In the eleven years since the release of Prometheus a lot has been said about the film. Controversial, divisive, masterpiece, or fumble, there's no disputing that Ridley Scott's storied return to science fiction is one for the film history books. In this episode the PO team is joined by Derek from Alien Theory to 'defend Prometheus' as it were. Is Prometheus a film that needs defending? Where does it sit between the original trilogy of films and Alien Covenant? We attempt to explore all of those questions and more. This was a delightful discussion. Enjoy!
224 // Interviewing Julianna Kurokawa (”Maeko Hayes” in Aliens: Dark Descent)
As fans continue to play and praise Aliens: Dark Descent, Patrick and Christian sat down to talk to the Deputy Director herself, Maeko Hayes, voiced by Julianna Kurokawa (The Peripheral, The Witcher, Avenue 5).
In this episode we peek behind the curtain of video game production to learn how the team at Tindalos Interactive worked with the actors, and what it took to bring this new chapter of the Alien Saga to life.
You can learn more about Julianna by following her Instagram account here: @julianna_kurokawa
223 // Aliens: Colonial Marines 10-Year Retrospective (The Hive Ep. 1)
** This is the first episode of our new Patreon series dedicated to Alien content. We're calling it "The Hive," and it'll be available exclusively to Patrons going forward. To sign up for Patreon, head to patreon.com/perfectorganism. **
It's somehow been ten years since Aliens: Colonial Marines stomped its way into our lives. What actually happened? How did it go from being one of the most promising console games of its generation to being the butt of every joke?
On this ten year-anniversary show, Jaime, Patrick, and Christian break out their best T poses and talk about this thing from every angle imaginable.
// Apple Podcasts: bit.ly/perfectorganismitunes
222 // The Biology Of Fear (With Lali DeRosier and Alex White)
Welcome to Xeno Bio 101! When Alex White (author of two of the best-received Alien novels in history) mentioned on their previous PO appearance that they had an amazing science advisor named Lali DeRosier—a science teacher, like our very own Andie GeekGirl!—we knew we had to have her on the show. And to top it off, Alex even agreed to come back on as well!
In this wonderful, educational episode, Lali and Andie take us to science class. How could these creatures grow so quickly? What does "biomechanical" even mean? What the hell is the thing called that the Queen drops eggs from (hint: it's not an ovipositor)?
Join Patrick, Christian, Andie, Lali, and Alex as they discuss these ideas and SO much more!
Lali has a podcast of her own called Curly Hair Mafia—a great place to start would be this episode discussing Prometheus! https://curlyhairmafia.com/2012/06/10/prometheus/
You can also find her on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/adverbia.bsky.social and on whatever Twitter is currently called @_adverbia.
More on Alex (and their socials) can be found at http://www.alexrwhite.com/. Please read their books, you won't regret it.
// Apple Podcasts: bit.ly/perfectorganismitunes
221 // Anatomy of a Scene: Brett's Death
One of our most popular episode formats on Shoulder of Orion: The Blade Runner Podcast (sister show to PO) is "Anatomy of a Scene," where we break down exactly what makes a given sequence so iconic. On today's episode, we apply that same format to one of Alien's most enduringly frightening moments: Brett's death at the hands of the creature.
Join Jaime, Patrick, and Christian as they explore this episode from all sorts of angles—technical, philosophical, film-theoretical—and let us know if there are other scenes in the Alien saga you'd like to hear us discuss on future episodes!
// Apple Podcasts: bit.ly/perfectorganismitunes
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
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
210 // 25 Years of Alien: Resurrection
Love it or hate it (or both at the same time), Alien: Resurrection passed an important milestone last Thanksgiving: it turned 25 years old.
In this roundtable, Jaime, Patrick, Perry, Maj, and special guest Jehovanny Mazon discuss the ever-complicated—and ever-hilarious—legacy of this bizarre film.
// 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