Alien (franchise): Difference between revisions
Content deleted Content added
m update links |
Spelling grammar |
||
Line 13: | Line 13: | ||
The first film, '''''Alien''''' (1979), involves the crew of a freighter spaceship who stop to answer a [[Distress Call]] from an uncharted moon. One of the crew members ([[John Hurt]]) gets an alien organism attached to his face and goes into a coma. Days later, an alien embryo explodes from the crewman's chest and rapidly matures into a savage monster. As the alien stalks through the ship, the crew chooses to go against their company's orders and fight back. One by one, the crew members are slaughtered by the alien until only Ellen Ripley (Weaver) and the ship's cat are left. She manages to defeat the alien and goes into hypersleep to return home. Writer Dan O'Bannon based the film on a sequence from his previous film ''[[Dark Star]]'', in which a beachball-shaped alien runs amok on a spaceship and tries to push an astronaut down an elevator shaft. [[Ridley Scott]] directed. |
The first film, '''''Alien''''' (1979), involves the crew of a freighter spaceship who stop to answer a [[Distress Call]] from an uncharted moon. One of the crew members ([[John Hurt]]) gets an alien organism attached to his face and goes into a coma. Days later, an alien embryo explodes from the crewman's chest and rapidly matures into a savage monster. As the alien stalks through the ship, the crew chooses to go against their company's orders and fight back. One by one, the crew members are slaughtered by the alien until only Ellen Ripley (Weaver) and the ship's cat are left. She manages to defeat the alien and goes into hypersleep to return home. Writer Dan O'Bannon based the film on a sequence from his previous film ''[[Dark Star]]'', in which a beachball-shaped alien runs amok on a spaceship and tries to push an astronaut down an elevator shaft. [[Ridley Scott]] directed. |
||
In '''''Aliens''''' (1986), Ripley wakes up from [[Human Popsicle|hypersleep]] nearly sixty years later on reaching Earth. Her former employers, the Weyland-Yutani company, refuse to believe her claims about the alien and revoke her licenses. Not long after the colony established by the Company as cover for their investigation of the crashed ship goes silent. The company sends a unit of elite [[Space Marine|Space Marines]] to investigate, along with Ripley, who reluctantly agrees to act as an |
In '''''Aliens''''' (1986), Ripley wakes up from [[Human Popsicle|hypersleep]] nearly sixty years later on reaching Earth. Her former employers, the Weyland-Yutani company, refuse to believe her claims about the alien and revoke her licenses. Not long after the colony established by the Company as cover for their investigation of the crashed ship goes silent. The company sends a unit of elite [[Space Marine|Space Marines]] to investigate, along with Ripley, who reluctantly agrees to act as an adviser. At the colony they discover a whole nest of aliens, along with an egg-laying alien queen. In the ensuing battle, nearly all the marines are killed. Ripley, one of the Marines, a colonist girl, and half of an android escape and enter hypersleep for the return home. The film was directed by [[James Cameron]], who shifted the genre from horror to action. The film was a smash success and is considered one of the few film sequels to be as good as its predecessor. Of particular note was Ripley's ascension to one of cinema's most famous [[Action Girl|Action Girls]]. Sigourney Weaver even got a nomination for Best Actress for her role as Ellen Ripley in ''Aliens'', one of the most shocking Oscar nominations in history, and Stan Winston won an Oscar for the design of the Alien Queen. |
||
In '''''Alien³''''' (1992), hypersleep goes on the fritz again and Ripley's ship crash lands on a prison planet, killing all occupants except her. Even worse, it turns out that Ripley's been infected with an alien egg by a stow-away facehugger. Another facehugger slips into the colony and infects a dog, which quickly gives birth to a quadrupedal alien. Most of the prisoners die before the dog-alien is destroyed. Ripley makes a [[Heroic Sacrifice]] and kills herself just as her own alien is hatching. Directed by [[David Fincher]], this film introduced the concept of aliens having different shapes depending on their host bodies. The film was much less popular than the previous installments, provoking special anger from fans due to its [[Shoot the Shaggy Dog]] nature, and was expected to be the final episode due to the death of Ripley. This film is not merely called an "Alan Smithee film" by irate fans, but decades later is held up as one of the ''textbook'' examples of "problems behind the scenes" -- David Fincher himself is actually a masterful director, but [[Executive Meddling|the studio kept messing with his work]], and the project went through a ''revolving door'' of different screenwriters. The production was so chaotic that multiple alternate cuts of the film exist, scenes that were actually filmed but then scrapped and replaced as revisions kept occurring late into filming. |
In '''''Alien³''''' (1992), hypersleep goes on the fritz again and Ripley's ship crash lands on a prison planet, killing all occupants except her. Even worse, it turns out that Ripley's been infected with an alien egg by a stow-away facehugger. Another facehugger slips into the colony and infects a dog, which quickly gives birth to a quadrupedal alien. Most of the prisoners die before the dog-alien is destroyed. Ripley makes a [[Heroic Sacrifice]] and kills herself just as her own alien is hatching. Directed by [[David Fincher]], this film introduced the concept of aliens having different shapes depending on their host bodies. The film was much less popular than the previous installments, provoking special anger from fans due to its [[Shoot the Shaggy Dog]] nature, and was expected to be the final episode due to the death of Ripley. This film is not merely called an "Alan Smithee film" by irate fans, but decades later is held up as one of the ''textbook'' examples of "problems behind the scenes" -- David Fincher himself is actually a masterful director, but [[Executive Meddling|the studio kept messing with his work]], and the project went through a ''revolving door'' of different screenwriters. The production was so chaotic that multiple alternate cuts of the film exist, scenes that were actually filmed but then scrapped and replaced as revisions kept occurring late into filming. |
||
Line 19: | Line 19: | ||
'''''Alien: Resurrection''''' (1997) has Ripley cloned back to life on a military research station that is breeding aliens in yet another attempt to turn them into weapons. The alien DNA that melded with Ripley's has given her remarkable physical abilities and a connection to other aliens. Shortly after a crew of smugglers arrives with a fresh shipment of infected humans, the aliens break out of their pens and run amok. The new Ripley leads a rag-tag group of survivors against the aliens and their half-human, half-alien hybrid queen in an effort to prevent them from reaching Earth. The plot breaks the traditions of the series by not including the original Ripley nor the Weyland-Yutani company. The screenplay was written by [[Joss Whedon]] and the film directed by French auteur [[Jean Pierre Jeunet]] in his only Hollywood excursion. The film attempted a gorier, campier, and thoroughly more bizarre style, which the [[Executive Meddling|studio fought]]. Ultimately the film was not well received, though like all ''Alien'' films it performed well at the box office. For those that would like to know the reason, [[Joss Whedon]] wrote it as a camp parody, while [[Jean Pierre Jeunet]] wanted horror and for some reason didn't throw Joss' script in a trash can. |
'''''Alien: Resurrection''''' (1997) has Ripley cloned back to life on a military research station that is breeding aliens in yet another attempt to turn them into weapons. The alien DNA that melded with Ripley's has given her remarkable physical abilities and a connection to other aliens. Shortly after a crew of smugglers arrives with a fresh shipment of infected humans, the aliens break out of their pens and run amok. The new Ripley leads a rag-tag group of survivors against the aliens and their half-human, half-alien hybrid queen in an effort to prevent them from reaching Earth. The plot breaks the traditions of the series by not including the original Ripley nor the Weyland-Yutani company. The screenplay was written by [[Joss Whedon]] and the film directed by French auteur [[Jean Pierre Jeunet]] in his only Hollywood excursion. The film attempted a gorier, campier, and thoroughly more bizarre style, which the [[Executive Meddling|studio fought]]. Ultimately the film was not well received, though like all ''Alien'' films it performed well at the box office. For those that would like to know the reason, [[Joss Whedon]] wrote it as a camp parody, while [[Jean Pierre Jeunet]] wanted horror and for some reason didn't throw Joss' script in a trash can. |
||
In 2004, the Aliens got paired up with another cinematic space monster, the [[Predator]], in '''''[[Alien vs. Predator]]''''', loosely based on a [[Massive Multiplayer Crossover]] franchise of comic books, video games and novels dating back to 1993. The resulting film uses very little of the crossover source material, putting a team of modern-day scientists, soldiers, and survivalists on an expedition to the Antarctic. There, they discover an ancient, high-tech ziggurat that Predators have used since time |
In 2004, the Aliens got paired up with another cinematic space monster, the [[Predator]], in '''''[[Alien vs. Predator]]''''', loosely based on a [[Massive Multiplayer Crossover]] franchise of comic books, video games and novels dating back to 1993. The resulting film uses very little of the crossover source material, putting a team of modern-day scientists, soldiers, and survivalists on an expedition to the Antarctic. There, they discover an ancient, high-tech ziggurat that Predators have used since time immemorial to hunt Aliens as a rite of passage. The team and a group of young Predators must fight the latest crop of Aliens and prevent them from escaping into the human population. Ultimately a female mountain climber emerges as the heroine of the story, much like Ripley did in the original ''Alien''. The film was considered a rather brainless, PG-13 action flick, but performed very well. ''[[Prometheus]]'' has made the AVP series [[Canon Discontinuity]]. |
||
''Its'' sequel, '''''Alien Vs Predator: Requiem''''' (2007) picks up right after the previous film as the Predator spaceship is taking off. From the body of a slain Predator bursts an Alien-Predator hybrid called a "Predalien." The hybrid monster slaughters the other Predators aboard, causing the ship to crashland in the forests outside Gunnison, Colorado. With the Predators dead, the Predalien and several facehuggers escape into the forest and begin to impregnate the local populace. The ship's [[Distress Call|distress signal]] summons a lone Predator to Earth with the intention of killing the Predalien and erasing all evidence of the Alien presence. Once again, human and Predator fight independent battles to defeat the Aliens. In the end, the film features the appearance of Ms. Yutani, the other half of the Weyland-Yutani company. The film is either much better than AVP or much worse, depending on whom you ask. |
''Its'' sequel, '''''Alien Vs Predator: Requiem''''' (2007) picks up right after the previous film as the Predator spaceship is taking off. From the body of a slain Predator bursts an Alien-Predator hybrid called a "Predalien." The hybrid monster slaughters the other Predators aboard, causing the ship to crashland in the forests outside Gunnison, Colorado. With the Predators dead, the Predalien and several facehuggers escape into the forest and begin to impregnate the local populace. The ship's [[Distress Call|distress signal]] summons a lone Predator to Earth with the intention of killing the Predalien and erasing all evidence of the Alien presence. Once again, human and Predator fight independent battles to defeat the Aliens. In the end, the film features the appearance of Ms. Yutani, the other half of the Weyland-Yutani company. The film is either much better than AVP or much worse, depending on whom you ask. |
||
Line 40: | Line 40: | ||
** Vasquez, one of the Marines who nearly makes it to the end. Also known for being more rough-and-tumble than the other Marines. |
** Vasquez, one of the Marines who nearly makes it to the end. Also known for being more rough-and-tumble than the other Marines. |
||
* [[Action Film Quiet Drama Scene]]: In ''Aliens'', Ripley putting Newt to bed. Among others. |
* [[Action Film Quiet Drama Scene]]: In ''Aliens'', Ripley putting Newt to bed. Among others. |
||
* [[Action Mom]]: Ripley essentially adopts Newt in ''Aliens'', and goes to enormous lengths to protect her. This is set up earlier in a deleted scene (included in the |
* [[Action Mom]]: Ripley essentially adopts Newt in ''Aliens'', and goes to enormous lengths to protect her. This is set up earlier in a deleted scene (included in the novelization and the Special Edition) which reveals that her daughter had died of cancer in her old age while Ripley was lost in hypersleep. |
||
** Not only that, but Newt is roughly the same age Ripley's daughter was before she left on the first mission. |
** Not only that, but Newt is roughly the same age Ripley's daughter was before she left on the first mission. |
||
* [[Action Survivor]]: Ripley in ''Alien'', where she is only a terrified woman struggling to survive. |
* [[Action Survivor]]: Ripley in ''Alien'', where she is only a terrified woman struggling to survive. |
||
Line 55: | Line 55: | ||
* [[Alien Blood]]: Highly corrosive acid for blood. |
* [[Alien Blood]]: Highly corrosive acid for blood. |
||
* [[Always Chaotic Evil]]: The Aliens. They seemingly exist for the sole purpose of killing everything on a planet. It is subtly implied that they are indeed intelligent, not just bestial animals, which simply makes them even more terrifying. |
* [[Always Chaotic Evil]]: The Aliens. They seemingly exist for the sole purpose of killing everything on a planet. It is subtly implied that they are indeed intelligent, not just bestial animals, which simply makes them even more terrifying. |
||
* [[Ambiguous Robots]]: This series has a whole spectrum of them. Tending toward the probably-organic end, we have the |
* [[Ambiguous Robots]]: This series has a whole spectrum of them. Tending toward the probably-organic end, we have the Xenomorphs and on the probably-robotic end, we have the artificial persons. Right square in the middle is the Space Jockey (and by extension, his ship) from the first movie. |
||
* [[And I Must Scream]]: In the comics, an adult Newt falls in love with a Colonial Marine, who turns out to be an [[Artificial Human]] with more advanced emotions. He makes a [[Heroic Sacrifice]] by staying behind on an infested ship to allow her to escape, but this leaves him trapped on a [[Ghost Ship]] (they leave him alone because he's useless to them for breeding) that can never return to civilization because of the risk. |
* [[And I Must Scream]]: In the comics, an adult Newt falls in love with a Colonial Marine, who turns out to be an [[Artificial Human]] with more advanced emotions. He makes a [[Heroic Sacrifice]] by staying behind on an infested ship to allow her to escape, but this leaves him trapped on a [[Ghost Ship]] (they leave him alone because he's useless to them for breeding) that can never return to civilization because of the risk. |
||
* [[Appropriated Title]]: Although the third, fourth, and fifth films all went under the original title, most spin-off merchandise is known under ''Alien'''s''''', which was the second movie. |
* [[Appropriated Title]]: Although the third, fourth, and fifth films all went under the original title, most spin-off merchandise is known under ''Alien'''s''''', which was the second movie. |
||
Line 69: | Line 69: | ||
* [[Bash Brothers|Bash Brother & Sister]] - Drake and Vasquez, the two M56 Smart Gun users in ''Aliens''. |
* [[Bash Brothers|Bash Brother & Sister]] - Drake and Vasquez, the two M56 Smart Gun users in ''Aliens''. |
||
* [[Better to Die Than Be Killed]]: |
* [[Better to Die Than Be Killed]]: |
||
** Subverted in the ''Newt's Tale'' comic series. During the colonist's final stand against the |
** Subverted in the ''Newt's Tale'' comic series. During the colonist's final stand against the Xenomorphs, Newt's mother picks up a gun and looks at her children (intending to put them out of their misery before turning the gun on herself). She gets ready to pull the trigger...and then Newt tells her there's another way, and leads them towards a ventilation grate during the attack. Not that it helps, considering that her mother and brother get ripped apart seconds later, forcing her to flee into the duct. |
||
** {{spoiler|Vasquez and Gorman's suicide in the Hadley's Hope air ducts.}} |
** {{spoiler|Vasquez and Gorman's suicide in the Hadley's Hope air ducts.}} |
||
* [[Beware My Stinger Tail]]: In the novelization of ''Aliens'', the aliens have these, which are used to paralyze victims to be taken back to the hive for facehugger bait. Gorman gets stung during the escape in the APC after the hive raid goes pear-shaped. |
* [[Beware My Stinger Tail]]: In the novelization of ''Aliens'', the aliens have these, which are used to paralyze victims to be taken back to the hive for facehugger bait. Gorman gets stung during the escape in the APC after the hive raid goes pear-shaped. |
||
Line 76: | Line 76: | ||
** Ripley's [[Duct Tape for Everything|duct-taped]] pulse rifle/GrenadeLauncher/flamethrower in ''Aliens''. |
** Ripley's [[Duct Tape for Everything|duct-taped]] pulse rifle/GrenadeLauncher/flamethrower in ''Aliens''. |
||
** The combination gun she is carrying at the end of Part 2 in the Dark Horse comic has to be seen to be believed. |
** The combination gun she is carrying at the end of Part 2 in the Dark Horse comic has to be seen to be believed. |
||
* [[Big Damn Heroes]]: The moment in ''Aliens'' when Ripley drives the Armored Personnel Carrier through the wall of the |
* [[Big Damn Heroes]]: The moment in ''Aliens'' when Ripley drives the Armored Personnel Carrier through the wall of the Xenomorph hive to save the remaining Marines trying to escape is the biggest example of this trope in the main series. |
||
* [[Big No]]: The first film by Ripley, the second by Vasquez, then Bishop II's prolonged "''NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!''" when Ripley {{spoiler|kills herself}} in the third. |
* [[Big No]]: The first film by Ripley, the second by Vasquez, then Bishop II's prolonged "''NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!''" when Ripley {{spoiler|kills herself}} in the third. |
||
* [[Bilingual Bonus]]: Vasquez wrote on her armor "El riesgo siempre vive!", which means "The risk always survives!". <ref>This may be a reference to a motto of a number of world-famous special-operations military units, which boils down to "Who dares, wins"</ref> |
* [[Bilingual Bonus]]: Vasquez wrote on her armor "El riesgo siempre vive!", which means "The risk always survives!". <ref>This may be a reference to a motto of a number of world-famous special-operations military units, which boils down to "Who dares, wins"</ref> |
||
* [[Birth-Death Juxtaposition]]: In the third film, the ceremony were Hicks' and Newt's bodies are cremated occurs at the same time that the "Runner" |
* [[Birth-Death Juxtaposition]]: In the third film, the ceremony were Hicks' and Newt's bodies are cremated occurs at the same time that the "Runner" Xenomorph erupts from Murphy's dog. |
||
* [[Bizarre Alien Biology]]: Extremely. |
* [[Bizarre Alien Biology]]: Extremely. |
||
* [[Black Dude Dies First]]: {{spoiler|Averted in the first and third movies, as Parker and Dillon (respectively) are among the last to be killed. Played completely straight in the second, as Private Frost gets a flamethrower to the face as soon as the squad gets ambushed and Sergeant Apone gets grabbed by aliens in the same scene (though his ''death'' is somewhat delayed).}} |
* [[Black Dude Dies First]]: {{spoiler|Averted in the first and third movies, as Parker and Dillon (respectively) are among the last to be killed. Played completely straight in the second, as Private Frost gets a flamethrower to the face as soon as the squad gets ambushed and Sergeant Apone gets grabbed by aliens in the same scene (though his ''death'' is somewhat delayed).}} |
||
Line 97: | Line 97: | ||
* [[Ceiling Cling]]: With instances of [[Vertical Kidnapping]]. |
* [[Ceiling Cling]]: With instances of [[Vertical Kidnapping]]. |
||
* [[Chekhov's Boomerang]]: Newt's tracking device. |
* [[Chekhov's Boomerang]]: Newt's tracking device. |
||
* [[Chekhov's Gun]]: Ripley shows that she knows how to use a |
* [[Chekhov's Gun]]: Ripley shows that she knows how to use a powerloader early on in ''[[Aliens]]'', and the scene is played for "Getting to know you" laughs. She later uses that same powerloader to fight the Alien Queen. |
||
* [[Chekhov's Skill]]: In ''[[Aliens]]'', along with her knowing how to drive a powerloader, there's the lessons Ripley got from Hicks on how to use the Marines' weapons, which she uses to great effect during her [[Mama Bear]] rampage. |
* [[Chekhov's Skill]]: In ''[[Aliens]]'', along with her knowing how to drive a powerloader, there's the lessons Ripley got from Hicks on how to use the Marines' weapons, which she uses to great effect during her [[Mama Bear]] rampage. |
||
* [[Coca Pepsi Inc]]: As everybody knows, Weyland-Yutani is a combination of rival motoring conglomerates British Leyland and Toyota. |
* [[Coca Pepsi Inc]]: As everybody knows, Weyland-Yutani is a combination of rival motoring conglomerates British Leyland and Toyota. |
||
Line 110: | Line 110: | ||
* [[Crapsack World]]: |
* [[Crapsack World]]: |
||
** Fury (Fiorina) 161. |
** Fury (Fiorina) 161. |
||
** LV-426 (Acheron in the |
** LV-426 (Acheron in the novelization). |
||
** The Dark Horse comic series is one hellish place to live. The [[Mega Corp]] controls the world, all civil rights are essentially gone, the military kills civilians with impunity, and that's before the two killer alien species come knocking. The Aliens overrun Earth and more than one character wonders if we deserved it. |
** The Dark Horse comic series is one hellish place to live. The [[Mega Corp]] controls the world, all civil rights are essentially gone, the military kills civilians with impunity, and that's before the two killer alien species come knocking. The Aliens overrun Earth and more than one character wonders if we deserved it. |
||
* [[Creator Thumbprint]]: Joss Whedon will revisit certain character types and ideas again in ''[[Firefly]]'' and ''[[Serenity]]''. Once you realize {{spoiler|Ron Perlman's character is basically Jayne}} the rest falls into place. |
* [[Creator Thumbprint]]: Joss Whedon will revisit certain character types and ideas again in ''[[Firefly]]'' and ''[[Serenity]]''. Once you realize {{spoiler|Ron Perlman's character is basically Jayne}} the rest falls into place. |
||
* [[Creepy Child]]: Newt starts as one due to the psychological effects of her traumatic experience. Her eerie delivery of the line, "They mostly come at night. Mostly," is often quoted. |
* [[Creepy Child]]: Newt starts as one due to the psychological effects of her traumatic experience. Her eerie delivery of the line, "They mostly come at night. Mostly," is often quoted. |
||
<!-- %% All CrowningMoment, Music, etc. examples go on their respective subpages. --> |
<!-- %% All CrowningMoment, Music, etc. examples go on their respective subpages. --> |
||
* [[Cryonics Failure]]: Provides the image for the trope page. Discussed at length in the second film as part of Burke's plan to smuggle the |
* [[Cryonics Failure]]: Provides the image for the trope page. Discussed at length in the second film as part of Burke's plan to smuggle the Xenomorph specimens back through quarantine, and then revisited when the cryopods fail for real in the third film. This indirectly causes {{spoiler|Hicks to get impaled by a support beam and Newt to drown in her own pod}}. Ripley's pod also gets a hole smashed in it (due to {{spoiler|the facehugger on the Sulaco}}), and she's seen moving around in discomfort as the pods get loaded into the EEV. |
||
* [[Danger Deadpan]]: The [[Drop Ship]] pilot in the second film, Ferro. |
* [[Danger Deadpan]]: The [[Drop Ship]] pilot in the second film, Ferro. |
||
* [[Danger Takes a Backseat]]: Corporal Ferro. |
* [[Danger Takes a Backseat]]: Corporal Ferro. |
||
Line 144: | Line 144: | ||
* [[Dueling Movies]]: ''Alien: Resurrection'' with ''[[Deep Rising]]''. |
* [[Dueling Movies]]: ''Alien: Resurrection'' with ''[[Deep Rising]]''. |
||
* [[Dumbass Has a Point]]: ''[[Aliens]]''. Vasquez, about Hudson's belief that the aliens are inside the perimeter. |
* [[Dumbass Has a Point]]: ''[[Aliens]]''. Vasquez, about Hudson's belief that the aliens are inside the perimeter. |
||
** In the extended cut, Hudson is the one who first theorizes the possible existence of a |
** In the extended cut, Hudson is the one who first theorizes the possible existence of a Xenomorph "queen". |
||
* [[Oddly-Named Sequel 2: Electric Boogaloo]]: You can see there's no consistency on the naming (which is why it's one of [[The Angry Video Game Nerd]]'s targets [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEVzPCY2T-g here]). |
* [[Oddly-Named Sequel 2: Electric Boogaloo]]: You can see there's no consistency on the naming (which is why it's one of [[The Angry Video Game Nerd]]'s targets [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEVzPCY2T-g here]). |
||
* [[Empathy Doll Shot]]: Casey (Newt'd disembodied doll head) floating in the water after she's taken by a |
* [[Empathy Doll Shot]]: Casey (Newt'd disembodied doll head) floating in the water after she's taken by a Xenomorph. |
||
* [[Enemy Rising Behind]]: The abduction of Newt and the |
* [[Enemy Rising Behind]]: The abduction of Newt and the Xenomorph rising up behind Burke in Medical from ''Aliens''. In ''Alien vs. Predator'', the Xenomorph who tries to attack the sole Predator left in the pyramid. |
||
* [[Enforced Method Acting]]: |
* [[Enforced Method Acting]]: |
||
** In the first film, the cast knew the general details of what they were shooting for the [[Chest Burster]] scene, but they didn't know they were going to get sprayed with real animal blood and entrails. Veronica Cartwright's shocked scream is entirely real. |
** In the first film, the cast knew the general details of what they were shooting for the [[Chest Burster]] scene, but they didn't know they were going to get sprayed with real animal blood and entrails. Veronica Cartwright's shocked scream is entirely real. |
||
Line 156: | Line 156: | ||
'''Vasquez''': How many ''combat'' drops?<br /> |
'''Vasquez''': How many ''combat'' drops?<br /> |
||
'''Gorman''': Uh, two. Including this one. }} |
'''Gorman''': Uh, two. Including this one. }} |
||
* [[Epic Fail]]: In ''Aliens'', the Colonial Marines enter the atmosphere processor without realizing that the central cooling units can be pierced by conventional weaponry - which they only discover ''after'' they're knee-deep in the hive and Ripley points it out to them. Then, Gorman orders the Marines to give up all their ammo to one man (and are subsequently forced to use flamethrowers), and said Marine happens to be the first casualty when the |
* [[Epic Fail]]: In ''Aliens'', the Colonial Marines enter the atmosphere processor without realizing that the central cooling units can be pierced by conventional weaponry - which they only discover ''after'' they're knee-deep in the hive and Ripley points it out to them. Then, Gorman orders the Marines to give up all their ammo to one man (and are subsequently forced to use flamethrowers), and said Marine happens to be the first casualty when the Xenomorphs attack. This in itself was brought on by the Marines not understanding that the creatures were hiding in the walls. The only reason anyone escaped is because several of the soldiers (Ripley included) disobeyed orders and/or carried backup weapons. |
||
* [[Even the Guys Want Him]]: Applies to an entire species (depending on your interpretation of the term "Arcturian"), according to some dialogue in ''Aliens'': |
* [[Even the Guys Want Him]]: Applies to an entire species (depending on your interpretation of the term "Arcturian"), according to some dialogue in ''Aliens'': |
||
{{quote| '''Frost''': I sure wouldn't mind getting more of that Arcturian poontang. Remember that time?<br /> |
{{quote| '''Frost''': I sure wouldn't mind getting more of that Arcturian poontang. Remember that time?<br /> |
||
Line 163: | Line 163: | ||
* [[Everybody's Dead, Dave]]: A staple of the series. |
* [[Everybody's Dead, Dave]]: A staple of the series. |
||
** In ''Alien'', the loss of the entire Nostromo crew leads Ripley to record a message at the end of the film concerning their fates and how she's the only one left. |
** In ''Alien'', the loss of the entire Nostromo crew leads Ripley to record a message at the end of the film concerning their fates and how she's the only one left. |
||
** In the comic series ''Aliens: Newt's Tale'', Newt is the only one to survive the colonists' last stand at LV-426, and is forced to go into hiding and foraging by herself after watching her mother and brother get massacred by the |
** In the comic series ''Aliens: Newt's Tale'', Newt is the only one to survive the colonists' last stand at LV-426, and is forced to go into hiding and foraging by herself after watching her mother and brother get massacred by the Xenomorphs right in front of her. |
||
** In ''Aliens'', only Ripley, Newt and a badly-injured Hicks survive (Bishop is still technically "operational", but he's a mess and is missing half his body). |
** In ''Aliens'', only Ripley, Newt and a badly-injured Hicks survive (Bishop is still technically "operational", but he's a mess and is missing half his body). |
||
** ''Alien3'' plays this straight then subverts it. Ripley discovers that she's the only one of the Sulaco crew still alive after their EEV crashed, and at the end, {{spoiler|Morse}} is the only survivor of the Fury 161 colony to survive - he takes one last look around the place before being escorted out. |
** ''Alien3'' plays this straight then subverts it. Ripley discovers that she's the only one of the Sulaco crew still alive after their EEV crashed, and at the end, {{spoiler|Morse}} is the only survivor of the Fury 161 colony to survive - he takes one last look around the place before being escorted out. |
||
Line 275: | Line 275: | ||
** "What do you mean THEY cut the power? How can they cut the power -- they're animals!" |
** "What do you mean THEY cut the power? How can they cut the power -- they're animals!" |
||
** The alien queen shows that she knows full well what Ripley means when she points the business end of a flamethrower at her eggs, and her tearing herself away from her egg sac and coming after Ripley is strongly implied to be out of rage for Ripley killing the eggs. |
** The alien queen shows that she knows full well what Ripley means when she points the business end of a flamethrower at her eggs, and her tearing herself away from her egg sac and coming after Ripley is strongly implied to be out of rage for Ripley killing the eggs. |
||
** In the director's cut, the survivors watch as the sentry guns burn through almost all their ammo before the |
** In the director's cut, the survivors watch as the sentry guns burn through almost all their ammo before the Xenomorphs finally "fall back" to look for another way in. Hudson lampshades this by saying "Maybe they're demoralized..." |
||
::From ''Alien Resurrection'': |
::From ''Alien Resurrection'': |
||
** Some of the Xenomorphs realize they can use their acidic blood to escape, and thus brutally kill one of their own so its bloody corpse will eat through the floor. |
** Some of the Xenomorphs realize they can use their acidic blood to escape, and thus brutally kill one of their own so its bloody corpse will eat through the floor. |
||
Line 282: | Line 282: | ||
* [[Karma Houdini]]: The {{spoiler|only survivor}} in ''Alien3'' is part of the gang that tried to rape Ripley. |
* [[Karma Houdini]]: The {{spoiler|only survivor}} in ''Alien3'' is part of the gang that tried to rape Ripley. |
||
** It is shown he ''did'' get a fairly thorough thrashing from Dillon as punishment. |
** It is shown he ''did'' get a fairly thorough thrashing from Dillon as punishment. |
||
* [[Karmic Death]]: In ''Aliens'', the traitorous Company executive, Burke, abandons everyone to the aliens -- presumably assuming that they really ''will'' kill him once they escape -- only to run directly into a bloodthirsty alien himself. In a deleted scene (and in the |
* [[Karmic Death]]: In ''Aliens'', the traitorous Company executive, Burke, abandons everyone to the aliens -- presumably assuming that they really ''will'' kill him once they escape -- only to run directly into a bloodthirsty alien himself. In a deleted scene (and in the novelization), Burke becomes the host for a chestburster, the original fate he had planned for Newt and Ripley. |
||
* [[Keep Circulating the Tapes]]: The "Aliens" Mod for ''[[Quake (series)|Quake]]'' was killed by Fox lawyers (creating the term "Foxed" for that situation), but of course that didn't stop it from being available online for many years afterwards. |
* [[Keep Circulating the Tapes]]: The "Aliens" Mod for ''[[Quake (series)|Quake]]'' was killed by Fox lawyers (creating the term "Foxed" for that situation), but of course that didn't stop it from being available online for many years afterwards. |
||
* [[Kill It with Fire]]: Want to survive fighting the aliens in close quarters? Flamethrowers are the only way to avoid being hit with their acidic blood at close range. |
* [[Kill It with Fire]]: Want to survive fighting the aliens in close quarters? Flamethrowers are the only way to avoid being hit with their acidic blood at close range. |
||
Line 297: | Line 297: | ||
{{quote| '''Dillon:''' You're all gonna die. The only question is how you check out. Do you want it on your feet? Or on your fuckin' knees... begging? I ain't much for begging! Nobody ever gave me nothing! So I say [[Precision F-Strike|fuck]] that thing! Let's fight it!}} |
{{quote| '''Dillon:''' You're all gonna die. The only question is how you check out. Do you want it on your feet? Or on your fuckin' knees... begging? I ain't much for begging! Nobody ever gave me nothing! So I say [[Precision F-Strike|fuck]] that thing! Let's fight it!}} |
||
* [[Last-Note Nightmare]]: Goldenthal's arrangement of the [[Twentieth Century Fox]] [[Fanfare]] in ''Alien³'' freezes on the penultimate note and degenerates into a frightening wail; damn, even the ''opening logo fanfare'' is [[Darker and Edgier]]! |
* [[Last-Note Nightmare]]: Goldenthal's arrangement of the [[Twentieth Century Fox]] [[Fanfare]] in ''Alien³'' freezes on the penultimate note and degenerates into a frightening wail; damn, even the ''opening logo fanfare'' is [[Darker and Edgier]]! |
||
* [[Last Stand]]: Discussed in ''Aliens'' and shown in the tie-in comic ''Aliens: Newt's Tale''. The Hadley's Hope colonists hole up in a wing of the facility to try and make a last stand against the |
* [[Last Stand]]: Discussed in ''Aliens'' and shown in the tie-in comic ''Aliens: Newt's Tale''. The Hadley's Hope colonists hole up in a wing of the facility to try and make a last stand against the Xenomorphs. It ends...badly. |
||
* [[Late to the Party]]: Ripley and the Colonial Marines in ''Aliens''. |
* [[Late to the Party]]: Ripley and the Colonial Marines in ''Aliens''. |
||
* [[Lego Genetics]]: The Xenomorphs, as part of their bioweapon design, can assimilate useful traits from their hosts to better survive in the environment and become stronger, and it often extends to physical appearance. The first two films had human-like Xenos, and the third featured a quadruped Xeno that came from a dog (or a bovine, depending on the version). The video games, comics and toy line take it to greater lengths with flying Xenos with wings like a bird or bat, gorilla Xenos with long powerful arms, bull and rhinoceros Xenos, and in the [[Batman]] crossover comics the Xenomorphs even had physical similarities to the various villains their DNA was combined with (with the Killer Croc Alien being a gigantic crocodile-like beast). And the most iconic type, the [[Pred Alien]], a Xenomorph born from a Predator with a shorter skull, mandibles, dreadlocks, and a stockier build than other humanoid Xenos. Interestingly, with few exceptions, the Queen Aliens and other higher castes like the Praetorian do not assimilate traits, keeping the Xenomorph line pure-blooded. |
* [[Lego Genetics]]: The Xenomorphs, as part of their bioweapon design, can assimilate useful traits from their hosts to better survive in the environment and become stronger, and it often extends to physical appearance. The first two films had human-like Xenos, and the third featured a quadruped Xeno that came from a dog (or a bovine, depending on the version). The video games, comics and toy line take it to greater lengths with flying Xenos with wings like a bird or bat, gorilla Xenos with long powerful arms, bull and rhinoceros Xenos, and in the [[Batman]] crossover comics the Xenomorphs even had physical similarities to the various villains their DNA was combined with (with the Killer Croc Alien being a gigantic crocodile-like beast). And the most iconic type, the [[Pred Alien]], a Xenomorph born from a Predator with a shorter skull, mandibles, dreadlocks, and a stockier build than other humanoid Xenos. Interestingly, with few exceptions, the Queen Aliens and other higher castes like the Praetorian do not assimilate traits, keeping the Xenomorph line pure-blooded. |
||
Line 312: | Line 312: | ||
* [[Money, Dear Boy]]: By ''Alien 3'', Sigourney Weaver was respectable enough an actress to be able to accept and refuse any role she wants, and point in fact ''hated'' how Newt was callously killed for banal drama. Why did she come back for another '''two''' films? To quote [[The Simpsons|Krusty The Klown]]: ''"Oh, they drove a dumptruck full of money up to my house. I'm not made of stone."'' |
* [[Money, Dear Boy]]: By ''Alien 3'', Sigourney Weaver was respectable enough an actress to be able to accept and refuse any role she wants, and point in fact ''hated'' how Newt was callously killed for banal drama. Why did she come back for another '''two''' films? To quote [[The Simpsons|Krusty The Klown]]: ''"Oh, they drove a dumptruck full of money up to my house. I'm not made of stone."'' |
||
* [[Monster Is a Mommy]]: The Alien Queen. |
* [[Monster Is a Mommy]]: The Alien Queen. |
||
* [[More Dakka]]: ''Aliens'' is largely premised on the Colonial Marines attempting to bring heavy military firepower to bear on the |
* [[More Dakka]]: ''Aliens'' is largely premised on the Colonial Marines attempting to bring heavy military firepower to bear on the Xenomorphs. Due to various circumstances including incompetence, overconfident leadership, and deliberate sabotage, they fail to deliver the full extent of this promise. The best examples that get displayed in the film are the smartguns and the automated sentry guns. |
||
* [[More Teeth Than the Osmond Family]]: The titular Aliens. |
* [[More Teeth Than the Osmond Family]]: The titular Aliens. |
||
Line 331: | Line 331: | ||
** As a more specific example from the first film, {{spoiler|Lambert's death}}. Nothing is seen of what happened, and even the aftermath is not seen clearly, we only hear it happening over the radio. It's probably the scariest death in the film. Given that the last thing we see of {{spoiler|Lambert is the tip of the alien's tail moving up her leg towards her nether regions,}} this is probably just as well. |
** As a more specific example from the first film, {{spoiler|Lambert's death}}. Nothing is seen of what happened, and even the aftermath is not seen clearly, we only hear it happening over the radio. It's probably the scariest death in the film. Given that the last thing we see of {{spoiler|Lambert is the tip of the alien's tail moving up her leg towards her nether regions,}} this is probably just as well. |
||
** Despite being more focused on action, ''Aliens'' gets in on this too. The aliens aren't even seen until over an hour into the film; before that the Marines are exploring the deserted colony, waiting to encounter them at any moment. |
** Despite being more focused on action, ''Aliens'' gets in on this too. The aliens aren't even seen until over an hour into the film; before that the Marines are exploring the deserted colony, waiting to encounter them at any moment. |
||
* [[Numbered Homeworld]]: LV426 (Acheron in the |
* [[Numbered Homeworld]]: LV426 (Acheron in the novelization). |
||
* [[Nuke'Em]]: Suggested by characters in ''Aliens'' ("It's the only way to be sure"), but the plot doesn't give them the chance, as the colony's atmosphere processor counts down to a thermonuclear overload all on its own. |
* [[Nuke'Em]]: Suggested by characters in ''Aliens'' ("It's the only way to be sure"), but the plot doesn't give them the chance, as the colony's atmosphere processor counts down to a thermonuclear overload all on its own. |
||
* [[Obstructive Bureaucrat]]: |
* [[Obstructive Bureaucrat]]: |
||
Line 355: | Line 355: | ||
* [[Phlegmings]]: Every time the aliens appear. |
* [[Phlegmings]]: Every time the aliens appear. |
||
* [[POV Cam]]: The fishbowl view of the running Alien in the third film. Also present in ''Aliens'' with all the Marines wearing head cams linked with the APC to give the CO there a better situational awareness. It doesn't really help. |
* [[POV Cam]]: The fishbowl view of the running Alien in the third film. Also present in ''Aliens'' with all the Marines wearing head cams linked with the APC to give the CO there a better situational awareness. It doesn't really help. |
||
* [[Pragmatic Villainy]]: While the average |
* [[Pragmatic Villainy]]: While the average Xenomorph is just a murderous wild animal, the Queen of the Xenomorph Hive seems intelligent enough to be able to reason or negotiate with. When Ripley threatened to burn down her eggs, she was ready to spare her and Newt's lives and let them go if they let the eggs be. Then negotiations fell apart when one of the eggs opened to discharge a facehugger for Ripley, and she started burning the eggs again. |
||
** The Queen's attempt to communicate, however primitive, may just have been a delaying tactic while the facehugger was preparing to hatch. The Hive may actually be a hive ''consciousness''. |
** The Queen's attempt to communicate, however primitive, may just have been a delaying tactic while the facehugger was preparing to hatch. The Hive may actually be a hive ''consciousness''. |
||
* [[Prison]]: The setting for ''Alien³'' is a shut-down prison planet, where the remaining convicts adopted a monastery culture and chose to remain, becoming more like indentured janitors. Escape is impossible, because there's nowhere to escape to. |
* [[Prison]]: The setting for ''Alien³'' is a shut-down prison planet, where the remaining convicts adopted a monastery culture and chose to remain, becoming more like indentured janitors. Escape is impossible, because there's nowhere to escape to. |
||
Line 380: | Line 380: | ||
* [[Salvage Pirates]]: In the opening to the second movie, Ripley's escape shuttle from the first movie is found by a deep-space salvage crew, who express disappointment at finding her [[Human Popsicle|alive]], as "there goes our salvage, boys". Averted in that they resist the temptation to kill her and salvage the shuttle anyways. |
* [[Salvage Pirates]]: In the opening to the second movie, Ripley's escape shuttle from the first movie is found by a deep-space salvage crew, who express disappointment at finding her [[Human Popsicle|alive]], as "there goes our salvage, boys". Averted in that they resist the temptation to kill her and salvage the shuttle anyways. |
||
* [[Scannable Man]]: The prison convicts in the third movie. |
* [[Scannable Man]]: The prison convicts in the third movie. |
||
* [[Screaming Woman]]: Ripley usually gets at least one moment per film to scream at something. In the original film, she screams when she discovers the |
* [[Screaming Woman]]: Ripley usually gets at least one moment per film to scream at something. In the original film, she screams when she discovers the Xenomorph approaching her as she's preparing to hit the airlock near the end. In the sequel, she screams as she falls into the gravity well with the Queen, and just before the Queen loses its hold on her during the airlock sequence. In the third film, she screams when the gang of inmates attempts to rape her. |
||
* [[Sculpted Physique]]: The Alien, which is not surprising considering artist [[H. R. Giger]]'s other works. This use of the trope actually makes sense in the story since the alien's black and tube-like exterior made it blend in on the spacecraft. This is so effective in the first film, that the first time we see the adult Alien, it's ''hanging in full view of the camera'' and you probably mistook it for piping!<ref>For the curious, it's the scene where one crewman goes after the cat and he looks upwards at the chains hanging from the ceiling. See the metallic looking bundle in the bottom right? There's the cowboy!</ref> |
* [[Sculpted Physique]]: The Alien, which is not surprising considering artist [[H. R. Giger]]'s other works. This use of the trope actually makes sense in the story since the alien's black and tube-like exterior made it blend in on the spacecraft. This is so effective in the first film, that the first time we see the adult Alien, it's ''hanging in full view of the camera'' and you probably mistook it for piping!<ref>For the curious, it's the scene where one crewman goes after the cat and he looks upwards at the chains hanging from the ceiling. See the metallic looking bundle in the bottom right? There's the cowboy!</ref> |
||
* [[Self-Destruct Mechanism]]: |
* [[Self-Destruct Mechanism]]: |
||
Line 429: | Line 429: | ||
== T-Z == |
== T-Z == |
||
* [[Take a Moment to Catch Your Death]]: In the second film, when Ripley, Newt and Bishop step off the dropship after escaping LV-426, Ripley takes a moment to thank the android for saving her and the young girl. Bishop replies that he did do good...and then he gets ripped in half by the |
* [[Take a Moment to Catch Your Death]]: In the second film, when Ripley, Newt and Bishop step off the dropship after escaping LV-426, Ripley takes a moment to thank the android for saving her and the young girl. Bishop replies that he did do good...and then he gets ripped in half by the Xenomorph queen, who hitched a ride up with them. |
||
* [[Tastes Like Friendship]]: In ''Aliens'', Ripley gets Newt to talk by giving her a glass of hot chocolate. |
* [[Tastes Like Friendship]]: In ''Aliens'', Ripley gets Newt to talk by giving her a glass of hot chocolate. |
||
* [[Television Geography]]: In AVP2, virtually every shot of "Gunnison, Colorado" is wrong. Basically the city is too big and the mountains are too small. |
* [[Television Geography]]: In AVP2, virtually every shot of "Gunnison, Colorado" is wrong. Basically the city is too big and the mountains are too small. |