Origin of "nuke it from orbit. It's the only way to be sure."

[LSLGuy]

It's a common saying or meme here on the SDMB that sounds like it might have been lifted from some science fiction book or movie.

Searching the board archives doesn't produce an obvious ur-thread where it was coined & entered our hive-mind.

So, where's it from? If it is from a SF book or movie, how good (or bad) was the story?

[Revtim]

The movie Aliens.

[Revtim]

(which I thought was pretty good)

[Lumpy]

Or to put the saying in context:

The space marines have gone deep underground to the Aliens lair led by their gung-ho commander. Ripley had advised simply nuking the entire site, but the commander is sure his squad of big tough marines can handle a few bugs. Ambushed by the xenomorphs, the squad barely gets out alive, with the commander temporarily comatose and the ranking non-com in command. His first decision as acting commander is to repeat Ripley's suggestion word for word.

In other words, it's an archtype of being smart rather than badass. Sorta like when Indiana Jones pulled out his gun and shot the attacker.

[Stranger On A Train]

In other words, it's an archtype of being smart rather than badass. Sorta like when Indiana Jones pulled out his gun and shot the attacker.Or that you've just been whipped good and have to retaliate with the most excessive use of force possible.

Here's the relevant dialogue (Ripley is the protagonist, played by Sigorney Weaver, Burke is the "company man" and the rest are the remainder of a pair of squads of Colonial Marines that just barely survived an attack by the aliens):

VASQUEZ
All right, we can't blow the fuck
out of them...why not roll some
canisters of CN-20 down there.
Nerve gas the whole nest?

HUDSON
Look, man, let's just bug out and
call it even, okay?

RIPLEY
(to Vasquez)
No good. How do we know it'll
effect their biochemistry? I say
we take off and nuke the entire
site from orbit. It's the only
way to be sure.

BURKE
Now hold on a second. I'm not
authorizing that action.

RIPLEY
Why not?

Burke senses the challenge in her tone and backpedals
flawlessly into conciliatory mode.

BURKE
Well, I mean...I know this is an
emotional moment, but let's not
make snap judgments. Let's move
cautiously. First, this physical
installation had a substantial
dollar value attached to it --

RIPLEY
They can bill me. I got a tab
running. What's second?

BURKE
This is clearly an important
species we're dealing with here.
We can't just arbitrarily
exterminate them --

RIPLEY
Bullshit!

VASQUEZ
Yeah, bullshit. Watch us.

HUDSON
Maybe you haven't been keeping up
on current events, but we just got
out asses kicked, pal!

Ripley faces Burke squarely and she's not pleased.

RIPLEY
Look, Burke. We had an agreement.

Burke moves in, lowering his voice. He takes her aside
from the others.

BURKE
I know, I know, but we're dealing
with changing scenarios here. This
thing is major, Ripley. I mean
really major. You gotta go with
its energy. Since you are the
representative of the company who
discovered this species your
percentage will naturally be
some serious, serious money.

Ripley stares at his like he's a particularly
disagreeable fungus.

RIPLEY
You son of a bitch.

BURKE
(hardening)
Don't make me pull rank, Ripley.

RIPLEY
What rank? I believe Corporal Hicks
has authority here.

BURKE
Corporal Hicks!?

RIPLEY
This operation is under military
jurisdiction and Hicks is next in
chain of command. Right?

HICKS
Looks that way.

Burke starts to lose it and it's not a pretty sight.

BURKE
Look, this is a multimillion
dollar operation. He can't make
that kind of decision. He's just
a grunt!
(glances at Hicks)
No offense.

HICKS
(coolly)
None taken.
(into mike)
Ferro, you copying?

FERRO
(voice over; static)
Standing by.

HICKS
Prep for dust-off. We're gonna
need an immediate evac.
(to Burke)
I think we'll take off and nuke
the site from orbit. It's the
only way to be sure.
Great movie, directed by James Cameron (Terminator, The Abyss, True Lies. It (and its predecessor, Ridley Scott's Alien) basically spawned the '80s/'90s collection of unrelenting killer-alien movies. So yeah, you should see it.

It's just a good thing they didn't make any sequels or absurd cross-overs, 'cause those would have sucked. If you catch my drift. ;)

Stranger

[LSLGuy]

Cool. Thanks everybody.

[Malacandra]

And after making such a sound judgement call, Ripley later pisses off the Alien Queen by frying her entire clutch of eggs, whereupon Queenie comes after her looking for evens with consequences that prove catastrophic (if you accept Alien3 as canon ;) ) -- all for nothing because the colony's fusion plant was going to blow anyway. Normally Ripley kicks ass, but on this occasion you have to admit shefucks up.

[Bryan Ekers]

I just find it comical that a squad of marines commanded by a green lieutenant has nukes and nerve gas. What does a Major get - the Death Star?

[Scissorjack]

I think it caught on as a catchphrase because it's one of the few examples of sound tactical thinking in movie SF: usually fighting the monsters depends on either fortuitously discovering some implausible weakness {"Water! Water will dissolve them!"} or encountering moral qualms {"But if we kill them, General, we're no better than they are."} For once a character said exactly what the audience was thinking: piss off and nuke the fuckers from a safe distance.

[Happy Clam]

I think it caught on as a catchphrase because it's one of the few examples of sound tactical thinking in movie SF: usually fighting the monsters depends on either fortuitously discovering some implausible weakness {"Water! Water will dissolve them!"} or encountering moral qualms {"But if we kill them, General, we're no better than they are."} For once a character said exactly what the audience was thinking: piss off and nuke the fuckers from a safe distance.
Yeah, but then they don't do it!

Mind you, that would have short-circuited three movies.

[Martini Enfield]

IFor once a character said exactly what the audience was thinking: piss off and nuke the fuckers from a safe distance.

Which is also why the sequence with Indiana Jones and the swordsman is so popular- it's exactly what any normal person (who happened to be carrying a .455 calibre revolver) would do when confronted with a Bad Guy showing off his Mad Scimitar Skillz(tm) - they'd simply draw their gun and shoot him. :D

[Lumpy]

Yeah, but then they don't do it!

Mind you, that would have short-circuited three movies.They didn't get the chance. Their ride got 'jacked, remember?

[FilmGeek]

They didn't get the chance. Their ride got 'jacked, remember?
Leading to the best line ever

"game over man, game OVER"

[Ruffian]

Leading to the best line ever

"game over man, game OVER"
Bill Paxton will ALWAYS be HUdson to me, ALWAYS whimpering those lines...heh heh heh.

Kinda makes things weird seeing his naked, polygamist ass on a regular basis over on "Big Love." Feh.

[Scissorjack]

Leading to the best line ever

"game over man, game OVER"

Maybe we could light a fire. Sing songs.

[Small Clanger]

"game over man, game OVER"Put her in charge!

[engineer_comp_geek]

Which is also why the sequence with Indiana Jones and the swordsman is so popular- it's exactly what any normal person (who happened to be carrying a .455 calibre revolver) would do when confronted with a Bad Guy showing off his Mad Scimitar Skillz(tm) - they'd simply draw their gun and shoot him. :D



The funny thing is that wasn't how the scene was written. Originally it was a typical over-complex Hollywood type fight scene, but when it came time to do the shoot, Harrison Ford was suffering from a bad case of the trots. Knowing that he really wasn't up to the task for the complex scene they had planned, Harrison asked Spielberg if he could just shoot the guy.



I also can't see Bill Paxton in anything without thinking of his famous "game over, man" lines.

[Rick]

Whenever I think of Bill Paxton it's for his other great line in that movie
Maybe you haven't been keeping up
on current events, but we just got
out asses kicked, pal!

[corkboard]

My favorite Paxton line:

"They're gonna come in here, and they're gonna come in here, and they're gonna kill us!"

I love the repetition of the first part- he's too jacked up to think of any worse fate than the aliens coming in there. And then, of course, killing them.

[D_Odds]

Leading to the best line ever

"game over man, game OVER"Actually, the best line ever, which I silently quote almost daily, occurred earlier.

Sgt. Apone: Any questions?
Cpl. Hudson: Yeah, how do I get out of this chicken shit outfit.

If only I were brave enough to say that to my boss every time he asks that question.

[Anaamika]

And after making such a sound judgement call, Ripley later pisses off the Alien Queen by frying her entire clutch of eggs, whereupon Queenie comes after her looking for evens with consequences that prove catastrophic (if you accept Alien3 as canon ;) ) -- all for nothing because the colony's fusion plant was going to blow anyway. Normally Ripley kicks ass, but on this occasion you have to admit shefucks up.
Yeah, but that makes for one of MY favorite lines in the movie:

"Get away from her, you BITCH!"

I love that movie. I would have liked it better if it was more sci-fi and less horror towards the end, but I still love that movie. And I would have liked it more if I had never seen that piece of horrible drivel that is Aliens 3 where

Newt and Hicks, whom you've grown to love so much, are killed off in the first five minutes of the film.
:mad: :mad:

Before anyone goes there, I loved Aliens 4, too., Just not Wynona.

[D_Odds]

Actually, the best line ever, which I silently quote almost daily, occurred earlier.

Sgt. Apone: Any questions?
Cpl. Hudson: Yeah, how do I get out of this chicken shit outfit.

If only I were brave enough to say that to my boss every time he asks that question.
Correction:

Lt. Gorman: Are there any questions? Hudson?
Cpl. Hudson: How do I get out of this chicken shit outfit.

Need to make my answers factual :)

[lupine73]

Interesting, the dialog in that quoted script some posts back is actually more verbose than what was in the actual movie. They eliminated some entire lines and changed others. For the better, I think.

As for Bill Paxton moments, who can forget, while on the drop-ship...
"We're on the express elevator to hell! Goin' down!"

[Small Clanger]

"Get away from her, you BITCH!"Ooo, Aliens quotes:

"Hey Vasquez did anyone ever mistake you for a man?"
"No, You?"


"Where d'you want it" (We just saw Ripley 's mad forklift skills, (ahem, skilz))


"What're we supposed to use? Harsh language?"


"I may be synthetic, but I'm not stupid."


"You're dogmeat pal. No offence."

[NurseCarmen]

Okay, Hudson has a ton of great lines, but my favorite was his most understated.

"Yeah, but it's a dry heat"
(This said when the steam is as thick as pea soup and stuff is dripping everywhere)

[FilmGeek]

I must correct you:

Hudson: Hey, Vasquez, have you ever been mistaken for a man?
Hudson: No, have you?

[Small Clanger]

Vasquez: No, have you?

:)

I thought it was a bit wrong.

I'm reminded of the gag about some American(?) remarking on Hamlet that: "It's just a lot of quotes strung together".


In the pipe. . .

[Bryan Ekers]

"You're dogmeat pal. No offence."

That's not actually a single quote. It's more like:

Burke: [Hicks] can't make that kind of decision, he's just a grunt. [to Hicks] No offense.
Hicks: None taken. Ferro, you copy? We'll need immediate evac...

And later...

Hudson: I say we grease this ratfuck son-of-a-bitch right now.
Ripley: Y'know, Burke, I don't know which species is worse. You don't see [i]them fucking each over for a goddamn percentage.
Hudson: You're dogmeat, pal.
Hicks: Okay, we waste him. [grabs Burke] No offense.


That's not nearly exact, but I got the gist of it.


I think Newt is in close competition with Hudson for the best dialog:
"It won't make any difference."
"It'll be dark soon and they mostly come at night, mostly."
"Casey doesn't get bad dreams because she's just a piece of plastic."

[Small Clanger]

Hudson: You're dogmeat, pal.
Hicks: Okay, we waste him. No offense.


That's not nearly exact, but I got the gist of it.
It's a lot closer than I got.

Looks like a lot of us have watched this film a bit too often.

[JCorre]

Vasquez: No, have you?

:)

...

In the pipe. . .


5x5

Ferro was HOT.

[Stranger On A Train]

As for Bill Paxton moments, who can forget, while on the drop-ship...
"We're on the express elevator to hell! Goin' down!"It's not Aliens, but actually my favorite lines from Paxton are from another James Cameron-directed movie, True Lies, where he plays a used car salesman pretending to be a spy in order to seduce lonely wives, one of which ends up being the wife of globetrotting uberspy Harry Tasker (Arnold Schwartzenegger). While being interrogated by Tasker and his sidekick being held over the edge of a dam:
I'm not a spy! I'm nothing! I'm naval lint! I have to lie to women to get laid, and even then I don't score much...I got a little dick, it's pathetic.
It's actually pretty shocking to see the guy in a serious role (one of my favorites is the noir-ish A Simple Plan) where he doesn't act like a complete ass.

Stranger

[corkboard]

Hicks: I'd like to introduce you to a personal friend of mine. It's the M-41A pulse rifle, with over and under pump action grenade launcher. [holds it out to Ripley] Feel the weight.

*****

Ripley: Punch it, Bishop!

*****

Gorman: Alright, people, now listen up. I want this thing to go smooth, and by the numbers. I want TCS and tactical database assimilation by 0830. Ordinance loading, weapons strip and drop ship prep detail in seven hours. Now lets move, people, move!

Apone: Allright ladies, you heard the man and you know the drill! Assholes and elbows. Hudson, come here. Come here!

[Qadgop the Mercotan]

Wierzbowski, the forgotten one.

HUDSON
Is this going to be a stand-up fight, Sir, on another bug-hunt?

GORMAN
All we know is that there's still no contact with the colony and that a xenomorph may be involved.

WIERZBOWSKI
A what?

HICKS (to Wierzbowski; low)
It's a bug-hunt.
or

WIERZBOWSKI
She don't like the cornbread either.

[Anaamika]

5x5

Ferro was HOT.
I'm female and I agree she was. My DM in one of our futuristic campaigns used a sort of version of her.

Hicks was damn hot, too.

[CookingWithGas]

Is this the record for the number of posts to a GQ thread wherein the OP was answered in Post #2? :D

[Bryan Ekers]

Is this the record for the number of posts to a GQ thread wherein the OP was answered in Post #2? :D

Probably not, but I bet we're edging close to the record number of posts in a GQ thread before the mods move it to the Café.

[Anaamika]

I forgot to mention, the scene where Ripley takes over the vehicle and goes to get them is probably one of my favorites. The music even is cool.

[NurseCarmen]

To continue the hijack, Paxton's best line ever was 'It's done out of love" as Chet in Wierd Science.

[Kozmik]

So, where's it from? If it is from a SF book or movie, how good (or bad) was the story?ID4 and Mars Attacks!

[teela brown]

I forgot to mention, the scene where Ripley takes over the vehicle and goes to get them is probably one of my favorites.

Mine, too. I distinctly remember, when seeing this scene in the theater way back when, audibly telling Ripley to "Squash those fuckers! That's the way! Kill 'em!", when she ran over some of the bugs with the vehicle.

[peri]

To continue the hijack, Paxton's best line ever was 'It's done out of love" as Chet in Wierd Science.For me it would be, "It's finger lickin' good!" from Near Dark.

[tremorviolet]

For me it would be, "It's finger lickin' good!" from Near Dark.

Man, Near Dark is such a great little movie (and had like half the cast of Aliens in it) I wonder if it's on DVD...

[peri]

...I wonder if it's on DVD...Why, yes, yes it is (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002NIAZC/qid=1152570247/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/102-1295927-0338535?s=dvd&v=glance&n=130).

[LSLGuy]

Is this the record for the number of posts to a GQ thread wherein the OP was answered in Post #2? :DI was admiring that. I seem to have struck a vein.

Maybe this'll kill it; I'm usually pretty good at that too.

[Bryan Ekers]

Maybe this'll kill it; I'm usually pretty good at that too.

Screw that.


Aliens works near-perfectly because there are no tacked-on elements. The dialogue is memorable and realistic, and the young kid who in every other action movie would serve to make the situation worse actually helps it. When she falls down the air vent, it's not through her own stupidity, curious wanderings or just plain childishness. Gorman's grenade catches them all by surprise. The rest of the time, she's very helpful (the extended version reveals that Newt is particularly skilled at running the ventilation system, a common pastime for the colony's children, and her small size is a major advantage - this also explains her survival before the marines show up).

[Rufus Xavier]

To address the OP from a slightly different angle:

I've only used the phrase once on the boards, in a thread titled "Any advice on killing wasps?"


By the way, I love this throwaway bit from the movie:

Frost: Hey, I sure wouldn't mind getting me some more of that Arcturian poontang! Remember that time?

Spunkmeyer: Yeah Frost, except the one you had was MALE.

Frost: It doesn't matter when it's Arcturian, baby!

[JCorre]

I can't resist:

Hudson: They're coming outta the walls. They're coming outta the goddamn walls, we're fucked!


Hudson: [Points muzzle of pulse-rifle to Burke's face] I say we grease this rat-fuck, son of a bitch right now.

[Ranchoth]

I just find it comical that a squad of marines commanded by a green lieutenant has nukes and nerve gas. What does a Major get - the Death Star?

It gets better...in the Colonial Marines Technical Manual, the USCM quite freely discusses their tactical nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons doctrines...but also mentions that they don't use androids with "unrestricted combat capabilities," because it violates the Geneva Convention!

Perhaps it's a nod to a point in the movie where, when Bishop is getting ready to enter the pipeline to make a run for the transmitter, Vasquez hands him a pistol...which he examines for a second, then hands over to Ripley. Either he figured it wouldn't do him any good, or he was programmed not to use weapons. (In which case Vasquez either didn't know, forgot about it, or underestimated how strict the programming was.)

[Rico]

Probably not, but I bet we're edging close to the record number of posts in a GQ thread before the mods move it to the Café.

Nope, that was 57.

"Missed it by that much..."

<mod>

Moved to Cafe Society

</mod>

And before someone ties up the Board's search function to prove me wrong, I'll admit I pulled that number out of my ass...

[Bryan Ekers]

Either he figured it wouldn't do him any good, or he was programmed not to use weapons.
I figure the former, since he doesn't hesitate to take the weapon, but he does give it a smiling condescending examination of its small size before handing it off to Ripley.

[Scissorjack]

Either he figured it wouldn't do him any good, or he was programmed not to use weapons.

The former, definitely: remember, he's pretty handy with a knife when, egged on by the other Marines, he plays with Hudson: "Aaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh!"

And, since this seems to be a Bill Paxton thread, one of his best moments has to be with the punks in the original Terminator...

Nice night for a walk.

Wash day. Nothing clean.

[Dunderman]

They didn't get the chance. Their ride got 'jacked, remember?Which is one of the things that makes Aliens so great: there is an actual reason why the characters don't do the obvious thing that would neatly resolve all their problems.

[BMalion]

Looks like love at first sight.

[MovieMogul]

Hudson: Man, this floor's freezing.
Apone: What do you want me to do, fetch your slippers for you?
Hudson: Gee, would you sir? I'd like that.

[Voyager]

The funny thing is that wasn't how the scene was written. Originally it was a typical over-complex Hollywood type fight scene, but when it came time to do the shoot, Harrison Ford was suffering from a bad case of the trots. Knowing that he really wasn't up to the task for the complex scene they had planned, Harrison asked Spielberg if he could just shoot the guy.




And to continue the hijack, since the thread got moved, the amazing thing about that scene is that it was anticipated in a short-short sf story called "Swordsmen of Varnis." In it, a John Carter like hero is fleeing with a Princess. It is a Barsoom-like planet. They flee into a cave, pursued by soldiers. he pulls out his sword and slays the attackers as they try to get at them until

one guard says, basically, this is ridiculous, pulls out his blaster, and blows the guy and the princess to smithereens.

The end. An amazing case of independent development of the same idea.

[Balance]

It gets better...in the Colonial Marines Technical Manual, the USCM quite freely discusses their tactical nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons doctrines...but also mentions that they don't use androids with "unrestricted combat capabilities," because it violates the Geneva Convention!

Obviously, the Conventions have undergone some revisions. Or maybe the implication is that an unrestricted android is actually more dangerous than the other weapons? After all, the android could certainly use all those weapons if the combat restrictions were removed.

While Ripley, Hicks, and Hudson got all my favorite lines, Bishop had my favorite delivery of a line. It's the scene where they're discussing the colony transmitter. Hudson is panicky and shrill (as usual) and Ripley's got an odd mix of determination, exasperation, and hysteria going on:

RIPLEY: Well then somebody's just going to have to go out there. Take a portable terminal and go out there and plug in manually.

HUDSON: Oh, right! Right! With those things running around. No way.

BISHOP (quietly, almost diffidently): I'll go.

It's the dialogue equivalent of a car slamming into a wall at the end of a chase scene.

[MovieMogul]

And to continue the hijack, since the thread got moved, the amazing thing about that scene is that it was anticipated in a short-short sf story called "Swordsmen of Varnis." In it, a John Carter like hero is fleeing with a Princess. It is a Barsoom-like planet. They flee into a cave, pursued by soldiers. he pulls out his sword and slays the attackers as they try to get at them until

one guard says, basically, this is ridiculous, pulls out his blaster, and blows the guy and the princess to smithereens.

The end. An amazing case of independent development of the same idea.Heck, Raiders wasn't even the first movie (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079882/trivia) to use the device.

[ExTank]

As someone who's military carreer took a hard left because of untimely events (GW 1), my favorite line from Hudson was:

Ohhh,man! And I was Short, too. Four more weeks and I was out!

[Max Carnage]

"Those things will give you lip cancer, Sarge."

[JohnT]

Put her in charge!

"Vazquez, you ever been mistaken for a man?"
"No, have you?"

[JSexton]

Hudson: Man, this floor's freezing.
Apone: What do you want me to do, fetch your slippers for you?
Hudson: Gee, would you sir? I'd like that.
Apone: Look into my eye.

[Voyager]

Heck, Raiders wasn't even the first movie (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079882/trivia) to use the device.
Interesting. The story, though, predates Seven by quite a bit. I'd have to look up the publication date, but it got reprinted by Forry in an early Perry Rhodan, and the reprint was prior to 1979.

[Bryan Ekers]

As someone who's military carreer took a hard left because of untimely events (GW 1), my favorite line from Hudson was:

Don't forget the additional "Now I'm gonna buy it on this rock."


Also:

Ripley: [lights go out] They cut the power!
Hudson: They cut the power?! Whaddya mean they cut the power?! How could they cut the power, man, they're animals!


[extended version, after the robosentry battle]
Hudson: Maybe we got 'em demoralized.
Vasquez: Shut up!

[Bryan Ekers]

As a minor note, Stranger on a Train quoted the scene's script which varied slightly from the final version. The immediate reaction to Ripley's suggestion was ultimately:

Ripley: I say we take off and nuke the entire site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.
Hudson: Fuckin' A.

Then Burke started to argue, gaining the sympathy of neither the surviving marines nor the audience.


A few months back, I was having dinner at a friend's house and he said something about having to go round up his five year-old son from the basement, where the boy was watching TV. I said "Forget him, he's gone!" to much amusement.

[Pushkin]

And to continue the hijack, since the thread got moved, the amazing thing about that scene is that it was anticipated in a short-short sf story called "Swordsmen of Varnis." In it, a John Carter like hero is fleeing with a Princess. It is a Barsoom-like planet. They flee into a cave, pursued by soldiers. he pulls out his sword and slays the attackers as they try to get at them until

one guard says, basically, this is ridiculous, pulls out his blaster, and blows the guy and the princess to smithereens.

The end. An amazing case of independent development of the same idea.

Not more independent development, but another hijack.

The comic 2000AD has two regulars, Sinister and Dexter, gunsharks (hitmen) for hire. They're sent to Mangapore, a SE Asia conurbation to top someone and along the way they're, um, waylaid by ninjas. The ninjas are chopping them slowly into submission when one of our heroes happens to take one of them down in mid-kick. He finds a gun in the ninja's clothing and realises all the ninjas are thus armed. The gunsharks are infuriated at this insult, that someone would try and kill them not with guns as is their trade, but in hand to hand combat. Suitably angered they seize a gun each and proceed to blow the ninja's all away.

One of only two scenes where I really liked them, the rest of the time they were too much like Jackson and Travolta in Pulp Fiction for my liking.

[psiekier]

As another poster noted before, the dialogue betwixt the survivors of the alien attack was a little different in the movie (http://webpages.charter.net/psiekier/media/CN20.WAV) than it appears in the script excerpt that Stranger on a Train posted:

Vasquez: All right, we got seven cannisters of CN-20. I say we roll them in there and nerve-gas the whole fucking nest.

Hicks: It's worth a try, but we don't even know if it's gonna affect 'em.

Hudson: Look, let's just bug out and call it even, OK? What are we talking about this for?!?

Ripley: I say we take off and nuke the entire site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.

Hudson: Fuckin' A!

Burke: (stammering) Ho-ho-hold on... hold on one second. This installation has a substantial dollar value attached to it!

Ripley: (scoffs) They can bill me!I don't recall, even in the extended version of the film...

... in which extra footage at the beginning shows Newt's parents out to collect eggs from the "derelict spacecraft" from Alien, presumably on Burke's orders...
... that there's any resolution to whether they got them all in the end or not.

Furthermore...

In another deleted scene, Hudson is boasting about the might of the Sulaco's armament to Ripley. Sure, they have nukes (and knives, and sharp sticks...), but also "independently targeting particle beam phalanxes" capable of frying half a city. Had the return to the Sulaco on board either of its two dropships gone according to plan, there's little doubt that Hicks would have authorized the utter destruction of both the atmospheric processor where the aliens had built their nest and the derelict; both Ripley and Burke are aware that it is full of eggs!

Bishop says the thermonuclear explosion caused by the processor's meltdown will create "a cloud of vapor the size of Nebraska", but there's no indication how far the Hadley's Hope colony is from the derelict; it could be - if you needed fodder for yet another god-awful sequel featuring washed-up TV actors and/or Hollywood shoplifters - just far enough away that the derelict would survive with the eggs intact!
I'd heard that Hudson's line where he makes fun of Vasquez's ethnic background ("Somebody said 'alien', she though they said 'illegal alien'...") was an in-joke amongst the cast because actress Jenette Goldstein had auditioned for a role thinking the movie was about 19th-century immigrants. I've heard this story repeated several times, and it supposedly has something to do with Goldstein's being cast as an Irish immigrant in Titanic.

Seems fishy to me, but not entirely out of character for director James Cameron. I'd like to have this confirmed by someone who worked on or was in Aliens.

[BorderFox]

Or to put the saying in context:

The space marines have gone deep underground to the Aliens lair led by their gung-ho commander. Ripley had advised simply nuking the entire site, but the commander is sure his squad of big tough marines can handle a few bugs. Ambushed by the xenomorphs, the squad barely gets out alive, with the commander temporarily comatose and the ranking non-com in command. His first decision as acting commander is to repeat Ripley's suggestion word for word.

In other words, it's an archtype of being smart rather than badass. Sorta like when Indiana Jones pulled out his gun and shot the attacker.

'Not bad...for a human...'

One of my favourite films ever, by far my favourite action and sci-fi movie, and with one of the most quotable scripts.

That summary above isn't quite right though, the 'Nuke the entire site from orbit' dialogue all takes place after the Marines get their nasty surprise in the aliens nest.

I have to say that the massive potential for the sequels was almost utterly wasted. Some of the Dark Horse comics for example had excellent stories, I would have liked to have seen one where the xenomorphs reach Earth and the consequences of that.

The third and fourth films were just so...limited.

[Ranchoth]

Obviously, the Conventions have undergone some revisions. Or maybe the implication is that an unrestricted android is actually more dangerous than the other weapons? After all, the android could certainly use all those weapons if the combat restrictions were removed.

True...and, at one point in the manual, there's one of many one-paragraph "interviews" with a Colonial Marine where he (or she?) mentions that they don't trust androids, and makes a comment that "they're all built by Cyberdyne, or something"...

So, maybe the Terminator movies exist in that universe, and the Marine was making a reference. Or maybe the Terminator movies happened in that universe, and there's still some lingering anti-android sentiment, centuries after Skynet's defeat, which translates into lingering fear about arming androids.

Probably not. And it ain't true canon, anyway. Still, it's an intriguing thought experiment, eh?

[BorderFox]

What is this 'manual' of which you speak?

I used to buy the old Dark Horse Aliens comics occassionally and the technical drawings etc in those were usually fantastic.

[Ranchoth]

What is this 'manual' of which you speak?

The Colonial Marines Technical Manual. (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0061053430/104-1216846-4812709?v=glance&n=283155) I ran across it at a Barnes & Noble, once. Very cool stuff, it is. The final chapter, presented as a series of excerpts from transcripted Weyland-Yutani staff meetings, has a very SDMB-like feel to it, I gotta say.

[Sailboat]

As another poster noted before, the dialogue betwixt the survivors of the alien attack was a little different in the movie (http://webpages.charter.net/psiekier/media/CN20.WAV) than it appears in the script excerpt that Stranger on a Train posted:

Aliens][/I]Burke: (stammering) Ho-ho-hold on... hold on one second. This installation has a substantial dollar value attached to it!

Ripley: (scoffs) They can bill me!

Right, nothing about "runing a tab." But you sure it's not "YOU can bill me!"? My memory was of "you:, but I'll have to look it up on the DVD when I get home.

Sailboat

[Cardinal]

Ever notice that when Burke cuts into the pipe to go outside and bring down the ship remotely, he's able to grab the cut piece of steel immediately? Even if he doesn't feel pain, wouldn't that probably melt something? He's just cut this out with a torch.

[JCorre]

Ever notice that when Burke cuts into the pipe to go outside and bring down the ship remotely, he's able to grab the cut piece of steel immediately? Even if he doesn't feel pain, wouldn't that probably melt something? He's just cut this out with a torch.

I'm assuming you mean BISHOP right? Its still a good question.

Oh and:

Ripley: They cut the power.
Hudson: What do you mean "THEY cut the power"? How could they cut the power, man? They're animals!

[psiekier]

... but you sure it's not "YOU can bill me!"? My memory was of "you:, but I'll have to look it up on the DVD when I get home.... or you could just listen to the audio clip (http://webpages.charter.net/psiekier/media/CN20.WAV) I so cleverly embedded in my post.

It's definitely "they," referring to Weyland-Yutani ("The Company").

[Merijeek]

[QUOTE=JCorre]I'm assuming you mean BISHOP right? Its still a good question.
[QUOTE]

This is the same 'droid that was able to function (relatively) well after being turn in half, right?

I get the feeling he can turn his pain sensors off.

-Joe

[BorderFox]

The Colonial Marines Technical Manual. (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0061053430/104-1216846-4812709?v=glance&n=283155) I ran across it at a Barnes & Noble, once. Very cool stuff, it is. The final chapter, presented as a series of excerpts from transcripted Weyland-Yutani staff meetings, has a very SDMB-like feel to it, I gotta say.

Oooooohhhhh!!!!!

I'll have to pick that up. Thanks.

I think part of what I like so much about the Aliens movie and story-universe is that it seems real. It's dark and gritty with the hardware on displayed looking like more advanced or logical extensions of our own.

[Biggirl]

This thread made me pull out my DVD. One of my all time favorite fun movie.

Gorman: Open the lock, I'm coming in.
Hudson: I feel safer already.


After "Get away from her you BITCH!" Ripley in the forklift and the alien get into one ass-kicking fistfight.

[BorderFox]

This thread made me pull out my DVD. One of my all time favorite fun movie.

Gorman: Open the lock, I'm coming in.
Hudson: I feel safer already.


After "Get away from her you BITCH!" Ripley in the forklift and the alien get into one ass-kicking fistfight.

Ever notice that that scene is played in in total silence music-wise? Just makes it all the more effective. It's the same with the final duel scene in 'Rob Roy'.

Sometimes less really is more.

[FordPrefect]

I have to say that this is probably one of my favorite lines in the movie, possibly from all movies.

Ripley: (scoffs) They can bill me!

[Anaamika]

Ever notice that that scene is played in in total silence music-wise? Just makes it all the more effective. It's the same with the final duel scene in 'Rob Roy'.

Sometimes less really is more.
Oh yeah, it makes it all the more creepy.

[First Amongst Daves]

I have always wodnered: any reason the space ship was called the Sulaco?

[MEBuckner]

I have always wodnered: any reason the space ship was called the Sulaco?
The space freighter in Alien was named the Nostromo, which is the title of a novel by Joseph Conrad (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nostromo). "Sulaco" is a (fictional) town from that novel.

Presumably the Nostromo was named that in the original movie because someone associated with Alien liked Joseph Conrad, and they named the Sulaco just as sort of an in-joke. There is sort of a Hollywoodized, popularized, vaguely-Conradesque feel to Alien and Aliens: a heartlessly exploitative ruthlessly capitalist "Company" sends people into the heart of the darkness of space, where no one can hear them scream, where their own fellow men* are more corrupt and more dangerous than the alien monsters which lurk there. Or something like that.

(*Well, androids pretending to be fellow men, but programmed by fellow men--besides, Burke was human.)


I don't know what in-continuity explanation there might be for why the Company named one of its space freighters after an early 20th century novel, or why the Colonial Marines have a warship with a name also taken from that novel. Maybe there was a huge Joseph Conrad revival on Earth in the 2090's, and now the Way of Joseph Conrad (pbuh) is the Established Church of Earth and its various colonies.

Incidentally, Nostromo's shuttlecraft is referred to as the Narcisuss (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Nigger_of_the_Narcissus) (at least in the novelizations--I don't know if the name is ever actually spoken on-screen by anyone).

[First Amongst Daves]

Many thanks. I knew about Nostromo, but not having read it, I didn't know about Sulaco. Perhaps Heart of Darkness would have been too obvious.

[psiekier]

Many thanks. I knew about Nostromo, but not having read it, I didn't know about Sulaco. Perhaps Heart of Darkness would have been too obvious.The ships in Starship Troopers have a less obscure but similarly thematic naming scheme: The larger ships are named after famous battlegrounds (Valley Forge, Hastings, El Alamein, Waterloo, etc.) while the smaller ships are named for military figures (Rodger Young, Audie Murphy, Vercingetorix, Montgomery, Geronimo...).

[Precambrianmollusc]

Oh you want some of this ... you to....come and get it.... waarrrgggggggg

{dragged down by the aliens to his doom}

well ok the dialoge wasn't exactly like that but close as I can remember

[lisacurl]

Earlier this year, Microsoft got some press for publicly using the phrase "nuke it from orbit" to describe a recommended total reformat and reimage after a system has been infected with malware. (This was news because it was the first time they were admitting what a lot of us have known for a while -- "It's the only way to be sure.")

Also, I named my cat Newt after the little girl in Aliens.

[lisacurl]

er, for computers affected by certain malware... the Microsoft guy wasn't recommending a nuke from orbit for every simple virus-infected computer.

[Jophiel]

Wierzbowski, the forgotten one. Sadly, Wierzbowski (http://www.wierzbowski.net/) didn't even get the lines you attributed to him. All of his lines from the original script either went to Frost or were just cut. The only thing Weirzbowski gets to say is "Ahhahagghahghh..." after the ammunition pack explodes and Weirzbowski gets thrown (and then presumably an alien eats him off scene since his yell is several seconds later).

Truly, T. Wierzbowski is the forgotten Colonial Marine :(