The Hive Mind: A Xenomorphing Podcast

Dave, Devan, Michael, and special guest Bradley Suedbeck hop aboard Vicker's lifeboat for some bubbly and continue the discussion on Prometheus, this time focusing on the characters and deleted scenes from the film.  The crew explore how well the various characters worked within the film, where they fell short, and who among them stood out the most.  They also examine some of Prometheus' many dele...

Dave, Ryan, and special guest John Kavanagh take a shuttle from Gateway Station to Citi Field in Queens, New York to watch the Mets and talk about one of their favorite sports: Baseball.  The guys reminisce about when their love of the game began and why it has been such a lifelong passion for them.  They also discuss who they believe will be the leading teams at the end of this season, who will w...

Dave, Michael, Devan, and Mykal take an ill-fated trip to the Great Plains with some French trappers to discuss the fifth and latest installment in the "Predator" franchise, "Prey."  The crew talk about the many aspects of the prequel that they enjoyed, from the cinematography and soundtrack to the portrayal of the Predator and the acting, especially Amber Midthunder in the lead role as Naru.  The...

Dave, Devan, Mykal, and special guest Brad Suedbeck head over to Sevastopol Station's Comics 'R' Us store to explore their love for comic books within the Alien franchise.  After talking about how they were initially introduced to comics, the crew spend time discussing Aliens: Genocide and several others, exploring the writing, art and illustration, and how they have contributed to the lore of the...

On an bug hunt mission to the Outer Rim, Dave, Michael, Devan, and Ryan take a quick repose to look at some recent announcements: The release of the official trailer the upcoming Predator prequel entitled "Prey," an in-development, top-down, squad-based, 3rd-person shooter Alien game called "Alien: Dark Descent," and finally "Pathogen," an upcoming DLC for the 2021 video game "Aliens: Fireteam Eli...

The Crew gather together to address rumor control and discuss the characters of Alien 3.  Dave, Michael, Devan, and Ryan explore the various convicts and crew members on Fiorina 161, focusing on which characters stuck out the most to them, their favorite moments among the prisoners, and how well the characters worked overall, following up on the iconic personalities from both Alien and Aliens.  Th...

Dave and Devan meet up with special guest Clara Carija on the Prometheus' lifeboat to have some drinks and continue the discussion on the film, this time focusing on arguably one of the more iconic characters of the Alien franchise: the android David 8, played by Michael Fassbender.  The crew talk about what they enjoyed most about the character and Fassbender's performance, David's importance to...

Devan, Michael, and Ryan wear their best cyberpunk cosplay and discuss William Gibson's Alien 3 script, the first of many failed attempts by multiple writers during the film's tumultuous production process.  The crew talk about what they liked in the script, areas where it fell short, and whether it would've worked if 20th Century greenlit it into a feature length film.  They also discuss how stud...

David, Michael, Devan, and special guest Dave use the star maps from various archaeological cave drawings and travel to LV-223 to talk about and celebrate the 10th anniversary of the 2012 sort-of Alien prequel "Prometheus."  They discuss what they liked most about the film, what didn't work as well, the many cut and edited scenes that might have improved the film, and how their views of the film m...

After an extended hypersleep, a fire in the cryogenic compartment forces Dave, Devan, and Ryan to Fiorina 161 where they discuss Alien 3, one of the most polarizing films in the Alien franchise, and one of the most troubled productions in cinematic history.  The crew talk about the development issues that occurred with the film early on, several early ideas that fell through, and the plethora of d...

Dave, Devan, Michael, and Ryan head out to party with some Arcturians and celebrate the New Year by discussing the year that was and the year that is to come.  The crew talk about what they enjoyed most regarding the Alien franchise in 2021, and also reflect on what didn't go so well over the past year.  They also take a look at what's coming in 2022, and what they're most anticipating and hoping...

Dave, Michael, Devan, and Ryan escape in the Narcissus in terror as they discuss one of the most powerful and prevalent elements not only within the Alien franchise, but in many of the greatest stories ever told: Horror.  The crew dive into what draws them in most to horror, how the horror genre was used effectively in the Alien series, and what earlier fictional works helped inspire the filmmaker...

Dave and Ryan take a break at Gateway Station and meet up with two very special guests from Destination Unknown Beer Company in Bay Shore, New York: John Fraioli and John Kavanagh!  The guys spend the first part of the discussion talking about their love for the Alien franchise, how they got introduced to it, and why they think, especially the first two films, are such an indelible part of cinemat...

The Hive Mind crew has awakened from cryosleep in the Outer Rim to talk about the latest news and happenings in the Alien universe.  Dave, our newest member Devan Gill, and Ryan share their views on the latest game in the franchise, Aliens: Fireteam Elite.  The crew discuss what they have enjoyed most about the game since its release two months ago, but also share their criticisms and what improve...

Dave, Mykal, and Ryan join special guest Devan Gill in the med lab at Hadley's Hope to discuss the creatures of Aliens.  The crew take a look at some of the adjustments to the creatures James Cameron made, his addition of the xenomorph Queen, and whether or not his changes to these already perfect organisms succeeded in further developing their lore and legacy within the franchise.  They also shar...

Mykal returns from his Weyland-Yutani ore mining gig in the Outer Rim to join Dave and Ryan as they talk about one of the most iconic characters in film history, Ellen Ripley.  The crew discuss what they love most about Ripley, the incredible writing that went into her character, Sigourney Weaver's brilliant performance, and the impact Ripley has had on all female action heroines who have followed...

Dave, Michael, and Ryan gear up and head into Hadley's Hope to talk about the characters of Aliens, arguably one of the most memorable ensembles ever created.  The crew chat about many of their favorite supporting players within the film, the care that James Cameron took in writing each of them, and the positive impact that writing strong characters had not only on Aliens, but on films in general....

Dave, Michael, and Ryan load up their nukes, knives, and sharp sticks and hop aboard the USS Endeavor to discuss the upcoming video game Aliens: Fireteam, set to be released Summer 2021.  The crew talk about the 25 minutes of gameplay footage released by IGN on YouTube, their initial impressions of it, and both their hopes and concerns about how the game will ultimately turn out, following on the...

Dave, Michael, and Ryan arrive on Sevastopol Station to examine 2014's much lauded Alien: Isolation, quite arguably the best video game ever made based on the Alien franchise.  The crew discuss what they loved the most about the game, including it's atmosphere and aesthetic, the thoroughly effective survival horror gameplay, the characters and high quality voice acting, and more.  They briefly cha...

Dave, Michael, and Ryan head over to Smalltown, USA to talk about the almost universally panned Alien vs. Predator sequel, AVP: Requiem.  There, the guys meet up with our first very special guest, Trent Shumway!  Trent is a freelance compositing artist who did uncredited post-production visual effects work on Requiem.  Trent talks to the crew about his time working on the film, and gives some grea...

The Hive Mind crew set sail to an abandoned whaling station in Antarctica to discuss the much maligned crossover of two iconic franchises: 2004's AVP: Alien vs. Predator.  Dave, Michael, Mykal, and Ryan talk about our first impressions of Paul Anderson's film, what we enjoyed, what we felt went very wrong, and what, if any, lasting impact the film has on us and if it is worthy to be included among...

Happy Halloween!!  In our first side episode, where we explore other topics that may not be directly related to the Alien series, Dave, Michael, and Ryan dig deep into the Weyland Archives to talk about the horror genre.  We discuss when we first got introduced to the genre, what our favorite (and scariest) horror films are, and what ultimately draws us into watching horror films again and again. ...

Dave, Michael, and Ryan board the Sulaco to discuss the Alien short fan films that were released in the Spring of 2019 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the original release of Alien.  The crew discuss each of the six films ("Harvest," "Alone," "Night Shift," "Ore," "Specimen," and "Containment'), which ones we enjoyed the most and why, and which ones we think fell short in adding to the atmosp...

Before entering our stasis pods on our way to Origae-6, the whole crew sits down to discuss the latest and arguably the most divisive film in the entire Alien franchise: 2017's Alien: Covenant.  Dave, Mykal, Michael, and Ryan talk about when we first saw Covenant and our initial thoughts on the film.  We then delve into what we liked most about it, and where we think the film went wrong.  We also...

Dave, Michael, and Ryan land on LV-223 to discuss the first of Ridley Scott's divisive prequels: 2012's Prometheus.  We talk about our first impressions of the film and what we enjoyed most about it, including the astonishing visuals, the Engineers, and some of the performances by the A-level cast.  We also talk about the problems we had with the film, along with the writing and editing issues tha...