Vocabulary Test by Mike Murphy

Kidnapped by aliens, a meek college professor learns that the survival of the human race depends upon her performance on an alien-language vocabulary test.

Type:

Short

Status:

For sale

Page Count:

9pp

Genre:

Sci-Fi, Thriller

Budget:

Independent

Age Rating:

13+

Based On:

My audio script.

Synopsis/Details:

A meek college professor is kidnapped by aliens. Their leader begins teaching her alien words. She soon learns that the survival of everyone on Earth depends on her performance on an alien-language vocabulary test. She studies diligently and is relieved when she does very well. However, she soon learns that the idea was to do badly. The alien leader tells her that smart Earthlings would make very poor slaves - someday revolting against their masters.

Story & Logistics

Story Conclusion:

Ambiguous

Linear Structure:

Linear

Cast Size:

Several

Locations:

Few

Special Effects:

Minor cgi

Characters

Lead Role Ages:

Female over 45

Villian Type:

Beast/Monster

Advanced

Equality & Diversity:

Female Centric

Time Period:

Near future

Country:

United States of America (USA)

Time of Year:

Autumn/Fall

Submitted: May 4, 2019

Last Updated: October 16, 2024

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The Writer: Mike Murphy

Mike, a four-time Parsec Awards finalist, has had over 150 audio plays produced in the U.S. and overseas. He’s won a dozen Moondance International Film Festival Awards (winner, finalist, and semi-finalist) in their TV pilot, audio play, short screenplay, and short story categories. A more complete list of awards is presented below by year. In 2025, his TV pilot script Milly Foster, Macabre Investigator was a quarter-finalist in the Filmmatic Horror Screenplay Awards (Season 9). In the same year, Mike's screenplay Die Laughing was a semi-finalist in the 2025 New York International Screenplay Awards. In 2020, his screenplay Die Laughing was a semi-finalist in the Unique Voices Screenplay... Go to bio