#Extra Terrestrial Visitors | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

timeagainreviews · 1 year ago

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Dust and Darkness Prevail

Panspermia is the theory that human life was seeded by comets, asteroids, meteoroids, and space dust falling to Earth. Directed panspermia is the idea that an unknown third party purposely seeded life onto this planet through similar means. These are perhaps the most ancient of aliens. For whatever reason, be it propagation, a future food source, or simply contamination from an explorer’s boot, somehow, we were created. It’s easy to see why mankind looked to the stars for parentage- we are made of star stuff, after all. As our understanding of the stars grew, so did our desire to understand them in relation to ourselves. Staring down the concept of being a mere dust mote floating within sunbeams, some of us began to wonder if the Gods we abandoned weren’t actually a different form of sky daddy. In the words of Giorgio A. Tsoukalos- “Aliens.”

Science fiction has a rich history of depicting ancient Gods as alien lifeforms. Doctor Who is no different. Sometimes these extra-terrestrial visitors are used to explain odd phenomena, and other times, they’ve been used to outright undermine the achievements of ancient civilisations. One of the most popular ancient alien theories is that aliens helped build the pyramids. Some Egyptian-themed polyhedron-obsessed aliens influenced ancient Egyptian culture. You can see it in movies like Stargate, or in television stories like the 1975 Doctor Who serial “Pyramids of Mars.” Recent books like Erich Von Daniken’s scientifically dubious “Chariots of the Gods,” or numerous documentaries narrated by Rod Serling had garnered interest in ancient astronauts. A year after “Pyramids of Mars,” aired, NASA released photos from their Viking 1 orbiter that would only feed these theories. The black and white photos of the Cydonia region appeared to depict a carved facelike structure and gigantic pyramids on the planet’s surface. Needless to say, some people let their imaginations run wild.

While many of the concepts explored in the History Channel’s “Ancient Aliens,” have been labelled pseudo-science or even racist, some of these concepts still crop up in popular media. A more benign example would be Marvel’s own Thor and Loki. Sure, they call them Gods, but they are very clearly from advanced alien civilisations. It feels appropriate then that Doctor Who returning with Disney money might also explore one of its own ancient aliens in Sutekh the Destroyer. Considering the build-up with the Toymaker and the Maestro, it all seems fairly obvious in hindsight. But what does this have to do with Ruby Sunday? In seeking out her own parentage, might she also benefit from looking to the stars?

One aspect to this season of Doctor Who that I feel has actually fallen a bit flat is the question of Ruby Sunday’s parents. Considering that the fandom has been interacting more with the question of the identity of Susan Twist’s character, it’s safe to say I’m not alone in this. It’s just not a very interesting question, and I think it’s partly because we already know the answer. Doctor Who’s official Twitter recently asked fans who they think Ruby’s mother really is, and only a few people actually got the answer right. It’s Carla Sunday, obviously. I find this whole question to be as flawed as the conversation around it. Ruby uses words like “abandoned,” to describe herself. And while I can understand the desire to know your roots, I know my adopted siblings were never abandoned. They were found. They have a family who love them. My mother who was also adopted had a mother in my grandma. My greatest hope with this storyline is that this is what Russell T Davies has been leading up to all along. Ruby’s real mother is the one who changed her diapers and cleaned up scraped knees.

Speaking of family, “The Legend of Ruby Sunday,” begins like a bit of a family reunion. Yasmin Finney is back as “Rose.” As are Gemma Redgrave as “Kate Lethbridge-Stewart,” Bonnie Langford as “Mel,” and Alexander Devrient as “Colonel Christofer Ibrahim.” Also returning is the Vlinx, with a shiny new chassis. Strangely absent is Ruth Madeley as UNIT’s scientific advisor “Shirley Anne Bingham." In her place is Lenny Rush as “Morris Gibbons,” a boy genius with a taste for excitement. We’re also introduced to Harriet, UNIT’s newest lead archivist. More on her later. The light tone of this family reunion is much needed as the majority of this episode is Doctor Who at its most bleak.

Something I have completely failed to mention this season has been the TARDIS’ weird groaning. It’s not as though I hadn’t noticed, there have just been so many things to talk about lately. I had meant to bring it up last week when the Doctor told Rogue the TARDIS doesn’t like bounty hunters. I figured then that it was the Doctor ignoring a bigger problem. Speaking of which, it does strike me as a bit odd that the Doctor hadn’t addressed the issue for such a long time. The TARDIS has been groaning and sliding into landings like a football tackle. I understand that the Doctor has a lot on his mind, but it would have been nice if they could have shown the Doctor showing any kind of concern for the TARDIS. He’s been flying her for thousands of years, he would notice any slight change. This isn’t a huge issue for me, though it does feel a bit out of character. But who am I to complain? Even I forgot to bring it up.

The Doctor does have a lot on his mind, which is what brings him to UNIT HQ. It was nice to see the Doctor lay all of his cards on the table for a change. You don’t often see the Doctor outright asking for help. Luckily, UNIT was already on the case. The woman the Doctor keeps seeing also exists in modern-day London as Susan Triad. I found it a bit odd that the Doctor would know a politician from an aborted timeline like Roger ap Gwilliam, but not a tech industry giant with her name on a skyscraper. Even Colonel Ibrahim recognised it as an anagram of TARDIS, so what gives, Doctor?

Part of their gathering intelligence on Susan Triad has been using Mel to infiltrate her organisation. When I had heard they were bringing back Mel, I was excited. Mel has never been a fan favourite, and even I took a lot of time to warm up to her in classic Doctor Who. But bringing her back feels like a no-brainer. She’s a tech whiz and Bonnie Langford is a great actress. There is only room to grow with her character, and grow she does. Not only have they given her a bit more backstory with losing her family, but we also get to see her acting as a double agent and puttering about on her scooter. Seeing Mel in this capacity is a delight. I am really enjoying how they have built up UNIT to be more like the ‘70s (or was it the ‘80s?) with recurring characters. Instead of Yates and Benton, we’ll now have Ibrahim and Sullivan. I really hope they continue this trend, though I would appreciate it if they stopped haemorrhaging scientific advisors.

Despite around-the-clock surveillance, the most UNIT has managed to gather on Susan Triad is that she’s a seemingly nice human woman with no underlying alien traits. Her company’s upcoming event will announce that she is making the Triad OS free to the world, which seems like a weird flex. Ubuntu and Fedora are both free operating systems, so this is nothing new. What’s even more perplexing is that UNIT would integrate Triad into their own systems. Call me crazy, but if I were a government organisation spying on a tech giant because their name is an anagram of an alien time machine, I might opt to use Windows or Mac. The whole storyline was giving shades of “The Sontaran Strategem/The Poison Sky,” or even “Kingsman: The Secret Service,” wherein miracle technologies are secretly deadly. We still don’t know the ramifications of the Triad system’s worldwide rollout, but I imagine we’ll find out next week.

Something a friend pointed out to me that feels important happens during the Mrs Flood scene. According to Kate, the Triad press conference was scheduled for fifteen hundred hours, or 3 pm. What’s odd is that when Ruby and Rose show up to Ruby’s home, Cherry’s digital clock reads 15:08. At first, I had misremembered this scene and figured it must take place during the events at UNIT HQ, but the inclusion of Ruby and Rose implies that it’s not. I can think of three possible explanations for this. One explanation is that it was a continuity error. The production crew simply goofed. It happens. Another explanation is that Cherry’s radio is like my coffee machine in that the digital time display is incorrect. That’s possibly the most human answer. But television doesn’t often allow for such realistic discrepancies as they can confuse audiences. Seriously, how often do you see fictional stories where two characters share the name John? One of my closest friends is also named Natalie, but that wouldn’t usually work in fiction. This leaves us with a third explanation which is that it was done on purpose. Either something wibbly wobbly is happening, or they goofed.

As expected, Mrs Flood appears to be someone. With the reveal of Susan Triad being Sutekh, my hopes of the Rani have been dashed against the rocks of reality. Or have they? In explaining regeneration to Ruby, the Doctor describes it as a way to hide away with a new face. When Ruby fetches Mrs Flood to mind Cherry while Carla joins them back at UNIT, Mrs Flood mentions hiding herself away. While Mrs Flood was a bit rude to Ruby and downright hostile toward Cherry, these could be the actions of a bitter Susan Foreman, aka the Doctor’s granddaughter. However, I am reticent to call her Susan for a couple or reasons. For starters, Carole Ann Ford was present at the premiere for the 60th anniversary specials. Sure this could have simply been due to her history with the show, but it could also imply she’s been filming things for the RTD2 era. You could speculate that the only thing she actually filmed was a flashback regeneration scene into Mrs Flood, but that feels like a waste of a much-needed reunion. My money is on the Rani, but mostly because I want her to be and because Carole Ann Ford deserves her moment. If they bring Susan back, there’s only one person I want to see play her.

Ruby and Rose fetch the surveillance tape from the night Ruby was left on that church stoop. I loved that Carla joined them the moment she learned that Donna was involved with UNIT. It’s nice to see that at least one character hasn’t forgotten who Ruby’s real mother is. This also gave rise to one of my favourite Doctor moments of the episode when he says "Yeah but it’s Carla. Come on," in response to the claim that not even the prime minister has access to UNIT HQ. I loved the exchange between the Doctor and Kate about their possession of a time window. They claim they don’t have one, the Doctor knows they do. Classic. It’s the Doctor knowing of the existence of the Black Archive all over again. Even further, I loved the Doctor laughing at the way UNIT has “lashed together,” the time window. I doubt he really feels that way, but the Doctor needs to remind UNIT not to get too comfortable. Undercutting their achievement is a reminder that these items aren’t toys. It’s a subtle way to establish himself as an authority while also reminding UNIT of their limitations. The Doctor’s aim isn’t to belittle UNIT, but to instill a healthy fear of these technologies. As it turns out, the Doctor’s fears were well-founded.

The time window is a large room capable of viewing moments in time. The Doctor refers to time as a memory which is a bigger Whoiverse change than people are giving it credit. I always thought of the TARDIS as a supercomputer that stores moments throughout time in its memory like files. It makes sense that time and memory mingle like this. The effect of the VHS degradation on memory is one of the coolest visual effects in Doctor Who. It’s nice to see that Disney money coming into play. I also have to tip my hat to Lenny Rush for his performance as Morris here. Lots of UNIT characters were given little moments to shine in this episode like Harriet and Colonel Chidozie. The latter of whom we’re given a bit of background information about so that when he meets his demise, we care a little bit more. He’s just a Manchester lad with a cheery disposition. It would be a shame if something were to happen to him.

In an almost cruel twist of fate, the visual of Ruby’s mother is obscured. Not just obscured, but seemingly darkened as if on purpose. The moment she walks close to the Doctor and Ruby, she glitches past them. It’s sad for Ruby, but I feel it’s important that Carla is there to witness this moment. She needs to see that the mystery of Ruby’s life isn’t just one of being an orphan, but that something is deeply and darkly wrong. I feel as though Carla’s involvement in this storyline is due a rather big payoff next week, and I am looking forward to that. The Doctor notices that the TARDIS appears more corporeal than a simple image from a video. He asks the tanatalising question “If time is memory and memory is time, then what is the memory of a time machine?” It’s a question I have been mulling in my head ever since, and I still don’t have a great answer.

Colonel Chidozie disappears around the same time a swarm of dark energy begins to incircle the memory TARDIS (omg I think I just figured it out). The MEMORY TARDIS! Ok. I see what you’re putting down, Russell. Carla refers to the dark energy as “the Beast,” as in, the devil. But who among us didn’t automatically think of the Beast from “The Satan Pit”? Hell, it’s not as though it would break the show if Sutekh and the Beast were one in the same. They’re both voiced by Gabriel Woolf. Furthermore, we know Sutekh takes on multiple forms like the doggo or Susan Triad. There are plenty of examples of gods taking on multiple forms. Christianity has the Holy Trinity of God, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Hindu gods often have multiple forms such as Vishnu manifesting as Krishna, Rama, or even Buddha. It’s fully within the realm of possibility that the Beast is yet one more aspect to Sutekh. After all, the Fourth Doctor did refer to him as Satan at one point. Why not?

Possibly the most interesting aspect of the scene is when Chidozie’s speaks out from the darkness. It’s not so much the fact that he’s in Hell or that his consciousness feels like it’s been hijacked like Angel Bob’s was, but rather the fact that he only seems to respond to Ruby. The Doctor tries to commune with the entity and gets nothing. Kate commands Chidozie to report and comes up equally empty-handed. It’s not until Ruby attempts to communicate with the entity that it responds. If Christianity has the Trinity and Hinduism has the Trimurti, perhaps Sutekh has the Triad. Perhaps there’s Sutekh, his doggo form, and Ruby Sunday. This might explain why Ruby’s birth mother has been obscured- she never existed. Whoever left Ruby at the church that day could have been a servant of Sutekh, or even Susan Triad herself.

The tone of the episode by this point is very gloomy. I think the last time Doctor Who gave me the creeps to this degree was “The Impossible Astronaut.” As a fan of dark and disturbing movies, I consider myself rather resilient to horror and dread in media. But there is something about turning the TARDIS into a malevolent force that chills me to my core. Bad Wolf Girl once said “You know the sound the TARDIS makes? That wheezing, groaning. That sound brings hope wherever it goes.” But here, the TARDIS offers no comfort. It goes beyond seeing our beloved symbol of hope twisted and perverted. We have seen what the TARDIS is capable of doing. We know how powerful it can be. We can also imagine what that power can do in the wrong hands. My dear late friend Quinn and I used to say that the cloister bell was the scariest sound the TARDIS could make. But this howling groan and sinister energy turning into a hound of Hell is like the cloister bell on steroids.

The Doctor and Mel head off to S Triad Technologies in the vain hope that Susan might be the Doctor’s granddaughter Susan. It’s a last-ditch effort to gain insight into what is happening. Earlier in the episode, we see Kate telling the Doctor that he brings joy, but after Chidozie’s death, you get the impression that her view has sobered up a bit. The Doctor sees the fear in Kates eyes. He sees the fear in Carla’s eyes. He even let down his best friend Ruby. But it’s Mel who picks him back up. Mel who has seen him at his worst and knows who the Doctor is underneath it all. Only she can give him the tough love he needs in this moment and I loved that they gave this opportunity to Bonnie Langford.

The Doctor makes contact with Susan Triad but there is no Time Lord recognition on either end. However, we’ve been here before. Maybe she has a fob watch she doesn’t like to look at. Maybe she’s hiding away. With her press conference due to begin, Susan is whisked away. But as she leaves the Doctor calls out asking if she’s ever dreamed of a girl named Lindy. Has she ever dreamed about a place called Pacifico Del Rio? Has she ever dreamed about being an ambulance? Out of context, he sounds insane. I mean, sure, I dream of being a sail barge, but that’s my special time. It’s enough to set things into motion.

At this point, we still don’t know the true identity of Susan Triad. She very well could still be the Doctor’s granddaughter. But the moment she walked onstage doing that awkward Theresa May arm thing, I knew she had to be evil. Historically speaking, if you want someone to appear evil in Doctor Who, compare them to a Tory. It worked in “The Happiness Patrol,” and it still works now. Could you imagine being the person who milkshakes Sutekh? I feel like throwing a sweet banana dairy concoction into the face of a terrible god would only resort in eternal suffering. While Susan Triad is having her public meltdown for all to see, UNIT’s own Harriet Arbinger is doing one as well. Once again we get another Harbinger. I’ll be honest, the H. Arbinger joke isn’t nearly as strong as RTD seems to think it is. But then again, Batman is the “world’s greatest detective,” and it took him a while to learn that E. Nigma was the Riddler.

I had begun to fully suspect Sutekh by this point, but part of me was starting to wonder if Harriet wasn’t going to turn out to be Sutekh instead. It would have been a very effective misdirect. I was really liking Harriet up to this point too, so I was a bit sad she just turned out to be a servant of the God of Death. Her “I was born for this,” line had me a little hot under the collar. But it looks like she’s gonna get a lot to do in the next episode, so that softens the blow a little bit. As she names off the various gods of the Pantheon, I was very happy to see them reference the Mara as I am a big fan of both “Kinda,” and “Snakedance.” Some have also speculated that the threefold deity of malice, mischief and misery could be a reference to the Gods of Ragnarok. I really hope this is true because I’ve always thought they were cool.

I’ve seen some people complain that they seem to have somewhat retconned Sutekh. People have said it makes no sense to make him the god of gods. He’s an Osiran, not the most powerful god of them all, right? Well, if you think about it, in many ways, death is the ultimate power. If a god like the Toymaker can die, then of course he would run from Sutekh. Also, he’s a god, of course he’s going to claim to be the best. That’s kind of their whole deal. They’re quite full of themselves, gods. Sutekh’s whole deal is that he believes himself the only being worthy of life. Thus all living creatures are an affront to him. Where he treads, he leaves only dust and darkness. Sutekh demonstrates this by reducing Susan Triad’s poor assistant to dust much like he did to Chidozie. With the TARDIS commandeered by evil Anubis and the Doctor being next in line to receive Sutekh’s gift, things have never looked darker for our Time Lord and saviour.

So who was Susan Triad? Was she always Sutekh? Harriet referred to Sutekh as “the mother, father, and other of them all.” I suppose I should start using they/them pronouns for Sutekh. But who were they? Did every incarnation of Sutekh know they were Sutekh? You could wager that they had a hand in a lot of what was happening, and a lot of what was happening could lead to death. The Space Babies were forced into existence and left to die. Roger ap Gwilliam and the Maestro were set on nuclear annihilation. Lindy and her lot were racists which often leads to death. And let's not forget the cold algorithm of the capitalistic war machines from Villengard. What’s even more interesting then is that if these are all aspects of Sutekh and death, then we know Sutekh is stoppable. In “73 Yards,” we’re shown that whatever Ruby’s follower said to Sutekh was enough to send them scurrying. Sadly, Ruby has no memory of this aborted timeline.

With a new episode of “Tales from the TARDIS,” in the pipeline, I expect we’ll see the return of the memory TARDIS in a big way. According to news sources, the new episode will feature the Doctor and Ruby discussing the events of “Pyramids of Mars,” so make sure to watch that if you need a refresher or have never seen the original. One aspect you might find interesting is that Sutekh initially manifests at a priory on the site of the original UNIT HQ. I have no idea if that will come into play, but it’s interesting that both stories are focused around UNIT, if nothing else. Even more interesting is the fact that in both stories, Sutekh is intent on possessing the TARDIS. I wonder if the Doctor will be forced to use the memory TARDIS to stop Sutekh since the regular TARDIS is compromised. We see Ruby’s memory begin to manifest once more when she and Sullivan enter the time window again. It’s entirely plausible.

I’ll be watching the finale like many others in the UK this weekend, at the movie theatre. The last time I got to see a Doctor Who episode in the theatre was in Kansas City when they simulcast “The Day of the Doctor,” at a local indie-theatre. I’ll never forget the feeling of a theatre packed with nerds cheering over Peter Capaldi’s attack eyebrows. I’m also going to see it in the theatre because, evidently, this is a big enough episode to merit a cinematic experience. I bought nine tickets, so it’s going to be a bit of an event for me. I’ll try not and let that colour my experience too much. All in all, I loved this episode, but we’re still waiting for the other shoe to drop. I loved “Fugitive of the Judoon,” but the lacklustre finale left me retroactively disappointed. But for the time being, RTD has my full attention. I can’t remember the last time Doctor Who left me this excited for what’s to come.

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thealmightyemprex · 4 months ago

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Sci Fi Month: Steven Spielbergs SF :ET the Extra Terrestrial

So next on the Spielberg watch is.....Possibly my favorite Spielberg film .The first Spielberg film I ever saw and a film that means a lot to me ,ET the Extra Terrestrial

In this 1982 film a young boy ,Elliot (Henry Thomas ) befriends an alien ,E.T. (Voiced by Pat Welsh ),and with the help of his brother Michael (Rober MacNaughton) and sister Gertie (Drew Barrymore) goes forth to find a way to help the visitor from the stars contact his people and make it back home

This movie is just lovely .Now I dont watch it a bunch,i've had years between viewings .....But I love this movie .Its a genuinely charming motion picture ,and I feel if there is a pantheon of great family movies ,this film should be on it.Its also one of those movies that feels diffrent viewing it as a kid vs viewing it as an adult .AS a kid I was charmed by the friendship between the boy and the alien....AS an adult it is a wonderful talke about the nature of childhood and holding onto wonder

First gotta praise Dee Wallace,most known for her horror work,she is kind of the quintessential movie mom to me ,a single mom who has just gone through a seperation with her husband and having to raise three kids .I find her belivable and she has a few funny moments that have just stuck with me

Peter Coyote I dont think gets enough credit for his ver nuanced antagonist role .Now Keys is NOT A villain or a monster ,he is a scientist who is also in awe of ET ,but he is at odds with the heroes .He is at first menacing but when you actually know him there is a warmth ,and I think not making him a villain was a smart choice ,heck he envies the heroes

Michael and Gertie are kind of perfect counterpoints to Elliot,Michael being a teen get more the gravity of the father leaving and is trying to be sort of the man of the house,and cares for his siblings though he can be a bit of a douche .while Gertie is so young its all kind of over her head ,but she wants to help even if shes bad at keeping secrets and has some fun snarky moments .Also as a middle child this movie perfectly captures the dynamics of being a middle child ,this film is one of the best showcases of siblings I have seen

Henry Thomas as Elliot .....Makes this movie ,he gives one of my favorite kid performances ever ,its a character I really connect with especially when I was a kid (middle child with divorced parents who likes Star Wars was basically me as a kid ) .I am astonished he is so good cause to 1.Be the lead of the movie 2.Have a lot of emotional scenes 3. Have a belivable friendship with a puppet ,and he does it all wonderfully.Also so happy he has had a career resurgence over the last decade

And then of course you have ET himself.....Who is one of the best special effects characters ever put on film .Not in the senseI think hes real,you get a few scenes with wires,stiff movement andone shot where hes just a red lantern on a dolly track .....But thats not the point of special effects ,no ,special effects make you believe the impossible if done right ,special effects are a tool to tell the story .What makes ET work is all the suit perferormers,sound effects people ,pupeteers all work together to make this creature feel alive and have a personality .Props to Carlo Rambaldi and his team in bringing the creature to physical life and to actress Pat Welsh whose croaking voice adds so much personality .I also like how ET has kind of an agess quality somewhere between a curious child and an eccentric grandpa .Everything comes together to make this lovable character who will get you crying by the end

Theres a lot more I can talk about ,the fact the film is shot from a child point of view,the fact that aside from the moter you dont get a good look at the adults till the story gets dark .The fact is get very heavy but still manage one of the most bittersweet but uplifiting beautiful endings ever.The fact it balances sweet moments with scary moments .The fact it has one of the best family movie climaxes ever with the bicyce chase .JOHN WILLIAMS BRILLAINT SCORE WHICH IS ONE OF HIS BEST .AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH I LOVE THIS MOVIE

So yeah ,big reccomendation if you have never seen ET ....Give yourself a treat and watch it .Its a great movie and its one of my favorites

@ariel-seagull-wings @countesspetofi @themousefromfantasyland

@theancientvaleofsoulmaking @the-blue-fairie @princesssarisa

@amalthea9 @filmcityworld1 @florals-cardigan

#steven spielberg #et the extra terrestrial #sci fi

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rhetthammersmithhorror · 2 years ago

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Extra Terrestrial Visitors | 1983 — a.k.a, Pod People | 1990

#Pod People #Extra Terrestrial Visitors #Los nuevos extraterrestres #Juan Piquer Simón #mst3k #juan piquer simon #monster movie #monster suit #horror #hammersmith horror #80s horror #80s scifi #Trumpy

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schlock-luster-video · 2 months ago

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On April 17, 1984, Pod People debuted in Madrid, Spain.

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darktripz · 6 months ago

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#Extra Terrestrial Visitors #Los nuevos extraterrestres #1983 #Juan Piquer Simón #Joaquín Grau #scifi #fantasy #ET #alien #psychotropic film #psychotronic film

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guysinbondagejeopardy · 1 year ago

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In our Bondage Jeopardy movie "Alien Invasion", extra-terrestrial visitors capture human subjects. Part 1 is streaming now at Guys in Bondage Jeopardy.

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artist-issues · 2 years ago

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Some of You Have Not Seen E.T. In a Long Time

and you think it’s just a semi-weird but cult-classic 80s sci-fi movie, and you don’t revisit it, if you ever saw it at all.

But let me help you with that.

That movie is so good.

It’s about a little boy named Elliott who is immature, and one of the worst parts of his particular immaturity is that he only cares about how he feels. At the beginning of the movie he tries to tell his family about the creature he saw in the backyard, but when they don’t react the way he wants them to, he throws uncomfortable facts about his absent father in his mom’s face. She gets upset, and Elliott’s big brother says,

And what does the backyard creature turn out to be? An ALIEN. A word which means both “visitor from another planet” and “completely foreign, outside of your own experience.”

they literally name him “the EXTRA-Terrestrial.” Because that’s what he teaches the little boy—how to feel what other people feel, outside of himself. Instead of just focusing on his own little world and how he feels.

The alien literally has a heart that you can see from the outside of his body.

The alien literally has empathy powers. He makes Elliott feel exactly what he’s feeling—or vice-versa. When he sees a hurt, the alien immediately tries to heal it. When he starts dying, so does Elliott.

The little boy has to learn to communicate, to care about what someone else cares about, and to let go of someone even though it hurts because it’s what’s best for them.

The E in E.T. stands for empathy, go back and WATCH IT.

the movie is shot mostly from a short perspective, so the audience can feel what the kid characters are feeling, just like the kid characters are learning to feel what their loved ones might feel.

E.T.‘s character design is all big eyes and glowing heart—what else would personify “observe other people and feel for them?”—while the bad guys in the movie, the government, come in dressed as astronauts—and you cannot see their faces. You can’t connect with them.

The leader of the government is only shown from the hip down, accompanied by the sounds of jingling keys, until he talks to Elliott about why he wants to study E.T.—then suddenly, because he’s getting down on Elliott’s level and explaining how he feels, he’s the only one who’s face you can actually see, and you realize that the keys were symbolizing how much he wanted to unlock the secrets of the universe all along. But you don’t get to know that until Elliott connects with this character, who is explaining how he feels.

It is set on Halloween. (When everyone wears masks.)

If you haven’t seen this movie in a long time, or ever, and you think it’s just the weird Spielberg Alien Movie, go and watch it. That’s how you make a movie, people

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wellthebardsdead · 2 years ago

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I found another short story I’d written in high school called ‘Dairy of an Angel keeper, the Swans of Versailles’

The premise is angels are essentially extra terrestrial beings that humanity merely formed a religion around centuries ago, but when several begin turning up on the planet to observe humanity, mass panic breaks out believing they’re here to begin the rapture, and when the angels are met with violence from the world governments. That’s exactly what happens. Until that is, they realise the angels are extremely easy to manipulate. How so? They noticed they would stop attacking if a human pleaded for mercy or forgiveness, and with that knowledge, they simply pacified them with their own nature.

However containing them became the next issue. They couldn’t simply allow them to roam freely knowing the level of destruction they were capable of, but a large public outcry from those of the Christian faith against locking them away they came up with ‘the heavenly bodies initiative’ in which the angels would be ‘housed’ on public display. Essentially, placing them in zoos, because capitalism.

The ones in Rome were housed in the Vatican. I’m England they were housed in one of the many palaces etc.

And in France, the Angel of our story was housed in Versailles. Gabriel.

Despite all the angels living in different locations they all had the same set routine as a means to keep them calm and passive. They’d be awoken each morning, given the same breakfast even if they didn’t require food to survive, they’d be dressed and taken on their daily tour of the facility they’d come to call home. They’d greet guests with a wave, then go to the study, the gardens, then be given their lunch, after which they’d be entertained further before a nap followed by dinner, desert, and their nightly routine before bed.

Just living comfortably on display for the general public to see at a distance, and higher paying visitors to witness up close but never interact with.

And who keeps them set to their routines? Their keepers.

Young men and women all selected specifically based on their looks for one reason and one reason only, angels have no concept of death. They understand it happens. They know it happens to mortal beings, but they don’t understand how it works, why it happens, or why human beings simply wither until they simply expire.

It wasn’t an issue at first, the angels were content with their keepers, until one of them abruptly passed away and was replaced with a keeper that looked different to their previous one. The Angel grew distressed with the unfamiliar humans presence and when they enquired as to what happened to their original keeper, they fell into a deep despair and lashed out at anyone who would come near them, until that is, they found another human who looked like the original keeper. The Angel of course having no full understanding of death, swiftly returned to a state of peace upon seeing them and behaved as if they had merely forgotten the grief that just plagued them.

And so it became routine for keepers to be chosen by a strict set of rules based on appearance and appearance alone and rotated out every 5 years without the angels knowledge. Keepers would be selected, and assigned a name, the same name of the original, which is where our protagonist comes in.

Michel was placed on a waiting list as a potential keeper due to his resemblance to the current keeper of the Angel of Versailles, and when it came time to select a new keeper, he was called in to join the lineup for selection, of which, he was picked.

And after a month of being trained up to behave like a completely different person, he was finally introduced to his Angel, Gabriel, and he had to act as though he’d known him most of his life. And respond to his new name at all times, Joan.

The story is written from Michel/Joan’s perspective via his diary entries, documenting his life with the Angel and keeping note of the angels behaviour, health, mood etc all the while slowly coming to the realisation he’s falling in love with him, because Gabriel is very much in love with Joan.

It becomes pretty obvious early on that Gabriel is in love with Joan, as are all angels with their keepers, it’s why they become so unhinged when they lose them too, and yet none of them can recognise them enough to tell that they’re completely different people. None of them know they’re in love with one person who is actually several people over the course of decades.

And so the keepers have a set of strict rules they must follow at all times.

1. Never mention your life outside the facility, your life must revolve entirely around your assigned angel.

2. Only respond to your assigned name.

3. If your Angel asks you a question you think your assigned identity wouldn’t know the answer to, do not answer it, simply reply with ‘im not sure’.

4. Do not stray from their set routine beyond assigned enrichment to avoid over excitement.

5. Do not cause your Angel distress, failure to keep the Angel passive and content will result in termination.

6. Never, tell your Angel you are leaving. They cannot know you are leaving.

And of course what happens? Gabriel overhears that Michel/Joan is leaving him and loses it.

The day Joan is supposed to leave to be replaced Gabriel locks him in his chambers with him and essentially kills him, turning him into an Angel as well so he can stay with him.

The story ends with a diary entry from michel reading:

“-the butler woke Gabriel and I this morning, at least I think he did, I couldn’t see anything past his wings, he loves holding me in them.

- The maids dressed us after breakfast, they won’t tell me what day it is, time is starting to fade from me. I can’t remember my families faces anymore since Gabriel changed me.

- our morning study and walk in the garden has been cancelled. They won’t tell us why, Gabriel’s unhappy, I’m unhappy. My feathers are falling out, is this normal?

- lunch was so exciting, we got to meet our keepers. They look… the same.”

My handwriting is pretty messy so I can’t make out much beyond this but I thought I’d share it. I can’t find much on Joan’s description but he’s a well built healthy man with curly brown hair and long eyelashes. His personality as Michel is aloof, rude and overall he behaves like a bit of an asshole. But as Joan he’s gentle, patient, and attentive, he has to be, the threat of execution will make you do that.

And gabriel like all the angels stands about 8ft tall. They all vary in appearances but Gabriel is described as swan like, pale marble like skin, wheat blond hair and eyelashes, pink lips and sleepy blue eyes. He’s thin and physically androgynous and he has one set of large swan like wings. Personality wise he’s gentle, playful, innocent and quite bubbly, when he’s happy at least. When distressed he’s volatile, vicious, and cruel. He kills Joan in a particularly painful way while begging him to not leave him before turning him into an Angel as well to keep him at his side forever.

#ocs #dairy of an Angel keeper #short story idea

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tigermike · 1 year ago

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🇺🇲 1948 Tucker Torpedo Model 48 4-door sedan

One of the greatest automobile designer of all time Alexander Sarantos Tremulis

Civil Engineer. He is considered by most as one of the greatest automobile designer of all time. Best known as the sole designer of the ill-fated 1948 “Tucker Torpedo”, he had many other automotive, railroad, aircraft and spacecraft designs to his credit, including the original design for what evolved into today's space shuttle, and very possibly being the inventor of the term "flying saucer".

Born in Chicago, Illinois in 1914. At the age of 19, and without any formal training in art or engineering, he landed a job on the design team for the Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg Company in 1933. Among his projects there were the now famous and classic “Cord 810” and “812” series, as well as a custom Dusenberg roadster having both convertible and hardtop options.

He became Chief Stylist for Auburn-Cord-Deusenberg in 1936 at the age of 22, and remained in that role until the company failed in 1937. He then went to General Motors, and subsequently to Briggs-Le Baron, who was the coach builder for Chrysler at the time. In 1938 he worked for Custom Motors in Beverly Hills before consulting with Crosley and American Bantam in 1939. His designs for American Bantam remained in production until the firm switched over completely to the production of military Jeeps prior to World War II. Tremulis’ next work was on the 1941 Chrysler “Thunderbolt” concept car, and the production Packard “Clipper”. He enlisted in the United States. Army Air Corps after Pearl Harbor was bombed in 1941. There, he worked on advanced aircraft concepts at Wright Field (now Wright-Patterson Air Force base), and developed a concept, which in the 1970s became known as the Boeing “Dyna-Soar”, a gliding re-entry space vehicle. This project evolved into the present day space shuttle. Also during his tenure in the Air Corps, he made the first speculative drawings of what extra-terrestrial life forms would use as transportation to visit the Earth.

His concept drawings were the first saucer shaped spacecraft drawings documented. This concept generated much controversy, following which (in 1947) the even more famous Roswell "UFO incident" occurred. Freelance writer Deke Houlgate speculated at a 1990 Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) tribute to Tremulis: "Do we have Alex Tremulis to thank for 40 years of speculation over space visitors?" After World War II, he worked with the design firm of Tammen & Denison until Preston Tucker hired him to design the 1948 Tucker “Torpedo”. The radical design was considered by most to be as beautiful as it was innovative, and is unquestionably Tremulis’ masterpiece. The ill-fated car was one of the first ever to adopt rear engine mounting, air cooling, hidden fuel fillers, the precursor to the current cornering lights found on luxury cars (a “cyclops eye” third headlight that turned with the wheels), seat belts, pop-out safety glass, padded interiors and several other innovations.

Even after the demise of the Tucker Motors Corporation, and after Tucker’s acquittal on all counts of fraud, Preston Tucker commissioned him to design a revival intended to debut in the late 1950s as the Tucker “Talisman”. However, Tucker died in 1956 before he could put Tremulis’ design into production. Actor Elias Koteas portrayed Tremulis in Francis Ford Coppolla’s 1988 academy award nominated film “Tucker: A Man and His Dream”. He went on to style for the Kaiser-Frazer automotive company from 1950 to 1952. From 1952 through 1963, he worked as the Chief of Ford Advanced Styling. There, among his projects, he was assigned (in 1957) to “design the car he believed we would be driving in the year 2000.” The result was his design, on paper and a small model, of the Ford X-2000.

The design was so enthralling to one Australian (Andy Saunders) that he actually built a running prototype of the car in 1999 and showed it at car shows in Australia in 1999 and 2000. Among his’ designs was the Gyronaut X-1 streamlined motorcycle, which won the land speed record of 245.66 miles per hour from a 90 horsepower engine at the Bonneville Salt Flats in northwestern Utah in 1966. The Gyronaut got its name from the fact that it was stabilized by gyroscopes. In the 1960s he continued in a consulting role to attempts at automotive world land speed records.

His designs included the "Goodyear Wingfoot Express" (the first rocket powered automobile to reach 520 miles per hour) and the “Green Monster” (which failed to set a record after losing a wheel at approximately 600 miles per hour).

He was commissioned by NASA to submit a design for the lunar rover, though his two-wheeled, gyro-stabilized design was not chosen. Among Tremulis’ last designs were the 1978 to 1987 Subaru “Brat” and the Subaru “X-100”, a three-wheeled, 150 miles per-gallon concept car. He was a frequent contributor to “Road and Track” Magazine, and was elected to the Automotive Hall of Fame in 1982. He died in 1991, after suffering several strokes, one of which had blinded him.

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