what is a monolith in 2001 a space odyssey
Monolith (Space Odyssey) In Arthur C. Clarke's Space Odyssey, monoliths are machines built by an unseen extraterrestrial species. In the series of novels (and the films based on these), three monoliths are discovered in the solar system by humans. (It is also revealed that thousands of others, if not more, exist elsewhere in the solar system.) The response of the characters to their discovery drives the plot of the series. It also influences the fictional history of the series, particularly by encouraging humankind to progress with technological development and space travel.
Battlestar Galactica Glen A. Larson, the creator and executive producer of Battlestar Galactica, claimed he had conceived of the Battlestar Galactica premise, which he called Adam's Ark, during the late 1960s. As James E. Ford detailed in “Battlestar Galactica and Mormon Theology,” a paper read at the Joint Conference of the American Culture and Popular Culture Associations on 17 April 1980 (and published as “Theology in Prime Time Science Fiction: Battlestar Galactica and Mormon Doctrine,” Journal of Popular Culture #17 [1983]: 83–87), the series incorporated many themes from Mormon theology, such as marriage for "time and eternity", a "council of twelve," and a planet called Kobol, as Larson was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.[1][2] However, he was unable to find financial backing for his TV series for a number of years. Battlestar Galactica was finally produced in the wake of the success of the 1977 film Star Wars. The original Cylons of Battlestar Galactica, robotic antagonists bent on destroying all humankind, owe much to Fred Saberhagen's berserker stories, including Saberhagen's fictional race The Builders whose "sliding single red eye" became the signature design element for the Cylons.