The Xenopod

Final report of the podcast, The Xenopod. We've watched all the Alien franchise films and offer this final report on our findings, the various themes that have emerged as we went through, and some thoughts on the future of the franchise. With a little luck, the network will pick this up. This is The Xenopod, signing off. Our theme song is Alien Remix by Leslie Wai available on SoundCloud: ⁠ https:...

You've reached the end of your journey at last. As you touch down on the planet that you'll colonise as your new home, you feel calm. Until you're suddenly ambused from the field of cultivated wheat by critical appraisal of ALIEN: COVENANT offering insight into what elements of this best-of of the Alien franchise don't work, what the film has to say about colonialism and genocide, and what we lear...

You descend to the surface of an alien planet and immediately remove your space helmet only to be attacked by a parasitic worm that pumps you full of critical appraisal of 2012's PROMETHEUS. Against your will, you learn about the extended development history of this quasi-prequel, the issues with the script that bog down the visual spectacle, and the film's dense thicket of thematic preoccupations...

You crash in the Colorado forest and discover a small town overrun with people discussing ALIENS VS. PREDATOR: REQUIEM and why its gratuitous nastiness and deeply conservative undercurrents make this the most unpleasant film so far in the Alien franchise. Is there any interesting critical insight to pull from this literally and metaphorically dark film? Content warning: body horror, death, infant...

You drill down into the Antarctic ice and discover what you've been doggedly searching for: an ever-shifting pyramid containing critical analysis of ALIEN VS. PREDATOR. Ancient hieroglyphics discuss why the film doesn't work, how its white supremacist premise fits into racialised readings of the Alien films, and its weird contested position as a paratext in the multi/transmedia franchise. Content...

It's two hundred years later and you awaken in a weird membrane-like thing to discover that you've been resurrected for the purpose of learning about ALIEN RESURRECTION's tonal clash of writer and director, the script's baked-in misogyny, and the odd direction it takes with Ripley's character. Content warning: body horror; death; ableism; misogyny; sexual imagery; spousal abuse; workplace abuse. O...

You've crash-landed on a futuristic ore refinery and penal colony based on outdated ideas of genetic destiny and find that two British men are talking to you about David Fincher's first feature film, ALIEN³. Simon and Jim discuss the film's unfortunate scripting issues, the troubled pre-production process, and how this exemplifies the Alien franchise's identity crisis. Content warning: body horror...

You're now fully enveloped by a Facehugger feeding on your nutrients and pumping you full of information, contextualisation, and thematic analysis of the 1986 film, ALIENS. Simon and Jim take you through the second film in the Alien franchise and discover the path that James Cameron took the films down. Content warning: body horror; death; space travel; fear of flying; sexual imagery. Our theme so...

A leathery egg opens before you. You peer into its organic depths to see what be moving within and are assailed by a podcast full of information, contextualisation, and thematic analysis of the 1979 film, ALIEN. Listen as Simon and Jim embark on the first leg of their journey through the Alien franchise. Content warning: body horror; rape and sexual violence; sexual imagery; death; space travel. O...

Welcome to The Xenopod: the podcast where we watch and analyse all the Alien franchise films in release order. In this introductory episode, Simon Bowie and Jim Ross lay out the project, the reasons for watching all the Alien films, and what makes the Alien franchise different.  Our theme song is Alien Remix by Leslie Wai available on SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/lesliewai/alien-remix