&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& & & & ALIEN, ALIENS and ALIEN^3 & & & & Information and Frequently Asked Questions & & & & Version 2.0 & & & &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& A word about the information provided in this FAQ (paraphrased from earlier editions): The contents of this FAQ are not "carved in stone" so if you have proof to support or deny anything that is stated, don't hesitate to say so. This FAQ is continually updated from the mail I get and the news I read in the newsgroups listed below. This FAQ was founded about a one and a half years ago by Daryll Hobson, who gave me the pleasure of taking care of it from now on. If there are any lacks of information in this FAQ, please send your contribution to me. Have a nice read... -Eelko de Vos (Vos@Dutiws.TWI.TUDelft.NL) And now a small word from the originator of this FAQ... With the exceptions of my own contributions, this FAQ has been assembled by the material supplied to me through Email and public-access messages that I've scavenged off the internet. Information that is contributed is often paraphrased and combined with existing (other users') info. Needless to say, it's impossible to give everybody their rightful line of credit, so a general "Thank you" goes out to all who've contributed to this FAQ and made it what it is. (you know who you are) - Darryll Hobson This FAQ will be posted about every months to: alt.cult-movies rec.arts.sf.movies rec.arts.movies It might also available by anonymous FTP (here's what you do): ftp rtfm.mit.edu cd /pub/usenet/news.answers/movies/alien-faq mget part* quit WARNING: This FAQ contains spoilers. WARNING: Anyone who complains about the posting of this LARGE document to the Internet or offers me bizzarre, strange, and complicated alternatives to "posting" will be [cordially] ignored. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ CONTENTS PART 1: How do I contribute to this FAQ?........................................0 Movie synopsis..........................................................1 What do we know about the Alien species?................................2 Who is [character/director]?............................................3 Which scenes were "cut"?................................................4 What different versions of each movie are there?........................5 Merchandise.............................................................6 PART 2: Memorable quotes........................................................7 Technical problems......................................................8 Trivia..................................................................9 Plot problems and loopholes.............................................10 Frequently asked questions..............................................11 PART 3: Frequently discussed topics.............................................12 Movie viewing rituals...................................................13 Where can I get Gibson's ALIEN^3 script?................................14 Revision history........................................................15 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 0. HOW DO I CONTRIBUTE TO THIS FAQ? To ensure accuracy, this FAQ has a few ground rules. The only canonical sources are interviews with the creators, the theatrical version of _ALIEN_, the director's cut (or theatrical version) of _ALIENS_ and the theatrical version of _ALIEN^3_. All other sources (ie: books, comics, toys, games, etc...) are generally considered speculative. This does not mean that any information outside of the listed movies is not welcome here. Alot of the "speculative" information is used in discussions or for giving "possible" answers to questions that cannot be answered by events that occur in the movies. If you would like to contribute to this FAQ, TRY and follow this guideline: - include references where necessary. If you're referring to a book, it's often a good idea to include the title of the book and Author's name as it would appear on the book (ie: " Alan Dean Foster " instead of " Foster ") - DON'T be too wordy with your information as I'll be forced to paraphrase it (the document is rather large). - DON'T send stuff like "I really liked ALIENS" because it's OPINION and it's not FACT and it doesn't belong in this document. - if you wish to update/add to something already in the FAQ, please do so. Some of this information could easily be elaborated upon [especially the comments that are enclosed in square brackets]. - it's preferable if you make your contribution through Email as this FAQ can get posted to a newsgroup that I don't read and your efforts will be wasted. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. MOVIE SYNOPSIS * Note: the purpose of this section is to quote what's on the back of the movie boxes (right or wrong). _ALIEN_ (Color, 1979, Rated R, Shot in Panavision (2.35:1)) In deep outer space the crew of a commercial spaceship make an unscheduled landing on a barren and desolate planet for engine repairs. They encounter a pulsating organism which attaches itself to one of the crew members and reproduces within his body to become the deadly ALIEN. As each of the crew members is slain by the creature - one by one - the final confrontation between the last surviving crew member and the Alien culminates in an explosive conclusion. 116 minutes. [quoted from the 1984 CBS/FOX Video release] _ALIENS_ (Color, 1986, Rated R, Shot flat (1.87:1)) Sigourney Weaver returns as Ripley, the only survivor from mankind's first encounter with the Alien. Her account of the Alien and the fate of her crew is received with skepticism - until transmissions from space colonists who have since settled on the Alien's planet abruptly stop. Determined to end the recurring nightmares of her terrifying ordeal and to completely exterminate the deadly creature, Ripley joins a team of high-tech combat vets sent to investigate the disappearance of the space colonists! Approx. 138 Minutes. [quoted from the 1992 CBS/FOX Video release] _ALIEN^3_ (Color, 1992, Rated R, Shot in Panavision (2.35:1)) In _ALIEN^3_, Ripley finds herself an unwelcome guest on Fiorina 161, a lice-infested planet in a distant solar system, when the EEV she's travelling on malfunctions and crashes. Fiorina -- or "Fury" -- 161 is inhabited by a small community of violent criminals who discovered religion and stayed behind when their prison facility was evacuated. As a woman, Ripley is the ultimate outcast; her presence causes conflicts that endanger the pracarious balance of power on the planet, threatening to turn the reformed members of the monastic community back into killers. There is, however, an even more dangerous visitor to Fury 161 -- a stowaway alien who threatens not only the inhabitants of this planet but of the entire universe. Faced with extinction, the prisoners band together under Ripley's leadership and, despite a lack of advanced technology and modern weapons, battle the creature for the very future of mankind. [quoted from the 1992 CBS/FOX laserdisc release] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2. WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT THE ALIEN SPECIES? This section discusses what we know about the Alien life-form; it is entirely based on facts that are provided to us in each of the movies. * Note: nothing in any of the canonical sources indicates that aliens use the DNA of their hosts to help adapt to their environment. * Note: the phrase "acid for blood" is accepted in this section as a convenient way of describing the corrosive liquid that comes out of the aliens/face-huggers when they are shot/cut/mutilated. Eggs - eggs are initially created inside a queen alien and enter the world (after being queued in her extended abdomen) via slimey tube to stand on their own (indicating that there is a definite "up" side and "down" side to the egg). The egg itself is a leathery object [...it's full of leathery- objects; like eggs or something... Kane (Alien)], translucent and approximately 2.5 feet tall. According to a scene that was cut from _ALIEN_ these eggs could also be "constructed" by a regular alien "infecting" an organism (which would undergo some sort of metamorphosis) however, this concept was not supported (nor denied) in _ALIENS_ and _ALIEN^3_. It is important to note that this method was the originally intended method of the designer of the Alien, H.R. Giger. _ALIEN^3_ eggs - the egg in _ALIEN^3_ was smaller than we had previously seen and it was more bulbous. Face-huggers - hibernating inside one of these eggs is a parasite, commonly refered to as a face-hugger. When a viable host is brought near a closed egg (either by curiosity, or being cocooned and held in place) it triggers the "contents" of the egg to come to life. The egg opens and the face-hugger launches out at the organism and attaches itself by wrapping a long "tail" around its victim's neck and using long spider-like legs (like a spider, the face-hugger has 8 legs) to firmly grip the organism's head. The face-hugger controls the amount of oxygen its host receives and puts the victim in a comatose state while it reaches down the host's throat and lays an egg. In order to ensure that the job can be completed with little outside interference, the face-hugger has concentrated acid for "blood" (a possible self defense mechanism) and can strangle its host with its tail [...it's not coming off without tearing his face off with it. Dallas (Alien)] After the egg is planted in the victim's body, the face-hugger leaves the host (who will soon re-gain conciousness and have no recollection of the implantation) and dies. [...he's got an outer layer of protein poly-saccarides, has a funny habit of shedding his cells and replacing them with polarized silicon which gives him a longer resistance to adverse environmental conditions. Ash (Alien)] Chest-burster - the alien begins its life by bursting from the chest of its host. At this stage in its development it has a small cranium, tan-colored skin and is susceptable to fire. _ALIENS_ chestburster - Unlike the one in _ALIEN_ this chestburster had arms. _ALIEN^3_ chestburster - This chestburster was different from the ones in _ALIEN_ and _ALIENS_; it was more "mature looking" immediately after its birth. Specifically, unlike the chestbursters of the previous movies, this one had legs. Alien - As the chest-burster matures, it sheds its skin (similar to a snake), its cranium becomes elongated and it has a hard, dark (black/green) outer shell (exo-skeleton). The mature alien has concentrated acid for "blood" and a higher tolerance to fire. As indicated in _ALIENS_ the alien creature does not "show up" on infra-red scanners which would indicate that it does not emit heat. One distinguishing feature of the alien is that it has two mouths, one inside the other. According to H.R. Giger, the inner mouth is in fact the alien's "tongue" (it is such a vicious creature that even its tongue is dangerous). Another interesting feature of the alien is that it does not have (what we would perceive to be) "eyes". _ALIENS_ alien - these aliens only had 3 fingers as opposed to the 6 fingered creature in _ALIEN_. Aliens in this movie had a "ribbed" cranium unlike the smooth cranium of _ALIEN_. _ALIEN^3_ alien - This alien is different than the previous ones we've seen; it tends to move around on all fours at times and ensures that the unborn queen alien is kept safe. There are a few speculations as to why this alien is different; refer to section [13] frequently discussed topics. The Queen Alien - little is known about her. From _ALIEN^3_ we know that a queen alien can be born in the same way as a regular alien. Some things that we do know about the queen: she has a much larger cranium than the usual alien and is slightly taller (approx 2-3 feet). The queen has the ability to create and lay eggs (through the use of the extended abdomen) and she has the ability to survive without the extended abdomen (for an unknown amount of time). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3. WHO IS [CHARACTER/DIRECTOR] ? If you seek further information about the cast or creators listed below, check out the rec.arts.movies movie database package which is available via anonymous FTP to boulder.colorado.edu in the pub/tv+movies/lists directory. _ALIEN_ Director: Ridley Scott Writer: Dan O'Bannon Composer: Jerry Goldsmith Director of Photography: Derek Vanlint Designer: H.R.Giger (Hans Rudi Giger. Giger pronounced rhyming with "eager") Cast: Ellen Ripley [Sigourney Weaver]: Warrant Officer J. Lambert [Veronica Cartwright]: Navigator. Ash [Ian Holm]: Science officer, an android. Parker [Yaphet Kotto]: Chief engineer. G. E. Kane [John Hurt]: Executive officer; the alien bursts from his chest. (In the novel, his first name is "Thomas") S. E. Brett [Harry Dean Stanton]: Engineering technician. A. Dallas [Tom Skerritt]: Captain. Alien [Bolaji Bodejo] Mother [Helen Horton]: voice of the Nostromo computer. _ALIENS_ Director: James Cameron Writers: James Cameron, David Giler (story), Walter Hill (story) Composer: James Horner Director of Photography: Adrian Biddle Cast: Ellen Ripley [Sigourney Weaver]: Cargo loader, gets assigned (by choice) as an advisor for the mission to LV-426. Sergeant A. Apone [Al Matthews]: sergeant, ground commander. Corporal Dwayne Hicks [Michael Biehn]: only soldier that survived. Private W. Hudson [Bill Paxton]: "Game over man! Game over!" Private J. Vasquez [Jenette Goldstein]: uses a smart gun. Private M. Drake [Mark Rolston]: uses a smart gun. Corporal C. Ferro [Colette Hiller]: dropship pilot (wears sunglasses). Private D. Spunkmeyer [Daniel Kash]: dropship co-pilot and cargo loader. L. Bishop [Lance Henriksen]: Android; science officer. Carter J. Burke [Paul Reiser]: Company advisor. Private R. Frost [Ricco Ross]: Hated the corn bread. Private T. Crowe [Tip Tipping] Corporal C. Dietrich [Cynthia Scott]: Medic. Lieutenant S. Gorman [William Hope]: Controls the marines from the APC. Private T. Wierzbowski [Trevor Steedman] Rebecca Jorden [Carrie Henn]: Newt. _ALIEN^3_ Director: David Fincher Writers: Larry Ferguson, David Giler, Walter Hill, Vincent Ward (story) Composer: Elliot Goldenthal Director of Photography: Alex Thomson Cast: Ellen Ripley [Sigourney Weaver]: sole survivor of the Sulaco, shaves her head, carries the next alien queen embryo in her body. Bishop [Lance Henriksen]: android and (in a different roll) the designer of the android. Clemens [Charles Dance]: the doctor. Golic [Paul McGann]: in the infirmary, wearing the straight jacket. Dillon [Charles S. Dutton]: the religious leader. Andrews [Brian Glover]: superintendant Newt [Danielle Edmond]: the little girl corpse. Aaron [Ralph Brown] Morse [Danny Webb] Arthur [Dhobi Oparei] Murphy [Chris Fairbank] Jude [Vincenzo Nicoli] Eric [Niall Buggy] Frank [Carl Chase] Kevin [Philip Davis] Rains [Christopher John Fields] Gregor [Peter Guinness] Boggs [Leon Herbert] William [Clive Mantle] Junior [Holt McCallany] David [Pete Postlethwaite] Troy [Paul Brennan] Company Man [Hi Ching] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4. FILMED SCENES THAT DIDN'T APPEAR IN THE THEATRICAL RELEASES. _ALIEN_ * From Famous Monsters #158, Special 1980 Annual: A gruesome scene where Kane's bloated corpse floats past the observation blister. * From the _ALIEN_ box set: After being awakened from hypersleep, Kane wanders out to the kitchen to prepare breakfast, he says "Rise and shine Lambert". Scene where the crew gathers on the bridge and listens to the signal coming from the derelict craft. [1 min, 40 sec] Scene where Lambert confronts Ripley about Ripley's reluctance to let them back on the ship with Kane and the facehugger. Lambert tells Ripley, Parker and Brett how the face hugger got on Kane. [1 min, 40 sec] Ripley radios down to Parker and Brett to see how they're progressing on the repairs, Parker and Ripley exchange tense words over the radio. [1 min, 17 sec] After the face hugger's acid eats through a few floors, the crew returns to the med lab to check up on Kane's condition. Ripley sees an X-Ray of Kane's chest and asks Ash, "What is that dark stain on Kane's lung?" The rest of the crew starts asking if Kane's going to live, Dallas tells everyone to go back to work. [2 min, 16 sec] After Kane's death, the crew gathers around at the meal table to discuss what they're going to do with the escaped alien. Brett anounces the cattle-prod idea and suggests "catching" the alien in a net. [2 min, 58 sec] Longer version of Brett's death. This scene had Brett frozen with fear as the alien grabs his head, he yells "Parker!" and then blood poors from beneath his cap. The alien lifts him up into the landing gear and Ripley and Parker come rushing in. Parker stands where Brett once was and looks up; blood drips on his shirt and then Brett's cattle prod falls to Parker's feet. [48 sec] 2/3 of a scene was filmed, this involved Parker, Ripley and Lambert trying to flush the alien out of the air lock. As they are about to succeed, an alarm is triggered and the alien rushes out of the airlock (getting its tail caught in the closing door, and spilling acid that causes a hull breech). Parker falls unconciously to the floor, Ripley does the same and Lambert and Ash come to their rescue. Ripley vocalizes her suspicions about Ash by accusing him of setting the alarm off. [total: 1 min, 51 sec] After Dallas's disappearance, Ripley (being suspicious of Ash) asks Lambert if she's ever slept with him. [1 min, 37 sec] The build-up to Lambert's death is much longer. (Watch the alien's shadow on the wall, it walks in, crouches down, then immediately gets up) A scene where we see the alien enter, crouch down and wait until Lambert notices its presence was cut. When Lambert sees the alien, it uncoils its tail and walks (like a crab) over to Lambert. After Ripley discovers the remains of Parker and Lambert, she makes another discovery. Ripley enters the landing gear area of the Nostromo (where Brett got killed) and discovers a cocooned Dallas and Brett mutating into an egg. Dallas pleads, "Kill me". Ripley flames Dallas and the Brett-egg and then runs to set the ship on self-destruct. [3 min, 22 sec] _ALIENS_ * From the "liner notes" that came with the collector's edition of the movie on laserdisc. Ripley is sitting on the park bench waiting for Burke (before the inquisition), immediately following her stay in Gateway Station' hospital. This scene reveals that Ripley had a daughter who died 1.5 years before Ripley was found, and Ripley had promised to be back for her 11th birthday before going off into space on the Nostromo. After Ripley's outburst during in the inquest ("Because if one of those creatures gets down here, you can kiss all of this goodbye"), dialogue has been restored in which Van Leuwen voices the council's final decision. (her flight status is revoked because she is deemed unfit to serve as a flight officer, she has to have monthly psych evaluations, and no criminal charges being filed against her) During the sequence in Ripley's apartment (where they try to convince her to go investigate the lack of contact with the Colony), Burke's dialogue regarding "The Company's" interest in the colony has been restored. Immediately following the establishing shot of the Sulaco is a restored introdution to the interior of the ship, eventually leading to the frost- covered hypersleep chamber (and then they wake-up. this is similar to the start of Alien). During the drop from the Sulaco to LV-426, is a restored scene of Hudson playfully boasting about the Marines and their weaponry. During the Marines' initial search through the colony, a sequence has been inserted in which Hudson investigate some motion they have deteced ahead of them. The scene in which Ripley, Burke, Gorman, and Bishop enter the colony has been restored. (you see lotsa hesitation on Ripley's face before entering the complex). During Hick's discussion of the equipment salvaged from the APC wreckage, additional dialogue has been added in which he discribes the four remote sentry guns and how they can be used. When Ripley and the Marines examine the colony's blueprints, discussing how they will barricade themselves inside the complex, there is some additional dialogue referring to the strategic placement of the sentry guns. The sequence of Hicks arming the sentry, and Hudson and Vasquez testing one of the sentry guns been restored. Before the scene where Ripley carries Newt into the infirmary, a single show of the sentry guns has been inserted. During the scene where Ripley puts Newt to bed in the medical center, the dialogue about Ripley's daughter and the origin of babies as been restored. (Newt asks if Ripley ever had a daughter and the fact that she's dead). In the scene where Ripley, Bishop, Hudson, and Vasquez discuss the aliens' life cycle, there is some additional dialogue in which Hudson, Vasquez and Bishop offer their speculations. (beehive/anthill sort of society) After Ripley's confrontation with Burke, the sequence involving the aliens attempting to make their way past the sentry guns in the service tunnel has been restored. After Vasquez and Ripley seal Bishop in the pipe, the aliens confront the other two sentry guns that have been set up in the colony corridors. At the end of the sequence, when Hicks dispatches Hudson and Vasquez (to walk perimeter), some of the shots have been rearranged from the theatrical edition and Hicks' dialogue slightly altered. Before Ripley leaves the drop-ship to rescue Newt, there is some additional dialogue in thich she turns to Hicks to say goodbye, and they exchange their first names: RIPLEY : See you Hicks. HICKS : Dwayne. It's Dwayne. RIPLEY : Ellen. HICKS : Don't be gone long, Ellen. Scene where a small the colonists receive orders from Burke telling them to explore the derelict space craft. Newt's family drives to the site, during the trip Newt and her brother Timothy are arguing about a game of hide and seek that they play in the colony's airduct system. Timothy complains that Newt has the unfair advantage of being able to hide in the small places that the rest of the players can't get to. Following this, they arrive at the derelict ship and the mother and father go in; later the mother returns dragging the father who now has a face hugger clamped on his face. There's a scene of the colony, before contact with the aliens, in this scene we see a sign outside the colony reading: "Hadleys Hope - pop. 158" Newt asks Ripley if human babies are born the same way the aliens are. When Ripley is searching for Newt, she finds Burke who has been cocooned and impregnated. Burke begs Ripley to shoot him, instead she hands him a grenade. < this scene did not appear in the director's cut, but WAS filmed > _ALIEN^3_ * NOTE: most of these scenes are only rumoured to exist, no solid proof exists, but I thought I'd keep them in in case someone can substantiate them. Scene where Ripley's face is covered with bugs [possibly lice?] There was a dream sequence near the start of the movie where Ripley dreams that an alien is searching the wreckage and tries to rape her. The original movie didn't include the scene of the alien bursting from the dog's chest. Card #39 (of the _ALIEN^3_ trading card set) is a picture of an ox hanging in an Abattoir and the text says, "In one of the original scenes for Alien^3, oxen are used to pull Ripley's EEV from the water. When one of the oxen falls to the ground, the prisoners take it to the Abattoir for butchering. But while a prisoner is preparing to butcher the ox, the Alien bursts from the animals chest." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 5. DIFFERENT MOVIE VERSIONS. _ALIEN_ Video - standard (has been resold in several different box re-prints) - special edition (wide screen) Disc - standard - special letterbox version containing a seperate section with the cut scenes, photos and several design drawings, including drawings by Moebius, Ron Cobb and H.R. Giger. - "Alien" Super 8 Film (200 feet long) _ALIENS_ Video - standard - directors cut, containing cut scenes put back into the movie. Disc - standard - special letterbox, director's cut version containing a seperate section with design drawings, behind the scenes footage and interviews with the director. Extended version's running time: 154 minutes. _ALIEN^3_ Video - standard - "the making of" Disc - standard letterboxed edition ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 6. MERCHANDISE This is an ever-expanding portion of the FAQ so it is probably FAR from complete. _BOOKS_ * NOTE: "pb" = paperback, "hc" = hardcover. - Alien Souvenir Movie Program sold in theatres (pb) - Alien Official Movie Magazine (pb, Warren Publishing) - "The Book Of Alien" by Scanlon/Gross (pb, Simon & Schuster) - "Alien, The Illustrated Story" by Goodwin/Simonson (pb, Heavy Metal) - "Alien", The Movie Novel edited by Anobile (pb, Avon) - "Giger's Alien" art by H R Giger (pb, Big O Publishing) (hc, Morpheus International) - "Aliens", The Official Movie Book (pb, Starlog) (pb, Japanese) - "Aliens", The Official Movie Magazine (pb, Starlog) - "Alien" by Alan Dean Foster (novelisation) (pb, 1st US ed. Warner) (1st US. hc, SFBC, code J-27) (1st trade hc, UK) - "Aliens" by Alan Dean Foster (novelisation) (pb, 1st US ed. Warner) (1st US hc, SFBC, code Q-44) (1st trade hc, UK, Severn House) - "Alien^3" by Alan Dean Foster (novelisation) - "Alien" Movie Script by Hill and Giler - "Aliens" Movie Script by James Cameron - "Alien III" Movie Script by William Gibson - "Alien Poster Magazine" Nos. 1 & 2 - Alien Press Book - Alien Press Kit - Aliens Press Kit - "Aliens, book 1: Earth Hive" by Steve Perry (Bantam, Oct 1992) (ISBN 0-553-56120-0 pb) - "Aliens, book 2: Nightmare Asylum" by Steve Perry (Bantam, May 1993) (ISBN 0-553-56158-8 pb) - "Aliens, book 3: The Female War" by Steve Perry and Stephani Perry (Bantam, Aug 1993) (ISBN 0-553-56159-6 pb) _COMICS_ w writer a artist c cover artist ? indicates more information needed - COMIC SHOP NEWS: Comics Debut 1 Jun 93 Aliens/Predator: Deadliest of the Species preview - DARK HORSE COMICS: Aliens 1-6 (1988-9) w:Mark Verheiden ac:Mark A. Nelson 1 (6 printings) 2 (3 printings) 3-6 (2 printings) collected in hardcover, trade pb (aka Aliens Book One), includes reprint of DHP 24 b&w Aliens Portfolio 1 (Feb 89) a:Mark Nelson Contains seven b&w plates and an eight-page mini-comic reprinting first Alien story from DHP 24 Aliens Volume 2 1-4 (1989-90) w:Mark Verheiden ac:Denis Beauvais 1-2 (2 printings) collected in limited hardcover 2500 copies, trade pb (aka Aliens Book Two and Aliens II) Aliens: Earth War 1-4 (1990) w:Mark Verheiden a:Sam Keith c:John Bolton 1 (2 printings) collected in trade pb with an introduction by Verheiden explaining how all of the various Alien projects interconnect The Complete Alien (1993?) reprints Aliens Book One, Aliens Book Two, Aliens: Earth War and stories from DHP limited hardcover 500 copies slipcover, leather binding, signed and numbered Aliens vs. Predator 0-4 (1990) w:Randy Stradley ac:Phill Norwood a:Karl Story c:Mike Mignola a:Chris Warner a:Robert Campanella c:Dave Dorman 0 (reprints Dark Horse Presents 34-36, b&w) 1-4 (2 printings) collected in limited hardcover 1000 copies, trade pb, includes color reprint of DHP 34-36 Aliens: Genocide 1-4 (1991-2) w:Mike Richardson w:John Arcudi a:Damon Willis a:Karl Story c:Arthur Suydam collected in trade pb Aliens: Hive 1-4 (1992) w:Jerry Prosser ac:Kelley Jones collected in trade pb, c:Dave Dorman Aliens: Newt's Tale 1-2 (1992) w:Mike Richardson a:Jim Somerville a:Brian Garvey c:John Bolton prestige format Alien3 1-3 (1992) w:Steven Grant a:Christopher Taylor a:Rick Magyar c:Arthur Suydam movie adaptation Aliens: Tribes (1992) w:Steve Bissette ac:Dave Dorman graphic novel Winner 1992 Bram Stoker Award from Horror Writers of America limited hardcover 1000 copies, hardcover, trade pb Aliens: Sacrifice (May 93) w:Peter Milligan ac:Paul Johnson prestige format Aliens: Salvation (Nov 93) w:Dave Gibbons a:Mike Mignola a:Kevin Nowlan prestige format Aliens: Colonial Marines 1-12 (1993-4) w:Chris Warner a:Tony Akins a:Paul Guinan c:Robert Mentor 1 (cardboard cover) 2-3 w:Kelley Puckett a:Paul Guinan a:Allen Nunis c:Joe Phillips 4-5 w:Kelley Puckett a:Paul Guinan a:Bob Smith c:Joe Phillips 6 wa:Paul Guinan a:Tony Akins c:Robert Mentor 7 8-12 (forthcoming) Aliens: Rogue 1-4 (1993) w:Ian Edgington ac:Will Simpson Aliens/Predator: The Deadliest of the Species 1-12 (1993-4) w:Chris Claremont a:Jackson Guice a:John Beatty c:John Bolton a:Eduardo Barretto 1 Jul 93 Special Ash Can Edition (red foil cover) 1 Jul 93 Special Ash Can Edition (numbered, copper foil cover ?) 1 Jul 93 Time of the preacher 1 Jul 93 Time of the preacher (audio-enhanced edition ?) 1 Jul 93 Time of the preacher (platinum edition) 2 Sep 93 The hunt 3 Nov 93 Virtually real 4 Jan 94 The great escape 5-12 (forthcoming) Aliens: Labyrinth 1-4 (1993-4) w:Jim Woodring ac:Kilian Plunkett Aliens: Music of the Spears 1-4 (1994) w:Chet Williamson a:Tim Hamilton ac:Timothy Bradstreet c:Guy Burwell 2-4 (forthcoming) Aliens: Dragon (1994) w:Mark Askwith ac:Charles Vess graphic novel (forthcoming) - DARK HORSE PRESENTS (b&w anthology series): 24 1987? Theory of Alien Propagation w:Mark Verheiden a:Mark A. Nelson first Alien appearance in Dark Horse comics b&w 34 Nov 89 Aliens w:Randy Stradley a:Phill Norwood a:Karl Story c:Chris Warner b&w 36 Feb 90 Aliens vs. Predator w:Randy Stradley a:Phill Norwood a:Karl Story c:Chris Warner c:Dave Dorman b&w, line drawn cover 36 Feb 90 Aliens vs. Predator w:Randy Stradley a:Phill Norwood a:Karl Story c:Chris Warner c:Dave Dorman b&w, painted cover 42 Jul 90 Aliens part 1: Advent wac:Paul Guinan b&w 43 Aug 90 Aliens part 2: Terminus wac:Paul Guinan b&w 56 Nov 91 The Alien parts 1 & 2 w:John Arcudi a:Tony Akins ac:Paul Guinan b&w Dark Horse Presents Fifth Anniversary Special (1992?) Aliens: Reapers w:John Arcudi a:Simon Bisley Also contains unseen epilogue to Aliens vs. Predator series w:Randy Stradley a:Phill Norwood trade paperback, b&w Dark Horse Presents: Aliens 1 (1992) c:Simon Bisley 1 prestige format 1 prestige format, platinum edition color reprints of stories from DHP 24, 42, 43, DHP 5th Anniv special, 56 Best of Dark Horse Presents (1992-3?) Volumes 1-3 may contain Alien stories ? trade pb, reprint collection - DARK HORSE COMICS (color anthology series): Aliens: Horror Show w:Sarah Byam a:David Roach 3 Oct 92 part 1 c:David Roach 4 Nov 92 part 2 5 Dec 92 part 3 c:Dave Dorman Aliens: Taste w:Edward Martin III a:Mark Nelson c:Arthur Adams 11 Jul 93 Aliens: Backsplash w:Jim Woodring a:Kilian Plunkett 12 Aug 93 part 1 13 Sep 93 part 2 c:Kilian Plunkett Aliens: Cargo w:Dan Jolley a:John Nadean a:Terry Pallot 15 Nov 93 part 1 c:John Higgins 16 Dec 93 part 2 Aliens: Alien w:John Arcudi a:Paul Mendoza 17 Jan 94 part 1 of 3 18-19 (forthcoming) - DARK HORSE INSIDER (promotional series): Aliens: Countdown (1990-1) w:Mike Richardson a:Dennis Beauvais Serialized story probably started in issue #14 of Volume 1 (Sep 90) and continued for an unknown number of issues but completed by Jan 92 Aliens vs Predator 2 (1992-3) w:Randy Stradley a:Chris Warner Serialized story probably started in issue #1 of Volume 2 (Jan 92) and completed in issue #14 (Feb 93) Vol 2 #12 Dec 92 Alien cover - DARK HORSE INTERNATIONAL (UK monthly magazines): Aliens Volume 1 17 or more issues, content unknown Aliens Volume 2 Serial reprints and original stories 1 Jul 92? Hive, Aliens vs. Predator 2 2 Aug 92 Hive, Aliens vs. Predator 2, Newt's Tale 3 Sep 92 Hive, Aliens vs. Predator 2, Newt's Tale 4 Oct 92 Hive, Aliens vs. Predator 2, Newt's Tale 5 Nov 92 Hive, Aliens vs. Predator 2, Newt's Tale 6 Dec 92 Hive, Aliens vs. Predator 2, Newt's Tale 7 Jan 93 Hive, Aliens vs. Predator 2, Newt's Tale 8 Feb 93 Hive, Aliens vs. Predator 2, Newt's Tale 9 Mar 93 Hive, Aliens vs. Predator 2, Countdown (mini-comic part 1, collected from Dark Horse Insider), Colonial Marines, Sacrifice 10 Apr 93 Aliens vs. Predator 2, Countdown (mini-comic part 2), Colonial Marines, Sacrifice, Tribes 11 May 93 Aliens vs. Predator 2, Colonial Marines, Sacrifice, Tribes 12 Jun 93 Aliens vs. Predator 2, Colonial Marines, Sacrifice, Tribes, Horror Show 13 Jul 93 Aliens vs. Predator 2, Colonial Marines, Tribes, Horror Show, Crusade (w:Christian Gorny a:Michael Cook) 14 Aug 93 Aliens vs. Predator 2, Colonial Marines, Tribes, Horror Show, Crusade 15 Sep 93 Colonial Marines, Tribes, Crusade, Backsplash 16 Oct 93 Colonial Marines, Tribes, Crusade, Backsplash 17 Nov 93 Colonial Marines, Crusade, Cargo, Taste 18 Dec 93 Colonial Marines, Crusade, Cargo 19 Jan 94 Colonial Marines, Crusade, Salvation 20 Feb 94 Colonial Marines, Crusade, Salvation 21 Mar 94 Colinial Marines, Crusade, Salvation, Alien 22 Apr 94 Colonial Marines, Crusade, Alien, Rogue 23 May 94 Colonial Marines, Alien, Rogue, Matrix (graphic novella, w:Grant Morrison a:Chris Halls) Alien3 Movie Special 1-3 movie adaptation Total Carnage Aliens/Predator: The Deadliest of the Species serialized starting in issue #9 (Nov 93) - DIAMOND COMIC DISTRIBUTERS: Aliens: Earth Angel (1993-4) wa:John Byrne Serialized in Previews, Vol III #1 - Vol IV #1 To be collected in a future issue of Previews - ECLIPSE COMICS: Illegal Aliens (Sep 92) w:Clint McElroy ac:Bill Maus ac:Bob Hanon parody, modern vs. classic movie monsters b&w - HEAVY METAL COMMUNICATIONS: Alien, the Illustrated Story (1979) w:Archie Goodwin a:Walter Simonson ISBN 930-36842-8 trade pb _MAGAZINES & ARTICLES_ - Alien Invasions (Warren Presents No.3) - American Cinematographer: August, 1979 issue - American Film: Vol.4, No.5. - Cinefantastique: Vol.9, No.1 Vol.16, No.3, No.4/5 (double issue) - Cinefex: Nos. 1 & 27 - Cinemacabre: No.2 - Cracked Magazine: (parody) Digest No. II (Monster Party, 1/87) - Famous Monsters of Filmland: Nos. 154,155,156,157,158,159 - Fangoria: Nos. 1 & 3 - Fantastic Films: Nos. 9,10,11,12,13,22 - Filmfax: No. 4 - Future Life: No. 11 - Galactic Journal: No. 21 - Mad Magazine: (parody) Nos. 212, 268 - Mediascene: Nos. 32 & 35 - Monsterland: Nos. 11 & 13 - Premier: May 1992, Vol. 5, No. 9 - Prevue: No. 65 - Questar: No. 5 - Space Monsters: No. 1 - Space Wars: issues dated 9/79, 3/80 - Spotlight: Oct - Nov 1986, No 4 (French) - Starburst: (British) Nos. 8,14,16,17,19,88,97,98,99,100,102,105 - Starlog: Nos. 22,23,24,25,26,27,41,99,103,105,106,107,108,109,110,111, 115,117,121,125,126,150 - Japanese Edition: Nos. 7 & 9 - Sci-Fi Yearbook: No. 1 - Scrapbook: No.6 - Best of Starlog: Nos. 1 & 7 - Poster Magazine: Vol.1, Nos. 2 & 7 - Starlog Yearbook: Nos. 1,2,6,7 - Starwarp: Vol.2, No.3 - DIAMOND COMIC DISTRIBUTERS: Previews Vol II #11-12 (Oct 92-Nov 92) Interviews with Alien writers and artists, previews of Colonial Marines -EC PUBLICATIONS: Mad #212 Jan 80 Alias (Alien parody) Mad #268 Jan 87 (Aliens parody) Mad #? ~1992 (Alien3 parody) - FICTIONEER BOOKS: Comics Interview 68, 84, 87 (interviews with Alien writers and artists) Comics Interview Super Special: Aliens vs Predator Comics Interview Special Edition: Aliens - WARRIOR PUBLICATIONS: Hero Illustrated 2 (Aug 93) Aliens/Predator cover, bagged with Aliens/Predator ashcan comic _CLOTH PATCHES_ _IRON ONS_ - US Colonial Marines (with Eagle) - USCS Nostromo - US Colonial Marines (words) - Alien Egg - USCS Nostromo (emblem) - Space Jockey - USCS Sulaco (emblem) - Delta (USCM emblem) _PUZZLES (all from HG Toys)_ - "Alien" painted by Montage (large size) - "Alien Egg" - "Nostromo in Flight" - "Kane Looking In Egg" - "Puzzle in an Egg"(painted Alien Warrior) - "Alien Space Jockey" _BUTTONS AND PINS_ - "Alien" movie promo (probably more than one) - "Aliens" movie promo (probably more than one; the one I have is a blue 3-D button with the word logo) - "Alien^3" movie promo (large and rectangular with a picture of an egg, the title "Alien^3" and the date "1992" on it) - "Alien 2" Japanese painted metal pin (figure of Alien Warrior) - Dark Horse Cloisette Series: No.1 (Alien Warrior) No.2 (Alien Warrior) No.3 (Alien Queen) No.4 (Chestburster) No.5 (Facehugger) No.6 (Facehugger) scheduled (ie, Nos. 7 & 8, the "Alien Drones") _POSTERS AND PROMO ITEMS_ - "Alien" movie poster issue (one sheet) [possibly a 3 sheet] - "Aliens" movie poster issue styles "A" and "B" - "Ripley and Newt" Aliens promo poster - Alien Warrior: comic illustration (by Mark Neilson) - "Aliens" video promo poster - door sized Alien Warrior - Alien Warrior photo poster - H. R. Giger set of 6 or 8 concept design lithographs (S/N, edition of 325) - "Alien" movie sticker (Italien) - "Alien" movie stills (eight coloured stills, labeled "Set A") [more?] - "Alien" set of eight lobby cards (larger/smaller sizes) - "Alien" promotional matchbook (given away at 7-11, features Alien Egg logo) - "Alien" 8" by 16" cardboard promotional (movie theatre) insert - "Aliens" cardboard promotional (movie theatre) stand up of Ripley in Alien Egg Chamber - "Aliens" video store promotional display _CARDS_ - "Alien" card set (84 cards with 22 stickers) (Topps) - "Alien^3" card set _MODELS_ - KAIYODO Alien Warrior (Japanese) - KAIYODO Alien Queen (Japanese) - KAIYODO Alien Warrior II (based upon H.R. Giger's pre-production concept design; limited ed., issued at 8/89 Japanese Model Fest) - KAIYODO Alien Warrior ("deformed") (Japanese) - TSU promo poster - Alien Warrior: comic illustration (by Mark Neilson) - "Aliens" video promo poster - door sized Alien Warrior - Alien Warrior photo poster - H. R. Giger set of 6 or 8 concept design lithographs (S/N, edition of 325) - "Alien" movie sticker (Italien) - "Alien" movie stills (eight coloured stills, labeled "Set A") [more?] - "Alien" set of eight lobby cards (larger/smaller sizes) - "Alien" promotional matchbook (given away at 7-11, features Alien Egg logo) - "Alien" 8" by 16" cardboard promotional (movie theatre) insert - "Aliens" cardboard promotional (movie theatre) stand up of Ripley in Alien Egg Chamber - "Aliens" video store promotional display _CARDS_ - "Alien" card set (84 cards with 22 stickers) (Topps) - "Alien^3" card set _MODELS_ - KAIYODO Alien Warrior (Japanese) - KAIYODO Alien Queen (Japanese) - KAIYODO Alien Warrior II (based upon H.R. Giger's pre-production concept design; limited ed., issued at 8/89 Japanese Model Fest) - KAIYODO Alien Warrior ("deformed") (Japanese) - TSUKUDA Alien Warrior (Japanese) - JRC Facehugger (Japanese "Garage Kit") - JRC Chestburster (Japanese "Garage Kit") - NYC Narcissus (Japanese) - NYC Alien Queen Metal Miniature Figure (Japanese) - OZ SHOP Alien Warrior, Astronaut, APC, Drop Ship (all "deformed") - SCOOP Alien Facehugger Bust (Japanese) - Scoop Alien Egg (on base) (Japanese) - MPC Alien Warrior (1st edition with jaws, 2nd edition no jaws) - HALCYON Alines Armoured Personnel Carrier - HALCYON Aliens Drop Ship (* Note: SHED customising kit available) - GONZOID Alines Armoured Personnel Carrier (1/72 scale) - LATTIMER PRODUCTIONS Chestburster (lifesize) - MFR. UNKNOWN Alien Nostromo Astronaut (on base with egg) (Japanese) - AEF MODEL KITS (small scale, highly detailed) Hicks; Drake; Frost; Dietrich; Apone; Gorman; Hudson; Wierzbowski; Crowe; Ferro; Spunkmeyer; Vasquez(gun); Vasquez(escape); Ripley(combat); Ripley(escape); Completion Kits A,B,C; Equipment Kits A,B,C; Alien Warriors A,B,C,D; Alien Queen (attack mode); Alien Egg Assortment; Closed Egg Assortment; Facehugger/Chestburster Assortment; Alien Egg Chamber [very ltd edition of 150?]; USCM Power Loader - Sulaco, ALIEN^3 chestburster, facehugger (full scale), Queen Chestburster, Power Loader - MFR. UNKNOWN M41A Pulse Rifle kit (full size) - HALYCON/HORIZON Nostromo ("Nostromo model #HT-03 US.Doll.185.00") _UNCONFIRMED MODEL KITS_ - Unknown Mfr. Alien Chestburster (Japanese Garage Kit) - Unknown Mfr. "Aliens" Deformed Queen (Japanese Garage Kit) - ICHIBA Nostromo Model Kit (200+ pieces) (Japanese) _AUDIO ITEMS_ - "Alien" Film Soundtrack (J. Goldsmith) CD: Polygram, FILMCD003 Festival, D41565 Cass: Polygram, FILMMC003 Tracks: Main Title, The Face Hugger, Breakaway, Acid Test, The Landing, The Droid, The Recovery, The Alien Planet, The Shaft, End Title - "Aliens" Film Soundtrack (J. Horner) CD GE Colosseum VCD 47263 CD JA Soundtrack Listeners Communications SLCS-7009 CD UK That's Entertainment CDTER 1115 CD US Varese Sarabande VCD 47263 CD US Varese Sarabande VSD-47263 Tracks: Main Title, Going after Newt, Sub-Level, Ripley's Rescue, Atmosphere Station, Futile Escape, Dark Discovery, Bishop's Countdown, Resolution and Hyperspace - "Alien^3" Film Soundtrack (E. Goldenthal) CD: BMG, MCAD10629 Cass: BMG, MCAC10629 Tracks: Agnus Dei, Bair and Chase, The Beast Within, Lento, Candles in the Wind, Wreckage and Rape, The First Attack, Lullaby Elegy, Death Dance, Visit to the Wreckage, Explosion and Aftermath, The Dragon, The Entrapment, Adagio _MISC ITEMS_ - LARAMI "Alien" Glow Putty - THINKING CAP COMPANY "Alien" NOSTROMO baseball cap - "In space, everybody can wear a cap" cap. - BEN COOPER "Alien" Halloween Costume - DISTORATIONS "Alien" Full Size Mask (cast from original used in movie, limited edition) [anwhere from 25 to 300 in edition?] - DON POST "Alien" Facehugger (lifesize in plexiglass case) - SF MASK COMPANY "Alien" Head Mask - MARCO INDUSTRIES "Alien" Head Mask - MARCO INDUSTRIES "Alien" Full Sized Body Suit with Mask & Working Jaws - MARCO INDUSTRIES "Aliens" M-41 A Pulse Rifle Set (3 grenades, locater wristband, web sling, extra pulse cartidge, etc.) - "Aliens" Logo Mug - "Aliens" Doorknob sign ("This Room Protected By Aliens" and "Bug Off") - "Aliens" Car Window Sign ("Aliens on Board") - "Aliens" Door Sign ("Aliens Fan Club Members Only") - "Aliens" Note Pads ("Trust Me, I'm The Boss" & "A Note From The Better Half") - Full-scale inflatable alien doll. - Door-sized poster "Aliens don't have to knock" _T-SHIRTS_ - Black Shirt with Drooling Alien (front) Green Alien Egg (back) - Black/Grey Shirt with Alien Warrior (front) Warrior's Tail and words ("In Space No One Can Hear You Scream") (back) - Black Shirt with Alien Egg and words ("How Do You Like Your Eggs?") (front) - 3-D Alien Chestburster coming through front of shirt - Grey Shirt with USCM Emblem (front) - Grey Shirt with "Aliens" logo (front)/words ("There Are Some Places In The Universe You Don't Go Alone") _TOYS AND GAMES_ - KENNER 18" "Alien" Warrior Action Figure - KENNER "Alien" Board Game - HG TOYS "Alien" Blaster Target Game - HG TOYS "Alien" Chase Target Game - KENNER "Alien" Movie Viewer and Cartridge - "Alien" Computer Game - ACTIVISION "Aliens" Computer Game - ELECTRIC DREAMS "Aliens" (European version) Computer Game - "ALIEN^3" for the Sega Mega Drive, Amiga and possibly others. - LEADING EDGE "Aliens" Role Playing Game - LEADING EDGE "Aliens" Expansion Module - LEADING EDGE "Alien" board game - HG TOYS "Alien" pistol (shoots ping-pong balls) - action figures: Ripley (w/flamethrower), Hicks (w/missile?), Apone (w/grenades), Bishop (w/Gatling gun), Drake (w/"smart gun"?), ATAX (wearing Alien Queen "disguise"), Alien Queen (w/swinging tail and extending second jaw; includes "chestburster"), Flying Alien Queen (w/flapping wings), Scorpion Alien (body explodes; includes facehugger), Bull Alien (head rams; includes facehugger), Gorilla Alien (arms grab, squirts "acid"; includes facehugger), Giant Face Hugger, Snake Alien, Mantis Alien, - miniatures: (25 mm scale, available in blister packs) (20300) Alien Warriors (6 pc.) (20301) Col. Marines (8 pc.) (20302) Col. Marines 2 (8 pc.) (20303) Alien Queen Mother (20304) Colonists Last Stand (5 pc.) (20305) Alien Warriors 2 (6 pc.) (24101) Aliens Warriors blister pack 1 (2 Alien warriors) (24102) ...... ........ ....... .... 2 (same) (24103) ...... ........ ....... .... 3 (same) (24104) ...... ........ ....... .... 4 (same) (24105) ...... ........ ....... .... 5 (same) (24106) ...... ........ ....... .... 6 (same) (24107) ...... ........ ....... .... 7 (1 warrior & 1 Warrior attacking a colonist) (24201) Aliens Ripley blister pack (Ripley, Newt, Hicks, Burke) (24202) ...... Dropship Crew bl.pk. (Ferro, Spunkmeyer, Frost) (24203) ...... Machinegunners bl.pk. (Vasquez, Drake, Wierzbowski) (24301) ...... Sentry Gun bl.pk. (4 sentry guns) (24204) ...... Game Over bl.pk. (Hudson, Bishop, Crowe) (24302) ...... Facehugger bl.pk. (4 open eggs & 6 facehuggers) (24205) ...... Apone bl.pk. (Apone, Gorman, Dietrich) (24303) ...... Egg bl.pk. (5 closed eggs) (24401) ...... Powerloader bl.pk. (Powerloader & Jones the cat) (24305) ...... Colonists bl.pk. (3 col. being attacked by facehuggers) (24307) ...... APC Boxed Set (The APC in 25 mm scale) (source: Advance Comics, #58) (20108) Aliens Dropship Boxed Set ("This is a large, in-scale version of the Dropship, completely compatible with the Leading Edge line og Aliens Warriors, Colonial Marines, and the APC. This lead- free set is packaged in TWO figure cased and wrapped in a larger sleeve." (Advance comics, #59, p.322) (20109) Aliens Sulaco Miniatures Boxed Set ("This is a large (roughly 6"long) version of the spacecraft used by the colonial marines. It is not 25mm scale, but hey, it's the Sulaco!" (Advance Comics, #59, p.322) 7. MEMORABLE QUOTES In some cases, the circumstances around which these quotes occur will be given so the reader can get the "full effect" of the moment. "The entire world revolves around this wretched Alien." - H.R. Giger _ALIEN_ < Kane starts choking, this starts the scene where the Alien bursts from his chest> "What's the matter man, the food ain't THAT bad?!" - Parker < Ripley asks how long it takes the ship to self destruct > "If we ain't outta here in 10 minutes, we won't need no rocket to fly through space." - Parker "You still don't know what you're dealing with do you? Perfect organism. Its structural perfection is matched only by its hostility [...] I admire its purity, a survivor; unclouded by conscience, remorse or delusions of morality." - Ash _ALIENS_ "They ain't payin' us enough for this." - Drake "Not enough to wake up to your face." - Dietrich "Hey, Hicks, you look just like I feel" -Drake "Another glorious day in the Corps. A day in the Marine Corps is like a day on the farm; every meal a banquet, every paycheque a fortune, every formation a parade. I love the Corps!" - Apone < Hudson asks Vasquez if she's ever been mistaken for a man, to which she replies... > "No, have you?" - Vasquez < After Gorman says, "Hicks, meet me at the south lock. We're coming in." > [sarcastically] "He's coming in. I feel safer already." - Hudson "Stop your grinnin' and drop your linnen..." - Hudson < Gorman orders the troops to disarm all their weapons before the first alien encounter > "What the hell are we supposed to use man, harsh language?" - Frost < After Ripley rescues the remaining troops with the APC and suggests that they nuke the site from orbit, Burke tries to stop this plan > "Hey maybe you haven't been keeping up on current events, but we just got our ASSES kicked pal!" - Hudson < Ripley responds to Burke's reservations about nuking the alien-infested site > "They can BILL me!" - Ripley < After the first encounter with the aliens, the survivors are in the APC discussing their next move. > "I say we take off and nuke the entire site from orbit; it's the only way to be sure." - Ripley < When Ripley explains that Hicks is the "one in charge" (after the marines' first confrontation with the aliens > "He's just a grunt! No offense..." - Burke "None taken." - Hicks < After Ripley and Newt are attacked by the facehuggers, and they discover it was Burke's doing > "Allright, we waste him... no offense." - Hicks < The dropship crashes > "Well that's great, that's just fuckin' great man, now what the fuck are we supposed to do? We're in some real pretty shit now man [...] That's it man, game over man, game over! What the fuck are we gonna do now? What are we gonna do?" - Hudson < Ripley tells the story of why Burke tried to impregnate her and Newt with alien eggs > "I say we grease this rat-fuck son-of-a-bitch right now!" - Hudson "You know Burke, I don't know which species is worse; you don't see them fucking each other over for a goddam percentage!" - Ripley "Dear Lord Jesus, this can't be happenin' man, this isn't happenin..." - Hudson < Ripley tells Hudson that Newt managed to survive for a long time with no weapons and no training > "Why don't you put HER in charge?!" - Hudson < Hicks says that there won't be any rescue attempt made for another 17 days > "17 days?! Hey man, I don't want to rain on your parade, but we're not gonna last 17 hours against those things!" - Hudson < Bishop says "I'm afraid I have some bad news." > "Well that's a switch." - Hudson "I may be synthetic, but I'm not stupid." - Bishop "Get away from her you bitch!" - Ripley _ALIEN^3_ < Ripley's looking for the alien > "Don't be afraid, I'm part of the family." - Ripley ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8. TECHNICAL PROBLEMS _ALIEN_ - The "blurb" on the back of the movie box is wrong. "...the crew of a commercial spaceship make an unscheduled landing on a barren and desolate planet for engine repairs." They did not land on the planet to make engine repairs, rather to investigate the distress beacon. _ALIENS_ - After the Sulaco arrives at LV-426, a computer screen displays the last names and first initials of each of the crew members. Hudson isn't on the list. - Adding up the estimated time that Bishop makes (for getting the drop ship down to the planet) gives a total of 180 minutes (3 hours), however the fusion reactor is not going to blow up for another 4 hours. Ripley says "It's going to be close..." but they actually have a full hour to clear the base. [not NECESARRILY a technical problem, but it could be] - In the LD version of aliens, during those split-seconds the camera is NOT on the queen during the fight between Ripey and her, pay attention to bishop. In one shot, you can clearly see the hole that Lance Henriksen is standing in (to hide the other half of his body) to give the effect of being ripped in two. - In the battle scene between Ripley and the mother alien where Ripley is in the loader, we see the alien pull the loader into the airlock when Ripley tries to drop it. The loader is turned upside down and the cone on top with the spinning yellow caution light is broken when it slams into the floor. In the next scene, however, we see the loader lying on the floor of the airlock with the yellow cone still in one piece. Also, the sharp end of the alien tails seems to be missing, as if it broke off, but the broken part isn't on the airlock floor. - When Bishop gets it from the mother alien, you can see the string pulling the stinger through the dummy. - The Pulse rifles are using "standard armor piercing explosive tip, caseless" [Gorman, Aliens] and yet when one is fired, you see shells flying out of it if you look carefully. - During the marines' initial confrontation with the aliens (while Ripley and Gorman are monitoring the situation from the APC), there is a scene where Ripley tells Gorman to pull his men out. The first time you see Ripley in this 20 second clip she is wearing a audio headset. The frame flicks to Gorman who looks unhappy, and flicks back to an irate Ripley with NO HEADSET. The scene flicks back to Gorman who loses his temper, and then back to Ripley who talks into the Headset which has reappeared. (Gorman subsequently knocks the headset off.) - In the scene in the dropship where Ripley is preparing to rescue Newt; she's arming herself, there is an editing error. Camera angle 1 (close up of the weapons rack) Ripley grabs a flame thrower and then from angle 2 (close up of the table) she puts down a pulse rifle. Next she grabs a pulse rifle but puts down a flame unit. This is in the theatrical version, but is corrected in the boxed set. - When Frost falls down the stairwell on fire. If you look closely at the last couple of frames before the camera angle changes you can see a boot come out from the bottom left corner. It shows up quite nicely in front of the fire. It looks to be more of a silhouette. It is definitely not a character's boot, nor is it Frost's boot that may have popped off. This is in both the theatrical and boxed set version. _ALIEN^3_ - Many instances where you can see the "outline" created by the blue screening technique. - The "furnace" that Ripley falls into at the end is WAY off scale, it was just too big! - The Cryo capsules seen in the escape pod in _ALIEN^3_ are the same design as those seen in _ALIEN_ which is a DIFFERENT design than the capsules seen in the Sulaco in _ALIENS_. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9. TRIVIA _ALIEN_ - According to the _ALIEN_ box set, _ALIEN_ grossed $ 40,300,000.00 - The first half of the movie was based on original ideas and a script entitled "Memories" by Dan O'Bannon, the second half originated from the idea of gremlins on a B-17 bomber, transposed to a spaceship. [source: _ALIEN_ box set] - Notice the similarity between the cocooned gremlins in the movie "Gremlins" and the alien's eggs/cocoon structure. This similarity may have been due to the original 'gremlins on a B-17' concept for the latter half of _ALIEN_. This aspect of _GREMLINS_ could've been inspired by _ALIEN_. - It has been suggested that _ALIEN_ is a rip-off from from an A.E. van Vogt short story entitled "Discord in Scarlet". - "Nostromo" (a novel by Joseph Conrad) pilots a ship hauling ore out of a turbulent South American country. - The name of the shuttle "Narcissus" was taken from the Conrad novel "The Nigger of the Narcissus". The plot revolves around a sailor who brings death on board with him. - The alien's habit of laying eggs in the stomach (which then burst out) is similar to the life-cycle of the tsetse fly. - The images that the computers display during the Nostromo's separation from the Mother ship (as well as some images (ie: the "Purge" message) used near the end where Ripley is setting up the escape pod to blast off) are re-used in _Blade Runner_ (also directed by Ridley Scott) - Only John Hurt and the camera crew knew exactly what was going to happen during the chest-bursting scene. The actors' only clue as to what was going to happen was from what they read in the script, so reactions are genuine. - In the scene from ALIEN where Dallas, Kane and Lambert are leaving the ship, the actual actors walking past the Nostromo's landing struts are 3 children (two of which were Ridley Scott's children) dressed in scaled down spacesuits. This has the effect of making the ship look even bigger. - Watch the scene where Kane gets attacked by the facehugger frame-by-frame. You'll see (through Kane's eyes) the facehugger jump out of the egg, attach itself to his helmet, break through the glass shielding and stick a tube down his throat. - An over-turned ice cube tray is on the side of Ash's motion tracking device was an ice-cube tray. - A sex scene between Dallas and Ripley (!) was in the script, however was not filmed. [source: _ALIEN_ box set] - The front (face) part of the alien costume's head is made from a real human skull. [source: _ALIEN_ box set] - Although it has nothing to do with _ALIEN_, Sigourney Weaver's real name is Susan Alexandra. [source: Who is Who in America, 47th Edition] - A good deal of the music that Jerry Goldsmith wrote for Alien never made it into the movie. Several tracks on the CD soundtrack don't appear in the film, and most of them that are in the movie apparently weren't used in the scenes they were written for, judging from track titles. The movie uses some classical music, plus music from an earlier Jerry Goldsmith score entitled "Freud." [refer to section 6, MERCHANDISE for more soundtrack information] - In Mel Brooks' Sci-Fi spoof "Space Balls" there is a scene near the end where John Hurt (Kane) and a group of other actors made up to resemble the crew in _ALIEN_ are enjoying a drink at a space diner. Hurt suddenly starts choking and a chestburster erupts from his chest. The creature then dawns a top hat and dances across the bar while singing "Hello my baby". John Hurt (Kane) says "Oh no, not again". < the next two points are quoted from the Blade Runner FAQ with permission > - Notice that both _Alien_ and BladeRunner have "artificial persons", and there is ambiguity as to who is/was a real human. _Alien_ and BR are perfectly compatible, the only problem being that Ash should have been a replicant, as opposed to a robot. - When Deckard enters his apartment at the end, the background hum is the same distinctive hum as in parts of _ALIEN_. _ALIENS_ - "El Riesgo Siempre Vive." is written on Vasquez's chest plate armor. In Spanish, this literally means "the risk lives forever", and figuratively means (it's a saying) that taking risks is necessary to survive. - Hudson's line, "Stop your grinnin' and drop your linnen" is a quote from an AC/DC song entitled "Shake a Leg". [album: Back In Black] - British Aerospace was [secretly] contracted to design the weaponry and spacecraft for Aliens. The dropship is a composite of the cockpit from the Apache helicopter, and engine cowling from old British planes - also the Sulaco is based on the pulse rifle. - "...It was [Jeanette] Goldstein's (Vasquez) outside that needed an overhaul, largely because blue eyes and Huck Finn-style freckles didn't quite fit the job description. 'The makeup took an HOUR,' she sighs. 'The makeup woman said I had the most ornery freckles she had ever seen.'...They also gave her dark contact lenses, and rather unceremoniously, whacked off most of her waist-length hair." [from STARLOG #115, Feb.1987] - "The introduction to the marines, [...], as they awoke from hyper space and gnawed on breakfast, was filmed at the production's end. That way, the cast had several months to get acquainted." [from STARLOG #115, Feb.1987] - "Loco" is written on the back of Vasquez's shirt. [from STARLOG #115, Feb.1987] - Goldstein : "'It's never mentioned in the film, but in the characters' background, she and Drake are recruited from juvenile prison, where they're under life sentences. 'Therefore, they were different from the others, who were on a time limit. Hudson was supposed to get out of the marines in four weeks, which is what made him flip.' That also explains the back of Hudson's vest, tailored by actor Bill Paxton to read, 'Contents under pressure. Do not puncture.'" [from STARLOG #115, Feb.1987] - Ferro has "(Fly the Friendly Skies)" written on her helmet. - On the side of the first drop ship is an insignia of an eagle with big sneakers on, sort of completing a jump. Just above this is the text "Bug Stompers" and just below is "We endanger species". - The second drop ship is called "Smart Ass" and just below is "We aim by P.F.M." (ie: Pure Fucking Magic) - "Adios" is painted on Vasquez's smart gun. - The smart guns used by Drake and Vasquez are mounted on them via set of hydraulic arms. These arms take most of the load of the guns and keep them stable. Virtually the same technology is used by camera men on outside broadcasts, where they are used to keep the cameras steady. The hydraulics absorb most of the energy created by a camera man running down the road leaving a very steady picture. - An ammunition clip for the M41-A pulse rifle holds 95 rounds. - The mechanism used to make the facehuggers thrash about in the stasis tubes in the science lab came from one of the "flying piranhas" in one of James Cameron's earlier movies: Piranha II - The Spawning. It took 9 people to make the face hugger work, one person for each leg and someone for the tail. - Hicks was originally played by actor James Remar, but Michael Biehn replaced him a few days after principal photography began, due to "artistic differences" between Remar and Cameron. - Partly as a joke and partly to leave the ending open for subsequent sequels, James Cameron added the sound of an egg opening/face hugger scuttling about at the end of the film credits. (different sounds were appended to different versions of the movie) - "She thought they said 'illegal aliens' and signed up..." - Hudson This quote (directed towards Vasquez) was an "inside joke" to the actors of the movie. (quoted without permission from an interview with Jeanette Goldstein [Vasquez] that appeared in STARLOG magazine) ''...she answered an ad for a film role in the local trades. It read simply, "Genuine American actors, British Equity, for feature film, ALIENS, 20th Century Fox," she relates, over lunch near the old homestead in Beverly Hills. "I had seen ALIEN, but I had NO idea this was a sequel. It had been so long ago, it didn't even occur to me. "I thought it was about actual aliens, you know, immigrants to a country. I was wondering why they wanted Americans. I figured the movie was about lots of different immigrants to England." Since she didn't have an agent at the time, she answered the ad on her own, with rather surprising results. "I actually came in wearing high heels and lots of makeup, and I had waist-length hair," she says. Other auditioners, who had advance notice from THEIR agents, were decked out in military fatigues --- Goldstein's first inkling she would be reading for the role of a marine...'' - One track of music from Goldsmith's CD for _ALIEN_ appears near the end of _ALIENS_, during one of the big scenes of the Queen stomping around the colony. Even though this music was used in _ALIENS_, Goldsmith's name was not mentioned in the closing credits. _ALIEN^3_ There were at least 12 "scripts" for _ALIEN^3_ (derived from the May 1992 issue of PREMIERE) : 1. William Gibson wrote his based on a brief treatment given to him by Walter Hill, David Giler and Gordon Carroll. It was set in a Soviet space station ("It was sort of like a Cold War in space, with genetic manipulation of the alien replacing nuclear war," says Gibson). The 1987 writers strike interrupted the process, so Gibson went back to work on a novel. "Only one detail survived. 'In my draft, this woman has a bar code on the back of her hand,' he says. 'In the shooting script, one of the guys has a shaved head and a bar code on the back of his head. I'll always privately think that was my piece of ALIEN^3.'" 2. Eric Red was hired for a "five-week" job to convince Fox to dole out more development money. He collaborated with Renny Harlin. According to Red, "HE came up with the gene-splicing idea. 'In the third film, you needed a new alien. I suggested doing genetic experiments on the alien.' Red says that Hill and Giler were disorganized and irresponsible. 'They had no story or treatment or any real plan for the picture,' he says. Hill and Giler say the problem was Red's script; when Harlin read it, he quit the project." 3 - 4. David Twohy had a draft set in a penal colony in space without Ripley in it (since Hill and Giler planned to bring her back in the fourth film). But Joe Roth (head of Fox) insisted that he wouldn't make the film without Weaver. Twohy had just started to write Ripley into the script, when "one of the most transparent bits of studio treachery I've ever heard of" took place. At the same time Twohy was working, Fox hired Vincent Ward to collaborate with John Fasano to develop the script involving a community of monks (remember the seven dwarfs?). When a Los Angeles Times reporter called Twohy about "competing drafts of Alien^3", Twohy dumped the script and went off to do his own film. Fox insisted that Ward's script was for Alien 4. Twohy: The old adage is true: Hollywood pays its writers well but treats them like shit to make up for it. 5 - 9. Greg Pruss was hired next to rewrite Fasano's script (he had to leave to cowrite ANOTHER 48 HRS). Pruss did "five arduous drafts". Everyone moved to London where the crew was already beginning to design and build sets even as the script was being written. But the studio began having trouble with Ward, "who was less interested in Ripley or the alien than in his monks. 'The movie's called ALIEN because it's about the alien,' says Pruss. 'I couldn't get that across to Vincent.'" 10. Pruss quit and Ward was fired. Once David Fincher signed on as director, Fox hired Larry Ferguson(Beverly Hills Cop II) to do a "four-week emergency rewrite." Ferguson continued more or less with Ward's ideas and hence, the horrible idea with the seven dwarfs and Ripley as Wendy. Weaver and Fincher hated the script and the movie "almost fell apart". 11. Hill and Giler were paid to do another emergency rewrite. They moved the story back to Twohy's prison and the religious element evolved into what exists in the final draft. The studio and Weaver liked the script but Fincher had a few reservations. 12. After much bureaucratic bickering over the budget and schedule plus the firing of key participants, Rex Pickett was hired to collaborate with Fincher for yet another rewrite. This occurred when Hill and Giler were going on vacation. "It all blew up when Pickett wrote a memo salvaging Hill and Giler's script." - Prior to its release, _PREDATOR II_ came out in the theaters (which had an almost identical story to the original idea for _ALIEN^3_) near the end of _PREDATOR II_ we see a trophy case of different skulls, one of which is the skull of an alien. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 10. PLOT PROBLEMS AND LOOPHOLES This section contains plot problems that are SO BIG that there is no plausible explanation for it. If a good theory comes along, the point will be moved to section [11] frequently asked questions (at my discretion of course). _ALIENS_ - What infantry platoon in its right mind would enter an enclosed space carrying flamethrowers? - Several times we see aliens spewing acid that does not seem to damage the "sets" (or at least doesn't damage the "sets" as severely as the few drops that eat through 3 layers of the Nostromo in _ALIEN_) This is MOST evident in the air-duct chase scene. _ALIEN^3_ - How did the eggs get on the Sulaco? (refer to section [12]) - Why is the escape capsule so poorly designed? It gets ejected and then FALLS to the nearest planet. Hicks is killed when a SAFETY beam impales him. - How could Ripley hold on to the chestburster AFTER it tore through her chest? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS This section has been extended to allow for theoretical answers, the responses that aren't based on solid facts (yet provide a plausible answer) start with "[possibly]". If you believe you have a better explanation, don't hesitate to say so. Any questions that seem to have more than one plausible answer will appear in section [12] frequently discussed topics. _ALIEN_ Q: Is there a fan club I can join? A: Depending on when you read this FAQ, these clubs may have dissolved: The British Aliens Fan Club The Dropship PO Box 11 19 Compton Crescent Liskeard, Cornwall Northolt, Middx PL14 6YL UB5 5LS England England Q: What is the "Narcissus" ? A: The Narcissus is the name of the shuttle Ripley uses to escape from the Nostromo. Q: Who is the "Space Jockey"? A: This is the name given (by the technical staff) to the remains of the creature found on the derelict space craft. Q: What is written on Brett's cap? A: USCSS NOSTROMO 180286 Q: Why is there a "self-destruct button" on the Nostromo? A: This question refers to the control panel (labeled "Emergency Destruct System") that Ripley uses to cause the destruction of the Nostromo. [possibly] the "emergency destruct system" exists to protect company secrets in case the Nostromo is hijacked by a competator. (this would be a similar principle to espionage: when an enemy spy gets caught, he takes poison to kill himself so he cannot be tortured into giving away secrets). Or, a 20 million ton ship flying through space at very high speed tends to become a great danger when it gets off course by some malfunctions. If it's on collision course to some space station or colony, and there is no possibility of redirecting or stopping it, it would be very reasonable to put it on self-destruct and get away with the small shuttle. Q: The crew is awakened early out of their hypersleep to explore the planet from which the beacon is being transmitted, HOW early are they awakened? A: 10 months as indicated by Lambert (after the shuttle returns to the Nostromo) Q: Did the entire crew go down to the surface of LV-426? A: Yes. The Nostromo is a towing device for the 20,000,000 tons of ore. The entire crew went down to the planet's surface in the Nostromo (which detached itself from the cargo it was towing). Q: After the Nostromo blew up, and Ripley discovers that the alien is on board the escape capsule, why does the alien take SO long to attack her? A: [possibly] the alien was coming to the end of its life cycle, when Ripley happened to disturb it. It was slow to attack because it was dying. This theory is supported by an older version of the _ALIEN_ script where Ash reveals that the alien had made a nest and ensured the continutation of its species (cocooned Dallas and transformed Brett into an egg) at which time the alien itself would approach the end of its lifecycle; curl up and die. Q: Does the alien have eyes? How does it see? A: No. The alien was designed (by H.R. Giger) to "see" entirely by instinct. The chase scene in _ALIEN^3_ would appear to contradict this as it shows the chase through (what would appear to be) the alien's eyes. However, it is likely that this cinematic technique was used to show the chase, not through the aliens eyes, but through its "perception". (it is also likely that this alien, being so different from the ones we've already seen, has some kind of eyes) Q: How could I get a longer version of _ALIEN_ ? A: Easy. You'll need a laserdisc player with frame advance, a 4-head VCR with frame advance (frame advance allows for nice editing), the _ALIEN_ box set (on laser disc of course) and a 160 min tape (130 min would work too). Now, all you need is to know where the "extra" scenes (on the 3rd disk) can be re-added into the movie: - Kane prepares breakfast - don't bother, there's a fade between the hypersleep chamber and the breakfast scene... this is where you'd place the scene, but the fade makes it impossible to do a good job. - Crew listens to alien transmission - right after Parker agrees to going down to the planet's surface, and right before the shot of the ship approaching the planet. - Lambert confronts Ripley - some of the scene already exists, just cut THAT part out, and replace it with the longer scene. - After the acid - add this scene right after Dallas tells Brett to get back to work, and right before the scene where Parker and Brett are repairing the ship. - Ripley radios Parker - Add this right after the "post-acid" scene. Place it right before the scene where Parker and Brett are repairing the ship. - Discussion of what to do (after Kane's death) - originally, this scene was right before Kane's funeral, but it makes alot more sense to put it in immediately AFTER Kane's funeral. - Brett's death - difficult to place, you have to replace some of the film, all you miss out on is a few cuts back to Jones. (if you're really skilled, you can re-integrate them). Put it right before the scene where Parker is drinking coffee. [WARNING: the suspense building heart-beat sound in the background is not present in the extended death scene] - Alien in the airlock - don't bother with these two scenes, they don't fit in the movie very well. - Ripley talks to Lambert - add it as Ash walks out of the room (after Dallas's death). But before Ripley looks at Lambert (you'll have to cut that bit out.) - Lambert's death - too bad, there's no sound, don't add it in. - Cocoon scene - originally, it was after Ripley started running for the shuttle (no wonder it created a pacing problem). If you add it in after she discovers Parker and Lambert's bodies, but before she starts running, then it doesn't affect the pacing. That's it. The movie is now about 2 hrs and 8 minutes long. Q: I recall seeing extra scenes in the movie when I saw it in the theaters, am I imagining things? A: Probably. However, during December 1978 a rough cut of _ALIEN_ was screened in London, England (it was 2 hours & 45 minutes long) and it included ALL of the completed "cut" scenes (as described earlier in the FAQ). Q: When the crew first sets out to search the ship for the alien: * Ash has made a "detection" units (motion tracker) * Ripley asks "how do they work?" * Ash VERY hesitantly replies "micro changes in air density" * when searching, Ripley detects something on the OTHER side of an airtight door (after all, they ARE in a spaceship) which turns out to be Jones. * Ripley makes the comment "micro changes in air density my ass" This point never gets raised again in the film, what is its significance? A: [possibly] Ash's hesitation in explaining the operation of the motion detector was because the "real" mechanism would be difficult to explain and he was assuming that she wouldn't understand him anyway... so he pauses before he finds the words to form an "adequate" but not very detailed description. The tone of Ash's voice in response to Ripley's question was somewhat condescending. Ripley's later comment, "micro changes in air density, my ass" was a foreshadow to show that Ash was hiding something and that she was onto him (cf: she realizes that he didn't give the full explanation of the motion tracker's operating mechanism) Q: How come Ripley managed to survive in the shuttle without the coolant that Lambert and Parker were collecting? A: [possibly] since there was only one hypersleep chamber in the shuttle, Lambert, Parker and Ripley would have to stay concious while waiting to be rescued. Since Ripley was the only survivor, she went into hypersleep and didn't need the coolant due to her hybernation. _ALIENS_ Q: What does "Sulaco" mean? A: "Sulaco" was the town in which most of Joseph Conrad's book entitled "Nostromo" took place. Q: Is LV-426 also called "Acheron" ? A: There doesn't seem to be any evidence of this in the movie, the name was given to the planet in older drafts of the script, the Alan Dean Foster novelization, the movie-comic as well as the RPG. Q: What IS the name of the company? A: The Weyland-Yutani Corporation. It can be seen, mirror-reversed, on a blast shield after the discussion of the atmosphere processor blowing up. It appears as "Weylan-Yutani" on all beer cans in _ALIEN_ but is too small. In _ALIEN^3_ it is written on a computer screen in an extreme close-up near the end. In the director's cut of _ALIENS_, during the additional footage of the colony (prior to the alien infestation) we see a logo of the company which reads: Weyland-Yutani \ /\ / \ / \ / \/ \/ Building Better Worlds Q: What is the name of the colony? A: Hadley's Hope (as revealed in the director's cut of _ALIENS_) Q: Why don't the colonists on LV-426 pick up the derelict SOS? A: In a cut scene from ALIENS, the derelict ship has been damaged by volcanic activity and, as a result, the beacon was rendered inoperable. [James Cameron, STARLOG #125, DEC 1987] Q: How did the colony get infected? A: In my [James Cameron] version of the Alien life cycle, the infestation of the colony would proceed like this : 1. Russ Jorden attacked, they radio for rescue. 2. Rescue party investigates ship...several members facehuggered... brought back to base for treatment. 3. Several "chestbursters" free themselves from hosts, escape into ducting, begin to grow. 4. Extrapolating from entomology (ants, termites, etc.), an immature female, one of the first to emerge from hosts, grows to become a new queen, while males become drones or warriors. Subsequent female larvae remain dormant or are killed by males... or biochemically sense that a queen exists and change into males to limit waste. The Queen locates a nesting spot (the warmth of the atmosphere station heat exchanger level being perfect for egg incubation) and becomes sedentary. She is then tended by the males as her abdomen swells into a distended egg sac. The drones and warriors also secrete a resinous building material to line the structure, creating niches in which they may lie dormant when food supplies and/or hosts for further reproduction become depleted (i.e. when all the colonists are used up). They are discovered in this condition by the troopers, but quickly emerge when new hosts present themselves. [STARLOG #125, DEC 1987] Q: Is Ferro's first name "Mira" ? A: No, according to the on-board computer on the Sulaco, Ferro's first name starts with a "C". The confusion with her name is caused by Vasquez when she says (to Ferro): [...hey mira, who's Snow White?] However, in Spanish (Vasquez is Mexican), "mira" means "look", so Vasquez is actually saying, "hey look, who's Snow White?". Q: How many colonists are there? A: There were 158 colonists on LV-426 [...you were responsible for the deaths of 157 colonists... Ripley (Aliens)] plus Newt. This number is also visible on a sign that was on-screen during the scene where Newt's parents are going out to the derelict craft (director's cut only). Q: How many aliens where on LV-426 when the marines arrived? A: [possibly] around 156. (Newt was still alive and at least one of the other colonists hadn't been chest-busted yet) There has been some suggestions that the colonists had livestock that the aliens could've infected as well (raising the number of aliens to an indeterminant amount) however there is no evidence of livestock anywhere in the movie; furthermore, the planet does not seem to be a habitat in which live stock could survive (there was no vegetation on the planet). Q: Why did Ripley risk life and limb to save Newt, but didn't give a second thought to Dietrich and Apone? A: In the theatrical version of the movie, it can be said that Ripley knew exactly where Newt was because of the locater band she was wearing, thus making rescue of Newt plausible. A better reason exists, however it was cut from the theatrical release; the scene where Ripley discovers that her daughter has died (refer to section [4] on cut scenes) reveals to us that her daughter was relatively the same age as Newt the last time Ripley was with her. We can see the parallels between Newt and the daughter that Ripley had lost. Q: How can Ripley hang on during violent vacuum decompression while the much stronger alien queen can't?! A: [possibly] Ripley had her arm wrapped around a step in the ladder where as the queen only had a finger-hold on Ripley's boot, when Ripley's boot slipped off her foot, the queen had nothing else to hold onto. (this assumes that the vacuum isn't SO violent that it would rip her arm off) Q: Why does Ripley attempt to climb out of the pit after the queen has been "vacuumed" out of the Sulaco? Why doesn't she just close the doors? A: [possibly] Ripley thought that the lower door in the pit would be damaged with the acidic blood of the queen alien, so she had to close the top doors in order to seal up the breech. (this explanation is from the novelization) Q: Why doesn't anyone stay on board the Sulaco? A: [possibly] the Sulaco is so automated that it would be unnecessary. If another dropship was required, the station on LV-426 was equipped to remote-pilot it down. (however, they had no idea that the equipment had been ruined by the aliens) Q: How has Newt survived all this time? The aliens seem to have no problem getting around in the air ducts? A: She can crawl through the air ducts that the aliens can't fit into. This, combined with her knowing the air ducts so well, could keep her out of the aliens' grasp (perhaps the aliens knew about her, but just couldn't catch her). In the director's cut, Newt boasts to her brother that the reason she wins their version of "hide-and-seek" is because she can get into all those tiny crooks and crannies where no one can reach her. Q: How does the queen know how to use an elevator, and how does she know what floor to get off at? A: The elevator returns automatically to the level of the platform Ripley got off at. When she leaves the elevator (to find Newt) you see it returning up. She comes back (with Newt) and calls both elevators. Ripley takes the first one that arrives and it starts going up. The queen gets in the second elevator and it automatically goes up. Q: Are those power-loaders real? A: Based on the Collectors Version of Aliens on Laserdisc, which comes with a disk that shows some of the secrets of the making of the movie, the loader is part real, part fake. The actual loader is real, but has an external power supply. Since the loader is extremely heavy, it is supported by cables which are masked out for the final print. A power loader was on display at the Boston Museum of Science as part of a special effects exhibit. This power loader was worked by a person inside, behind and below the actor, that is with their legs down in the power-loader's legs and their torso in the power-loader's back. Different constructs of the power loader were used depending on the action it had to perform in front of the camera. _ALIEN^3_ Q: Why did it take so long for the chestburster to come out of Ripley? It only took a few hours for it to come out of Kane in _ALIEN_. Even though Ripley was carrying a queen, the chestburster itself was STILL the same size as the one that came out of Kane. A: [possibly] Taking into account the parallels between the aliens and an insect colony, two Alien hives will be in competition if they are close to each other. Therefore the incubation period of queens is higher to enable the unsuspecting host to move further from the original hive. Q: Why is that bloody autopsy necessary? As we see later in the movie, that nice diagnostic scanner in the EEV's cryo-tube is still working quite fine (and Ripley knows about it). The autopsy is obviously very unpleasant for her, so it is hard to see why she didn't figure out the easier way? A: [Possibly] The diagnostic machine works on the EM radiation emitted by the human body and since Newt was dead and did not emit any radiation, the scanner wouldn't have worked. Q: What is the "dreaded" seven-dwarf concept for the _ALIEN^3_ script? A: One of the earlier stages of the _ALIEN^3_ script received alot of heat: ''...Back in New York, [Walter] Hill saw "The Navigator : An Odyssey Across Time", a stunning but esoteric art film by an obscure New Zealand director named Vincent Ward. But Ward said he didn't like [David] Twohy's script. No problem, said Fox. "So I hopped on an airplane," says Ward," and during the flight, I had an idea that was totally different: Sigourney would land in a community of monks in outer space and not be accepted by them." The monks would live on a wooden planet that looked like something out of Hieronymus Bosch, with furnaces and windmills -- and no weapons... FINCHER : In the draft Larry [Ferguson, Beverly Hills Cop II] was writing, she [Ripley] was going to be this woman who had fallen from the stars. In the end, she dies, and there are seven of the monks left --- seven dwarfs. Q : You're kidding? FINCHER : Seriously. I swear to God. She was like...what's her name in Peter Pan? She was like Wendy. And she would make up these stories. And in the end, there were these seven dwarfs left, and there was this fucking tube they put her in, and they were waiting for Prince Charming to come wake her up. So that was one of the endings we had for this movie. You can imagine what Joe Roth said when he heard this. "What?! What are they doing over there?! What the fuck is going on?!" '' [PREMIERE magazine, May '92] Q: How did the face-huggers get on the Sulaco? A: The truly factual answer is that the audience wasn't supposed to question it. Use your imagination. (several theories exist, some of which are stated in section [12] frequently discussed topics) Q: Did the little face-hugger critter actually do so much damage to the Sulaco that the ship decided to EJECT the hypersleep capsules? A: Shown at the start of the movie was a face hugger jumping on a cryo-tube, cracking the glass and dripping some acid on the floor. The acid manages to eat its way into the electrical system and cause a fire. The Sulaco then ejected the hypersleep capsules (probably because it couldn't put out the fire). Q: I remember seeing a trailer for _ALIEN^3_ that was really different than the movie? A: This is true. Quite awhile before _ALIEN^3_ was finally released, there was a "coming soon" trailer shown in several theaters. This trailer indicated that some aliens made it to Earth and there was going to be a massive encounter. Later on, the writers ditched the movie idea upon release of Predator II (due to the similarity in plot) and decided to find a new story for _ALIEN^3_. Q: There's a prison planet: is anyone really going to spend money on hideously expensive space travel in order to send these guys to some far-off solar system? A: [possibly] Historically, extremely dangerous and/or subversive-to-the- government criminals have been shipped off (at great expense) to a new location quite often. England regularly shipped off prisoners to one of the American colonies [Georgia? South Carolina?] which was a designated prison colony, as well as Australia -- a prison *continent*. The progression of the Western legal system has been to appeal numerous times (at great expense) to avoid death penalties. The Company in the Alien series is a reasonable outgrowth from the rest of Western business, why not the legal system, too? They avoid the massive cost of incarceration and court and lawyer fees from appeals by not having a death penalty, but shipping the prisoners off to a "prison". Q: Where can I get Gibson's _ALIEN^3_ script? A: This may not be valid depending on the age of the FAQ: - You can buy one from the Pix Poster Cellar in Cambridge, Mass. - Their phone number is (617) 864-7499 - They take orders over the phone and they do accept plastic - The price is 15.00 U.S. for an unbound copy Q: What is "ALIEN WAR" ? A: Alien War is a walk through ride, found in the Trocodera in London. It is set on the alien theme. The plot is that a party of 12 is being given a tour through a medlab research establishment where they are breeding and studying aliens. A marine has been assigned to guide you through. Once in the waiting chamber, the sirens go off and your guide comes in and explains that due to an accident the aliens have escaped. Next he explains that he is going to lead the party to safety. So off everybody sets thru these dark corridors, all being told to huddle against walls etc. Along the way various things can happen (here are a few): - At one point we were all ordered against this door only for the door to start banging. Later we were all ordered down this pitch black corridor only to come upon some eggs and an alien. - Another point is when gun shots were heard, behind us was another marine that was being chased by an alien. We had to cross a bridge over some eggs, having been told that the slightest movement would set them off. - We got into an APC which seemed like it was moving moving, it then stopped and an alien burst in thru the far door. - We all went into a lift. The lift supposedly moved up a level (doesnt actually), the marine got someone to open the door while he pointed a gun out. When the door was opened, an alien bursted in, grabbed a member of the party and then left. 12. FREQUENTLY DISCUSSED TOPICS This section is intended for frequently asked questions that have many diverse theories and explanations. I've included some of the more plausible theories given for some of the topics. Wherever possible, I tried to group the "for" and "against" cases. * After the Nostromo blew up, and Ripley discovers that the alien is * on board the escape capsule, why does the alien take SO long to attack * her? - The alien was coming to the end of its life cycle, when Ripley happened to disturb it. It was slow to attack because it was dying. This theory is supported by an older version of the _ALIEN_ script where Ash reveals that the alien had made a nest and ensured the continutation of its species (cocooned Dallas and transformed Brett into an egg) at which time the alien itself would approach the end of its lifecycle; curl up and die. - The DH comics speculate, that the Aliens are more prone to attack, when (somehow) threatened. Since Ripley pretty much is defenseless, can't escape and isn't attacking, why should the Alien hurry? * In _ALIEN_, how does the company know about the aliens anyway, and how * much do they know, and why don't they send a well trained scientific * "collection" team ? - They knew about the aliens from the beacon signal that was picked up by another space craft, maybe off course and with some technical problems so that they could not investigate it themselves, or maybe it was picked up by some automatic exploration vessel. Back on earth they had enough computer power to unscramble it (remember that "Mother" couldn't unscramble it completely). And probably sending a ship out into deep space isn't an every day's job in that time, too, so they just ordered the next ship that was to come nearby to go there and investigate (They must have known about the aliens before the Nostromo started because they sent Ash on board). [this theory is supported by the novelisation] - They did not know everything about the aliens and just wanted to see what happens ("crew expendable"), and Ash was supposed to store all information in the computer (Ash gives us a few details about the aliens, but he does not necessarily know everything from the start, he might have gathered some things from what he has already seen on the Nostromo). Later, when the Nostromo had returned to earth with it's autopilot, they could first remote-access the computer and then, with all the information, decide how to get out the alien eggs (or whatever was found to be there). In that case they would have only lost 6 employees and perhaps an expensive android. - The ship diverting to investigate the beacon (and assuming that the "crew is expendable") is part of a standard procedure. All data collected would be returned to the company when the ship returns to Earth. Since the Nostromo did not return to Earth, the company did not know about the aliens. (this theory assumes that no communication occurred between the Nostromo and The Company AND that Ash was not necessarily "planted" on the Nostromo for sinister reasons) * Near the beginning of _ALIENS_ when Ripley is at the inquiry, one of the * company executives at the table estimates the value of the Nostromo at * "42 million in adjusted dollars". Surely a ship as large as the Nostromo * is worth more than 42 million ? - In "adjusted dollars" suggests many things. One, that *A* dollar has been adjusted from a previous dollar. And assuming that this is not very far into the future, this previous dollar was most probably the U.S. dollar. It suggests that the value of the dollar was readjusted in much the same way as the currencies in some developing countries like Mexico have been adjusted to take into account rampant inflation. - "adjusted dollars" could refer to the original value of the ship translated to what it would be worth at the present day. Perhaps the Nostromo is a common ship that has seen mass-production and it's just not worth all that much. This is not unrealistic as we know that ore is mined in tremendous quantities (20,000,000,000 tonnes were being hauled by the Nostromo in _ALIEN_) so the resources are readily available and we can assume that, with increased space travel, a higher volume of space ships are being made. (which, in turn, would lower the cost of assembly). * In the 57 years between _ALIEN_ and _ALIENS_, why don't they try again * to get some alien eggs? - "The company" seems to be quite large, with several divisions. Maybe the whole alien plan was just an idea of the bio-weapons division, and after the loss of the Nostromo the managment decided to give up because the risk was much higher than the possible profit. Then, during the following decades, they just forgot about it. Obviously Burke doesn't know about the aliens before he got Ripley's report. - The bio-weapons division possibly started the whole thing without permission, and then, after the catastrophic failure (loss of an expensive space ship), they destroyed all information about it, and therefore the general managment never knew about it (This appears to be exactly the way Burke acts in _ALIENS_). - It is possible that the company did not know about the aliens or anything that occurred on the Nostromo UNTIL Ripley showed up (there is no evidence that the Nostromo was communicating with the company in _ALIEN_) * Are we really to believe that, having lost contact with an entire colony, * the Colonial Marines send a warship out with only ONE SQUADRON of soldiers? - Possibly, Burke had a fair idea of what has happened on LV-426 so by sending a small number of soldiers, he was gambling that some would survive and bring (accidentally or not) an Alien back to Earth. - The company may have assumed that the colony's transmitter broke down or the colony itself had suffered a horrible epidemic or just died out. So the possibility of actually needing more troops was considered to be small. - Several times in the movie it was implied that this group of marines had been on these sort of "bug hunts" before (ie: the sign on the side of the first dropship: "Bug Stomper" and Hudson asking, "Is this gonna be another one of those bug hunts?" [Aliens]) They had been able to handle "bug hunts" with one squad before, so why send more this time? - The squad had enough fire power to deal with the situation, if they had been fully armed and ANYWHERE other than underneath the primary heat exchange for their first confrontation (in that confined space) then they would've had no problem with defeating the aliens. * Theories regarding the derelict space craft and its fossilized pilot (from * the movie _ALIEN_). - Perhaps the species that was transporting the eggs mirror the human errors of judgement (made mostly by the Company) that were to follow. Perhaps this species, like the Company, thought they could lower their guard, treating the aliens like a commodity. Maybe their now dead/mute state indicates where the human race might be heading as a result of the company's "financial" venture. - The species piloting the derelict craft were aware of the dangers of the aliens, this is why they submersed the entire colony of eggs under the blue "film". When the film is broken, it would trigger an alarm (sort of like a laser-operated security system) and they'd know that there was motion in the "cargo". - Suggested by an old draft of the _ALIEN_ script: the derelict craft landed on LV-426 to make repairs, a silo of eggs (on the planet) was discovered by the space jockey species and they got infested. The hull full of eggs is in fact the crew of the derelict after being transformed into the eggs (as shown in the Brett-egg scene edited out of the _ALIEN_ theatrical release) * Alien intelligence. Although they have a large cranium, can they really * "think"? YES: - In _ALIENS_, when Ripley is in the "hive", several aliens filter in to attack her; Ripley threatens to flame the eggs and the queen waves them off. This would indicate that the aliens can communicate and ARE intelligent. - The alien in _ALIEN^3_ acted to protect Ripley (since she was carrying the queen embryo) when the doctor was going to give her an injection and when Dillon grabbed her (near the end). This would indicate that the alien can reason through situations. - The aliens in _ALIENS_ cut the power to the complex. (unless this was just an "accident") - A quote from James Cameron [STARLOG #125, DEC 1987] " One admittedly confusing aspect of this creature's behavior (which was unclear as well in ALIEN) is the fact that sometimes the warrior will capture prey for a host, and other times, simply kill it. For example, Ferro the dropship pilot is killed outright while Newt, and previously most of the colony members, were only captured and cocooned within the walls to aid in the Aliens' reproduction cycle. If we assume the Aliens have intelligence, at least in the central guiding authority of the Queen, then it is possible that these decisions may have a tactical basis. For example, Ferro was a greater threat, piloting the heavily armed dropship than she was a desirable host for reproduction. Newt, and most of the colonists, were unarmed and relatively helpless, therefore easily captured for hosting. " NO: - On several occasions, the aliens kill potential hosts when they could just as easily capture them. (from _ALIEN_: Parker, Lambert. from _ALIENS_: Ferro, possibly others. from _ALIEN^3_: the doctor, several prisoners) this would indicate that the alien is not intelligent. (unless the alien kills those people for food) - The scene in the _ALIENS_ director's cut where the aliens "throw" themselves at the sentry guns would indicate that they are not intelligent (ie: sacrificing countless numbers just to get their hands on 7 potential hosts.) * What does the alien use for energy, does it eat? if so what? - The alien could work like a battery, using electricity for it's energy (suggested by the acid blood). This idea is suggested by the RPG. - The alien increases its mass greatly between its chestburster and full-grown stages of development. In order to do this it MUST eat something solid (perhaps: flesh, minerals, metals) - H.R. Giger introduces the concept of a bio-mechanical species (notice how the Space Jockey of _ALIEN_ was attached to/part of the machinery it was sitting at?) If the aliens are part of Giger's bio-mechanical world then it's entirely possible that they could eat metal alloys to increase their mass. - In an old draft of the _ALIEN_ script, when Ripley finds Dallas cocooned and the Brett-egg, she says to Dallas, "I'm going to get you out of here" and Dallas replies, "No, it's too late for me, the alien has eaten to much of me already... see what it did to Brett?" - An Alien, like a fly, could "eat" by dissolving it's food with an acid like substance, then eating the "soup" left behind. In this way, the alien could eat pretty much any material (even metal). * What are those long, dark "spines" sticking out of the back of the alien? - These spines could be functionally similar to the plates on the back of a Stegasaurus; they make it difficult to land a damaging blow on the alien from a sneak-attack from behind. - The spines could also be some form of reservoir for acid (similar to the humps on a camel). - Perhaps they are heat sinks. - They could be gills for breathing, like a fish, the alien probably doesn't breath the same air we do, so these "gills" would filter out the components that it needs from the environment around it. * Do the aliens use their host's DNA to help them adapt to their host's * environment? YES: - An old draft of the _ALIEN_ script had Ash giving an extensive description of the alien creature. Ash said that the alien that came from Kane was, in a sense, Kane's child. (this scene suggests that the aliens use the host's DNA) - The alien in _ALIEN^3_ was different than other aliens, perhaps this is because it came from a different host (the dog). NO: - A creature that is so different from conventional organic life could not possibly make sense out of a strand of DNA. - In the original filmed version of _ALIEN^3_ the alien came from a cow, not a dog (the entire movie was filmed before they decided to change the "host" to a dog) Since the alien didn't act like a cow (ie: this alien was more aggressive, however, a cow would be considered less aggressive than a human) nor did the film makers originally base the alien's actions on those of a dog, this works against the DNA theory. The "cow" scene is also supported by the novel by Alan Dean Foster [page 58]. * Is there a notion of "soldier" and "worker" aliens? YES: - The alien in _ALIEN^3_ seemed to act/look different than the aliens in the previous movies. This alien could be a "worker" with the task of protecting the queen until she has a chance to mature. - The alien species has alot of similarities with insects, so, like a hive of ants or termites, the aliens would have soldiers and workers. NO: - The aliens that were in the "hive" at the end of _ALIENS_ would likely be classified as "workers" however they stood upright and looked no different than the rest of the aliens (which would be considered "soldiers"). * Where do the aliens come from, were they genetically engineered? - They could have been genetically engineered due to their (seemingly unnatural) ability to adapt to new environments. - They could be bio-weapons on the basis of the fact that their parasitic nature is too violent and unsupportive of the host. An organism which destroys its habitat (in this case it's host, whatever kind of organism it is) would very quickly makes itself extinct. - The aliens could be a parasite of the galaxy. They serve as much purpose as a mosquito does on earth. - If we maintain H.R. Giger's original idea of the alien eggs coming from an infection (a possibility that is explored in the Brett-egg scene cut from _ALIEN_), then the thousands of eggs on the derelict space craft in _ALIEN_ could have come from some form of plague. - It has been suggested (by Dark Horse comics) that the Predators created the aliens for hunting purposes. * Why are the aliens in _ALIENS_ different from the alien in _ALIEN_? - Maybe alien's behavior is goverened by pheromones, in the same way that a termite colony is governed, by passing chemicals from the queen through the colony. This would explain why a large group of aliens with a queen behave differently (cocooning people instead of killing them) to a single isolated alien. - The alien in _ALIEN_ was a different "type" of alien. (ie: a soldier instead of a worker) - The aliens in _ALIENS_ were more "evolved" (after all, they did have some physical differences - see Section 2 - What is an Alien?) and hence, the way they acted was different. * Why is the alien in _ALIEN^3_ different than the other aliens we've seen? - The alien species is similar to the hymenoptera (the class that ants, bees and termites belong to). There is a queen who is tended by an army of female helpers. There are occasoinal males in these insect societies, only they are short lived and are only necessary to fertilize a new queen. The alien in _ALIEN^3_ would be a male alien. It is definately different looking -- perhaps a bit smaller (males in hymenoptera species are smaller.) This makes sense in the context of _ALIEN^3_ in that Ripley is carrying a queen -- something HAS to fertilize it before it can reproduce. - It's possible that the aliens copy some of their host's DNA in order to help them adapt to the new environement that they'll be born to (this concept was in an old draft of the script for _ALIEN_). The alien would be different because it came from a dog. - We have seen relatively few aliens. If you imagine what a whole planet full of them would be like, there might be a variety of different kinds: warriors, workers, messengers, etc... * How did the eggs get on the Sulaco? - When Bishop was preparing to crawl down the service tunnel to pilot the dropship down, he told Ripley that it would take (in total) approx 3 hours. Earlier in the movie, it was established that the place was going to blow up in approx 4 hours. This left Bishop an extra hour during which he could have: fetched 2 eggs and hidden them. While Ripley was rescuing Newt, Bishop could've then returned to pick up the eggs and put them in the drop ship. He'd then fly back to pick up Ripley and give some bogus story to cover up why he was late. - The queen laid eggs in the landing gear prior to getting out and tearing Bishop in half. - Yet another theory is that the queen laid eggs on the Sulaco while Ripley was going to get the cargo lifter. However, it doesn't seem that the queen's physiology would accomodate this AND it would be unlikely that she'd be able to lay the eggs in a well concealed place (such that Ripley wouldn't find them) during the split seconds that the camera is not on the queen. - In Gibson's _ALIEN^3_ script, it is suggested that the queen "stings" Bishop with her tail, thus poisoning him. While Bishop lies in his hypersleep capsule, the poison genetically combines with his body and forms two eggs. (notice when Ripley tries to repair Bishop, there is only his one arm and head remaining). It is possible that Bishop observed the development of two eggs (from his body) then, when complete, opened the hypersleep chamber and (with his remaining arm) moved the egg out (so it could infect Ripley). * In ALIEN^3: Was the human Bishop (that appeared at the end of the movie) * really human or was he also an android? YES: - Some people have witnessed skin hanging down (some say it's his ear). This would indicate that he's an android. To further the issue, Bishop II takes a nasty hit in the side of the head, yet remains concious, it is unlikely that a human being would be able to shake off such an injury. - The credits indicate that the character is named "Bishop II" as if to say it is just another copy of the same line of androids. NO: - "85" hit him in the side of the head and he started bleeding red blood (around his left ear). Since the androids depicted in the trilogy have white blood, this Bishop is probably human. (it is too speculative to theorize that the company has made a red-blooded android since _ALIENS_) - Alan Dean Foster's novelisation of the movie suggests that he definitely is human and he bleeds badly when hit). * I hated ALIEN^3. YES: - The "course" of the movie was "unrealistically" altered to fit with the script. ie: in the first 5 minutes of the movie, we kill off two major characters, place alien eggs on the Sulaco and against-all-odds Ripley is the sole survivor of the crash. - Although an important part of the series, Newt died for no discernable reason. - Too many similarities between _ALIEN^3_ and _ALIEN_: * one alien stalks a group of weaponless people. * trapping the alien did not work, so let's try something else. * repair of a busted-up android. - Depressing. Ripley's life crumbles to an inevitable fate. No happy (or surprise) ending. - Characters are flat, undeveloped and boring. Nobody really CARES when the alien kills one. - No attempt is made to explain MOST questionable events (How did the eggs get on the Sulaco? Why is the alien different?) - Ripley is an eye-sore with her shaven head and bloodshot eye. - _ALIEN^3_ focussed on Ripley's misfortune-plagued life instead of the alien creature (as _ALIEN_ and _ALIENS_ had). - Most North American movie critics did not like _ALIEN^3_. NO: - Just because a movie doesn't have a happy ending doesn't mean it's a bad movie. - _ALIEN^3_ takes a different direction from the prior alien movies. It is good that they didn't make an "_ALIENS_ with bigger guns" as most had expected. - Artistic images were well defined. The Newt autopsy scene showed almost NO graphic images, yet the audience was revolted by the vividness. The graphic horror was not blatantly displayed on the screen, but projected into the imagination of the audience. - Since we don't know everything about the alien species, it's not difficult to accept that "by undisclosed means" the alien eggs got on the Sulaco and the alien creature was physically different. - The interleaving of the credits and the movie scenes was visually provocative. - Many European critics did like _ALIEN^3_. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 13. MOVIE WATCHING RITUALS Basically, if you know of any rituals that you or your friends perform when any one of the ALIEN movies is shown (ie: screaming things at the movie, acting out different parts, etc...) then they belong in this section. - When repeatedly watching this film with friends, we've only really evolved one tradition when watching the film. When Burke has abandoned them, and opens the door, just to see the alien there, hissing at him, it has become somewhat traditional to shout "Let's eat Burke" repeatedly. Oh yeah, and when Newt falls into the water, it's fairly obvious that you have to shout "Behind you" fairly loudly. - ALIEN: deep, impressed silence. ALIEN^3: loud, carthatic weeping. - ALIENS: imitating Hudson's "game over MAN, game over!" as he says it in the movie. (and even when we're not watching the movie) - leaping at the screen to get a four-inch-away view of the various types of military hardware to get more details about function and what props are made from (ie: the Flame units are slightly modified M-16 rifles) - In Aliens, during Ripley's first nightmare at Gateway Station. When she pulls back her shirt and sees the alien trying to poke through and then wakes up in horror, one of us HAS to say, "Damn Tacos!" - Counting the number of times "Hudson" is said over the course of _ALIENS_. [more?] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 14. WHERE CAN I GET GIBSON'S ALIEN^3 SCRIPT? What follows is a synopsis of Gibson's _ALIEN^3_ script, due to the immense effort required to port the text from paper to computer, a special thanks goes out to Steve Copold, the user who tackled the tedious and heinous task. * NOTE: refer to Frequently Asked Questions for information on getting the entire script. Steve writes: I've had my hands on a copy of William Gibson's original script for "Alien III" for quite awhile now and it seems like a good time to contribute a synopsis which may explain a few things (such as how the eggs were supposed to have gotten onto the Sulaco), and may just add more confusion to others. I've been very careful in preparing the synopsis to include as much detail as is possible, including direct quotes, and still remain within the bounds of the fair-use doctrine and copyright laws. (Everything encased in parentheses, except for dialog notes, is my writing...Everything else is Gibson's.) Enjoy! -Steve Copold FADE IN: DEEP SPACE - THE FUTURE The silent field of stars -- eclipsed by the dark bulk of of an approaching ship. CLOSER. ANGLE ON THE HULL A towering cliff of metal, Sulaco. (The script then cuts to an inside tracking shot of the hyper-sleep vault and the line of open and empty capsules. We finally track across 4 closed capsules - Newt, Ripley, Hicks, and finally Bishop. Bishop's capsule, however, is covered with a "hothouse" mist and condensation.) CLOSER A tear of fluid streaks the condensation. An alarm sounds. A monitor begins to scroll data. (We then hear the computer announcing that Sulaco has experienced a navagational error and entered the territory of the U.P.P. [Union of Progressive Peoples - A clear analogy for the late U.S.S.R. - A subplot which probably contributed to the demise of this script.] We cut to an exterior shot of the Sulaco and witness the approach of a UPP interceptor ship carrying commandos. They dock with the Sulaco and board her. They enter the ship though an airlock near the cargo bay. As they enter, they find Bishop's twisted and tangled lower torso. They see the blast damage on the drop ship and exchange knowing looks...It is apparent these are combat veterans. As the commandos enter the hyper-sleep vault, the computer announces a security breach. They move down the line of capsules and stop at Bishop's.) INTERIOR HYPER-SLEEP VAULT - LEADER"S POV (point of view) The chilly aisle of capsules. Commandos move down the line, guns poised. They peer in at Newt, Ripley, and Hicks, but the lid of Bishop's capsule is pearl white. (text deleted) The lid rises. A dense pale mist flows out, spilling over the edges of the capsule, revealing the ovoid of a gray alien egg. Rooted in the center of Bishop's synthetic entrails, the egg instantly ejaculates a face-hugger, which strikes the leader's faceplate in a spray of acid. (lots of text deleted) (At this point, one of the other commandos, a young Vietnamese woman, attempts to shoot the facehugger without killing the leader. Things go wrong and his head is literally destroyed. They throw him out the airlock and leave with Bishop's remains.) DISSOLVE TO: IN DEEP SPACE - VARIOUS ANGLES A station the size of a small moon, and growing; unfinished sections of hull are open to vacuum. A vast, irregular structure, the result of of the shifting goals of succesive administrations. (This is our introduction to Anchorpoint which serves as the setting for about 75% of Alien III. I see it as a cross between the Deathstar and Deep Space 9. It is huge and well-used like the Deathstar, but it is by run civil administrators and company reps, with only a military attache and a few troops. Like DSN, it has shopping malls, schools, and the type of stuff associated with a colony rather than a military base. At this time we are introduced to Tully, a civilian lab technician, and the station's ops officer, Jackson. Tully is written as sort of a malcontented doctoral student. He's very smart, very good at his job, and has some degree of contempt for authority. Jackson is a really neat character. She is a "tough broad," much like Ripley, but carries none of the baggage that Ripley is saddled with. They have a lengthy conversation at this point which sort of brings the audience up to speed. I've included just a small portion.) JACKSON The Sulaco. Departed gateway four years ago with a compliment of fifteen. A dozen marines, an android, a company representative, and the former warrant officer of a merchant vessel... TULLY So? JACKSON So, the bio-readout gives us the warant officer, one -- count him -- marine, and a nine-year-old girl. Makes you wonder what happened out there, doesn't it? TULLY So ask'em. Wake'em up and ask'em. Them not me. JACKSON But That's the GOOD news, Tully. Three hours before Sulaco turned up, we docked a priority shuttle out of Gateway. Two passengers. Milisci, Tully. Weapons Division. TULLY That the bad news? JACKSON They want the ship pulled in with full biohazard precautions, by oh-eight-hundred hours. BioLab techs are priority for the deck squad. that's you Tully. The phone screen goes blank. TULLY (heartfelt) Shit! (We are then introduced to Spence, who is I think Tully's girlfriend. That part's not real clear as events overtake the issue very quickly from here on out. The next five pages of script are dedicated to a WONDERFUL sequence of scenes where Tully and other lab techs, accompanied by marines from Anchorpoint are seen in an enormous docking bay where they board Sulaco. I'll put in the last page of it here.) SECOND MARINE Yessir. Lights on in there. The officer presses a button. The door slides open. Bright white. The aisle. Empty. The row of capsules. Tully's marine is first through the door, gun ready, slow, careful. Tully steps in after him, raises his instrument, takes a sample. INT. HYPER-SLEEP VAULT The other two marines move past Tully. Soft scuff of their boots on the deck. Tully doesn't know quite what to do. Lowers his sampler, hesitates, The first marine reaches Newt's capsule. He lowers his rifle. (something startled, almost gentle in his voice) They're here... Eight inches of razor-sharp serrated tail plunges out through the back of his suit as he's lifted off his feet by something we can't see. Ugly RIPPING noise as the alien withdraws its stinger (Gibson clearly refers to the tail as a stinger at several points in the script) -- blood tidily contained by the translucent membrane of the biohazard envelope. The stinger of a second alien whips around the neck of one of the other two marines; the alien is clinging to the ceiling. He screams. Tully's marine sags against the foot of Ripley's capsule, his arm across the controls -- the green indicator lights go out -- as the first alien lunges up into view. CLOSE On the jaws. ANGLE ON RIPLEY Her eyes snap open RIPLEY'S POV As the beast mounts her coffin, terminal nightmare. ANGLE RIPLEY No-ooooooooooooooooooooo! Her hands claw frantically at the smooth curve of the plastic canopy. The remaining marine, crazy with adrenialine and terror, unleashes his flame thrower. The first alien and Ripley's capsule vanish in a napalm fireball. the marine spins, screaming incoherently, and liquid fire hoses the second alien, which drops its victim and falls burning into the deck. The vault is an inferno. Ripley's capsule is sagging, melting. DISSOLVE TO: (We see Ripley's damaged capsule being rolled into a very elaborate medlab and doctors go to work on her. Then we cut to Hicks sitting on the edge of a hospital bed in a dressing gown lighting a cigarette. Spence comes in and has a brief conversation with him. He asks about Newt and Ripley and Bishop. She tells him that Newt and Ripley are fine, and that she doesn't know who Bishop is. Newt comes running in chased by an orderly. He grabs for Newt and Hicks almost assaults him, but is stopped when Spence calls off the orderly. They demand to see Ripley. Spence takes them to her room. She is in a deep coma) NEWT Is Ripley DREAMING? SPENCE I don't know honey. NEWT It's better not to. CUT TO: EXT. RODINA, THE U.P.P. STATION - VARIOUS ANGLES Smaller than Anchorpoint INT. RODINA - CYBERNETICS LAB CLOSE on Bishop. He stares straight ahead, the corner of his mouth twitching mechanically. (The UPP scientists are downloading all of Bishop's data and are learning all about the aliens. The young Vietnamese commando is present and confirms the image of the facehugger -- They all stare in horror at the image of the adult alien. The young woman shakes her head and says she has not seen this. The two adults on the Sulaco are never explained and neither is the fact that the capsules were left alone. There is a possibility that there may have been live animals, or animals such as dogs on the Sulaco in hypersleep. This may account for the adults as well as the dog thread in the screen version. Lab animals are turned into aliens later in the Gibson script. The egg in Bishop's entrails is explained in great detail.) INT SULACO - CARGO LOCK TECH WITH PROBE You getting this on tape Miller? SECOND TECH You bet your ass. Orders. TECH WITH PROBE That's good because I'd swear I just saw a piece of this shit move... On the monitor, the tip of the probe trembles, brushes one of the globules. The second tech takes it, inserts it in a plastic tube, seals the tube in a small metal cannister, and writes #17 on the side in red grease pencil. SECOND TECH Since when do androids get diseases? TECH WITH PROBE I dunno. Sure looks like something got to this poor bastard... (This is a key scene in the script as it introduces the alien "spores" and "DNA" samples which are capable of spreading the species like a disease. Even androids can act as a host at least to the extent of producing a viable egg with a facehugger inside. The effects on a living host are entirely different as we'll see shortly. At this point in the story, we are introduced to Col. Rosetti, local commandant of the colonial marine detachment at Anchorpoint. We also meet Kevin Fox and Susan Welles. They are the Weyland-Yutani scum-yuppies from the weapons division sent by the company. They are real knock-offs of Burke, only not so endearing...Yeeech! We also meet Shuman, the diplomat. He is involved now as the UPP is making a stink about the Sulaco entering their space. The four of them debrief Hicks in a "security bubble" and learn what he knows. They do not tell him about the aliens found on the Sulaco. In the bubble we also meet Trent, the head bio-geneticist at Anchorpoint. He quizzes Hicks about the alien's life-cycle. They realize that Hicks doesn't know anything about the genetic material they have discovered in the hyper-sleep vault. They also fail to tell him they are experimenting with it and trying to clone it. They do tell Hicks about the UPP grabbing Bishop. At this point there is a complex and important scene in the Tissue Culture Lab with Tully and Spence. It involves lots of high tech goodies and what would have been some terrific CGI sequences as they examine the alien samples. It all culminates with them looking #17 under extreme magnification we see the sample brought into focus...) EXTREME CLOSEUP - MONITOR As the screen fills with an image that might be a bizzare landscape, its lines and textures recalling the interior of the derelict ship in "ALIEN." (This sequence is followed by a long set of scenes with Newt and Hicks as Newt prepares to return to earth aboard the Sulaco which has been sterilized. Ripley is still in a coma and Newt makes her a map of her Grandparent's home in Oregon so she can find her when she wakes up...Lot's of cuteness and string-pulling as Newt departs Anchorpoint. We jump back to Rodina Station and meet a bunch of new characters. Braun, Rodina's Chief of R&D, Colonel-Doctor Suslov, the Head of the station, and several military and diplomatic officers. The scene is basically a discussion of where are we? - where are they? re: the development of the aliens as a weapon, and what to do about Bishop? They decide the best course of action is not to overplay their hand, but to sterilize Bishop and send him back with no traces of the alien spores or any memory of his time at Rodina. They rebuild him (with inferior UPP technology - this later becomes a plot element and a running joke in the script) and return him to Anchorpoint. CUT TO: INT. ANCHORPOINT - TISSUE CULTURE LAB Trent, head of biolab, Rosetti, and Fox wait, seated, as Tully wheels a holographic Display Module into position. The lights dim. A faint, ghostly cube shimmers in front of the three men. TRENT Initially this was merely routine, you understand. We attempted to determine its compatibility with terrestial DNA. FOX What kind of DNA Doctor? TRENT Human, of course. Something shivers and shakes and takes form in the cube of light: a double helix threaded with green and red beads of light. TRENT (continuing) Watch closey, please. The alien genetic material looks like a cubist's vision of an art deco staircase, its asymmetrical segments glowing day-glow green and purple. ROSETTI That's a biological structure? More like part of a machine... The alien form makes contact with the human DNA. The transformation is shockingly swift, but its stages can still be followed: the thing seems to pull itself into and THROUGH the coils, and for an instant the two are meshed, locked, and then the final stage. A new shape glows, a HYBRID; the green and red beads have been altered beyond recognition. FOX Like a high-speed viral takeover...! What's the real-time duration on this, Trent? TULLY (from the shadows beyond the glowing cube) That was it. What you see is what you get. That's how fast it is... (Several scenes follow that I'll just encapsulate for you. They are all important, but only in that they introduce characters or minor plot elements. #1 Hicks meets Walker the foreman of the Anchorpoint machine-shop...He is a tough customer. #2 Jackson, Shuman, UPP Diplomatic Officer discuss Bishop's return. #3 Bishops arrives at Anchorpoint. #4 Hicks meets Tully in a bar on the Mall and Tully reveals that Fox and Welles have ordered the lab to experiment with the alien DNA. #5 Rosetti, Fox, Trent, and Welles in the security bubble discussing the progress of the experiments. Rosetti raises minor objections, but wimps out when Fox threatens his career. #6 Bishop being checked out by a medlab tech and jokes about his shitty UPP polycarbonate knee joints. This is followed by a long scene with Hicks and Spence where she fully spills the beans about the "research.") INT. CONSTRUCTION ZONE CHAMBER (lots of text deleted) SPENCE Maybe I don't either. It's just...We've got to tell somebody...Now there's a rumor somebody came in on a UPP ship today, somebody off Sulaco... HICKS Bishop... SPENCE I don't know. HICKS Maybe Progressive Peoples'll get their own alien too. Maybe they'll grow some... SPENCE (horrified) Shit! You'd better hope not... HICKS Why's that? SPENCE Their lab gear's five years behind ours. they'd never be able to control it HICKS Think you can, huh? SPENCE I don't know... (More scenes follow: #1 Tully complains to Jackson that there are problems with one of the stasis systems in the lab. #2 Rodina - BioLab: Braun and Suslov are discussing the alien as a weapon in front of a large stasis tube. Scene ends with a closeup on the tube showing a "chestburster suspended like a fetal dolphin." #3 Long scene where Bishop tells Hicks about Ripley and the queen on the Sulaco. He also warns Hicks to watch him carefully as the UPP may have reprogrammed him and he would not know it. #4 Long scene in the culture lab with Tully and Welles. Ends with the stasis system failing and the contents spraying all over Welles and Tully. They are immediately taken to a "de-con" unit. Welles is seriously pissed off! #5 Bishop and Hicks sneak into the tissue culture lab and destroy all of the alien cultures. Ends with both of them in white plastic restraints as they are placed in separate cells. The next scene is the beginning of the proverbial shit hitting the fan.) INT. THE BUBBLE Meeting of the full Anchorpoint Directorate, including Welles and Fox and a number of new faces. Welles is white lipped with fury. (lots of dialog omitted) FOX You have no more material to work with, Trent. In any case, it's become obvious that you aren't the man for the job. We took the precaution of obtaining our own samples. they're on their way to Gateway. (Wow! Does this open a lot of possibilities...Like "Earth Hive" for instance.) WELLES (with cold satisfaction)...and everything, every move each of you have made, since our arrival, is going to be gone over with a fine toothed c-c-c-c-c-- As Welles begins to stammer, her eyes betray a terrible consternation. She rises from her chair, lurches forward, catching herself on her hands. The c-c-c-c- phases into a chattering palsy as a thick strand of blood-streaked drool descends toward the table. Fox, seated to her left, has instinctively shoved his own chair back, ready to run. Everyone else is frozen with shock. As the chittering tooth-burr becomes a shrill SHRIEK of inhuman rage, the transformation takes place. Segmented biomechanoid tendons squirm beneath the skin of her arms. Her hands claw at one another, tearing redundant flesh from alien talons. then the shriek dies. She straightens up. And, rips her face apart in a single movement, the glistening claws coming away with skin, eyes, muscle, teeth, and splinters of bone...The sound of ripping cloth. the new beast sheds its human skin in a single sinuous, bloody ripple, molting on fast forward...An instant of utter silence as the featureless mask moves. From side to side. Scanning. Trent vomits explosively. the marine guard snatches his pistol from its holster and fires wildly across the table. Blind screaming chaos. OVERHEAD SHOT As the Directorate plunges, like a single panicked organism, to the far side of the bubble. The thing is on Fox before he can get up from his chair. CLOSE On his scream as the sucking, fanged tounge plunges through the orbit of his eye. ANGLE A marine with a flamethrower bursts through the door, torching Fox and the new beast, setting fire to the bubble's acoustic foam baffles. (Clearly, this script was destined to get an "R" rating...From this point on the script becomes an Aliens-like war movie. Many brief cutting scenes follow: #1 Spence finds Tully's contaminated lab badge. #2 Rosetti gets Hicks and Bishop out of their cells and enlists their help. #3 Hicks (in full combat armor) and Walker driving into the construction zone in a jeep searching for Tully. #4 Jackson, Spence, and Bishop tracking them on monitors from operations. #5 Hicks and Walker find and kill the alien that was Tully. #6 Closeup of Spence as Tully's locator dot blinks out. #7 INT. RODINA Mass confusion as we see the commandos fighting their way through what has obviously become a war-zone. Then we see the result of Suslov's genetic tinkering: It's a new type of alien - "bigger, meaner, faster, able to reproduce more rapidly." The commandos swarm through a hatch and seal the thick steel door. We hear slamming and pounding as the steel begins to buckle. All of this is followed by a really long scene with Hicks, Jackson, Bishop, Shuman, and Rosetti in operations. We find out the closest ship is the transport Kansas City which is 20 hours away. the following exchange takes place in the midle of it:) ROSETTI We abandon the station. HICKS Destroy the station, man! We got nukes? ROSETTI Outlawed under the strategic arms reduction treaty. JACKSON We can fiddle the overrides on the fusion package. Baby nova. BISHOP We're dealing with a new form Colonel. We know nothing of this new mode of reproduction. Others may have already become hosts. ROSETTI What are you suggesting? BISHOP Inorder to be ENTIRELY certain, Colonel, it would be necessary to override the fusion package now. Jackson looks up at Bishop; he's suggesting mass suicide. HICKS I thought you were programmed to protect human life? BISHOP (with android blandness) I'm taking the long view. (I believe this would have become one of the classic lines of the film. The scene ends with an incoming message, actually a warning, from Rodina. A technician explains what they have done and that all experiments must be terminated as they cannot be contained...No shit! There is a lot of funny reparte about "the Soviet space brothers" in this scene. Jackson almost takes on the air of a Hudson, except she's pretty gutsy. At the very end Jackson gathers everyone near the monitors as they notice that something huge is blocking the cameras in the air-scrubber chamber. Many scenes follow: #1 Spence sitting in the eco-module...Birds begin to sing...The calm before the storm. #2 EXT. RODINA - No movement. INT. - We see the Vietnamese commando sitting on the floor cradling her gun, the acid burned corpse of her partner is beside her. #3 A series of very rapidly cut scenes where Hicks puts Ripley in a lifeboat and launches her into space. Bishop questions him about this as she might be infected. Hicks replies, "I owe her one." #4 Great combat sequence as Hicks leads a group of "green" marines to the scrubber room where they find a huge mutant queen alien. The place look like the queens chamber on LV-426, only more grotesque. Lots of the new aliens come crawling out the walls. The marines destroy the new queen and kill lots of the drones, but as the Queen pulls loose from the framework that is supporting her, an enormous cloud of spores is released and then sucked into the air circulation system. Hicks has Bishop close the vents. #5 INT. RODINA HUB - The commando works her way through the core of the station. She discover the almost the entire crew of the station, maybe a hundred people all cocooned in a multi-story column...A bas-relief of human bodies and glittering resin. A closeup of Braun and Suslov is shown. #6 INT. OPS - Jackson, Rosetti, and Bishop are watching the approach of the UPP cruiser Nikolai Stoiko at Rodina (How they are doing this is not explained other than as some form of survelience system. It's clear that it's not direct video, but some form of remore imaging.). #7 INT. RODINA - The commando gets into an interceptor and escapes from the station. We see her blast away. #8 EXT. RODINA - We see the Stoiko launch a missle and a nuclear blast destroy the station. #9 INT. OPS - Jackson says, "I don't believe it! They send for help, and their own people nuked'em! Hicks replies, "Maybe they asked for it." The following scenes are a real combat-fest. #1 Walker on the Mall blasting aliens and taking pulls from a jug of liquor. In the end he becomes an alien. #2 INT. ECO-MODULE - Spence enters and gasps at what she sees. The primates have been cocooned in the trees. #3 Hicks on the Mall...scenes of carnage everywhere. #4 INT. OPS - Jackson, Hicks, Rosetti, Spence, and Bishop. Hicks wants to blow the fusion package immediately. Jackson says it doesn't matter as Hicks has destroyed the scrubber and with all the fires, they'll only have air for a few more hours anyway. One of the marines falls down in agony, only he doesn't become an alien. His chest bursts open and about half a dozen new model chestbursters pop out and run in all different directions. Hicks evacuates everyone. #5 INT. CORRIDOR - Bishop heads off to rig the fusion package. Hicks gathers all the survivors to take them to the lifeboats. A few new characters are introduced at this point...All minor. #6 Bishop in the Mall encounters yet another queen and her drones in the process of cocooning victims. Bishop runs for the elevator with the queen after him. #7 Lots of cross-cutting between the group heading for the lifeboats fighting their way through the aliens and Bishops staving off the queen in the elevator. Bishop escapes by ripping up the floor of the elevator showing his android strength. The lifeboat party emerges from a wall of smoke to find the passage blocked by a wall of resin, human bones, marine helmets, rifles, etc. What follows is just too complex to distill and too long to copy and still be fair to Mr. Gibson. Let me just say that it's an incredible sequence of the lifeboat party taking alternate routes to the bay as the aliens keep blocking their path. Lots of explosions, shootouts, mucho violence...Really keen stuff! #8 Bishop arrives at the fusion package and proceeds to rig it to blow. #9 We rejoin the lifeboat party at the crew quarters where we see even more carnage including what's left of a children's preschool. Memebers of the party freak out at this point. Spence and Hicks calm everyone down and they move on. #10 Bishop exiting the fusion complex...One of his polycarbon knees gives out. He is now dragging one leg behind him. #11 Spence is separated in a service shaft and trapped by an alien. She has a huge flare pistol and kills it. She rejoins Hicks and the others. #12 Bishop climbing the elevator shaft and checking his watch: 21:40. They agreed he would set the fusion unit to blow at 22:00. #13 Hicks and Jackson have it out with Rosetti who is not handling things very well. Basically, they kick his ass. One of the party, Tatsumi is bitten, but survives. They dress his wound and move on. #14 Quick scene of Bishop back on the Mall putting a patch on leg and then moving to rejoin the others. The queen is no longer there. #15 Hicks and company arrive at the lifeboat bay. Closeup of Tatsumi's leg wound leaving a trail of yellow drops. Rosetti opens the door and the bay is filled with fresh new aliens. Hicks provides cover fire and they get the door closed again. They all pile into an office. It's Trent's, and they find him where he's already killed himself. Spence finds that the back wall of the office is actually an airlock. Sounds of the aliens throwing themselves against the door to the office. Hicks checks his watch it's 21:46. #16 As they prepare to enter the lock, A chestburster crawls out of Tatsumi's wound and more erupt from his chest. The survivors enter the airlock. They all suit up and the color of their suits is important. Rosetti gets in a yellow suit. Shortly after they exit the lock Rosetti goes through the change inside his suit. He kills a lab tech and then Hicks kill him. Only Jackson, Hicks, and Spence are left alive. Hicks looks at his watch 21:59...22:00...Nothing! They move across the outside surface of Anchorpoint toward the external portion of the lifeboats. #17 Outside shot of the lock shows the aliens following them...They are unaffected by the cold and the vacuum. #18 Outside the lifeboat, Spence and jackson work on opening the hatch with a bypass. Hicks continue to kill aliens. #19 Hicks sees a yellow spacesuit moving across the hull...Rosetti? No, it's Bishop. he has emerged from another lock. Bishop "greases" all the aliens that are left on the outside. He tells Hicks that he gave them an extra half hour of time. #20 As they are getting in the lifeboat, the second queen emerges and leads a charge of new aliens toward them. They run out of ammo as the aliens close in on them. #21 Cut to the UPP interceptor: shot of a port opening revealing a "viscious looking gattling style pulse cannon" (I could almost hear the audience cheering in my head as I read this scene). The interceptor wipes out the aliens. #22 The commando lands the interceptor near them and takes them on board. Jackson is killed by the aliens in this scene. The aliens are coming up behind the ship. She fires the engines and fries them! #23 The interceptor streaks away as the reactor overloads and blows. The last scene is in the interceptor and it's too long for fair-use, although, I'd love to put up the whole thing. Instead I'll just give you the gist of it and one very important extract. INT. INTERCEPTOR (dialog omitted, but Bishop determines that none of them are infected or they would have already begun to change. The commando has had a lethal dose of radiation and will only live a few more hours.) BISHOP You're a species again, Hicks. United against a common enemy... HICKS Yeah? BISHOP The source, Hicks. You'll have to trace them back, find the point of origin. The first source and destroy it. HICKS I don't know, Bishop. Maybe we oughtta just stay out of their way... BISHOP You can't, Hicks. This goes far beyond mere interspecies competition. These creatures are to biological life what antimatter is to matter. HICKS How do you mean? BISHOP There isn't room for the both of you, Hicks, not in this universe. HICKS That's crazy, Bishop... BISHOP No. You're already at war, Hicks. War to extermination. The alien knows no other mode. HICKS Hell, man, we been at war all my life. Near enough, anyway. With her (he looks down at the Vietnamese commando). With all her brothers and sisters. That's what got us into this shit in the first place! BISHOP But now you've seen the enemy, Hicks. So has she. She's not it. Neither are you. This is a Darwinian universe, Hicks. Will the alien be the ultimate survivor? Hicks doesn't answer. He just looks at Bishop. Bishop goes back to repairing his circuitry. CLOSE ON: Spence's sleeping face and the face of the dying commando. DISSOLVE TO: EXT. SPACE Approach of a large ship. The PING of homing radar. ANGLE ON THE HULL As it slides past, enormous letters: KANSAS CITY EXT. SPACE - ANGLE UP >From below Kansas City as a wide bay opens up. The interceptor comes into frame and is drawn up into the brightly lit hold. The bay closes. EXT. SPACE Kansas City. Receding. Gone. The stars. FADE OUT THE END ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 15. REVISION HISTORY v1.0 - March 22, 1993 - Initial draft. Most information supplied by me alone. v1.1 - March 31, 1993 - Added countless bits of information supplied by interested users of the net. v1.2 - April 14, 1993 - Revision control. Chestburster scene added, more info on the dog/cow scene of _ALIEN^3_, more _ALIENS_ cut scenes, added to the alien physiology discussion. Small changes to the merchandise list. Added more "memorable quotes" and more "trivia". Added "rituals" section and switched around the order of the sections to make the FAQ more readable. v1.3 - May 5, 1993 - Small changes to the "Who is?" section. Removed the Chestburster scene. Organized the discussion section. Added some more frequently asked questions. More complete descriptions of the cut scenes from _ALIEN_ and _ALIENS_ were added as well. More trivia. v1.4 - June 23, 1993 - Added Gibson's ALIEN^3 script synopsis, James Cameron's answers to a few questions about ALIENS and vastly improved the merchandise and FAQ sections. v1.5 - Sept 14, 1993 - Added more frequently asked questions. Added running times to some of the _ALIEN_ cut scenes. More rituals. Added extensive info about _ALIEN^3_ script rewrites. v1.6 - Sept 21, 1993 - In an effort to reduce (eliminate?) the all-too-common flaming of _ALIEN^3_, I added a section to Frequently Discussed Topics that addresses both sides of the argument. Broke the FAQ up into 3 parts so I could (once again) post it to the Internet. v1.7 - Dec 25, 1993 - FINALLY got an FTP site for the FAQ. Added to the technical errors, frequently asked questions, trivia. Increased emphasis on NOT asking me "Where can I get Gibson's ALIEN 3 script?" v1.8 - Mar 8, 1994 - More information on soundtracks. Added to frequently asked questions, trivia and memorable quotes. Memorable quotes ordered according to when they occur in the movies. Didn't get around to adding ALL that new merchandise yet. What a nightmare! v1.9 - April 10,1994 - Changed information on how to get Gibson's ALIEN 3 script. Added to frequently asked questions, merchandise and memorable quotes. v2.0 - June 14, 1994 - Added more memorable quotes, questions and merchandise. Prepared the document to be HANDED OFF (ie: no longer maintained by me). &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& & & & The END & & & &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&