How Much Did The Company Know in Alien? 

side note... Did the nearest ship they send... also turn off said signal? cos if they didnt... then why wasnt the signal around when they started building on the planet?

In Aliens Special Edition, we see the Derelict has been damaged by volcanic activity, which apparently stopped the signal.

@@1DerangedWarrior I mean if you follow the story of Alien Isolation, another crew shows up on LV426 years later after the Nostromo and THEY turn it off.

In a comic book version of alien, one of them did cut it off . I don't know if it was Dallas, lambert, or kain. But, then again, it was a very old comic- 1979/80.

@@luthermcgee3767i own this comic, i should reread this now.

Good, both are very bad movies

Special order 937 called for the specimen to be brought back for analysis was the text? This tells me that 937 was specifically for the xenomorph species. I imagine there was a special order 912 that had instructions on how to proceed if you have found an Engineer alive. Special order 438 if you encounter a predator. And others.

The prequel movie PROMETHEUS, made a dissatisfying attempt at xenomorph origin. The following movie ALIEN COVENANT, sort of hint at the xenomorph biology. Aside from the ALIEN franchise comic books and games, it could be interesting if a movie is ever produced about hunting the xenomorph as an operation for Galactic pest control.

The narrators force self enforced narrowing of the source material still cannot cover his flawed conclusions. What was clear was that the company learned enough that they considered the potential profits from gaining a specimen worth the potential risks of deploying a mining team. There was clearly a reason a group of specialists were less likely to get past an inspection team. Clearly the Xenomorph arriving by accident rather than design makes all the difference. This is further explained in the Alien novelization. Later to claim Carter Burke only found a grid reference which somehow was still available to access by someone not linked to the original project is evidence of company ignorance is childish. The fact that the grid reference still exists implies that the original plan wasn’t abandoned after the disaster. This presents a contradiction in itself as source material as why would a colony be sanctioned so close to a classified project? In short based on the original movie the company knew quite a bit but not everything about the Alien. In fact it would be logical to assume they would make further attempts to retrieve a specimen or destroy it if they believed other parties might retrieve it before them. They were seeking a specimen to gain a financial advantage after all. Letting that financial advantage fall into someone else’s hands would represent a significant hit to their share value. This is why the Company was menacing in Alien without ever featuring in screen and how the sequels ruined it. The social commentary angle of this masterpiece went straight over some peoples heads without leaving an acid burn anywhere.

I think we can agree that Waylan-Yutani was, as of the first three movies, one of the largest and most powerful companies of the time. Their resources would include a formattable legal team, politicians and possibly a judge or two in their hip pocket. With such assets, it seems strange to me that they would employ such illegal and risky options as Special Order 937 and risking the loss of an expensive facility and a bigger scandal than they could cover up, just to acquire a few specimens of an exotic species. The host of this channel did explain his reasons for sticking exclusively to the movies, and I find those reason valid. For this reason, I must ask you to list the specific flaws you see in his conclusion and "I don't like that conclusion" does not count.@@keithwilliams744

Ripley was a beast.

Good point, the novelisation of the movie goes to some length to explain Ash replaced the regular science officer of the Nostromo just prior to the final voyage, however I don't believe the movie makes this point. Hence this excellent vid here is correct, the special order related to any life form encountered not specifically to LV-426. Depends I guess on what you consider "canon" to the franchise.

@@MovieHeretic The movie does mention this point but it depends on which one you watch. It's in the original cut of the film where Dallas and Ripley are discussing about Ash asking to keep the facehugger for study. That conversation about Ash replacing the regular guy is removed in the Directors Cut.

If they didn't find anything Ash probably would have pushed Dallas to go on another expedition. If Dallas agreed with Ripley Ash would have tried to talk him round. He always would've been nudging to follow his orders.

I mean, shooting on film + using actual costumes/puppets/makeup/etc. that's physically there next to the actors when you're filming does a lot to "future proof" a movie--and certainly does it better than using greenscreens and CGI in an era when raw computer power is rapidly growing.

@@macdeus2601 growing computing power and yet getting worse each year that passes at providing a quality product. But it's also how badly done the practical stuff is now. From set pieces to costumes, it's all getting worse

Burke “encouraged” the colonists only because he had the supposed location of the Derelict. Were the Company just going to wait another 50 years for Ripley to show up so they could use her as cover?

@@alienuniversetimeline3427 no, I think her survival spurred them into action because now she was exposing what she knew, where it was located and Wayland could no longer keep it a secret so called the outpost to forward their plans... if I had to guess, they planted the colonists there deliberately in the hopes they would stumble upon the ship organically and when it went dark, send a rescue team to take the xenomorph back except maybe get more specimens because there were more colonists... the way this played out however, Wayland could only send Burke as an "advisor" in the hopes he could bribe some people to bring some back.

@@alienuniversetimeline3427That part!

Nothing lasts forever. Not even Engineer technology. This is simple speculation but I would guess that something happened to the device emitting the signal. And whoever set up the Nostromo incident buried their interference so deep to protect themselves no one else in the company knew about the signal or the planetoid it was coming from. If I had rerouted the Nostromo costing the company 15 million dollars in the process I would make sure no one would know. Nobody.

My guess is that when the Nostroma disappeared, there was an inquiry, and since there's no way Special Order 937 could have been legal, the people behind it had to scramble to cover everything up. Afterwards, they wanted nothing more to do with the mystery signal, and it was completely forgotten about after they retired and died of old age.

Sevastopol Station

Im fairly sure that when the Prometheus touched down Weyland had radio back to earth all information they found before the ships destruction, so the company knew something was up on this planet system

I think Prometheus was in developmental concept hell since the 1990s. There's potential that either Fox or Scott had an origin ideas all the way back when.

My head cannon is that there was no communication between WY and the Nostromo. Order 937 was built into all their ships Mothers and androids.

@@justinbrown691 for all we know every ship has a secret android and the previous science office that Ash replaced might not have even been human but another android who needed to cycle out for maintenance or something. Could even be a standard procedure to swap the androids around between assignments periodically to avoid people from catching on that there's something off about them like how in a deleted scene Ripley starts asking others questions about Ash that suggest that she suspects him to be an android.

The fact it’s a special order specifically for the science officer with orders that the crew were expendable would suggest it’s a one off just for this particular ship and voyage.

I think you are right. For mine to work it would mean their was a secret android on every ship.@@alienuniversetimeline3427

@@alienuniversetimeline3427 could still be a mother thing - but of course, replacing the medical officer puts that to bed

check out og @AlienTheory...years of this type of stuff

No problem

All covered in the video.

In the novel they expected the crew to contain it. Ash was a contingency against their failure. Either way it would look as if they stumbled on it. Whatever it was.

Yup they (Ash) knew a *lot* more about it than is indicated in the video. The crew saw everything Ash saw but Ash clearly knew a lot more about it. Remember Ripley's conversation with Ash's head... "You still don't know what you're dealing with do you... a perfect organism". Ash wouldn't have gleaned this from what he saw of the Alien on the Nostromo, yeah it was a nasty monster but a "perfect organism"?. He knew a lot more about it already.

@@curtvogue5720 Ash was talking about its adaptability. Perfect organisms don’t need a whole other species within a narrow size and weight range in order to propagate.

semistablem, I agree, something so powerful, and dangerous, would require specialists to make a successful retrieval.

They sent the nearest ship which happened to contain people without any prior knowledge of what they were walking into. Ideal from the company’s point of view.

I thought Aliens explained this well enough, that they needed impregnated deceased hosts to smuggle the species through customs.

They had very detailed knowledge of the organism, hence Ash praising it's "structural perfection and purity". And sending specialized crew was the last thing WY wanted, space truckers with their disregard of regulations and safety protocols was exactly what the company needed there. Managers counted on lack of discipline of commercial crew to allow infected member to enter the ship. As we know, bet was successful.

The Company didn’t know anything until Ripley showed up and that knowledge in the second film only extends as far as Burke seeing an opportunity. It is possible others at the Company may have twigged after the Sulaco left Gateway which might explain why the rescue ship got to Fury so quick.

@@alienuniversetimeline3427 but they would have done a data dump, as demonstrated in the hearing. They could have gotten the full record from the black box. Instead they offered a partial record indicating that the Nostromo was diverted to LV-426 (for unknown reasons), and that it resumed course and then was destroyed by self-destruct by Ripley. It is highly unlikely no other information was provided by the "black box," including a significant event such as the triggering of Special Order 937. All throughout Alien, Ash and Mother were "collating." Again, there is no evidence that WY knew about the Xenomorph in Alien, but it is unreasonable to assume they didn't in Aliens.

@@neocortex-es3zv Burke went on a fishing expedition in Aliens to get exclusive rights. The Company knew a lot more about everything a short time later by the time of Alien 3 because of what went down in Aliens. They knew sod all before that.

Black boxes only record basic information Plus who knows if it was edited before being made public

A billion dollar ship was lost Bet blown up by the crew wasn’t on the insurance Someone needed to take the blame

Good Point. It doesn't make sense to me either. I can see that there was a standing order, that was clearly written into the crew's contracts, should any (distress)signal be detected it would have to be investigated. However, this "pre-knowledge" of the signal by the company BEFORE the mining mission started and subsequently putting Ash onto the ship at the last minute seems to have been tacked onto the movie's' plot at the end for dramatic purposes.

Space ships are expensive If sent a special ship goverment and the competition will find out

I think the AvP movies only count in Predator continuity, and not for the Alien series.

@@5hogg23 Which I'd be inclined to agree with if both movies didn't acknowledge the existence of both Weyland and Yutani (albeit as separate corporate entities). Even going so far as having Lance Henriksen portray Weyland, a thing that started in Alien 3.

The thought of that makes me shudder.

This Romulus project TV project is being run by Noah Hawley (Legion, Fargo) from what I have seen from him, I have faith he can deliver

Legion was a one of a kind show....I watch all ALIEN media so I'll look at it too, I suppose@@williamgiesen4910

Thanks and no I haven't as yet. Plan to though.

@@alienuniversetimeline3427 Cool. It’s quite good but I think AVP Extinction is better. You can play as all the species that’s why.

If they wanted the Alien so badly they wouldn’t wait decades to obtain one.

No perhaps they didnt have the technical ability to go and find out what was there and the Nostromo was the first ship to venture near@@alienuniversetimeline3427

Ash’s “detailed knowledge” came from what he learned during the film and no one suggested the crew was leading the mission.

Possibly because it might be worth millions to the bio weapons division.

The ship was already out there so they had it divert on the way back to see if the signal was worth checking out the company saves money in the long run. Instead of kitting out a full investigation team that would cost them alot of money for a potental dud.

They knew something was up with the LV system from whatever info the Prometheus radio back to it before its desstruction

The signal wasn’t human

The AvP films are a different IP/ license and not factored in to Alien. If we did for arguments sake, what would the Company know? You have a handful of traumatised eyewitnesses and a crater on Bouvet and a crater in Colorado. The army dropped a nuke on a town based on grainy video where they didn’t even know what they were looking at.

For all we know the previous science officer was also an android and Ash just replaced him so that he could leave for maintenance. Maybe all ships had a secret android during that time period.

i'll let the reviewers find out for me, i've been burned too hard by bad Alien content over the - $%^& i'm old - decades. The comic behind Outbreak, Isolation, and Alien 1-2 are good.

Aliens Bonus Features shoes additional scene that all the people on Nostromo were chosen because they had sued the company or were trying to.

@@americanandpinay I dunno. Kotto was all about The Bonus. he retained some loyalty to the Company if he was getting paid that bit more. everyone else just wanted home. but yes only the android was really gung ho about getting that thing on board. only the android was truly loyal, because he was made loyal (and was not Three Laws Safe like the military-service model over in Aliens)

Try this one ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-aFSuoAb9Lz4.htmlsi=5oGjpgp-VP53WZUd

They waited nearly 60 years to exploit a supposedly important bioweapon? Whoever initiated it either retired or died without a pay off.

But that's a problem isn't it LV-426 could not have been surveyed even today using Radar and other Technologies we are quite good at seeing what is on the ground and the proper survey would cover every square mile of the planet which definitely would have picked up a sea shape metallic object amongst all the rock and the Android Ash does have the abilities of a doctor so why would he try to murder a human with a rolled up magazine I scratch the top of my head with this one too

I’ve heard similar theories over the years,but I doubt they could have gone to light speed if the Nostromo was extended on the umbilicus. And even if it could, there’s not much stopping the Alien crawling along it back to the ship.

Ok fair enough not sure if the alien could breathe or even handle zero pressure so what if the umbilical dropped the power tug and it lit up immediately leaving behind the mining rig I have considered your thoughts spend much time on it of what if's I am just one of a massive fan base Thank you for your input

The Derelict is damaged is Aliens. James Cameron said this was from a lava flow which shut the signal off. Originally in the script, Dallas turned it off. In Alien Isolation, Captain Marlow of the Anesidora turned it off. Take your pick.

Thousands of years old Finally broke

space is 3d. the Company sent the Nostromo into a narrow direction which, on the way back, they knew a detour was possible. say there was a cargo ship called the Omortson, opposite direction. They aren't stopping at LV because... duh, it's on the opposite side as Sol. Yeah, it's not luck. Not in space.

@@markbranham6365 Well that doesnt happen in the movie and Ive never played the video game but it could all be true just the same.

The Company knew about the signal before the Nostromo left Thedus. That was why Ash was rotated onto the crew, the ship was secretly re-routed and the special order issued. Different sources have different explanations about how the Company picked up the signal in the first place, but that’s by the by.

and they knew something was up with that system from the info sent back from Prometeheus prior to its destruction @@alienuniversetimeline3427

@@alienuniversetimeline3427 Yep, there is apparently a deleted scene where the head of Ash explains the Alien is an escaped bio-weapon (just before the 'I'm not going to lie about your chances...' line)

@@efnissien Ash had other deleted/ unfilmed dialogue in that scene but I don’t recall anything about escaped bioweapons.

​@@alienuniversetimeline3427, yeah, I've seen bits of deleted footage of Ash, but not actually seen this. I'd heard about this 'line' from a couple of people. It would have been interesting and ties in with the 'David' story arc. And personally though, I do like a bit of mystery - like Ramirez's response when MacLeod asks him about the 'The quickening' in Highlander ('...Are the stars pinholes in the curtain of night? Who knows.'). Or Obi Wan's explanation of the force (aka the 'duck tape' explanation - there's dark and light versions and it's the shit that holds the universe together'.) It's fun to speculate, but can be a let down when we lift the curtain in the emerald city.

The only way to do it would be a visual survey. If they did it from orbit or even if they had access to the PUPs from Prometheus the Derelict would just look like any other rock formation. Can assume they didn’t have the personnel.

@@alienuniversetimeline3427 sorry, and i dont mean to be rude, but that is an absurd suggestion. Our technology TODAY would be able to detect such a ship. A future civilisation doing terraforming would easily be able to detect a metal ship sitting on the surface. Very detailed surveys of the site around the terraforming plants would be performed, if only to ensure that the geology is suitable and earthquakes and volcanoes wouldnt be a problem. Similarly you would do detailed mapping of the entire planets surface to do modelling about how the terraforming would progress. Im not sure where you get the idea that you would need visual surveying, we dont need that TODAY. You would expect that a terraforming mission would have multiple global spanning satellites that would be constantly monitoring the surface and tsking readings in multiple em wavelengths. It is the most unbelievable aspect for me, but i forgive the film it because it can be explained away if you never see the ship. The extended cut actually makes the problem worse because it could be explained if the ship had fallen into a hole or collapsed in on itself but no the ship (which would be metal and easy to detect against rock) is just sitting there, a drivable distance from the colony. Its a problem born of the time the script was written, i dont blame cameron for failing to see far enough ahead that global satellites and such would be a normal and expected technology.

well that's a cutscene ain't it? and it was a bad scene which the editors righteously deleted. should have been taken off the extended edition

There's nothing in the films to suggest Ash transmitted anything.

@@alienuniversetimeline3427 Ash mentions that he and Mu-Th-Ur were “correlating” throughout the movie. He made notes about the alien which would almost certainly be transmitted to WY

@@williamgiesen4910 Collating. Assuming he was actually telling the truth (which is highly doubtful) and he actually transmitted anything (also doubtful) either the Company didn’t act on it or didn’t receive it. Ripley’s message only had reached Fiorina 57 years after she sent it.

@@alienuniversetimeline3427 what message to Fury 151?

@@williamgiesen4910 Ripley's transmission is picked up in the EEV at the end of the movie.

Ash was following the order given to him in the film. This video doesn’t factor in the AvP films however.

True but Parker could have killed the chest bursted right after it emerged and the way Ash stopped him to ensure it survived.

@@AceAcabras Yes. His orders were to ‘insure’ it was returned for study. Parker might’ve been able to kill it with plastic cutlery but risked a lot of acid and potential hull breach so Ash has a plausible excuse to stop him.

Good point. Thought he had a skillet he was going to use on it.

The marines in Aliens were wiped out.

@@alienuniversetimeline3427 yes, but they were disarmed before heading into the hive. So imagine what would happen when the entire army brings thier full might to bear on the xeno.

The fact the Company co-financed a colony means there was either a cover up or any investigation turned up nothing. We don’t need any more explanation than that. It wouldn’t surprise me if ships getting lost isn’t uncommon. Space is vast and the Nostromo was off course and ten months out. Anything that might have happened after Alien 3 - if the flight recorder was made public which I highly doubt - might make a cool story but isn’t really relevant in this instance.

@@alienuniversetimeline3427 Why would ships being set for self destruct with crew on board be normal? In the official novelization the company were aware of the events on the Nostromo though Ash. It would make sense too as Ash was the control. If Ripley was relying on the Network to pick her up that implies that it wasn’t totally controlled by the company. Why would the company need to conduct a hearing for Ripley if they didn’t have to report to anyone, Employees DIED while on duty an enquiry into the circumstances of their deaths was absolutely legally essential. Secret plan or not there needs to be a person at point to manufacture a narrative and if need be plant incriminating evidence to back up that narrative. Ash was that person at point but he was deactivated part way through his mission. To claim ships were getting lost all the time with no evidence to back it up is very weak. That would imply the company wasn’t economically secure and employed incompetent people as a rule and that makes no sense. Mother controlled the mission even the employees sleep, nutrition and mission plan. The crew only had a certain amount of autonomy and even that had to be reported to Mother. Those deep space missions were done for company profit and loss control is an essential component. This is why Alien was so good it was very well thought out.

@@keithwilliams744 Per the video, the Company didn’t conduct the hearing- the ICC did. I don’t think setting a ship for self destruct would be common. But ships are machines and machines break, sometimes catastrophically. A ship being lost while on a run doesn’t automatically equate to someone scuttling it.

@@alienuniversetimeline3427 Each one of your replies gets weaker. Explain why the company wouldn’t conduct a hearing? The ship was scuttled with members of the crew still on board. Do you think that no enquiry as to their status when the ship was scuttled would be appropriate? Do you think scuttling the ship and activating the life boat is a minor decision with no ramifications. Explain how the Company rushed to Fury 161 when the Sulako cryogenic chamber caught fire because of Alien infiltration? Ash was on board making reports on the Alien’s physiology no doubt Mother was in contact with the Company labs the entire time. To claim the company had plausible deniability that they had no idea about the basics like the ship was scuttled and where and how many life boats were launched is absurd. We can even do this today there is no reason any enquiry could be expected to uncover less.

@@keithwilliams744 Everything you’re talking about is addressed in the video except Ash sending reports back. We’ve no evidence he did that.

Prequels written decades later don't really count, you need to analyze this is the context of the original series. Anyhow he did mention those two films at the end of the video, did you even watch the entire thing before commenting?

The Company definitely isn't some moustache twirling evil monolith, but there are clearly people within the Company (like Burke) who put profit over people. As for Ash - he didn't take it on himself to get the Alien back to Earth. He was following the order he was given and he didn't have behavourial inhibitors (Bishop points this out as a point of difference between him and the Ash model).

I’m going into the Derelict in future video, but short version is - the blast from the Atmosphere Processor took it out (ref Alien Resurrection novelisation and Weyland Yutani Report). That hasn’t stopped licensees including it in numerous games and books though so your mileage may vary. 🙂

Blastzone might have been stylised for effect, maybe to be read on radiation scanners rather than being the bright explosion we saw in the movie. Think: less Tsar Bomba, more Chernobyl. The aliens are still getting irradiated to death. But there's no crater.

We don't generally try to crash planes on purpose though. Or even remove all the safety rules and hope for the best.

If it contained a lot of information about the Alien why didn’t the Company mount a proper mission to get a specimen?

It would have taken too long. The Nostromo would be there.

@@watchfylwaiting So why do nothing for another 57 years?

They lost the Nostromo, they lost any appetite to pursue capturing an alien.

@@watchfylwaitingPossibly. Or whoever sent them just didn't wanted to be connected to the loss of an expensive ship and cargo and the deaths of the crew.

The Company that expedites a ship to get specimens in Alien 3 isn’t going to partner with another organisation and then do nothing for decades in Aliens.

This is all covered in the video. Their contracts state they have to investigate signals. The ship was secretly re-routed to make sure the ship would pick it up and trigger the clause.

@@alienuniversetimeline3427 I'm saying that the ship changed course when it intercepted the signal - not secretly programmed into the ships navigation before or just after they left - a standing order to investigate signals and such -because if they knew why send an inexperienced crew

@@michaelmartin8337 Special Order 937 states ‘Nostromo re-routed to new co-ordinates’.

Knew everything but did nothing.

Those people questioning her weren’t in the Company, so they wouldn’t know about a 57 year old secret order. Which is all in the video.

@@alienuniversetimeline3427 watch the video before commenting?! that's crazy talk. you can get demonetised for suggesting that bro

@@zimriel Good tip. Thanks. Lol

Didn’t know where to look.

158 colonists minus Newt.

only to perish during the crash landing on the prison planet,which to this day pisses me off,after what Ripley and Newt went through they deserved a positive ending to their arc…

There are only 2 Alien movies.

@@mrmicro22 +Isolation +what-became-outbreak

They have faster than light travel. It takes the Sulaco 3 weeks to fly 39 light years to LV-426.

Some indeed do. Not in this instance however.

Any theory about the Company knowing about the Aliens, falls down when they do nothing to obtain one for nearly 60 years.

They were busy being money greedy pricks for 60 years. That's bound to take up a lot of time.@@alienuniversetimeline3427

That you know of…

@@jonharrison9222 Obviously. The video uses the films as the source rather than things I could make up.

Dont forget about PROMETHEUS> Weyland went to the LV system. David did analysys plus whatever info was learned was definitly radio back to earth before Weylands destruction. They knew something was there

Should I not?

@@alienuniversetimeline3427 I wouldn't recommend it. Not a lot of people know the country exists

@@DolphLundgrensDolphinDungeon that’s a shame.

@@DolphLundgrensDolphinDungeon Most people know Australia exists; the handful that don’t are too stupid to bother with.