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| Frank Poole | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Background | |
| Name | Frank Poole |
| Aliases | Francis "Frank" Poole |
| Continuity | Space Odyssey |
| Category | Supporting character |
| General | |
| Type | Astronaut |
| Race | Human |
| Gender | Male |
| Base of Operations | Discovery One spacecraft |
| Known relatives | Mister Poole (father); Mrs. Poole (mother); Indra Wallace (wife); Dawn Poole (daughter); Martin Poole (son) |
| Status | Alive |
| Born | Unknown |
| Died | |
| Out-of-Universe | |
| First Appearance | 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) |
| Played by | Gary Lockwood |
Doctor Francis "Frank" Poole is a supporting character featured in the 1968 science fiction film 2001: A Space Odyssey. The character is also presented in the 2001: A Space Odyssey novel, which was published to coincide with the release of the film. The character appears again in the fourth novel in the series 3001: The Final Odyssey, where he reunites with colleague Dave Bowman and learns about fantastic things that have taken place in the past one-thousand years.
Biography[]
The Jupiter Mission[]
Frank Poole was the deputy commander of the interstellar spacecraft known as Discovery One and worked alongside mission controller David Bowman. In the year 2001, the crew of the Discovery One were assigned to travel to the planet Jupiter as part of "Project: Jupiter" - Earth's first manned voyage to the fifth planet. The official mission briefing was scheduled for one-hundred days, wherein the crew would map and study the world and transmit their findings back to Earth. After the mission was completed, they were expected to enter artificial hibernation and wait to be re-acquisitioned in the year 2006. However, the true mission of the Discovery One was one that only a handful of people back on Earth were even aware of. Aboard the ship, only the onboard computer system, the HAL 9000, knew that they were being sent to investigate the possible existence of an extraterrestrial Monolith, which was believed to be in Jupiter's orbit. [1]
Poole and Bowman were the only members of the five-man crew who were conscious during the initial leg of the journey. The other three crewmembers, Charles Hunter, Jack Kimball and Victor Kaminsky were left in suspended animation. Along the way, the HAL 9000 informed Doctor Poole and Bowman that the ship's AE-35 unit was failing and needed to be replaced within seventy-two hours. Without it, the crew of the Discovery One would lose all contact with Earth. Bowman took an EVA pod outside the ship to inspect the parabolic antenna array, but found nothing wrong with it. He pondered the notion that HAL might be incorrect in his assertion, but when Poole and Bowman questioned the computer, HAL emphatically reinforced its assessment, citing the superiority of the 9000 series computer models and that no 9000 system has ever made a miscalculation or error. HAL suggested leaving the allegedly faulty AE-35 in place to fail to demonstrate that it was in fact correct.
Poole and Bowman met with one another inside an EVA pod so they could discuss the matter without HAL's systems listening in. Poole believed HAL was malfunctioning and should be disconnected from the ship, even if doing such a thing meant that they would have to continue ship operations manually. What neither of the men realized, was that one of HAL's eye monitors viewed them in the ship and was able to distinguish what they were saying by reading their lips.
Against Hal's advice, Poole took a replacement unit and engaged in a space walk to repair the antenna himself. HAL, having become a self-aware intelligence, feared that Poole and Bowman were going to disconnect his systems. To prevent this, he took control of Frank's EVA and angled it towards him. The ship cut Frank's oxygen hose and the sudden release of pressure cartwheeled him into outer space. [2][3]
Final Odyssey[]
Although left to die, Frank Poole's body was actually flash-frozen in the vacuum of space where it drifted endlessly for one-thousand years. The advanced medical technology of the time was able to revive him and Poole was brought back to life. Poole then contended with a trio of Monoliths that held sway over the solar system and learned about the celestial evolutionary change that had come over Dave Bowman over the past millennium.
Poole married a woman named Indra Wallace and had two children, Dawn and Martin.
Notes & Trivia[]
- Actor Tom Hanks once expressed interest in directing a film version of 3001, in which he would have played Doctor Poole.
External Links[]
References[]
- ↑ In the film, he was sent to Jupiter. In the novel, his mission was to the planet Saturn.
- ↑ 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
- ↑ 2001: A Space Odyssey (novel)