Anchorpoint Essays Back Online

[SiL]

I say leave the AvP films well enough alone.

As for Dallas, it's not so much a differing of opinion as simple logic. If he was just stuck to the wall, he could've been freed and wouldn't have been asked to have been killed. Not to mention the cocoon looks radically different from any we've ever seen and clearly has two petal like protrusions near the top.

[Kriszilla]

I wouldn't bother including any info. from the AvP films, for one simple reason. Your essays are written after the company was bought out, after the films, right? The AvP films were set in the past, and they were isolated incidents, nobody would probably know about them.

[Thedus]

Interesting... Anyone else feel that AVP should be left out of the Essays?  Let me know your thoughts and why.

Sil - I believe the petal like extrusions in the cocoon are Dallas' knees.  If you look at this shot you can see his feet (one with shoe, and one without).  If his feet are in that location that would mean those extrusions would most likely be knees.  Thoughts?

I also thought (and I thought I had included this in the essays, but now that I look at them I see that I didn't) that the Alien may have been slowly picking/feeding off of Dallas.  Hence the blood on his neck, the maggots, and his state of pain.



And true the cocooning doesn't match what we had seen in ALIENS, but neither does the general masses of resin around the bay.  And being that the scene was cut from the final print and Cameron wasn't using it as a reference we get some discrepancies.

[predude]

Avp should be in it but not to mutch on it because it was dare I say worse than AR.

[Alienseseses]

Interesting... Anyone else feel that AVP should be left out of the Essays?  Let me know your thoughts and why.

Sil - I believe the petal like extrusions in the cocoon are Dallas' knees.  If you look at this shot you can see his feet (one with shoe, and one without).  If his feet are in that location that would mean those extrusions would most likely be knees.  Thoughts?

I also thought (and I thought I had included this in the essays, but now that I look at them I see that I didn't) that the Alien may have been slowly picking/feeding off of Dallas.  Hence the blood on his neck, the maggots, and his state of pain.



And true the cocooning doesn't match what we had seen in ALIENS, but neither does the general masses of resin around the bay.  And being that the scene was cut from the final print and Cameron wasn't using it as a reference we get some discrepancies.

I don't see maggots.

[Colton White]

I do remember in the movie that he screamed because he saw the maggots in his neck. Am I right? it's been like 3 years since I've seen the first alien

[That Yellow Alien]

There were maggots. Tom Skerrit talks about how they had to put maggots in his hair for that scene.

[Thedus]

Yeah, Tom was not pleased with the amount of maggots that were put on him for this scene.  More to the point he was a bit grossed out about it.

Avp should be in it but not to mutch on it because it was dare I say worse than AR.

I've been tossing around ideas on how to best incorporate AVP into the site - and it hasn't been easy.  But I've finally found a direction.  So, suffice it to say AVP will be in the site, but the manner in which it's presented will be vastly different than what is seen in the rest of the essays.  I will also be including it in its own section. AVP-R will also fall under this new section as well.  I don't want to say too much about it at the moment, but the site will still be focused on the four Alien films with supplemental sections relating to AVP.

[Corporal Hicks]

Do it like a Predator database?

[Uncanny Antman]

I believe the petal like extrusions in the cocoon are Dallas' knees.

I know you didn't solicit opinions from anyone other than SiL, but I agree with you.

It may be the influence of the novelisation, but I've usually been of the belief that Brett is turnin' into an egg, but that Dallas wasn't.

[Sh0dan]

Hey everyone, new on these forums, but I had to join to give feedback on the anchorpoint essays.

The Anchorpoint site is my favourite source for genuinely well thought out theories on the alien. I am really glad you brought it back on line Mike.

But I have to agree with others here, the AvP films should not appear on your site. I like to think of the AvP films and everything within them as a separate fiction to the Alien franchise. Even though Anderson created several things that would link the two together. Ultimately, they do not take place in the same universe.

I knew when the idea came up to merge the two franchises together certain things would eventually crop up that would mean changing aspects of one of the franchises to accommodate the other. This would eventually make a mess of the fiction set-up in the separate films. I think we are seeing this with the new additions to the life cycle in AvP:R.

So yeah, it would be great to keep the franchises separate, just for the sake of removing crossover problems.

Sil - I believe the petal like extrusions in the cocoon are Dallas' knees. If you look at this shot you can see his feet (one with shoe, and one without). If his feet are in that location that would mean those extrusions would most likely be knees. Thoughts?

I can see Dallas' white pants, they are definitely knees. He is almost mounted to the wall in a fetal position.

I also thought (and I thought I had included this in the essays, but now that I look at them I see that I didn't) that the Alien may have been slowly picking/feeding off of Dallas. Hence the blood on his neck, the maggots, and his state of pain.

Maybe it was adapting him somehow, to make him a more suitable host for Brett's face hugger. Maybe even keeping him alive.


Did I mention I really love your site. 

[Thedus]

Do it like a Predator database?

Not so much. As far as AVP goes there will be limited data regarding the Predators... actually, there will be limited data period.   This doesn't mean it's going to be a short inclusion, because so far it's turning out to be longer than I had initially thought, but there won't be much in the way of clinical data or analysation.  This also means that the AVP related information in the Exoskeleton Essay will be removed to remain consistent with how the AVP info is presented.

And to be honest, as much as I like PREDATOR I'm not as much of a fan of the franchise as I am of ALIEN, so I want to keep the site about the Aliens, with only incidental references and speculation to the Predator as a species or culture.

I know you didn't solicit opinions from anyone other than SiL, but I agree with you.

It may be the influence of the novelisation, but I've usually been of the belief that Brett is turnin' into an egg, but that Dallas wasn't.

The conversation is open to anyone who wants to jump in - I just addressed SiL since he was the one who brought up the pedal-like extrusions.

I'm actually re-reading the novelization now. (The crew are devising plans on how to get rid of the chestburster).  It's been about 10 years since I read it last.

Hey everyone, new on these forums, but I had to join to give feedback on the anchorpoint essays.

The Anchorpoint site is my favourite source for genuinely well thought out theories on the alien. I am really glad you brought it back on line Mike.

But I have to agree with others here, the AvP films should not appear on your site. I like to think of the AvP films and everything within them as a separate fiction to the Alien franchise. Even though Anderson created several things that would link the two together. Ultimately, they do not take place in the same universe.

Thanks, man.   And welcome. And I agree that the precedent that Anderson set with AVP (i.e. - setting it in present day) really screws with the overall time line of the Alien franchise, and essentially makes an alternate universe... and ultimately and alternate franchise.  However they are Alien films - like it or not.  And I believe that with a little creativity they can be worked into the overall mythology of Alien universe.  ...Which is what has brought me to re-thinking how AVP could be worked into the site.  And being that the Essays are expanded universe material (not necessarily sanctioned EU, but EU all the same) I'm taking a creative approach with integrating AVP.

AVP-R will also fall under the upcoming section for AVP as well.  How the material is formatted and worked into that section will depend heavily on the events in the film and how they play out.

[Corporal Hicks]

Consider yourself lucky, you get to write a whole new section on the reproduction cycle!!

[Thedus]

LOL! Yeah, don't think I didn't think the same thing when I first read about it.


...Did I actually say "analysation"?  Good god!  I need more coffee!

[Sh0dan]

Posted By: anchorpoint
And I agree that the precedent that Anderson set with AVP (i.e. - setting it in present day) really screws with the overall time line of the Alien franchise, and essentially makes an alternate universe... and ultimately and alternate franchise. However they are Alien films - like it or not. And I believe that with a little creativity they can be worked into the overall mythology of Alien universe. ...Which is what has brought me to re-thinking how AVP could be worked into the site. And being that the Essays are expanded universe material (not necessarily sanctioned EU, but EU all the same) I'm taking a creative approach with integrating AVP.

Well in that case, I will trust your judgement. You nailed the other essays perfectly, so I will look forward to reading what you come up with on AvP.

The only really major part I find disagreement with is the statement that Dallas was intended as a host for Brett's egg, as opposed to Ripley. Giger states the original intention was that Dallas is becoming an egg and it would make no sense for him to be in such massive pain and trauma if he's merely been cocooned, like Newt or Ripley on the Auriga.

The rest had always pretty much been great fun, though and it was always among the very best of sites, back in the nineties.

While I agree, and think what you say is the truth. I also think that after several films, (and Alien with restored footage) some of the fiction has become a little messy.

I personally am okay with these alternative suggestions, that attempt to fix some of the messiness.

Dallas as host.
I've thought about it a little more, and it could be said that the alien is indeed keeping Dallas alive. Maybe during forcible abductions, hosts can sometimes become damaged. Maybe Dallas struggled with the creature before he became comatose. He could be bleeding internally or something. His body could be dieing, and maybe the alien is somehow, prolonging his existence by merging him into the material of the hive, making it look similar to Brett's egg morphing.

It could explain the aesthetical differences between the hives too.