Trekkie Trivia

Late-night bar trivia is only fun if you occasionally know an answer or two. Otherwise you end up quietly resenting your teammates for knowing so much about 1980s sports and leisure. Not that I’m speaking from experience.

So when I heard about Star One, Eugene’s science fiction and fantasy happy hour at Starlight Lounge downtown, I squeaked with delight. The nature of the event varies month to month, but when I attended in February, trivia maven Dr. Seven Phoenix had taken the helm and was orchestrating a killer game of science fiction-themed trivia.

As someone with moderately nerdy inclinations (think Star Trek, Doctor Who, Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter), I immediately realized that sci-fi trivia could be a thing of wonder. And it was.

“My vision for this is the idea of bringing people together,” says Starlight Lounge co-owner Julie Anna. “Let’s say you’re new to town and you love Firefly. If you’re here, you might meet someone else who enjoys the show, and friendships can start from there.”

Anna and Starlight Lounge co-owner Jocee Moine are big sci-fi fans, and when they noticed a lack of sci-fi meet-up groups in Eugene, they decided to start their own in late 2015. Anna says previous meetings have included guest speakers and game nights, but trivia has proven the most popular.

I can see why. The packed bar hummed with energy and excitement as trivia moderator Dr. Seven Phoenix announced the first topic: Star Trek. I sipped on my hard cider and braced myself for the first question.

For those not familiar with trivia, here’s how it usually works: Participants split into teams of varying sizes — you can go solo if you want — and choose a team name. My fiancé and I christened ourselves “The Beverly Crushers,” a witty reference to a Star Trek character who … never mind — let us not venture into unnecessarily geeky terrain.

Moving on: The trivia moderator selects a number of rounds, and each round has a theme and a set number of questions. Once the round is over, a team member brings the filled-out answer sheet to the moderator, who scores all the sheets between rounds and keeps a tally.

Dr. Seven Phoenix’s questions were challenging, and even though I’m a Star Trek fan, I can’t say I did well.

I knew which character made a come-on to an android (Tasha Yar) and I knew which Sex and the City actress had played a character in Star Trek VI (Kim Cattrall), but when asked to name the planet on which Worf’s father had died, I came up short. Overall, we scored 4/10 for the round.

Round two featured sci-fi and fantasy novels on a sheet of paper, the objective being to identify the author from the book cover and title. My partner and I did much better on this round, gleefully scribbling “Ursula K. Le Guin” and “George Orwell” on the page. We nabbed 7/10 and treated ourselves to free samples of cider from 2 Towns Ciderhouse, which happened to be repping that night.

Round three brought more challenges — we had to name the sci-fi or fantasy TV show theme song after listening to a clip. Game of Thrones and Angel were a cinch, but Babylon 5 stumped us.

By this point in the night, we found ourselves seriously out-nerded and trailing behind in seventh place, but there was plenty of cider, so we didn’t even care.

I have to say, the level of sci-fi commitment in the room was palpable. I’ve never been more proud of Eugene, and even though I seriously got my nerdy ass kicked, it was all in the spirit of camaraderie and fun.

“I think it’s great how mainstream sci-fi is becoming, as more people are coming out of the geek closet,” Anna says.

In continuing with that spirit, Starlight Lounge will host a Serenity watch party at 7 pm Friday, March 18, 830 Olive Street in downtown Eugene; 21-plus. It’ll be the shiniest sci-fi happy hour yet.

A Note From the Publisher

Dear Readers,

The last two years have been some of the hardest in Eugene Weekly’s 43 years. There were moments when keeping the paper alive felt uncertain. And yet, here we are — still publishing, still investigating, still showing up every week.

That’s because of you!

Not just because of financial support (though that matters enormously), but because of the emails, notes, conversations, encouragement and ideas you shared along the way. You reminded us why this paper exists and who it’s for.

Listening to readers has always been at the heart of Eugene Weekly. This year, that meant launching our popular weekly Activist Alert column, after many of you told us there was no single, reliable place to find information about rallies, meetings and ways to get involved. You asked. We responded.

We’ve also continued to deepen the coverage that sets Eugene Weekly apart, including our in-depth reporting on local real estate development through Bricks & Mortar — digging into what’s being built, who’s behind it and how those decisions shape our community.

And, of course, we’ve continued to bring you the stories and features many of you depend on: investigations and local government reporting, arts and culture coverage, sudoku and crossword puzzles, Savage Love, and our extensive community events calendar. We feature award-winning stories by University of Oregon student reporters getting real world journalism experience. All free. In print and online.

None of this happens by accident. It happens because readers step up and say: this matters.

As we head into a new year, please consider supporting Eugene Weekly if you’re able. Every dollar helps keep us digging, questioning, celebrating — and yes, occasionally annoying exactly the right people. We consider that a public service.

Thank you for standing with us!