220 // Aliens: Dark Descent Review

When Aliens: Dark Descent was announced, it was hard to make out exactly how this real-time strategy outing was going to fit into the rich (and all-over-the-place) pantheon of Alien games. Could a squad game be scary? Was it going to be another wave-after-wave mow 'em fest like the (very fun) Aliens: Fireteam Elite? 

In this episode, Patrick and Christian welcome first-time guest Adam Zeller of the Alien vs. Predator Galaxy Podcast to discuss their initial impressions of Dark Descent. Does it work as a game? Does it work as a piece of Expanded Universe lore/world-building? Join us as we explore these questions (and a whole lot more)—and be sure to listen to the AvP Galaxy Podcast as well! Head over to https://www.avpgalaxy.net/category/podcast/ and be sure to subscribe.

// Apple Podcasts: bit.ly/perfectorganismitunes

219 // The Egg and the Sulaco Part Two: Alex White Weighs In (and So Do You!)

Our "Egg and the Sulaco" episode was quite a hit, it seems! Your thoughtful, impassioned, sometimes-wacky feedback/conspiracy theories inspired us to do a Part Two on this topic, and to enlist the help of bona fide Alien superstar Alex White (author of Alien: The Cold Forge and Alien: Into Charybdis among many other fantastic books you should check out).

Join Jaime, Patrick, Christian, Andie, Maj, Perry, Xander, and Alex as they try to figure out how the heck that egg got under that floor panel (and much, much more). Stay tuned till the end for listener comments!

For more on Alex and their work, head over to www.alexrwhite.com. Also be sure to follow Alex on IG @the_alex_white. 

// Apple Podcasts: bit.ly/perfectorganismitunes

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218 // Alien: Romulus News Roundup Roundtable

Call it what you will—Alien: Romulus, untitled Alien film, or anything in between—Fede Alvarez's upcoming Alien project has the internet absolutely buzzing lately. 

In this roundtable (our largest ever!), the PO Team enlists the help of some friends to break down the rumors and news leaks, and to help envision the myriad directions this project could ultimately end up going in. Jaime, Patrick, Christian, Andie, Perry, Maj, and Xander are joined by returning guest Matt John and first-time guest Derek from Alien Theory (must-follow content for any Alien fan: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChWMlORreKN0UmokKOdFq-g) on this wide-ranging conversation about all the exciting speculation in fandom.


217 // The Egg & The Sulaco : A Roundtable Discussion

In this episode, the Perfect Organism Podcast team sits down to speculate how an egg found its way into the Sulaco to set up the events of Alien 3. This is the first time we've conducted a purely speculative conversation and we hope you have as much fun listening as we did talking about it all. Join your hosts Christian, Patrick, Jaime, Andie, Perry & Xander in Da House for a rousing good time. 

216 // Alien Day 2023 Live Roundtable

As is our tradition, the Perfect Organism Podcast team came together for a special live episode on Alien Day to discuss our experience of the day, Alien: Transmission, and the set photo that dropped from the Fede Alvarez-directed Alien film. We were joined by our special guest and friend Matt John to celebrate our love of these films, and the biggest day in Alien fandom. We hope you enjoy!

215 // Alien: Transmission - A Roundtable

As we celebrate Alien Day 2023, the Perfect Organism podcast teams sits down to discuss the behind-the-scenes of their first short film production. From the first ideas for the story, to the incredible work our friends Maj and Xander would contribute, the team shares every aspect of the creation of this special story. Alien Transmission is the first release by Perfect Organism to connect to existing audio dramas and video diaries. If you're a fan of Alien: Abandon, and our YouTube web diary series, Alien: Outland, you'll want to listen in and find out how this all began. We hope you enjoy, and HAPPY ALIEN DAY!

214 // Alien Day: The Founders Part Two | An Interview With Joshua Izzo

Happy Alien Day! We are pleased to present our interview with former Fox executive, Joshua Izzo. In 2022, we interviewed informal Alien Day founder Alaric Hahn. This year, we're talking to the man in charge of starting Alien Day as we know it on a corporate level. Josh Izzo is the former Director of Licensing at 20th Century Fox, before it was purchased by Disney. This was one of the most insightful and fascinating conversations that pulls back the curtain at what was happening in the company before Disney stepped in. We hope you enjoy. 



BONUS EPISODE: Frame Rate | The Last of Us

To say HBO's The Last of Us had a high bar to clear would be putting it mildly. For one thing, it would need to adapt one of the most critically acclaimed video games in history to a different medium. But to be successful, it would also need to speak to new fans in an urgent way, while carrying along the fans who'd been there since 2013. To simultaneously satisfy a generation of PlayStation gamers' expectations while surprising them enough to feel like more than a series of cutscenes.

In this installment of Frame Rate—the first of (at least) two episodes we're dedicating to TLOU—Jaime, Patrick, Micah, and Dan (Ferlito, who came back just for the occasion!) explore the first season of this landmark television series in depth. Please—please—make sure you've watched all the episodes of season one before listening to this, as we go very much into spoilers. 

213 // The Blomkamp Saga: Part Three

As we bring this Blomkamp miniseries to a close, we end in a place we never expected: one of empathy, appreciation, and understanding. It's easy to lose sight of the human behind the headline. Neill Blomkamp underwent some very public suffering during the events surrounding his unmade Alien film. And Ridley Scott, despite his prickly exterior, is a person with feelings and frustrations as well—and Alien: Covenant is a window into those frustrations. 

This final installment is dedicated to listener feedback, and it's your listener feedback that brings us to that place of empathy. This episode is a wild ride, and it's one we'll always remember. Thank you for writing in, thank you for giving us new perspectives and insights, and thank you for being part of the Alien family. We're lucky to share this space with all of you.

212 // The Blomkamp Saga: Part Two

Jaime, Christian, Andie and Patrick sit down for the next episode in our Blomkamp miniseries to discuss the fallout of Blomkamp's project during the release of Alien Covenant. We leave no stone unturned as we attempt to get to the bottom of how much Covenant was affected by the excitement for the ill-fated Blomkamp film. Join us once again as we continue to investigate the Alien film that was never made, yet feels like it was. 

211 // The Blomkamp Saga: Part One

Almost exactly eight years after our first episode aired, we return to the topic that started it all: Neill Blomkamp's unmade Alien project.

In this first episode of a miniseries we're devoting to the Blomkamp situation, Jaime, Patrick, and Christian take a trip back in time to 2015 and examine the sequence of events that led to the very public conversations about whether or not this thing was going to get made. What actually existed? Was there a script? What would this film have become?

Join us as we don our detective hats and seek some answers.

// Apple Podcasts: bit.ly/perfectorganismitunes

209 // Lovecraft and Alien: Covenant

As we close out (for now) our miniseries on Lovecraft's cosmic horror in the Alien universe, we come to the most recent film in the saga: the ever-controversial, ever-interesting, ever-bizarre Alien: Covenant.

Is Covenant Lovecraftian? Is it Gothic horror? Is it something in the middle? Jaime, Patrick, and resident Lovecraft expert Christian ponder these (and many more) questions on this wide-ranging and impassioned episode.

They also address recent listener feedback about whether the prequel saga should continue—and, if so, what a successful third prequel might look like.

Artwork by Matt Hatton.

// Apple Podcasts: bit.ly/perfectorganismitunes

208 // Alien 3: The Theatrical Cut vs The Assembly Cut | A Roundtable

In what was our final recording for the calendar year 2022, Jaime, Patrick, Christian and Perry come together to discuss the working title news of the Fede Alvarez-directed Alien film as well as go on to discuss the merits of the theatrical edition of Alien 3 versus the Assembly Cut. From chest-bursting, to creature effects, we leave no stone unturned as we share our ideas on why one version of Alien 3 may work better than another. We hope you enjoy and thank you for celebrating the 30 year anniversary of Alien 3 with us. 

207 // Interviewing Adam Ezekiel (Nostromo Crew)

The costumes of Alien have long been praised for adding to the verisimilitude of the film's "Truckers in Space" aesthetic. Fans have sought out replicas of these items right from the start with hats, patches, and pins filling the back pages of Starlog magazine.

In this episode we sit down with Adam Ezekiel, a fan who has turned his love for the Nostromo crew uniforms (and his keen eye for detail) into a prospering business.

Make sure to stop by Adam's website, www.nostromocrew.com, to see his work for yourself!

// Apple Podcasts: bit.ly/perfectorganismitunes

BONUS EPISODE: Frame Rate | Andor - A Roundtable Discussion

We are happy to release our coverage of the Disney+ series Andor as a bonus episode this holiday season. In this special roundtable, your hosts Jaime, Patrick, Christian, AndieGeekGirl, and special guest Micah Greene discuss what some of us agree is the best Star Wars product since the original trilogy. As always this was a lively and in-depth conversation that we hope you enjoy. 

206 // The Space Jockey

Some call it the Pilot. Some call an Engineer. Many of us call it the Space Jockey. Call it what you will, this mysterious figure inside the Derelict has haunted and intrigued fans for decades.

But why? What is it about this silent, seemingly ancient figure that makes it so unforgettable? For years, a major part of the Jockey's lasting appeal was its unknowability. But now that we have the prequels—and with them, the Engineers—is the Jockey no longer a mystery? Or has the mystery just shifted?

In this roundtable, Jaime, Patrick, Maj, and Perry ponder these questions and come to some unexpected conclusions. They also explore the history of the Pilot from script to screen, and examine its life in the Expanded Universe of Dark Horse comics, etc.

// Apple Podcasts: bit.ly/perfectorganismitunes

205 // Lovecraft and Prometheus (Cosmic Horror Part Two)

A decade ago, Guillermo del Toro famously stopped his work on an adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft's At the Mountains of Madness because he felt Ridley Scott's Prometheus had beaten him to the punch. Scott himself was mum on the issue, but when Prometheus premiered in theaters it was clearly connected to ATMOM, whether Ridley (or Spaihts, or Lindelof) were public about it.

So what exactly is Prometheus' connection to Lovecraft's 1931 novella? Do they share story beats, or are there deeper philosophical connections between the two? 

In this second installment of our investigation into cosmic horror and the Alienfranchise, we mount an expedition to look for answers to questions we might not've known we were asking in the first place.

Art by François Baranger.

// Apple Podcasts: bit.ly/perfectorganismitunes

204 // Alien and Cosmic Horror: Part One

"Lovecraftian" gets thrown around a lot these days, but what does it actually mean? When people say Alien is a Lovecraftian film, what are they getting at?

We're launching a miniseries to explore those questions (and a whole lot more), and on this first installment we're looking at H.P. Lovecraft himself and how his themes speak to the themes in Alien.

How does Giger's reverence for HPL show up in the film? What are we actually afraid of, long after the credits roll? Join Jaime, Patrick, and bona fide Lovecraft scholar Christian as they wade into the strange depths in search of answers.

To support Christian's Necronomicon project, head over to his Patreon page!

// Apple Podcasts: bit.ly/perfectorganismitunes

203 // Wreckage & Rage: David Fincher and Alien 3

David Fincher's involvement with Alien 3 does not have a storybook ending. Unlike his predecessors Ridley Scott, and James Cameron, Fincher's work on Alien 3 would be remembered as one of the most troubled productions in cinema history. In this episode, Christian, Patrick, and Jaime discuss the issues surrounding Fincher's involvement and the merits of his continuing disassociation from the film. This was a interesting and challenging conversation. We hope you enjoy.