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In Reply to: "The Thing" - 1951: Three Trivia Questions. posted by AudioHead on November 18, 1999 at 11:05:45:
1. George Fennaman's character
2. Spanking
3. I plead insanity on this question. (That's not what Dr. Carrington said).
Oooh, oooh, oooh! I think the answer to #3 is ...Stranger in a Strange Land.
Ooohh, oohh, oooh, was it a "Stranger in a Strange Land"? (or something to that effect...)
Thanks for taking the trivia test, BKing, here are the answers:(1) After Capt Hendry (Kenneth Tobey) asks a group of people the question,
"What do you do with a vegetable?" (In the general discussion of how to
destroy The Thing); Nikki Nicholson quickly responds with, "Boil it; stew
it; bake it; fry it." This heating up culinary operation was unanimously
deemed the most suitable method for disposing of the alien. Specifically,
throwing kerosene on The Thing, then blasting it with a flare gun. So
Nikki would get credit for the suggestion.(2) The scene which would be considered sexually deviant would be the scene
featuring Capt Hendry and Nikki Nicholson; consensual bondage, alcohol consumption and forced
kissing are the highlights of this lighthearted scene. Nikki ties Hendry's
hands behind his back while he's sitting in a chair. This situation developed from an earlier meeting where he suggested the scenario
on a whim centered on the consumption of alcohol. The scene begins with
him tied up in the chair, although one never gets a clear view of the ropes. Nikki plays the dominant role, gingerly bouncing around him, talking about their relationship,(she becomes remarkably candid, then
later and ironically in the scene, she admits to Hendry she would have
never said told him the things she did if he'd NOT been tied up); there
is a mixed drink stand beside them; Hendry keeps saying "untie me"; of
course, she ignores him. Nikki then pours a mixed drink down Hendry's
throat. She then starts pecking on Hendry's lips, and when
he draws away, she forcibly grabs him by the nape of his neck and pulls his
head forward to hers and kisses him firmly. Hendry then asks for
a light for his cigarette, she absentmindedly looks for a lighter as he
impishly sits holding his cigarette in his freed right hand; it isn't until
she starts to light the cigarette, that she notices what happened. They
both burst into laughter, and she asks in mock disappointment about how
long had he been loose. Nikki escorts Hendry to the door as she gives him cordial pointers on understanding women in general, and her in particular;
he then leaves.(3) "Stranger In A Strange Land"; words uttered by Dr. Carrington,the Head
Scientist for Polar Expedition 6, later to be used as the title of
Robert A. Heinlein's 1961 sci-fi novel.
I guess Alex Trebeck won't be calling anytime soon, huh?
BKing, would rather go on the game show, "Do You Want To Be A Millionaire?", hosted by Regis Philbin; after that would be the old "$128,000
Challenge"; then the even older, "$64,000 Question".
Here are some bonus questions for you:(1) How did expedition scientists determine the location of the crashed
spacecraft?
(2) Where is the newspaper reporter Scotty's original home?
(3) What part of the spacecraft is sticking up out of the ice when the expedition crewmembers arrive at the crash scene?
(4) What character has the same last name as a member of a 1970's rock n
roll band?
(5) What animal does The Thing sound like?
(6) Which sole character refers to The Thing by its exact name?
(7) What type of electronic device was used at various times throughout
the musical score to enhance an eerie effect?
1. Geiger counter
2. Brooklyn (wasn't EVERYBODY'S back then?)
3. Tail fin
4. ? (I know I'll kick myself when I find out the answer)
5. mewing like a cat
6. the Captain (Toby)
7. signal generator
Thanks again BKing for making a valiant stab at the trivial questions; here
are the answers:
(1) By comparing the arrival times of sound waves on their detectors with
the arrival times of impact waves on their seismograph, then computing
the difference, indicating that a traveling object had
crash-landed approximately 48 miles due east of the compound.
(2) Kentucky; right from the horse's mouth.
(3) Tail fin - my guess too. In the words of the crewmember working with
it: "An air foil...possibly a stabilizer of some sort."
(4) General Fogerty, the Commander of the Anchorage, Alaska Air Force
Base; same as the two Fogertys, John and Tom, members of the Credence Clearwater Revival rock group.
(5) Not sure about the mewing, but howling and screeching like some sort
of agitated or wounded wildcat like a lynx or cougar, would be my guess.
(6) Dr. Stern, the botanist, as he staggers through a doorway and gasps,
"...the greenhouse...the thing!". He then collapses on the floor as expedition members gather round him. He tells Capt. Hendry, "...and when
I turned, the thing struck at me...". (These are the only two times in
the film I heard it stated exactly.)
Here are most of the other spoken references to The Thing besides the
mutiple pronouns, "he"; "him"; "it" and "you" - "our vistor"; "stranger in
a strange land"(Dr. Carrington); "Man from Mars"(Scotty); "this creature";
"the body"; "a passenger"; "that thing"; "this thing"; "boogeyman"(Nikki);
"that guy"; "this guy"; "a being"(from another world); "a source of wisdom"
(Dr. Carrington); "X"(Dr. Carrington's experimental protocol); "an enemy";
"phenomenon"(Dr. Carrington); "that what-is-it?"(Nikki); "a vegetable"(Scotty); "some sort of carrot"(Scotty); "intellectual carrot"(Scotty); "super-carrot"(Dr. Carrington); "your prisoner"(an uninformed message from Gen. Fogerty); "martian"(message from Gen. Fogerty); "it's (the spaceship's) pilot"(Scotty).
(7) A Theremin (Thereminvox); named after the Russian physicist&cellist,
Leon Theremin who invented it in 1919. Theremins were used a lot in
early sci-fi films because of their other-worldly, ethereal tonal qualities; however, Theremin, being a cello player, had interests in
orchestral applications; the greatest theremin player of classical music
is reputed to be Clara Rockmore, her CD "The Art Of The Theremin" is on
the Delos label. In modern progressive rock music, the theremin can be
heard in the intro of The Moody Blues recording, "Your Wildest Dreams".
A film documentary, "Theremin, An Electronic Odyssey", is considered to
be excellent, available from Orion.P.S. - There are lots of humorous moments and lines in the film, but one
of my favorites is when Scotty exclaims in awe, "an intellectual carrot,
the mind boggles!", in response to Dr. Carrington during their discussion
of the vegetable-like nature of The Thing.
Re: item 6,
I believe you've missed one. It's been quite a while since I last saw the film, but I'm pretty sure the creature is referred to as 'Gorgeous George' at one point.
Once again it's painfully obvious I don' know my thing. Theremin, huh? Nope, never would have guessed that.
That's why trivia is not only entertaining, it's informative too. You
know more now than before, you knowledge base of "The Thing" has increased.
If you have any further questions about the film, I'd be happy to discuss
them. While I think the film is a masterpiece, it's not a perfect masterpiece, for instance, I feel "The Thing" could have been made to
appear a little more alien-looking; no problems with the humanoid form,
but just wish the face had been more alien-like; I'm sure the make-up
people could have done it. It's easy to see in the more lucid shots of
Arness that it's human looking; all they would have had to do is alter
the eyes, nose, mouth and ears. Arness' cranium was enlarged thank
goodness, indicating the probability of a superior intellect, and his
hands were altered with the barbs. Fortunately, the director kept Arness
hidden from clear view for most of the film, so it's not that big of a
complaint...still! I question why
the spaceship blew up so easily when all they did was detonate thermite
bombs, which were designed to burn away the ice. Seems the metal would
have been impervious to our explosives if it were THAT advanced. Of course,
the ship could have been damaged somewhat during the crash, and the thermites finished the job by causing the engines to explode. ????
I also questioned the rampaging, deadly nature of The Thing, but surmised
that no matter how intelligent a being is, he won't be nice to you if his
original source of food, in his case, animal/human blood, is gone, and you
are the only food source left.(There is a delicious irony here.) It is clear that The Thing is not a vegetable creature specimen stored away on the spaceship by possibly more
hospitable, but now dead aliens, because he wore some sort of space uniform with insignia; he was certainly a crew member. He displays intelligence, that's for sure, as he cuts off the compounds heating oil
supply, in an effort to freeze the members out. Fortunately, humans are
intelligent too and guessed that his next step would be to cut the electrical supply, so they holed up at the electrical source, namely, the
generator room and waited for "The Thing". Sure enough, that's exactly
where he was heading and of course, met an electrifying fate, being reduced
to a smoking lump of coal. Finally, I considered questioning the plausibility of a vegetable creature ever attaining such advanced intelligence, but held back, because I certainly didn't want Dr.
Carrington and his scientific associates to accuse me of such human arrogance!
Remember BKing...."Watch The Skies!"
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