Episode 16: Exploring Alien Invasions: Movies, Theories, and is Jeff Goldblum the Ultimate Alien ...

Hello Fam! Hope y’all are doing well. So, here is Episode 16, Nick and Joe talk about Alien Invasion. Thank you for tuning in and supporting us. Our goal is to have a little fun exploring science through the lens of science fiction, fantasy and pop culture.
Back in the basement studio, Joe and Nick return, with beer in hand, to discuss a variety of topics centered around alien invasions in movies, literature, and pop culture. They share insights and personal favorites including 'Independence Day,' 'The Thing,' 'Mars Attacks,' and 'Cloverfield,' while also speculating on the Fermi Paradox, galactic policing, bioforming, and the potential implications of real-life alien encounters. They debate Jeff Goldblum's versus Will Smith's contributions to alien movies and who should receive the Ultimate Alien Person Award. Joe and Nick present a fun and informative discussion while enjoying their drinks, making geeky science relatable and entertaining.
We hope you enjoy. Tell a friend! Don’t forget to give us 5 stars or a like!
Artwork by Georgia Geisatomic_number14 ( / atomic_number14 ) / atomic_number14
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[@alex4833]

Hey Nick and Joe, how are things? Rad topic. Independence Day is great, one of my favorite films from my younger days. I love it. Lol funny that Nick hates it. I like Avatar. However, I haven't felt as enthusiastic or excited about it as I did back then. I haven't seen the sequel - I think I should. But, I don't know. Maybe it's due to so many years elapsing. I am not as intrigued as I was. I have only seen LOTR 1. I like it. However, I never became a huge fan of it lol. It is a very good movie. Nevertheless, I'm not as big of a fan as others. Lol that's cool that Nick reads the comments too. No worries about not responding, Nick. I think aliens exist. I honestly think that since the universe is so big, I think it's highly unlikely that there isn't another sentient species out there somewhere. I don't think they'll invade us though (but, hey, maybe my comments will not age well and people will shake their heads upon seeing my comment one day in the future....) LOL yeah, the aliens might avoid us. The Fermi paradox makes sense. I totally concur with Nick that there has to be another intelligent species in the universe. Yep, no AI episode this week. But, hey, maybe I am an AI, Nick...Kidding :). The show notes said that the age of the universe is 3.7B years old, but I think you said it is 13.8 B (which I believe is the correct figure). Is 3.7B Earth's age? I need to see Prometheus. I plan to see Romulus over Labor Day weekend :). I hope to see the Alien films (the first ones) this weekend. I didn't know of the Dark Forest Theory. Interesting. I need to watch "The Three Body Problem". Yeah, I wouldn't blame extraterrestrials for not wanting to reveal themselves. Cool Marvels reference. I actually love The Marvels. I concur it got too much hate. It wasn't an excellent film, but it was a lot of fun and a decent and fun and enjoyable movie. Paul sounds neat! I like the premise. I want to watch it. What? You disliked ET? Shame! Kidding lol. That's okay :). I enjoyed it but I don't remember a lot of it as I watched it when I was like 6. I want to read Zero Hour. I guess it'll be another book to check out :) (I check out a ton from the library). MIB is a cool alien film. Yep! Goldblum def. deserves awards :). He is in awesome alien films. :) Yep, Superman is an alien. I do find the kryptonite weakness to be intriguing but also a bit random lol. I haven't seen too many biological alien tales. It is a good story concept though. Galactic Policing would be too infeasible and dangerous. You'd have to be able to patrol the entire galaxy and that would take too much time, energy (both one's own energy and their vehicle), money, etc. Plus, I can see nations dividing galactic policing and using it to serve their own ideas. There might even be conflicts over which (arbitrarily defined) zones/areas would be under which government's jurisdiction, etc. "You're giving the universe a bad name" - Galactic Bon Jovi song lol. Kidding. LoL great Captain America/Predator comparison. Good analogy, Nick. True. A different species might not be familiar with the diseases that people. I can see why it would be harmful to both Earth and Mars. I could be wrong as I was sleepy (late here), but each time I hear of the Thing, I think about the DC character. But, I think you're referencing something different. I need to read War of the Worlds. :) I didn't know of the Germ Growlers. What Nick said about it sounds rad. Cloverfield sounds cool. You're spot on, Joe. People would ignore it and might even push it aside even if they saw the aliens landing. Ender's Game is a cool book. I remember reading it several years ago and liking it also. Cool episode. Take care! :)

[@Jomega22]

Alex, Thanks for listening. And thanks for finding the error in the show notes. I forgot to put a 1 before the 3.7. lol. You are right earth’s age is closer to 3.7 billion and the universe is ~13.7. I fixed it. Thanks. And for the Thing. We are planing to do an episode on Marvel’s THe Thing, but I’m taking about John Carpenter’s movie The Thing. Which was based on a 1938 book by John Campbell “who how’s there”en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Who_Goes_There%3F There was also a 50s movie: Thing from another world: en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Thing_from_Another_World The Thing 1982 movie: en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Thing_(1982_film) The Thing is one of my favorite movies. A must watch. Looking all the links up I discovered there is a 70s movie based on the book. Now I will have to check that out. a spanish film titled “Horror Express” en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horror_Express😊 But check out The Thing. It’s a classic movie and a great movie.

[@alex4833]

@@Jomega22 hehe no worries, Joe :D All good. Ooh cool! I made a mistake yesterday. I mistakenly was thinking of Swamp Thing Lol. You're correct, there is The Thing in Marvel and now I remember hearing of the movie. (The Thing). I need to see it. Thanks for the recommendation! :D

[@Jomega22]

Ha. I didn’t even think about Swamp Thing. I’ll have to be more specific because next year we are planing to do an episodes on the fantastic 4-including The Thing. 🤔😂 Hope you are having a good weekend.

[@nickelizalde3308]

​@@alex4833don't forget about Man-Thing also in Marvel. He was in the Warewolf By Night show on Disney+ recently but has been around for quite some time now.

[@alex4833]

@@nickelizalde3308 I forgot about him. Thank you for the reminder! :) I will need to read his comics too :)

[@doktor_ghul]

I've held to the opinion that we're the invaders, after a fashion. We've been dumped here and have slowly but inexorably taken this planet.

[@Jomega22]

Yes, that is one idea we didn’t talk about in the main episode, but tomorrow’s mini-episode (16.1) I talk about the idea of Panspermia. Early earth seeded with extraterrestrial life. Thanks for listening!

[@doktor_ghul]

@@Jomega22 Praise "Bob".