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About This Quiz
Think you have what it takes to survive the journey? Step into our world and test your knowledge of Stanley Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke's "ultimate trip" and its world.
What is the name of the Discovery's onboard computer?
HAL 9000
"HAL†is an acronym for Heuristically programmed ALgorithmic computer. Clarke insisted the acronym was not a parody of IBM (H is one letter before I, and so on).
Sal 9000
Athena
MAL 9000
How does HAL learn of Bowman and Poole's plan to deactivate him, if necessary?
HAL tricks them into revealing their intent
HAL infers their course of action as a logical possibility
HAL reads their lips
The film communicates HAL's ability to lip-read by quickly intercutting between the astronaut's mouths and HAL's red lens.
HAL learns of their plans from Mission Control
What is David Bowman's final transmission in the novel version of "2001�
"My God, it's full of stars!â€
Bowman says this about the Monolith in the Jupiter system as he enters it. The line isn't in "2001†the movie, but was recorded for use as a key plot point in the movie of "2010.â€
"Sing it for me.â€
"Sing it for me.â€
"And so the door is open..."
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Which of these Arthur C. Clarke short stories served as primary inspiration for "2001�
"The Star"
"The Sentinel"
In "The Sentinel,†astronauts discover an alien artifact that was buried on Earth's Moon millions of years ago. Clarke suggested using the story when director Stanley Kubrick approached him about making "the proverbial good science fiction movie.â€
"The Nine Billion Names of God"
"A Meeting with Medusa"
What wild animal attacks the group of ape-men in the film's first sequence?
Tiger
Lion
Leopard
The ape-man the leopard attacks is its trainer, Terry Duggan, in man-ape costume. The "zebra†the leopard is shown to have killed was actually a dead horse painted to look like a zebra.
Cheetah
"2001†the novel gives what name to the prehistoric man whom the Monolith teaches?
Moon-Watcher
London pantomime artist Dan Richter played Moon-Watcher. He also choreographed the film's entire "Dawn of Man†sequence.
Sky-Dreamer
Star-Gazer
Cloud-Pointer
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What breakthrough does Moon-Watcher make shortly after his encounter with the Monolith?
He discovers fire
He uses a bone as a weapon
Moon-Watcher discovers how to use an antelope's bone as a cudgel. Shortly, he kills another ape-man.
He speaks humankind's first true word
He fashions the first wheel
To what sight does the film cut immediately after the ape-man tosses a bone into the air?
The spaceship Discovery
The space clipper plane
A rotating space station
An orbital satellite
According to Clarke, the famous "three million year jump cut†goes from the bone used as a weapon to what was going to be established as an orbital nuclear platform, although the finished film does not make this fact clear.
In the film, what airline-turned-spaceline does Dr. Floyd travel in order to reach the moon?
TWA
United
Pan Am
Pan Am declared bankruptcy in 1991, a decade short of the movie's "Pan Am space clipper,†the Orion III.
Delta
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In the film, what piece of classical music underscores Dr. Floyd's trip to space?
Also sprach Zarathustra
Ligeti's "Requiemâ€
On the Beautiful Blue Danube
Kubrick decided to use pre-existing orchestral music instead of a score composed by Alex North (whose credits included "Spartacus†and "A Streetcar Named Desireâ€). North's score for "2001†was eventually released in 1993.
Atmosphères
What does Dr. Floyd inspect very carefully during his trip to the space station?
Food dispenser station
Zero-gravity toilet
According to the posted instructions, the space clipper's bathroom also includes a "sonoshower.†NASA engineer Frederick Ordway III, a consultant to the film, wrote the lengthy directions.
AE-35 unit
A HAL 9000 computer terminal
What security measure does Dr. Floyd undergo when he arrives at the space station?
Voiceprint identification
Texas Instruments developed the first modern, accurate voice biometrics engine in 1976.
Retinal scan
Genetic sample testing
Automated facial recognition
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Whom does Dr. Floyd call from the space station?
His wife, Carolyn
His daughter, "Squirt"
Floyd calls to wish her a happy birthday. Director Stanley Kubrick's own daughter, Vivian, played "Squirt.â€
His son, Christopher
The President of the United States
What rumor has Dr. Smyslov heard about why Clavius Base is non-responsive?
An epidemic has broken out
Noted British comedic actor Leonard Rossiter played the small part of Andrei Smyslov.
An alien artifact has been discovered
A military uprising has occurred
An American astronaut has been murdered
Where on the Moon has the Monolith been discovered?
The Sea of Tranquility
Fra Mauro
Tycho Crater
Although Dr. Floyd arrives at Clavius Base, the Monolith was discovered near Tycho Crater; hence its designation "TMA-1†(Tycho Magnetic Anomaly).
Clavius Crater
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What happens as the scientists gather in front of TMA-1 for a photograph?
The Moon begins to shake
The Monolith vanishes
The Monolith levitates
The Monolith emits a loud signal
We learn later in the film, along with David Bowman, that the Monolith's signal was directed at the Jupiter system.
In the film, what is the name of the spaceship that undertakes a mission to Jupiter?
Discovery
Clarke named the fictional spaceship after Captain Robert Scott's sailing vessel, the RSS Discovery, which the author would visit when it moore in London. One of NASA's space shuttle orbiters was also named Discovery.
Endeavour
Enterprise
Challenger
What planet is the Discovery's destination in the novel version of "2001�
Jupiter
Saturn
According to Vincent LoBrutto's biography of Kubrick, the director decided on Saturn as the Discovery's destination after the film's effects team spent three months readying shots of Jupiter. Ultimately, Kubrick changed his mind again.
Uranus
Neptune
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What does David Bowman sketch while aboard the Discovery?
Portraits of Frank Poole and HAL
Landscapes on Earth
Portraits of the hibernating astronauts
The hibernacula in which the astronauts sleep look, rather prophetically, like sarcophagi (ancient Egyptian mummy cases).
Schematics of Discovery's systems
Which of the following astronauts is not in hibernation during the ship's outward journey?
Kaminsky
Chandra
Dr. Chandra was not a member of the Discovery crew, but was (in the novel, and in the book and film of 2010) the scientist who instructed HAL 9000.
Kimball
Hunter
What does Frank Poole tell a BBC interviewer is the only difference between being in hibernation and being asleep?
"You don't dream.â€
The interviewer points out another difference: The hibernating astronauts breathe only once a minute.
"You don't wake up feeling rested.â€
"You don't need a lullaby.â€
"You don't cycle through REM.â€
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What's the last move Poole makes in his losing chess match against the ship's computer?
Queen to bishop six
Queen to bishop three
Rook to king one
Kubrick, an avid chess player, based the game on an actual chess match from 1910 (Roesch vs. Schlage, Hamburg).
Knight takes bishop
What actor voiced HAL 9000?
Claude Rains
Douglas Rain
Kubrick originally cast Balsam (best known as Detective Arbogast in director Alfred Hitchcock's "Psychoâ€) as HAL's voice before deciding the actor sounded "too colloquially American.â€
Martin Balsam
Michael York
In the movie, who does HAL say was his instructor?
Dr. Chandra
Mr. Langley
Although Dr. Chandra is HAL's instructor in the novel of "2001†and in the book and film of "2010,†the name was changed to "Langley†in the "2001†film.
Dr. Daystrom
Mr. Leighton
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Frank's parents send him a transmission marking what occasion?
His birthday
In the novel, HAL interrupts Frank's birthday to report bad news "Sorry to interrupt the festivities, but we have a problem.â€
Christmas
His anniversary
Thanksgiving
What impending equipment failure does HAL report that prompts Bowman's first EVA (extravehicular activity)?
The main deflector dish
The AE-35 unit
Once the AE-35 unit is aboard Discovery, Bowman and Poole can find no fault with it, increasing their suspicions of HAL.
The Heisenberg compensator
The secondary omnidirectional antenna
How does Frank Poole die?
He is electrocuted while installing the AE-35
HAL remotely shuts off Frank's oxygen supply
He loses his grip on the antenna and floats away
HAL uses the claws on Frank's pod to cut his tether to the ship
Dave leaves the ship in another pod to recover Frank's body, but must abandon the body in order to re-enter the Discovery.
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What does HAL suggest Dave do while Dave is disconnecting him?
"Talk to Mission Control about what you're doingâ€
"Take a stress pill and think things overâ€
HAL attempts to reassure Dave, "I know I've made some very poor decisions recently, but I can give you my complete assurance that my work will be back to normal. I've still got the greatest enthusiasm and confidence in the mission and I want to help you.â€
"Stop and look at this from my perspective"
"Think of how lonely you'll be once you've done thisâ€
What song does HAL sing as Bowman disables it?
"Meet Me in St. Louis"
"Alexander's Ragtime Band"
"Daisy Bell"
Also known as "A Bicycle Built for Two,†"Daisy Bell†was the first song by a computer in real life, the IBM 704 at Bell Labs in 1961.
"Nearer, My God, to Thee"
Where does David Bowman find himself at the end of his fantastic trip through time and space?
On Earth at the dawn of humanity
At his mother's home in Florida
Back aboard the Discovery
In a hotel suite
Clarke's novel indicates the aliens behind the Monolith prepared the hotel room on the basis of transmissions intercepted from Earth.
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For which of the following Academy Awards was "2001†not nominated?
Best Special Visual Effects
Best Director
Best Art Direction
Best Makeup
Of four nominations, "Best Effects†was the film's only win, and Kubrick's only Academy Award. "Best Makeup†was not a category; however, John Chambers received an honorary award for his work on "Planet of the Apes,†despite the realistic ape masks and costumes designed by Stuart Freeborn for "2001.â€
In the sequel novel and film "2010â€, what happens to Jupiter?
It expands to swallow all of its moons
David Bowman, as the Star-Child, destroys it
It becomes a star
In the "2010†novel, the new star is named "Lucifer,†which literally means "Light-bringer.â€
Its orbit shifts to form a double system with Saturn
Which of the following noted actors does not appear in the film version of "2010�
Richard Dreyfuss
Scheider plays Heywood Floyd in "2010.†(William Sylvester played the character in "2001â€). Making a brief cameo in "2010†as a man on a bench outside the White House is author Arthur C. Clarke himself.
Roy Scheider
Helen Mirren
John Lithgow
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In Clarke's novel "2061: Odyssey Three†(1987), what is the destination of the spaceship "Universe�
Halley's Comet
The 1986 approach of Halley's Comet inspired Clarke to write this third novel in the Odyssey sequence.
Europa
Ganymede
Io
How does Frank Poole return to life in Clarke's novel "3001: The Final Odyssey†(1997)?
A new Monolith resurrects him
David Bowman resurrects him
His frozen body is discovered in space and thawed
The novel also reveals that HAL and David Bowman have become a single entity, "Halman.â€
The UN makes a clone of Poole from stored tissue samples
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