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Aliens / Predator / Prometheus Universe
Alien III: An Audible Original Drama
This is the official adaptation of the original screenplay for Alien 3, written by William Gibson, the award-winning science fiction author of the cyberpunk cult classic Neuromancer. You'll see familiar characters and places--but not all is the same in this horrifying Cold War thriller!
After the deadly events of the film Aliens, the spaceship Sulaco carrying the sleeping bodies of Ripley, Hicks, Newt, and Bishop are intercepted by the Union of Progressive Peoples. What the U.P.P forces don't expect is another deadly passenger that is about to unleash chaos between two governmental titans intent on developing the ultimate cold war weapon of mass destruction.
Collects William Gibson's Alien 3 #1-5.
After the deadly events of the film Aliens, the spaceship Sulaco carrying the sleeping bodies of Ripley, Hicks, Newt, and Bishop are intercepted by the Union of Progressive Peoples. What the U.P.P forces don't expect is another deadly passenger that is about to unleash chaos between two governmental titans intent on developing the ultimate cold war weapon of mass destruction.
Collects William Gibson's Alien 3 #1-5.
136 pages, Audible Audio
First published January 1, 2018
20 people are currently reading
1023 people want to read
About the author
William Gibson
291 books14.8k followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
William Ford Gibson is an American-Canadian writer who has been called the father of the cyberpunk subgenre of science fiction, having coined the term cyberspace in 1982 and popularized it in his first novel, Neuromancer (1984), which has sold more than 6.5 million copies worldwide.
While his early writing took the form of short stories, Gibson has since written nine critically acclaimed novels (one in collaboration), contributed articles to several major publications, and has collaborated extensively with performance artists, filmmakers and musicians. His thought has been cited as an influence on science fiction authors, academia, cyberculture, and technology.
---------------------------------
William Gibson. (2007, October 17). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 20:30, October 19, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?t...
William Ford Gibson is an American-Canadian writer who has been called the father of the cyberpunk subgenre of science fiction, having coined the term cyberspace in 1982 and popularized it in his first novel, Neuromancer (1984), which has sold more than 6.5 million copies worldwide.
While his early writing took the form of short stories, Gibson has since written nine critically acclaimed novels (one in collaboration), contributed articles to several major publications, and has collaborated extensively with performance artists, filmmakers and musicians. His thought has been cited as an influence on science fiction authors, academia, cyberculture, and technology.
---------------------------------
William Gibson. (2007, October 17). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 20:30, October 19, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?t...
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 511 reviews
August 18, 2019
I like William Gibson.
I like Alien and Aliens.
So I listened to this.
Gibson’s screenplay was never used and truth be told I liked Aliens 3. (Screenplay and story by Vincent Ward, David Giler, Walter Hill and Larry Ferguson – and were they influenced by Gibson??? Maybe … )
But this is also good. Fast moving with that subtle and studied world weariness that is a trademark of Gibson’s style; I liked that Gibson had written into his narrative a descendent of Soviet life, though in 1987 the normally forward looking Gibson missed the complete collapse of Russian socialism.
Like the film version of Aliens 3, this has a variant on the earlier alien theme and Gibson has some fun with what his version implies. Aliens is such a great storyline and Gibson is such a great writer, this does not fail to entertain.
For fans.
I like Alien and Aliens.
So I listened to this.
Gibson’s screenplay was never used and truth be told I liked Aliens 3. (Screenplay and story by Vincent Ward, David Giler, Walter Hill and Larry Ferguson – and were they influenced by Gibson??? Maybe … )
But this is also good. Fast moving with that subtle and studied world weariness that is a trademark of Gibson’s style; I liked that Gibson had written into his narrative a descendent of Soviet life, though in 1987 the normally forward looking Gibson missed the complete collapse of Russian socialism.
Like the film version of Aliens 3, this has a variant on the earlier alien theme and Gibson has some fun with what his version implies. Aliens is such a great storyline and Gibson is such a great writer, this does not fail to entertain.
For fans.
June 12, 2019
Alien III by William Gibson and narrated by a full cast, including the original "Hicks" and "Bishop". Love the cover art too! The first few minutes gets the listener oriented to where in the story plot things are happening. Then the new material is presented. It is fast paced, exciting, and wonderful just what I have come to expect and love from all the Alien movies!
The full cast with the music was just like watching a movie ( with my eyes closed, lol)!
The full cast with the music was just like watching a movie ( with my eyes closed, lol)!
August 27, 2019
Audio Dramatization of the Movie that never was
Review of the Audible Audio edition (2019) dramatized and directed by Dirk Maggs
The original Alien III screenplay (1987) by cyberpunk author William Gibson never reached production. Early director Renny Harlin had rejected it and by the time the final Alien³ (1992) reached production with director David Fincher, the 1987 script (with its Soviet-Union-inspired United Progressive Peoples component of characters) was somewhat out-dated given the 1991 breakup of the Soviet Union. David Fincher had his own ideas on top of an interim Vincent Ward screenplay. The final product ended up being a mixed bag with the studio taking the production away from Fincher to the point that he has disavowed it along with the later re-edits that were made.
For the 40th Anniversary of the original Alien (1979) movie, Audible Studios commissioned an audio dramatization of the Gibson screenplay. Dramatist and director Dirk Maggs has made a fantastic audio enactment of the screenplay and has enhanced it considerably with added scenes and characters. Producing a screenplay without the visuals requires an increased amount of narration and description that was not present on the page*. The main addition is a full 12-minutes of introductory backstory that basically recreates the entire conclusion of the Aliens (1986) film. That may sound unnecessary, until you find out [mild spoiler] that fan favourite Ripley spends most of the Alien III screenplay in a non-speaking comatose state. So that action set-piece was the only way to give Ripley a stronger cameo. Actress Laura Lefkow does a spot-on impersonation of Sigourney Weaver in this role.
No spoilers about the rest of the plot. I will say however, especially in this age of disrespecting fan favourite characters (e.g. Disney Star Wars, Season 8 Game of Thrones etc.), that the Aliens characters get a proper continuing story here (although the reduced Ripley role was surprising, did Gibson think Sigourney Weaver wasn't returning?). Original Aliens actors Michael Biehn and Lance Henrickson return as Hicks and Bishop, with the child character Newt voiced by Mairead Doherty. I did find the increased cast (22/23 voice parts) a bit hard to follow, so I ended up assembling the following Cast of Characters (in order of appearance as best as I could work out) Listing:
The audio production, foley effects, ambiance and soundtrack music for this was excellent. It would certainly rate a [5] along with the cast performances. My only reason for a [4] rating is that I had to assemble the Cast of Characters myself.
Alien III was available as a free Audible Original for members as of May 30, 2019. It is expected to be one of the free Audible Originals for members in June 2019 (available June 6, 2019) after which it revert to a standard price.
Trivia and Links
*The original William Gibson screenplay is available online here.
You can read the rather long production story of Alien III (1987) to Alien3 (1992) on Wikipedia here
There is also a graphic novel edition of the William Gibson Alien III screenplay currently (early June 2019) available in 5 floppy comic books from William Gibson's Alien 3 #1 to William Gibson's Alien 3 #5. These will be collected in a single volume as William Gibson's Alien 3 to be published August 6, 2019.
Review of the Audible Audio edition (2019) dramatized and directed by Dirk Maggs
The original Alien III screenplay (1987) by cyberpunk author William Gibson never reached production. Early director Renny Harlin had rejected it and by the time the final Alien³ (1992) reached production with director David Fincher, the 1987 script (with its Soviet-Union-inspired United Progressive Peoples component of characters) was somewhat out-dated given the 1991 breakup of the Soviet Union. David Fincher had his own ideas on top of an interim Vincent Ward screenplay. The final product ended up being a mixed bag with the studio taking the production away from Fincher to the point that he has disavowed it along with the later re-edits that were made.
For the 40th Anniversary of the original Alien (1979) movie, Audible Studios commissioned an audio dramatization of the Gibson screenplay. Dramatist and director Dirk Maggs has made a fantastic audio enactment of the screenplay and has enhanced it considerably with added scenes and characters. Producing a screenplay without the visuals requires an increased amount of narration and description that was not present on the page*. The main addition is a full 12-minutes of introductory backstory that basically recreates the entire conclusion of the Aliens (1986) film. That may sound unnecessary, until you find out [mild spoiler] that fan favourite Ripley spends most of the Alien III screenplay in a non-speaking comatose state. So that action set-piece was the only way to give Ripley a stronger cameo. Actress Laura Lefkow does a spot-on impersonation of Sigourney Weaver in this role.
No spoilers about the rest of the plot. I will say however, especially in this age of disrespecting fan favourite characters (e.g. Disney Star Wars, Season 8 Game of Thrones etc.), that the Aliens characters get a proper continuing story here (although the reduced Ripley role was surprising, did Gibson think Sigourney Weaver wasn't returning?). Original Aliens actors Michael Biehn and Lance Henrickson return as Hicks and Bishop, with the child character Newt voiced by Mairead Doherty. I did find the increased cast (22/23 voice parts) a bit hard to follow, so I ended up assembling the following Cast of Characters (in order of appearance as best as I could work out) Listing:
Returning Characters from Aliens
Bishop, an android, survivor from LV-426 (Lance Henriksen)
Ripley, 3rd Officer & survivor of Nostromo & survivor of LV-426 (Laurel Lefkow)
Carter Burke, a Weyland-Yutani executive (in brief flashback scene) (Tom Alexander)
Corporal Dwayne Hicks, a Colonial Marine, survivor from LV-426 (Michael Biehn)
Newt (nickname of Rebecca Jordan), child survivor from LV-426 (Mairead Doherty)
Mother, voice of Computer (Lorelei King)
United Progressive Peoples (UPP) Commandos who board Sulaco when it drifts into the UPP Sector
Kurtz, UPP Commando Captain (David Seddon)
Desolas, UPP Commando (called Juanito by the Captain) (Cliff Chapman)
Chang, UPP Commando (Rebecca Yeo)
Crew at Anchorpoint Station, a Weyland-Yutani facility
Jackson, Operations Chief at Anchorpoint (Siri Steinmo)
Tully, Charles A., biolab tech, a crew member on Anchorpoint (Dar Dash)
Spence, crew member on Anchorpoint (Samantha Coughlan)
Rosetti, senior scientist, crew member on Anchorpoint (Martin McDougall)
Weyland-Yutani Weapons Division visitors to Anchorpoint Station from Gateway Station
Kevin Fox, a Weyland-Yutani Corp Weapons Division officer (Keith Wickham)
Susan Wells, a Weyland-Yutani Corp Weapons Division officer (Barbara Barnes)
Further Crew at Anchorpoint Station
Walker, Chief Mechanic, crew member on Anchorpoint (Harry Ditson)
Sterling, biolab team, crew member on Anchorpoint (Andrew James Spooner)
Tatsumi, biolab team, crew member on Anchorpoint (Dai Tabuchi)
UPP Crew at a Cybernetics Laboratory in Rodina Station, a UPP facility
Colonel Doctor Suslov, principal science officer at Rodina Station (Michael Roberts)
Voice Communication from Gateway
Stoddard (voiced by ?)
Further UPP Crew at Rodina Station
Jorje Rivera, Diplomatic Officer at Rodina Station (Ben Cura)
Nevsky, a Science Officer at Rodina Station (Graham Hoadly)
Further Crew at Anchorpoint Station
Halliday, ecotech at the ecomodule in Anchorpoint (Sarah Pitard)
The audio production, foley effects, ambiance and soundtrack music for this was excellent. It would certainly rate a [5] along with the cast performances. My only reason for a [4] rating is that I had to assemble the Cast of Characters myself.
Alien III was available as a free Audible Original for members as of May 30, 2019. It is expected to be one of the free Audible Originals for members in June 2019 (available June 6, 2019) after which it revert to a standard price.
Trivia and Links
*The original William Gibson screenplay is available online here.
You can read the rather long production story of Alien III (1987) to Alien3 (1992) on Wikipedia here
There is also a graphic novel edition of the William Gibson Alien III screenplay currently (early June 2019) available in 5 floppy comic books from William Gibson's Alien 3 #1 to William Gibson's Alien 3 #5. These will be collected in a single volume as William Gibson's Alien 3 to be published August 6, 2019.
July 1, 2019
Excellent presentation, and I enjoyed listening, but I’d hoped for a little better story.
November 21, 2019
This was nowhere as good as the audio dramatisation for Alien: Out of the Shadows. Check that out instead and give this a miss.
August 16, 2019
This would have made a decent, if somewhat uninspired, installment in the Alien/s film series. Gibson introduces a new strain of the well known alien, but it's a minor development and there's no real trace of Gibson's genius here. He also incorporates a theme of East/West cooperation and a hope for the thawing of cold war era tensions, reflecting the changing mood of East/West relations of the late 1980's. For him I assume it was really a business, rather than creative endeavor. Audio production is quite good and features some of the original cast members. Worthwhile for fans of the film series.
July 19, 2019
5 awesome sound affects and talented narration stars audio!!! Wow wow wow!! loved it!
2 stars story. a lot was going on and I couldn't keep up with who was who and so forth.
2 stars story. a lot was going on and I couldn't keep up with who was who and so forth.
June 1, 2019
I was disappointed with this. Not with the audio dramatisation, which I would definitely give 4-5 stars (and great to hear Hicks and Bishop again), but with the plot. It seems the studio thought likewise, as chronicled in a fascinating account of how the script was commissioned yet never made, although they did nick some of the best ideas from this (parasite DNA, hybrids). I saw Alien3 such a long time ago I should watch it again to judge, but I'm not sure it was much worse. One thing that peeved me was the absence of Ripley: that, according to the account above, is no fault of Gibson's but a studio decision (either motivated by Sigourney Weaver's reluctance or by contractual issues). It would be interesting to see what Gibson would have done with Ripley in the frame. In order to write this, Gibson 'triangulated' from the scripts for Alien and Aliens to sketch a third point in the Alien cosmos, which seems like a good idea, but the result was a bit of a mess - too many factions, too many characters, too little time (or reason) to care. It was also another generic plod around a confined space (station, in this case) with the corporate bad guys from the weapons division blindly pushing humanity towards extinction in their search for a profit (much like the real world...). That makes me wonder what I would be happy with for Alien III, and I can't say - the essence of Alien is the hunt, in space, where no-one can hear you scream, obviously. So for me personally, maybe they should have called it a day after Aliens, and left us to ponder the fates of Ripley, Hicks, Bishop, and Newt.
July 15, 2021
This is the second Audible Exclusive aliens story that I have listened too. As with the other one, this is a full cast dramatization with Lance Henriksen and Michael Biehn reprising their roles as Bishop and Hicks.
The production value is very high, but the story has nothing much new in it. Like most Aliens stories, you know where this one is going right from the start. That's not to say it's not a fun ride.
Short, but really only good for fans.
The production value is very high, but the story has nothing much new in it. Like most Aliens stories, you know where this one is going right from the start. That's not to say it's not a fun ride.
Short, but really only good for fans.
June 14, 2019
This was free on Audible. I gave it a try because I was intrigued by the idea of an entirely different script where Newt and Hicks survive (yay!) This picks up right off when Ripley kills the queen and the survivors go into hypersleep hoping to return to Earth.
Aliens 3, the movie, had Ripley crash landing into a penal colony, but in Gibson's version, the ship's navigation has malfunctioned and enters an area in space controlled by some socialist group/nation (?). When these people board the ship they discover that Bishop has had an alien gestating in his cyber goo (he was torn apart at the end of Aliens). The alien has mutated and has become some kind of hybrid-creature. In the fight, Ripley's cryotube is damaged and she pretty much stays in a coma for the entire story. How disappointing.
There're new characters who battle alongside Hicks and Bishop. The idea that all humans are united under a common enemy - the aliens. I love that Michael Biehn and Lance Henriksen voiced their original characters. It was a well-done audio drama. However, I would've liked to have Ripley been apart of the action.
As for the little girl, Newt?
Aliens 3, the movie, had Ripley crash landing into a penal colony, but in Gibson's version, the ship's navigation has malfunctioned and enters an area in space controlled by some socialist group/nation (?). When these people board the ship they discover that Bishop has had an alien gestating in his cyber goo (he was torn apart at the end of Aliens). The alien has mutated and has become some kind of hybrid-creature. In the fight, Ripley's cryotube is damaged and she pretty much stays in a coma for the entire story. How disappointing.
There're new characters who battle alongside Hicks and Bishop. The idea that all humans are united under a common enemy - the aliens. I love that Michael Biehn and Lance Henriksen voiced their original characters. It was a well-done audio drama. However, I would've liked to have Ripley been apart of the action.
As for the little girl, Newt?
July 23, 2019
When I saw the taglines "the script that never made it to screen!" and "William Gibson's uncovered Alien III script!" I jumped at this.
Turns out, the Hollywood-meddled, rushed-to-cinemas David Fincher Alien 3 that we got (which I actually quite like) was the lesser of two evils if we didn't get this tripe instead.
Utterly underwhelming, despite the production value and managing to drag Michael Biehn and Lance Henrikson out of whatever hole they live in when they're not milking their role in the Alien films as much as they can. I refunded this because I couldn't believe that Audible were charging the same amount in money or credits for this as for something decent.
A hard no from me.
Turns out, the Hollywood-meddled, rushed-to-cinemas David Fincher Alien 3 that we got (which I actually quite like) was the lesser of two evils if we didn't get this tripe instead.
Utterly underwhelming, despite the production value and managing to drag Michael Biehn and Lance Henrikson out of whatever hole they live in when they're not milking their role in the Alien films as much as they can. I refunded this because I couldn't believe that Audible were charging the same amount in money or credits for this as for something decent.
A hard no from me.
August 14, 2019
As an audiobook, this is an absolute treat.
Not only is the full-casting superb, but it really nails the 'thriller'/'horror' ambiance.
It really does feel like you're watching a movie once you close your eyes.
But, alas - I made the mistake of having not watched any of the previous Alien films (blasphemy, I know!) and even though there was a brief recap, I felt the story was a bit.... all over the place.
Still, this is a short and very engaging piece of work.
Definitely recommend it!
Not only is the full-casting superb, but it really nails the 'thriller'/'horror' ambiance.
It really does feel like you're watching a movie once you close your eyes.
But, alas - I made the mistake of having not watched any of the previous Alien films (blasphemy, I know!) and even though there was a brief recap, I felt the story was a bit.... all over the place.
Still, this is a short and very engaging piece of work.
Definitely recommend it!
Read
June 18, 2019Audible have done some really fun dramatisations of Alien stories. This.... is not one of them.
June 20, 2019
This was fun! I got this as a freebie, but I was already considering buying it because I greatly enjoy the Alien franchise.
I really like the audio dramas that Audible puts together, I think they do a great job with sound and it almost feels like watching a movie! Like a lost script for Alien III or something. Would have been a cool film too :)
I really like the audio dramas that Audible puts together, I think they do a great job with sound and it almost feels like watching a movie! Like a lost script for Alien III or something. Would have been a cool film too :)
July 9, 2019
The concept is very cool. An audio drama; the thought makes me think of HG Wells and War of the Worlds. Instead of narration, the story is told with a full cast dialogue, sound effects, and music. The overall effect was a fun listening experience. I can only hope my future audible originals are as good.
I would give the performance five stars, the story itself just three stars.
I would give the performance five stars, the story itself just three stars.
August 21, 2019
This Audible Original was a good alternate version of the 3rd installment of Aliens as performed by a full cast including original Hicks and Bishop.
Rather than being an audiobook, this felt more like sitting in front of the TV with a movie on while you had your eyes closed. It was typical Aliens, which I love. And... we get Hicks in this version, which I really loved!
Rather than being an audiobook, this felt more like sitting in front of the TV with a movie on while you had your eyes closed. It was typical Aliens, which I love. And... we get Hicks in this version, which I really loved!
April 28, 2021
Mira que me gustan los aliens y tengo tragaderas, ¿eh? Pero no acaban de hacer nada realmente bueno. Aquí hay un intento de giro (que mola bastante) pero la parte final es lo de siempre. En fin. Veremos si la adaptación a cómic mejora esta historia.
October 31, 2025
it is still so funny to me that they dumped this script and made the movie we got
it would be like turning down a date at a fancy restaurant known for good food and good vibes, then choosing to go to your toxic ex's house to eat 3 day old KFC
it would be like turning down a date at a fancy restaurant known for good food and good vibes, then choosing to go to your toxic ex's house to eat 3 day old KFC
May 8, 2023
To be honest, I think this original screenplay was superior to the final version, which might explain why many people didn't like the third film when it released in 1993. I also like how it was made to sound like a podcast drama with all the audio and acting. This original draft from 1987/1988 features Hicks and Bishop fighting biomechanical xenomorphs on a space station, but for stupid reasons, this draft was rejected without any further involvement. They could have done this one easily rather than make Alien3 the film as we have known it.
June 23, 2019
A script written in 1987 intended to form the basis of the next Alien sequel. It didn't get used - so it has been repurposed as an audiobook/play. So instead of Charles Dance and Charles Dutton on a prison ship that somehow Ripley crashed (or was kidnapped, details elude me - it was 1992...), we have an alternative version. I liked the one used for the movie; if they had done this version, it would have been more like the first two movies, but I'm perfectly happy to have two possible sequels.
This is one of those Audible freebies - only a little over 2 hours, and nicely done - they brought in Lance Henriksen as the AI Bishop and Michal Biehn as Corporal Hicks as voice actors. Good value for the price ;-).....
This is one of those Audible freebies - only a little over 2 hours, and nicely done - they brought in Lance Henriksen as the AI Bishop and Michal Biehn as Corporal Hicks as voice actors. Good value for the price ;-).....
December 14, 2022
Big fan of the film series. Well, the first two at least. Gibson's unused yarn makes for an interesting read/listen, one that I mostly enjoyed. What's mind blowing is how they got from this point to the final product which landed on screens (D.O.A. I might add) in 1992.
Some narrative choices (one in particular involving Ripley) are pretty baffling but given the brevity of this tale, I was mostly okay with the choice. This was in large part, due to the voice talents of Michael Biehn (Hicks) and Lance Henriksen (Bishop). Great having these guys on board again even if Beihn sounds as if the years since 1986 have been very rough.
Cool "what might have been" piece of fiction. Glad I caught it but it is not as though this was seminal work.
Some narrative choices (one in particular involving Ripley) are pretty baffling but given the brevity of this tale, I was mostly okay with the choice. This was in large part, due to the voice talents of Michael Biehn (Hicks) and Lance Henriksen (Bishop). Great having these guys on board again even if Beihn sounds as if the years since 1986 have been very rough.
Cool "what might have been" piece of fiction. Glad I caught it but it is not as though this was seminal work.
June 5, 2019
A fantastic production. I was unfamiliar with Gibson's script but you can see elements used in the film version of Alien 3 and, to an extend, elements touched upon in Alien 4. Gibson's vision and this dramatization lays in some solid world-building dressing a science-fiction-horror with elements of political thriller and a further deepening of the "evil corporation" aspects glimpsed in Aliens.
I can also see why this would not have necessarily made a great movie; it is very much a novel written as a script. That being said in today's climate this would have made a fantastic tv-event type series.
I can also see why this would not have necessarily made a great movie; it is very much a novel written as a script. That being said in today's climate this would have made a fantastic tv-event type series.
February 5, 2023
While I enjoyed Treasure Island Radio Production quite a bit, this one wasn't nearly as exciting. I'm a huge Alien series fan, but this one didn't even feel like one. The story script wasn't that interesting and it was oddly simple. When the aliens (sort-of) are finally there, it doesn't feel as intense in audio form, with scenes being scattered and brief. Voices are okay - I love the actors Lance Henriksen and Michael Bein, but with the effect of the characters, it's not as convincing. Some of the women's voices were especially artificial for some reason. Ripley and Newt take a backseat and aren't present much.
August 9, 2019
Great soundscape. It was like listening to a movie. As a person who is blind/ low vision, I enjoyed this form of media more than an actual film. I hope audible continues to make more “radio dramas,” like this one.
November 1, 2019
Really more of a 3.5 but rounding eh.
Turns out the one character wasn't a robot, just a really bad actress. Oh well.
Decent story, I'm going to be finding the comic book so I can see what these things look like since they don't even try here.
Turns out the one character wasn't a robot, just a really bad actress. Oh well.
Decent story, I'm going to be finding the comic book so I can see what these things look like since they don't even try here.
June 26, 2019
This version of Alien III should have been the one filmed
July 15, 2019
Why could this not have been the movie we got to see ??? What a journey👍🏻
July 17, 2019
Nothing special, but it also wasn’t a bad listen.
October 11, 2024
2.0-3.0
“Alien” and “Aliens” are two great films (the later is a particular favorite of mine) and the franchise has good entries set chronologically between them (Isolation and Romulus) and even before the first movie. It’s just that every project set after “Aliens” is where the quality of the series really declines. Admittedly I’m mostly ambivalent towards David Fincher’s “Alien 3”, it has its moments but its opening scenes infuriate me and immediately puts a bad taste in my mouth for the rest of the movie. I don’t know too much about the history of the movie’s hectic production but I know that it went through a few drafts and proposed storylines before settling on the one the studios settled on. Audible’s “Alien III by William Gibson” is an attempt to stage one of these alternative stories based on Gibson’s first draft with Lance Henriksen back voicing Bishop and Michael Biehn back as Hicks. There’s interesting ideas that Audible brings to bear but the project overall is pretty average.
Let’s first address my biggest problem with the audio drama. Ellen Ripley, the star of the franchise and one of the best female characters in cinema, spends the bulk of the story in a coma before being shot off into space (presumably to Fury 161 to act out an amended version of Fincher’s movie). WTF!!?!!? It’s like they took my biggest issue with the final Alien 3 product and just flipped the characters around. I supposed I should be grateful they didn’t rush Ripley from the story immediately but still it's infuriating. Besides this I was rather underwhelmed by the Xenomorphs and the lack of action with them (i.e. an entire outbreak on one of the stations the play takes place in largely takes place off page). I get that as an audio drama they were limited by what they could but listening to Big Finish Doctor Who for years demonstrated to me that audio is no real limitation to depicting action sequences with gruesome monsters. The role of the Xenomorphs story-wise is also this weird hodgepodge of different concepts from other Alien projects like the airborne pathogen mutating humans into Xenomorph variants being akin to what “Prometheus” and “Alien Covenant” did. It’s not bad or anything as it keeps up the franchise’s body horror angle and I do like the twist that “natural birth” Xenos are disgusted by these mutated variants and promptly slaughter them. But it changes the species’ life cycle a lot and makes this feel more like an entry in “The Thing” series.
Now the audio play does have its moments. As Aliens is partly an allegory for The Vietnam War, I liked how the Cold War parallels continued with Weyland-Yutani and the Union of Progressive Peoples’ arms race to control the xenomorphs being the 22nd Century version of nuclear build-up. I don’t know if this conflict was explored elsewhere in Alien lore but it was cool to listen to. Likewise while aggravated with what this did with Ripley, I appreciate that this script did more for Hicks, Newt and even Bishop. Henriksen’s voice is showing his age (at times he sounded more like his Admiral Hackett from Mass Effect) but I still felt his/Bishop’s presence from voice alone. Biehn meanwhile sounds about the same as 1986 Hicks and while I contend he shouldn’t have replaced Ripley as the protagonist, I still enjoyed hearing the experienced Hicks taking charge of the human survivors. He and Newt have sweet scenes together, I just wanted Ripley to be there to round out the surrogate family.
I can’t fault Audible for trying to revive one of the early Alien 3 movie drafts as its own story. The production values for “Alien III by William Gibson” are there and I appreciated Henriksen and Biehn coming back and Hicks at least getting treated better. But there’s still plenty of issues with the audio drama and story as a whole. As this is just audio and not an actual movie, it’s hard to really say whether this would have been better than the Alien 3 we got, on par with the film's divisive moments + decent enough moments, or worse.
“Alien” and “Aliens” are two great films (the later is a particular favorite of mine) and the franchise has good entries set chronologically between them (Isolation and Romulus) and even before the first movie. It’s just that every project set after “Aliens” is where the quality of the series really declines. Admittedly I’m mostly ambivalent towards David Fincher’s “Alien 3”, it has its moments but its opening scenes infuriate me and immediately puts a bad taste in my mouth for the rest of the movie. I don’t know too much about the history of the movie’s hectic production but I know that it went through a few drafts and proposed storylines before settling on the one the studios settled on. Audible’s “Alien III by William Gibson” is an attempt to stage one of these alternative stories based on Gibson’s first draft with Lance Henriksen back voicing Bishop and Michael Biehn back as Hicks. There’s interesting ideas that Audible brings to bear but the project overall is pretty average.
Let’s first address my biggest problem with the audio drama. Ellen Ripley, the star of the franchise and one of the best female characters in cinema, spends the bulk of the story in a coma before being shot off into space (presumably to Fury 161 to act out an amended version of Fincher’s movie). WTF!!?!!? It’s like they took my biggest issue with the final Alien 3 product and just flipped the characters around. I supposed I should be grateful they didn’t rush Ripley from the story immediately but still it's infuriating. Besides this I was rather underwhelmed by the Xenomorphs and the lack of action with them (i.e. an entire outbreak on one of the stations the play takes place in largely takes place off page). I get that as an audio drama they were limited by what they could but listening to Big Finish Doctor Who for years demonstrated to me that audio is no real limitation to depicting action sequences with gruesome monsters. The role of the Xenomorphs story-wise is also this weird hodgepodge of different concepts from other Alien projects like the airborne pathogen mutating humans into Xenomorph variants being akin to what “Prometheus” and “Alien Covenant” did. It’s not bad or anything as it keeps up the franchise’s body horror angle and I do like the twist that “natural birth” Xenos are disgusted by these mutated variants and promptly slaughter them. But it changes the species’ life cycle a lot and makes this feel more like an entry in “The Thing” series.
Now the audio play does have its moments. As Aliens is partly an allegory for The Vietnam War, I liked how the Cold War parallels continued with Weyland-Yutani and the Union of Progressive Peoples’ arms race to control the xenomorphs being the 22nd Century version of nuclear build-up. I don’t know if this conflict was explored elsewhere in Alien lore but it was cool to listen to. Likewise while aggravated with what this did with Ripley, I appreciate that this script did more for Hicks, Newt and even Bishop. Henriksen’s voice is showing his age (at times he sounded more like his Admiral Hackett from Mass Effect) but I still felt his/Bishop’s presence from voice alone. Biehn meanwhile sounds about the same as 1986 Hicks and while I contend he shouldn’t have replaced Ripley as the protagonist, I still enjoyed hearing the experienced Hicks taking charge of the human survivors. He and Newt have sweet scenes together, I just wanted Ripley to be there to round out the surrogate family.
I can’t fault Audible for trying to revive one of the early Alien 3 movie drafts as its own story. The production values for “Alien III by William Gibson” are there and I appreciated Henriksen and Biehn coming back and Hicks at least getting treated better. But there’s still plenty of issues with the audio drama and story as a whole. As this is just audio and not an actual movie, it’s hard to really say whether this would have been better than the Alien 3 we got, on par with the film's divisive moments + decent enough moments, or worse.
April 30, 2021
It was alright. Gibson’s sequel is more respectful to the characters and themes of the first two Alien movies, but less inventive than the actual Alien 3. It probably would have been a better, but less interesting movie. As for plot, I really enjoyed the slow pace of the first half, watching the bureaucracy gears churning. I think that section does a good job illustrating how corporate systems cause people to make poor choices — their jobs depend on a structure that values profit above humans. At the same time, it’s funny that a universe so critical of capitalism doesn’t do more with its Soviet Union analogues. The second half was less engaging. The main problem is that most of the character development is given to people who aren’t in the conclusion. Those who are left don’t have a strong emotional story to pull everything together in the same way Newt and Ripley did in Aliens. All that’s left, then, are a few get-to-the-place-and-do-the-thing scenes with the aliens dropping in to menace and pick off cast members here and there. One key idea that doesn’t get developed or go anywhere particularly interesting is the concept of alien/human hybrids. It’s a fun monster idea, but it doesn’t mean anything deeper or justify the new ground it treads. On the whole, I’d say this is worth a listen if you are a fan of the movies or just want to kill two hours with a high-quality audio drama. The production value is fantastic, and the cast does a great job, so I’d recommend it on the audio engineering front too.
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