The ‘What-If Machine’ - Futurama as ‘ALIENS’ [1986] (dir. James Cameron)This time it’s warActual Plo
The ‘What-If Machine’ - Futurama as ‘ALIENS’ [1986] (dir. James Cameron)This time it’s warActual Plot: A team of Space Marine’s, along with Ellen Ripley, head to LV-426 which now houses the colony of ‘Hadley’s Hope’, at the behest of the Weyland-Yutani company after contact with the colony is lost.The Futurama Version: A team of DOOP soldiers, along with Turanga Leela, head to a sunny little doomed planet, Vergon 6, at the behest of Mom’s Friendly Robot corp after contact with the dark matter miners there is lost.The Cast:Turanga Leela as Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver)Tough as nails, strong in conviction and constantly silenced by bureaucratic nonsense. These two are peas in a pod. Bear in mind, Leela would have had to have gone through the same experience as Ripley in ‘Alien’, something which would have toughened her resolve even more.Philip J. Fry as Corporal Hicks (Michael Biehn)Fry may not start out a hero during ‘War is the H-Word’ but war eventually turns him into a man. Hicks himself is very much a man’s man, resilient and smart but also caring, like Fry.Bender Rodriguez as Bishop (Lance Henrikson)Bender may not be a synthetic, like Bishop is, but they’re both robots assigned to make the lives of others better. Bender does that by bending, Bishop by taking on tasks the marines can’t.Hermes Conrad as Carter Burke (Paul Reiser)In a film about marines taking on space aliens the most slimy and disgusting creature may well be corporate shill Carter Burke. Hermes minus any friendship is a hardcore bureaucrat and wouldn’t mind screwing people over to do his job.Sal as Private Hudson (Bill Paxton) We’re all scared, it’s the human condition, why do you thinks these two put on this tough-guy facade? Of course that facade is revealed in the face of extreme fear but both would bounce back, as is their duty, to help their friends.Zapp Brannigan as Lieutenant Gorman (William Hope)Did someone say bumbling, incompetent leader? Zapp certainly fits that bill. Safe away from the action as his subordinates do the work, Gorman and Zapp have that in kind.Sally as Newt (Carrie Henn)Cute as a button but a born survivor, poor Newt has to endure a simply awful experience. Sally has had a pretty bad experience in her short life too, what with the teasing about her third ear and all, but she’s someone with a lot of spirit.The Nibblonians as The Xenomorphs (the Aliens)Insatiable appetites are probably where the similarities end but a more feral group of Nibblonians could be a match for the much larger Xenomorphs.The Equipment:The Nimbus as The SulacoThe Nimbus may actually be the bigger ship but they serve the same purpose, to deliver their crew to certain death.The Positron Shooter as The Pulse RifleThe edge is clearly to the Shooter, I mean sure, the Rifle has a grenade launcher and ammo counter, but the Shooter plays ‘pop goes the weasel’ as you wind it. Can’t beat that.The Freezer Tube as The Cryo-stasis PodsA sci-fi staple, there is something quite appealing about freezing yourself for a period of time so you don’t have to do any actual waiting, as is the case here when the heroes are taken to the planet.The Locations:The New DOOP Headquarters as Gateway StationThis is where Ripley, or in our case Leela, wakes up after being found in cryo-stasis for 57 years at the start of the film. The new DOOP HQ seems a good fit.Vergon 6 as Hadley’s Hope (LV-426)LV-426 is a far harsher environment than Vergon 6 but the danger is far more about the presence of the aliens than the planet itself. -- source link
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