Verbal Diorama - Episode 114 - Aliens - Verbal Diorama

Episode 114

Aliens

Published on: 23rd September, 2021

In the pantheon of great sequels, nothing comes close to James Cameron's Aliens. It takes everything great about Ridley Scott's Alien and builds on it. It gives us more backstory for Ripley, more human characters for Ripley (and the audience) to form relationships with, and more importantly (especially as it's in the name), more aliens!

The Alien Queen is both antithetic and comparable to Ripley. They're both mothers, both fiercely protective of their young, but unlike the alien queen's selfish motherhood, Ripley is selfless, and will die to protect young orphan Newt (which is even more poignant in the Director's Cut after finding out about the death of Ripley's own daughter)

Unlike Alien's H.R. Giger designs, these xenomorphs are from the mind of James Cameron and the legendary Stan Winston studio, providing practical puppets that are still awe-inspiring and terrifying 35 years later.

Everything about this movie is perfect, except maybe the situation surrounding Vazquez. I just don't believe that muscular Latina actresses didn't exist in 1986....

Special thanks to friends and excellent human beings over at The Rewind Movie Podcast @rewindmoviecast, for allowing use of their specially made cover art for Aliens for this episode of Verbal Diorama.

Art is by Devlin https://devlindoesdrawing.com.

Listen to The Rewind Movie Podcast's Aliens episode, and their entire Alien Quadrilogy series.

I would love to hear your thoughts on Aliens! The previous episode on Alien can be found at https://www.verbaldiorama.com/episode/alien

GET IN TOUCH....

SUPPORT VERBAL DIORAMA....

Leave a 5-star rating/review: Apple Podcasts or Podchaser

Join the Patreon: https://verbaldiorama.com/patreon

Thank you to all the patrons Simon E, Sade, Jardiel, Claudia, Simon B, Laurel, Derek, Jason, Kristin, Cat, Andy, Mike, Griff, Luke, Emily, Michael, Scott, Mark, Brendan, Ian, Lisa, Dan and Sam!

Buy Merch! https://verbaldiorama.com/merch

Tees, mugs, hoodies and totes are available!

EPISODE THANKS TO....

Most excellent patrons:

Andy from Geek Salad for his Patron thoughts. You can find him @geeksaladradio on Twitter

Scott from Monkey See Monkey Review for his Patron thoughts. You can find him @MSMRpod on Twitter

Derek from The Midnight Myth for his Patron thoughts. You can find him @TheMidnightMyth on Twitter

And Brendan for his Patron thoughts, too!

Subscribe, follow and listen to Geek Salad, Monkey See Monkey Review and The Midnight Myth in your podcast app of choice!

Twitter peeps

  • @chancewhitmore5
  • @hugosposts
  • @moviemania77
  • @ThiefCGT
  • @PhiltheBear

Instagram folk

  • @xerxeshavelock
  • @sassylassy76
  • @nzwaffles
  • @vegimorph

Facebook chums

  • None this time

Theme Music: Verbal Diorama Theme Song

Music by Chloe Enticott - Compositions by Chloe

Lyrics by Chloe Enticott (and me!)

Production by Ellis Powell-Bevan of Ewenique Studios.



This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:

Podscribe - https://podscribe.com/privacy
OP3 - https://op3.dev/privacy
Next Episode All Episodes Previous Episode

Get in touch!

Comments? Suggestions? Questions? Fill in the simple form below to get in touch with Verbal Diorama.

Current Patreon supporters

Simon B, Laurel, Derek, Cat, Andy, Mike, Luke, Michael, Scott, Brendan, Ian M, Lisa, Sam, Jack, Stuart, Nicholas, Zo, Kev, Heather, Danny, Stu, Brett, Philip M, Xenos, Sean, Ryno, Philip K, Adam, Elaine, Kyle and Aaron.

Past Patreon supporters

Simon E, Claudia, Sade, Vern, Kristin, Paul, Emily, Matt, Trevor, Mark, Binge Daddy, Will, boyflea, Chris, Ian D, Jason, Sunni, Drew, Pete, Haley, Aly, Tyler, Jonathan, Michele and Russell


Support Verbal Diorama

A huge thank you to our supporters, it means a lot that you support our podcast.

If you like the podcast and want to support it, too, you can leave us a tip using the button below. We really appreciate it and it only takes a moment!
Support Verbal Diorama
A
Adam £30
Congratulations on 300 episodes - that's a fantastic achievement!

Listen for free

Show artwork for Verbal Diorama

About the Podcast

Verbal Diorama
The award-winning podcast celebrating the history and legacy of movies you know, and movies you don't.
The award-winning podcast celebrating the history and legacy of movies you know, and movies you don't.

Have you ever wondered how your favourite movies were made? Hosted by Em, Verbal Diorama takes you behind the scenes to discover the extraordinary stories of cast and crew who bring movies to life.

Movies are tough to make, and this podcast proves how amazing it is that they actually exist. From Hollywood classics to hidden gems, each episode explores the history, legacy, and untold stories that make cinema magic.

Ear Worthy 2024 Best Movie Podcast Winner | Golden Lobes 2025 Earworm Award Nominee | Ear Worthy 2025 Best Movie Podcast Nominee

New episodes weekly. Subscribe now on your favourite podcast app.
Support This Show

About your host

Profile picture for Em .

Em .

Hi! I'm Em. I created Verbal Diorama in 2018, and launched the podcast in February 2019 to rapturous applause and acclaim.... from my cat Jess.

The modus operandi of Verbal Diorama is simple: movies are tough to make! The coming together of a team of people from all walks of life to make something to entertain, delight and educate us for 90+ mins is not an easy task, and yet so many succeed at it. That must be something to celebrate.

I'm here to do just that - to celebrate movies. Their history and legacy, and why they remain so special to so many of us.

Episodes are audibly book ended by Jess. She sadly passed away in March 2022, aged almost 18. She featured in many episodes of the podcast, and that's why you can hear her at the end of every episode. The role of official feline producer is now held by the comparatively quieter Evie and Peggy.

I love podcasts, and listen to many, but never my own.

I unashamedly love The Mummy (1999) and Grease 2. I'm still looking for a cool rider.