THE SOUTHWORTH PLANETARIUM

207-780-4249   www.usm.maine.edu/planet

70 Falmouth Street   Portland, Maine 04103

43.6667° N                   70.2667° W 

Altitude:  10 feet below sea level

Founded January 1970
Julian Date: 2458810.16

2019-2020:  LVIII

           "...starships on fire off the shoulder of Orion..."

                               -Roy Batty

THE DAILY ASTRONOMER

Friday, November 22, 2019

Quiz XII: Blade Runner

Of course!

Of course we wouldn't forget that we have finally reached November 2019! After years of eager anticipation, the science fiction aficionados are now living in "Blade Runner" month.    We couldn't not celebrate this month with a quiz that pays homage to the best science fiction movie that will EVER be made at any time on any planet in any time period, thank you very much! Mind you, any sci-fi worth's his inertial mass in sodium chloride will consider these questions comically simple.  Anybody who hasn't seen the movie will likely just delete the quiz or flip a coin..twice for each answer.

 

1.  The movie is based on Philip K. Dick's novel entitled_____________

a.  "Blade Runner"

b.  "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?"

c.  "Nexus 6"

d.  "Deckard's Dream."

2.  The film is set in November 2019 in which city?

a.  Tokyo

b. Hong Kong

c.  Shanghai

d.  Los Angeles

3. Rick Deckard was assigned the task of "retiring" artificial human beings known as __________.

a.  replicants

b.  androids

c.  daleks

d.  Tryell-bots

4.  Who composed the sublime soundtrack:  you know, the one that actually made the movie what it was?

a.  Philip Glass

b.  Vangelis

c.  Frank Zappa

d.  Andrew Lloyd Webber 

5. Harrison Ford portrayed Rick Deckard.  Who was originally chosen for the role?

a.  Dustin Hoffman

b.  Frank Sinatra

c.  Tom Cruise

d.  Tom Hanks

6. What is the purpose of the Voight-Kampff test?  

a.  to determine if a subject is a human or an artificial human

b.  to determine if one's eyesight is affected by cigarette smoke

c.  to determine if any even number greater than 2 cannot be reduced to the sum of two primes

d.  none of the above

7.  How long do the Nexus 6 model of artificial humans live?

a. indefinitely

b. 3 years

c.  4 years

d.  111 years, which, considering that their systems are binary based, isn't that long

8.  When was the movie "Blade Runner" released?

a. 1979

b. 1982

c. 1985

d. 1989

9.  "Blade Runner" didn't enjoy commercial success when it was first released perhaps because two other well known science fiction movies were released in the same month.    Pick these two movies out from the following list:

a.  E.T.  The Extra Terrestrial

b. The Empire Strikes Back

c. Star Trek II:  The Wrath of Khan

d. Alien

10.  Is Rick Deckard an artificial human?

a.  yes

b.  no

c.  no, but I am

d. perhaps

ANSWERS

1.   "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?"

2. d.  Los Angeles

3. a.  replicants

4. b.  Vangelis

5. a.  Dustin Hoffman

6 a.  to determine if a subject is a human or an artificial human

By asking questions designed to provoke an emotional response.  

7. c.  4 years

8  b. 1982

9.  

a.  E.T.  The Extra Terrestrial

c. Star Trek II:  The Wrath of Khan

These two movies and Blade Runner were released in June 1982.

10.   a. YES!
Now comes on the onslaught of furious e-mail responses.   Look!  Remember the scene when Deckard was about to fall to his death from the high rise?  Roy Batty looked down on Deckard as the latter was holding onto the steel girder by his non dominant hand FAR longer than any human should have been able to.   While watching Deckard slipping off the girder, Batty initially appeared triumphant. He soon appeared puzzled for he observed that Deckard possessed unusual strength.  At the last moment, he recognized that Deckard was a replicant and saved his life.   Then, as we all know, Roy delivered the best death soliloquy in the history of cinema.   

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