June 25, 2012
My sci-fi street cred has taken a hit over the
past few weeks when my best friend outed me to the BNAT community so I feel
compelled to point out that I have been a science fiction fan from childhood. I
was weaned on the classics such as "Star Wars" (duh.), "Star
Trek" repeats (yes, IÕm Team Kirk, which explains, much to the chagrin of
my wife, my bottle of Tiberius cologne), TVÕs "Buck Rodgers in the 25th
Century" (ahhh, Erin GrayÉ.) and "Battlestar Galactica" (one of
my greatest TV memories was the Cylon, upon seeing the Lloyd BridgesÕ-commanded
Pegasus swooping in on his left, attempting to get BaltasarÕs attention while
the evil leader gleefully watched the Galactica burn. Check it at the 45:30 mark:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oY0IW57L5Z8&feature=plcp). But I also enjoyed the B-Lists
such as "Silent
Running",
"Space:1999", and "Jason of Star
CommandÓ. The genesis? My mom quit her post office job in the early 80s and
started a science fiction memorabilia company out of our home. The only good
thing that came from it was hanging around her booths at sci-fi conventions.
But Comic-Con this was not; my mom soon ran through her savings and the
business folded because, as shocking as it sounds, it
proved impossible to pay the bills on the proceeds of ÒStar TrekÓ novels,
ÒSoylent GreenÓ biscuits and bumper stickers reading ÒWhat
the Frack?Ó and ÒBidi-bidi-bidi...Ó
(Fact: Twiki was voiced by none other than Mel Blanc). Suffice it to say, it
was a meager Christmas at the Burgess homestead (It was a fortunate thing that
I received my Atari 2600 the year before). That brings me to what is, according
to many, my greatest cinematic flaw: My Name is Eric and I had never seen Ridley
ScottÕs 1979 ÒAlienÓ.
Back in
2010 Stephan Hawking argued that alien contact would be risky: "If
aliens visit us, the outcome would be much as when Columbus landed in America,
which didn't turn out well for the Native Americans," he said. "We
only have to look at ourselves to see how intelligent life might develop into
something we wouldn't want to meet." HawkingÕs physics may be theoretical,
but his feelings on extraterrestrials are clearly pragmatic; I happen to agree
with him more than ever after finally watching ÒAlienÓ.
In order to rectify this I needed to wait for not
only BrianÕs ÒAlienÓ Blu-Ray to be delivered by Amazon but, as a teacher, all
the end-of-the-school-year hoopla to finally subside. The day finally arrived.
It all began in BrianÕs brotherÕs garage-converted man cave that includes the
sweetest overhead projector and surround sound system giving off the deepest
bass, complimented by Italian leather couches with matching ottomans. Talk
about a black box theater, I couldnÕt see my hand in front of my face when the
door was closed. This, according to Brian, was how a movie such as ÒAlienÓ
needed to be viewed. I soon understood.
The main problem with watching a 33-year-old
iconic movie is that I thought I knew what to expect. Fortunately, I was wrong.
Other than the creature popping out of KaneÕs chest I did not see anything else
I previously knew about. I was happily surprised by how ignorant I was to the
entire plotline. I found myself jumping throughout the movie, trying with less
and less success to burrow into the corner of the couch.
Now for one slight criticism. I opened this review with
a little personal background, partly to show that I am no sci-fi neophyte, but
also to illustrate that I revel in suspending my disbelief. As I took in
ÒAlienÓ I accepted the contractual stipulation that the Nostromo crew adheres
to when coming across a signal from alien life, including choosing not to wait
for a planetoid sunrise (20 minutes away, if I recall) before venturing into
near-blinding weather. I accepted that not only does Kane stupidly slip into an
alien egg patch, but even sticks his face near enough into the hatchlingÕs
opening to experience the mother of all face-huggings. And I even accepted that
everyone but Ripley was willing to disregard the 24-hour quarantine rule, and
that the guy who disobeyed the direct order by acting-captain Ripley not to
open the shipÕs door turns out to be a robot programmed by a shadowy
ÒcorporationÓ with orders to find and return alien life at any cost: ÒPriority
one. Insure return of any organism for analysis. All other considerations
secondary. Crew expendable,Ó
Ripley discovers via the computer. Thus, I hope you appreciate the lengths in
which I allow my imagination to roam. So when Ripley nearly gets it while
trying to corral a cat, then toting the thing around in a CAT CARRIER no less
while being tracked by a homicidal extraterrestrial that has already wiped out
the ENTIRE crew, well, color me unimpressed. I havenÕt seen this much effort
put into capturing a Jones since the Nazis hunted an adventurous young
professor of archaeology. Unless it turns out that the alien, before getting
sucked out to space, embedded another baby inside this cat and thatÕs how
ÒAliensÓ was made plausible, then what the hell is up with the obsession with a
damn cat?
Ok, with that said, ÒAlienÓ was definitely worth
not only the wait but also the global condemnation. Plus, Brian tells me that
ÒAliensÓ is even better and it is on our watch list in the next week or so. I
havenÕt been this excited for a sequel since Brian also explained that ÒThe
Godfather IIÓ was even better than the first when he introduced them to me a
few years back.
Summer is here, and with it comes Time, time to
finally burn through my TiVo queue that has been calling to me for months. In
the process I hope to find forgiveness for my cinematic sins from the masses as
I strive to not only fill in the gaps, but to continue in my attempts to create
a life well lived.