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Some of the popular questions (as suggested through meta):

Major Stackings asks How do the wand makers get the cores into the wands? One comment suggests that secret is in using molten wood.

sarge_smith noticed that troopers go in, but nobody comes out in his question: Where’d those guys on the Millenium Falcon go?

CL4PTR4P asked Why is Janeway an Admiral and not Picard?

Some of the popular answers:

How many crewmen/women die in the original series of Star Trek? answered by Thaddeus

Why did Boromir take so long to reach Rivendell? answered by Daniel Roseman

Lost Star Wars fan-made video answered by Solemnity

Just some interesting stats:

The most controversial question (asked by Sachin Shekhar) was: How big is the Matrix?

The most viewed question (asked by Matrim Cauthon) by a significant margin was: A Memory of Light Question on the Epilogue

The question which got the highest score (asked by KennyPeanuts) was: Why was Scrooge chosen for redemption?

The question which got the highest voted answer (asked by Kevin Howell) was: What are Gandalf’s powers?

Chapter 1: The accident

Cara Miller stared out of her lifepod window into the vastness of space. For all she knew, she was the sole survivor of the ill-fated Astral Light, a rescue ship that ultimately would need its own rescue. It was all supposed to be routine. The Astral Light had been called out to assist a mining freighter which had suffered a major collision with a dislodged piece of asteroid. Systems were failing and the freighter sent out a general distress beacon.

When the freighter came into sight, Cara could hardly believe anyone was still alive. The ship was a mangled mess, with pieces of the hull splayed out in all directions. Clouds of gas, probably oxygen and fuel, were billowing out of the ship. It would be a miracle if anyone had survived. Still, they had to make sure, so the Astral Light glided up alongside and attempted to hook to the docking port.

Sometimes bad luck is all a question of timing, she thought. The first boarding crew had barely crossed the docking arm when a stray asteroid fragment crashed into the beleagured ship. This evidently was the final nail in the coffin. What little air remained in the ship was enough for a massive explosion. Tethered, the Astral Light took heavy damages. The evacuation siren went off and Cara raced to an escape pod. The last thing she remembered after diving into a pod was a violent explosion. She awoke some time later, drifting in space.

The lifepod had preprogrammed behavior depending on the circumstance. If near a planet it would attempt a landing, if in deep space it would power down nonessential systems, minimize life support, and wait for a pickup. The standard lifepod was designed to support life for up to one week. Cara peered at the controls, a small battery of indicator lights and the thruster controls. The pod was in pickup mode. So no one was near.  Originally the lifepods contained enough sensors, advanced communications, and propulsion to make them into their own little spacecraft.

However, people had a tendency to panic after a catastrophic event. They tended to make irrational decisions, and would constantly be turning on the sensors to see if anyone was coming, draining power from the life support system. They would broadcast message after message, pleading to be rescued, only to use up their oxygen faster. And sometimes they would point their lifepod in a direction they believed to be home and shoot off to some unknown place, making them very hard to find. Eventually the people in charge of such things decided it was better to give them virtually no options– a couple of maneuvering thrusts to keep them from crashing into something and an indicator if a ship responded to the distress beacon. This dramatically increased recovery rates of lifepods and their passengers, but for some made the experience more stressful.

There were lots of stories floating around about people’s experiences in lifepods. People told them like ghost stories. Being trapped for days in the tight space meant the likelihood of cabin fever or a nervous breakdown was high. To combat this some crewmen would stash a little nap sack in a lifepod, usually the one closest to their station or to their bunk. They’d toss in a few odds and ends, books, tablets, games, whatever they thought would help them get through a bad situation.

Cara had never bothered to do this, but as she looked around the pod she noticed someone else had. She reached down and pulled up an old cloth sack and pulled out the contents. A very old tablet computer, a few protein bars, and a yo-yo. Cara examined the tablet. Not surprisingly the battery was dead, no charge cable, and even if it was there, it wouldn’t be wise to use the lifepod’s power anyways. Next she examined the protein bars, the date on them was several years old. I guess this little sack has been here for awhile, she thought. Longer than she had served on the Astral Light. And finally, the yo-yo. Cara stared at the yo-yo. The lifepod was little more than a reclined chair in a cylinder, there was essentially no open space. She couldn’t even see her feet without a great amount of effort. She wondered at the rational of a crewmate who would place a completely useless toy in a cramped lifepod. Stupid yo-yo.

Frustrated, Cara powered up the thruster. She wouldn’t use too much power, just enough to turn the ship so that she could see the wreckage from the explosion. But no matter how the pod turned, all she saw was empty of space set to a background of stars. Strange. She wouldn’t have expected the lifepod to take her very far, but she saw neither the debris from the ruined ships nor the asteroid belt. Where am I?

Some of the regulars of the Scifi.StackExchange main chat room (Mos Eisley) got together to enjoy (and mock) some Star Trek. The first episode we watched was And The Children Shall Lead, which is considered one of the worst episodes from the original series.

Star Trek TOS – And The Children Shall Lead.

The USS Enterprise arrives at the planet Triacus. (Stardate 5029.5) TangoOversway: Oh! Cool! Remastered FX! OghmaOsiris: The Ship is with updated graphics, right? TangoOversway: Yes, all space shots are remastered. And cool 70s jumpsuits — before the 70s!	They arrive on the planet’s surface to discover the people are dead and dying. Jack B Nimble: I would have committed suicide if I’d been wearing those clothes too. Keen: Why doesn’t the Federation ever establish colonies on planets with plants? OghmaOsiris: I like that people of the future kept the cool Mod look Keen: Week in week out, rock planets.
Professor Starnes delivers several mad ravings before succombing to madness (of the space variety?). OghmaOsiris: WATCH OUT FOR THE GUY IN PINK Nurses of the future will kill ya Jack B Nimble: Kirk’s bad acting killed him. Keen: Do people serve in the Federation so they don’t have to wear those terrible jumpsuits? OghmaOsiris: They sign up and put their name in for a lottery. The ones with bad luck get the red shirts. Another clown school drop out	Spock attempts to take readings from the planet. Jack B Nimble: This planet gets terrible reception Keen: Hit the TV, that’ll fix it!
To the surprise of the crew, all of the children are alive and unaffected by whatever travesty occured here. OghmaOsiris: Play with us….forever and ever! Keen: Kirk is not amused by your playtime shenanigans Jack B Nimble: Some of those kids look a little old to be playing ring around the rosy Keen: Space children are stunted developmentally. TangoOversway: Kirk is upset because he feels the shenanigans are his privilege.	The opening credits. Jack B Nimble: Did I just hear a split infinitive? TangoOversway: Oh, remastered theme song, too! OghmaOsiris: HA! I actually laughed when I heard the theme music start to play lol What happened to the Theramin?
The Enterprise crew buries the dead. Jack B Nimble: Lining up the tomb stones with the mounds would have been too hard. Keen: Looks like they turned everyone into tiny piles of dirt. OghmaOsiris: Why wouldn’t they bury their people back on earth? Keen: Did they steal the dehydrating weapon from Batman?	The children continue to display no remorse for death of their parents. McCoy speculates they are suffering from amnesia due to the tramatic event. OghmaOsiris: Children these days No respect, I tells ya Keen: In the 2100′s, we kids respected our elders! OghmaOsiris: Damnit Jim! Keen: We also starved to death when our parents died and left us behind…. Jack B Nimble: I forget, is McCoy a medical doctor or a phychiatrist? OghmaOsiris: I like how a “Doctor” in the future meant an expert in every medical field ever Keen: Haha, what the hell kind of flag is that?!
Kirk starts to feel anxiety after entering the cave. OghmaOsiris: “Someone messed with my presets…” “MCCOY!!!” Keen: Kirk’s going to start dancing…. OghmaOsiris: The LSD is kicking in TangoOversway: I’m getting a feeling of anxiety from the writing in this place.	Spock continues to scan the cave to try and determine the source of the anxiety. OghmaOsiris: Silly humans. Jack B Nimble: It must have been convenient for the tv crew to have Spock carrying around a DAT tape during all the filming.
The children have been brought aboard the Enterprise. Nurse Chapel offers to give the children ice cream. Keen: Does that girl have flowers pinned to her dress? I guess the tailors were also high in the 60′s. TangoOversway: That wasn’t a computer lady. It’s Nurse Chapel. And she was married to Gene Roddenberry at the time. Keen: Exactly, she was the computer in later Treks. OghmaOsiris: You mean the voice of the computer? And Luxuiana Troi TangoOversway: Oh, the voice work. She was the computer in this series, too. Jack B Nimble: After serving with Captain Kirk she requested to be turned into a mindless computer. OghmaOsiris: Dr. Sung helped.	They (the children obviously) are treated to ice cream while the crew tries to figure out what happened. OghmaOsiris: So there WERE replicators in TOS Keen: And spanking them didn’t calm them down, Jim! OghmaOsiris: Now he’s a pediatrician… Jack B Nimble: The drugs seem to be working though. OghmaOsiris: “God I hate kids…” Kirk sleeps with her in 3…2… Keen: The computer lady made a terrible mistake when she fed all the kids only ice cream. Good luck keeping the kids calm now. OghmaOsiris: This episode is like a Benneton ad… Keen: On the other hand, being able to just eat ice cream for meals is another sign that the Federation is a utopia. Jack B Nimble: Without gaining any weight.
Kirk questions the oldest boy (Tommy) about the cave and death of his father. Tommy talks back to Captain Kirk. Keen: Kirk’s never going to get the truth out of this ginger. Jack B Nimble: Lousy redhead is a trouble maker. OghmaOsiris: Ginger on the loose	After the adults leave, the children gather in a circle and begin to chant. Jack B Nimble: Oh I see, they are a coven of witches. OghmaOsiris: Light as a feather stiff as a board….light as a feather stiff as a board…
Gorgon, a shimmering figure, appears as a result of the chanting. He tells the children no one will tell them where to go or what to do anymore. Keen: So the villain [of] this episode is Bloody Mary? Err, I guess it’s evil Pavarotti. OghmaOsiris: Chef Boyardee! Is he wearing a couch? Keen: “no one will tell us where to go” except me… Jack B Nimble: The writers were only able to come up with two descriptive nouns. Friends and enemies. Keen: Sounds like the kids joined a cult. Jack B Nimble: The friends of our enemies are not in fact friends but enemies of the friends which we think are our enemies while also not being friends.	On the bridge of the Enterprise. Sulu: “Maintaining standard orbit, Captain.” OghmaOsiris: Oh myyyyyyyy Keen: Finally we get to see the bridge crew! Chekov, say ‘nuclear wessels’! He didn’t associate it with that godawful purple jumpsuit? OghmaOsiris: I swear, when I watched the TOS movies, they made EVERY possible excuse to make Chekov say wessles
The bridge crew examines some of Professor Starnes’ tapes. “I’ve felt a certain growing feeling of uneasiness.” Keen: I think that’s a clear sign of a mentally imbalanced person. Jack B Nimble: He should be most uneasy about his outfit. TangoOversway: Glad I have the Writer’s Guide to show he doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Is that pink, puse, or purple? (His outfit, that is.) OghmaOsiris: Muave Jack B Nimble: TangoOversway, The answer is “yes.” Keen: In all these videos he’s standing in front of the sky or rocks. Did they not have housing?	Tommy suddenly appears on the bridge. “Captain, after we leave here, can you take us to Marcos Twelve?” Jack B Nimble: Here comes fists of fury. OghmaOsiris: rock paper scissors, shoot! GINGER Keen: Did…did that ginger just [obscene gesture] away the scientist’s video… OghmaOsiris: So, what does Spock…do? Keen: Make Sulu say ‘Oh my’. OghmaOsiris: I know he’s science officer, but it seems that McCoy is doing all the science Jack B Nimble: As with every military vessel, children are allowed to roam around care free. Jack B Nimble: Even on the bridge. Keen: Worked for Wesley on the Enterprise D. Wait, no it didn’t. It proved to be a terrible idea.
More children appear on the bridge and through a series of hand gestures are able to hyponotize most of the crew. Sulu causes the Enterprise to break orbit. Jack B Nimble: Sulu is stoned at work again. Keen: That ginger’s making obscene gestures again. Jack B Nimble: These are the children of the corn. OghmaOsiris: And, all the other crew who are watching what the kids are doing just stand there, lol Jack B Nimble: Hopefully Spock will jetison them into space. Keen: It’s the only logical thing to do.	Down in Engineering another kid influences the crew. Mister Scott walks in and discovers the ship has left orbit. OghmaOsiris: Red shirts. OghmaOsiris: Death in 3….2…. Keen: Red shirt on red shirt violence! NO ONE WINS. Keen: Oh man, Scotty put the smack down on that red shirt. I was hoping for an insta-kill. OghmaOsiris: I like that hitting someone in the back knocks them out Keen: When you can do that, who needs a Vulcan Neck Pinch? TangoOversway: Because when they use a neck-pinch, it’s non-violent and Vulcans are pacifists.
In Kirk’s quarters Kirk, Spock, and McCoy continue to review the professor’s log. “I’m being influenced to do things that do not make sense.” OghmaOsiris: Was the music part of the record? Keen: Spock’s got quite the mancrush on that guy. TangoOversway: Whatever overwhelmed them was probably the bad writing. Keen: Spock was practically shaming Kirk into being a better scientist. Now McCoy’s an anthropologist. TangoOversway: It’s a slash thing. And McCoy leaves like a hurt puppy with his tail between his legs.	Kirk orders two red shirts to beam down to the planet, a planet to which the Enterprise is no longer in orbit. Keen: Yup, Kirk just offed two red shirts by spacing them. Jack B Nimble: Transport them into space! TangoOversway: What’s weird is the transporter room wasn’t always purple. Keen: TangoOversway, It’s another sign that everyone’s high. OghmaOsiris: Dead and they didn’t even get a moving part Jack B Nimble: Transporter operator “We don’t need to initiate a beam before energizing. Energize away!” TangoOversway: They’re not dead — they haven’t been in space even 25 seconds. Keen: I was hoping they’d show the two dead guys out in space when Spock turned on the viewscreen. TangoOversway: Quick, Spock! Beam them back aboard! OghmaOsiris: So… the computer didn’t tell them that there was no planet for them to beam down to? TangoOversway: The Angel kept them from seeing it. Keen: They’re red shirts, you can only allot so much time trying to save them.
Back on the bridge Gorgon appears to everyone. OghmaOsiris: Witches! TangoOversway: OghmaOsiris, don’t give them that much credit! Keen: Who you gonna call? OghmaOsiris: Couch Boyardee is back! Jack B Nimble: I say they self destruct the ship and call it a day. Keen: It’s the only way to be sure. OghmaOsiris: Make them take the Kobiashi Maru 8 year olds obviously know how to pilot a ship	Sulu (and others) are hypnotized and begin to see some of their fears. Keen: No, not the space swords! Noooooo Jack B Nimble: Our ship is no match for giant swords. OghmaOsiris: A fencer’s worst nightmare!
Ohura sees herself aging in a mirror. OghmaOsiris: MY hAir Keen: Where did that mirror come from?! Jack B Nimble: Ohura is so vain, to have a mirror right at her station OghmaOsiris: And they were worried about having a woman on the bridge… TangoOversway: And it could have been done so much better — no mirror until the kids do their stuff. Notice there’s no mirror in the shot where Kirk is there. Just in the close up. Keen: This entire episode could have ended in 5 minutes if Kirk had simply spanked the evil out of all the kids. OghmaOsiris: No belts in the future.	Kirk struggles with Sulu in an effort to return the ship to the planet. Keen: Why don’t they mind control Kirk? Jack B Nimble: Were those swords digitally remastered? OghmaOsiris: Seriously, why doesn’t Sulu figure out that flying swords in space isn’t that scary? Keen: He’s got a crippling case of space-swordphobia. TangoOversway: Because Kirk is just so awesome you can’t mind control him. Oh, wait.
Kirk attempts to confront Tommy. Jack B Nimble: Why doesn’t he punch the redhead in the face? Keen: Kirk, just backhand the ginger. OghmaOsiris: Right in the nads. Keen: Kirk’s really got to go to the bathroom. Excellent, this is Shatner’s time to AAAACCCCTTT!	KIRK “I’m losing command. I’m losing the Enterprise. The ship is sailing on and on. I’m alone. Alone. Alone. I’m losing command.” OghmaOsiris: I love you Spock. Jack B Nimble: Kirk’s mind and ego is so fragile. It’s just sad. Keen: He stops hugging Spock as he ‘regains command’. Jack B Nimble: Forever lost? In Space? That is the wrong TV show Scotty OghmaOsiris: Scotty looked better fat with a stache lol
Kirk attempts to reestablish control of the bridge. OghmaOsiris: Kill the children! Especially the ginger! Jack B Nimble: I was in favor of killing the children from the moment I saw them. Keen: YES, SPACE THE CHILDREN! OghmaOsiris: These boots are made for walking. Keen: It’s a shame this is a space ship and not a democracy. TangoOversway: Idiot ginger. Horizontal stripes make you look fat — oh, wait, he’s beanpole thin, he needs to look fat. Keen: Kirk, spin the chair around, make the ginger dizzy! I’d be afraid to be seen if I dressed like couch boyardee too.	Gorgon appears. Spock plays back another recording of the people on the planet. Keen: Evil always gets the cool clothes. Keen: It’s a good thing all Federation officers receive top-of-the-line hand to hand combat training, or that could have been ugly. OghmaOsiris: I’m glad Spock kept that recording on a flash drive. It really saved the situation Keen: Muumuus still don’t look good 200 years from now. Jack B Nimble: I guess we won’t use the giant view screen.
Life as it was on Triacus. Keen: What the, they have a space igloo! TangoOversway: See- there’s housing there, in the background! Keen: How do they all live in that tiny thing? TangoOversway: That dome, that’s barely taller than the kids, can house an entire family. Jack B Nimble: This is a very close community TangoOversway: They’ve used domes like that for sets in other episodes. I think they usually were above a stairway leading into the ground or something like that. Jack B Nimble: I’m disappointed only two redshirts have died so far. But I’m also elated they were killed by Kirk.	After being reminded of their lives with their parents the children breakdown into emotional wreaks. McCoy “They’re crying, Jim. I don’t know how it happened, but it’s good to see. “ Keen: Nothing makes McCoy’s day quite like children crying. Jack B Nimble: Thanks for your opinion “doctor.” OghmaOsiris: Now he’s a nanny

The other episode we watched that evening was Space Seed, which Netflix incorrectly classifies as a prequel to the Wrath of Khan. That is like saying Batman Begins is a prequel to The Dark Knight. Stay tuned (the correct frequency is 7) to your inter-webs to catch the transcript from that episode.

Here is a preview: “Khaaaaaannnnnnnnnnnn!” (Not actually in that episode.)

All images pulled from TrekCore

All the movies:

• Magically gifted children age at an extremely inconsistent rate. (They aged 6 magic years in 10 human years).
• All the students immediately outgrew their wizarding robes after the second year, the robes will rarely be seen again.
• Harry Potter is the only one who gets into trouble for using magic outside of Hogwarts.
• 16-year-old Voldemort looks nothing like 17-year-old Voldemort (or 11-year-old Voldemort for that matter). If George Lucas had been involved this would have been fixed by the third release of the DVDs.
• Most of Griffindor (a house based on bravery) is comprised of students too afraid of their own shadows to be of much use half of the time.
• The “good enough” mentality is just as strong in the magical community.

Yeah, these are all definitely the same person.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone:

• The Sorting is not conducted in alphabetical order – what kind of system is that? Oh, and you’ll never see another Sorting.
• It is okay for teachers to play favorites, particularly Heads of Households.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets:

• Children get injured constantly at Hogwarts and no one raises an eyebrow, but as soon as a few students get temporarily petrified, the future of this 1000-year-old institution is in jeopardy.
• Sometimes the students age in reverse order.
• Hagrid’s home (and really all of Hogwarts) is ridiculously overrun with spiders, at least until it no longer serves as a plot device.

Beginning of movie, middle of movie, end of movie.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban:

• I don’t know what Dumbledore was doing during Harry’s second summer break, but he must have been hitting the gym or something. He started the third year looking like an entirely new man.
• Malfoy is the only student to get injured for which there appears to be consequences to the staff and other involved parties.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire:

• For some reason everyone decided that 70s long hair was cool. The girls, the guys, everyone.
• Harry only uses magic four times (in a movie about wizards).

You can tell Harry is the chosen one by the way his hair flows in the wind.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix:

• Despite the looming threat of Voldemort’s return, everyone managed to find a barber shop over the fourth year summer break.
• Harry is a rage-oholic who likes his rage-ohol shouted at, not stirred.

Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince:

• Harry has apparently become homeless and now lives in a dirty subway tunnel.
• All of Harry Potter’s problems from the previous movie would have been solved if they just looked in his memories.
• The Slug Club sounds even worse when spoken aloud.
• Any fool could look at 11-year-old Voldemort and know he was going to grow up to be a mass murderer.
• They should be brewing gallons of “Liquid Luck.”

That is the look of a well balanced kid.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows 1 & 2:

• Harry doesn’t like other people taking risks for his sake. He’d rather let Voldemort just win already.
• Despite being free for 5 years, Dobby continues to wear the same tattered rags. His only addition is a pair of shoes. Yeah, that’s all you needed Dobby.
• The Weasley’s rebuilt The Burrow to look exactly like the old one did. That means their shabby house is by choice and not by circumstance.
• Every wizard’s house is apparently located in the middle of some huge empty field (except Snape’s).
• Even though people Disapparate together (holding hands) they rarely Apparate near each other.
• Harry is a wizard who never seems to think of magic as a solution to a problem. He’d rather jump into a freezing pool of ice water than cast a spell to warm the water first.
• Everyone is from Godric’s Hollow (which Harry didn’t know). It is apparently the source of all wizarding families.
• Gringott’s is probably not where you want to bank anymore, because they lost roughly 100% of their staff as a result of Harry’s break-in.
• Based on the number of people who died on that bridge, there can’t be all that many wizards left.

This post made possible by a grant from SciFi.StackExchange. That isn’t just a plug at the end of a PBS show, it’s the truth. Something like a ba-jillion years ago (Nov 15th 2011) I was one of the recipients of the Complete Collection of Harry Potter on DVD. I chose DVD because a) I didn’t have a BluRay, and b) I am not forward looking.  I received this grant on the promise to help promote Harry Potter questions and answers on the site.  Thanks to my contributions (and maybe others, I’m not keeping track) as of the writing of this post Harry Potter is the #1 tag on SciFi.StackExchange.