Grays Almanac

Home/Episodes/Aliens

‘Aliens’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey

August 31, 2026 · Aliens (1986) · Action · Adventure · Horror · 2:21:04 · ▶ Listen on Spotify

IMDb ↗Letterboxd ↗

Bill Simmons's 10 best sequels ever

Unranked list · Bill Simmons · ▶ 7:40

  1. ·Godfather 2 (1974)▶ 7:40
  2. ·Terminator 2 (1991)▶ 7:41
  3. ·The Dark Knight (2008)▶ 7:43
  4. ·Aliens (1986)▶ 7:44
  5. ·The Empire Strikes Back (1980)▶ 7:45
  6. ·John Wick 2 (2017)▶ 7:45
  7. ·Lethal Weapon 2 (1989)▶ 7:56
  8. ·The Two Towers (2002)▶ 8:03
  9. ·Before Sunset (2004)▶ 8:14

Sean Fennessey's best immediate sequels

Unranked list · Sean Fennessey · ▶ 8:42

  1. ·From Russia with Love (1963)▶ 8:42
  2. ·The Empire Strikes Back (1980)▶ 9:08
  3. ·Bride of Frankenstein (1935)▶ 9:10
  4. ·Toy Story 2 (1999)▶ 9:16
  5. ·The Dark Knight (2008)▶ 9:32
  6. ·Batman Returns (1992)▶ 9:33

Bill Simmons's sequels better than the original

Unranked list · Bill Simmons · ▶ 12:13

  1. ·John Wick 2 (2017)▶ 12:13
  2. ·Lethal Weapon 2 (1989)▶ 12:14
  3. ·The Dark Knight (2008)▶ 12:15
  4. ·Godfather 2 (1974)▶ 12:15
  5. ·Aliens (1986)▶ 12:17

Categories

Hall of Fame Plaque

Chris Ryan▶ 24:49Focuses on the franchise's broader cultural legacy of institutional cynicism about corporations, rather than a single scene
Sean Fennessey▶ 24:04The med bay chase sequence where Burke traps Ripley with the alien, connecting it to the kitchen/raptor sequence in Jurassic Park and Stan Winston's creature design lineage

Dion Waiters Award

Bill Simmons▶ 43:13Bill Bull Paxton as Private Hudson ('Game Over, Man!') - calls it a 'Dion Waiters 2.0' since he's in the movie a lot (35 minutes) but still delivers a heat-check, scene-stealing performance with tons of memorable lines
Sean Fennessey▶ 43:31Agrees Hudson is the standout, comparing it to Léon in the movie 'Tony' - the actor who picks up the movie and walks away with it, being the most entertaining person on screen even alongside Sigourney Weaver and Michael Biehn

Most Rewatchable Scene

Bill Simmons▶ 1:02:53The tracker scene / the incredible nine-minute sequence with the marines going into the hive (Ripley saving Newt, the alien egg room, Bishop punching through, and the airlock sucking scene)
Chris Ryan▶ 1:04:43The tracker scene with all the red lights ('they're coming through')
Sean Fennessey▶ 1:04:54The ambush scene - the marines penetrating the alien hive and realizing they can't use their guns, showing genuine fear

Great Shot Gordo Award

Chris Ryan▶ 1:21:27The dissolve from Ripley in her sleeping pod to the planet, mimicking the famous match cut/dissolve style of 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Sean Fennessey▶ 1:19:54Rather than a single shot, lists multiple stealth homages: Bishop's knife game (from Dark Star), the kid on the Big Wheel riding past the Weyland Yutani sign (homage to The Shining), the probe entering Ripley's escape pod (mimicking the alien ship probe from 1953's War of the Worlds), the tough sergeant/leatherneck mission structure homage to Sands of Iwo Jima, and comparisons to First Blood Part II as parallel Vietnam War storytelling.

Probably Unanswerable Questions

Bill Simmons▶ 1:22:09Says Bishop is a great android name, jokes Spunkmeyer is an incredible dog name, notes Vasquez is good except for being politically incorrect, and says there was no better title for the movie than 'Aliens'
Chris Ryan▶ 1:22:56Gives the award for best line reading to Bill Paxton as Private Hudson ('Game over, man!')
Sean Fennessey▶ 1:21:56Questions how to pronounce Hicks' line ('a pone' or 'a pone a'), and asks whether Gorman is a Canadian or English actor

Is There a Better Title?

Sean Fennessey▶ 1:22:31"Motherfucker*" or "Alien: Motherfucker" (referencing the scene where Cameron draws dollar signs on the whiteboard)

Butch's Girlfriend Award

Bill Simmons▶ 1:24:09Burke's plan to smuggle a xenomorph back to Earth - calls it one of the worst plans in the history of movies
Chris Ryan▶ 1:27:25Ripley being sent (or agreeing to go) on an off-world mining trip with Newt in tow - questions whether that's really the best use of her parenting time
Sean Fennessey▶ 1:25:15In the director's cut, Newt's parents bring their kids along to examine the crashed spaceship site instead of leaving them home

Stephen A. Smith Hottest Take Award

Bill Simmons▶ 1:34:23Sigourney Weaver's 'Get away from her, you bitch' line delivery is bad and hacky, and likely cost her the Oscar because she needed another take with the delivery pitched lower
Sean Fennessey▶ 1:34:00Aliens is a better Vietnam movie than Full Metal Jacket (though maybe not a better overall movie)

Casting What-Ifs

Bill Simmons▶ 1:36:11Notes James Remar was originally cast as Ripley's love interest/character but was replaced by Michael Biehn (Hicks) after Remar's cocaine-related arrest during filming; also raises the fun what-if of Al Pacino (who visited the set while filming Revolution nearby) possibly playing a role like Burke or Ripley
Chris Ryan▶ 1:38:36Jokes about how Remar got arrested buying cocaine 'in the open,' and floats Al Pacino as Burke, wishing Pacino did more genre/villain roles (like in Con Air), praising Devil's Advocate as an example of him 'going for it'
Sean Fennessey▶ 1:37:47Argues Michael Biehn was the better casting choice over James Remar because Remar is too hard/tough and not vulnerable, while Biehn is courageous but not the leader (since Ripley is the true leader), so the swap worked out for the best

Joey Pants Award

Bill Simmons▶ 1:39:26Mark Rolston (Hall of Fame 'that guy')
Chris Ryan▶ 1:39:48Al Matthews as Apone
Sean Fennessey▶ 1:39:32Paul Maxwell as Van Leuwen

Half-Assed Internet Research

Bill Simmons▶ 1:43:48Shares multiple trivia bits as favorites: the British film industry's tea-break tradition ('my favorite half-assed internet research in a while'), the lightweight cast dummy made of Newt due to Sigourney Weaver's back issues, the 14 puppeteers operating the alien creature (65-70 lb guns), Lance Henriksen getting food poisoning from the milk/yogurt/cream 'blood' mixture, the alien nest set later reused in Batman, and the deleted backstory reel that Gale Anne Hurd suggested cutting; also notes the film's timeline (set in 2179) was retroactively changed to be 57 years before Aliens.
Chris Ryan▶ 1:44:24Highlights that Carrie Henn (Newt) kept purposely messing up the slide scene because she loved sliding down, and discusses how Weaver's cut backstory material with her daughter/Burke was later restored in her Alien 3 demands to Cameron.
Sean Fennessey▶ 1:44:54Points to the documentary 'Aliens Expanded' as a deep-dive resource, notes the alien creature was the largest marionette ever built for a film, and mentions the Alien: Isolation video game (starring Amanda Ripley) as a potential movie concept.

Apex Mountain

Bill Simmons▶ 1:47:51Discusses Sigourney Weaver's apex (leans Aliens two years after Ghostbusters, mentions Working Girl), agrees Bill Paxton's apex is Aliens (Twister/Titanic notwithstanding), and votes Alien franchise as Weaver's peak over other space movies.
Chris Ryan▶ 1:48:51Says Aliens is Sigourney Weaver's apex, comparing it to 'sometimes you're a Godfather, sometimes you're a Godfather 2' - settling back on Alien/Aliens as her peak.
Sean Fennessey▶ 1:48:00Notes Weaver parlayed Aliens/Ghostbusters into Working Girl and Gorillas in the Mist (Oscar noms same year), implying that stretch as a career peak; doesn't give one definitive single answer.

Is This Movie Better With

Bill Simmons▶ 2:01:19Introduces the category list (Wayne Jenkins, Fergie the Florist, Zane Lowe, Robert Evans, Dr. Charles Nichols, Ted Levine) and suggests revising/refreshing the category, adding Barney from The Vanishing and considering Duvall's Network character; doesn't give a definitive single pick for this movie.
Chris Ryan▶ 2:02:21Proposes bringing Hudson (from Aliens, via Bill's Ripley bit) into the category rotation, and endorses keeping Fergie the Florist and Zane Lowe as still having 'juice' in the list.
Sean Fennessey▶ 2:02:46Suggests Frank Hackett (Robert Duvall) from Network as a favorite potential addition, particularly Duvall's 'big fat big-titted head' rant scene.

Sequel/Prequel/Limited Series/Remake

Bill Simmons▶ 2:01:19Proposes a limited series where Ripley wakes up after 57 years and is interviewed/confronted about the trauma (lost daughter, held liable for spaceship detonation), framed as an 'all broadcast' angle since every other sequel/prequel version has been done.
Chris Ryan▶ 2:01:40Riffs on Bill's idea, joking it should be an interview-style format asking 'who is this Ellen Ripley now, what kind of music is she making' — a mock celebrity-profile take on her return to LV-426.
Sean Fennessey▶ 2:01:51Jokes that someone should pivot to doing this kind of probing interview style, comparing it to interviewing Ripley directly.

Just One Oscar

Bill Simmons▶ 2:04:05Best Director for James Cameron ('Big Jim'), calling it astonishing action filmmaking

Coach Finstock Life Lesson

Bill Simmons▶ 2:10:08Don't go back to your personal hell
Chris Ryan▶ 2:10:15Sometimes you just gotta nuke the site from orbit, just to be sure
Sean Fennessey▶ 2:10:22Just maybe don't participate in cryo sleep, because you never know when you'll wake up (could be 57 years)

Best Double Feature

Bill Simmons▶ 2:10:33Alien and Platoon as a double feature
Chris Ryan▶ 2:10:40Alien/Aliens double feature; argues Ripley becomes a more iconic character after Aliens, making Sigourney Weaver the one who 'won' the movie
Sean Fennessey▶ 2:10:47Alien/Aliens double feature; argues James Cameron 'won' because it elevated him, citing The Abyss as evidence of the blank-check status he earned

Who Won the Movie

Bill Simmons▶ 2:11:23James Cameron - says Weaver won short-term but Cameron won long-term
Chris Ryan▶ 2:10:40Sigourney Weaver - argues Ripley becomes a much more iconic character after Aliens and she's associated with the giant blockbuster franchise for most of its existence
Sean Fennessey▶ 2:10:47James Cameron - he elevates to the highest class with this, allowing him to go on to make increasingly ambitious 'blank check' movies

Movies Referenced (97)

Avatar (2009)

9 mentions · Sean Fennessey, Chris Ryan▶ 13:54IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Full Metal Jacket (1987)

7 mentions · Sean Fennessey, Bill Simmons▶ 30:31IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Titanic (1997)

7 mentions · Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey, Chris Ryan▶ 14:23IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Total Recall (1990)

6 mentions · Chris Ryan, Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey▶ 27:37IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977)

5 mentions · Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey, Chris Ryan▶ 52:53IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)

5 mentions · Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey▶ 7:40IMDb ↗Lb ↗

The Godfather Part II (1974)

5 mentions · Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey▶ 7:40IMDb ↗Lb ↗

The Terminator (1984)

5 mentions · Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey▶ 4:40IMDb ↗Lb ↗

True Lies (1994)

5 mentions · Chris Ryan, Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey▶ 14:23IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Batman (1989)

4 mentions · Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey▶ 1:11:08IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Gorillas in the Mist (1988)

4 mentions · Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey▶ 32:14IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Prometheus (2012)

4 mentions · Sean Fennessey, Chris Ryan, Bill Simmons▶ 53:14IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Directors Referenced (6)

Kevin Costner

3 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for Dances with Wolves, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves▶ 1:41:21IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Walter Hill

3 mentions · Chris Ryan, Sean Fennessey, Bill Simmons · Known for 48 Hrs., Aliens▶ 2:51IMDb ↗Lb ↗

David Lynch

1 mentions · Sean Fennessey · Known for Inland Empire▶ 2:04:21IMDb ↗Lb ↗

John Ford

1 mentions · Chris Ryan · Known for The Quiet Man, The Grapes of Wrath, How Green Was My Valley▶ 18:26IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Peter Jackson

1 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Bad Taste, King Kong▶ 17:26IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Roger Corman

1 mentions · Sean Fennessey · Known for The Silence of the Lambs, Apollo 13, Little Shop of Horrors▶ 19:19IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Actors Referenced (31)

Michael Bean

6 mentions · Sean Fennessey, Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan · Known for Jennifer's Body, The Big Year▶ 21:36IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Bill Paxton

5 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan · Known for Aliens, Apollo 13▶ 39:50IMDb ↗Lb ↗

James Remar

5 mentions · Sean Fennessey, Bill Simmons · Known for Oppenheimer▶ 1:36:27IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Al Pacino

3 mentions · Sean Fennessey, Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan · Known for Serpico, Dog Day Afternoon, The Godfather▶ 1:38:07IMDb ↗Lb ↗

James Horner

3 mentions · Sean Fennessey, Chris Ryan, Bill Simmons · Known for Avatar, Titanic, The Mask of Zorro▶ 7:11IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Jane Fonda

3 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for Klute, Barbarella, Coming Home▶ 35:26IMDb ↗Lb ↗

LeBron James

3 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for Trainwreck, Hustle▶ 33:41IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Sigourney Weaver

3 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan · Known for Avatar, Alien▶ 1:35:13IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Diane Keaton

2 mentions · Chris Ryan, Bill Simmons · Known for Annie Hall, Reds, Something's Gotta Give▶ 35:38IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Jim Carrey

2 mentions · Sean Fennessey · Known for Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, Bruce Almighty, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind▶ 1:11:00IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Luke Wilson

2 mentions · Chris Ryan, Bill Simmons · Known for Old School, The Royal Tenenbaums▶ 1:32:31IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Al Matthews

1 mentions · Chris Ryan · Known for Aliens, Tomorrow Never Dies, Superman III▶ 1:39:48IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Writers Referenced (4)

James Cameron

6 mentions · Chris Ryan, Bill Simmons · Known for Avatar, Aliens, Terminator 2: Judgment Day▶ 2:51IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Dan O'Bannon

2 mentions · Sean Fennessey · Known for Alien, Dark Star, Aliens▶ 53:51IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Roger Ebert

1 mentions · Bill Simmons▶ 54:24IMDb ↗Lb ↗

William Gibson

1 mentions · Chris Ryan · Known for The Miracle Worker▶ 1:13:42IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Cinematographers Referenced (2)

Adrian Biddle

6 mentions · Sean Fennessey, Chris Ryan · Known for V for Vendetta, Thelma & Louise▶ 51:43IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Dick Bush

1 mentions · Chris Ryan · Known for Sorcerer▶ 51:26IMDb ↗Lb ↗