I Would’ve Saved Jones: Best Feline in ALIEN (and the Galaxy)

Not many humans can boast that they outran a xenomorph, but a not-even-ten-pound tabby cat was able to achieve this feat. Jones aka Jonesey aka Orange Badass was the cute and mischievous companion of Warrant Officer Ellen Ripley on the USCSS Nostromo. Jones was part of the crew during that fateful mission to LV-426 and came face to face with the film’s titular antagonist, the legendary A L I E N. Watching the movie for the first time had me on the edge of my seat, doing my best Shia Labeouf imitation with my near-constant “NO NO NO NO NO NOs” and having to turn the lights on to deal with the omnipresent feeling of doom throughout the story. BUT I LOVED IT DAMMIT. I LOVED ALL OF IT. One of the best parts, was whenever I got to see that adorable fluffball on screen.

I wasn’t ready for this. I had of course heard about Ridley Scott’s masterpiece, but it was one of those films that was always present in the background of my knowledge of pop culture, but I never really had a huge interest in seeing it. At least until all these prequel movies started popping up. I was not disappointed when I finally was able to check out the 70s classic. Fantastic visuals for its time, brilliant cast, a structural narrative that was familiar yet hauntingly terrifying. This was hands down, the scariest film I had ever seen. Scott and the writers were able to create a world where long after the credits were done rolling, I WANTED ANSWERS. One of the more pressing conundrums was why didn’t the Alien …