Egg on Sulaco

[PsyKore]

I would've assumed a fire would immediately cause the ship's computer to wake the people in cryosleep. Evacuating the sleep chambers seems excessive, although it might depend on different factors.

[HuDaFuK]

Granted this doesn't particularly work with, say, the Nostromo, given what we know of its deck plans, but the Sulaco provides more wiggle-room.

The Sulaco's a military ship. Much more likely you'll have need to get everyone out in a hurry than the Nostromo, so it's not unrealistic to suggest the Nostromo can't do it. It's unlikely to be getting attacked by hostile forces while the crew's asleep.

I would've assumed a fire would immediately cause the ship's computer to wake the people in cryosleep. Evacuating the sleep chambers seems excessive, although it might depend on different factors.

Yeah, the film makes it seem like the computer just goes, "Shit! Fire! Um... Get everyone out!" The novel actually goes a long way to explaining why it chucks everyone overboard rather than just waking them and trying to put down the fire.

[Uncanny Antman]

Regardless of the real world complications of an evacuation, it's not an answer as to why Alien3 changed the tubes. 

Yeah, the film makes it seem like the computer just goes, "Shit! Fire! Um... Get everyone out!" The novel actually goes a long way to explaining why it chucks everyone overboard rather than just waking them and trying to put down the fire.

It's a montage though, without a clear sense of how much time actually passes.  The facehugger got on and off before ejection, so I propose it took several hours for the system damage to reach a point where evacuation was necessary.

[windebieste]

Hmm... let's see.  Enclosed space made entirely of synthetic and composite materials catches fire and fills the ship with toxic chemical smoke.

Computer:  Should I wake 'em and get 'em to fight the fire..? ...or jettison them..? 

Not a hard decision to make.

Also, we haven't yet seen anyone emerge from hypersleep and be ready for immediate action.  Even peak condition marines get out of their chambers and feel at the very least a little unprepared to deal with such emergencies. 

Isn't the Nostromo at least 70 years older than the Sulaco?  I'm guessing safety standards and tech will have changed during that time.

-Windebieste.

[Nostromo]

Also, we haven't yet seen anyone emerge from hypersleep and be ready for immediate action.  Even peak condition marines get out of their chambers and feel at the very least a little unprepared to deal with such emergencies. 

Isn't the Nostromo at least 70 years older than the Sulaco?  I'm guessing safety standards and tech will have changed during that time.

-Windebieste.

Not this guy lol.

[SM]

It's a montage though, without a clear sense of how much time actually passes.

Twenty seconds from when the computer picks up the fire.

Yeah, the film makes it seem like the computer just goes, "Shit! Fire! Um... Get everyone out!"

That's what the computer should do.  If you had a fire in your house, the fire brigade says get everyone out rather than fight it.  Waking people up from hypersleep to fight a fire that's going in the same room where they're waking up, is beyond stupid.

[HuDaFuK]

The facehugger got on and off before ejection, so I propose it took several hours for the system damage to reach a point where evacuation was necessary.

If the fire spread slowly, it wouldn't explain why it never woke them up in all that time.

That's what the computer should do.  If you had a fire in your house, the fire brigade says get everyone out rather than fight it.  Waking people up from hypersleep to fight a fire that's going in the same room where they're waking up, is beyond stupid.

My point was more about the fact the ship doesn't seem to attempt to deal with the fire at any point. It's a military vessel. Fires on board would absolutely be an expected operational hazard. Your house generally doesn't have any in-built fire fighting systems, but a battleship does. Yet instead of actually trying to do something about the fire, the ship just throws the crew overboard.

As I said, the novel helps to explain why getting them out is so urgent, but the film makes it seem like the minute there's smoke the computer jettisons the tubes.

[SM]

The stasis was being interrupted.  Best safety precaution is to get the sleepers away from whatever is doing that.

[windebieste]

Also, we haven't yet seen anyone emerge from hypersleep and be ready for immediate action.  Even peak condition marines get out of their chambers and feel at the very least a little unprepared to deal with such emergencies. 

Isn't the Nostromo at least 70 years older than the Sulaco?  I'm guessing safety standards and tech will have changed during that time.

-Windebieste.

Not this guy lol.

https://media.makeameme.org/created/who-ordered.jpg

Apone?  Huh, yeah.  Probably the only exception.  LOL.  Remember, though.  The process of getting anyone out of hypersleep isn't instantaneous.  It looks like these ships have to prep for habitation before the crew/passengers are awakened and that takes time.  Time that they don't have when a fire is raging out of control.  If it takes as much as 15 minutes for the cryogenic suspension processes to power down and crew to emerge - then it's all over - if there's a fire.  Sending the pods down a chute while everyone is still safely stowed is a faster response to the situation.

Coming out of hypersleep doesn't appear to do anyone any favors.  Doing so prematurely, well, that may even be life threatening. 

So yes.  Having the computer make the decision to pack all the pods into EEV's might be the best - and only - action to take.

-Windebieste.

[Uncanny Antman]

It's a montage though, without a clear sense of how much time actually passes.

Twenty seconds from when the computer picks up the fire.

I agree that the editing implies that the EEV was launched twenty seconds after that announcement.  (I say implies because the timing of that announcement is open to debate in my opinion.)  Even if they truly are ejected twenty seconds later, that still doesn't give a solid timeline for all events prior.  Of course, as with all things to do with the inscrutable opening credits montage, it's almost all down to personal interpretation.

[426Buddy]

Technically couldn't the ship just turn off life support and remove the oxygen from the ship? Wouldn't that put any fire out?

[SM]

Possibly not a good idea to vent the atmosphere if stasis is being interrupted.

It's a montage though, without a clear sense of how much time actually passes.

Twenty seconds from when the computer picks up the fire.

I agree that the editing implies that the EEV was launched twenty seconds after that announcement.  (I say implies because the timing of that announcement is open to debate in my opinion.)  Even if they truly are ejected twenty seconds later, that still doesn't give a solid timeline for all events prior.  Of course, as with all things to do with the inscrutable opening credits montage, it's almost all down to personal interpretation.

The computer says ""Stasis interrupted. Fire in cryogenic compartment. Repeat. Fire in cryogenic compartment. All personnel report to emergency escape vehicle. Launch of deep space lifeboat will commence in t-minus 20 seconds."

[Uncanny Antman]

Technically couldn't the ship just turn off life support and remove the oxygen from the ship? Wouldn't that put any fire out?

We don't know what havoc was wreaked by the acid burning through the electronics.

The computer says ""Stasis interrupted. Fire in cryogenic compartment. Repeat. Fire in cryogenic compartment. All personnel report to emergency escape vehicle. Launch of deep space lifeboat will commence in t-minus 20 seconds."

I know, but I'm arguing that the placement of the voice over is not necessarily where it would be in real time.

1: The announcement could be two joined together (hence the change in audio quality part way through)
B: The announcement happens over credits as well as footage, which disconnects it from being tied directly to what is on screen at that moment.  It's impressionistic, and I would argue that if the 20 second announcement truly happened at that moment, it's longer than twenty seconds before the EEV is ejected.

[SM]

The actual footage is around 18 seconds when you take out the title cards.

[Uncanny Antman]

The actual footage is around 18 seconds when you take out the title cards.

But those 18 seconds are (partially) disjointed and imply more off-screen footage.  If you run the shots together back to back it comes across as accelerated and weird, not a "real" 18 consecutive seconds.

Anyway, regardless of that I still maintain that the time before that announcement is undefined.