Next up: Alien Teddy Ruxpin
October 16, 2006 7:58 PM Subscribe
For centuries mankind has wondered if the Alien (from the movie Alien) could viably gestate in the plastic belly of a My Little Pony doll, and if it could, what would the offspring look like. Well, wonder no more. Final images here. Making of here.
What? Bait and switch! I was dying to see the thing burst out of the stomach of My Little Pony.
posted by Ironmouth at 8:19 PM on October 16, 2006
posted by Ironmouth at 8:19 PM on October 16, 2006
Next project: do the reverse and modify an Alien action figure into a My Little Pony.
posted by brain_drain at 8:22 PM on October 16, 2006
posted by brain_drain at 8:22 PM on October 16, 2006
I like how ImageStation is a (presumably accidental) portmonteau of "image" and "gestation."
posted by dhammond at 8:45 PM on October 16, 2006
posted by dhammond at 8:45 PM on October 16, 2006
Hey, I like the Alien/MLP mashup, but it doesn't make any sense! Aliens don't take on characteristics of their host bodies. They're just Aliens. Did they even watch the movies?
posted by graventy at 8:48 PM on October 16, 2006
posted by graventy at 8:48 PM on October 16, 2006
I was hoping this would be some sort of animated video of a facehugger attacking a MLP and then exploding out of its stomach in an orgy of blood and guts.
posted by papakwanz at 8:54 PM on October 16, 2006
posted by papakwanz at 8:54 PM on October 16, 2006
graventy, in Alien³ the Alien took on the on characteristics of it's host (a dog.)
posted by Tenuki at 9:00 PM on October 16, 2006
posted by Tenuki at 9:00 PM on October 16, 2006
HOLY SHIT! That's my friend's work. She does lots of My Little Pony Customs. For instance: Pinhead
She will do customs for you if you want. Contact her at redchinadragon@gmail.com
posted by Sandor Clegane at 9:02 PM on October 16, 2006
She will do customs for you if you want. Contact her at redchinadragon@gmail.com
posted by Sandor Clegane at 9:02 PM on October 16, 2006
In space, no one can hear you whinny.
posted by Astro Zombie at 9:05 PM on October 16, 2006 [1 favorite]
posted by Astro Zombie at 9:05 PM on October 16, 2006 [1 favorite]
My little xenomorph?
Either way, we better nuke the stables from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.
posted by quin at 9:14 PM on October 16, 2006
Either way, we better nuke the stables from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.
posted by quin at 9:14 PM on October 16, 2006
Yeah, graventy no offense by you're totally wrong. Aliens do indeed take on the characteristics of their hosts; first the Alien dog in A3, and then (exhibit B) the "Bull Alien" linked by brain_drain above.
posted by jonson at 9:14 PM on October 16, 2006
posted by jonson at 9:14 PM on October 16, 2006
Oh, and Sandor - tell your friend she did a great job, that thing's awesome!
posted by jonson at 9:15 PM on October 16, 2006
posted by jonson at 9:15 PM on October 16, 2006
Hey, I like the Alien/MLP mashup, but it doesn't make any sense! Aliens don't take on characteristics of their host bodies. They're just Aliens. Did they even watch the movies?
You sure about that? If you'll recall, the alien that came out of the dog in the third one was a lot more quadropedal than the human-spawned ones.
posted by brundlefly at 9:17 PM on October 16, 2006
You sure about that? If you'll recall, the alien that came out of the dog in the third one was a lot more quadropedal than the human-spawned ones.
posted by brundlefly at 9:17 PM on October 16, 2006
Errr... this is why we preview, kids....
posted by brundlefly at 9:17 PM on October 16, 2006
posted by brundlefly at 9:17 PM on October 16, 2006
Yeah, graventy no offense by you're totally wrong. Aliens do indeed take on the characteristics of their hosts; first the Alien dog in A3, and then (exhibit B) the "Bull Alien" linked by brain_drain above.
Furthermore, in the original shooting draft of the script, there was going to be an Ox alien, bursting from an impregnated ox from among the colony oxen used to haul the crashed ship. Once they started shooting, they found out that oxen were shitty actors, and rewrote.
posted by cortex at 9:23 PM on October 16, 2006
Furthermore, in the original shooting draft of the script, there was going to be an Ox alien, bursting from an impregnated ox from among the colony oxen used to haul the crashed ship. Once they started shooting, they found out that oxen were shitty actors, and rewrote.
posted by cortex at 9:23 PM on October 16, 2006
I always thought the Alien series ended after the second movie, the others were just plain crap. The idea that the alien could take on the characteristics of its host is just one example of *why* they were crap.
Yes, the advocates of the dog alien are technically correct, but they shouldn't be ^_^
posted by sotonohito at 9:26 PM on October 16, 2006
Yes, the advocates of the dog alien are technically correct, but they shouldn't be ^_^
posted by sotonohito at 9:26 PM on October 16, 2006
Aliens don't take on characteristics of their host bodies.
Counterexhibit C: The final scene of Alien v. Predator. Baby alien with four claw-like face-fangs pops out of dead Predator.
posted by mediareport at 9:33 PM on October 16, 2006
Counterexhibit C: The final scene of Alien v. Predator. Baby alien with four claw-like face-fangs pops out of dead Predator.
posted by mediareport at 9:33 PM on October 16, 2006
[offtopic]
sotonohito : I always thought the Alien series ended after the second movie, the others were just plain crap.
When I first saw Alien 3, I thought the same thing. It took me years to get over it (I think it was because they killed Hicks and Bishop. They worked so hard and survived only to be paste in the first 5 minutes of the film?) After much time had passed, I watched it again, and I was flat-out blown away. Honestly, it is cinematicly the best of the three (and that is saying a lot when you consider the first two.) You may want to give it another try, once the sting of loss is gone it becomes a remarkable good movie.
The idea that the alien could take on the characteristics of its host is just one example of *why* they were crap.
Acid for blood you're ok with? A rapid gestation three tiered birth cycle doesn't offend, but changing form based on the host is crap? :)
posted by quin at 9:49 PM on October 16, 2006
sotonohito : I always thought the Alien series ended after the second movie, the others were just plain crap.
When I first saw Alien 3, I thought the same thing. It took me years to get over it (I think it was because they killed Hicks and Bishop. They worked so hard and survived only to be paste in the first 5 minutes of the film?) After much time had passed, I watched it again, and I was flat-out blown away. Honestly, it is cinematicly the best of the three (and that is saying a lot when you consider the first two.) You may want to give it another try, once the sting of loss is gone it becomes a remarkable good movie.
The idea that the alien could take on the characteristics of its host is just one example of *why* they were crap.
Acid for blood you're ok with? A rapid gestation three tiered birth cycle doesn't offend, but changing form based on the host is crap? :)
posted by quin at 9:49 PM on October 16, 2006
"Get away from her, you broodmare!"
posted by rob511 at 9:54 PM on October 16, 2006 [1 favorite]
posted by rob511 at 9:54 PM on October 16, 2006 [1 favorite]
ACK!
That's the international, non-So Soft Shady! Goddamn, I coveted that pony when I was six. ...and the artist decapitated and shaved her, and painted her gray...I think part of my childhood just died.
But still, good work.
*sob*
posted by hercatalyst at 9:57 PM on October 16, 2006
That's the international, non-So Soft Shady! Goddamn, I coveted that pony when I was six. ...and the artist decapitated and shaved her, and painted her gray...I think part of my childhood just died.
But still, good work.
*sob*
posted by hercatalyst at 9:57 PM on October 16, 2006
quin: It's my least fav. of the original three (let's not talk about Ressurection or *shudder* AvP), but I agree that people should give Alien Cubed a second chance. There's some really, really neat stuff in there. The sequence crosscutting Dutton delivering the Eulogy for Hicks and Newt and the alien being born is awesome....
posted by brundlefly at 10:10 PM on October 16, 2006
posted by brundlefly at 10:10 PM on October 16, 2006
Honestly, it is cinematicly the best of the three (and that is saying a lot when you consider the first two.
I have to disagree: Alien is the strongest, most focused final product of the three. Gorgeous cinematography, excellent production.
I like Alien3, and I liked it from the beginning, and I feel it's an excellent capstone to what I can't help but think of as the trilogy. But it's a bit muddled, which is rather high praise considering what a horrific slog through production bullshit the movie apparently was. There's a lot of (dark) stuff to like about it, but it's not the film that Alien was.
I also like Ressurrection, but I hated it when I first saw it. Then I saw some other Jeunet films—French ones, even—and suddenly it began to make more sense. And considering what dreck some of the comics were (Earth War?), it make rather a nice one-off addition to the film series.
posted by cortex at 10:11 PM on October 16, 2006
I have to disagree: Alien is the strongest, most focused final product of the three. Gorgeous cinematography, excellent production.
I like Alien3, and I liked it from the beginning, and I feel it's an excellent capstone to what I can't help but think of as the trilogy. But it's a bit muddled, which is rather high praise considering what a horrific slog through production bullshit the movie apparently was. There's a lot of (dark) stuff to like about it, but it's not the film that Alien was.
I also like Ressurrection, but I hated it when I first saw it. Then I saw some other Jeunet films—French ones, even—and suddenly it began to make more sense. And considering what dreck some of the comics were (Earth War?), it make rather a nice one-off addition to the film series.
posted by cortex at 10:11 PM on October 16, 2006
First a great white post, then aliens, best mefi day ever (for me)
Ridley Scott has gone on record that he always assumed the Alien took on the characteristics of the host.
The rough cut of Alien 3 is much better than the released version.
The comics were crap? Well yeah Earthwar wasn't great but Beauvais' work is probably the best I've ever seen cinematography captured in acrylic.
I could go on, but I shouldn't, I really shouldnt. No one else cares this much about Aliens.
posted by Brainy at 10:26 PM on October 16, 2006
Ridley Scott has gone on record that he always assumed the Alien took on the characteristics of the host.
The rough cut of Alien 3 is much better than the released version.
The comics were crap? Well yeah Earthwar wasn't great but Beauvais' work is probably the best I've ever seen cinematography captured in acrylic.
I could go on, but I shouldn't, I really shouldnt. No one else cares this much about Aliens.
posted by Brainy at 10:26 PM on October 16, 2006
Don't get me wrong. I mean that some of the comics were crap, and Earth War among them was one of the earliest and most powerfully disappointing specimens. Book 1 was stunning, and Book 2 very good as well, and some of the later books (while I was still buying, years ago) were good as well.
posted by cortex at 10:29 PM on October 16, 2006
posted by cortex at 10:29 PM on October 16, 2006
No one else cares this much about Aliens
Sigh... if only ALL of us here had this level of self-awareness where our hobbies/interests/etc were concerned.
posted by jonson at 10:33 PM on October 16, 2006
Sigh... if only ALL of us here had this level of self-awareness where our hobbies/interests/etc were concerned.
posted by jonson at 10:33 PM on October 16, 2006
Sandor: Are there more images of her work? Those are very cool.
posted by sien at 10:43 PM on October 16, 2006
posted by sien at 10:43 PM on October 16, 2006
The whole taking-on-the-characteristics-of-the-host thing has always made me wonder something. What did the aliens that came from the other aliens in the spaceship wreck at the beginning of the first movie. Has that ever been explored?
posted by GeekAnimator at 10:45 PM on October 16, 2006
posted by GeekAnimator at 10:45 PM on October 16, 2006
Counterexhibit C: The final scene of Alien v. Predator. Baby alien with four claw-like face-fangs pops out of dead Predator.
Spoiler alert! (Yes, I never saw the movie. Spousal veto and all that.)
posted by laz-e-boy at 10:49 PM on October 16, 2006
Spoiler alert! (Yes, I never saw the movie. Spousal veto and all that.)
posted by laz-e-boy at 10:49 PM on October 16, 2006
GeekAnimator - they came out of the belly of that one creature that was operating the distress beacon that Ripley's ship responded to.
posted by jonson at 11:03 PM on October 16, 2006
posted by jonson at 11:03 PM on October 16, 2006
Mediareport, you just ruined the movie for me. I've waited for years for just the right moment to watch it. Now it is forever ruined.
I cry.
posted by Dataphage at 11:38 PM on October 16, 2006
I cry.
posted by Dataphage at 11:38 PM on October 16, 2006
Sien, she has most of them on her computer I think. Use the email address above and ask her. She does all sorts of little crafty knick knacks in addition to MLP stuff.
posted by Sandor Clegane at 11:56 PM on October 16, 2006
posted by Sandor Clegane at 11:56 PM on October 16, 2006
jonson, I think what GeekAnimator was trying to ask was what did the alien that came out of the "pilot" (or whatever the hell) look like?
posted by brundlefly at 12:04 AM on October 17, 2006
posted by brundlefly at 12:04 AM on October 17, 2006
Sandor, the my little pony mods are awesome! Help your friend to make a website so we can view them all. Or even just host the pix on fickr. I'd be interested in seeing her other stuff too.
posted by alltomorrowsparties at 12:15 AM on October 17, 2006
posted by alltomorrowsparties at 12:15 AM on October 17, 2006
Huh. I stand corrected. In Metafilter, everyone can hear you not knowing what you're talking about.
That bull alien might be the dumbest thing I've ever seen.
posted by graventy at 1:33 AM on October 17, 2006
That bull alien might be the dumbest thing I've ever seen.
posted by graventy at 1:33 AM on October 17, 2006
After seeing the Pinhead MLP that Sandor linked to above, I'm a little afraid to ask what her "crafty knick knacks" might involve...
posted by patricio at 6:02 AM on October 17, 2006
posted by patricio at 6:02 AM on October 17, 2006
The Alien-pony is awesome and I love it, but I think my favorite part of this post might be all the LiveJournal bitchery from that community link. Clearly the mighty Friends Page is the LJ equivalent of our own front page, and its integrity must be preserved at all costs:
Panties out of the butt please...I usually check my community entries for at least 15 minutes after I post (with photos) to ensure I am not pissing people off. No worries, I just like to see my friends page so I don't have to scroll. I just asked you to do it pronto, nothing wrong with that given the other responses here. So yeah.
posted by miskatonic at 6:26 AM on October 17, 2006
Panties out of the butt please...I usually check my community entries for at least 15 minutes after I post (with photos) to ensure I am not pissing people off. No worries, I just like to see my friends page so I don't have to scroll. I just asked you to do it pronto, nothing wrong with that given the other responses here. So yeah.
posted by miskatonic at 6:26 AM on October 17, 2006
I personally liked that they looked like their hosts, as it explains (only a little, but that's far more than most sci-fi) why a totally alien species would be bipedal, walk upright, have fingers, toes, elbows, knees, hips, rib cages, etc. etc. etc.
posted by Bugbread at 6:50 AM on October 17, 2006
posted by Bugbread at 6:50 AM on October 17, 2006
No, I was still bipedal when I came out of the telepod.
posted by brundlefly at 8:03 AM on October 17, 2006
posted by brundlefly at 8:03 AM on October 17, 2006
As an Alien geek, I must mention a couple things:
1)The "dogburster" Alien was more of an accident than anything. Originally as filmed the Alien came out of, I'm not kidding, a dead ox. Which made its dog-like actions absolutely nonsensical. The dog being the host was added right at the end of production.
2)AvP breaks continuity so many ways that no one seriously cites it. Besides it being a festering pile of crap.
3)We never see the alien resulting from the big alien pilot. Presumably it was even larger and scarier. (the hole in its chest was as big as a man's fist, whereas Kane's alien was a bit smaller than that) With the footage added to the 25th Anniversary cut of Alien, we know that originally the Aliens didn't have a Queen but rather had the ability to (somehow) morph other creatures into the eggs holding facehuggers. This was cut because, well, it's just insane and even more impossible than everything else about the Aliens, but it DOES explain what happened to the derelict and its crew.
And 4)I just have to chime in as agreeing that Alien³ got a really bum rap and deserves to be rediscovered.
posted by InnocentBystander at 8:32 AM on October 17, 2006
1)The "dogburster" Alien was more of an accident than anything. Originally as filmed the Alien came out of, I'm not kidding, a dead ox. Which made its dog-like actions absolutely nonsensical. The dog being the host was added right at the end of production.
2)AvP breaks continuity so many ways that no one seriously cites it. Besides it being a festering pile of crap.
3)We never see the alien resulting from the big alien pilot. Presumably it was even larger and scarier. (the hole in its chest was as big as a man's fist, whereas Kane's alien was a bit smaller than that) With the footage added to the 25th Anniversary cut of Alien, we know that originally the Aliens didn't have a Queen but rather had the ability to (somehow) morph other creatures into the eggs holding facehuggers. This was cut because, well, it's just insane and even more impossible than everything else about the Aliens, but it DOES explain what happened to the derelict and its crew.
And 4)I just have to chime in as agreeing that Alien³ got a really bum rap and deserves to be rediscovered.
posted by InnocentBystander at 8:32 AM on October 17, 2006
Two comments:
1. Yeah, Alien³ is pretty good. Muddled, but nicely atmospheric.
2. The idea of the aliens taking on their hosts' characteristics is totally in line with other themes in Geiger's work. For whatever that's worth.
posted by mr_roboto at 11:06 AM on October 17, 2006
1. Yeah, Alien³ is pretty good. Muddled, but nicely atmospheric.
2. The idea of the aliens taking on their hosts' characteristics is totally in line with other themes in Geiger's work. For whatever that's worth.
posted by mr_roboto at 11:06 AM on October 17, 2006
What? Bait and switch! I was dying to see the thing burst out of the stomach of My Little Pony.
You and me both, Ironmouth. I'm really disappointed.
posted by agregoli at 1:03 PM on October 17, 2006
You and me both, Ironmouth. I'm really disappointed.
posted by agregoli at 1:03 PM on October 17, 2006
Anyone ever read this? I've never gotten around to it.
posted by brundlefly at 3:39 PM on October 17, 2006
posted by brundlefly at 3:39 PM on October 17, 2006
quin I know, it seems odd that I'd be able to accept the whole acid blood bit, the implants its young in other species bit, etc but balk at the "takes on characteristcs of its host" bit. The acid blood is pretty silly, no denying it. However there are species here on Earth that implant their young in other species, so that part isn't really all that odd when you consider it.
But my willing suspension of disbelief snaps at certain points, and that's when things to blatiently against what is possible and sensible. The bits of our DNA that make us the shape we are are scattered throughout the genome, interact in odd ways, and are not just a simple blueprint. The alien species might not even *use* DNA, and assuming that it can process the genome of a species completely alien to it, then modify its own DNA-equivilant to result in a shape vaguely like that of its host is just dumb. A supercomputer with an attached genetics lab might be able to do it by taking a few years to work things out, an emplanted embryo with less than a few days? Not a chance.
Tarantula hawks lay their eggs in spiders, and later burst out not unlike the aliens. But their young look like more tarantula hawks, not like spiders. Eating something doesn't make you look like something.
posted by sotonohito at 4:17 PM on October 17, 2006
But my willing suspension of disbelief snaps at certain points, and that's when things to blatiently against what is possible and sensible. The bits of our DNA that make us the shape we are are scattered throughout the genome, interact in odd ways, and are not just a simple blueprint. The alien species might not even *use* DNA, and assuming that it can process the genome of a species completely alien to it, then modify its own DNA-equivilant to result in a shape vaguely like that of its host is just dumb. A supercomputer with an attached genetics lab might be able to do it by taking a few years to work things out, an emplanted embryo with less than a few days? Not a chance.
Tarantula hawks lay their eggs in spiders, and later burst out not unlike the aliens. But their young look like more tarantula hawks, not like spiders. Eating something doesn't make you look like something.
posted by sotonohito at 4:17 PM on October 17, 2006
sotonohito : "A supercomputer with an attached genetics lab might be able to do it by taking a few years to work things out, an emplanted embryo with less than a few days? Not a chance."
Well, as long as we're in the world of the fanciful, there's always this tortured possibility:
The embryo starts sending out extremely thin, long "probes", as it were, that worm through the host's flesh. They're thin enough they don't cause much damage, just a few cells across, perhaps. These probes determine the general shape of the host, as well as which parts are hard and which are soft. This is returned to the embryo, which, for absolutely no good goddamn reason, uses that info when shaping its adult shape.
So it doesn't use DNA to determine the host shape, but basically just takes a mold of the host from within.
posted by Bugbread at 4:24 PM on October 17, 2006
Well, as long as we're in the world of the fanciful, there's always this tortured possibility:
The embryo starts sending out extremely thin, long "probes", as it were, that worm through the host's flesh. They're thin enough they don't cause much damage, just a few cells across, perhaps. These probes determine the general shape of the host, as well as which parts are hard and which are soft. This is returned to the embryo, which, for absolutely no good goddamn reason, uses that info when shaping its adult shape.
So it doesn't use DNA to determine the host shape, but basically just takes a mold of the host from within.
posted by Bugbread at 4:24 PM on October 17, 2006
All right, since we are indulging in nerdly philosophising, let's consider this; First, we know that the Aliens are silicone based, which is why they are able to have blood that doesn't boil through their skin, yet is potent enough to reduce a reinforced starship bulkhead to mush in a couple of minutes.
And as they are silicone based, it's unlikely that their physiology would use directly DNA as we know it. More likely, there is some aspect to the facehugger/ chestburster life cycle that 'reads' parts of the DNA (or some other unknown mechanism) and steals bits that will help the Alien survive in whatever environment it finds itself.
That much has been made clear. This is a transitory species, it exists by moving from one environment to another. Since these environments are going to differ wildly from one another, in order to survive, this creature is going to have to be able to adapt extremely quickly. Not by evolution, that would take too long, but by a fundamental shift in it's body at 'conception'.
There could be no other way that a species could easily proliferate on different planets without having some kind of suit to provide it's own temperature and breathable gasses. Since the Aliens clearly don't need EVA gear, we must assume that their bodies are either adapted to any and all environments or that they are taking aspects of an indigenous creature that has already proven that it can survive in said environment.
As viewers/ victims, it is not up to us to determine the ways that this mechanism would work, if we accept that there could be a creature like this (even in a purely imaginative sense) it somewhat requires that we have to be on board with whatever mechanism it would use to make such a creature possible. By way of example, I don't need to know how or why a platypus is venomous to know that if it scratched me, I could get sick. Or that it's a mammal yet it uses eggs to spawn it's offspring.
posted by quin at 5:35 PM on October 17, 2006
And as they are silicone based, it's unlikely that their physiology would use directly DNA as we know it. More likely, there is some aspect to the facehugger/ chestburster life cycle that 'reads' parts of the DNA (or some other unknown mechanism) and steals bits that will help the Alien survive in whatever environment it finds itself.
That much has been made clear. This is a transitory species, it exists by moving from one environment to another. Since these environments are going to differ wildly from one another, in order to survive, this creature is going to have to be able to adapt extremely quickly. Not by evolution, that would take too long, but by a fundamental shift in it's body at 'conception'.
There could be no other way that a species could easily proliferate on different planets without having some kind of suit to provide it's own temperature and breathable gasses. Since the Aliens clearly don't need EVA gear, we must assume that their bodies are either adapted to any and all environments or that they are taking aspects of an indigenous creature that has already proven that it can survive in said environment.
As viewers/ victims, it is not up to us to determine the ways that this mechanism would work, if we accept that there could be a creature like this (even in a purely imaginative sense) it somewhat requires that we have to be on board with whatever mechanism it would use to make such a creature possible. By way of example, I don't need to know how or why a platypus is venomous to know that if it scratched me, I could get sick. Or that it's a mammal yet it uses eggs to spawn it's offspring.
posted by quin at 5:35 PM on October 17, 2006
That bull alien might be the dumbest thing I've ever seen.
I still have that toy, and a long time ago I even had a mantis-alien. It looked pretty cool, but even as a kid I was upset by the notion that a facehugger could somehow impregnate a mantis.
Unfortunately, it doesn't look like these toys are worth anything.
posted by Citizen Premier at 7:32 PM on October 17, 2006
I still have that toy, and a long time ago I even had a mantis-alien. It looked pretty cool, but even as a kid I was upset by the notion that a facehugger could somehow impregnate a mantis.
Unfortunately, it doesn't look like these toys are worth anything.
posted by Citizen Premier at 7:32 PM on October 17, 2006
I'm still waiting for them to do a seriously good line of toys based on Aliens. Sure there are these but they are large and too expensive for building an extensive collection. There was also this Hicks figure done by McFarlane but he's not very poseable.
I want a 6" scale line of all the Marines damnit!
posted by Sandor Clegane at 8:45 PM on October 17, 2006
I want a 6" scale line of all the Marines damnit!
posted by Sandor Clegane at 8:45 PM on October 17, 2006
When Ailen3 came out it was pretty soundly panned by the critics, but I ran across a review that compared the plot to the spread of AIDS through the gay community in the 80's. I'd liked the movie when I saw it in the theatre, and the review really resonated with me as well. Sadly I can't recall the exact thesis put forth by the reviewer, but to paraphrase, an insular community refuses to accept the reports of a threat to their lifestyle brought by an outsider. I know that could be any movie, but the analogy was striking.
posted by lekvar at 9:22 PM on October 17, 2006
posted by lekvar at 9:22 PM on October 17, 2006
Mediareport, you just ruined the movie for me.
It doesn't ruin the movie at all, though, honest; it's more of a tacked-on coda than any kind of resolution of anything important, plot-wise, and is very, VERY predictable to anyone who watches the flick with even one eye open. Mostly, it just teases you with the thought of another (hopefully never-to-be-made) sequel.
But really, I am sorry for spoiling without warning. I hate that, and am embarrassed I did it. Even if you were kidding about caring.
posted by mediareport at 9:27 PM on October 17, 2006
It doesn't ruin the movie at all, though, honest; it's more of a tacked-on coda than any kind of resolution of anything important, plot-wise, and is very, VERY predictable to anyone who watches the flick with even one eye open. Mostly, it just teases you with the thought of another (hopefully never-to-be-made) sequel.
But really, I am sorry for spoiling without warning. I hate that, and am embarrassed I did it. Even if you were kidding about caring.
posted by mediareport at 9:27 PM on October 17, 2006
2)AvP breaks continuity so many ways that no one seriously cites it.
*laughs* Well, certainly not people who take Alien continuity seriously enough to bother defining it.
posted by mediareport at 9:30 PM on October 17, 2006
*laughs* Well, certainly not people who take Alien continuity seriously enough to bother defining it.
posted by mediareport at 9:30 PM on October 17, 2006
Mostly, it just teases you with the thought of another (hopefully never-to-be-made) sequel.
No Such Luck
posted by Tenuki at 10:11 PM on October 17, 2006
No Such Luck
posted by Tenuki at 10:11 PM on October 17, 2006
Another idea: what if the facehugger deposits different embryos based on what the host is? We're all naturally female until the hormones turn on at the right time. Heck, maybe the hormone packets are stored at certain lengths in the tube they shove down your throat and if it has to twist a certain way down a dogs neck one packet gets released, down a humans: another.
Also, Ridley thought maybe the Aliens were intelligently designed by the space jockeys as weapons so we could even get crazier with the mechanisms.
posted by Brainy at 12:39 AM on October 18, 2006
Also, Ridley thought maybe the Aliens were intelligently designed by the space jockeys as weapons so we could even get crazier with the mechanisms.
posted by Brainy at 12:39 AM on October 18, 2006
*laughs* Well, certainly not people who take Alien continuity seriously enough to bother defining it.
Well, I find it a hell of a lot more interesting than, say, Star Wars. If only because we see mere glimpses of the outside world and have to draw conclusions based on them. That's what's fun about it. Kind of like the Stalingrad references in Escape From NY.
Beyond being a poorly made, very very dull film in general (an unforgivable sin), AvP doesn't work because it completely discards the entire Alien mythos. The Aliens end up being the equivalent of giant snakes in a SciFi Channel Original Movie starring Dean Cain.
At least Resurrection made reference to the Company.
Gawd, I feel like a nerd.
posted by brundlefly at 1:26 AM on October 18, 2006
Well, I find it a hell of a lot more interesting than, say, Star Wars. If only because we see mere glimpses of the outside world and have to draw conclusions based on them. That's what's fun about it. Kind of like the Stalingrad references in Escape From NY.
Beyond being a poorly made, very very dull film in general (an unforgivable sin), AvP doesn't work because it completely discards the entire Alien mythos. The Aliens end up being the equivalent of giant snakes in a SciFi Channel Original Movie starring Dean Cain.
At least Resurrection made reference to the Company.
Gawd, I feel like a nerd.
posted by brundlefly at 1:26 AM on October 18, 2006
This is the best discussion about Alien I've ever read. It's my favorite movie ever and my favorite "creature film" ever made. I'm fascinated by the idea of this creature and I thank everyone for their insights on how it might work.
posted by agregoli at 7:10 AM on October 18, 2006
posted by agregoli at 7:10 AM on October 18, 2006
There are indeed many nerd-annoying things about the fractured Alien mythos, even if you only bother with the movies.
One biggie, which the aliens have in common with various other movie monsters, is that they apparently make biomass out of nothing. Nobody knows what they eat, but they can grow from a toothy little snaky thing into a big old guy in a suit in, what, days? Maybe they eat bits of spaceship or dirt or something and convert that into silicaceous body parts, but it's never explained, or even questioned by the hapless people who encounter them.
I always liked Resurrection, but I like remixes and mash-ups of all kinds.
Oh, and the actual predator/alien fights in AvP are very good. I agree that the rest of it would probably still have sucked even if they hadn't removed all hope by going for the PG-13 rating.
Like the Star Wars prequels, I think AvP is an excellent movie to watch on a computer, or some other setup where you have easy and fine skip-forward controls. I found I really liked Sith when I just skipped through all of the Portman/Christensen dialogue!
posted by dansdata at 7:34 AM on October 18, 2006
One biggie, which the aliens have in common with various other movie monsters, is that they apparently make biomass out of nothing. Nobody knows what they eat, but they can grow from a toothy little snaky thing into a big old guy in a suit in, what, days? Maybe they eat bits of spaceship or dirt or something and convert that into silicaceous body parts, but it's never explained, or even questioned by the hapless people who encounter them.
I always liked Resurrection, but I like remixes and mash-ups of all kinds.
Oh, and the actual predator/alien fights in AvP are very good. I agree that the rest of it would probably still have sucked even if they hadn't removed all hope by going for the PG-13 rating.
Like the Star Wars prequels, I think AvP is an excellent movie to watch on a computer, or some other setup where you have easy and fine skip-forward controls. I found I really liked Sith when I just skipped through all of the Portman/Christensen dialogue!
posted by dansdata at 7:34 AM on October 18, 2006
brundlefly : At least Resurrection made reference to the Company.
Technically AvP did make reference to the Company. Lance Henriksen's character's name is Charles Bishop Weyland as in one of the co-founders of Weyland-Yutani. Other connections include Charles Weyland's middle name: Bishop, which of course, is the name of the synthetic in Aliens 2. Also, in Aliens 3 they indicate that the basis for Bishop's design originates with the appearance of his creator, when they have another synthetic pretend to be Weyland to try to convince Ripley to come with them. (and obviously, all three rolls were played by Henriksen.)
Gawd, I feel like a nerd.
Based on this thread, I'd say you are in good company.
posted by quin at 9:49 AM on October 18, 2006
Technically AvP did make reference to the Company. Lance Henriksen's character's name is Charles Bishop Weyland as in one of the co-founders of Weyland-Yutani. Other connections include Charles Weyland's middle name: Bishop, which of course, is the name of the synthetic in Aliens 2. Also, in Aliens 3 they indicate that the basis for Bishop's design originates with the appearance of his creator, when they have another synthetic pretend to be Weyland to try to convince Ripley to come with them. (and obviously, all three rolls were played by Henriksen.)
Gawd, I feel like a nerd.
Based on this thread, I'd say you are in good company.
posted by quin at 9:49 AM on October 18, 2006
What bothered me most about AvP was the complete disregard for the series. So now Bishop is based on someone from a few hundred years earlier? Then who the hell was that guy in Alien 3? The company is desperate to find this thing for their bioweapons division yet it was sitting there on Earth for years.
This doesn't even cover how bad of a movie it was. So they discover a chamber below them and drop a glowstick down to see how far it goes. Ok, now let's try and find the place. Let me consult my fancy watch....it's this way. Ok here we are and I can see the glowstick in front of me. Now let me consult my fancy watch again. Ahh..we must be right below the chamber above. Really? What gave you that idea? Was it your fancy watch? Your years of experience marching through the arctic? Or was it the glowstick you just dropped that's now right in front of you?!?!
How do things like that make it through the entire process? The writers, the actors, the director, the editors...nobody chimes in to say how stupid that is?
posted by Sandor Clegane at 10:02 AM on October 18, 2006
This doesn't even cover how bad of a movie it was. So they discover a chamber below them and drop a glowstick down to see how far it goes. Ok, now let's try and find the place. Let me consult my fancy watch....it's this way. Ok here we are and I can see the glowstick in front of me. Now let me consult my fancy watch again. Ahh..we must be right below the chamber above. Really? What gave you that idea? Was it your fancy watch? Your years of experience marching through the arctic? Or was it the glowstick you just dropped that's now right in front of you?!?!
How do things like that make it through the entire process? The writers, the actors, the director, the editors...nobody chimes in to say how stupid that is?
posted by Sandor Clegane at 10:02 AM on October 18, 2006
Regarding the biomass:
It was postulated in one of the RPG books that the Aliens were like living batteries and one of the ways they grew so quickly was to dissolve metal with their acid spit or blood and the ingest that and molt very quickly. So while they're having a funeral for Kane, the chestburster is drinking air filter unit soup or something.
I forget what that actually had to do with batteries but I remember them being on the same page. Also they thought that the back pipes were for spinning hives and that's how they scaled the walls with their hands full and that the queen's tiny arms were for holding males for mating....wait that last one was the Anchorpoint Essays.
posted by Brainy at 10:57 AM on October 18, 2006
It was postulated in one of the RPG books that the Aliens were like living batteries and one of the ways they grew so quickly was to dissolve metal with their acid spit or blood and the ingest that and molt very quickly. So while they're having a funeral for Kane, the chestburster is drinking air filter unit soup or something.
I forget what that actually had to do with batteries but I remember them being on the same page. Also they thought that the back pipes were for spinning hives and that's how they scaled the walls with their hands full and that the queen's tiny arms were for holding males for mating....wait that last one was the Anchorpoint Essays.
posted by Brainy at 10:57 AM on October 18, 2006
How do things like that make it through the entire process?
The most egregious example for me (aside from the total disregard for the previously established Alien/Predator mythos,) was the fact that the pyramid reconfigured every ten minutes because the Aztec calendar was based on multiples of ten. I didn’t realize that the Aztecs also used a sixty-second minute. Maybe the Aztecs had fancy watches too.
posted by Tenuki at 5:47 PM on October 18, 2006
The most egregious example for me (aside from the total disregard for the previously established Alien/Predator mythos,) was the fact that the pyramid reconfigured every ten minutes because the Aztec calendar was based on multiples of ten. I didn’t realize that the Aztecs also used a sixty-second minute. Maybe the Aztecs had fancy watches too.
posted by Tenuki at 5:47 PM on October 18, 2006
Damn, y'all. Am I really the only one who waited for the DVD and fast-forwarded through the moronic shit? Is that not normal procedure for you with movies like AvP?
Screw the freaking watches - the alien/predator fight scenes RAAAAAAWKED. And, as long as I'm SPOILING,
That last fight between the queen and the two survivors was fucking GREAT. The Predator's leaping stab to the head? GENIUS. FANTASTIC MONSTER MOVIE MOMENT. WATCHED IT IN SLO-MO A DOZEN TIMES.
*whew*
Nerds. They lose sight so easily of the truly important shit.
posted by mediareport at 8:08 PM on October 18, 2006
Screw the freaking watches - the alien/predator fight scenes RAAAAAAWKED. And, as long as I'm SPOILING,
That last fight between the queen and the two survivors was fucking GREAT. The Predator's leaping stab to the head? GENIUS. FANTASTIC MONSTER MOVIE MOMENT. WATCHED IT IN SLO-MO A DOZEN TIMES.
*whew*
Nerds. They lose sight so easily of the truly important shit.
posted by mediareport at 8:08 PM on October 18, 2006
Tenuki writes "The most egregious example for me (aside from the total disregard for the previously established Alien/Predator mythos,) was the fact that the pyramid reconfigured every ten minutes because the Aztec calendar was based on multiples of ten. I didn’t realize that the Aztecs also used a sixty-second minute. Maybe the Aztecs had fancy watches too."
Of course they didn't have 60 second minutes: after all, the Aztec calendar was based on multiples of ten. They had ten Aztec seconds each minute, and each second in the Aztec wristwatch was the equivalent of 6 of our seconds. Their watches were provided by the lost 13th tribe of the Swiss, who used cutting edge "giant moving stone" technology in their 7 ton wristwatches.
posted by Bugbread at 9:05 PM on October 18, 2006
Of course they didn't have 60 second minutes: after all, the Aztec calendar was based on multiples of ten. They had ten Aztec seconds each minute, and each second in the Aztec wristwatch was the equivalent of 6 of our seconds. Their watches were provided by the lost 13th tribe of the Swiss, who used cutting edge "giant moving stone" technology in their 7 ton wristwatches.
posted by Bugbread at 9:05 PM on October 18, 2006
You are not wrong mediareport, that is a great scene. I'm also a fan of the end of one of the fights in the temple where the Alien has the end of it's tail cut off and is using it to flick acid at the Predator. Both scenes are well done in that they exemplify the species using their innate abilities to take out their opponent.
I did think the WWF style fight that precedes that moment to be a little silly though.
Unlike some others in this thread, I liked AvP. I've described it as better than I expected, indeed better than it should have been, but not as good as it had the potential to be. In this respect, it's a lot like the movie Doom.
My only real complaint, and one that really bugs me because they made absolutely no effort to explain it, was the shortened gestation time between the life cycle of the chest burster.
In every other movie it took quite a few hours before the li'l bugger made it's way to daylight. In AvP it happens in no time at all.
posted by quin at 9:26 PM on October 18, 2006
I did think the WWF style fight that precedes that moment to be a little silly though.
Unlike some others in this thread, I liked AvP. I've described it as better than I expected, indeed better than it should have been, but not as good as it had the potential to be. In this respect, it's a lot like the movie Doom.
My only real complaint, and one that really bugs me because they made absolutely no effort to explain it, was the shortened gestation time between the life cycle of the chest burster.
In every other movie it took quite a few hours before the li'l bugger made it's way to daylight. In AvP it happens in no time at all.
posted by quin at 9:26 PM on October 18, 2006
« Older Why will future generations chant your username? | WoW + MJ + machinima = YouTube City! Newer »
This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 8:02 PM on October 16, 2006