Alien III

Need a sequel!

So I just finished listening to Alien 3: An Original Audiobook Drama.

I've been driving back and forth from home to work due to a broken leg, a 116-kilometre round trip journey, so the few hours this story took was quite welcoming. I ended up listening to it even when I got home, mainly because the thing was so damn good.

I utterly hated Alien 3, the film when it came out. Aliens is my favourite film of all time. I won't go into detail why but in recent years it's edged out Star Wars as No.1. I loved Michael Biehn in Terminator, but Aliens made me a card-carrying Biehn fan till this day. So you can imagine my disappointment when the heroic conclusion of Aliens descends into a nihilistic scenario that kills off Newt and Hicks within the first fifteen minutes and Ripley at the end. It seemed like such a cruel end to the characters who fought so hard to stay alive in Aliens. In any case, the Alien franchise for me begins and ends with Alien and Aliens.

Don't get me started on Prometheus and the shit that followed.

As an any Alien and Biehn fan knows, he was due to star in Alien 3. Hicks was meant to be the lead character, as a way to deal with the predicament if Sigourney Weaver chose not to return. At the time, Weaver was embarking on an Oscar-worthy series of films, so it was reasonable to assume she might not wish to play Ripley again. William Gibson, father of Cyberpunk with his novels Neuromancer, Johnny Mnemonic, was commissioned to write the script for the third film. In it, Hicks would figure heavily in the story, along with Bishop, played by the excellent Lance Henriksen.

As it turned out, Sigourney Weaver did choose to return. Discarding Gibson's draft, a new script was written. Alien 3 by Fincher was made resulting in Hicks and Newt dying. The film has divided fans ever since. While technically good, it's simply unpalatable to fans like me, who see the Alien franchise as more than just Ripley. The removal of Hicks from the franchise has been a sore point for Biehn ever since, reflected in comments he has made from time to time.

The unused Gibson script has been floating around the pop culture landscape ever since. Those who read it claim it would have been far more in the spirit than the film we eventually got. It would have also given us something we rarely got with any of the movies, a bit of world-building and new a new direction for the franchise. Ironically, Prometheus would attempt to explore some of the elements featured in the Gibson draft, to a clumsier effect.

Fast forward to 2019, Audibles decided to produce the script into an audiobook, and to the delight of fans everywhere, both Michael Biehn and Lance Henriksen reprise their roles as Hicks and Bishop. Clocking in at a little under three hours, this is a pretty impressive effort. With good voice actors other than the favourites, the music and sound effects allow for a fully immersive experience for this type of medium. Once again, I listened to this thing almost continuously.

Without going into spoilers, the story follows the path of the Sulaco following the events on Acheron, or LV-426 and its subsequent arrival in two distinct territories, first the one occupied by the Union of the Progressive Peoples, and the civilian-run space station Anchor Point. It does give us an idea of how the world beyond Ripley and Hicks functions, to how fractured human society is due to the influence of the corporations, of which Weyland-Yutani is the worse. W

Furthermore, how the alien remains a viable threat was also quite innovative and certainly more believable than the alien queen laying several eggs in the dropship. While touched upon briefly in Alien and Aliens, the story explains in greater detail how the xenomorph is so adaptable. As a result, the threat it poses to humankind is a good deal more extreme than Ripley's statement of 'Cain seeing thousands of eggs'.

While I would have like to have seen more scenes with Hicks, I also appreciate the need to introduce other characters. We are introduced to a few new ones, some interesting like Spencer and Halliday, while others are the prerequisite 'red shirts'. Nevertheless, the voice acting is still top notched. Lance Henriksen's vocals for Bishop, (God love him), show signs of age but by the end, we hardly notice it anymore. Also, the actress voicing Ripley is amazing. If I did not know it was not Sigourney Weaver, I would have never suspected otherwise. The standout is Michael's performance who steps back into Hicks so easily; I was grinning from ear to ear, hearing him some familiar lines.

The ending does not feel like an end. It feels like a beginning. If we never get another Alien film, I hope Audible chooses to use this timeline as a launching pad for more stories with Hicks and Bishop. They'll certainly get my money.

Alien 3: An Audible Original is a gripping, satisfying story for all fans of Aliens and Corporal Hicks. It's frosty.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

What we almost got...

This is the full-cast dramatisation of the script William Gibson wrote for Alien III, starring the voice talent of Lance Henriksen and Michael Biehn.

I loved it.

It adds some crazy new ideas to the Alien mythos -- more factions, crazy xeno biology -- and follows the adventures of the survivors of the ill-fated Sulaco expedition. Mostly. The one detail I did not like (and possibly the reason the story did not get made, although I have not read up on the story behind these decisions) is that it sidelines Ripley. It also makes zero attempt to describe the monsters -- but I guess if you don't already know what a xenomorph is from the movies, you're unlikely to be picking this up anyway.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

The sequel that should have happened.

It is genuinely mind boggling to think this wasn’t seen as viable third act in the alien saga. Admittedly Ripley doesn’t feature but a slick and simple rewrite of one character could have amended that issue. It has everything from acknowledging the past journey of the characters right through to unleashing new and interesting incarnations of the alien. I am sure it was used as source material for both resurrection and Prometheus as certain aspects have been lifted. Such a shame, not that I hate the Alien 3 that made it to production, but rather that this opened the franchise to so much more interesting and real possibilities in future instalments. Great listen and highly recommend.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Superb drama!

It is such a pity this story was not made into a movie. Gibson is a gifted writer and it would have made for the best continuation of the franchise and story of Ripley. The acting by Tom Alexander, Barbara Barnes, Michael Biehn, Lance Henriksen, Lorelei King, Laurel Lefkow, Keith Wickham is wonderful and keeps you right there with them...

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Wow.......Just Wow

I specifically got into Audible for this Audio Drama, As an Alien fan. This was my first audiobook.
Michael Biehn and Lance Henriksen's performance were just incredible. The Sound really delivers when it counts especially in those moments of terror, of all of the alternate versions of Alien3, William Gibson's is by far my favorite, a must have for any Alien fan. Highly recommend

Dude.<br /><br />HICKS.<br /><br />

I haven't even finished it yet and i couldnt wait to review.

simply damn fantastic. you will not regret purchasing this! No more to say.

long time fan of the franchise

loved it. good to see some on the original cast back to participate in adding to the story.

It's ok

Dunno if we really needed this. But it's nice to hear a couple of the original cast members reprising their roles.

A great addition

Love the story and idea that it poses. Would love to see it made into a movie.
Lance and Michael are great.

Solo much better than I expected

And MUCH better than all the Alien movies after ALIENS. if you're an Alien ran, listen and know what could have been.