Marcus Miles:

I agree with you about the stilted dialogue. I happen to be a fan of James White’s Sector General series about a galactic hospital, so I enjoyed the references. Morrison even used the same name! James White grew up during the Troubles in Northern Ireland and therefore wrote pacifist science fiction, with minimal security actions.

The shape of the hospital is a reference to Dr. Prillicla, an empathic insectoid at Sector General. I think Prillicla was a partial inspiration for the Starjammers’ Sikorsky. Prillicla is from a low gravity world and fragile, and therefore is timid. Perhaps the timidity was transferred to the lion. The giant caterpillar nurse is a reference to two staff of White’s Sector General series – Kelgian (alien caterpillar) Nurse Naydrad, who just happens to specialize in victims of space accidents, and Doctor Thornnastor, a six-legged elephant. I am inclined to lean towards Naydrad, given the nurse appellation and the caterpillarness. The line about what goes on in the methane-breathing section is a reference to Doctor Thornnastor’s fascination with scandals in the methane-breathing world. The chief character of Sector General, Doctor Conway, prefers alien company except for busty (human) Nurse Murchison – if you combine the two interests (White’s universe has no interspecies hookups), you have Hal Jordan’s love interests.

I’m not sure if the Cowardly Lion is a reference to a particular Sector General story – generally White’s aliens are less familiar. What I take away from this is that the Green Lantern mythos has moved on from grave-robbing E E “Doc” Smith’s Lensmen to doing the same to other science fiction franchises.