58
votes
Accepted
In "Aliens" when Bishop enters the access tunnel, why does he refuse a pistol?
Bishop is a 'gentle soul'.
We learn from Burke and Bishop that modern androids (sorry, "artificial people") don't have combat training. He's literally incapable of harming humans and this presumably ...
- 709k
55
votes
Accepted
Did the xenomorphs intentionally cut the power?
Much as I hate the horrible pink slimebaby it's worth mentioning Alien:Resurrection. When the
I'm willing to concede that it's no guarantee that they understand the concept of electricity... but I ...
- 630
55
votes
Accepted
What is this item in the movie Aliens?
I think this is "Casey", the head of a doll which was either the remains of hers or one that she found while she was surviving on her own. The "tube" is the bottom of the neck. If ...
- 1,956
39
votes
Why weren't the marines in "Aliens" properly briefed on the cooling towers before they went in?
Up until things fall apart, Lt. Gorman is in charge. It's his call to stop the APC and have the marines go in on foot, and it's his call (after Burke and Ripley point out the danger to him) to have ...
- 138k
29
votes
In "Aliens" when Bishop enters the access tunnel, why does he refuse a pistol?
First, a pistol wasn't going to do him any good if the xenomorphs attacked.
By that point in the movie, it was already known that there were many of the creatures around.
Second, he had reason to ...
- 23.3k
28
votes
Was Ripley paid for her time in hyper-sleep?
According to the film's official novelisation, Ripley didn't receive any back-pay, presumably because of her act of gross misconduct in destroying the Nostromo.
None of that for her. No smell of salt,...
- 709k
26
votes
Did the xenomorphs intentionally cut the power?
Ordinary xenomorph drones are shown to have a basic understanding of cause-and-effect that allows them to learn quickly via observation, as demonstrated in Alien: Resurrection when first they turn the ...
- 1,005
26
votes
Are Avatar and Aliens in the same universe?
There is significant evidence that the two universes are not the same.
Timelines.
It's important to establish that the bulk of Avatar takes place approximately 30 years after Alien and that the Alien ...
- 709k
24
votes
In Aliens, how was LV-426 able to be colonized by humans when Xenomorphs were present there?
The Xenomorphs simply weren't rediscovered yet.
The colony was established in the 2150s, long after the crew of the Nostromo first visited the planet in 2122. At the time, the exact location of the ...
- 8,438
21
votes
Accepted
What was Carter Burke's job for "the Company" in Aliens?
We see Carter J. Burke's business card in Aliens.
Special Projects Director in the Special Services Division of Weyland Yutani (Space) Corporation.
A high-quality replica of the original prop is ...
- 709k
20
votes
Is there an in-universe canonical explanation as to why some of the crew in “Aliens” were oblivious of who Ripley was after coming out of hypersleep?
I have no in-universe answer, but from my own military experience I would say it’s probably because Ferro is a pilot. In modern military, multiple briefings happen depending on what your role in the ...
- 5,975
19
votes
Accepted
In Aliens, what is the "ornament" that Drake has in these two scenes?
Drake wears a couple of items of eclectic jewellery. Around his neck is a leather thong with a couple of feathers at the end. The original prop is depicted below, part of the Harry Harris collection.
...
- 709k
17
votes
Did the xenomorphs intentionally cut the power?
In the Alien vs Predator (1999) video game, many of the Alien levels had you intentionally and methodically sabotage things to disable power or get access to targets. If that is considered canonical I ...
- 2,618
15
votes
Accepted
What happened to the cat Jones from Alien and Aliens?
He died, at least according to the Alien3 novelisation by Alan Dean Foster. The implication is that he remained on Gateway or was rehomed on Earth where he lived out the remainder of his life.
She ...
- 709k
14
votes
Accepted
Were Weyland-Yutani negligent or deliberately unprepared for the events of Aliens?
They seem over-confident in their ability to deal with alien creatures, bordering on complacent. As a company rep, Carter Burke's plan (which he'd undoubtedly raised with his superiors) was to go in ...
- 709k
14
votes
Accepted
Why are androids in the Alien franchise so fascinated with the alien?
The androids are programmed in this way.
Weyland-Yutani, their mother corporation, wants to examine the alien life-form because of its perceived perfection. When, in the first movie, the disabled ...
- 5,490
13
votes
Accepted
How did the queen get on to the ship in Aliens?
UD-4L Cheyenne Dropships have three landing skids; one rear and two fronts. The loading ramp descends (facing) forward of the rear and between the two fronts. The personnel stairway lowers on the port ...
- 6,038
12
votes
How did an Alien egg get aboard the Sulaco in Aliens movie?
When Ripley goes down the power plant to retrieve Newt, Bishop leaves the platform, because "it is too unstable". He could be the one who goes back to the base and picks an alien egg. My ...
- 327
12
votes
Accepted
What's Vasquez's first name?
The in-universe factbook The Weyland-Yutani Report names her as
Jenette Vasquez
image courtesy of Youtube
In case you're interested, the rest of the crew of the Sulaco were Lance Bishop, Scott ...
- 709k
12
votes
Accepted
In Aliens, how many people were on LV-426 before the Marines arrived?
The film script for Aliens indicates that there were 157 colonists, plus Rebecca "Newt" Jorden, making up 158 in total.
RIPLEY: But they will know about it, Burke. From me. Just like they'll know ...
- 709k
12
votes
If the alien nest was under the primary heat exchangers, why didn't the marines just blow them up or turn them off so they freeze?
A heat exchanger exists to transfer heat from something hot (a nuclear reactor, for example) to something cool (like a turbine). In the film damaging them
resulted in the reactors overloading. Turning ...
- 709k
11
votes
Accepted
Is there an in-universe canonical explanation as to why some of the crew in “Aliens” were oblivious of who Ripley was after coming out of hypersleep?
The Alan Dean Foster novelisation of Aliens (and indeed the film) indicates that only the officers received a briefing before leaving Gateway Station. The marines themselves weren't even defrosted, ...
- 709k
10
votes
Accepted
Do the xenomorphs attack the synthetics?
He doesn't walk through the entire station any more than the rest of them do, while they're all in relative safety in, e.g., Medlab or Operations. He crawls through a pipe to get to the uplink, into ...
- 6,038
10
votes
Why didn't Ripley explain that Ash was acting on Company orders?
In previous scenes Ripley is shown to be mentally and physically depleted, not least since she has been told (by Burke) that her daughter (and every other personal relationship)is gone due to her ...
- 695
10
votes
Accepted
What was the last communication from the colony in LV426 in "Aliens"?
The implication is that they simply went dark during their normal operations.
The last communication would presumably be something along the lines of "Acknowledged. Will do", in response to ...
- 709k
10
votes
Accepted
Would "nuking it from orbit" have taken out the alien spaceship as well?
In the film's official novelisation, the plateau (where the Space Jockey ship was found) was discussed. Ripley's plan was to 'glass' the colony and the ship.
I say we take off and nuke the entire ...
- 709k
9
votes
Accepted
What did James Cameron mean by "Aliens" being "40 miles of bad road"?
The expression, as near as I can figure, is probably based on the meaning of the song you mentioned, so it is related in that way. Perhaps the expression existed before the song, but like you, I'm ...
- 6,578
9
votes
Were Weyland-Yutani negligent or deliberately unprepared for the events of Aliens?
Burke was freelancing (doing it on his own)
Burke: Okay, look. What if that ship didn't even exist? Did you ever think about that? I didn't know! So now, if I went and made a major security ...
9
votes
In the Aliens movie (1986), why did the colonial marines leave the pilots behind on the dropship?
Where would they be safer?
Would the marines be able to protect the pilots better if the pilots were following the marines like the noncombatants being escorted in that video game trope?
I mean, when ...
- 1,786
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