Second-Coolest Toy Ever: Kenner's 18" ALIEN Action Figure (Holiday Re-post)

This is the fourth in a series of special re-posts for the holidays, remembering the coolest sci-fi toys of the Space: 1970 era. Hope you enjoy these "reruns" and have a great holiday season.

In my opinion, the legendary 18" Alien action figure from Kenner is a close second for the coolest toy of the Space: 1970 era - though I'm sure that many other Star Kids would rank it at #1.

And I might too, if I'd actually owned one. I do remember seeing one in the store in '79 and being both fascinated and frightened by it. I hadn't seen the movie - only coverage of it in Starlog and Fantastic Films - but I did ask my folks to buy it for me. Unfortunately once my mom glimmed the price tag and got a good look at the sheer grotesqueness of the figure, there was no way she was going to pick it up for me. Instead, I'm pretty sure I got a Moonraker space shuttle model kit... and, you know, I was pretty happy with that.

Still, over the years, I've kept my eye out for one of these treasures, but alas, I've never found one I could afford. I have, on occasion, had an opportunity to inspect other people's Aliens, though, and I'm rather astounded by the level of detail that Kenner managed; I'm sure that's part of the reason for the larger-than-usual scale. I'm also amazed that Kenner got away with marketing a toy like this to kids, not only because it's so scary, but because it was derived from an R-rated horror film.

Ahhh... the Seventies.

Behind-The-Scenes Pix #49: ALIEN

An effects technician (possibly Jon Sorensen) works on the otherworldly derelict miniature from Ridley Scott's classic 1979 space horror flick, Alien. As you may have noted by now, I'm a huge fan of practical effects work - especially miniatures - and I find these kinds of behind-the-scenes shots fascinating.

News: Kenner's Abandoned ALIEN Action Figure Line Finally Coming... After 34 Years!

I don't often cover news about new retro-Space: 1970's era merchandise, but this one's a little different. Back in '79, Kenner inked a deal with 20th Century Fox to release a line of toys and action figures based on their new sci-fi film, Alien. That deal resulted in an awesome 18" figure of the titular xenomorph - a toy that bombed when parents found it too scary for their kids. Also, there was some controversy about making toys for children based on an R-rated horror film (collectible toys for adults was a market that didn't exist yet). Kenner reacted by cancelling their plans for a line of Alien action figures at the 3.75" size of their popular Star Wars line.

Well, after After 34 years, fans of the Alien franchise will finally be able get their hands on the abandoned toy line thanks to the folks at Super7. With the aid of collectors and toy industry employees, Super7 has acquired original reference material for the abandoned toy line from 1979 as well as 34-year-old prototypes and, with authorization by 20th Century Fox, the full series will be released this year with preorders beginning at the San Diego Comic-Con.

From their website:

“Under authorization from 20th Century Fox, Super7 will produce the full series of ALIEN toys as part of our ReAction Figure Series (Retro-Action). Each is stylized exactly as items from the “golden age” of action figures with approximately five points of articulation, accessories, and period-authentic blister card packaging.

Preorders will begin at San Diego Comic Con!

Collect all five ReAction Figures -

THE ALIEN (“BIG CHAP”) – w/ removable transparent dome, extendable jaws and glow-in-the-dark head!

RIPLEY – w/ Flame Thrower

ASH – w/ Motion Detector

DALLAS – w/ Flame Thrower

KANE IN NOSTROMO SPACESUIT – w/ removable helmet and transparent visor”

For more info and photos, check out the Super7 website.

ALIEN (1979) Action Figure Commercial

"Give up! Alien can't be beat!" Vintage TV spot for the Second Coolest Toy Ever!

Happy Halloween, Star Kids!

Here's a few other scary Space: 1970 posts you might enjoy today:

Galaxy Of Terror Review

Alien: The Illustrated Story

Saturn 3 Theatrical Trailer

Warren Magazines ALIEN (1979) Collector's Edition

Warren Publishing, publishers of Famous Monsters Of Filmland, Vampirella, Eerie and Creepy, put out several authorized, B&W "collector's" magazines in conjunction with major genre films of the Space: 1970 era. Among these were Moonraker, Meteor, and Alien. These were basically full-issue, Famous Monsters-styled "filmbooks," featuring a long, detailed plot summary, actor profiles and behind-the-scenes articles, all written for 13 year-olds. Which, of course, was pretty much the exact target audience.

Each of these Warren collector's magazines also had plenty of ads in the back for Warren's mail-order outfit, The Captain Company, which offered thousands of genre products - from Warren magazine back-issues to paperback novelizations, posters, models, action figures, masks, t-shirts and LPs. Looking at the representative Captain's Co. ad above, I'm still amazed how many kid-targeted items of merchandise were licensed by 20th Century Fox for an R-rated horror film. Such a thing would hardly raise an eyebrow today, but in the 70s...?

Behind-The-Scenes Pix #20: ALIEN

You know, I haven't seen Prometheus yet. The trailer looked cool, and I was initially intrigued that director Ridley Scott was supposedly returning to the Alien universe, but the reviews and word-of-mouth really made me lose interest. I guess I'll wait and rent it from Netflix when it becomes available.What did you other Star Kids think?

October's Space Babe: Sigourney Weaver

October 2011's Space Babe is Sigourney Weaver as Warrant Officer Ripley in director Ridley Scott's 1979 sci-fi Gothic, Alien. As portrayed by the then-relative newcomer, the strong-willed Ripley proved to be the ultimate survivor, not only escaping from the clutches of the titular extraterrestrial xenomorph, but going on to thwart its toothy brethren in three sequels. Of course, most of us here at Space: 1970 remember her primarily for her scanty panties at the original film's conclusion. Shame on us.

Born as Susan Weaver, the tall, striking brunette has appeared in a number of genre films, but has also garnered considerable acclaim as a serious dramatic actress. Among her sci-fi/fantasy credits are the aforementioned Alien franchise sequels, the Ghostbusters films, James Cameron's Avatar, Paul, and the delightful spoof, Galaxy Quest, which poked good natured fun at the kinds of TV shows we celebrate here at Space: 1970.

Behind-The-Scenes Pix #6: ALIEN

That's movie-making for you: hurry up and wait. Actor Bolaji Badejo, as the titular extraterrestrial terror, takes a break between takes on the set of Ridley Scott's Alien at Shepperton Studios in England, probably in late '78. I love this pic because it shows how friggin' scary-cool H.R. Giger's design was; especially that skull face which was obscured in the film by the smooth, black "carapace" that is missing in this photo.

Have a great weekend, Star Kids!

ALIEN: THE ILLUSTRATED STORY (1979) Graphic Novel

Being an R-rated horror film precluded Alien from being adapted by Comics Code-approved Marvel Comics back in 1979, but the publishers of the adult-oriented Heavy Metal magazine didn't have the same sort of restrictions on content. So they wisely hired writer Archie Goodwin and artist Walter Simonson (the same creative team who'd adapted Close Encounters of the Third Kind for Marvel, and who would each work on Marvel Comics' Star Wars and Battlestar Galactica comics at various times) to craft a faithful, uncompromising graphic novel retelling of the Ridley Scott space thriller, from Dan O'Bannon & Ronald Shusett's screen story..

Alien: The Illustrated Story is a phenomenal graphic novel, and a genuine classic of comic book art. Here are a few selected pages:

ALIEN Blues

Last week, 20th Century Fox released the four films in their core Alien franchise as individual Blu-ray discs. Previously, they were only available as a "Quadrilogy" boxed set. I thought about buying that set, but it was damned expensive, and frankly, it's only the first two films in the series that I really like. I don't care for Alien 3 at all and I've only seen Alien Resurrection once. It didn't impress me much at the time, but one of these days, I'll probably give it another chance.

My wife and I watched both Alien and Aliens (which, since it was released in 1986, is a bit beyond the purview of this blog) on Saturday night, and I was very impressed with 20th Century Fox's efforts on the restoration and remastering of the films. The HD transfers are nearly flawless, and the audio was great (still not quite as full and rich as my old laserdiscs, though). These Blu-ray editions are, by far, the best these movies have ever looked on home video; in Alien, especially, we were noticing numerous visual elements we'd never seen before throughout the film.

I was also impressed that, like their Planet of the Apes Blu-rays, Fox included the alternate cuts of the films on the discs, instead of releasing them - and charging for them - separately. I hadn't seen Ridley Scott's "Director's Cut" of Alien before, and it was cool to finally see a major scene that I remembered from Alan Dean Foster's novelization re-integrated into the film. I know that the "Quadrilogy" box included a lot of exclusive bonus features that I would probably enjoy, but I'm very happy with the discs I bought - especially since our local Best Buy had them marked at only $15 each!

Coming Attractions: ALIEN (1979) Theatrical Trailer

In space, no one can hear you scream....here's the trailer to Ridley Scott's Alien, from 1979. I doubt that anyone suspected then that the movie would spawn three direct theatrical sequels and a couple of crossover films (with those nasty Predators), not to mention countless comic books, toys and other merchandise. In fact, of all 70s genre films, only Star Wars really surpasses its pop culture longevity.

Second-Coolest Toy Ever: Kenner's 18" ALIEN Action Figure

In my opinion, the Space: 1999 Eagle Transporter from Mattel was the coolest sci-fi movie/TV tie-in toy of the 1970's... but the legendary 18" Alien action figure from Kenner is a close second - and I'm sure that many other Star Kids would rank it at #1.

And I might too, if I'd actually owned one. I do remember seeing one in the store in '79 and being both fascinated and frightened by it. I hadn't seen the movie - only coverage of it in Starlog and Fantastic Films - but I did ask my folks to buy it for me. Unfortunately once my mom glimmed the price tag and got a good look at the sheer grotesqueness of the figure, there was no way she was going to pick it up for me. Instead, I'm pretty sure I got a Moonraker space shuttle model kit... and, you know, I was pretty happy with that.

Still, over the years, I've kept my eye out for one of these treasures, but alas, I've never found one I could afford. I have, on occasion, had an opportunity to inspect other people's Aliens, though, and I'm rather astounded by the level of detail that Kenner managed; I'm sure that's part of the reason for the larger-than-usual scale. I'm also amazed that Kenner got away with marketing a toy like this to kids, not only because it's so scary, but because it was derived from an R-rated horror film.

Ahhh... the Seventies.

ALIEN (1979) Theatrical Poster

Happy Halloween from Space: 1970!