Egg on Sulaco

[SM]

If so, a tiny ship like Narcissus wouldnt be able to withstand all that,

57 years later - not so much.

[Local Trouble]

In-universe - maybe the shuttle isn't built for atmospheric re-entry...?

I can't recall, but did the CMTM invent any such capabilities for the Narcissus like it did for the EEV?  I don't have a copy handy.

[SM]

Yeah I'm pretty sure it did.

[Vermillion]

It is all Alien3's fault.

[Amaterasu]

There would have been no Xeno's at all if nobody touched anything. 

[EGM1966]

The Egg on the Sulaco is a weak narrative failure - indeed arguably a huge continuity error - driven by the desperate need to make any kind of Alien film by a certain date despite a finished script.

There is no point trying to understand it more than that.  The entire opening sequence is a minefield of actual continuity errors (is Ripley's cryotube broken or .not?) combined with what are essentially cannon continuity errors (such as eggs only opening when a host is right next to it).  It's beautifully shot and edited but nonetheless a mess.

Strange Shapes I believe has a pretty great (and damning) dissection of the entire sequence.

[Local Trouble]

The glass on Ripley's tube was broken by the exploding bolt and it was, IIRC, shown broken in every scene thereafter.

[EGM1966]

The glass on Ripley's tube was broken by the exploding bolt and it was, IIRC, shown broken in every scene thereafter.

Nope.  There are a couple of shots later in the sequence where the glass is clearly unbroken again - you're incorrect I believe. 

Then there's the fact we see a single egg yet two people/creatures get impregnated... nah the sequence is a bit of a mess really - fast cuts and beautiful imagery covering up it doesn't tie together?  I mean what's the idea with the blood smear?  Nobody at that point could have been bleeding (Ripley and Newt are clearly shown without chest wounds and Hicks only get's mangled in the crash.

[Local Trouble]

Here are all the shots of her tube after the bolt explodes (from the special edition Blu-ray).

[EGM1966]

Here are all the shots of her tube after the bolt explodes (from the special edition Blu-ray).

There are side shots when the cryotube drops down where it appears clearly unbroken on my BR disk.  Also there appears to be a quick shot Ripley is red shaded with no break in the glass.  The tubes themselves are an even bigger continuity error.  Cameron at least worked to make the interior match the Narcissus seen in Alien - the cryotubes in Alien 3 are clearly a completely different design from Aliens - so somehow while in transit their entire cryotube area got re-modeled? 

I know Fincher was doing the best he could but the sequence is clearly flawed, in part it appears down to unfilmed sequences that would have provided some continuity.  As it is you see one Egg open, a facehugger crack Newt's tube, then Ripley's tube cracked (I think it's ambigous whether it's the bolt or supposed to be the result of a facehugger from the cutting) then when they splash down Newt drowns due to her cracked tube while Ripley doesn't drown despite having an equally cracked tube... and then there's the little matter of why neither Newt or Ripley are actually shown with a facehugger on them when the tubes are loaded into the escape capsule.  In Alien (and strongly implied in Aliens) the facehugger remains on for quite a while as it impregnates it's victim, yet in Alien 3 the thing gets into their tubes and out again in a ridiculously short time - then somehow it still winds up in the escape capsule anyway.

I actually like Alien 3 in terms of the cinematography and some of the sequences but the picture is fatally flawed from start to finish in terms of continuity particularly with regard to what had been established beforehand regarding the creatures behavioral patterns.

[Local Trouble]

There are side shots when the cryotube drops down where it appears clearly unbroken on my BR disk.  Also there appears to be a quick shot Ripley is red shaded with no break in the glass.

I think you're referring to the shots of Newt's tube dropping into place and Ripley's tube immediately prior to the exploding bolt.  In fact, it looks like that's Ripley's tube to the left of Newt's in the second shot below and it certainly appears broken to me.

and then there's the little matter of why neither Newt or Ripley are actually shown with a facehugger on them when the tubes are loaded into the escape capsule.  In Alien (and strongly implied in Aliens) the facehugger remains on for quite a while as it impregnates it's victim, yet in Alien 3 the thing gets into their tubes and out again in a ridiculously short time - then somehow it still winds up in the escape capsule anyway.

Not a problem if you just assume it's on Hicks.  We never see him.

As for the mysterious self-repairing crack on Newt's tube, ain't technology great?   

[SM]

Also there appears to be a quick shot Ripley is red shaded with no break in the glass. 

That's because it's before the explosion.

[Local Trouble]

How does SM usually rationalize the disappearing crack on Newt's tube?

[SM]

SM says the opening sequence is Ripley's hypersleep dream and a distorted version of what's really happening.

Literally - there is no explanation for the magic repairing cryotube.  Same as how there's no literal explanation for the position of the egg or the different cryotubes.

[Local Trouble]

The only thing I can't explain is the different cryotubes.

Unless...

Isn't Aliens: Infestation canon now?