Ultimate Geek Fu

It's Unobtanium Week!

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That's right. Since we've been talking about it for two days already—and since a number of you have stolen the thunder I'd planned for today by already talking about tvtropes.org—today's topic is that rarest of rare resources, unobtanium, the magical substance that's been making plots go 'round since Edgar Rice Burroughs discovered Ninth Rays!

What is your favorite example? What's the stupidest? What example, use, or property of unobtanium is the most egregrious insult to your intelligence that you've ever encountered? Personally I have to go with the silicon mines in the movie version of Enemy Mine, just because Barry Longyear can get so overheated when talking about that moronic subplot some Hollywood screenwriter shoved into his award-winning novel, but don't worry: there's a whole universe chock full of more to choose from! So what's your pick?

Let the arguments begin.

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ULTIMAGE GEEK FU runs every Wednesday. Have a question that's just bugging the heck out of you about Star Wars, Star Trek, Stargate, Battlestar Gallactica, Farscape, Firefly, Fringe, Heroes, The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Smallville, The X-Files, X-Men, The Man From Atlantis, or pretty much any other SF-flavored media property? Send it to slushpile@thefridaychallenge.com with the subject line, "Geek Fu," and we'll stuff it in the queue.