Star Trek: The Motion Picture/Alien
While there aren’t too many similarities, they are there:
- The Plot - both plots are kinda similar. Both movies involved their respective crews going up against unknown life forms that endanger them and others. Of course, you can’t compare a simple Xenomorph to the behemoth of a ship called V’Ger, but they were threats that the crews of the Enterprise and Nostromo had to deal with.One Enterprise member gets taken over by V’Ger while John Hurt’s character (I can’t remember his name) becomes the Alien franchise’s first Xenomorph host.
- The Effects - One of the things I really noticed about both films is how they were both influenced by 2001: A Space Odyssey. Both movies take measures showing how big and vast these ships and space is. They try to show off the coolness and relatability of this tech. They also kind of linger on these effects a little too much. Alien doesn’t do it as much as TMP did. It’s one of the reasons TMP is considered to be a bad movie.
- The Composer - Jerry Goldsmith composed both films and did a tremendous job on both. I’d say that TMP’s score is more memorable for me since I basically grew up on the TOS movies, but the Alien score is pretty solid.
Of course, there are differences between the two here. TMP’s an adventure in space while Alien is a horror. Both films end with some death, but Alien racks up that body count and gore. All Star Trek gets with “gore” is that unsettling transporter accident. Also, while I have some fondness for TMP, Alien is the better movie. Yeah, we have the crew of the Enterprise on the big screen, but there’s a reason why it’s called “The Slow Motion Picture.” As for Alien, it felt like a different beast altogether. We got an iconic villain and an iconic heroine in Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver).
Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan/Aliens
Now, here’s one that shockingly has more similarities than the first batch of movies:
- The Plot - The plots for both movies aren’t exactly the same, but there is some overlap. We have the crew of the Enterprise facing off against an old foe in Khan. For Aliens, Ellen Ripley has to return to the planet (LV- 426) where they found the derelict Engineer ship and face more aliens. Both groups of heroes face some impossible odds and lose important people in the process. Both movies also end with a bit of a final showdown of sorts. They also are quite quotable.
- The Main Character’s Development - Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) and Ellen Ripley go through some similar development here. They both face a familiar foe and deal with the fact that they’re a parent. Of course, they aren’t the same since Kirk’s an absentee father to his son, David Marcus, (Merritt Butrick), and Ripley takes on Newt as a surrogate daughter. Still, there’s some connection there. They also have to deal with the passage of time with Kirk hitting 50 years-old and Ripley trying to re-acclimate to life and dealing with PTSD.
- The Villains - While both villains are far from similar, they both share a connection to the main lead. Khan was a villain from the TOS episode, “Space Seed”. He and his Augments also pull some pretty horrific tricks with the crew. They slaughter Carol Marcus’s team and leave them in a pretty gory way. With Aliens, Ripley is the one who has a bone to pick with the Xenomorphs. The Queen definitely has a bone to pick with Ripley at the end.
- The Composer - Both movies are composed by James Horner, and you can really tell. Seriously, when things started to move into the action sections, things started sounding pretty similar. He also composed the music to Star Trek 3: the Search for Spock, so us Trekkies got a double dose of Horner.
Lastly, these two movies have the distinction of being the best in their respective franchises. Of the two, WOK is my favorite, but I can’t sleep on Aliens. Both movies are some of the best in the sci-fi genre. After that, they do diverge since they’re set in different genres. They end with a little hope. Aliens obviously ends with less hope, but at least Ripley found a surrogate daughter and nothing ever happens to her nor Hicks… (sigh)
Star Trek 3: The Search for Spock/Alien 3
You would think that these two don’t have many connections, but they are there. It’s few when compared to the previous two.
- The Plot - The plots definitely don’t match up, but I can find something here. Both movies involve a crazy person though McCoy was basically possessed by Spock’s essence or soul. For Alien 3, you’re on a hell planet with dangerous criminals. You’re bound to find the crazies. Both movies end up on a horrible planet, but Genesis wins in the “Hell Planet” motif. That thing was literally falling apart at the end. Finally, both movies end in a sort of rebirth. Spock is put back together while Ripley has a baby Queen start to bust out of her. Of course, Spock got the better part of that deal.
- The Main Characters - Both Kirk and Ripley are going through turmoil in different ways. With Kirk, he’s lost his best friend in Spock, and he also loses his son in this movie. You might as well throw in the original Enterprise too since it is destroyed here. For Ripley, she again has to deal with being the only survivor. She’s lost Newt and Hicks. She also has to deal with a planet that is hostile to her in many ways. Not only does she have to deal with a Xenomorph, but the prisoners on this planet were also known to commit heinous acts of violence. There’s also a Queen growing in her… dang, she went through Hell here!
- The Villains - There isn’t much overlap with the villains, but I can find something. The Xenomorph is pretty much Ripley’s cross to bear as she has to constantly face them. As for the crew of the Enterprise, they get the classic Klingons to deal with as they want to know the secret of Genesis.
After that, these movies really diverge in what they do. They both stayed true to their respective genres. As for which one is better, that’s a no-brainer. The Search for Spock might be the “fine” one of the small trilogy the Trek movies had (2-4), but it is a good movie. I can’t say the same for Alien 3. It tried to go back to its horror roots and really failed at that. It’s so lackluster that the director disowned it.
The End of This Rabbit Hole… Sort of
After the first three movies, finding more connections became hard to do. Still, I was able to find a few things here and there:
- Comedy! - While Alien Resurrection and Star Trek 4: The Voyage Home have no similarities, they do connect in one important way: Comedy! I can also lump Star Trek 5: The Final Frontier into this too since it went down the comedy route. Of these three movies, I can safely say that The Voyage Home handled comedy the best since it primarily used it in the 20th century. I can’t say the same for Resurrection and even Final Frontier. There’s a reason why Resurrection is down at the bottom for the worst Alien movies. At least Final Frontier has a couple of funny moments… a couple, mind you. It’s my least favorite of the bunch, but at least it didn’t have Mr. Tricorder. Trek does do comedy well at times, but it has its dull moments.
- Crossovers - Finally, I can kinda lump in those AVP movies! Star Trek is no stranger to doing crossovers within their own shows and movies. We kind of got this with movies like Star Trek: Generations and Star Trek 2009. While they ain’t perfect, they did their best to be good crossovers. I can’t say the same for AVP movies though. Even though the first one is below average, the second one is horrible. At least both franchises know how to crossover well in the comics. They’re doing all sorts of wild stuff.
- The Borg - Now, the TNG movies really have no comparisons to the Alien movies, but there is one area where I can see a connection: The Borg. The Borg were popular villains on The Next Generation, and they made their big screen debut in Star Trek: First Contact. I don’t know who decided to ramp up the horror for the Borg, but that man is responsible for some creepy nightmares! First Contact also introduced the aspect of the Borg Queen, and what franchise has a controlling Queen? I don’t know if the writers for FC were looking at Aliens’ notes, but I see what you did. I like it!
- Androids - While both franchises aren’t the first to deal with AI on legs, I gotta say that androids provided for some of the better moments in the franchises. With Trek, you’ve had Data (Brent Spiner), the titular android, and his “brothers”. The Alien franchise had Ash (Ian Holm) and Bishop (Lance Henrickson) in interesting roles, but they really succeeded with the character of David (Michael Fassbender) in the prequels. I hope they go back to David one day.
- A Resurgence of Sorts - Lastly, both franchises have had a bit of a resurgence in the last decade and a half. Star Trek had the rebooted films, and while they weren’t perfect, they did revitalize the franchise. Now, Trek’s made it back to the small screen and streaming with shows like Discovery, Picard, Strange New Worlds, and Lower Decks. After the failure of those AVP movies and Resurrection, Ridley Scott returned to the franchise with prequels to the Alien movies. Prometheus and Alien Covenant were released to some decent fanfare. We also just had Alien: Romulus released (gotta see that soon), and we’ll be getting a FX series called Alien: Earth soon. I can’t say that it’s been all perfect, but they’re trying at least.
……………………………………………..
Well, I can finally end this and eat some carrots in this hole I’ve created. Both of these franchises have had their highs and lows. It was cool to see where they were similar. I know there are probably other things I could’ve mentioned, but this has gone on long enough. Until then, Peace, God Bless, and be careful out there.
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