Fictional Elements, Greco-Roman Movies, and J.J. Abrams – Geekout 10

Well into the second week of this, I’m hoping to get back on track. This seems to be the day. Some large numbers here, but I think I can get some good answers to these. Today we’re looking for Two Fictional Sci-Fi Elements/Materials, Six Films Based on Greco-Roman Mythology, and Four Films or Television Shows Created by J.J. Abrams.

That first one, the sci-fi one, is a cake walk. The fantasy prompt should also not be too hard to come up with, even with six being the number. The general geekiness question about J.J. Abrams at first seemed easy, but “created by” might be the challenge here. Let’s get started!

Two Fictional Sci-Fi Elements/Materials

Well here’s an easy one. Don’t even have to leave Star Trek and Star Wars for this one.

Transparisteel

As the name implies, this is a strong, transparent material. If you’ve played any Star Wars games, you’ll have come across this material frequently. It’s often used for “windows” on starships, cockpits and other areas needing transparency.

Dilithium Crystals

Any Star Trek fan will immediately know these crystals. They’re used in the warp drives on starships in the Star Trek universe. As such, they’re important in many episodes of Star Trek.

Six Films Based on Greco-Roman Mythology

I’ve not seen plenty of these, but I do know of their existence. Surprisingly difficult, since I’m (for now) unwilling to accept multiple Hercules movies.

Troy

This movie follows Achilles and depicts the events of the Trojan Horse. Definitely qualifies for this category.

Percy Jackson & the Lightning Thief

Based on the first book in a series, this is a light take on mythology. It’s a modern setting, but involves gods, their children, and plenty of other mythical creatures.

Hercules

I’ll lump both Rockules and the animated Disney movie together for this. I’m not a big fan of either of these two movies, but they exist!

Clash of the Titans

Classic movie. I’ve not seen this one either. It’s about the titans, so it fits the prompt.

300

Yes, I’m counting this one. The same as the Trojan horse story, this seems to fall into the realm of myth closely enough.

Wrath of the Titans

I did not see this movie when it came out a few years ago. Was it good? I was guessing not, since most of this type of movie aren’t. Also about titans, so fits the bill for this one.

Four Films or Television Shows Created by J.J. Abrams

I’ve been wrestling with the idea of what constitutes “created by”, because I’d like to consider it to be something he had the idea for, produced, directed, helped write, etc. I started with three TV shows that I believe qualify, but couldn’t come up with anything else that I thought fit the bill.

Lost

My wife and I really enjoyed watching this show. There were points where it was not-so-good, so it’s hard to evaluate its legacy at this point. I think it suffered from the same issue that many shows do, which is they don’t set out with a full story and are making too many changes as they go. Each season gets a focus, throwing off the rhythm.

Fringe

Walter. The show is good, but Walter makes this show. Some great characters and a lot of fun here. This show is supposed to go off the rails a bit, so it’s fun that it does. Setting expectations for the win!

Alias

I only saw a few episodes of this show, but my wife watched it consistently. She seemed to like it, but I never got around to catching up from the beginning.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

I didn’t want to use this example, since he’s not the creator of Star Wars. He didn’t even say, “hey I want to make Star Wars VII”. I think a more accurate description is that Disney wanted to make episode VII and he was selected to work on it. I’m fairly certain he was involved in screenplay, directing, producing, etc. I guess I’ll call that enough and include it here.

Wrap Up

Didn’t finish it as well as I would have liked, but I did manage to get there. Calling that a win for now.