Aliens, Mermaids, and Old Films – Geekout 5

It would seem that I can list quite a few things. Without thinking too hard yet, this one includes a more challenging question than the previous ones! I’ll now need to choose, Four Named Fictional Aliens/Extraterrestrials, Four Franchises in which Mermaids appear, and Two Prohibition Era Films. Did you identify the difficult question?

Well, here goes nothing. It’s time to answer a Sci-Fi, a fantasy, and a general geekiness prompt!

Four Named Fictional Aliens/Extraterrestrials

I could name four each easily from a variety of franchises including: Guardians of the Galaxy, Star Trek, Star Wars, Stargate, Justice League, Mass Effect, and more! I won’t do that. I’ll keep it to one per franchise.

Also, is the author of this just a conspiracy theorist, or is there something the author knows that I don’t? Are there known, non-fictional extraterrestrials?

Quark – Star Trek

Along with his brother, Rom, Quark runs the best bar on Deep Space Nine! One of my favorite Star Trek characters, this was an easy choice. While there are so many aliens from so many series (most of them quite awesome). Quark is just too much fun to pass on!

And if Quark reads this, I’m sure he’ll agree that it never hurts to suck up to the boss – rule of acquisition number 33.

Admiral Ackbar – Star Wars

When I started answering this question, it took longer than I expected, because… It’s a trap!

Sorry. Had to do that. Now at least everyone knows that I’m talking about the Mon Calamari admiral leaving the Mon Cal Cruiser in the battle of the second Death Star who let’s us all know why the shields are up.

Since they’re from another galaxy, I guess that would make all of the characters aliens…

Thor – Stargate SG1

I bet some people were thinking of the Avengers character before I said SG1. And of course I chose the alien from SG1. The Asgard were one of the best additions to SG1. The concept of ancient gods being powerful aliens is a very cool idea, and the Egyptian gods had been the villains in the beginning. It made it very cool when the team first learns about the Asgard and learns of the protection offered to some worlds by the Asgard.

While he may show himself to the more primitive humans as a hologram of a strong Viking warrior, he is actually a little alien who wields power through technology rather than physical might. They’re brilliant allies of the humans, dealing with far more than is fair for one species to put on themselves. Truly honorable aliens everyone would want living nearby.

Lavos – Chrono Trigger

Spoiler alert! Lavos, the final boss in Chrono Trigger is an alien. Had to include this, because the game is too much fun to not find a way to include! If you’ve not played this, you should. For being as old a game as it is, it’s held up very well. Much of this is due to the style of game it is, being from the SNES days. It was at the end of those, so it benefitted from a lot of the advances made along the way.

Four Franchises in which Mermaids appear

A wonderful idea from classic fantasy storytelling, mermaids are one of many sea-dwelling creatures. And also like a lot of those, some stories make them benevolent, helpful creatures and others have them more mischievous than helpful. Choose the style you like, but sea-dwelling creatures like this certainly spark an imagination!

Peter Pan

While I don’t remember these being in the book, I’ll count the mermaids in the franchise from Disney’s animated adaptation added them in. And because of that, I’m sure Disney included them again in their other works.

Dungeons & Dragons

Now some people might say that I’m cheating by including a rules system franchise, but I’m not! The novels written about the worlds of Dungeons and Dragons include merfolk as well.

Pirates of the Caribbean

Not common in the franchise, but I remember at least one mermaid scene and it wasn’t a friendly one either! Almost seems that way at first, but becomes very ominous quickly…

The Chronicles of Narnia

Again, not too common in the series, but they do make an appearance in Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Not that I want to get into how or why that encounter occurs.

Two Prohibition Era Films

While I don’t remember the exact dates of prohibition, I do know it encompassed the 1920s, so I’ll name some films from that decade. Being much too young to have lived during prohibition, this was the challenging one I mentioned, since I’d have struggled if the number were increased to 4 or 6.

Nosferatu

While not an American film, I believe it made it to the US still during Prohibition, so I’m counting it! This is a fantastic, classic horror film. If you’ve not seen it, I’d recommend it. It’s clearly a knockoff of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, avoiding using the names, but the vampire being a “Count” kind of gives that away.

It’s 1920s-style scary, so you’re probably relatively safe to watch it, even if you don’t like horror movies.

The Jazz Singer

Could I really leave this one out? If I’m not mistaken, this is the film credited with the rise of sound films and the decline of silent films. While clearly a product of its time period, the film is still well-known and respected today. Not that I get around to seeing old films. It’s not really my thing.

Wrap Up

Glad I made it through that one OK. I may have to go re-watch some things now!