens are a luxury, but we should have some.

Safe water is precious.

Next: It’s what’s in the water that matters.

sci fi drinks

2010-08-25T17:39:00.000-07:00

Sci Fi Drinks

As a follow up to food, drinks are another topic where Sci fi needs a shake up!

Non-Alcoholic Drinks

Sci fi writers offer some alternatives for non-drinkers: coffee, tea, fruit and health juices, milk and milkshakes. So far I haven’t noticed anyone using any form of sports drink. Tea and coffee are normal beverages in our society, so there’s not too much to say about them yet. Milk and milkshakes are generally warming, healthy drinks, particularly for children.

It’s the fruit, vegetable and health drinks that draw my ire, just as fruit and vegetables did in sci fi food. The nicest sounding drinks are lemon, fruit cup and fruited source water. But then we get drinks that would put anybody off – cauliflower juice, Kelp’s Kool Tonic, Spinach Juice with Pear. There are so many enticing variations of fruit juice that could be used or invented, but instead sci fi writers put viewers off juice with their uncool choices. They’re not as bad with soft drinks, but the heavy reliance on Cola drinks is promoting an unhealthy choice, if not being downright boring and uncreative. Bubbleshock is the most creative, but it was part of an alien conspiracy, and was bad for you.

There is another aspect of drinks that is more interesting: characters become associated with the drinks they favour. This didn’t happen much with food.

Tea – Captain Picard favoured Earl Grey, hot, for his Star Trek adventures.

Cola – In Andromeda Harper loved Sparky Cola.

Juice – Worf drank prune juice when in human company, and blood wine in Klingon circles. This hasn’t raised the status of prune juice, even though he thought it was a man’s drink.

Raktajino was the symbol drink of Deep Space Nine, especially Julian Bashir.

These are the main references in McKenzie’s Sci Fi Dictionary:

Coffee Cappuccino (Eearth Final Conflict: Keys to the Kingdom ); Cappuccino with chocolate sprinkles (Torchwood: A Day in the Death ); Coffee, Jamaica blend, double strength, double sweet (Deep Space 9: Whispers ); Coffee (Stargate: SG1 Urgo /Crusade: Visitors from down the Street); Frappucino (Roswell: Wipeout! ); Mochachino (Hyperdrive: A Gift from the Glish ); Proteinaceous Seed (Star Trek Voyager: The Cloud ); Raktajino(Deep Space 9: The Homecoming et al);

Fruit/Vegetable/Health Juice Aloe Vera (Goodnight Sweetheart :Easy Living); Cauliflower Juice (Hyperdrive: Weekend Off );Balso tonic (Star Trek: Next Generation: The Host ); Bolian tonic water (Deep Space 9:Paradise Lost); Fruit Cup (K-9 and Company); Fruited Source Water (Flash Gordon: Pride); Icoberry Juice (Deep Space 9: Let He Who is Without Sin ); Korvino Juice (Deep Space 9:Defiant);Lemon Drink (The Happening ); Prune Juice (Star Trek: Next Generation: Yesterday’s Enterprise ); Kelp’s Kool Tonic (The Nutty Professor 1963); Special Juice (Hyperdrive: Assessment ); Spinach Juice with Pear (Star Trek Voyager: Eye of the Needle );

Milkshakes and Milk Drinks Banana Guava Shake (Kyle XY: The List is Life ); Banana Milk (The Host); Banana milkshake (Torchwood: Random Shoes); Chocolate shake (Kyle XY :Leap of Faith); Chocolate Wonder (Kyle XY :Grey Matters); Cocoa (Goodnight Sweetheart: Come fly With Me );Curry Milkshake (Red Dwarf); Enyac’s milk (Deep Space 9: Ties of Blood and Water); Martian Shake (Roswell: Pilot); Mercury Milkshake (Roswell: Blood Brother); Strawberry Milkshake (Goodnight Sweetheart season 4 In the Mood );

Soft Drink Bubbleshock (Sarah-Jane Adventures: Invasion of the Bane ); Cherry Cola (Kyle XY: Leap of Faith); Cola (Dinotopia: Contact ); Ginger Beer (Doctor Who: The Unicorn and the Wasp/ Goodnight Sweetheart season 4 In the Mood ); Guarana Soda (The Incredible Hulk 2008); Impact Cola (Slider’s: The Young and the Relentless ); Lemonade (The Nutty Professor 1963/D? The Happiness Patrol ); Root Beer (Deep Space 9: Facets ); Slusho Mix (Star Trek 2009 ); Slushy (Primeval 2/1 ); Sweetwater (Stargate SG1 2001 ); Sparky Cola (Andromeda); Trixian Bubble Juice (Deep Space 9:The Storyteller);

Tea Andonian Tea (Star Trek: Next Generation: Conspiracy ); Chamomile Tea (Kyle XY: Sleepless in Seattle/ Earth 2); Deka Tea (Deep Space 9:The Alternate ); Earl Grey Tea (Star Trek: Next Generation: Contagion et al ); Govaline Tea (Deep Space 9:The Muse); Janaran Tea (Enterprise: Chosen Realm); Klabnian Fire Tea (Star Trek 2009 ); Lemon tea (Star Trek: Next Generation:The Host); Marob Root Tea (Star Trek Voyager: Ex Post Facto); Red leaf Tea (Deep Space 9: Civil Defense ); Tarkalean Tea (Deep Space 9:Cardassians );Tea (Goodnight Sweetheart :Come fly With Me); Valerian Root Tea (Star Trek: Next Generation: Second Chances);

Alcoholic Drinks :

There is a large number of alcoholic drinks in the McKenzie list, which at first sight makes you think sci fi encourages alcohol consumption. The feeling gets even worse when you see how much the squeaky clean Star Trek Universe drinks. The problem here is taking alcohol out of context. Even though there is a full range of alcoholic drinks, from beer to wine and champagne, as well as spirits, alcohol is usually seen as something to consume to relax or celebrate. People who drink too much are reprimanded or avoided. There doesn’t seem to be any difference in this attitude between American or British series and films, where there were differences in what foods are encouraged. Men and women drink alcohol, not quite equally, but often together in social situations. The important things to realise is that the attitude to alcohol is one of enjoyment in moderation.

But it’s interesting that alien drinks are often more alcoholic than human ones, and that drinking alcohol is often a test of alien manhood (not womanhood) to drink them. Humans sometimes fall foul of this attitude and unless prepared beforehand ( as Riker was for Klingon beverages) always regret joining in. Characters aren’t normally identified with a particular form of alcohol as they were with tea or soft drink. In fact, some characters like Kerr Avon in Blakes’ Seven are identified with not drinking alcohol. It’s more common for characters to share alcohol for special occasions e.g. Reg and Gary share drinks in Goodnight Sweetheart, both for Reg’s retirement and VE night. Whenever Gary has to drink in both time periods he inhabits, he regrets it the next day. When Ron drinks too much in the same series, it is to show what a serious problem he has and how Gary overlooks it.

On a word making basis, it is the alien drinks that promote word invention and playfulness. Apart from Bubbleshock, most drinks have normal names.

These are the listings in McKenzie’s Dictionary for alcohol.

Beer Ale and ambrosia (Battlestar Galactica: Lost Planet of the Gods); Andorian Ale (Deep Space 9: Meridian ); Beer(The Host/ Stargate Atlantis: The Shrine/ Goodnight Sweetheart: The Yanks Are Coming);Bitters (Deep Space 9: Homecoming); Brestanti Ale (Deep Space 9: Blood Oath); Budweiser Classic (Star Trek 2009 ); Guinness (Eearth Final Conflict: The Secret of Strand Hill); Maporian Ale (Deep Space 9: Looking for par’Mach in All The Wrong Places ); Maraltian Seev-ale( Deep Space 9: Duet); Romulan ale (Star Trek: Next Generation:: The Defector ); Synthale (Deep Space 9: Playing God/ Deep Space 9: Bar Association ); Trakian Ale (Star Trek: Next Generation: Lower Decks );

Brandy Alvanian Brandy (Deep Space 9: Body Parts ); Brandy Alexander (Roswell: Viva Las Vegas); Brandy and Soda (Goodnight Sweetheart : The Bells Are Ringing); Cherry Brandy (Goodnight Sweetheart : Just one More Chance); Saurian Brandy (Deep Space 9: Prophet Motive); Yridian Brandy (Deep Space 9: The Sword of Kahless)

Champagne Bollinger ‘69 (Moonraker); Bollinger Champagne (GSw Mairzy Doats); Champagne (Doctor Who: Rose/Doctor Who: The Empty Child/ Star Trek: Next Generation: Datalore/ Torchwood: Out of Time/Tripods: Chateau Ricardeau, France/ Deep Space 9: Prophet Motive/ Stardust/ Star Trek: Next Generation:: Parallels); Chateau Picard (ST Nemesis); Dom Perignon Champagne (Earth Final Conflict: Horizon Zero ); Pink Champagne (Bionic Woman 2007: The Education of Jaime Sommers ); Kandora Champagne (Deep Space 9: Meridian );

Liqueurs and Aperitifs Alaskan Polar Bear (The Nutty Professor 1963); Black Hole (Deep Space 9:the Homecoming/ Deep Space 9: Playing God); Bombay multi-fling (Star Hyke: Plug’n’Play ); Buzzer (BG The Lost Warrior ); Cardassian Sunrise (Star Trek 2009 ); Choc Mint Liqueur (Goodnight Sweetheart : Pennies from Heaven); Daiquiri (The Invaders: Inquisition ); Harvey Wallbanger (Doctor Who: The Unicorn and the Wasp); Jovian Sunspot (Babylon 5: Spider in the Web); Langour (Deep Space 9: Vortex); Lemon, lime, and bitters (Doctor Who: The Unicorn and the Wasp ); Mai Tai (Dinotopia: Car Wars ); Margarita (Bionic Woman 2007: The Education of Jaime Sommers); Martini(Iron Man); Modela Apertif (Deep Space 9: Dramatis Personae); Passionfruit Martini (Stargate SG1: Memento Mori ); Samarian Sunset (Deep Space 9: Profit and Loss ); Sidecar (Doctor Who: The Unicorn and the Wasp ); Zulu (Spr Banshees)

Rum and Blackcurrant (Goodnight Sweetheart :Out of Town)

Tequila Taelon Tequila (Earth Final Conflict: Phantom Companion); Tequila (Goodnight Sweetheart : Pennies from Heaven );

Vodka (Flash Gordon: The Sorrow ); Vodka, tonic with a slice of lemon (Torchwood: To the Last Man);

Whisky Aldebaran Whisky (Deep Space 9: Prophet Motive ); Bourbon (The Invaders: Inquisition); Jack (Star Trek 2009); JD and Coke (Torchwood: Greeks Bearing Gifts); Poteen (Star Trek: Next Generation: Up the Long Ladder); Rye and Ginger (Star Trek: Next Generation: Manhunt);Scotch (Star Trek: Next Generation: Manhunt/ Deep Space 9: Homecoming/ Iron Man); Single Malt Irish Whisky (Deep Space 9: The Assignment ); Sour Mash (The Invaders: Counter-attack ); Tennessee Whisky (Goodnight Sweetheart :The Yanks Are Coming ); Whisky (Threshold/ Dinotopia: Marooned );

Wine Alberian wine (Flash Gordon: Alliances ); Azalea Springs Merlot (Scanner Darkly); Mint Julep (Lois and Clarke: The Man of Steel Bars); Calamon Sherry (Star Trek: The Next Generation: In Theory ); Dandelion and Burdock (Goodnight Sweetheart :The Leaving of Liverpool); Klingon Fire Wine (Star Trek: The Next Generation: A Fistful of Datas ); Mead (Lexx: A Midsummer’s Nightmare ); Mojito (Primeval Episode Six ); Prosecco (Deep Space 9: Rivals ); Rooswine (Stargate Atlantis: Missing); Wine (Star Trek: Next Generation: Family ); Vignon (Battlestar Galactica: The Lost Warrior);

Alien Drinks: Afterbringer – (Andromeda: The Pearls that were his eyes); Arcturian Fizz (Star Trek: Next Generation: Ménage a Troi); Bloodwine ( Enterprise: Judgement); Chech’tuth (Star Trek: Next Generation: Up the Long Ladder ); Coco-no-no (Star Trek: The Next Generation: Booby Trap ); Fanalian Toddy (Deep Space 9:Explorers ); Fish juice (Deep Space 9: Trials and Tribble-ations); Kanor (Deep Space 9: Profit and Loss); Millipede Juice (Deep Space 9: Prophet Motive); Muskan Seed Punch (Star Trek: Next Generation: Aquiel); Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Series); Papalla Juice (Star Trek: Next Generation: Liaisons Planetwiper Amc ; Quaff (The Flying Sorcerers); Rasslak (Farscape: Nerve); Red Torian (Star Trek: Next Generation:The Mind’s Eye);Rokassa Juice (Deep Space 9: Cardassians); Skaara’s Moonshine (Stargate SG1 Children of the Gods ); Snail Juice (Deep Space 9: Bar Association/ Deep Space 9: Let He Who is Without Sin ); Stardrifter (Deep Space 9: The Storyteller); Synthehol (Star Trek: Next Generation: Up the Long Ladder );

Tanquesary and Tonic (Jumper); Til’amin Froth (Deep Space 9: Empok Nor );TKL (Star Trek: Next Generation: Yesterday’s Enterprise); TKO (Quantum Leap: The Right Hand of God); Tranyas (Deep Space 9: Facets ); Warnog (Star Trek: Next Generation: Rightful Heir );

Drugs

Drugs are generally not shown in a positive light in any sci fi. Some drugs are used to control people or aliens, others are highly addictive and difficult to withdraw from. Characters are not shown smoking tobacco, even when it was considered cool to smoke there were few characters who did so (it might have interfered with makeup and rubber costumes!) and generally no-one smokes pot. Characters like Vila in Blake’s 7 who drinks alcohol and soma, are despised by the other characters. However Dr. Franklin is forgiven for his Stems addiction once he has shaken it off. Keeping your head clear is important in space.

The names for drugs are often quite inventive, moving from real names to more evocative ones. Any drug promising good feelings like Bliss or nectar, should be avoided!

Amnesia Pill (Torchwood: They Keep Killing Suzie);
Beetle Snuff (Deep Space 9 :Prophet Motive )
;Bliss (Eearth Final Conflict Bliss/Doctor Who: Gridlock);
Blissto AmcC Partnership;
Buzzbeanium (Lexx: Patches in the Sky) ;
Dust (Babylon5: Dust to Dust);

Flash (Andromeda: The Pearls that were his eyes); Ketracel White (Deep Space 9 :Hippocratic Oath);

Kryss (Eearth Final Conflict: Sins of the Father); Learning Drugs (Red Dwarf: Balance of Power);

Morpha Battlestar Galactica: Rapture; Nectar (Haze: New Crime City);

Percocet (4400 Hidden) ; Preservanex (Supertoys Last all Summer);

Rapture O5;
Roshna (Stargate: SG1: Deadman Switch);
Shadow (Blake's 7);
Soma – form of alcohol and adrenalin, (Blake's 7, Brave New World);
Sphinx Green (Weber: Honor Among Enemies);
Stems (Babaylon5 :Walkabout;)
Substance D (Scanner Darkly );
Substance 35 (Stargate: SG1: Watergate);
Ultrazone (robot drug) (Red Dwarf: Beyond a Joke) ;
Vitas (Babylon 5: Voices from the Past);
Vitazoid (Blake's 7: Gambit);

sing-a-long sci fi

2010-07-05T16:42:00.000-07:00

Sing-a-long Sci Fi

So far in this blog I’ve looked at the use of the Greek alphabet and various mythologies to form sci fi words, as well as the use of the letter X, the end letters ‘ck’, sesquipaedialisms, poetry and green vocabulary in sci fi word use. Some of this has pointed to an embedded sexism in the language of sci fi, a dislike of nature unless it’s cut and put in a vase, as well as Anglo-centrism. But I’ve also looked at how planets are named in reality and in sci fi. Branching out I’ve looked at the types of food promoted by sci fi and some of the background of Avatar (more to come!). Unsurprisingly now I want to look at songs in sci fi.

Limitations

Let’s get it straight – I’m talking about the use of songs, not unadorned music. Classical and Rock music will form a blog of its own.
Obviously I can’t comment on every song used in every sci fi film and series (let alone if they’re used in games), so this is the next limitation.
Thirdly, on looking for the singers of various songs it rapidly became a problem that some songs have had many singers. I’ve tried to find the earliest, but some could be wrong and some will have been sung by other people you like that I didn’t know about. Sorry. It would take years of research to get that sorted, so it’s not possible.

If it’s such a problem why look at this?

I’m interested in several things. Firstly, copyright is different in different countries and at different times, but it restricts what can be used in films and series. Sci fi budgets don’t usually extend to paying large amounts for the rights to play a song. So what is played? How is it played? Why do producers and directors persist in using songs? What role do they play that is so important? What effect do the songs have? And if I can cover a bit of this in one blog I’ll be lucky!!

What Songs are Played?

Musicals and Musical Films supply songs used in series, and episode titles for those series. There’s a surprisingly small range of musicals used, with Man of La Mancha featured in one Quantum Leap episode, subsequently released on CD. Often characters sing the songs, or parts of them, as part of the plot. This is usual in Quantum Leap and Goodnight Sweetheart where songs are integral to the plot, and is done in Sliders when Maggie sings for a living for the group. Apart from Footloose the musicals are all old classics, which would be out of copyright. Dirty Dancing dates from the eighties, with some earlier music.

April Love: Quantum Leap A Leap for Lisa April Love 1957/Pat Boone
Deep in My Heart: Quantum Leap: The Color of Truth The Student Prince 1954
Don Quixote Quantum Leap : Catch a Falling Star Man of La Mancha
Footloose Quantum Leap : Piano Man Footloose
Get Me to the Church on Time Goodnight Sweetheart: Is Your Journey Really Necessary?: My Fair Lady
Getting to Know You Red Dwarf: Back to Earth My Fair Lady
If I Only Had a Heart The Next Generation :The Schizoid Man :The Wizard of Oz
I Have Often Walked Goodnight Sweetheart Fools Rush In My Fair Lady
Impossible Dream, The Space Cases, Season 1, 1996 Man of La Mancha
I've Grown Accustomed to His Face Now and Again, 1999 title My Fair Lady
I’ve Had the Time of My Life -Kyle XY : Season three title Dirty Dancing
Life is a Cabaret Doctor Who: Scream of the Shalka Cabaret
Luck be a Lady Doctor Who: Rose Guys and Dolls
Shall We Dick? title 3rd Rock from the Sun, Season 5, 2000 The King and I (Shall we Dance?)
There’s a Place for Us Quantum Leap: It’s a Wonderful Leap West Side Story
To Dream the Impossible Dream Quantum Leap : Catch a Falling Star Man of La Mancha
Impossible Dream, The Space Cases, Season 1, 1996 title Man of La Mancha
Tonight, Tonight Goodnight Sweetheart: In the Mood West Side Story
Way Out West Sliders, Season 4, 1998 Calamity Jane
What does he want of me? Quantum Leap: Catch a Falling Star Man of La Mancha
Wonderful Spiderman 3 Annie Get Your Gun (Sinatra)
You’ll Never Walk Alone 1990, Season 2, 1978 title Carousel

Traditional Songs

There is a big range of traditional songs including Christmas carols; English, American, French, Irish, Scottish and Australian folk songs; some Italian songs. Happy Birthday has restrictions, but in this case it is sung in Klingon, so it’s OK. Who knows what is really being sung? And the all time favourite song comes out as - Amazing Grace.
As well as the usual series using songs, Star Trek appears here using a variety of traditional American and French songs.

All the Pretty Little Horses 4400 As Fate Would Have It American lullaby.
Amazing Grace - Quantum Leap : The Right Hand of God/ Memphis Melody/ English hymn.
Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan/ Sliders: Pilot/ A Roswell Christmas Carol/ Sung by Vera Lynn/Elvis
SQDSV Sympathy for the Deep/EFC First of It’s Kind Presley etc.
Auld Lang Syne Goodnight Sweetheart: It Ain’t Necessarily So Scottish traditional
Carol of the Bells Quantum Leap :A Little Miracle Carol.
Danny Boy Torchwood: Random Shoes Irish folk song.
Dixie : Quantum Leap: Memphis Melody 19th C USA (Daniel Emmett)
Down in the Valley The Next Generation: Dark Page Aka Birmingham Jail folk song.
Glory, Glory Hallelujah Wild, Wild West 2000 American hymn.
Happy Birthday (The Next Generation: Parallels) Traditional song
Hava Nagilah Quantum Leap: Thou Shalt Not… Israeli folk song
Jingle Bells (Doctor Who: Voyage of the Damned ) Carol.
Joy to the World Quantum Leap: A Little Miracle Carol.
Kookaburra sits in the old Gumtree Doctor Who: Fear Her Australian children’s.
La Donna E Mobile Dark Angel: Flushed; Italian opera.
Lord of the Dance Torchwood: Small Worlds English religious song.
Marseillaise The Next Generation: Hide and Q French national anthem.
The Minstrel Boy The Next Generation :The Wounded Carol
Oranges and Lemons Finders Keepers English nursery rhyme.
Pop goes the Weasel The Next Generation: Shades of Gray English nursery rhyme.
Roll out the Barrel Goodnight Sweetheart: Is Your Journey Really Necessary? English drinking song.
Row Row Row Your Boat Stargate: SG1 Urgo/Star Trek: The Final Frontier English round.
Silent Night Quantum Leap: A Little Miracle Carol
Sur le Pont d’Avignon The Next Generation: Chain of Command French children’s round
We Wish You a Merry Christmas K-9 and Company Carol
What Shall We do with the Drunken Sailor? seaQuest DSV: Bad Water Sea Shanty

Songs from the 1940’s, 50’s and 60’s

Given that copyright usually lasts fifty years (sometimes longer), most of the songs played in sci fi fall into this age grouping. There are several songs here from the eighties which may have had earlier versions or short copyright.

Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra feature heavily in this section, with the Beatles, Rolling Stones and Four Tops coming next. After that there’s a wide range of songs and singers.

Songs used in episodes and films:

All My Lovin’ : Beatles Goodnight Sweetheart: It Ain’t Necessarily So
Angel Baby: Rosie and the Originals 1960/John Lennon et al Max Q
A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square Torchwood: Captain Jack Harkness
As Time Goes By : Sinatra Quantum Leap: Play It Again, Seymour/ D? The Happiness Patrol
Baby I need some lovin’ : Four Tops Quantum Leap: Black on White on Fire
Big Girls Don’t Cry : Beachboys Quantum Leap: All-Americans
Blowin’ in the Wind: Bob Dylan Quantum Leap : Nowhere to Run
Bluebirds over the White Cliffs of Dover : Vera Lynn Torchwood: Captain Jack Harkness /Goodnight Sweetheart: Don’t Fence Me In
Can’t Help Myself : The Four Tops, 1965 Quantum Leap: Animal Frat
Chant Down Babylon : Bob Marley Roswell: Chant Down Babylon
Delilah : Tom Jones Goodnight Sweetheart: It’s a Sin to Tell a Lie
Dream a Little Dream of Me :Sinatra Farscape: Dream a Little Dream
Duck and Cover ( 50’s Propaganda) Quantum Leap: Nuclear Family
Eve of Destruction : Barry McGuire, 1965 Quantum Leap: Nowhere to Run
Fate’s Wide Wheel : King Thunder Quantum Leap: Glitter Rock
Feelings : Barbra Streisand Quantum Leap: Private Dancer
Flash, Gordon : Queen, 80’s Flash Gordon
Fly me to the Moon: Sinatra Space Cowboys
Georgia: Ray Charles Quantum Leap : M.I.A.
Glory of Love : Peter Cetera/Tom Jones Goodnight Sweetheart: Nice Work If You Can Get It
God Speed my Love : Righteous Brothers , Unchained Melody 55 Quantum Leap: M.I.A.
Goodbye, Ruby Tuesday : Rolling Stones 1966 Children of Men
Great Balls of Fire: Jerry Lee Lewis Quantum Leap: L Good Morning, Peoria/ Miss Deep South
Happiness is : Joplin Quantum Leap: Memphis Melody
Happy Days are here again: Barbra Streisand Doctor Who: Daleks in Manhattan/ Evolution of the Daleks
Have you ever seen rain? : Credence Clearwater Revival Stargate SG1: Unending
Heard it on the Grapevine : Credence Clearwater Revival Quantum Leap : M.I.A./Goodnight Sweetheart: The Yanks Are Coming
Heatwave: Martha and the Bandellas Quantum Leap: A Song for the Soul
Here Comes the Sun: Harrison, Abbey Road, 1969 Doctor Who: 42
Hernando’s Hideaway : Johnny Ray Quantum Leap: Sea Bride
He’s So Shy : Suzy Quattro Quantum Leap: Another Mother
High Hopes: Sinatra 59/Doris Day 64 What Planet Are You From?
Hot Spot :Foxy Brown Quantum Leap: Glitter Rock
I am the Walrus :Beatles Goodnight Sweetheart :Nice Work If You Can Get It
I Can’t Decide: Scissor Sisters (Ta-Dah) Doctor Who: Last of the Timelords
If You Leave Me Now: Chicago 1976 Goodnight Sweetheart: I Got it Bad and That Ain’t Good
I’ll Never Smile Again: Ruth Lowe (music) The Philadelphia Experiment
I’m so lonesome I could die: Elvis Presley Lois and Clarke: Neverending Battle
I’m the Great Pretender: Elvis Presely Quantum Leap: Rebel Without a Clue
Imagine : John Lennon Quantum Leap: The Leap Home Pt 1/ Goodnight Sweetheart Is Your Journey Really Necessary?
I need a hero : Tina Turner Lois and Clarke: Pilot/Mad Max 3
I need somebody to love :Beatles Quantum Leap: M.I.A.
I never fool nobody but me :Irma Thomas seaQuest: DSV Sea :West
In Heaven there is no bar: Charlie Pride NTZ Kentucky Rye
I Remember You : Frank Ifield 1962 The Next Generation : Second Chances
It’s a Beautiful Day: ELO Doctor Who: Love and Monsters
It’s a Little Bit Funny: Elton John Goodnight Sweetheart
It’s got to be you : Pamela Birch Doctor Who: The Empty Child;
I’ve got a brand new pair of roller skates: Melanie Safka, 71 Doctor Who: Love and Monsters
I’ve Got a Crush on you : Gershwin/Sinatra/Fitzgerald Lois and Clarke: I’ve Got a Crush on You/Double Jeopardy
I Want to Play House with You: Elvis Presley Quantum Leap: Memphis Melody;
Jailhouse Rock :Elvis Presley Quantum Leap: Rebel Without a Clue
Jingle, Jangle: The Archies, 1960’s Stepford Wives 2
La Bamba : Trini Lopez 60’s Quantum Leap: Animal Frat/ All-Americans
Let’s do the Twist: Chubby Checker Quantum Leap: Good Morning, Peoria/ Spiderman 3
Let’s Twist Again: Chubby Checker Quantum Leap: All-Americans
Locomotion: The Beach Boys Quantum Leap: Thou Shalt Not…
Look for the Silver Lining: Jerome Kern 1919/J. Garland Lois and Clarke The Man of Steel Bars
Look of Love Willie Bobo/Dusty Springfield Quantum Leap: The Play’s the Thing
Maybe Baby : The Crickets, 1950’s Quantum Leap: Maybe Baby
Memories of You :music by Eubie Blake, words by Andy Razat. . The Philadelphia Experiment
Mona Lisa : Elvis Presley 4400 The New and Improved Carl Morissey
Moon River : Mancini (music) Quantum Leap: Runaway
My Girl : Temptations, 1964 Quantum Leap: Black on White on Fire
My Melancholy Baby : Ella Fitzgerald, 1936 Torchwood: Captain Jack Harkness
Nightbird The Next Generation: Second Chances
One eyed Purple People Eater : Sheb Wooley 1958 Contact
Quanta La Gusta : Carmen Miranda QL Miss Deep South
Que Sera, Sera : Doris Day QL Genesis
Raindrops Keep Falling on my Head: Johnny Farnham 69 Quantum Leap: The Leap Home Pt 2
Rock N’Robin :Bobby Day, 58/The Hollies 64 Quantum Leap: Camikazi Kid
Rock the Redhead : King Thunder, 1970’s Quantum Leap: Glitter Rock
Runaway : Elvis Presley Quantum Leap: Maybe Baby/ Runaway
Shout : Johnny O’Keefe Quantum Leap: Good Morning, Peoria
Singing Me Softly : Carpenters Quantum Leap: Thou Shalt Not…
Sitting on the Dock of the Bay: Otis Redding 1967 Quantum Leap: M.I.A.
Smoke Gets in Your Eyes : Piaf/Barbra Streisand Quantum Leap: Stand Up
Solitary Man :Johnny Cash Stargate Atlantis: Vegas
Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me: Sinatra 45/55 Quantum Leap: It’s a Wonderful Leap
Somewhere in the night : Sinatra 46 Quantum Leap: Piano Man
Spirit in the Sky Contact
Starman: David Bowie Torchwood: Random Shoes
Steal My Heart Away: Don Williams 1979/Van Morrison Smallville: Pilot
Stormy Weather: Sinatra 44,54 Quantum Leap: Pool Hall Blues
Sympathy for the Devil :The Rolling Stones Stargate Atlantis: Vegas
That’ll Be the Day: The Crickets 1957 Battlestar Galactica:1980 The Night the Cylons Landed
That Old Black Magic: Sinatra 46 The Nutty Professor 1963
That’s All Right Mama : Elvis Presley Quantum Leap: Memphis Melody
That’s the Glory of Love Benny Goodman 1936/Bette Midler/ Quantum Leap: Good Morning, Peoria
The Boys are Back in Town: Thin Lizzy 1976 Quantum Leap: Maybe Baby
The Good Life : Tony Bennett Torchwood: Out of Time
The Good Ship Lollipop: Shirley Temple Battlestar Galactica:1980 The Night the Cylons Landed
The Runner: Ian Thomas (music) The Philadelphia Experiment
The Times They are a’Changin: Bob Dylan Goodnight Sweetheart: Goodnight Children Everywhere
Trouble : Roy La Montagne Torchwood: Out of Time
Twelve O’Clock Rock :Bill Haley and the Comets Quantum Leap: Good Morning, Peoria
Tutti Fruiti : Elvis Presley Quantum Leap: Good Morning, Peoria
Underneath the Arches Goodnight Sweetheart: It Ain’t Necessarily So
Volare : Dean Martin Quantum Leap: Double Identity
We’ve Got a World that Swings :Les Brown and his Band of Renown The Nutty Professor 1963
Well I think I’m going Outta my head : Cilla Black Goodnight Sweetheart: Fools Rush In
When I’m Sixty Four: Beatles Goodnight Sweetheart: Turned Out Nice Again
Who’s Gonna Drive you home tonight? :The Cars 1984 Transformers the Movie/2
Wild Thing: The Troggs Quantum Leap: Animal Frat/ The Leap Home 2
Winter Wonderland : Hundred incl. Bing Crosby Doctor Who: Voyage of the Damned
Yesterday: Beatles Goodnight Sweetheart: Is Your Journey Really Necessary?
Yellow Rose of Texas : Elvis Presley Quantum Leap: Genesis
You Ain’t Nothin But a Hound Dog: Elvis Presley Quantum Leap: GenesisYou
Zippity Doo Dah: James Baskett for Disney’s Song of the South/46 Battlestar Galactica:1980 The lots more Night the Cylons Landed

What’s the Effect of all this old Music?

Positives first : The music is old-fashioned, warm and emotional. It’s accessible with a lot of songs that can be danced to or sung, giving programs connection to the audience. Older viewers will know the songs well, and lots of young viewers will have heard them, providing a familiar backdrop for unfamiliar situations. It’s easy to give inter-textuality using older songs, there’s a lot to choose from and people will understand what you’re doing straight away.
Specific series rely on this warmth to provide an emotional landscape for the characters to work in e.g. Quantum Leap and Goodnight Sweetheart.
But music can be used to give a very different tone. Stargate Atlantis: Vegas was very different to the normal episodes in this series, showing a different John Sheppard. The music used here is evocative of loneliness and a Western image, and it’s done brilliantly.
And the negatives: This music could put off people who like Hard Rock or Classical Music. It could also seem very twee and cloying to young people. There is a danger sci fi could sound old fashioned and out of date. (But notice the music in Fantastic Mr. Fox an animated film which was just released – the music is all the same vintage as that we are discussing.) It is an odd dynamic to have old music playing in futuristic or alien settings.

Isn’t there any modern music?

Yes, there is. Obviously some modern bands understand that being played in sci fi films and series will give them a lot of exposure, and so we’re getting modern music now, whereas ten years ago that was nearly unheard of. Andromeda named some flyers ‘foo fighters’ but we never heard Foo Fighters play on that show! However, it’s noticeable that modern music is being heard in very specific series: Smallville has Lifehouse actually playing in an episode and had an arrangement with the band, and Torchwood and Doctor Who under Russell T. Davies used up to date music .

Blind: Lifehouse Smallville: Spirit
Come Back Down: Lifehouse Smallville: Spirit
Monster: The Autonate Torchwood: Countrycide
Ooh La : The Kooks Torchwood: Small Worlds
Ooh La La : Goldfrapp Torchwood: Day One
Saturday Night: Kaiser Chiefs Torchwood: Day One
Somebody Save Me : Remy Zero Smallville: Tempest
Tainted Love : Soft Cell Doctor Who: The End of the World
Toxic : Britney Spears Doctor Who: The End of the World
Undone: Lifehouse Smallville: Spirit
You’re All I want: Lifehouse Smallville: Tempest

Song can lighten or deepen a sci fi film or series episode. I t can give inter-textuality, multiple meanings and link sci fi material. Producers are often forced to use old music, or use it because it’s familiar and easy. It’s good to see new songs being used.

(I know, I know - episode titles use song titles and lines, this will be dealt with later!)

2010-06-01T20:37:00.000-07:00

Sci fi Cafe

Someone once said to me that there was no food which didn’t have a negative impact on your health, so you may as well go ahead and live on sweets! She was referring to health problems caused by fat, salt and sugar. These days we have a heap more problems to worry about, things such as:
• Is genetically modified food safe in the long term?
• Which foods have antibiotics in them?
• How many heavy metals does seafood contain?
• Which foods are contaminated by pesticides?
• Which foods have MSG in them?

Lots of the food we eat is now toxic to parts of the community – some people have allergies, others are susceptible to cancer. But most people put these issues in the too-hard basket and continue to eat as if there are no problems. Sci fi writers are just as prone to do this as anyone else.

How does Sci Fi Present Food?
Sci fi most often shows ordinary humans eating ordinary food, sometimes it shows aliens eating their own food, or humans eating each other, it rarely shows complex issues such as the slow poisoning of the food chain.

Ordinary Food
Science Fiction films and television shows present food most often in the form ordinary people eat it. This raises an ethical question: should sci fi be showing how real people eat or should it be showing how we should eat? When the O’Brien’s shared the cooking on Deep Space Nine Keiko’s cooking was very healthy, but so unappetising Miles wouldn’t eat it, and his stodgy food was presented as better, even though Keiko complained about it. This is an extreme example of sci fi’s attitude.
Food in sci fi is a signifier of comfort and stability, think of the family dinners in Kyle XY or Deanna Troi’s love of chocolate in The Next Generation. It’s also a sign of group cohesion, think of Chianna’s dinner in Farscape.

There are more references to food in the Star Trek franchise and sci fi products aimed at a younger audience, than in sci fi action. Food often sets a normal scene that will be disrupted by something unusual so that we move from the known to the unknown seamlessly. It’s no surprise sci fi presents a lot of unhealthy food choices.

What unhealthy food does Sci Fi show us eating?

First of all you have to realise that food names can be specific to place, for instance ‘fondant’ to an Australian means a kind of icing, but in the English context in Doctor Who seems to mean a dessert.
As well as this semantic problem some food items may belong in several categories, or be on their own e.g. is a dumpling really a cake? I’ve done my best, making sure unhealthy goes into unhealthy – after all, eggs may be good but not when eaten with chips!

Burgers Blue Moon Burger (Roswell: Blood Brother); Burger (Dinotopia: Contact ); Cheeseburger (seaQuest DSV: Whale Song/ Iron Man); Eclipse Burger (Roswell: Crazy); Hamburger (My Favourite Martian: Pilot/ Aliens in the Attic ); Sweet Burger (Roswell: A Tale of Two Parties );

Cake Banana Cake (Doctor Who: Fear Her); Birthday cake (Beware! The Blob/ Kyle XY Blame it on the Rain ); Blueberry Muffin (Red Dwarf: Back in the Red); Cake (Hyperdrive : Clare); Cheesecake Split (Roswell: A Tale of Two Parties );Cupcakes (Star Gate: Off the Grid / Stepford Wives 2/ Kyle XY: The List is Life); Danish (Torchwood: Meat ); Data cake (The Next Generation: Phantasms); Donut (Transformers the Movie/2 ); Double layer chocolate fudge cake (seaQuest: DSV: By Any Other Name); Dumplings (Flash Gordon: Life Source); Icoberry Torte (Deep Space 9 :Sanctuary ); Strawberry Shortcake (Enterprise: Horizon);

Chips: Beta carotene Chips (Earth Final Conflict: Keys to the Kingdom ); Chip butties (Red Dwarf: Back to Earth ); Chips (Doctor Who: World War II/Doctor Who: The Parting of the Ways ); Cold Chip Sandwich (Sarah-Jane Adventures: Revenge of the Slitheen ); Eggs, Ham and chips (Torchwood: Random Shoes];Fish and Chips (Doctor Who: Last of the Timelords/ Doctor Who: Turn Left );

Chocolate: Delvian Chocolates (Deep Space 9 : Improbable Cause ); Chocolate Bar (Stargate:SG1Bane);Chocolate Cake (The Next Generation: Parallels); Chocolate Caramels (BG2: Exodus ); Chocolate Eruption (Roswell: A Tale of Two Parties);Chocolate Ice cream (Bionic Woman: 200Faceoff);Chocolate Sundae (The Next Generation: The Price); Chocolate Walnut Cookies (Stargate:SG1: Forever in a Day); Choco Poppers (NTZ A Little Peace and Quiet); Eskimo Bar (Jupiter Moon); Kai Winn chocolate soufflé (Deep Space 9 : Life Support); Milky Way (Slaughterhouse-5 N ); Plain Chocolate (The Next Generation: Liaisons /Hyperdrive: Weekend Off ); Starbars (Silver Sun); Three Musketeers Candy Bar (Slaughterhouse-5 Novel );

Desserts and Biscuits Blueberry Pancakes (Kyle XY: Blame it on the Rain ); Blue Jelly (SGA The Game ); Blue String Pudding (The Clangers); Bread Pudding Soufflé (Deep Space 9 : Homefront ); Caramel apples (Lois and Clarke: The Green, Green Glow of Home ); Crepes (Kyle XY:To C.I.R With Love ); Croissants (The Next Generation: Attached / Doctor Who: Turn Left); Fondant Supreme (Doctor Who: The Happiness Patrol); Jell-O (SGA Michael ); Macaroons (SG Line in the Sand); Mrs. Angela’s Rhubarb Surprise (Doctor Who: Forest of the Dead); Nepco Wafers (Jeremiah: To Sail Beyond the Stars); Peach Cobbler (The Next Generation : Liaisons ); Popcorn (Lois and Clarke: The Green, Green Glow of Home/ Stargate Atlantis: Doppelganger/Earth Final conflict: Through Your Eyes );
Strawberry Fondant Surprise (Doctor Who: The Happiness Patrol ); Suet pudding (Goodnight Sweetheart: Who’s Taking You Home Tonight? );
Tellurian Mint Truffles (Deep Space 9 : The Assignment ); Waffles (BG1980 The Super Scouts );

Hot Dogs Chilli Rock Dog (Roswell: Crazy); Chipolti (Babylon 5 : Knives); Hot dog (Deep Space 9 :Starship Down/ Flash Gordon: Random Access/ Aliens in the Attic );

Ice Cream: Banana Split (The Next Generation : Suddenly Human); Double double chocolate fudge (Lois and Clarke: : The Man of Steel Bars );Fudgy Budgy Cone (Dark Angel: Dawg Day Afternoon); Hot Fudge Blast Off (Roswell: The Morning After); Hot fudge Ice Cream (SG1 Holiday): Plain Ice Cream (Torchwood: Meat /Close Encounters of the Third Kind);Ice Cream Sundae (seaQuest DSV: Vapors ); Mint Chocolate Ice Cream (Red Dwarf: Pete);

Pasta: Angel Hair Pasta (Enterprise: Regeneration); Angel Hair with Tomato and Basil (Lois and Clarke: The Rival ); Pasta al Fiorella (The Next Generation: Birthright); Pasta Boudin (Deep Space 9: Paradise Lost ); Pasta Carbonara (BW2007: Everything Will Change );Pasta Special (Dinotopia: Marooned); Spaghetti (Kyle XY: Does Kyle Dream of Electric Fish? );

Pie Asteroid Pie (Roswell: We Are Family ); Blueberry pie (The Next Generation : Pre-emptive Strike); Men in Blackberry Pie (Roswell: The Balance); Pie (SG1 Urgo /Tripods: England); Shepherd’s Pie (The Infinite Worlds of H.G. Wells); Sweet Potato Pie (X-Files: Jose Chung’s From Outer Space);

Pizza: American Feast (Torchwood: Everything Changes); Double Cheese Pepperoni (FG Assassin ); Jubilee Pizza (Torchwood: Everything Changes ); Mr. Pink Pizza (The Incredible Hulk 2008); Pepperoni Feast (Torchwood: Cyberwoman );Pepper Undefined Pizza (Earth Final Conflict: Truth/ Doctor Who: Rose/ Stargate: Atlantis: The Return/ Heroes: Four Months Later/ Iron Man/ The Incredible Hulk 2008/ Torchwood: Meat/V2009 episode 3);

What else do you notice? Americans eat pizza, sweet pies, pasta, hot dogs and burgers, while Brits eat pizza, Shepherd’s pie, chips

Healthy Food

What we consider healthy to eat differs from person to person. Many people choose to be vegetarian and will think meat and poultry are not healthy choices, but compared to the above they are very nutritious! Take heart from the fact that most of the sandwiches are vegetarian, or close to it ( we have to assume Worf would have something alive on his wrap). The soup is vegetable based as well.

Sandwiches, wraps and rolls : Avocado sandwich (Beware! The Blob);
Burrito (4400 Becoming / (Hyperdrive: Asteroid);
Cheese and Pickle sandwiches(Torchwood: Meat);
Galaxy Melt (Roswell: Four Square); Galaxy Sub (Roswell: Meet the Dupes/1); Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches (seaQuest DSV: Brothers and Sisters );
Sandwiches (The Next Generation : Samaritan Snare/ Beware! The Blob );
Tuna Sandwich (Stargate:SG1:Rules of Engagement );Tuna Salad Sandwich (The Day the Earth Stood Still 2 );
Watercress sandwiches (The Next Generation : Journey’s End ); Worf Wrap (Roswell: To Serve and Protect);

Soup Bunya Chowder (Babylon 5: A Distant Star);
M15 soup (Goodnight Sweetheart: Who’s Taking You Home Tonight?); Mock Oyster Soup (Goodnight Sweetheart: Who’s Taking You Home Tonight?);
Pepper soup (Doctor Who: The Unicorn and the Wasp);
Tomato Soup (Voyager: The Caretaker);
Vegetable Soup (The Next Generation : Attached );

Poultry Chicken (Doctor Who: The End of Time); Chicken a la Sisko (Deep Space 9: Shattered Mirror ); Chicken Drumsticks (Lexx: Bad Carrot ); Chicken Enchiladas (Lois and Clarke: Honeymoon in Metropolis );Chicken Legs (Doctor Who: Forest of the Dead); Chicken Soup (My Favourite Martian: There is No Cure for the Common Martian); Chicken Tikka (Goodnight Sweetheart: Who’s Taking You Home Tonight? ); Curried chicken and rice (Deep Space 9: Blaze of Glory);
Tofu Chicken (Stargate: Atlantis: McKay and Mrs Miller );
Turkey (Doctor Who: Voyage of the Damned);
Vindaloo (Red Dwarf);

Vegetables Asparagus (Deep Space 9: By Inferno’s Light/ SQDSV By Any Other Name); Aubergine and seaweed curry (Dinotopia: The Cure); Broccoli (Earth 2:Natural Born Grendlers);
Carrot (Doctor Who: The Waters of Mars ); Corn on the Cob (Voyager: The Caretaker); Corn on the Cob/Cream Corn (Lois and Clarke: The Green, Green Glow of Home );
Heavenly Hash Special (Roswell: Monsters);
Potato Casserole (The Next Generation : The Wounded );
Swede (Doctor Who :Last of the Timelords);
Tuber (Stargate: Atlantis: The Game );

Salad Endive Salad (Deep Space 9: Whispers); Greek God Salad (Roswell: The End of the World);

Fruit Apple (Battlestar1980: The Super Scouts/ Doctor Who: The Eleventh Hour ); Bananas (Doctor Who: Midnight ); Citrus Fruit (Stargate: Atlantis: The Game );
Power Fruits (Blackstar); Strawberry (Lexx: Nook/Firefly/ Stargate: Atlantis: Brainstorm );

Fish and other Seafood Anchovies (Doctor who: The Unicorn and the Wasp); Blackened redfish with creamed spinach and sautéed beets (Deep Space 9: Equilibrium); Blowfish Sushi (Lois and Clarke: Vatman ); Caviar (The Next Generation : Sins of the Father );
Fish fingers and custard (Doctor Who: The Eleventh Hour );
Gumbo (Quantum Leap: Southern Comforts; Frankenfish );
Kelp buds (The Next Generation : The Wounded );
lobster (The Invaders: The Peacemaker);
Plankton Loaf (The Next Generation: The Wounded);
Redfish (Deep Space 9 : The Visitor); Redskin Basket (Roswell: River Dog);
Sea Berries (The Next Generation : The Wounded ); Shrimp Creole (Deep Space 9: The Abandoned); Smoked Salmon (Torchwood: Adam );Sushi (Bionic Woman: 2007: The Education of Jaime Sommers); Squid (Deep Space 9: Blaze of Glory );

Eggs
Egg Salad (Quantum Leap: The Color of Truth ); Eggs (Goodnight Sweetheart: As You Wave Me Goodbye);
Frijola Frittata (Roswell: Wipeout! );
Green Eggs with Moonrock Hash (Roswell: The Convention);
Sweet and Sour Tortillas (Roswell: To Serve and Protect );

Meat Bacon (Goodnight Sweetheart: As You Wave Me Goodbye/ Doctor Who: The Eleventh Hour ); Chitlins (Quantum Leap: The Color of Truth );
Fricandeau Stew (Deep Space 9: Whispers ); Jambalaya (Deep Space 9: Homefront )/Deep Space 9: The Jem’Hadar);
Lamb’s Tails (Goodnight Sweetheart: Just one More Chance );
Meatballs (Battlestar Galactica1980: The Night the Cylons Landed);
Roast Beef (Stargate:SG1: Arthur’s Mantle/ Doctor Who: Midnight );
Salisbury Steak (Stargate: Atlantis: The Game ); Schnitzel (Stargate: Atlantis: Irresponsible ); Steak (Stargate:SG1:Upgrades );

Odds and Ends
Baked Beans (Doctor Who: The Eleventh Hour); Blue Moon Queseolla (Roswell: A Tale of Two Parties);
cellular peptide cake (The Next Generation : Phantasms); Cheese (Goodnight Sweetheart: As You Wave Me Goodbye);
Fajita Fajita(Roswell: A Tale of Two Parties ); Froot Loops (Stargate:SG1: Window of Opportunity);
Goobers ( aka peanuts) (Stargate: Atlantis: Doppelganger/Roswell: A Tale of Two Parties);
Jalapeno Shooters (Roswell: A Tale of Two Parties );
Koopa special (Super Mario Brothers);
Nourishment Gel (Hyperdrive: Weekend Off );
Oatmeal (Stargate:SG1:Window of Opportunity ); Oyster Mushrooms (Dinotopia: The Big Fight);
Peanuts (Doctor Who: Midnight ); Power Bars (Stargate: Atlantis: Epiphany/ Stargate: Atlantis: Harmony );
Saturn Rings (Roswell: Blood Brother ); Spirulina (Earth 2: Memory Play);
Taquitoes with green sauce (Lois and Clarke: Vatman );
Walnuts (Doctor Who: The Unicorn and the Wasp);
Yoghurt (Doctor Who: The Eleventh Hour ); Whatsit’s (Hyperdrive: Weekend Off );
Zagnuts (Roswell: The Summer of ’47);

What you notice about healthy food is that it is dominated by sandwiches, soup, meat and chicken. There’s not a lot of imagination in the meals except for Roswell where the characters were working in a tourist cafe, making up lot of interesting names and using Mexican dishes. The Star Trek franchise doesn’t dominate this section. Deep Space 9 shows the Sisko family making traditional Southern American dishes, and presents Keiko O’Brien’s seafood choices, but not much else.
It’s interesting that fruit and salad are so under-represented. Perhaps the Killer Tomatoes had a bad influence on salad, but Lexx’s bad carrots haven’t had the same effect. At least the salad names are interesting. Even the vegetable dishes are limited and boring.

Alien Food

This involves alien animals, vegetables and fruits, sometimes made into sweets and puddings or other recognisable food formats. What’s interesting here is the limited number of series and films (forget books!) that imagine alien food:
The Star Trek franchise dominates: Deep Space Nine; The Next Generation, Voyager and Enterprise. This is a universe where there are many friendly aliens as well as hostile ones. Voyager has an alien chef finding the crew edibles on planets in the Delta Quadrant.
Farscape – This series also had friendly aliens, some of whom lived on Moya with John. Food would inevitably be a problem for such a varied group.
Babylon 5 – Once again a universe with friendly aliens with whom the crew made alliances. The aliens here deride human food as often as alien food is shown.
Stargate Atlantis and Roswell have one entry each, not surprising for earth bound Roswell, but an interesting omission for Atlantis.

So far the dominant alien food imaginers have been American. Two English series show alien food in a less positive light:

Red Dwarf has interesting alien food that sometimes crawls off the plate or attacks the crew.
Lexx has revolting alien food which the crew enjoys. But Lexx also shows humans being turned into alien food.

The Alien Menu

Alterian chowder (Deep Space 9 : Armageddon Game) ; Andorian Tuber Root (Deep Space 9 : Second Sight);
Bok rat liver (Deep Space 9 : Soldiers of the Empire ); Breen (Babylon 5: Walkabout); Bregit Lung (The Next Generation: A Matter of Honor ); Buffalo wings (Doctor Who : Voyage of the Damned ); Bularian Canapés (The Next Generation: Journey’s End);
Chee’lash fruit (Deep Space 9 : Hard Time); Coltayin Roots (The Next Generation: Liaisons ); Crispy Grolak (Farscape: Lava’s a Many Splendored Thing);
Delovian Souffle (The Next Generation :The Child );
Feragit Goulash (Voyager: Parallax); Flaked Blood Fleas (Deep Space 9 : Rules of Acquisition );Flamed Mange Cat (Flash Gordon: Revelations); Fungilli (The Next Generation: Galaxy’s Child):
Gagh (The Next Generation : A Matter of Honor /Enterprise: Sleeping Dogs);
Gladst (Deep Space 9: Melora); Gramilion Sand Peas (Deep Space 9 : Rules of Acquisition );
Hasperat (Deep Space 9 : Rejoined ); Heart of Targ (The Next Generation: A Matter of Honor );
I’danian Space Pudding (Deep Space 9 : Babel/ Deep Space 9 : The Search);
Jelassa Berries (Lexx: Trip); Jellied Gree Worms (Deep Space 9 : Ferengi Love Songs); Jilnak (Farscape: Lava’s a Many Splendored Thing); Jumbo Romulan molluscs (Deep Space 9 : The Maquis);
Koberry Torte (Deep Space 9 : The Homecoming ); Ktarian Chocolate Puff (The Next Generation: Liaisons);
Lingta (Deep Space 9 : Looking for Par’Mach in All The Wrong Places); Lokar beans (Deep Space 9 : Rules of Acquisition); Lorvan Crackers (Deep Space 9 : Defiant);
Mantickian Pate (The Next Generation : Half a Life); Matapin rock fungi (Deep Space 9 : Business as Usual); Mobifruit (Deep Space 9 : Rejoined );
Ongilan Caviar (The Next Generation : Genesis ); Orion Wing Slugs (The Next Generation :Ménage a Troi ); Oskoid (The Next Generation : Ménage a Troi/ The Next Generation : Half a Life);
Palamarian sea urchin (Deep Space 9 : Business as Usual ); Pipius Claw (The Next Generation : A Matter of Honor ); Plomeek broth (Enterprise); Plomeek Soup (Deep Space 9 : The Maquis); Puree of Beetle (Deep Space 9 : The Assignment);
Q’lavos (Deep Space 9 : The Ship ); Q’Parol (Deep Space 9 : The Assignment ); Quadruple Chocolate dipped sweet cluster fry (Lexx: Eating Pattern)
Racht (Deep Space 9 : Melora ); Raw Slug Liver (Deep Space 9 : The Assignment ); Regava Eggs (Deep Space 9 : Destiny ); Rokeg Blood Pie (The Next Generation : A Matter of Honor );
Slug Steaks (Deep Space 9 : Ferengi Love Songs); Spiny Lobe Fish (The Next Generation: Frame of Mind ); Space Weevil (Red Dwarf: Legion);
Tarvokian Powder Cake (The Next Generation: Liaisons); Thalian Chocolate Mousse (The Next Generation: The Dauphin ); Tojal in Yamok Sauce (Deep Space 9 : Destiny ); Tube grubs (Deep Space 9 : Rules of Acquisition ); Tulaberries (Deep Space 9 : Rules of Acquisition ); Tuttleroot Soup (Stargate Atlantis: Critical Mass); Tuwaly Pie (Deep Space 9 : Shakaar);
Uttaberries (The Next Generation : Ménage a Troi); Utaberry Crepes (Deep Space 9 : Armageddon Game);
Vak Clover Soup (Deep Space 9 : Melora ); Veklava (Deep Space 9 : Rejoined); Viinerine (The Next Generation: Face of the Enemy );
Wentlian Condor Snake (Deep Space 9 : Business as Usual );
Yigrish Cream Pie (Deep Space 9 : Distant Voices);
Zilm’kach (Deep Space 9 : Melora )

What does it all add up to?

Food in science fiction equates to comfort and belonging. This connection is so strong food becomes a metaphor for these human emotions.
But food also demonstrates the differences between us and aliens. These differences can be positive as shown by Deanna Troi digging into alien desserts, or revolting as in the case of Klingon gagh.
Doctor Who gives value to plain, old fashioned cooking and fatty English foods, presumably in protest against the globalisation of food. The Doctor waxes on happily about chips and pies to encourage us to eat local, if not healthy.
Alien food gives us a chance to play with words, inventing new fruits and animals in a variety of dialects, from Andorian to Vulcan. Roswell excelled at making up sci fi names for cafe food, fitting in with the Roswell theme.
Lots of positives and lots of room to improve!

Little fidget wheels - poetry in sci fi

2010-04-29T17:12:00.000-07:00

Poetry : for the literati or the masses?

During the last big clean-up I found an article called When Holograms Kiss: Poetry and Star Trek . Written back in 1998 by the Australian poet S K Kelen, it looks at episodes of the original Star Trek and Star Trek: The Next Generation as epic poetry. Kelen uses a definition of poetry from the Princeton Encyclopaedia of Poetry and Poetics on Native American poetry to underpin her ideas. Poetry in this context is large, it is close cousin to drama, particularly tragedy, and it examines universal themes.

This left questions to answer.
· Do other Sci fi programs have an epic quality?
· Does sci fi include other, more philosophical poetry?
· What about Shakespeare?

Do non-Star Trek series or films have epic qualities?

The answer to this is: of course! The best sci fi is always close to Greek drama and to the rules of poetry laid down in the Ars Poetica. In this work by the Roman poet Horace we are told to look for content in the works of the Socratics, to base work on
‘whoever knows what he owes his country and friends, what love is due to a parent, brother, or guest, what’s required of a senator or a judge in office, what’s the role of general in war.
You can see these plots in Star Trek but also in Babylon 5 where all kinds of duty are explored, with the prophetic figure of J’Kar leading everyone through the maze.
You can also see them easily in Torchwood where fulfilling your duty may lead to your own death or the death of those you most love. Torchwood’s Small Worlds uses Yeats poem The Stolen Child to explore Jack’s responsibility to an individual child and to humanity, a lose-lose situation that leaves Jack sad and condemned but humanity intact. Jack later takes on the role of a Greek god when he is freed from a prison of solid concrete, walking off naked and supreme.
It’s possible to look at sci fi series that fail the viewer as ones that don’t embrace the epic. Think of Battlestar Galactica at its blackest. The characters machinate and shift allegiances, never reaching the real moments of triumph and failure we need heroes to find and embrace. Adama tries but never really makes it. And whose idea was it to make so many core characters Cylons? The Goodies are the Baddies are the Goodies???
Have a look yourself at your favourite series or movie to see if your heroes (male and female) are being given moral challenges that they rise above or fail outright, in believable ways. Are your characters epic or just mundane? Because it’s the epic that keeps us entranced and lasts for thousands of years.

Does Sci Fi Include Other More Philosophical Poetry?

It sure does. But what’s interesting is how often the same poets keep being quoted:

Christina Rossetti: Goblin Market in Doctor Who: Midnight/ I Have Been this way before in Sliders: Roads Taken.

Dante Aligheri: Il Courtagiano in X-files: 2Shy

Emily Dickinson: Because I would not stop for death in Torchwood: They Keep Killing Suzie.

John Masefield: I Must Go Down to the Sea Again in Star Trek: The Final Frontier

John Milton: Flowers of all hue in The Next Generation: Dark Page

Robert Browning: Paracelsus in X-files: The Field Where I Died

Robert Frost: Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening in Roswell: Cry Your Name

Samuel Taylor Coleridge: The Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner in seaQuest DSV Hide and Seek; Kubla Khan in Torchwood: Greeks Bearing Gifts

T.S. Eliot: The Hollow Men in Doctor Who: The Lazarus Experiment

Walt Whitman: Captain, My Captain in Torchwood: They Keep Killing Suzie/ A Song of Myself in Smallville: Crush/ Leaves of Grass in Dark Angel: Brainiac.

William Butler Yeats: The Song of Wandering Aengus in Enterprise: Rogue Planet/ Drinking song in Sliders: Luck of the Drawer/The Stolen Child in Torchwood: Small Worlds

Things to notice here are:

· English and American poets are both quoted, with English poets quoted by American programs and vice versa.
· Women poets are quoted although not as often as men.
· The poets are all very famous and are usually known for being philosophical, with several exceptions.

Is there any alien poetry?

Aliens don’t escape the Muse, particularly Klingons who uplifted love poetry to the highest art.
J’Kar in Babylon 5 writes his musings in poetic form.
Don’t forget Prosteltnik Vogon Jeltz who wrote the worst poetry in the Galaxy.
And there was the Poetman in Lexx: Supernova, really a hologram with attitude. He twisted poetry into its opposite: Life is the sweetest misery before he tried to kill everyone.

What About Shakespeare?

Shakespeare wrote both plays and poetry, but his poetry is not quoted nearly as often as are lines from his plays. Why would science fiction writers be interested in his work? Apart from his great plot lines and characterisation, which have inspired writers ever since the 16th Century, Shakespeare cut to the core of human nature. It’s possible to use a quote from the Bard and know that readers and viewers will understand what you mean about the situation on a star ship or for a robot or for visiting aliens..............Shakespeare is the ultimate source in Post Modern reference systems. So, how often does this happen?

Shakespearean Quotes in Films and TV Series:

All the World’s a Stage –
All the Galaxy’s a Stage (Hamlet) Star Trek: The Next Generation: Hide and Q Quoted by Q and Picard.

Angels and ministers of grace defend us (Hamlet) Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home Quoted by Dr. McCoy.

O brave new world, that has such people in it’ (The Tempest) – Star Trek: The Next Generation: Emergence Quoted by Data.

Julius Caesar: Deep Space Nine: Improbable Cause Discussed by Garak.

There’s more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy (Hamlet) Doctor Who: The Unquiet Dead. Quoted by Dickens.

Star Trek and Doctor Who figure large here, perhaps because they like to refer to the wider world of literature. Otherwise there’s not much else.

Shakespeare as a character:

Doctor Who: The Chase - seen on a time and space visualiser.
Doctor Who: The Shakespeare Code - presented as the character The Wordsmith.

Don’t forget the protagonist of The Postman who mangled Shakespeare to make a living, or the Captain of the Dirigible which saved the main characters in Stardust.

Shakespeare’s Characters re-used:
MacBeth—planet from the Star Fox video game series
Miranda – Planet in Serenity .
Oberon Blake’s 7 Breakdown Planet ; New Planet of the Apes Space Station from which the astronaut was launched back in time; Lexx: A Midsummer’s Nightmare King of the fairies/
Titania—planet of the Star Fox video game series.

Shakespearean references as series episode titles:

Alas, Poor Mork, We Knew him Well - Mork and Mindy season 3, 1980
All the Worlds a Teletalk Linkup - Luna season 1,
A Midsummer’s Nightmare – Lexx season 4
A MidGoomer Night’s Dream – ALF animated

Conscience Of The King, The - Star Trek, Season 1, 1966

Much Ado About Babysitting – Sailor Moon, season 2 1996
Much Ado About Dick - 3rd Rock From the Sun season 2 1997
Much Ado about Kitten – Sailor Moon season five, 2001
Much Ado About Musyamon – Digimon – Digital Monsters – season 3, 2001

My sister’s Keeper – Digimon: Digital Monsters season 1, 1999

Once More Unto The Breach - Star Trek Deep Space 9, Season 7, 1998

Romeo and Juliet and Dick – 3rd Rock from the Sun season 2, 1997
Romeo and Joule-Watt - Superhuman Samurai Syber Squad season 1, 1994
Romeo and Glimmer – She-Ra, Princess of Power season 2, 1986
Romeo and Juliet – Carl2 season 1, 2005.
Taming of the Zords – Power Rangers Wild Force season 2, 2002
Tempest – Smallville season 1, 2000
Tempest - .hack//sign season 1, 2000

To Be or Not To Be - seaQuest DSV 1993
To Be or Not To Be Evil – Good versus Evil season 1, 1999

Incidentals:
Shakesblob in Love – Blobheads, 2003
The Shakespeare Code – Doctor Who season 3, 2007

I’ve found no Shakespearean references in game titles, series titles or film titles. It looks like the ease with which a Shakespearean play title or famous quote can be parodied, has made Shakespeare most popular with the naming of TV series episodes, in particular animated series. One explanation for this is that Shakespeare is performed in Japan, making the spoofy titles inter-cultural references.

Finally

Poetry is used in mainstream science fiction to underpin philosophical ideas, particularly in Star Trek and Doctor Who. Shakespeare has the most references to his works, but unhappily is mostly used to create humorous series titles.
Sadly there is no use of Australian poetry that I could find, and there are several poets who lend themselves to such use – Slessor and Dobson spring to mind. There are endless possibilities for poetry to be used in sci fi in all its forms, it’s up to intelligent, inventive creators to do so.

The longer the better?

2010-04-05T16:22:00.000-07:00

Does Sci Fi use Sesquipedalianisms ?

‘Sesquipedalianisms’ has been a mildly trendy word among the literati for a while now. Generally it is a negative term taken to mean long and difficult words, which should not be used unless necessary. This is a fault that can be found in Science Fiction, but to what extent and for what reason does it occur?

A dedicated search has revealed that Sesquipedalianisms are long words . ‘Sesqui’ means one and a half and ‘pedus’ is latin for foot so we have words that are made of too many feet or syllables.
The Roman poet Horace identified sesquipedalis in his Ars Poetica and warned new poets against their use, as well as other no-no’s. So the invocation to simplicity in writing began in Roman times and has never left us. Shakespeare favoured monosyllables as did the great Dictionary writer Dr. Johnson who believed in language being precise and pleasing to the ear.

Unfortunately, English is the kind of language that encourages the formation of polysyllabic words. This is for two reasons:
· The use of prefixes and suffixes makes it easy to create longer and longer words e.g. antidisestablishmentarianism. Prefixes anti + dis + suffixes arian + ism
· Borrowing from other languages allows the importation of ready-made long words e.g. bouleversement, epithalamium, pseudepigrapha, onomatopoeia, schadenfraude. Languages like Japanese build words by using blocks of syllables. This is reflected in the names used in Anime.

Situations where long words may be desirable:

· Science: It may be better to use a long, very precise word for scientific processes and properties. Prefixes such as hydroxyl and ethyl make words complicated to remember but their names give their chemical composition. Dinosaur names differentiate each creature from others, even quite similar reptiles being named differently. It’s not always easy to justify their being named after places, but once again their names tell us something about them.

· Nonsense verse: The diametrical opposite of the importance of scientific naming (nomenclature) is the use of long words in poetry and fantasy, particularly for children.
So there is supercalifragilisticexpialidocious from Mary Poppins. There is Ogden Nash’s Hipporhinosticrow and the Crocadongasaurus from Australia.
What’s interesting about these words is that they developed in the 19th Century as if in response to the growing scientific vocabulary of the times. They also seem to come predominantly from England, with some from Australia. They are not serious words, but often satirise serious scientific names.

(However I have found one example in the Roman poet Seneca who wrote Apolocyntosis divi Claudii or the Pumpkinification of the Divine Claudius.)

So where are long words used in Science Fiction?

If you take a long word to be eleven letters or longer, there are two major areas where you find sesquipedalis in Science Fiction:

Character Names:

Aximili-Esgarrouth-Jsthill – aka Ax – Animporphs
Bakunetsumaru –SD Gundam
Bannakaffalatta –Doctor Who Voyage of the Damned
Hammersterviel – Stitch! The Movie
Quordlepleen – aka Max - The Restaurant at the End of the Universe
Pepperwinkle (Professsor) - The Adventures of Superman: The Phony Alibi, The Big Forget, The Gentle Monster
Perpugilliam (Brown) – aka Peri- Doctor Who Planet of Fire to The Trial of a Timelord
Romanadvoratrelundar – aka Romana – Doctor Who The Ribos Operation to The Armageddon Factor
Slartibartfast – The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

Creature Names:

Brachiosaurus : Dinotopia 1
Houynhnms : Gullivers Travels
Muttaburrasaurus – The Land Before Time III
Ornithantrope: Barbarella
Quantasaurus Megazord – Power Rangers: Time Force
Quetzalcoatl - Q: The Winged Serpent/SG1 Crystal skull
Quetzalcoatlus – Turok Evolution
Phantasmagoria - Doctor Who: The Unquiet Dead
Tyrannodrones – Power Rangers Turbo
Tyrannosaurus Dinotopia 1 ; Journey to the Centre of the Earth 2009; The Land Before Time 1988

Planet/Galaxy/ CityNames :
Castrovalva : Doctor Who: Castrovalva – planet
Kasteroborous – Doctor Who – Constellation
Raxacoricofallapatorius - Doctor Who: Boom Town; Sarah Jane Adventures: The Revenge of the Slitheen – planet
Zignamuclickclick – Rimworld (L. Niven) – City

Technobabble:

Alternativerse – Out of the Silent Planet (C.S. Lewis) - Dimension
Heldaparadol – X-Files: The Sixth Extinction – Drug
Histaminolytic – Stargate SG1: The Broca Divide – virus
Histocompatability – Lexx: Dutch Treat – Scientific Method
Hyperspectral Imaging - Andromeda: Phear Phactor Phenom - investigative technique.
Hypertrichosis Lanuganosa – X-files :The Post-Modern Prometheus – over-hairiness
Hypnobioscope - Marvo 1.2 Go+ - learning machine.
Hyvroxilated Metacetamine – Deep Space 9 : Rivals – anaesthetic drink
Persephonet – Dreamships (Melissa Scott) – communications
Pharmacognosia - Farscape: Bone To Be Wild- Medicinal garden
Phenchloramide – Surface- Drug
Pneumocystis Jiroveci – The 4400: The Fifth Page – disease
Psychomagnatheric – Ghostbusters II – slime power
Psychoprojective – Deep Space 9: Second Sight – type of telepath
Psychoreactive Substance – Ghostbusters II – slime
Tetrachloroethylene – Stargate SG1 :Foothold
Thunderbusters – Metal Mickey – energy source
Superconductive Interfaces – Stargate SG1: Solitudes – Stargate feature
Superconductive Ring – Stargate SG1: The Torment of Tantalus Stargate feature

Random

Brobdignagian – Gulliver’s Travels – giant human
Malgalityfel – Zone of the Elders: Dolores 1 – Martian candy
Nietzschean – Andromeda - type of human
Quadrotricitale Futures – Deep Space Nine: Business as Usual – stocks
Quanchantaug – X-files: Talitha Cumi – real location
Quipucamayocuna – Babel-17 (Delaney) – rank

Sometimes :

Occasionally a name is comprised of three parts but is spoken as one word, giving the viewer the idea that it is one long word:

Joolushko Tunai Fenta Hovalis Farscape: season three Aka Jool

Thoughts

It looks like sesquipedialanisms work the same way in science fiction as they do in other literature:

· Names of characters and places that are long are fanciful and silly, often replaced with a shorter, useful name.
· Names of scientific processes and creatures are made to sound scientific, using prefixes in particular. These words are not shortened and often trip up the actors trying to say them repeatedly. Ten letters works, after that it gets too technical and too much.

But after all that, there aren’t that many over-long words in science fiction, thank goodness.

Bibliography

Concise Oxford Dictionary Oxford University Press, London 1984
McKenzie’s Science Fiction Dictionary – unpublished, 2010
Penguin Guide to Plain English - The Penguin Group, 2000

Does Sci Fi use Sesquipedalianisms ?

‘Sesquipedalianisms’ has been a mildly trendy word among the literati for a while now. Generally it is a negative term taken to mean long and difficult words, which should not be used unless necessary. This is a fault that can be found in Science Fiction, but to what extent and for what reason does it occur?

A dedicated search has revealed that Sesquipedalianisms are long words . ‘Sesqui’ means one and a half and ‘pedus’ is latin for foot so we have words that are made of too many feet or syllables.
The Roman poet Horace identified sesquipedalis in his Ars Poetica and warned new poets against their use, as well as other no-no’s. So the invocation to simplicity in writing began in Roman times and has never left us. Shakespeare favoured monosyllables as did the great Dictionary writer Dr. Johnson who believed in language being precise and pleasing to the ear.

Unfortunately, English is the kind of language that encourages the formation of polysyllabic words. This is for two reasons:
· The use of prefixes and suffixes makes it easy to create longer and longer words e.g. antidisestablishmentarianism. Prefixes anti + dis + suffixes arian + ism
· Borrowing from other languages allows the importation of ready-made long words e.g. bouleversement, epithalamium, pseudepigrapha, onomatopoeia, schadenfraude. Languages like Japanese build words by using blocks of syllables. This is reflected in the names used in Anime.

Situations where long words may be desirable:

· Science: It may be better to use a long, very precise word for scientific processes and properties. Prefixes such as hydroxyl and ethyl make words complicated to remember but their names give their chemical composition. Dinosaur names differentiate each creature from others, even quite similar reptiles being named differently. It’s not always easy to justify their being named after places, but once again their names tell us something about them.

· Nonsense verse: The diametrical opposite of the importance of scientific naming (nomenclature) is the use of long words in poetry and fantasy, particularly for children.
So there is supercalifragilisticexpialidocious from Mary Poppins. There is Ogden Nash’s Hipporhinosticrow and the Crocadongasaurus from Australia.
What’s interesting about these words is that they developed in the 19th Century as if in response to the growing scientific vocabulary of the times. They also seem to come predominantly from England, with some from Australia. They are not serious words, but often satirise serious scientific names.

(However I have found one example in the Roman poet Seneca who wrote Apolocyntosis divi Claudii or the Pumpkinification of the Divine Claudius.)

So where are long words used in Science Fiction?

If you take a long word to be eleven letters or longer, there are two major areas where you find sesquipedalis in Science Fiction:

Character Names:

Aximili-Esgarrouth-Jsthill – aka Ax – Animporphs
Bakunetsumaru –SD Gundam
Bannakaffalatta –Doctor Who Voyage of the Damned
Hammersterviel – Stitch! The Movie
Quordlepleen – aka Max - The Restaurant at the End of the Universe
Pepperwinkle (Professsor) - The Adventures of Superman: The Phony Alibi, The Big Forget, The Gentle Monster
Perpugilliam (Brown) – aka Peri- Doctor Who Planet of Fire to The Trial of a Timelord
Romanadvoratrelundar – aka Romana – Doctor Who The Ribos Operation to The Armageddon Factor
Slartibartfast – The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

Creature Names:

Brachiosaurus : Dinotopia 1
Houynhnms : Gullivers Travels
Muttaburrasaurus – The Land Before Time III
Ornithantrope: Barbarella
Quantasaurus Megazord – Power Rangers: Time Force
Quetzalcoatl - Q: The Winged Serpent/SG1 Crystal skull
Quetzalcoatlus – Turok Evolution
Phantasmagoria - Doctor Who: The Unquiet Dead
Tyrannodrones – Power Rangers Turbo
Tyrannosaurus Dinotopia 1 ; Journey to the Centre of the Earth 2009; The Land Before Time 1988

Planet/Galaxy/ CityNames :
Castrovalva : Doctor Who: Castrovalva – planet
Kasteroborous – Doctor Who – Constellation
Raxacoricofallapatorius - Doctor Who: Boom Town; Sarah Jane Adventures: The Revenge of the Slitheen – planet
Zignamuclickclick – Rimworld (L. Niven) – City

Technobabble:

Alternativerse – Out of the Silent Planet (C.S. Lewis) - Dimension
Heldaparadol – X-Files: The Sixth Extinction – Drug
Histaminolytic – Stargate SG1: The Broca Divide – virus
Histocompatability – Lexx: Dutch Treat – Scientific Method
Hyperspectral Imaging - Andromeda: Phear Phactor Phenom - investigative technique.
Hypertrichosis Lanuganosa – X-files :The Post-Modern Prometheus – over-hairiness
Hypnobioscope - Marvo 1.2 Go+ - learning machine.
Hyvroxilated Metacetamine – Deep Space 9 : Rivals – anaesthetic drink
Persephonet – Dreamships (Melissa Scott) – communications
Pharmacognosia - Farscape: Bone To Be Wild- Medicinal garden
Phenchloramide – Surface- Drug
Pneumocystis Jiroveci – The 4400: The Fifth Page – disease
Psychomagnatheric – Ghostbusters II – slime power
Psychoprojective – Deep Space 9: Second Sight – type of telepath
Psychoreactive Substance – Ghostbusters II – slime
Tetrachloroethylene – Stargate SG1 :Foothold
Thunderbusters – Metal Mickey – energy source
Superconductive Interfaces – Stargate SG1: Solitudes – Stargate feature
Superconductive Ring – Stargate SG1: The Torment of Tantalus Stargate feature

Random

Brobdignagian – Gulliver’s Travels – giant human
Malgalityfel – Zone of the Elders: Dolores 1 – Martian candy
Nietzschean – Andromeda - type of human
Quadrotricitale Futures – Deep Space Nine: Business as Usual – stocks
Quanchantaug – X-files: Talitha Cumi – real location
Quipucamayocuna – Babel-17 (Delaney) – rank

Sometimes :

Occasionally a name is comprised of three parts but is spoken as one word, giving the viewer the idea that it is one long word:

Joolushko Tunai Fenta Hovalis Farscape: season three Aka Jool

Thoughts

It looks like sesquipedialanisms work the same way in science fiction as they do in other literature:

· Names of characters and places that are long are fanciful and silly, often replaced with a shorter, useful name.
· Names of scientific processes and creatures are made to sound scientific, using prefixes in particular. These words are not shortened and often trip up the actors trying to say them repeatedly. Ten letters works, after that it gets too technical and too much.

But after all that, there aren’t that many over-long words in science fiction, thank goodness.

Bibliography

Concise Oxford Dictionary Oxford University Press, London 1984
McKenzie’s Science Fiction Dictionary – unpublished, 2010
Penguin Guide to Plain English - The Penguin Group, 2000

The indispensible X

2010-03-12T15:30:00.000-08:00

It’s a common joke that if you want to name a successful Science Fiction Series you should put an ‘X’ in the title. But is this true? If it is true, is it just Science fiction series or is it movies as well, games? Comics? Anything else? Is there a reason for using ‘X’ so much? Is there a pattern – is the truth out there?

Why use X at all?

Why is ‘X’ the unknown factor? It goes back to algebra where you substitute X for what is unknown. This practice came from the Arab mathematicians who developed algebra – Muhammad al-Khwarizmi and Omar Khayyam. For them the word ‘thing’ was ‘shei’ and this was translated into the Greek ‘xei’. This is the letter X. There is also a Greek word for foreigner or stranger – Xenos – which gives us the word xenophobia. This would have provided a second strand to the use of X for the unknown in mathematics. It makes this letter perfect for science fiction as well, especially alien titles.

Series Titles

Wherever it came from malicious gossip says science fiction series all have ‘X’ in the title. So how many science fiction series do have ‘x’ in them? Here’s a list:

Benji, Zax and the Alien Prince- 1983; Bionic Six – animated -1987
Cubix – Robots for Everyone – animated – 2001; Cybersix – animated - 1999
Extreme Dinosaurs – animated- 1997;
Fireball XL5- Supermarionation -1963
Galaxy High School -animated -1986; Galaxy Railways anime, 2003; Gundam X – anime - 1996
Lexx 1999 – 2002
Max Headroom -1987; Max Steel- animated- 1999; Mutant X – 2001
Parallax – 2004; Phoenix 5 – 1970
RahXephon – anime -2003 ; Rockman EXE anime -2001
Six Million Dollar Man - 1974-8; Sonix X – animated – 2003; Team Galaxy animated, 2006; The Galaxy Trio - animated 1967; The Maxx – animated- 1996
The Phoenix 1982 ; The X’s – animated - 2005; Time Trax 1993- 4
X - anime, 2001 ; Xenosaga: The Animation – anime – 2005; X-files – 1993-2002; X-Men: Evolution – animated - 2000; Extreme Ghostbusters – animated - 1997; Xyber-9 New Dawn – animated 1999
Zixx – Level One - animated 2004

From a list of 550 series there were thirty two series with X in the title, twenty one of which were animated (including Supermarionation). There were none in the 1950’s, two are 1960’s, two in the 1970’s, five are 1980’s, ten are in the 1990’s, thirteen in the 2,000’s.
There was also a radio serial called Tom Mix which ran from 1933-5 and X-Minus 1 Radio series, 1955 – 58 Originally this was called Dimension X .

This doesn’t look like over-representation, but it does overturn my preconception that X was a common designation in the 1950’s. It’s popularity is much more recent which removes it from the nuclear bomb fear scenario and makes it more of an advertising gimmick.

Film Titles - since Science fiction series aren’t responsible for the gossip, are films responsible?

1939 The Return of Dr. X

1950- The Man from Planet X/ Rocketship XM /1956 X- The Unknown
1957 Strange World of Planet X/ 1958 Space Master X-7

1963 X- The Man with X-Ray Eyes/ 1968 Project X

1970 THX 1138 /1977 Exo-Man/ 1979 Mad Max

1980 Phoenix 2772- Space Firebird anime film/ 1980 Galaxina/1981 The Phoenix/ Mad Max II/ Galaxy of Terror /1982 Xtro /1985 Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome /Explorers/ The Toxic Avenger I /Max Headroom /1987 Phoenix The Warrior
1988 Max Q: Emergency Landing / X-files: Fight the Future
1989 The Toxic Avenger II /The Toxic Avenger III: the Last Temptation of Toxie

1991 Xtro the Second Encounter/1992 Galaxy of the Dinosaurs
1994 APEX /1995 Xtro 3 Watch the Skies/ Galaxis /1996 X/ 1998 Six Days in Roswell / 1999 Existenz /The Matrix/ Galaxy Quest

2000 Xchange / 2001 K-Pax / 2003 The Matrix Reloaded; The Matrix Revolutions / 2006 X-Men: The Last Stand / 2008 X-files: I Want to Believe

Forty two titles in over seventy years, that’s a bit more than one every second year, which is not that many. Note the expansion of titles in the 1980’s, with a subsequent decline.

Game Titles

This is a relatively new genre, so we would expect a lot of X titles, in line with the explosion of other X-titles in the noughties.

Daxter 2006 ; Jak and Daxter, 2001, 2003, 2004
Extreme Ghostbusters: Code Ecto-1 2002; Extreme G 1997; Extreme G2, 1998
Galaxian Arcade game, 1979; Galaxian3 Arcade game, 1990.
Galaxy, 1981; Galaxy Force 1 and 2 1989; Galaxy Trek 1983
Nick Naster’s eXtinction 2003; Project X 1992; Ranger X 1993;
Starfox 1993; Starfox 64 1997; Star Fox Adventures 2002; Star Fox: Assault 2005; Star Fox Command 2006.
The Matrix: Path of Neo 2005
X2 : The Threat 2003; X3 : Reunion 2005.
Xardion – 1992; Xatax - 1992
X : Beyond The Frontier 2000.
X-COM : Apocalypse 1997. X-COM : Enforcer 2001 ; X-COM : Interceptor 1998.
X-COM : Terror From The Deep 1995; X-COM : UFO Defense 1994; X-COM Unknown Terror 1996.
Xeno Assault 2 2004; Xenocracy 1998.
Xenon 1998; Xenon 2 : Megablast 1989; Xenon 2000 - Project PCF 2000.
Xenosaga 2002; Xevious 1984.
X-Files Game, The 1998; X-Files, The : Resist or Serve 2004
XG3 : Extreme G Racing 2001; X-Gold 2001; X, Hero 2001.
X-Men 1993; X-Men: Children of the Atom 1998; X-Men: Legends 2004
X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse 2005; X-Men : Madness in the Murder world 1989; X-Men: Mutant Academy 2001; X-Men: Mutant Academy 2 2001; X-Men : Mutant Wars 2000; X-Men: Next Dimension 2001
X-Men: Reign of Apocalypse 2001; X-Men 2: The Clone Wars 1995.
X-Men II : The Fall of the Mutants 1991; X-Men: The Last Stand 2006.
X-Men : The Official Game; X-Men : The Ravages of Apocalypse 1997.
X-Men vs. Street Fighter 1997; X-Men : Wolverine’s Rage 2001
X-Tension 2000; X Squad 2000.

Fifty eight titles mostly from 1990 – 2006, with three 1980’s titles. That’s a lot of titles, but with X-Men and X-COM making up a lot of these, it’s really not as many as it looks. Still, I am surprised at the great popularity of X in these titles , perhaps it’s the male audience?

Comics

Given that X-Men was originally a comic book series, you would expect quite a few comic titles. Perhaps someone into comics has a list?

Secret Agent X-9 1980’s
X-force Marvel 1991
X-Man Marvel 1995

Episode titles Surprise! This is where the idea that science fiction uses a lot of X’s comes from. There are 151 titles on this list and that doesn’t cover repeated use of some titles.

Ex Deus Machina - Stargate SG1, Season 9, 2005
Ex Marks the Spot - Mutant X, Season 1, 2002
Ex Post Facto - Star Trek Voyager, Season 1, 1995
EX - Pilot Candidate, Season 1, 2002
Exalted Reason, Resplendent Daughter (Andromeda, Season 4, 2003
Examination Day - Twilight Zone B, Season 1, 1985
Ex-Ben -Parallax, Season 1, 2004
Excalibur - Thundercats, Season 1, 1985
Excavation - Ghost in the Shell : Stand Alone Complex, Season 1, 2004
Exceeding The Rules- Heroic Age, 2007
Excelsius Dei - X Files, Season 2, 1994
Excursion - Wicked Science, Season 1, 2004
Excuse Us, The Running Trouble - Dirty Pair, 1985
Execution - Twilight Zone A, Season 1, 1960
Exercise of Vital Powers, The - Babylon 5, Season 4, 1996
Exert All Your Courage To Fight!- GateKeepers, 2001
Ex-Files, The - Highlander : The Raven, 1998
Exidor Affair - Mork and Mindy, Season 2, 1979
Exidor's Wedding - Mork and Mindy, Season 2, 1979
Exile Isle - Thundercats, Season 2, 1986
Exile - Enterprise, Season 3, 2003/ Smallville, Season 3, 2003
Exile, The - Tales of Tomorrow, Season 1, 1951/ Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Season 1, 1964
Exiles On Renmark Street - Halfway Across the Galaxy and Turn Left, 1991
Exiles, The - Space 1999, Season 2, 1976
Existence /Prey, 1997/ Ergo Proxy, 2006
Existence, Part 2 - X Files, Season 8, 2001
Exit Strategies -Andromeda, Season 2, 2001
Exit Wounds -Torchwood season two, 2008
Exodus From Genesis -Farscape, Season 1, 1999
Exodus To Light - E’s Otherwise, 2003
Exodus -Smallville, Season 2, 2002/Stargate SG1, Season 4, 2000/Thundercats, Pilot, 1985/ Highlander : The Animated Series, Season 1, 1994/ Battlestar Galactica season three.
Highlander : The Animated Series, Season 1, 1994
Exodus, The Pt 1&2 - Sliders, Season 3, 1997
Exogenesis - Babylon 5, Season 3, 1995
Expanding Human - The Outer Limits, Season 2, 1964
Expanse, The - Enterprise, Season 2, 2002
Expect the Unexpected 1&2 - Terrahawks, 1983
Expedition On Mercury - Astro Boy, 1, 1965
Expedition To The Arctic - Johnnny Cypher in Dimension Zero, 1967
Expendable - Exosquad, Season 2, 1994/ Wing Commander Academy, 1996
Experiment in Depth - R3, Season 2, 1965
Experiment in Terra- Battlestar Galactica, Season 2, 1979
Experiment- The Powers of Matthew Star, 1982
Experiment, The - The Champions, 1967/ The Invaders, Season 1, 1967
Experimental City- E’s Otherwise, 2003
Experimental Robot, The - Astro Boy, 1, 1965
Explode the Barn- The Amazing Three, 1965
Explode - Space Ghost, Season 3, 1996
Exploding Melon - Wicked Science, Season 1, 2004
Exploration Earth- The All New Super Friends Hour, 1977
Explorers -Star Trek DS9, Season 3, 1995
Explosion Of Anger! -Dragonball Z, Season 3, 1999
Explosion on Mars! Maximus is in Danger! -Transformers : The Headmasters, 1987
Explosion on Mars! Megazarak Appears! -Transformers : The Headmasters, 1987
Explosion On the Sun -Space Patrol, 60’s, Season 1A, 1963
Expo 2068- Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons, 1967
Expose Megazarak’s Weak Spot -Transformers : The Headmasters, 1987
Expose the Destrons Dark Trap- Transformers : Masterforce, 1988
Exposed - UFO, 1970/Smallville, Season 5, 2005/The Invisible Man C, Season 2, 2001
Exposure - Planetes, 2003/Dark Angel, Season 2, 2001)
Extinction - Enterprise, Season 3, 2003/Smallville, Season 3, 2003
Extra Credit - Famous Jet Jackson, Season 3, 2000
Extra Innings -Twilight Zone B, Season 3, 1987/ Bionic Six, Season 1, 1987
Extra! Extra! Sensory Perception! - My Favorite Martian, Season 2, 1964
Extra, The- Welcome to Paradox, 1998
Extraterrestrial Girl - Planetes, 2003
Extreme Chode - Tripping the Rift, Season 2, 2005
Extreme Files, The - Extreme Dinosaurs, 1997
Extreme Gadget - Gadget and the Gadgetinis, Season 2, 2002
Extreme Makeover- Atomic Betty, Season 2, 2005
Extreme Measures - Dragonball Z, Season 3, 1999
Extreme Measures - Star Trek DS9, Season 7, 1999
Extreme Risk- Star Trek Voyager, Season 5, 1998
Extreme - Max Steel, Season 2, 2000

Galaxy 4 -Doctor Who, Season 3, 1965
Galaxy Adrift -Star Fleet, 1982
Galaxy Being, The -The Outer Limits, Season 1, 1963
Galaxy Gift, The -Lost in Space, Season 2, 1966
Galaxy Girls, The - Battle of the Planets, 197)
Galaxy Stranger - Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers, 1986
Galaxy Trio And The Cave Men Of Primevia - The Galaxy Trio, 1967
Galaxy Trio And The Sleeping Planet- (The Galaxy Trio, 1967
Galaxy Trio vs. Growliath - The Galaxy Trio, 1967
Galaxy Trio vs. The Moltens Of Meteorus -The Galaxy Trio, 1967
Galaxy’s Greatest Athlete - Far Out Space Nuts, 1975
Galaxy's Child - Star Trek, TNG, Season 4, 1991

Max War of the Worlds, Season 2/X Files, Season 4, 1997/The Bionic Woman, Season 3, 1977
Max Headroom: the Original Story - Max Headroom, 1985
Max In The City - Roswell, Season 2, 2000
Max Ray...Traitor- Centurions, 1986
Max To The Max- Roswell, Season 1, 1999
Maximal, No More- Transformers : Beast Wars, Season 2, 1997
Maximus Displeasure- Atomic Betty, Season 1, 2004
Maximus Emerges - Transformers : Robots in Disguise, 2001
Max-Land- Atomic Betty, Season 1, 2004
Maxsop 4 - Robo Cop : Alpha Commando, 1998

Six Days Twilight Zone C, 2002/ Department S, 1969
Six Degrees Of Separation/ Battlestar Galactica, Season 1, 2004
Six Fight Again, The/ Spider Man the Animated Series, Season 5, 1998
Six Forgotten Warriors/ Spider Man the Animated Series, Season 5, 1998
Six Ghost Ships/ MAPS, 1994
Six Guns Of Space/ Phoenix Five, 1970
Six Hours To Live/ Land of the Giants, Season 2, 1969
Six Is A Crowd/ Sonic Underground, 1999)
Six, Lies and Videotape/ Tripping the Rift, Season 2, 2005
Sixteen-Millimeter Shrine, The/ Twilight Zone A, Season 1, 1959
Sixth Extinction II: Amor Fati, Part 3- X Files, Season 7, 1999
Sixth Finger, The - The Outer Limits, Season 1, 1963
Sixth Grade Rebellion Mayhem! - My Best Friend is An Alien, Season 1, 1999
Sixth Sense - Thundercats, Season 1, 1985

Wormhole X-Treme! - Stargate SG1, Season 5, 2001

X - The Unknown Factor -Halfway Across the Galaxy and Turn Left, 1991
X Bomb- Astro Boy, 1, 1963
X Factor, The - Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Season 2, 1965
X Impulse, The -X-Men Evolution, Season 1, 2000
X Is Not Himself- Halfway Across the Galaxy and Turn Left, 1991
X Takes A Holiday- The X’s, Season 1, 2005
X- Teen Titans, Season 3, 2004
X23 - X-Men: Evolution, Season 3, 2002
X-35 Needs Changing- Seven Days, Season 2, 1999
Xavier Remembers - X-Men, Season 4, 1999
X-Bomber Goes Forth- Star Fleet, 1982
X-Bomber: Death on Planet Morphane -Star Fleet, 1982
Xcitement- The X’s, Season 1, 2005
X-COPS - X Files, Season 7, 2000
Xevivor - Lexx, Season 4, 2001
Xindi, The - Enterprise, Season 3, 2003
XL - Buzz Lightyear of Star Command, Season 1, 2000
XL5 to H2O - Fireball XL5, 1963
X-Layer, The - Secret Beneath the Sea, 1963
X-Mas Marks The Spot -The Real Ghostbusters, Season 1, 1986
Xmas Story -Futurama, Season 2, 1999)
X-Men Adventure, The - Spider Man and his Amazing Friends, Season 3, 1983
X-Pet- Roboroach, 2002
X-Ray - Smallville, Season 1, 2000
X-Rays - Atomic Betty, Season 2, 2005
XRP-77 - Silent Mobius, 1998
X-Ternally Yours - X-Men, Season 2, 1993
X-Treme Measures - X-Men Evolution, Season 3, 2002
X-Treme Measures- Medabots, Season 1, 2001

So the popular idea that science fiction series use a lot of ‘X’s’ in their titles is wrong, but their episode titles do use a lot of ‘X’s’. Given that episode titles are often puns or spoofs of other titles, X is obviously an easy letter to use this way. And it does sound good when you say it, doesn’t it!

Naming Stellar Bodies

2010-02-21T14:39:00.000-08:00

New Stuff in Our Solar System

I recently came across lists of the names that astronomers have given to all the new objects found in our solar system by the different probes we have sent out. I also found a list of names given to the new planets we are finding outside our solar system, and other names suggested as replacements. It interested me that the naming of real stellar bodies is quite different to the naming of planets in Science Fiction, so I thought I’d have a look at both to see how they work.
Planets in Science Fiction

One of the major tasks for a science fiction writer is to name their planets. There isn’t quite a formula for this, but there are some bendable rules:

A planet name should sound serious, if not scientific.

There shouldn’t be any stupid names unless the text is a spoof e.g. Crouton in They Came From Outer Space is acceptable for a satire.

Names should preferably be one or two syllables and end in ‘a’, ‘us’ or ‘an’.

Prefixes should be Greek letters or key words like ‘new’.

The name should give some idea about the physical or philosophical nature of the planet.

Details

1. Real names: Some fictional planets are called after real locations:
Real star names like Alpha Centauri (Crusher Joe; Doctor Who The Curse of Peladon; Terra Nova: Strike Force Centauri; Lost in Space; Space Patrol 1960; Aldebaran (Buck Rogers: Plot to Kill a City); Ganymede ( Babylon 5: By Any Means Necessary; Mercy Point; Rod Brown of the Rocket Rangers).
Real place names like Bretagne ( McCaffrey: Sassinak); Lost Jerusalem (Xenosaga); Victoria (LeGuin: The Eye of the Heron). Note that these seem to occur in novels rather than in films.

2. Abstract words: Destiny (Blake 7: Mission to Destroy); Fury (Alien 3); Harmony (Maelstrom; Card: The Memory of Earth).

3. Descriptors: Crematoria (Chronicles of Riddick); Frostor (Galaxy High School); Pacifica (Spinrad: A World Between).

4. Greek prefixes: Beta 5 (Blake 7: Gold); Beta 9 (Babylon 5: Between the Darkness and the Light); Delta (Space Patrol 1960); Delta 3 (Doctor who: The Power of Kroll); Delta 5-5 9The Colony).
5. Defining prefixes: New Earth (Doctor Who: Invasion of the Dinosaurs/Dogstar/Babylon 5: The Deconstruction of Falling Stars); New Mecca (Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Fury); Phantom Planet (Starcrash/ Starblazers/ Film title); Devil Planet (Lensman, film); Beast Planet (Shadow Raiders).

6. Suffixes: Homeworld (Micronauts/Blake 7: The City at the Edge of the World); Rimmerworld (Red Dwarf: Rimmerworld); Oceansphere (Xardion); Sensesphere (Doctor Who: The Sensorites).

7. Prime or Secundus: Gauda Prime (Blake 7: Blake); Salusa Secundus (Dune).

8. Major or Minor: Androzani Minor (Doctor Who: The Caves of Androzani); Saurian Major (Blake 7: time Squad)

9. Endings should be latinate – Arazia (Andromeda: Rose in the Ashes); Gradius (Gradius); Luminas 6 (Space Raiders). However other endings like ‘b’ or ‘k’ are used : Deneb IV (Star Terk: The Next Generation: encounter at Farpoint); Antak (Stargate SG1: the Devil You Know)

10. Organised numbering : Stargate’s system : P2A018 goes to P9Q873 has over 50 planets. But who remembers which is which?
So as long as a planet name fits the basic parameters, anything goes in science fiction. What happens in the real world?

Naming the New Bodies in the Solar System

Since 1973 names have been given to 45 satellites of Jupiter, 43 of Saturn, 22 of Uranus, 11 of Neptune, 3 of Pluto, 1 of Eris and 2 of Haumea. The number of new names keeps changing with new discoveries. The names of these bodies come primarily from Graeco-Roman Mythology, with new names coming from other cultures and Shakespearean plays ( and a poem by Alexander Pope). There is also a numbering system that would make Stargate proud.

Jupiter: These satellites are named after the lovers and favorites of Jupiter and his descendents. These names double up with some asteroids. Examples are: Metis, Adrastea, Amalthea, Io, Europa, Ganymede, Callisto, Leda, Himalia , Lysithea, Elara, Ananke, Carme, Pasiphae, Sinope.

Saturn: This planet has ten groups of moons. Some of these are named after Greek Titans, and giants and monsters from other cultures. Phoebe is the only exception.
The shepherd moons: Pan, Daphnis, Atlas, Prometheus, Pandora, Aegaeon, S/2004 S3, S4 and S6.
Co-orbitals: Janus and Epimetheus.
Inner large moons and Alkyonides: Mimas; Methone, Anthe, Pallene, Enceladus, Tethys, Dione.
Trojans: Telesto, Calypso, Helen, Polydeuces and Rhea.
E-ring : Titan, Hyperion, Iapetus. Innuit group: Ijiraq, Kiviuq, Paaliaq, Siarnaq, Targeq.
Norse Group: Aegir, Bergelmir, Bestla, Farabuati, Fenrir, Fornjot, Greip, Hati, Hyrrokkin, Jarnsaxa, Kari, Loge, Mundilfari, Narvi, Phoebe, Skathi, Skoll, Surtur, Suttungr, Thrymr, Ymir and 8 with numbers.
Gallic Group : Albiorix, Bebhionn, Erriapus, Tarvos.

Neptune: These satellites are named after Greek sea gods and goddesses e.g. Triton, Nereid, Thalassa, Despina, Galatea, Larissa, Proteus.

Uranus: Satellites are named after characters in A Midsummer Nights Dream, The Tempest , Much Ado About Nothing, and The Rape of the Lock: Miranda, Oberon, Titania, Ariel, Umbriel, Margaret.

Pluto: Satellites are Charon, Hydra and Nix who are all related to the Greek god Hades, the equivalent of Pluto.

What Happens Outside the Solar System?

At present extra-solar planets are named after their parent star, with numbers attached. This results in many planet names being strings of letters and numbers. That’s not so bad when you get 4 Ursa Majoris B or Gliese 86b, but it’s bad when its HD169830 b and there are a lot of those.

In response to the lack of decent names, various groups such as Edasich, BlueEarth and Sedna have been coming up with names, most of which once again come from Mythology.
It’s not too bad when 47 Ursa Majoris b gets a name like Nanook, which is Inuit for bear, but surely we could do without Leda for 16 Cygni Bb, or Horus for Gliese 777b. Enough with the gods and goddesses! And the names should be pronounceable – I prefer Upsilon Andromedae c to Sthenelus.

Perhaps these people need to be sent a list of planet names used in Science Fiction to get a wider variety of names that are different but can still be pronounced!
It’s depressing that people are going to name exciting new planets after gods and goddesses. There is a balance of male and female names in the current naming process, unlike in older times when only male names were used . But we need to get more creative with our names until we meet aliens who have their own names for these places!

How to Name a Stellar Body
I recently came across lists of the names astronomers have given to all the new objects found in our solar system by the different probes we have sent out. I also found a list of names given to the new planets we are finding outside our solar system, and other names suggested as replacements. It interested me that the naming of real stellar bodies is quite different to the naming of planets in Science Fiction, so I thought I’d have a look at both to see how they work.
Planets in Science Fiction
One of the major tasks for a science fiction writer is to name their planets. There isn’t quite a formula for this, but there are some bendable rules:
A planet name should sound serious, if not scientific.
There shouldn’t be any stupid names unless the text is a spoof e.g. Crouton in They Came From Outer Space is acceptable for a satire.
Names should preferably be one or two syllables and end in ‘a’, ‘us’ or ‘an’.
Prefixes should be Greek letters or key words like ‘new’.
The name should give some idea about the physical or philosophical nature of the planet.

Details
1. Real names: Some fictional planets are called after real locations:
Real star names like Alpha Centauri (Crusher Joe; Doctor Who The Curse of Peladon; Terra Nova: Strike Force Centauri; Lost in Space; Space Patrol 1960; Aldebaran (Buck Rogers: Plot to Kill a City); Ganymede ( Babylon 5: By Any Means Necessary; Mercy Point; Rod Brown of the Rocket Rangers).
Real place names like Bretagne ( McCaffrey: Sassinak); Lost Jerusalem (Xenosaga); Victoria (LeGuin: The Eye of the Heron). Note that these seem to occur in novels rather than in films.
2. Abstract words: Destiny (Blake 7: Mission to Destroy); Fury (Alien 3); Harmony (Maelstrom; Card: The Memory of Earth).
3. Descriptors: Crematoria (Chronicles of Riddick); Frostor (Galaxy High School); Pacifica (Spinrad: A World Between).
4. Greek prefixes: Beta 5 (Blake 7: Gold); Beta 9 (Babylon 5: Between the Darkness and the Light); Delta (Space Patrol 1960); Delta 3 (Doctor who: The Power of Kroll); Delta 5-5 9The Colony).
5. Defining prefixes: New Earth (Doctor Who: Invasion of the Dinosaurs/Dogstar/Babylon 5: The Deconstruction of Falling Stars); New Mecca (Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Fury); Phantom Planet (Starcrash/ Starblazers/ Film title); Devil Planet (Lensman, film); Beast Planet (Shadow Raiders).
6. Suffixes: Homeworld (Micronauts/Blake 7: The City at the Edge of the World); Rimmerworld (Red Dwarf: Rimmerworld); Oceansphere (Xardion); Sensesphere (Doctor Who: The Sensorites).
7. Prime or Secundus: Gauda Prime (Blake 7: Blake); Salusa Secundus (Dune).
8. Major or Minor: Androzani Minor (Doctor Who: The Caves of Androzani); Saurian Major (Blake 7: time Squad)
9. Endings should be latinate – Arazia (Andromeda: Rose in the Ashes); Gradius (Gradius); Luminas 6 (Space Raiders). However other endings like ‘b’ or ‘k’ are used : Deneb IV (Star Terk: The Next Generation: encounter at Farpoint); Antak (Stargate SG1: the Devil You Know)
10. Organised numbering : Stargate’s system : P2A018 goes to P9Q873 has over 50 planets. But who remembers which is which?
So as long as a planet name fits the basic parameters, anything goes in science fiction. What happens in the real world?

Naming the New Bodies in the Solar System

Since 1973 names have been given to 45 satellites of Jupiter, 43 of Saturn, 22 of Uranus, 11 of Neptune, 3 of Pluto, 1 of Eris and 2 of Haumea. The number of new names keeps changing with new discoveries. The names of these bodies come primarily from Graeco-Roman Mythology, with new names coming from other cultures and Shakespearean plays ( and a poem by Alexander Pope). There is also a numbering system that would make Stargate proud.

Jupiter: These satellites are named after the lovers and favorites of Jupiter and his descendents. These names double up with some asteroids. Examples are: Metis, Adrastea, Amalthea, Io, Europa, Ganymede, Callisto, Leda, Himalia , Lysithea, Elara, Ananke, Carme, Pasiphae, Sinope.

Saturn: This planet has ten groups of moons. Some of these are named after Greek Titans, and giants and monsters from other cultures. Phoebe is the only exception.
The shepherd moons: Pan, Daphnis, Atlas, Prometheus, Pandora, Aegaeon, S/2004 S3, S4 and S6.
Co-orbitals: Janus and Epimetheus.
Inner large moons and Alkyonides: Mimas; Methone, Anthe, Pallene, Enceladus, Tethys, Dione.
Trojans: Telesto, Calypso, Helen, Polydeuces and Rhea.
E-ring : Titan, Hyperion, Iapetus. Innuit group: Ijiraq, Kiviuq, Paaliaq, Siarnaq, Targeq.
Norse Group: Aegir, Bergelmir, Bestla, Farabuati, Fenrir, Fornjot, Greip, Hati, Hyrrokkin, Jarnsaxa, Kari, Loge, Mundilfari, Narvi, Phoebe, Skathi, Skoll, Surtur, Suttungr, Thrymr, Ymir and 8 with numbers.
Gallic Group : Albiorix, Bebhionn, Erriapus, Tarvos.

Neptune: These satellites are named after Greek sea gods and goddesses e.g. Triton, Nereid, Thalassa, Despina, Galatea, Larissa, Proteus.

Uranus: Satellites are named after characters in A Midsummer Nights Dream, The Tempest , Much Ado About Nothing, and The Rape of the Lock: Miranda, Oberon, Titania, Ariel, Umbriel, Margaret.

Pluto: Satellites are Charon, Hydra and Nix who are all related to the Greek god Hades, the equivalent of Pluto.

What Happens Outside the Solar System?
At present extra-solar planets are named after their parent star, with numbers attached. This results in many planet names being strings of letters and numbers. That’s not so bad when you get 4 Ursa Majoris B or Gliese 86b, but it’s bad when its HD169830 b and there are a lot of those.
In response to the lack of decent names, various groups such as Edasich, BlueEarth and Sedna have been coming up with names, most of which once again come from Mythology.
It’s not too bad when 47 Ursa Majoris b gets a name like Nanook, which is Inuit for bear, but surely we could do without Leda for 16 Cygni Bb, or Horus for Gliese 777b. Enough with the gods and goddesses! And the names should be pronounceable – I prefer Upsilon Andromedae c to Sthenelus.
Perhaps these people need to be sent a list of planet names used in Science Fiction to get a wider variety of names that are different but can still be pronounced!
It’s depressing that people are going to name exciting new planets after gods and goddesses. There is a balance of male and female names in the current naming process, unlike in older times when only male names were used . But we need to get more creative with our names until we meet aliens who have their own names for these places!

How to Name a Stellar Body
I recently came across lists of the names astronomers have given to all the new objects found in our solar system by the different probes we have sent out. I also found a list of names given to the new planets we are finding outside our solar system, and other names suggested as replacements. It interested me that the naming of real stellar bodies is quite different to the naming of planets in Science Fiction, so I thought I’d have a look at both to see how they work.
Planets in Science Fiction
One of the major tasks for a science fiction writer is to name their planets. There isn’t quite a formula for this, but there are some bendable rules:
A planet name should sound serious, if not scientific.
There shouldn’t be any stupid names unless the text is a spoof e.g. Crouton in They Came From Outer Space is acceptable for a satire.
Names should preferably be one or two syllables and end in ‘a’, ‘us’ or ‘an’.
Prefixes should be Greek letters or key words like ‘new’.
The name should give some idea about the physical or philosophical nature of the planet.

Details
1. Real names: Some fictional planets are called after real locations:
Real star names like Alpha Centauri (Crusher Joe; Doctor Who The Curse of Peladon; Terra Nova: Strike Force Centauri; Lost in Space; Space Patrol 1960; Aldebaran (Buck Rogers: Plot to Kill a City); Ganymede ( Babylon 5: By Any Means Necessary; Mercy Point; Rod Brown of the Rocket Rangers).
Real place names like Bretagne ( McCaffrey: Sassinak); Lost Jerusalem (Xenosaga); Victoria (LeGuin: The Eye of the Heron). Note that these seem to occur in novels rather than in films.
2. Abstract words: Destiny (Blake 7: Mission to Destroy); Fury (Alien 3); Harmony (Maelstrom; Card: The Memory of Earth).
3. Descriptors: Crematoria (Chronicles of Riddick); Frostor (Galaxy High School); Pacifica (Spinrad: A World Between).
4. Greek prefixes: Beta 5 (Blake 7: Gold); Beta 9 (Babylon 5: Between the Darkness and the Light); Delta (Space Patrol 1960); Delta 3 (Doctor who: The Power of Kroll); Delta 5-5 9The Colony).
5. Defining prefixes: New Earth (Doctor Who: Invasion of the Dinosaurs/Dogstar/Babylon 5: The Deconstruction of Falling Stars); New Mecca (Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Fury); Phantom Planet (Starcrash/ Starblazers/ Film title); Devil Planet (Lensman, film); Beast Planet (Shadow Raiders).
6. Suffixes: Homeworld (Micronauts/Blake 7: The City at the Edge of the World); Rimmerworld (Red Dwarf: Rimmerworld); Oceansphere (Xardion); Sensesphere (Doctor Who: The Sensorites).
7. Prime or Secundus: Gauda Prime (Blake 7: Blake); Salusa Secundus (Dune).
8. Major or Minor: Androzani Minor (Doctor Who: The Caves of Androzani); Saurian Major (Blake 7: time Squad)
9. Endings should be latinate – Arazia (Andromeda: Rose in the Ashes); Gradius (Gradius); Luminas 6 (Space Raiders). However other endings like ‘b’ or ‘k’ are used : Deneb IV (Star Terk: The Next Generation: encounter at Farpoint); Antak (Stargate SG1: the Devil You Know)
10. Organised numbering : Stargate’s system : P2A018 goes to P9Q873 has over 50 planets. But who remembers which is which?
So as long as a planet name fits the basic parameters, anything goes in science fiction. What happens in the real world?

Naming the New Bodies in the Solar System

Since 1973 names have been given to 45 satellites of Jupiter, 43 of Saturn, 22 of Uranus, 11 of Neptune, 3 of Pluto, 1 of Eris and 2 of Haumea. The number of new names keeps changing with new discoveries. The names of these bodies come primarily from Graeco-Roman Mythology, with new names coming from other cultures and Shakespearean plays ( and a poem by Alexander Pope). There is also a numbering system that would make Stargate proud.

Jupiter: These satellites are named after the lovers and favorites of Jupiter and his descendents. These names double up with some asteroids. Examples are: Metis, Adrastea, Amalthea, Io, Europa, Ganymede, Callisto, Leda, Himalia , Lysithea, Elara, Ananke, Carme, Pasiphae, Sinope.

Saturn: This planet has ten groups of moons. Some of these are named after Greek Titans, and giants and monsters from other cultures. Phoebe is the only exception.
The shepherd moons: Pan, Daphnis, Atlas, Prometheus, Pandora, Aegaeon, S/2004 S3, S4 and S6.
Co-orbitals: Janus and Epimetheus.
Inner large moons and Alkyonides: Mimas; Methone, Anthe, Pallene, Enceladus, Tethys, Dione.
Trojans: Telesto, Calypso, Helen, Polydeuces and Rhea.
E-ring : Titan, Hyperion, Iapetus. Innuit group: Ijiraq, Kiviuq, Paaliaq, Siarnaq, Targeq.
Norse Group: Aegir, Bergelmir, Bestla, Farabuati, Fenrir, Fornjot, Greip, Hati, Hyrrokkin, Jarnsaxa, Kari, Loge, Mundilfari, Narvi, Phoebe, Skathi, Skoll, Surtur, Suttungr, Thrymr, Ymir and 8 with numbers.
Gallic Group : Albiorix, Bebhionn, Erriapus, Tarvos.

Neptune: These satellites are named after Greek sea gods and goddesses e.g. Triton, Nereid, Thalassa, Despina, Galatea, Larissa, Proteus.

Uranus: Satellites are named after characters in A Midsummer Nights Dream, The Tempest , Much Ado About Nothing, and The Rape of the Lock: Miranda, Oberon, Titania, Ariel, Umbriel, Margaret.

Pluto: Satellites are Charon, Hydra and Nix who are all related to the Greek god Hades, the equivalent of Pluto.

What Happens Outside the Solar System?
At present extra-solar planets are named after their parent star, with numbers attached. This results in many planet names being strings of letters and numbers. That’s not so bad when you get 4 Ursa Majoris B or Gliese 86b, but it’s bad when its HD169830 b and there are a lot of those.
In response to the lack of decent names, various groups such as Edasich, BlueEarth and Sedna have been coming up with names, most of which once again come from Mythology.
It’s not too bad when 47 Ursa Majoris b gets a name like Nanook, which is Inuit for bear, but surely we could do without Leda for 16 Cygni Bb, or Horus for Gliese 777b. Enough with the gods and goddesses! And the names should be pronounceable – I prefer Upsilon Andromedae c to Sthenelus.
Perhaps these people need to be sent a list of planet names used in Science Fiction to get a wider variety of names that are different but can still be pronounced!
It’s depressing that people are going to name exciting new planets after gods and goddesses. There is a balance of male and female names in the current naming process, unlike in older times when only male names were used . But we need to get more creative with our names until we meet aliens who have their own names for these places!

How to Name a Stellar Body
I recently came across lists of the names astronomers have given to all the new objects found in our solar system by the different probes we have sent out. I also found a list of names given to the new planets we are finding outside our solar system, and other names suggested as replacements. It interested me that the naming of real stellar bodies is quite different to the naming of planets in Science Fiction, so I thought I’d have a look at both to see how they work.
Planets in Science Fiction
One of the major tasks for a science fiction writer is to name their planets. There isn’t quite a formula for this, but there are some bendable rules:
A planet name should sound serious, if not scientific.
There shouldn’t be any stupid names unless the text is a spoof e.g. Crouton in They Came From Outer Space is acceptable for a satire.
Names should preferably be one or two syllables and end in ‘a’, ‘us’ or ‘an’.
Prefixes should be Greek letters or key words like ‘new’.
The name should give some idea about the physical or philosophical nature of the planet.

Details
1. Real names: Some fictional planets are called after real locations:
Real star names like Alpha Centauri (Crusher Joe; Doctor Who The Curse of Peladon; Terra Nova: Strike Force Centauri; Lost in Space; Space Patrol 1960; Aldebaran (Buck Rogers: Plot to Kill a City); Ganymede ( Babylon 5: By Any Means Necessary; Mercy Point; Rod Brown of the Rocket Rangers).
Real place names like Bretagne ( McCaffrey: Sassinak); Lost Jerusalem (Xenosaga); Victoria (LeGuin: The Eye of the Heron). Note that these seem to occur in novels rather than in films.
2. Abstract words: Destiny (Blake 7: Mission to Destroy); Fury (Alien 3); Harmony (Maelstrom; Card: The Memory of Earth).
3. Descriptors: Crematoria (Chronicles of Riddick); Frostor (Galaxy High School); Pacifica (Spinrad: A World Between).
4. Greek prefixes: Beta 5 (Blake 7: Gold); Beta 9 (Babylon 5: Between the Darkness and the Light); Delta (Space Patrol 1960); Delta 3 (Doctor who: The Power of Kroll); Delta 5-5 9The Colony).
5. Defining prefixes: New Earth (Doctor Who: Invasion of the Dinosaurs/Dogstar/Babylon 5: The Deconstruction of Falling Stars); New Mecca (Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Fury); Phantom Planet (Starcrash/ Starblazers/ Film title); Devil Planet (Lensman, film); Beast Planet (Shadow Raiders).
6. Suffixes: Homeworld (Micronauts/Blake 7: The City at the Edge of the World); Rimmerworld (Red Dwarf: Rimmerworld); Oceansphere (Xardion); Sensesphere (Doctor Who: The Sensorites).
7. Prime or Secundus: Gauda Prime (Blake 7: Blake); Salusa Secundus (Dune).
8. Major or Minor: Androzani Minor (Doctor Who: The Caves of Androzani); Saurian Major (Blake 7: time Squad)
9. Endings should be latinate – Arazia (Andromeda: Rose in the Ashes); Gradius (Gradius); Luminas 6 (Space Raiders). However other endings like ‘b’ or ‘k’ are used : Deneb IV (Star Terk: The Next Generation: encounter at Farpoint); Antak (Stargate SG1: the Devil You Know)
10. Organised numbering : Stargate’s system : P2A018 goes to P9Q873 has over 50 planets. But who remembers which is which?
So as long as a planet name fits the basic parameters, anything goes in science fiction. What happens in the real world?

Naming the New Bodies in the Solar System

Since 1973 names have been given to 45 satellites of Jupiter, 43 of Saturn, 22 of Uranus, 11 of Neptune, 3 of Pluto, 1 of Eris and 2 of Haumea. The number of new names keeps changing with new discoveries. The names of these bodies come primarily from Graeco-Roman Mythology, with new names coming from other cultures and Shakespearean plays ( and a poem by Alexander Pope). There is also a numbering system that would make Stargate proud.

Jupiter: These satellites are named after the lovers and favorites of Jupiter and his descendents. These names double up with some asteroids. Examples are: Metis, Adrastea, Amalthea, Io, Europa, Ganymede, Callisto, Leda, Himalia , Lysithea, Elara, Ananke, Carme, Pasiphae, Sinope.

Saturn: This planet has ten groups of moons. Some of these are named after Greek Titans, and giants and monsters from other cultures. Phoebe is the only exception.
The shepherd moons: Pan, Daphnis, Atlas, Prometheus, Pandora, Aegaeon, S/2004 S3, S4 and S6.
Co-orbitals: Janus and Epimetheus.
Inner large moons and Alkyonides: Mimas; Methone, Anthe, Pallene, Enceladus, Tethys, Dione.
Trojans: Telesto, Calypso, Helen, Polydeuces and Rhea.
E-ring : Titan, Hyperion, Iapetus. Innuit group: Ijiraq, Kiviuq, Paaliaq, Siarnaq, Targeq.
Norse Group: Aegir, Bergelmir, Bestla, Farabuati, Fenrir, Fornjot, Greip, Hati, Hyrrokkin, Jarnsaxa, Kari, Loge, Mundilfari, Narvi, Phoebe, Skathi, Skoll, Surtur, Suttungr, Thrymr, Ymir and 8 with numbers.
Gallic Group : Albiorix, Bebhionn, Erriapus, Tarvos.

Neptune: These satellites are named after Greek sea gods and goddesses e.g. Triton, Nereid, Thalassa, Despina, Galatea, Larissa, Proteus.

Uranus: Satellites are named after characters in A Midsummer Nights Dream, The Tempest , Much Ado About Nothing, and The Rape of the Lock: Miranda, Oberon, Titania, Ariel, Umbriel, Margaret.

Pluto: Satellites are Charon, Hydra and Nix who are all related to the Greek god Hades, the equivalent of Pluto.

What Happens Outside the Solar System?
At present extra-solar planets are named after their parent star, with numbers attached. This results in many planet names being strings of letters and numbers. That’s not so bad when you get 4 Ursa Majoris B or Gliese 86b, but it’s bad when its HD169830 b and there are a lot of those.
In response to the lack of decent names, various groups such as Edasich, BlueEarth and Sedna have been coming up with names, most of which once again come from Mythology.
It’s not too bad when 47 Ursa Majoris b gets a name like Nanook, which is Inuit for bear, but surely we could do without Leda for 16 Cygni Bb, or Horus for Gliese 777b. Enough with the gods and goddesses! And the names should be pronounceable – I prefer Upsilon Andromedae c to Sthenelus.
Perhaps these people need to be sent a list of planet names used in Science Fiction to get a wider variety of names that are different but can still be pronounced!
It’s depressing that people are going to name exciting new planets after gods and goddesses. There is a balance of male and female names in the current naming process, unlike in older times when only male names were used . But we need to get more creative with our names until we meet aliens who have their own names for these places!

How to Name a Stellar Body
I recently came across lists of the names astronomers have given to all the new objects found in our solar system by the different probes we have sent out. I also found a list of names given to the new planets we are finding outside our solar system, and other names suggested as replacements. It interested me that the naming of real stellar bodies is quite different to the naming of planets in Science Fiction, so I thought I’d have a look at both to see how they work.
Planets in Science Fiction
One of the major tasks for a science fiction writer is to name their planets. There isn’t quite a formula for this, but there are some bendable rules:
A planet name should sound serious, if not scientific.
There shouldn’t be any stupid names unless the text is a spoof e.g. Crouton in They Came From Outer Space is acceptable for a satire.
Names should preferably be one or two syllables and end in ‘a’, ‘us’ or ‘an’.
Prefixes should be Greek letters or key words like ‘new’.
The name should give some idea about the physical or philosophical nature of the planet.

Details
1. Real names: Some fictional planets are called after real locations:
Real star names like Alpha Centauri (Crusher Joe; Doctor Who The Curse of Peladon; Terra Nova: Strike Force Centauri; Lost in Space; Space Patrol 1960; Aldebaran (Buck Rogers: Plot to Kill a City); Ganymede ( Babylon 5: By Any Means Necessary; Mercy Point; Rod Brown of the Rocket Rangers).
Real place names like Bretagne ( McCaffrey: Sassinak); Lost Jerusalem (Xenosaga); Victoria (LeGuin: The Eye of the Heron). Note that these seem to occur in novels rather than in films.
2. Abstract words: Destiny (Blake 7: Mission to Destroy); Fury (Alien 3); Harmony (Maelstrom; Card: The Memory of Earth).
3. Descriptors: Crematoria (Chronicles of Riddick); Frostor (Galaxy High School); Pacifica (Spinrad: A World Between).
4. Greek prefixes: Beta 5 (Blake 7: Gold); Beta 9 (Babylon 5: Between the Darkness and the Light); Delta (Space Patrol 1960); Delta 3 (Doctor who: The Power of Kroll); Delta 5-5 9The Colony).
5. Defining prefixes: New Earth (Doctor Who: Invasion of the Dinosaurs/Dogstar/Babylon 5: The Deconstruction of Falling Stars); New Mecca (Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Fury); Phantom Planet (Starcrash/ Starblazers/ Film title); Devil Planet (Lensman, film); Beast Planet (Shadow Raiders).
6. Suffixes: Homeworld (Micronauts/Blake 7: The City at the Edge of the World); Rimmerworld (Red Dwarf: Rimmerworld); Oceansphere (Xardion); Sensesphere (Doctor Who: The Sensorites).
7. Prime or Secundus: Gauda Prime (Blake 7: Blake); Salusa Secundus (Dune).
8. Major or Minor: Androzani Minor (Doctor Who: The Caves of Androzani); Saurian Major (Blake 7: time Squad)
9. Endings should be latinate – Arazia (Andromeda: Rose in the Ashes); Gradius (Gradius); Luminas 6 (Space Raiders). However other endings like ‘b’ or ‘k’ are used : Deneb IV (Star Terk: The Next Generation: encounter at Farpoint); Antak (Stargate SG1: the Devil You Know)
10. Organised numbering : Stargate’s system : P2A018 goes to P9Q873 has over 50 planets. But who remembers which is which?
So as long as a planet name fits the basic parameters, anything goes in science fiction. What happens in the real world?

Naming the New Bodies in the Solar System

Since 1973 names have been given to 45 satellites of Jupiter, 43 of Saturn, 22 of Uranus, 11 of Neptune, 3 of Pluto, 1 of Eris and 2 of Haumea. The number of new names keeps changing with new discoveries. The names of these bodies come primarily from Graeco-Roman Mythology, with new names coming from other cultures and Shakespearean plays ( and a poem by Alexander Pope). There is also a numbering system that would make Stargate proud.

Jupiter: These satellites are named after the lovers and favorites of Jupiter and his descendents. These names double up with some asteroids. Examples are: Metis, Adrastea, Amalthea, Io, Europa, Ganymede, Callisto, Leda, Himalia , Lysithea, Elara, Ananke, Carme, Pasiphae, Sinope.

Saturn: This planet has ten groups of moons. Some of these are named after Greek Titans, and giants and monsters from other cultures. Phoebe is the only exception.
The shepherd moons: Pan, Daphnis, Atlas, Prometheus, Pandora, Aegaeon, S/2004 S3, S4 and S6.
Co-orbitals: Janus and Epimetheus.
Inner large moons and Alkyonides: Mimas; Methone, Anthe, Pallene, Enceladus, Tethys, Dione.
Trojans: Telesto, Calypso, Helen, Polydeuces and Rhea.
E-ring : Titan, Hyperion, Iapetus. Innuit group: Ijiraq, Kiviuq, Paaliaq, Siarnaq, Targeq.
Norse Group: Aegir, Bergelmir, Bestla, Farabuati, Fenrir, Fornjot, Greip, Hati, Hyrrokkin, Jarnsaxa, Kari, Loge, Mundilfari, Narvi, Phoebe, Skathi, Skoll, Surtur, Suttungr, Thrymr, Ymir and 8 with numbers.
Gallic Group : Albiorix, Bebhionn, Erriapus, Tarvos.

Neptune: These satellites are named after Greek sea gods and goddesses e.g. Triton, Nereid, Thalassa, Despina, Galatea, Larissa, Proteus.

Uranus: Satellites are named after characters in A Midsummer Nights Dream, The Tempest , Much Ado About Nothing, and The Rape of the Lock: Miranda, Oberon, Titania, Ariel, Umbriel, Margaret.

Pluto: Satellites are Charon, Hydra and Nix who are all related to the Greek god Hades, the equivalent of Pluto.

What Happens Outside the Solar System?
At present extra-solar planets are named after their parent star, with numbers attached. This results in many planet names being strings of letters and numbers. That’s not so bad when you get 4 Ursa Majoris B or Gliese 86b, but it’s bad when its HD169830 b and there are a lot of those.
In response to the lack of decent names, various groups such as Edasich, BlueEarth and Sedna have been coming up with names, most of which once again come from Mythology.
It’s not too bad when 47 Ursa Majoris b gets a name like Nanook, which is Inuit for bear, but surely we could do without Leda for 16 Cygni Bb, or Horus for Gliese 777b. Enough with the gods and goddesses! And the names should be pronounceable – I prefer Upsilon Andromedae c to Sthenelus.
Perhaps these people need to be sent a list of planet names used in Science Fiction to get a wider variety of names that are different but can still be pronounced!
It’s depressing that people are going to name exciting new planets after gods and goddesses. There is a balance of male and female names in the current naming process, unlike in older times when only male names were used . But we need to get more creative with our names until we meet aliens who have their own names for these places!

How to Name a Stellar Body
I recently came across lists of the names astronomers have given to all the new objects found in our solar system by the different probes we have sent out. I also found a list of names given to the new planets we are finding outside our solar system, and other names suggested as replacements. It interested me that the naming of real stellar bodies is quite different to the naming of planets in Science Fiction, so I thought I’d have a look at both to see how they work.
Planets in Science Fiction
One of the major tasks for a science fiction writer is to name their planets. There isn’t quite a formula for this, but there are some bendable rules:
A planet name should sound serious, if not scientific.
There shouldn’t be any stupid names unless the text is a spoof e.g. Crouton in They Came From Outer Space is acceptable for a satire.
Names should preferably be one or two syllables and end in ‘a’, ‘us’ or ‘an’.
Prefixes should be Greek letters or key words like ‘new’.
The name should give some idea about the physical or philosophical nature of the planet.

Details
1. Real names: Some fictional planets are called after real locations:
Real star names like Alpha Centauri (Crusher Joe; Doctor Who The Curse of Peladon; Terra Nova: Strike Force Centauri; Lost in Space; Space Patrol 1960; Aldebaran (Buck Rogers: Plot to Kill a City); Ganymede ( Babylon 5: By Any Means Necessary; Mercy Point; Rod Brown of the Rocket Rangers).
Real place names like Bretagne ( McCaffrey: Sassinak); Lost Jerusalem (Xenosaga); Victoria (LeGuin: The Eye of the Heron). Note that these seem to occur in novels rather than in films.
2. Abstract words: Destiny (Blake 7: Mission to Destroy); Fury (Alien 3); Harmony (Maelstrom; Card: The Memory of Earth).
3. Descriptors: Crematoria (Chronicles of Riddick); Frostor (Galaxy High School); Pacifica (Spinrad: A World Between).
4. Greek prefixes: Beta 5 (Blake 7: Gold); Beta 9 (Babylon 5: Between the Darkness and the Light); Delta (Space Patrol 1960); Delta 3 (Doctor who: The Power of Kroll); Delta 5-5 9The Colony).
5. Defining prefixes: New Earth (Doctor Who: Invasion of the Dinosaurs/Dogstar/Babylon 5: The Deconstruction of Falling Stars); New Mecca (Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Fury); Phantom Planet (Starcrash/ Starblazers/ Film title); Devil Planet (Lensman, film); Beast Planet (Shadow Raiders).
6. Suffixes: Homeworld (Micronauts/Blake 7: The City at the Edge of the World); Rimmerworld (Red Dwarf: Rimmerworld); Oceansphere (Xardion); Sensesphere (Doctor Who: The Sensorites).
7. Prime or Secundus: Gauda Prime (Blake 7: Blake); Salusa Secundus (Dune).
8. Major or Minor: Androzani Minor (Doctor Who: The Caves of Androzani); Saurian Major (Blake 7: time Squad)
9. Endings should be latinate – Arazia (Andromeda: Rose in the Ashes); Gradius (Gradius); Luminas 6 (Space Raiders). However other endings like ‘b’ or ‘k’ are used : Deneb IV (Star Terk: The Next Generation: encounter at Farpoint); Antak (Stargate SG1: the Devil You Know)
10. Organised numbering : Stargate’s system : P2A018 goes to P9Q873 has over 50 planets. But who remembers which is which?
So as long as a planet name fits the basic parameters, anything goes in science fiction. What happens in the real world?

Naming the New Bodies in the Solar System

Since 1973 names have been given to 45 satellites of Jupiter, 43 of Saturn, 22 of Uranus, 11 of Neptune, 3 of Pluto, 1 of Eris and 2 of Haumea. The number of new names keeps changing with new discoveries. The names of these bodies come primarily from Graeco-Roman Mythology, with new names coming from other cultures and Shakespearean plays ( and a poem by Alexander Pope). There is also a numbering system that would make Stargate proud.

Jupiter: These satellites are named after the lovers and favorites of Jupiter and his descendents. These names double up with some asteroids. Examples are: Metis, Adrastea, Amalthea, Io, Europa, Ganymede, Callisto, Leda, Himalia , Lysithea, Elara, Ananke, Carme, Pasiphae, Sinope.

Saturn: This planet has ten groups of moons. Some of these are named after Greek Titans, and giants and monsters from other cultures. Phoebe is the only exception.
The shepherd moons: Pan, Daphnis, Atlas, Prometheus, Pandora, Aegaeon, S/2004 S3, S4 and S6.
Co-orbitals: Janus and Epimetheus.
Inner large moons and Alkyonides: Mimas; Methone, Anthe, Pallene, Enceladus, Tethys, Dione.
Trojans: Telesto, Calypso, Helen, Polydeuces and Rhea.
E-ring : Titan, Hyperion, Iapetus. Innuit group: Ijiraq, Kiviuq, Paaliaq, Siarnaq, Targeq.
Norse Group: Aegir, Bergelmir, Bestla, Farabuati, Fenrir, Fornjot, Greip, Hati, Hyrrokkin, Jarnsaxa, Kari, Loge, Mundilfari, Narvi, Phoebe, Skathi, Skoll, Surtur, Suttungr, Thrymr, Ymir and 8 with numbers.
Gallic Group : Albiorix, Bebhionn, Erriapus, Tarvos.

Neptune: These satellites are named after Greek sea gods and goddesses e.g. Triton, Nereid, Thalassa, Despina, Galatea, Larissa, Proteus.

Uranus: Satellites are named after characters in A Midsummer Nights Dream, The Tempest , Much Ado About Nothing, and The Rape of the Lock: Miranda, Oberon, Titania, Ariel, Umbriel, Margaret.

Pluto: Satellites are Charon, Hydra and Nix who are all related to the Greek god Hades, the equivalent of Pluto.

What Happens Outside the Solar System?
At present extra-solar planets are named after their parent star, with numbers attached. This results in many planet names being strings of letters and numbers. That’s not so bad when you get 4 Ursa Majoris B or Gliese 86b, but it’s bad when its HD169830 b and there are a lot of those.
In response to the lack of decent names, various groups such as Edasich, BlueEarth and Sedna have been coming up with names, most of which once again come from Mythology.
It’s not too bad when 47 Ursa Majoris b gets a name like Nanook, which is Inuit for bear, but surely we could do without Leda for 16 Cygni Bb, or Horus for Gliese 777b. Enough with the gods and goddesses! And the names should be pronounceable – I prefer Upsilon Andromedae c to Sthenelus.
Perhaps these people need to be sent a list of planet names used in Science Fiction to get a wider variety of names that are different but can still be pronounced!
It’s depressing that people are going to name exciting new planets after gods and goddesses. There is a balance of male and female names in the current naming process, unlike in older times when only male names were used . But we need to get more creative with our names until we meet aliens who have their own names for these places!

How to Name a Stellar Body
I recently came across lists of the names astronomers have given to all the new objects found in our solar system by the different probes we have sent out. I also found a list of names given to the new planets we are finding outside our solar system, and other names suggested as replacements. It interested me that the naming of real stellar bodies is quite different to the naming of planets in Science Fiction, so I thought I’d have a look at both to see how they work.
Planets in Science Fiction
One of the major tasks for a science fiction writer is to name their planets. There isn’t quite a formula for this, but there are some bendable rules:
A planet name should sound serious, if not scientific.
There shouldn’t be any stupid names unless the text is a spoof e.g. Crouton in They Came From Outer Space is acceptable for a satire.
Names should preferably be one or two syllables and end in ‘a’, ‘us’ or ‘an’.
Prefixes should be Greek letters or key words like ‘new’.
The name should give some idea about the physical or philosophical nature of the planet.

Details
1. Real names: Some fictional planets are called after real locations:
Real star names like Alpha Centauri (Crusher Joe; Doctor Who The Curse of Peladon; Terra Nova: Strike Force Centauri; Lost in Space; Space Patrol 1960; Aldebaran (Buck Rogers: Plot to Kill a City); Ganymede ( Babylon 5: By Any Means Necessary; Mercy Point; Rod Brown of the Rocket Rangers).
Real place names like Bretagne ( McCaffrey: Sassinak); Lost Jerusalem (Xenosaga); Victoria (LeGuin: The Eye of the Heron). Note that these seem to occur in novels rather than in films.
2. Abstract words: Destiny (Blake 7: Mission to Destroy); Fury (Alien 3); Harmony (Maelstrom; Card: The Memory of Earth).
3. Descriptors: Crematoria (Chronicles of Riddick); Frostor (Galaxy High School); Pacifica (Spinrad: A World Between).
4. Greek prefixes: Beta 5 (Blake 7: Gold); Beta 9 (Babylon 5: Between the Darkness and the Light); Delta (Space Patrol 1960); Delta 3 (Doctor who: The Power of Kroll); Delta 5-5 9The Colony).
5. Defining prefixes: New Earth (Doctor Who: Invasion of the Dinosaurs/Dogstar/Babylon 5: The Deconstruction of Falling Stars); New Mecca (Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Fury); Phantom Planet (Starcrash/ Starblazers/ Film title); Devil Planet (Lensman, film); Beast Planet (Shadow Raiders).
6. Suffixes: Homeworld (Micronauts/Blake 7: The City at the Edge of the World); Rimmerworld (Red Dwarf: Rimmerworld); Oceansphere (Xardion); Sensesphere (Doctor Who: The Sensorites).
7. Prime or Secundus: Gauda Prime (Blake 7: Blake); Salusa Secundus (Dune).
8. Major or Minor: Androzani Minor (Doctor Who: The Caves of Androzani); Saurian Major (Blake 7: time Squad)
9. Endings should be latinate – Arazia (Andromeda: Rose in the Ashes); Gradius (Gradius); Luminas 6 (Space Raiders). However other endings like ‘b’ or ‘k’ are used : Deneb IV (Star Terk: The Next Generation: encounter at Farpoint); Antak (Stargate SG1: the Devil You Know)
10. Organised numbering : Stargate’s system : P2A018 goes to P9Q873 has over 50 planets. But who remembers which is which?
So as long as a planet name fits the basic parameters, anything goes in science fiction. What happens in the real world?

Naming the New Bodies in the Solar System

Since 1973 names have been given to 45 satellites of Jupiter, 43 of Saturn, 22 of Uranus, 11 of Neptune, 3 of Pluto, 1 of Eris and 2 of Haumea. The number of new names keeps changing with new discoveries. The names of these bodies come primarily from Graeco-Roman Mythology, with new names coming from other cultures and Shakespearean plays ( and a poem by Alexander Pope). There is also a numbering system that would make Stargate proud.

Jupiter: These satellites are named after the lovers and favorites of Jupiter and his descendents. These names double up with some asteroids. Examples are: Metis, Adrastea, Amalthea, Io, Europa, Ganymede, Callisto, Leda, Himalia , Lysithea, Elara, Ananke, Carme, Pasiphae, Sinope.

Saturn: This planet has ten groups of moons. Some of these are named after Greek Titans, and giants and monsters from other cultures. Phoebe is the only exception.
The shepherd moons: Pan, Daphnis, Atlas, Prometheus, Pandora, Aegaeon, S/2004 S3, S4 and S6.
Co-orbitals: Janus and Epimetheus.
Inner large moons and Alkyonides: Mimas; Methone, Anthe, Pallene, Enceladus, Tethys, Dione.
Trojans: Telesto, Calypso, Helen, Polydeuces and Rhea.
E-ring : Titan, Hyperion, Iapetus. Innuit group: Ijiraq, Kiviuq, Paaliaq, Siarnaq, Targeq.
Norse Group: Aegir, Bergelmir, Bestla, Farabuati, Fenrir, Fornjot, Greip, Hati, Hyrrokkin, Jarnsaxa, Kari, Loge, Mundilfari, Narvi, Phoebe, Skathi, Skoll, Surtur, Suttungr, Thrymr, Ymir and 8 with numbers.
Gallic Group : Albiorix, Bebhionn, Erriapus, Tarvos.

Neptune: These satellites are named after Greek sea gods and goddesses e.g. Triton, Nereid, Thalassa, Despina, Galatea, Larissa, Proteus.

Uranus: Satellites are named after characters in A Midsummer Nights Dream, The Tempest , Much Ado About Nothing, and The Rape of the Lock: Miranda, Oberon, Titania, Ariel, Umbriel, Margaret.

Pluto: Satellites are Charon, Hydra and Nix who are all related to the Greek god Hades, the equivalent of Pluto.

What Happens Outside the Solar System?
At present extra-solar planets are named after their parent star, with numbers attached. This results in many planet names being strings of letters and numbers. That’s not so bad when you get 4 Ursa Majoris B or Gliese 86b, but it’s bad when its HD169830 b and there are a lot of those.
In response to the lack of decent names, various groups such as Edasich, BlueEarth and Sedna have been coming up with names, most of which once again come from Mythology.
It’s not too bad when 47 Ursa Majoris b gets a name like Nanook, which is Inuit for bear, but surely we could do without Leda for 16 Cygni Bb, or Horus for Gliese 777b. Enough with the gods and goddesses! And the names should be pronounceable – I prefer Upsilon Andromedae c to Sthenelus.
Perhaps these people need to be sent a list of planet names used in Science Fiction to get a wider variety of names that are different but can still be pronounced!
It’s depressing that people are going to name exciting new planets after gods and goddesses. There is a balance of male and female names in the current naming process, unlike in older times when only male names were used . But we need to get more creative with our names until we meet aliens who have their own names for these places!

How to Name a Stellar Body
I recently came across lists of the names astronomers have given to all the new objects found in our solar system by the different probes we have sent out. I also found a list of names given to the new planets we are finding outside our solar system, and other names suggested as replacements. It interested me that the naming of real stellar bodies is quite different to the naming of planets in Science Fiction, so I thought I’d have a look at both to see how they work.
Planets in Science Fiction
One of the major tasks for a science fiction writer is to name their planets. There isn’t quite a formula for this, but there are some bendable rules:
A planet name should sound serious, if not scientific.
There shouldn’t be any stupid names unless the text is a spoof e.g. Crouton in They Came From Outer Space is acceptable for a satire.
Names should preferably be one or two syllables and end in ‘a’, ‘us’ or ‘an’.
Prefixes should be Greek letters or key words like ‘new’.
The name should give some idea about the physical or philosophical nature of the planet.

Details
1. Real names: Some fictional planets are called after real locations:
Real star names like Alpha Centauri (Crusher Joe; Doctor Who The Curse of Peladon; Terra Nova: Strike Force Centauri; Lost in Space; Space Patrol 1960; Aldebaran (Buck Rogers: Plot to Kill a City); Ganymede ( Babylon 5: By Any Means Necessary; Mercy Point; Rod Brown of the Rocket Rangers).
Real place names like Bretagne ( McCaffrey: Sassinak); Lost Jerusalem (Xenosaga); Victoria (LeGuin: The Eye of the Heron). Note that these seem to occur in novels rather than in films.
2. Abstract words: Destiny (Blake 7: Mission to Destroy); Fury (Alien 3); Harmony (Maelstrom; Card: The Memory of Earth).
3. Descriptors: Crematoria (Chronicles of Riddick); Frostor (Galaxy High School); Pacifica (Spinrad: A World Between).
4. Greek prefixes: Beta 5 (Blake 7: Gold); Beta 9 (Babylon 5: Between the Darkness and the Light); Delta (Space Patrol 1960); Delta 3 (Doctor who: The Power of Kroll); Delta 5-5 9The Colony).
5. Defining prefixes: New Earth (Doctor Who: Invasion of the Dinosaurs/Dogstar/Babylon 5: The Deconstruction of Falling Stars); New Mecca (Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Fury); Phantom Planet (Starcrash/ Starblazers/ Film title); Devil Planet (Lensman, film); Beast Planet (Shadow Raiders).
6. Suffixes: Homeworld (Micronauts/Blake 7: The City at the Edge of the World); Rimmerworld (Red Dwarf: Rimmerworld); Oceansphere (Xardion); Sensesphere (Doctor Who: The Sensorites).
7. Prime or Secundus: Gauda Prime (Blake 7: Blake); Salusa Secundus (Dune).
8. Major or Minor: Androzani Minor (Doctor Who: The Caves of Androzani); Saurian Major (Blake 7: time Squad)
9. Endings should be latinate – Arazia (Andromeda: Rose in the Ashes); Gradius (Gradius); Luminas 6 (Space Raiders). However other endings like ‘b’ or ‘k’ are used : Deneb IV (Star Terk: The Next Generation: encounter at Farpoint); Antak (Stargate SG1: the Devil You Know)
10. Organised numbering : Stargate’s system : P2A018 goes to P9Q873 has over 50 planets. But who remembers which is which?
So as long as a planet name fits the basic parameters, anything goes in science fiction. What happens in the real world?

Naming the New Bodies in the Solar System

Since 1973 names have been given to 45 satellites of Jupiter, 43 of Saturn, 22 of Uranus, 11 of Neptune, 3 of Pluto, 1 of Eris and 2 of Haumea. The number of new names keeps changing with new discoveries. The names of these bodies come primarily from Graeco-Roman Mythology, with new names coming from other cultures and Shakespearean plays ( and a poem by Alexander Pope). There is also a numbering system that would make Stargate proud.

Jupiter: These satellites are named after the lovers and favorites of Jupiter and his descendents. These names double up with some asteroids. Examples are: Metis, Adrastea, Amalthea, Io, Europa, Ganymede, Callisto, Leda, Himalia , Lysithea, Elara, Ananke, Carme, Pasiphae, Sinope.

Saturn: This planet has ten groups of moons. Some of these are named after Greek Titans, and giants and monsters from other cultures. Phoebe is the only exception.
The shepherd moons: Pan, Daphnis, Atlas, Prometheus, Pandora, Aegaeon, S/2004 S3, S4 and S6.
Co-orbitals: Janus and Epimetheus.
Inner large moons and Alkyonides: Mimas; Methone, Anthe, Pallene, Enceladus, Tethys, Dione.
Trojans: Telesto, Calypso, Helen, Polydeuces and Rhea.
E-ring : Titan, Hyperion, Iapetus. Innuit group: Ijiraq, Kiviuq, Paaliaq, Siarnaq, Targeq.
Norse Group: Aegir, Bergelmir, Bestla, Farabuati, Fenrir, Fornjot, Greip, Hati, Hyrrokkin, Jarnsaxa, Kari, Loge, Mundilfari, Narvi, Phoebe, Skathi, Skoll, Surtur, Suttungr, Thrymr, Ymir and 8 with numbers.
Gallic Group : Albiorix, Bebhionn, Erriapus, Tarvos.

Neptune: These satellites are named after Greek sea gods and goddesses e.g. Triton, Nereid, Thalassa, Despina, Galatea, Larissa, Proteus.

Uranus: Satellites are named after characters in A Midsummer Nights Dream, The Tempest , Much Ado About Nothing, and The Rape of the Lock: Miranda, Oberon, Titania, Ariel, Umbriel, Margaret.

Pluto: Satellites are Charon, Hydra and Nix who are all related to the Greek god Hades, the equivalent of Pluto.

What Happens Outside the Solar System?
At present extra-solar planets are named after their parent star, with numbers attached. This results in many planet names being strings of letters and numbers. That’s not so bad when you get 4 Ursa Majoris B or Gliese 86b, but it’s bad when its HD169830 b and there are a lot of those.
In response to the lack of decent names, various groups such as Edasich, BlueEarth and Sedna have been coming up with names, most of which once again come from Mythology.
It’s not too bad when 47 Ursa Majoris b gets a name like Nanook, which is Inuit for bear, but surely we could do without Leda for 16 Cygni Bb, or Horus for Gliese 777b. Enough with the gods and goddesses! And the names should be pronounceable – I prefer Upsilon Andromedae c to Sthenelus.
Perhaps these people need to be sent a list of planet names used in Science Fiction to get a wider variety of names that are different but can still be pronounced!
It’s depressing that people are going to name exciting new planets after gods and goddesses. There is a balance of male and female names in the current naming process, unlike in older times when only male names were used . But we need to get more creative with our names until we meet aliens who have their own names for these places!

How to Name a Stellar Body
I recently came across lists of the names astronomers have given to all the new objects found in our solar system by the different probes we have sent out. I also found a list of names given to the new planets we are finding outside our solar system, and other names suggested as replacements. It interested me that the naming of real stellar bodies is quite different to the naming of planets in Science Fiction, so I thought I’d have a look at both to see how they work.
Planets in Science Fiction
One of the major tasks for a science fiction writer is to name their planets. There isn’t quite a formula for this, but there are some bendable rules:
A planet name should sound serious, if not scientific.
There shouldn’t be any stupid names unless the text is a spoof e.g. Crouton in They Came From Outer Space is acceptable for a satire.
Names should preferably be one or two syllables and end in ‘a’, ‘us’ or ‘an’.
Prefixes should be Greek letters or key words like ‘new’.
The name should give some idea about the physical or philosophical nature of the planet.

Details
1. Real names: Some fictional planets are called after real locations:
Real star names like Alpha Centauri (Crusher Joe; Doctor Who The Curse of Peladon; Terra Nova: Strike Force Centauri; Lost in Space; Space Patrol 1960; Aldebaran (Buck Rogers: Plot to Kill a City); Ganymede ( Babylon 5: By Any Means Necessary; Mercy Point; Rod Brown of the Rocket Rangers).
Real place names like Bretagne ( McCaffrey: Sassinak); Lost Jerusalem (Xenosaga); Victoria (LeGuin: The Eye of the Heron). Note that these seem to occur in novels rather than in films.
2. Abstract words: Destiny (Blake 7: Mission to Destroy); Fury (Alien 3); Harmony (Maelstrom; Card: The Memory of Earth).
3. Descriptors: Crematoria (Chronicles of Riddick); Frostor (Galaxy High School); Pacifica (Spinrad: A World Between).
4. Greek prefixes: Beta 5 (Blake 7: Gold); Beta 9 (Babylon 5: Between the Darkness and the Light); Delta (Space Patrol 1960); Delta 3 (Doctor who: The Power of Kroll); Delta 5-5 9The Colony).
5. Defining prefixes: New Earth (Doctor Who: Invasion of the Dinosaurs/Dogstar/Babylon 5: The Deconstruction of Falling Stars); New Mecca (Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Fury); Phantom Planet (Starcrash/ Starblazers/ Film title); Devil Planet (Lensman, film); Beast Planet (Shadow Raiders).
6. Suffixes: Homeworld (Micronauts/Blake 7: The City at the Edge of the World); Rimmerworld (Red Dwarf: Rimmerworld); Oceansphere (Xardion); Sensesphere (Doctor Who: The Sensorites).
7. Prime or Secundus: Gauda Prime (Blake 7: Blake); Salusa Secundus (Dune).
8. Major or Minor: Androzani Minor (Doctor Who: The Caves of Androzani); Saurian Major (Blake 7: time Squad)
9. Endings should be latinate – Arazia (Andromeda: Rose in the Ashes); Gradius (Gradius); Luminas 6 (Space Raiders). However other endings like ‘b’ or ‘k’ are used : Deneb IV (Star Terk: The Next Generation: encounter at Farpoint); Antak (Stargate SG1: the Devil You Know)
10. Organised numbering : Stargate’s system : P2A018 goes to P9Q873 has over 50 planets. But who remembers which is which?
So as long as a planet name fits the basic parameters, anything goes in science fiction. What happens in the real world?

Naming the New Bodies in the Solar System

Since 1973 names have been given to 45 satellites of Jupiter, 43 of Saturn, 22 of Uranus, 11 of Neptune, 3 of Pluto, 1 of Eris and 2 of Haumea. The number of new names keeps changing with new discoveries. The names of these bodies come primarily from Graeco-Roman Mythology, with new names coming from other cultures and Shakespearean plays ( and a poem by Alexander Pope). There is also a numbering system that would make Stargate proud.

Jupiter: These satellites are named after the lovers and favorites of Jupiter and his descendents. These names double up with some asteroids. Examples are: Metis, Adrastea, Amalthea, Io, Europa, Ganymede, Callisto, Leda, Himalia , Lysithea, Elara, Ananke, Carme, Pasiphae, Sinope.

Saturn: This planet has ten groups of moons. Some of these are named after Greek Titans, and giants and monsters from other cultures. Phoebe is the only exception.
The shepherd moons: Pan, Daphnis, Atlas, Prometheus, Pandora, Aegaeon, S/2004 S3, S4 and S6.
Co-orbitals: Janus and Epimetheus.
Inner large moons and Alkyonides: Mimas; Methone, Anthe, Pallene, Enceladus, Tethys, Dione.
Trojans: Telesto, Calypso, Helen, Polydeuces and Rhea.
E-ring : Titan, Hyperion, Iapetus. Innuit group: Ijiraq, Kiviuq, Paaliaq, Siarnaq, Targeq.
Norse Group: Aegir, Bergelmir, Bestla, Farabuati, Fenrir, Fornjot, Greip, Hati, Hyrrokkin, Jarnsaxa, Kari, Loge, Mundilfari, Narvi, Phoebe, Skathi, Skoll, Surtur, Suttungr, Thrymr, Ymir and 8 with numbers.
Gallic Group : Albiorix, Bebhionn, Erriapus, Tarvos.

Neptune: These satellites are named after Greek sea gods and goddesses e.g. Triton, Nereid, Thalassa, Despina, Galatea, Larissa, Proteus.

Uranus: Satellites are named after characters in A Midsummer Nights Dream, The Tempest , Much Ado About Nothing, and The Rape of the Lock: Miranda, Oberon, Titania, Ariel, Umbriel, Margaret.

Pluto: Satellites are Charon, Hydra and Nix who are all related to the Greek god Hades, the equivalent of Pluto.

What Happens Outside the Solar System?
At present extra-solar planets are named after their parent star, with numbers attached. This results in many planet names being strings of letters and numbers. That’s not so bad when you get 4 Ursa Majoris B or Gliese 86b, but it’s bad when its HD169830 b and there are a lot of those.
In response to the lack of decent names, various groups such as Edasich, BlueEarth and Sedna have been coming up with names, most of which once again come from Mythology.
It’s not too bad when 47 Ursa Majoris b gets a name like Nanook, which is Inuit for bear, but surely we could do without Leda for 16 Cygni Bb, or Horus for Gliese 777b. Enough with the gods and goddesses! And the names should be pronounceable – I prefer Upsilon Andromedae c to Sthenelus.
Perhaps these people need to be sent a list of planet names used in Science Fiction to get a wider variety of names that are different but can still be pronounced!
It’s depressing that people are going to name exciting new planets after gods and goddesses. There is a balance of male and female names in the current naming process, unlike in older times when only male names were used . But we need to get more creative with our names until we meet aliens who have their own names for these places!

How to Name a Stellar Body
I recently came across lists of the names astronomers have given to all the new objects found in our solar system by the different probes we have sent out. I also found a list of names given to the new planets we are finding outside our solar system, and other names suggested as replacements. It interested me that the naming of real stellar bodies is quite different to the naming of planets in Science Fiction, so I thought I’d have a look at both to see how they work.
Planets in Science Fiction
One of the major tasks for a science fiction writer is to name their planets. There isn’t quite a formula for this, but there are some bendable rules:
A planet name should sound serious, if not scientific.
There shouldn’t be any stupid names unless the text is a spoof e.g. Crouton in They Came From Outer Space is acceptable for a satire.
Names should preferably be one or two syllables and end in ‘a’, ‘us’ or ‘an’.
Prefixes should be Greek letters or key words like ‘new’.
The name should give some idea about the physical or philosophical nature of the planet.

Details
1. Real names: Some fictional planets are called after real locations:
Real star names like Alpha Centauri (Crusher Joe; Doctor Who The Curse of Peladon; Terra Nova: Strike Force Centauri; Lost in Space; Space Patrol 1960; Aldebaran (Buck Rogers: Plot to Kill a City); Ganymede ( Babylon 5: By Any Means Necessary; Mercy Point; Rod Brown of the Rocket Rangers).
Real place names like Bretagne ( McCaffrey: Sassinak); Lost Jerusalem (Xenosaga); Victoria (LeGuin: The Eye of the Heron). Note that these seem to occur in novels rather than in films.
2. Abstract words: Destiny (Blake 7: Mission to Destroy); Fury (Alien 3); Harmony (Maelstrom; Card: The Memory of Earth).
3. Descriptors: Crematoria (Chronicles of Riddick); Frostor (Galaxy High School); Pacifica (Spinrad: A World Between).
4. Greek prefixes: Beta 5 (Blake 7: Gold); Beta 9 (Babylon 5: Between the Darkness and the Light); Delta (Space Patrol 1960); Delta 3 (Doctor who: The Power of Kroll); Delta 5-5 9The Colony).
5. Defining prefixes: New Earth (Doctor Who: Invasion of the Dinosaurs/Dogstar/Babylon 5: The Deconstruction of Falling Stars); New Mecca (Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Fury); Phantom Planet (Starcrash/ Starblazers/ Film title); Devil Planet (Lensman, film); Beast Planet (Shadow Raiders).
6. Suffixes: Homeworld (Micronauts/Blake 7: The City at the Edge of the World); Rimmerworld (Red Dwarf: Rimmerworld); Oceansphere (Xardion); Sensesphere (Doctor Who: The Sensorites).
7. Prime or Secundus: Gauda Prime (Blake 7: Blake); Salusa Secundus (Dune).
8. Major or Minor: Androzani Minor (Doctor Who: The Caves of Androzani); Saurian Major (Blake 7: time Squad)
9. Endings should be latinate – Arazia (Andromeda: Rose in the Ashes); Gradius (Gradius); Luminas 6 (Space Raiders). However other endings like ‘b’ or ‘k’ are used : Deneb IV (Star Terk: The Next Generation: encounter at Farpoint); Antak (Stargate SG1: the Devil You Know)
10. Organised numbering : Stargate’s system : P2A018 goes to P9Q873 has over 50 planets. But who remembers which is which?
So as long as a planet name fits the basic parameters, anything goes in science fiction. What happens in the real world?

Naming the New Bodies in the Solar System

Since 1973 names have been given to 45 satellites of Jupiter, 43 of Saturn, 22 of Uranus, 11 of Neptune, 3 of Pluto, 1 of Eris and 2 of Haumea. The number of new names keeps changing with new discoveries. The names of these bodies come primarily from Graeco-Roman Mythology, with new names coming from other cultures and Shakespearean plays ( and a poem by Alexander Pope). There is also a numbering system that would make Stargate proud.

Jupiter: These satellites are named after the lovers and favorites of Jupiter and his descendents. These names double up with some asteroids. Examples are: Metis, Adrastea, Amalthea, Io, Europa, Ganymede, Callisto, Leda, Himalia , Lysithea, Elara, Ananke, Carme, Pasiphae, Sinope.

Saturn: This planet has ten groups of moons. Some of these are named after Greek Titans, and giants and monsters from other cultures. Phoebe is the only exception.
The shepherd moons: Pan, Daphnis, Atlas, Prometheus, Pandora, Aegaeon, S/2004 S3, S4 and S6.
Co-orbitals: Janus and Epimetheus.
Inner large moons and Alkyonides: Mimas; Methone, Anthe, Pallene, Enceladus, Tethys, Dione.
Trojans: Telesto, Calypso, Helen, Polydeuces and Rhea.
E-ring : Titan, Hyperion, Iapetus. Innuit group: Ijiraq, Kiviuq, Paaliaq, Siarnaq, Targeq.
Norse Group: Aegir, Bergelmir, Bestla, Farabuati, Fenrir, Fornjot, Greip, Hati, Hyrrokkin, Jarnsaxa, Kari, Loge, Mundilfari, Narvi, Phoebe, Skathi, Skoll, Surtur, Suttungr, Thrymr, Ymir and 8 with numbers.
Gallic Group : Albiorix, Bebhionn, Erriapus, Tarvos.

Neptune: These satellites are named after Greek sea gods and goddesses e.g. Triton, Nereid, Thalassa, Despina, Galatea, Larissa, Proteus.

Uranus: Satellites are named after characters in A Midsummer Nights Dream, The Tempest , Much Ado About Nothing, and The Rape of the Lock: Miranda, Oberon, Titania, Ariel, Umbriel, Margaret.

Pluto: Satellites are Charon, Hydra and Nix who are all related to the Greek god Hades, the equivalent of Pluto.

What Happens Outside the Solar System?
At present extra-solar planets are named after their parent star, with numbers attached. This results in many planet names being strings of letters and numbers. That’s not so bad when you get 4 Ursa Majoris B or Gliese 86b, but it’s bad when its HD169830 b and there are a lot of those.
In response to the lack of decent names, various groups such as Edasich, BlueEarth and Sedna have been coming up with names, most of which once again come from Mythology.
It’s not too bad when 47 Ursa Majoris b gets a name like Nanook, which is Inuit for bear, but surely we could do without Leda for 16 Cygni Bb, or Horus for Gliese 777b. Enough with the gods and goddesses! And the names should be pronounceable – I prefer Upsilon Andromedae c to Sthenelus.
Perhaps these people need to be sent a list of planet names used in Science Fiction to get a wider variety of names that are different but can still be pronounced!
It’s depressing that people are going to name exciting new planets after gods and goddesses. There is a balance of male and female names in the current naming process, unlike in older times when only male names were used . But we need to get more creative with our names until we meet aliens who have their own names for these places!