A Different Approach

I know there are other "connection" posts and if there is one similar to the one I write I apologize in advance. I just hadn't seen one yet on this particular topic. So, everyone talks about how they don't understand the plot devices or changes to the ALIEN mythos that Scott and Co made in some areas regarding the Xenomorph, the urns, the Huggoth,* the Engineer's etc. Some of these issues come from die-hard ALIEN fans mostly as we all have become immersed in all things ALIEN over the years. The original Scott's ALIEN had been added to and altered due to subsequent releases and Expanded Universe concepts. We all know this, it happens with every franchise over the years. So what about ALIEN? Why are the changes and alterations in PROMETHEUS causing us to scratch our heads in confusion, or get upset and defensive about what we claim is an injustice? We've been ever faithful to this bizarrely beloved Xenomorph for over 30 years and with this new movie casting light on an unknown part of the myth surrounding this creature many of us find ourselves calling "foul!" Have we become so defensive over this franchise that it no longer belongs to its creators, but now belongs to the fans (ala` Star Wars)? Do we nitpick every inconsistency with technology and biology of a fictional universe to the point that we debate the ability to create fire in a 3% CO2 atmostphere (shades of Trekkie debates)? Or better yet, do we even have a leg to stand on with our frustrations at all? On one hand yes. We have every right to question the choices that Scott and Co made to our beloved monster in the shadows. We've been the ones that've supported this franchise with our money and we feel as an audience that our expectations should be recognized. We deserve quality script-writing and a plausible story. We deserve the answers to our questions about the Engineers, Space Jockey's, Mala'Kak (comic name, even though the EU is not official cannon) or whatever we call them. We deserve the "original" design of the Xeno to be kept intact and its lifecycle preserved. All of this I can completely agree with and support, which I have. However, there's one small fact that I hadn't realized until I rewatched the franchise over the weekend, and watched PROMETHEUS several times. That fact is this, PROMETHEUS is a realization of ALIEN's original design concepts and storyline from the early drafts of the script in 1972. This is covered in the SE edition of ALIEN, Lazerdisc edition, and even to some extent, the novelization by Alan Foster in 1979. The link is here [url=http://www.dailyscript.com/scripts/alien_early.html] so you can follow along with these connections. Number One: Engineer Skull. While not a source of contention with fans, it's the first thing the original script encounters in both movies and is a good place to start the connections. The explorers find the Space Jockey (described differently than how we see him in ALIEN and PROMETHEUS) dead. The crew removes the skull and brings it back for study. This happens in PROMETHEUS as well. The discovery of the Space Jockey leads the crew to a pyramid and the discovery of the Urns...no, not eggs, urns. This leads to number 2. Number Two: Urns vs. Eggs. In the original draft the containers that began this nightmare are in fact fact cylindrical urns that rotates to open. They're also transparent and leathery in texture. They contained a spore-like biological agent as well as what would be called the "facehugger," (that discussion is for later though). These are found laid out in a temple like chamber inside a pyramid. Sound familiar? Moreover, PROMETHEUS uses this plot device (spore) but recreates it as the "black oil"(joke intended). Both genetically altar the host involved and is an explicit part of the lifecycle of the eventual Xeno. This is covered later though. Leading to number three... Number Three: The Chamber and Temple. In PROMETHEUS, the chamber and temple we find our explorers in is also explicitly described as well. The crew from the original script enter the temple from its topside and descend in to a chamber. Along the way the explorer makes notice of the fact that the air is breathable, unlike the world above. The chamber contains detailed writings and images inscribed on the walls of the worship of a creature. The idea carries dialogue about the "religious" aspect of the area. The Urns are discovered laid out in a ornamental pattern further alluding to the religious aspect of the set, in fact, it's also called a tomb by the explorer. Also, the urns react to his touch and begin to "open" with the pressure from his hands. Up to this point, PROMETHEUS nearly follows the descriptions in the screenplay almost verbatim. Baring minor differences in events. This is where the "hugger" attacks. Leading to Number Four. Number Four: Facehugger vs. Huggoth vs. Xenomorph. In ALIEN the facehugger we see attach itself to Kain is insectile in nature, with digits cruelly resembling human fingers. Blah blah, we know what it looks like. However, in PROMETHEUS we see the opposite. We don't see anything launch itself from the urns, instead we have black goo that causes a genetic mutation in whatever host it finds for itself. Once again referencing the original 72 ALIEN script, the goo resembled a spore and also began a mutation within its host that causes the infected to become a carrier for the Xenomorph (Starbeast in the script) dna which initiated its lifecycle. It would cocoon its prey which would in turn begin to reconstruct its biological nature to become the urg/egg and the "hugger" creatures and therefore continuing the survival of the species. This is evident 100% in the DC of ALIEN where we see Dallas and Brett cocooned and undergoing a transformation into the iconic eggs (the "petals" had begun to form around Dallas while Brett was much further along). Remember, the idea of the Queen hadn't been introduced and wasn't considered until ALIENS in 1986. However, she is no question bada$$. Now, the Huggoth (cause the thing looks like a cross between H.P. Lovecraft's Yuggoth/Shuggoth and the ALIEN facehugger). The thing does not resemble anything we would recognize. It has tentacles, is extremely large and is far more organic than biotech. Now I've read in places on the site that writers didn't intend it to be a facehugger, that it didn't need to be a facehugger or what have you. HOWEVER, sounding like a broken record here lol, back in 72, the creature had tentacles. The facehugger itself is described as a "squid-like octopus creature with tentacles," hmm, matches the description of what we saw in PROMETHEUS. Also, the Xenomorph itself was supposed to have tentacles and be vastly more non-humanoid than the final Giger version. So when we see the Huggoth at the end of PROMETHEUS it more closely resembles the original concept than what has come after in subsequent movies. So in essence PROMETHEUS has returned the creature back to it's original intention. Also, the final Xenomorph itself still falls in line with Giger's creation but with different physical characteristics and attributes (the second mouth has been redone and seems more shark-like). It's not a total redesign and it contains characteristics from the Engineers, and is born from a larger shell than a human. The more I think about it, I'm starting to wonder myself as to the nature of the changes in gestation and it does feel a little tacked on now rather than a fully realized concept. So I'll shrug my shoulders and toss that one aside with everyone else. From this point on, the original ALIEN film and it's '72 screenplay are pretty much concurrent so there's no real need to delve any further. There are far more connections to the original intention of ALIEN, the 79 move and what we see in PROMETHEUS, but this is getting long as it is. PROMETHEUS does have faults, quite a few, but the connections it makes to the what ALIEN was originally intended to be in my opinion forms the basis of the movie. While we get to learn more about the Space Jockey itself, and their culture surrounding the Xenomorph, we're still not given clear answers. However, looking through the eyes of the original script gives me a different appreciation for the direction the movie took and that Scott decided to not only revisit the franchise, but it seems to me that it's heading in the direction it might have gone naturally if Cameron had expanded the older concepts, or if the technology had been better to produce the creature's look, feel, lifecycle and its implementation (impregnation) the way it was originally intended. Scott said he wanted to return and take the franchise in the way he felt it should have gone. He has, and considering what was written before that got the ALIEN franchise greenlit in the first place. It makes a lot more sense now. And was rather gutsy of Scott to pull it 180 degrees back the way it came and return it to it's roots, so to speak. The storyline and mythology...THAT's a different beast all together.