Should there be an ALIEN TV Series?

[Vermillion]

HAHA! Awesome!

[Local Trouble]

Pictured: Turk and Hicks. Or is that Hicks and Turk? Shit. 

I can't tell who's who without the safety support.

[Corporal Hicks]

Thankfully it was surgically removed.

[adambeyoncelowe]

A TV series could work. A Battlestar Galactica (Reimagined Series) style would work better than The Sarah Connor Chronicles. I mean, both BSG and the first Aliens comic series had Mark Verheiden involved, so it's the best parallel for pitching the idea. It would be an alternate timeline that forks off from Aliens/Alien 3 (Generation I, but probably ignoring Resurrection, as the Big Deletion wasn't very convincing).

The entire first series is a slow-burner about mankind rediscovering the aliens after Ripley's death and then being overrun by them. We see Wilkes and Billie go to Homeworld to destroy them, while cultists let the aliens loose on Earth.

Series 2 would begin mankind's diaspora to the stars. Spears might appear, but I don't think he needs to be the entirety of the story.

Series 3 is about the fight to reclaim Earth with the option of bringing back everyone's favourite heroine (she needn't even be an android--she might be Ripley 8 instead).

Series 4 would be Genocide, but all with the politics and worldbuilding of the novel added in, so we can really see the re-emergence of Earth. You might also have Alien Harvest as a one-shot episode here, since it fits the overall theme, but have it take place on Hiveworld (so it's about a scientist raiding Daniel Grant's new jelly operation).

Characters could interweave and intersect, but each series would bring in a new cast with maybe only 2-3 characters overlapping (at first, Wilkes and Billie; then others).

Aliens versus Predator would be a spin-off featuring Machiko Noguchi.

Prometheus can suck black goo and disappear up its own arse...

[TC]

For my own fanfic amusement I'm writing an outline of an Alien reboot as a TV series, broken down episode by episode.

I'd like to know the original name of the Nostromo Science Officer before Giler and Hill changed it to Ash.

Anyone?

TC

[Mr. Xenomorph]

I'd take an Alien Anime TV series.

Oh god this. I want an anome Alien trilogy like Godzilla is getting on Netflix.

I would do it like this:

Alien:Genesis. Start it with David seeding random planets with Xenomorph eggs. Flash forward. Five years before the Nostromo. First encounter with a perfected Xenomorph after a colony of settlers find the eggs. Several variations including cattle since they're an agricultural settlement. End it with the company getting their hands on two eggs.

Alien: Lamentations. Six months later. Xenomorphs in a Weyland-Yutani lab complex. Human variation and chimpanzee variation. Explore more egg morphing.

Alien: Revelation. One week before Aliens. The near-extinction of the Xenomorph species. Colonial Marines go against orders for a seek-and-destroy mission on the last known Queen and hive other than Hadley's Hope. Explain why they're so desperate to get the Queen in Alien 3 ( it's the last one) and why they have to start cloning them a la Alien: Resurrection.

[Scorpio]

I would love an Alien tv series if:

1.  Made for adults, which means R rated, blood/gore/violence/sex/nudity/etc
2.  Good actors, high production values, decent budget a given
3.  NO MARINES, or not the focus, because that would just be a Battlestar Galactica remake
4.  Plenty of horror/action/suspense, no soap opera stuff
5.  Atmosphere and world building
6.  Not set on Earth

[CainsSon]

The more I think about it, in it's current state, the Alien series is probably BEST suited for a TV series, even without the inclusion of the Predators. AVP, I still say should be anime. But with all the threads started by the films, that have yet to be explored, a series kind makes the most sense, given Disney's new streaming service coming.

[MorseCode]

It's an unbelievable longshot, but I would love to see an Alien TV show about Morse after Alien 3 and his time spent at the prison where he wrote "Space Beast". Don't have any xenomorphs in the show, just make it a really engaging sci-fi prison drama that expands the Alien universe. Most of the general audience wouldn't even be aware it was an Alien show, aside from the passing mention of Ripley, which would make it a tough sell. It would have to be the shows quality that sells it, and what better name to get then David Fincher? I mean, I know that David Fincher went through hell making Alien 3 but, if Fox/ Disney gave him complete creative control then I'm sure he wouldn't mind. We've already seen David Fincher's name attached to TV shows (House of Cards, Mindhunter) and a willingness to do a franchise project (World War Z 2). Maybe Fox/Disney could even hand over the rights to Netflix to make the show or Disneys new streaming service to attract an adult audience. I personally think that Morse's story has a lot of potential that has been sadly barely explored in the Alien universe. They could make the first season of the show about Morse writing the novel/ his psychological torment of seeing his friends killed by a monster/ his experiences being in a new prison. The following seasons could be about Morse finding a way to send "Space Beast" off and how it eventually ended up causing the downfall of Weyland-Yutani, to the point where they've become such a small company they get bought out. I just think
It would be a very interesting story for Alien fans, David Fincher's name would be a great draw and the story would stay engaging enough that  no one would care that no Aliens are in it. I even have the perfect title;"Space Beast". I mean, sure there are problems (how to convince David Fincher) but if everything was in place and the show was made I could see this being a great treat for Alien fans.

[farsightblogger]

I think it'd make for some amazing science fiction television, especially if you include themes about corporate cruelty or machine self-awareness, such as the ones you find on Outland and Blade Runner. You couldn't get much mileage out of having the Alien crop up everywhere, but having a show about, say, Amanda Ripley searching the dark reaches of space for her mother could work really well.

I think Alien: Isolation is the true sequel that Alien deserved and a series of shows leading up to that event, actually dramatising that game, and then the aftermath would be quite amazing.

I'd leave the Predator out of it completely - these two franchises need to be prised apart and given their own autonomy.

[farsightblogger]

I think that there's a lot you could do with the story before, during and after the game ALIEN: Isolation as far as a TV show is concerned. Netflix is known for its slow-burn shows – it took a while for things to get going in a couple of its Marvel shows – so they'd probably do the better job.
First of all, we could start the story from the moment Amanda Ripley realizes that her mother isn't coming home. It could be in her teens, it could start on her eleventh birthday, but her need to find out what happened to her mother should start early, and the story of the lost Nostromo drives her.

What could follow is a series of stories about her facing off with Weyland/Yutani and other companies, and we get to see the conflict between the different firms, especially Weyland/Yutani and Seegson. Underhanded deals, false leads with traders and salvagers trying to rip her off, and suits trying to stop her investigations in various ways. In her travels she learns a lot about tech and finds her aptitude with machines and she becomes a first-class engineer. There can still be dark sci-fi danger, but from people and synthetics, not aliens.

But then she gets to Sevastopol, and you have two or three episodes of sheer Alien. Leave the Alien Queen out of it, leave that reveal for Aliens.

Then you deal with the aftermath. Now she knows the truth – but knowing what she does, who does she tell? She has no proof, but if she does start asking questions or throwing accusations, or if the companies find out, what will they do to stop her?

What happens so that she dies at the ripe old age of 66? What did she have to do to stay safe?

[Corporal Hicks]

Merged with existing TV series thread.

[BishopShouldGo]

No, keep ALIEN a pure, psychosexual, cinematic experience that you can't get anywhere else.

Scott, Cameron, Fincher, etc... these stories are cinematic. I want them to explore more corners of the universe, but in MOVIES. Like I am beyond baffled that in eight movies we have NOT seen Weyland-Yutani headquarters.

And they completely fumbled on Weyland's character TWICE and a Yutani character once.

[farsightblogger]

No, keep ALIEN a pure, psychosexual, cinematic experience that you can't get anywhere else.

Scott, Cameron, Fincher, etc... these stories are cinematic. I want them to explore more corners of the universe, but in MOVIES. Like I am beyond baffled that in eight movies we have NOT seen Weyland-Yutani headquarters.

And they completely fumbled on Weyland's character TWICE and a Yutani character once.

I agree to a certain extent, but the problem with movies is that they are limiting as to what they can show during it's run-time, and with identifiable franchises like this one the studios are more interested in returns than anything that will keep us pleased as viewers.

From what I understand the streaming services are a bit more flexible with creatives and there's virtually no differnce between what we get on the small screen and what we get as a cinematic experience. The enigma of the alien has already been diluted by sequels and 'vs' films, so much you can hardly taste what gave the original it's unique flavour, so I think giving it a chance on the small screen is the way to go.

[Mr. Clemens]

I think that there's a lot you could do with the story before, during and after the game ALIEN: Isolation as far as a TV show is concerned.

Not gonna lie, I could really do with more post-Isolation Amanda stories. And hey, the actual actress is somewhere out there right now!