Alien TV Show

[Admiral Mappalazarou]

My brother and I have ideas for what an Alien tv series would be like, following a story over a period of just three seasons. The premise would be that Earth has become mostly a barren wasteland in the far future as an alien infestation occurred (no one knows how) at some point near to the end of the 21st century.

The first season follows the story of a walled city inhabited by about a thousand survivors who, just like Land of the Dead, keep all sides of their city defended by machine guns at each side as various stray facehuggers and xenomorphs which happen to approach over the surrounding wasteland. The main story follows a group of 'soldiers' (more or less just people who are handy with a gun) who have to venture out to the abandoned towns and cities for supplies, whilst keeping the aliens at bay and trying to survive for a season.

The end of the season shows that the city has been breached, as the power begins to go down all over the city and a horde of aliens (noticing what has happened) make a run for the place over the wasteland (and in the tunnels beneath). As one of the characters is sent downstairs to turn the generator back on, he finds it sabotaged and hears a noise from behind - as he pulls out his gun he is shot by a large blue beam from behind and the screen goes black. We hear the slowly tongue-vibrating sound of a predator just before the credits roll and the first season ends.

The 2nd season would start a few days before the end of the first season, with the predators coming into orbit around earth (discovering how brutal the planet is and how many aliens there are). They see it as a newer, harder hunting ground - infiltrating the last major cities whilst hunting down various aliens and humans. There would of course be main characters and different story arcs through the entire series but its just a very basic idea to start with.

We were thinking of (inspired by the comic books) to try and somehow incorporate Skynet and the Terminators into it by the beginning of season 3, but that would be a problem since there is already a Terminator series.

Thoughts?

[MB.Eddie]

Interesting concept. I'd watch.

Why would the predators go after the humans/generator though?

[Admiral Mappalazarou]

Interesting concept. I'd watch.

Why would the predators go after the humans/generator though?

I dunno. Its was just one way of introducing them...The first concept we came up with was to have the camera pan up to a huge predator ship jump into orbit around the planet, and the predators gathered around a large screen which shows just how many xenomorphs were down on Earth before one of them, possibly the leader of the clan, performs one of thier menacing almost-human laughs (welcoming the challenge) before the credits roll.

But I wanted a more subtle approach.

[the fifth man]

Sounds interesting. But, throwing the Terminators into it too?? That I'm not sure of.

[Admiral Mappalazarou]

Sounds interesting. But, throwing the Terminators into it too?? That I'm not sure of.

We were inspired by this comic.



Having another iconic monster each season was our way of keeping it fresh basically. We wouldn't drag it on or anything. Two or three seasons and that would be it. Our idea for ther terminator was pretty simple really.

Facing defeat at every turn, from the predators (who mostly use humans as bait) and aliens (who require hosts) alike, the humans quickly abandon thier city and take their chances out in the open, moving from town to town in small vehicles - stealing what they can from the local abandoned shops and houses. One group (who escaped into the desert) come across a large military facility half-buried beneath the sand, inside they find loads of computers and metal body parts - quickly uncovering that this place house mechanical soldiers which once fought in an ancient war which result in the Earth's current devastation.

Of course, this arc would mean changing the first part of the Alien story and having the alien infestation happen in the 22nd or 23rd century, long after the humans war with skynet.

[the fifth man]

Oh, I see. I never knew that comic existed. I'd like to see how that would work.

[Daniel Jackson]

Alien only works as a film series with each movie being an event. I don't see how a TV series could work unless it was about people trapped on an Alien-infested planet with Earth having quarantined the world. Still, how could you do such a production on a TV budget? It'd be too expensive. What would the show be about? If it's about trying to escape, that'd get old after five or so episodes.

A mini-series could work, but a TV series? There's just not enough story potential.

[The Prophet]

Alien only works as a film series with each movie being an event. I don't see how a TV series could work unless it was about people trapped on an Alien-infested planet with Earth having quarantined the world. Still, how could you do such a production on a TV budget? It'd be too expensive. What would the show be about? If it's about trying to escape, that'd get old after five or so episodes.

A mini-series could work, but a TV series? There's just not enough story potential.

Possible something along the lines of the TV-series; Jericho-based Theme? But instead of a Nuclear Attack, a Xenomorph infestation. Closely followed by the Predator/ Terminator introductions.

Also, The Sarah Connor Chronicles seems to turn the Terminator-Film Series into a TV Series, granted it's partly fueled by the post-hype of Terminator 3, and slight pre-hype of Terminator 4. But with the post-hype of AvP2, an Alien/Predator Tv series could always draw in viewers, especially with a Terminator plot too.

[Admiral Mappalazarou]

Oh, I see. I never knew that comic existed. I'd like to see how that would work.

Alien only works as a film series with each movie being an event. I don't see how a TV series could work unless it was about people trapped on an Alien-infested planet with Earth having quarantined the world. Still, how could you do such a production on a TV budget? It'd be too expensive. What would the show be about? If it's about trying to escape, that'd get old after five or so episodes.

A mini-series could work, but a TV series? There's just not enough story potential.

We had developed an idea for the first two episodes to be a miniseries, and if that did well then we would move onto creating the TV show. I think that anything with a decent story can be expanded on to massive proportions whilst still being loyal to the original story. I thought that Terminator could only work as a movie series but The Sarah Connor Chronicles is fantastic.

We would have a cast of main characters and regulars, and no - the show would not just be about the humans running from the aliens every episode. The first season would be mostly set inside the huge walled city, focussing on how the humans are surviving (how the children are coping, etc...) as well as covering whats happening with the aliens and their queens miles away, who have made various abandoned towns and cities their nests. The first season wopuld of course need to show what they're doing to survive; what precautions are in place? How do they keep the city protected by this threat and how have they done this for many years? What do they do in an alien incursion? etc...

Here are some examples of what the different episodes of season one might hold (basic concepts);

- A group of humans must travel to an abandoned city for supplies (1 episode), infiltrating the alines next in order to get food and medicine from the shops and supermarkets.
- Someone is brought back to the city but was facehugged in the previous episode, and they're alien quickly bursts out and begin causing havoc. This episode would basically show what the humans do in such incursions like this, as this would not be the first time such an incident has happened nor, do they suspect, will it be the last. This episode would explore the cities security systems (showing how they have abandoned the idea of air ducks because the xenomorphs can use them as hiding places, they have blast doors in almost every corridor - basically making the place alien-proof).
- The leader of the city introduces some of his most trusted advisors to a secret chamber at the heart of the city, where various ancient records and data are kept - he shows them the most important. Told through flashbacks, this episode is perhaps set a few hundred years in the past, exploring how the humans came into contact with the first xenomorphs and how the ancestors of those now living in the huge walled-city were linked to the Earth's demise. Also exploring what the Earth was like before, and how the aliens became the dominant species of this foreign world.

On the budget issue, you're right completely. This series would cost a lot of money which is exactly why it would be great not to have them running away from CGI aliens every episode (with car chases and stunts, etc). I would like to concentrate on character development, realism and how humans are still existing in the dying world.

I am talking about 'what if' scenario here.
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[Daniel Jackson]

The Prophet, I lost interest in Jericho after a few episodes. The nuclear war premise was just too depressing. However, drop the crossovers with Predator and Terminator. There are already two AVP movies, and Terminator has it's own TV show. If you're going to make an Alien TV show, don't rely on crossovers with other franchises to keep it interesting.

In the case of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, there's a lot more you can do with it. Alien is just a horror movie where you try to not get eaten/killed by a monstrous alien. Terminator has a lot more depth than that. You have Sarah and John Connor trying to prevent Judgment Day, a brief nuclear war that Skynet starts to attempt to exterminate Humanity. Skynet then creates Terminators to kill off the surviviors. Skynet sends Terminators back in time to prevent the Human resistance from being created, so the Human resistance sends both Humans and reprogrammed Terminators back in time to prevent Skynet from being created. There's just so much you can do with the concept, thus a TV series was made.

Alien and Predator both belong to 20th Century Fox, that's how they were able to crossover the movies. 20th Century Fox doesn't have the rights to Terminator, so they'd need that studio's permission.

Mappalazarou, my crossover comments are directed towards you as well. While the occasional episode featuring a Predator would be OK, perhaps as an event episode, I'd keep it focused on Alien. Since there's a Terminator TV show, you won't be seeing any Terminators in this proposed show. What I think would be the best route to go is feature a newly created happy colony that finds a long-abandoned Alien nest, like in the second movie. However, tell the story from the colony's point of view. This time, have the colony learn how to fight off the Aliens with intent to stay despite the Alien plague. The show could then have two plots. The main plot would be maintaining and expanding the colony. The subplot would be fighting the Alien plague. If this is the approach taken, then it could work. It just has to be about more than fighting of Aliens, just like how the Terminator show is more than just fighting off the Terminator of the week.

[Admiral Mappalazarou]

Mappalazarou, my crossover comments are directed towards you as well. While the occasional episode featuring a Predator would be OK, perhaps as an event episode, I'd keep it focused on Alien. Since there's a Terminator TV show, you won't be seeing any Terminators in this proposed show. What I think would be the best route to go is feature a newly created happy colony that finds a long-abandoned Alien nest, like in the second movie. However, tell the story from the colony's point of view. This time, have the colony learn how to fight off the Aliens with intent to stay despite the Alien plague. The show could then have two plots. The main plot would be maintaining and expanding the colony. The subplot would be fighting the Alien plague. If this is the approach taken, then it could work. It just has to be about more than fighting of Aliens, just like how the Terminator show is more than just fighting off the Terminator of the week.

It was never my intention to have them fighting an alien 'of the week' each episode. Although I like your idea, I would very much like to have the aliens and predators in it together (sure, its fanwank to a certain extent) but I feel that the recent cross-overs (Avp and AvP:R) have been spectacularly rubbish.

Having the predators in the series would not only be there to draw on a new audience (fans of the predators) but to explore the predators past, where they came from and why they are like they are to the fullest. I believe that to keep people's interest in a series, you have to change certain elements so that it is not the same as the last season, so that the main characters face an even bigger threat than before. The locations change as the city is destroyed at the beginning of season two, having the rest of the season feature the humans exploring the old abandoned towns (New York, L.A., etc...) which were only ever briefly mentioned in the first one. There they discover how the cities fell to the aliens, as well as trying to discover who and what the predators are and why they're here.

Having the predaotrs in it leaves you with far more potential because now you have a species capable of interstellar travel, which gives us the opportunity to explore the various different worlds where the predators have encountered the xenomorphs before as well as the origin of the xenomorph itself, raising up newer and more interesting ways to destroy the creature.

The end of the series may even result in the surviving humans abandoning earth in a new ship they've found or something along the lines.

[Daniel Jackson]

It was never my intention to have them fighting an alien 'of the week' each episode.

I didn't think as much, but character-driven drama bores me greatly. There needs to be adventure to keep my attention. Don't get me wrong, I do like dramas, I just prefer plot-driven stories over character-driven stories. I get bored when people are just sitting around and talking unless what they're talking about is directly related to the story.

Although I like your idea, I would very much like to have the aliens and predators in it together (sure, its fanwank to a certain extent) but I feel that the recent cross-overs (Avp and AvP:R) have been spectacularly rubbish.

I don't think it's fanwank. I liked AVP1 and look forward to AVP2. That said, I think an Alien TV show should be about people dealing with the Aliens. Predators would be welcome if it was a rare and in your face event. If the Predators are there as much as the Aliens, you might as well call the show Alien vs. Predator: The Series.

Having the predators in the series would not only be there to draw on a new audience (fans of the predators) but to explore the predators past, where they came from and why they are like they are to the fullest. I believe that to keep people's interest in a series, you have to change certain elements so that it is not the same as the last season, so that the main characters face an even bigger threat than before. The locations change as the city is destroyed at the beginning of season two, having the rest of the season feature the humans exploring the old abandoned towns (New York, L.A., etc...) which were only ever briefly mentioned in the first one. There they discover how the cities fell to the aliens, as well as trying to discover who and what the predators are and why they're here.

Predators would be welcome, but if the show is mainly about the Aliens, then the Predators should be event episodes, not a regular part of the show. Why must the show constantly change? I'm getting tired of the serialised format, to be honest. Two episodes and mini-arcs are OK, but really... I much prefer the episodic format. I'm also not a fan of each season featuring a bigger, badder threat. By the end of the series, the current enemy is so big and bad, it's laughable that the heroes stand any chance at all. I doubt you'd be able to convince 20th Century Fox to allow the show be set on a futuristic Earth. It'd be too limiting to what they could do with a movie set after Alien Resurrection.

Having the predaotrs in it leaves you with far more potential because now you have a species capable of interstellar travel, which gives us the opportunity to explore the various different worlds where the predators have encountered the xenomorphs before as well as the origin of the xenomorph itself, raising up newer and more interesting ways to destroy the creature.

This sounds a bit silly. The show is about the Human characters, so unless the Predators bring the Humans along for hunting adventures or the Humans capture a Predator ship, this wouldn't happen. Even if it did, it'd risk ending up as a horror version of Star Trek.

The end of the series may even result in the surviving humans abandoning earth in a new ship they've found or something along the lines.

What'd be more interesting is if the Humans learned how to coexist with the Aliens. You'd think that'd keep them from doing a movie set after the TV show, but you could look at it as domestication. For example, you can domesticate dogs, but wild dogs will still be a major threat. I'm not saying Aliens should be domesticated to end the show, I'm just saying it's one of many ways for Humans and Aliens to coexist.

Personally, I'd like to see the whole show revolve around one alien world with the colony and Alien plague with the occasional trip back to Earth for supplies and help when needed.

[Admiral Mappalazarou]

I didn't think as much, but character-driven drama bores me greatly. There needs to be adventure to keep my attention. Don't get me wrong, I do like dramas, I just prefer plot-driven stories over character-driven stories. I get bored when people are just sitting around and talking unless what they're talking about is directly related to the story.

And it would be, but I feel that watching any series and not being able to grab a sense of realism about the characters is just plain silly. I like putting real people in a quite surreal environment because it takes everything they know to be right about the universe and completely turns it on its head. Their reactions and instinct for survival would be excitement enough for me. I think that wherever you find humans, you find some type of drama. Its in our nature to care about others in different ways, and to do what we must to survive, even if it means betraying the ones we held as our friends. This is the type of show that would keep me interested.

I don't think it's fanwank. I liked AVP1 and look forward to AVP2. That said, I think an Alien TV show should be about people dealing with the Aliens. Predators would be welcome if it was a rare and in your face event. If the Predators are there as much as the Aliens, you might as well call the show Alien vs. Predator: The Series.

You raise a fair point there. Maybe we could do something for the first time though - have the first season called Alien the series and second season called Alien vs Predator the series. It may confuse a lot of viewers, yes, but I don't see why it couldn't be made clear that they're both connected via their titles and through advertisements. We could also make the 2nd season a sequel series if the first way is too confusing. Or...we could just do what you said...

Predators would be welcome, but if the show is mainly about the Aliens, then the Predators should be event episodes, not a regular part of the show. Why must the show constantly change? I'm getting tired of the serialised format, to be honest. Two episodes and mini-arcs are OK, but really... I much prefer the episodic format. I'm also not a fan of each season featuring a bigger, badder threat. By the end of the series, the current enemy is so big and bad, it's laughable that the heroes stand any chance at all. I doubt you'd be able to convince 20th Century Fox to allow the show be set on a futuristic Earth. It'd be too limiting to what they could do with a movie set after Alien Resurrection.

I prefer the serialised format. I like following a continuous storyline where one episode leads onto the next and so on. I feel that it makes for far more powerful television when you get to see exactly what you characters have been through, how it changes them and effects the decisions they make to survive for the next episode.

This sounds a bit silly. The show is about the Human characters, so unless the Predators bring the Humans along for hunting adventures or the Humans capture a Predator ship, this wouldn't happen. Even if it did, it'd risk ending up as a horror version of Star Trek.

I meant that certain episodes could be seen from the Aliens point of view or the predators point of view, and we could see flashbacks to their origins. Main characters in a show don't necessarily have to be human. I think that it would be a great idea to have a particular predator in the show which is emphasised on more...perhaps the leader, or one of the trainees who feels empathy for the humans (having not passed its full training just yet or something along the lines). We saw a human team up with a predator in AvP: The movie. I don't see why we couldn't incorporate it in some form into the series, even if its cryptic and we don't really know which side the predator is on. I like watching a show and not being fully aware of what's happening until the last few scenes of the season. I find the revelation fascinating.

What'd be more interesting is if the Humans learned how to coexist with the Aliens. You'd think that'd keep them from doing a movie set after the TV show, but you could look at it as domestication. For example, you can domesticate dogs, but wild dogs will still be a major threat. I'm not saying Aliens should be domesticated to end the show, I'm just saying it's one of many ways for Humans and Aliens to coexist.

That's a very interesting idea. I wouldn't incorporate in to end the show either. I would perhaps have an episode or two based around one of the city's main scientists (with a group of marines of course) studying them in a small outpost not far from the city (experimenting with them in the city being far too dangerous) and learning more about their biology, but he's not all there, as it were, and begins to see them as pets...

I actually think, if it were written correctly...that would make an ace episode. It would show what goes on for a human mentally which helps their mind to survive the trauma, in a sense.

Personally, I'd like to see the whole show revolve around one alien world with the colony and Alien plague with the occasional trip back to Earth for supplies and help when needed.

I don't know...It raises a lot of uncertainty for me because why would the humans be so bothered about one planet which happens to be infested by aliens when their are thousand of other worlds out there? And if they were trying to study the creatures, why build an outpost when you have ships which can land, check things out and take off again? Why risk human life when you don't have to?

[Daniel Jackson]

And it would be, but I feel that watching any series and not being able to grab a sense of realism about the characters is just plain silly. I like putting real people in a quite surreal environment because it takes everything they know to be right about the universe and completely turns it on its head. Their reactions and instinct for survival would be excitement enough for me. I think that wherever you find humans, you find some type of drama. Its in our nature to care about others in different ways, and to do what we must to survive, even if it means betraying the ones we held as our friends. This is the type of show that would keep me interested.

Fair enough. I just hate it when these modern TV shows have horrendously boring scenes with people brushing their teeth, talking about their birthday, staring at something, eating ice cream, and so on. It's fluff and has nothing to do with the plot. It might be realistic, but realism isn't always fun to watch. A TV episode doesn't have to explore every single aspect to the character. However, you can add realism through window dressing. For example, have the characters eat ice cream during a briefing, or show someone brushing his teeth followed by an Alien crashing into the room, you get the idea.

You raise a fair point there. Maybe we could do something for the first time though - have the first season called Alien the series and second season called Alien vs Predator the series. It may confuse a lot of viewers, yes, but I don't see why it couldn't be made clear that they're both connected via their titles and through advertisements. We could also make the 2nd season a sequel series if the first way is too confusing. Or...we could just do what you said...

Changing the name mid-series would be too confusing to the average joe. Just pick a concept and go with that; either Alien, Predator, or Alien vs. Predator.

I prefer the serialised format. I like following a continuous storyline where one episode leads onto the next and so on. I feel that it makes for far more powerful television when you get to see exactly what you characters have been through, how it changes them and effects the decisions they make to survive for the next episode.

That's fine and all, but... what about people who don't watch TV regularly and want to tune into random episodes? Make it too serialized, and only the regular viewers will know what's going on. There's also the group of people who get bored with a story if it's too drawn out. Take SG-1's format, for example. You had a mix of long-running story arcs, short-term story arcs, and stand-alone episodes. It never felt serialized, but when a story arc came to an end, the pay off was huge.

I meant that certain episodes could be seen from the Aliens point of view or the predators point of view, and we could see flashbacks to their origins. Main characters in a show don't necessarily have to be human.

Ya lost me here... People want to watch TV shows about... people. If you have episodes told from the Alien's or Predator's perspective, people are going to change the channel.

We saw a human team up with a predator in AvP: The movie.

This worked, because the audience was could connect with the Human character. We were imagining what it would be like to team up with a Predator.

I don't see why we couldn't incorporate it in some form into the series, even if its cryptic and we don't really know which side the predator is on.

A Human/Predator alliance would be cool.

I like watching a show and not being fully aware of what's happening until the last few scenes of the season. I find the revelation fascinating.

If episodes end without resolution, I loose interest after about two or three episodes. I don't have a low attention span, I just hate stories that don't have an ending. A cliffhanger is OK... if it's resolved in the next episode.

That's a very interesting idea. I wouldn't incorporate in to end the show either. I would perhaps have an episode or two based around one of the city's main scientists (with a group of marines of course) studying them in a small outpost not far from the city (experimenting with them in the city being far too dangerous) and learning more about their biology, but he's not all there, as it were, and begins to see them as pets...

That could be a fantastic arc, especially if one of the Aliens were somehow attached to it's Human captors.

I actually think, if it were written correctly...that would make an ace episode. It would show what goes on for a human mentally which helps their mind to survive the trauma, in a sense.

Indeed, that would be great drama.

I don't know...It raises a lot of uncertainty for me because why would the humans be so bothered about one planet which happens to be infested by aliens when their are thousand of other worlds out there?

Imagine having a huge colony of people with at least one full size city on a colonized world. If you discovered that there were some nasty aliens, would you just pack up and leave, abandoning all that hard work? Throughout history, people have fought to keep their colonies regardless of how dangerous the landscape was.

And if they were trying to study the creatures, why build an outpost when you have ships which can land, check things out and take off again? Why risk human life when you don't have to?

Well, the outpost could be built... and then Aliens could be found.

[Admiral Mappalazarou]

Fair enough. I just hate it when these modern TV shows have horrendously boring scenes with people brushing their teeth, talking about their birthday, staring at something, eating ice cream, and so on. It's fluff and has nothing to do with the plot. It might be realistic, but realism isn't always fun to watch. A TV episode doesn't have to explore every single aspect to the character. However, you can add realism through window dressing. For example, have the characters eat ice cream during a briefing, or show someone brushing his teeth followed by an Alien crashing into the room, you get the idea.

I think that its very important, especially in order to see a character's true realism. I'm not saying that there should be a scene dedicated to one of the major characters brushing his teeth or having a pee or something, but I would have those elements in thier (even if they're only in the background) just so we can see that they're still human even though they have been through a helluva lot.

Changing the name mid-series would be too confusing to the average joe. Just pick a concept and go with that; either Alien, Predator, or Alien vs. Predator.

You're probably right.

That's fine and all, but... what about people who don't watch TV regularly and want to tune into random episodes? Make it too serialized, and only the regular viewers will know what's going on. There's also the group of people who get bored with a story if it's too drawn out. Take SG-1's format, for example. You had a mix of long-running story arcs, short-term story arcs, and stand-alone episodes. It never felt serialized, but when a story arc came to an end, the pay off was huge.

Some of stargate's cliffhangers have been great, and some haven't. For instance, Hathor turning up at the end of season two made me sigh very loudly...and the cliffhanger at the end of stargate atlantis season 4 was truly....truly awful.

I don't think it could work as several stand-alone episodes like stargate personally. Where as they were scifi and visited a new world every episode...The ALien show would remain very much on one planet with only one apparent alien threat (at least for the first season).

Ya lost me here... People want to watch TV shows about... people. If you have episodes told from the Alien's or Predator's perspective, people are going to change the channel.

I disagree. I'd be very interested to explore how the predators think and why they act the way that they do. The humans could still feature in the episode, but we could understand the predators (or maybe just one predator) through their subtle ways of mimicking human communication (as seen in Predator and Predator II).

This worked, because the audience was could connect with the Human character. We were imagining what it would be like to team up with a Predator.

I was more interested in how the predator felt teaming up with a creature far less advanced....but maybe that's because the human characters in AvP were so bland and uninteresting...

A Human/Predator alliance would be cool.

Not a full-on one. Just maybe one predator feeling sorry for the humans...although their culture kinda contradicts that since they respect the stronger creatures rather than the weakest (as shown in the end of the Predator II aboard the predator ship).

If episodes end without resolution, I loose interest after about two or three episodes. I don't have a low attention span, I just hate stories that don't have an ending. A cliffhanger is OK... if it's resolved in the next episode.

I'm not saying we avoid a resolution, but I would very much like to add a continuous arc of mystery through out the series.