Spoofs
and References
 A
reference to Wayne's World in one of the shuttles: when looking
at it, the narrator gives a description, after which Roger delivers
the W.W.-cliche: "It will be mine, oh yes, it will be mine." Additionally, instead of looking at it, try talking to it. Roger will say "I"d buy that for a dollar", which is a reference to Robocop in which a person on TV says the same thing.
When Roger looks in the mirror, the narrator says he sees a brunette
overacting in a stone tower, afterwhich Roger squeals, "Mother,
mother, come quick!". A reference to King's Quest VI.
The Popular Tecktronics CD-ROM in Nigel and Singent's apartment
mentions an e-mail magazine called Mired. This is a spoof on an
actual e-mag called "Wired".
The
datacorder chips called Dentium, Repentium, Fermentium, Dimtel,
and Spentium are all spoofs of
Intel and their Pentium processors.
Circuit Sydney might be a poke at Data from Star Trek: TNG.
A
rejected title of Space Quest 6 was "Roger Wilco in Innard
Space". This is a spoof on a movie called "Inner Space".
The movie itself features a space ship / submarine which gets miniaturized
and explores a human body from the inside out. Scott Murphy explains:
"I was something of an old fan of the old 'Fantastic Voyage'
movie where they inject Racquel Welch-and and even bigger submarine-into
a human body. The idea of a janitor loose in the same situation
has serious possibilities."
 The
planet Delta Burksilon is a spoof on the actress Delta Burke.
Commander Kielbasa might be a poke at both Jean-Luc Picard from
ST:TNG and the Kilrathi's in Origin's Wing Commander series.
When
the narrator says during the intro: "In a deserted warehouse
just outside the galaxy", it could be a poke at the Carmen
Sandiago game, where each game begins with a similar remark.
Admiral
Toolman could be a spoof on the Admiral Tolwyn from the Wing Commander
series.
The
"Abby Normal" brain in Fester's Implants-N-Stuff is from
"Young Frankenstein".
 The
endodroid is a mixture of the T-1000 Terminator from "Terminator
2: Judgment Day" and Roy Batty, who was the leader of the escaped
Replicants in the movie "Blade Runner". This becomes apparent
when Roger freezes the endodroid, and makes fun of the "Hasta
la vista" phrase from T2. He says, "Frosta la kiester,
baby".
Blaine
Rohmer is obviously a spoof on the Blade Runners from Ridley Scott's
"Blade Runner" movie.
Another
Star Trek reference: Click the EYE-icon on the Sectors-command in
the cyberspace office. The narrator says, "You probably want
us to say something corny, like 'klingons in sector 2.8, Captain'.
Flembukit's
multimedia wondermachine, 3DOA, is a spoof on Panasonic's 3DO console.
And yes, the 3DO console is also highpriced and plays a half dozen
bad arcade games.
One
of Singent Flembukit's 3DOA CD's is "The Outpost Project Survival
Guide". A spoof on Bruce Balfour's space strategy game, Outpost.
Stellar's
first name might be derived from Dynamix's Stellar 7 games. Stellar's
last name, Santiago, might be derived from Broderbund's "Carmen
Santiago" games.
An
un-complete movie title guide to the movies at the Polysorbate LX
cinema marquee:
- Aliens's (Aliens)
- Bucket Dreams (Hoop Dreams)
- Fist Full of Buckazoids ("Fistfull of Dollars", a Clint
Eastwood western)
- For a Few Buckazoids More ("For a Few Dollars More",
another Clint Eastwood spaghetti western)
- Future Schlock ("Future Shock", a scifi thriller in
VR, ca.1994)
- Gumby vs. Mr Bill (Gumby is a green stop-motion character and
Mr. Bill is a character from the TV show Saturday Night Live, fighting
as in Godzilla vs. Mothra)
- Hudson Hawk Goes to Washington ("Hudson Hawk" and "Mr
Smith Goes to Washigton")
- Johnny Pneumatic ("Johnny Mnemonic", William Gibson
scifi with Keanu Reeves)
- Josh Mandela: The Legend Continues (Josh Mandel was the original
designer of SQ6, "Mandela" is a reference to Nelson Mandela)
- The Last of the Andromedans ("The Last of the Mohicans")
- The Last Stoogefighter ("The Last Starfighter")
- Linoleum Cheese: A Janitor's Tale (unkown reference)
- Little Debbie Does Delta Burksilon (an American porn film, Debbie
Does Dallas. It's also a spoof on Little Debbie, a company that
distributes cakes and cookies)
- Mary Ann vs. Ginger ("Gilligan's Island", the Mary Ann/Ginger
sweetness feud)
- The Organ ("The Piano")
- Outpost: The Movie (A reference to Bruce Balfour's scifi strategy
game, Outpost)
- Raiders of the Lost Semicircle ("Raiders of the Lost Ark",
the first Indiana Jones movie)
- Razing Arizona ("Raising Arizona", with Nicholas Cage)
- So I Married an Endodroid ("So I Married an Axe-Murderer",
horror)
- Space Quest 1: The Sarien Encounter
- Space Quest 2: Vohaul's Revenge
- Space Quest 3: The Pirates of Pestulon
- Space Quest 4: Roger Wilco and the Time Rippers
- Space Quest 5: The Next Mutation
- Space Quest 6: Roger Wilco and the Colon of Doom
- Space Quest 7: The Musical
- Star Trek XVIII: The Search for Kahn's Implanted Pecs ("Star
Trek 2: Kahn's Revenge" and "Star Trek 3: The Search for
Spock)
- Superman vs. Batman
- Tango & Cash XXVII: The Sequel ("Tango and Cash",
Sly Stallone)
- Think Tank Girl ("Tank Girl", comic based movie)
- Triple X-Files ("X-Files", supernatural tv-series)
- True Flies ("True Lies", Arnold Schwarzenegger)
- Zorbot the Greek ("Zorba the Greek, Anthony Quinn)
Beleauxs'
books in the lab include "The Hunt for Red Corpuscle"
(The Hunt for Red October) and "All I Need to Know I Learned
from the Q Continuum" - the Q Continuum is the being-place
for the Q entity in Star Trek TNG and DS9.
A
graffiti on the wall outside the arcade on Polysorbate LX reads
"DARMOK+JALOD 4EVER". A reference to the Star Trek: TNG
episode, "Darmok".
The
Qodrac Mobile Photo Booth is a spoof on the Kodak Non-Mobile Photo
Booth.
The Mister Soylent food replicators is a spoof on an old scifi movie
entitled "Soylent Green". The movie is in the future where
humans have used up all of the Earth's resources and have to live
underground because the air is so polluted. The only thing left
to eat on the planet is a nutrient supplement called Soylent Green.
Also in the future, the "leaders" decide when you're old
enough to die. When it's your "time", you're sent to a
special room where you can be "enlightened" before dying.
Well, the story goes, two guys who were deemed fit to die, didn't
want to. So they got away and began to wander around. They found
the "enlightenment room" and found out what they were
doing with the dead people. They were processing them into, yes
you guessed it, the Soylent Green machines! So now you know what
the Soylent Clear jingle means when it says, "Clearly less
people, clearly more taste!"
During
the introduction, Admiral Toolman throws Roger's underpants up into
the air, and they turn into the DeepShip 86. This is a take-off
of the intro from Stanley Kubric's "2001: A Space Oddysey",
in which a monkey throws a skeleton bone into the air which turns
into a spaceship.
Jebba
the Hop is a spoof on the evil snail-guy, Jabba the Hutt, in the
sixth Star Wars episode.
Several
elements from "Back to the Future" are mentioned in the
Popular Tecktronics CD-ROM at Nigel and Singent's apartment. Check
under the section "Building a Time Machine out of a DeLorean".
When
using Doctor Beleauxs' computer communications system, the name
"Plodigy" pops up. This is a spoof on "Prodigy",
and yes, it used to be as slow as the artists made it out to look
like.
Dorff
mentions "Daventry VIII" as a planets name when Roger's
locked up in the brig, occasionally. Daventry is, as we all know,
the home of the characters in the King's Quest series.
When
talking to the portal in the Ascend-o-Pad on Delta Burksilon, you
get a highpitched voice saying "If you're going in there, Graham,
I'm staying out here!". This is from King's Quest V, where
Cedric the Owl sais that to King Graham.
8-Rear
is a spoof on 10-Forward, the ship's lounge on "Star Trek:
The Next Generation".
In
the brig, there's an invisible monster called "The Creature
from the Ego". This is a reference to Forbidden Planet,
where there was an invisible monster called "The Monster
from the Id".
The
Bjorn collective is a spoof on the Borg from Star Trek: The Next
Generation. The name for the Bjorn collective may have come from
a Swedish tennis player, whose name was (and probably still is)
Bjorn Borg. Scott Murphy adds: "The theory on the Bjorn is
correct. Tennis is great and Bjorn Borg was well known to both Josh
and I. It was a natural."
Almost
all the drinks on Polysorbate LX are spoofs of famous scifi writers.
- Raymond E. Feisterbray (Raymond E. Feist)
- Samuel Douglas Adams (Douglas Adams + Sam Adams (beer))
- Alan Dean Foster's Draft Ale (Alan Dean Foster)
- "Wicked ale from Ray's Bradbrewery" (Ray Bradbury)
- Silverberg Bullet (Robert Silverberg)
- Ursula K. LeGuinness Stout (Ursula K. LeGuin + Guinness (beer)
- Harlon Aleison (Harlan Ellison)
- Beers Anthony (Piers Anthony)
- "a wild-roddenberry flavored stuff" (Gene Roddenberry)
- Heinleinekin (Robert Heinlein + Heineken (beer)
- Sappournelle (Jerry Pournelle + Sauvignon (white wine)
- Marion Zima Bradley (Marion Zimmer and/or Bradley Denton) (Zima
is a "clear beverage", a.k.a. "clear beer")
- Watney's Red Planet (Watney's Red Barrel is a beer)
- Asimov Cocktail (Isaac Asimov)
- William Gibson (William Gibson)
Drinks
on Polysorbate LX that are not spoofs on scifi writers:
- Jurassic Dark (a spoof on Spielberg's "Jurassic Park"
movie)
- Babylon .45 (a spoof on the tv-series "Babylon V")
- Star Beck (a spoof on "Star Trek"; the slogan for this
beer is "it makes you go where no man has gone before",
a spoof on the wellknown Star Trek opening monologue)
- Major Kirin (Major Kira from Star Trek DS + Kirin is also a Japanese
alcoholic beverage)
- Red Dog (a spoof on Red Dog, a beer)
The
game's slogan: "In Space No One Can Hear You Clean" is
a spoof on Ridley Scott's slogan for the Alien movies, "In
Space No One Can Hear You Scream".
Check out page 10 of the Popular Janitronics manual that comes with
SQ6. Under ANNOUNCEMENTS there's a bit titled "Public Notice:
Fictitious Business Name Statement", which confirms everybody's
true fear: That Sierra-programmer William Shockley is doing business
as a cyberdate!
Doctor
Hayden Beleauxs' computer monitor is from Cyberdyne, which we all
know is the hightech company that invented the Skynet-chips in the
Terminator- movies.
The opening sequence is kidding around with the movie JUDGE DREDD,
in which Stallone is also stripped, although they didn't go as far
out as in SQ6.
About the name of the DeepShip 86... "DeepShip" is a re-write
of the colorful phrase, "being in deep shit". To be "86'ed"
means to be forced to leave a place or premises and be encouraged
not to come back. The name also comes from the third Star Trek series,
which was entitled Deep Space Nine.
The
name kielbasa, as in Commander Kielbasa, is actually that of a Polish
sausage.
When Roger is on the Ascend-O-Pad, using the mouth icon on the wall will make Roger "mistake it for lickable wallpaper", which is a reference to the movie "Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory" (the original version with Gene Wilder). Roger comments "the snozzberries taste like snozzberries!".
The
arcade games on Polysorbate LX are all spoofs on some recognizable
games.
- "NBA ToeJam" (Acclaim's "NBA Jam")
- "Mixed up Mother Theresa" (Roberta Williams' "Mixed
Up Mother Goose")
- "Stooge Fighter III" (Capcom's "Street Fighter
II")
- "Secret Recipes of the Luftwaffe" (LucasArts' "Secret
Weapons of the Luftwaffe")
- "Beat the Crap out of Urkel" (Urkel was the annoying
geek-star of a comedy show in 80's. He would constantly play accordion
and act all stupid and clumsy.)
- "More Dull Kombat II" (Acclaim's "Mortal Kombat
II")
- "Disembowling for Dollars" ("Bowling for Bucks",
a US game show)
One
of the screens in the arcade features two clay fighters fighting,
as in the game "Clay Fighter", but they're pitted against
each other on a tall, narrow stone bridge like in the first MK-game
from Acclaim. Hmm...
Commander
Kielbasa's scratching post/command center is capable of getting
him to level six of "Super Nunzio World". Obviously a
parody of Nintendo's "Super Mario World". Also, a part
of the console looks exactly like those Gravis GamePads (It's NOT
an SNES joypad!).
If
you use the MOUTH icon on the console of Kielbasa's command post,
Roger says "Computer, what's the airspeed velocity of a laden
swallow?", to which the computer replies "African or European?",
followed by Roger saying "I don't know!" and finishes
with Gary Owens cutting in to say "Hey hey hey! Enough of that.
Let's move on.". Obviously a reference to Monty Python and
the Holy Grail.
The
cyberspace receptionist is called Sys Inny - a name which, when
pronounced "correctly", becomes a Windows 95 system file:
SYSTEM.INI.
One
of the building machines in cyberspace is a spoof on one of the
weapons in DOOM. The yellow machine to the left is called a BFD-9000
Cyberearth mover (the seventh weapon in DOOM is called a BFG-9000).
A
graffiti in the brig on the DeepShip 86 reads "Sarek Lies!",
in reference to Star Trek, where one of the characters is a Vulcan
named Sarek.
When
talking to the brig replicator, Roger will say: "Tea. Earl
Grey. Hot," in reference to Captain Picard in Star Trek: The
Next Generation.
When
exiting SQ6 or playing Stooge Fighter III, you get a message saying
"Game over, man". This is a direct quote from the movie
Aliens. A character called Hudson cries out at one point: "That's
it man, game over man, game over!"
After Stellar's
tragic death by explosion, Roger shouts "Stellar". This
is a spoof on the movie "A Streetcar Named Desire".
During
Stellars funeral Roger says: "Of all the souls I have encountered
in my cleaning, her's were the most scu ... scuff ... SCUFF- RESISTANT!
<breaks out in tears>". This sequence is completely reminiscant
of the burial scene in "Star Trek II" (or was that number
three?), where Kirk gives Spock his last words before they shoot
the coffin into outer space.
When
Roger is being chased by the gigantic gallstone in Stellar's digestive
systems, Josh Mandel was clearly trying to get on LucasFilm's nerves.
That's a downright steal of the opening sequence in the Indiana
Jones movie, "Raiders of the Lost Ark".
 When
Roger jumps into the stomach acid inside Stellar's body, the
death message is a reference to the Wizord of Oz. It state: "That's
pretty far to go just to do your Wizard of Oz Impression."
When
you're inside Stellar's body and you insert the CD-Rom into the
slot in the shuttle's cockpit it starts the
Nanite tracking program. On the
screen it says at one point: "Cracked by The
Numbnuts Guys". This is a reference to The Humble
Guys, a well-known and feared software cracking group back in the days. Did
you know they actually distributed a (buggy) SQ4 beta?
When
on top of Stellar's stomach, click the eye icon on the door on the
side of the ship. The narrator will say: "That little thing?
That's the stolen, miniaturized door to your stolen, miniaturized
shuttle. Good eyesight! Now we'll have to do one of those puzzles
where you have to find a one-pixel coin or something. But hey, who'd
design a mean, unfair puzzle like THAT?" This is obviously
poking fun at King's Quest VI, since twice in the game, you have
to find and take a - literally - one-pixel large coin.
The Vulgar nervegrip is obviously a spoof on the Vulcan nervegrip
that Spock so often uses in the original Star Trek series.
The
sentence "Big Brother is watching you!", which appears
on the scrolling board in the shuttlebay entrance, an often-used
sentence in the book "1984".
The
name "Polysorbate" (as in Polysorbate LX) is a food additive.
Graffiti
on one of the cells in the brig reads “Major Tom was here,”
the name is a reference to a space-themed song from the 80s by David
Bowie.
The
narrator’s description of the food replicator in the brig
“Where the StarCon elite meet to eat” is a parody on
the slogan of Duffy’s Tavern, from an old American radio program
of the same name.
Talk
to the computer on Kielbasa’s Command Center/Scratching Post
to get a Monty Python reference.
Use
HANDS on the Subspace Control Controller to get a Twilight Zone
reference. For another reference to a particular episode of The
Twilight Zone, talk to the portal on the right side of the Ascend-O-Pad
(NOT the door). “’Listen to me! To Serve Mankind’…it’s
a COOKBOOK!”
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General