Harry Andrews

"This is rumor control, here are the facts..."

―Supt. Andrews (from Alien³)

Harry Andrews
Biographical Information
Date of birth	2121
Nationality	British
Rank	Prison Superintendent
Serial number	P58495
Affiliation	Weyland-Yutani Corporation
Status	Deceased as of August 2179
Physical Description
Species	Human
Gender	Male
Height	5ft 8 ½ (174 cm)
Hair color	Bald
Eye color	Dark brown
Other Information
Portrayed by	Brian Glover

Superintendent Harold "Harry" Andrews was a Weyland-Yutani Corporation employee and the warden of the Fiorina "Fury" 161 Class C Work Correctional Unit. When the facility was officially closed down by Weyland-Yutani, Andrews stayed behind, along with prison guard Francis Aaron, to oversee the prisoners who wished to remain. He was killed by a lone Xenomorph that was born in the prison in 2179.

Despite operating the prison somewhat informally following its closure, he still commanded the facility with a firm hand and was respected (if not particularly liked) by the remaining inmates. He was taken by the Xenomorph in the prison's main mess hall, ironically while he was in the middle of berating Ellen Ripley for her repeated assertions that the creature existed.

Biography

Early life

Andrews was born in 2121.

On Fiorina 161

Andrews was working at the penal colony when it was closed down in 2175, and elected to stay behind and serve as warden for the remaining inmates and custodians.

Ripley's arrival

"As some of you know, a 337 model EEV crash-landed here at 0600 on the morning watch."

―Andrews, informing the prisoners of the EEV crash (from Alien³)

When the EEV carrying Ripley, Newt, Turk and the remains of Bishop from the USS Sulaco impacted on Fiorina 161, Andrews contacted Earth to report the incident and state the fates of those on board — although Turk was mistaken at the time for Corporal Hicks. After filing his official report, Andrews passed on the news to the prisoners themselves, and attempted to placate their agitation at the fact the only survivor of the crash was a woman. He himself was greatly irritated by Ripley's arrival, realizing the potential effect her presence would have on the inmate population. His frustration with her only grew when he discovered Clemens performing an autopsy on Newt's corpse, at Ripley's suggestion, without first informing him. At the later funeral held for Newt and Hicks, Andrews performed a brief, perfunctory eulogy.

Unrest on Fiorina 161

"Let me see if I have this correct, Lieutenant. It's an 8-foot creature of some kind with acid for blood, and it arrived on your spaceship. It kills on sight and is generally unpleasant."

―Andrews to Ripley, regarding The Dragon (from Alien³)

The Superintendent's fears regarding Ripley's impact were apparently confirmed when several unwanted incidents began to befall the facility. First, Murphy was killed by a ventilation fan in one of the prison's air shafts, an incident Andrews attributed to carelessness on the prisoner's part. Later, Junior, William, Gregor and another inmate attempted to rape Ripley when they cornered her alone in the prison's scrap heap, although they were fought off and beaten by Dillon. The situation deteriorated when Andrews received a transmission from Weyland-Yutani stating that Ripley was of highest priority to them. The Superintendent also became aware of Clemens' increasingly close relationship with Ripley, and confronted the medical officer about it in his office.

When Boggs and Rains were killed on a survey mission and Golic returned soaked in blood, Andrews was immediately convinced that Golic had murdered the two men, despite his pleas that a "dragon" had been responsible. Even though Ripley attempted to confirm the prisoner's story, Andrews had Golic restrained with a straitjacket in the infirmary, although he agreed to discuss Ripley's fears further in his office. However, after hearing what she had to say, Andrews treated her story of a Xenomorph being loose in the prison with contempt and confined her to the infirmary as well.

Final rumor control

"Stop this raving at once!"

―Andrews to Ripley, moments before The Dragon attacks him (from Alien³)

The Dragon grabs Andrews.

Andrews promptly called the prisoners to a meeting in the mess hall and attempted to organize a search party for Boggs and Rains. As this meeting was being held, Clemens was killed by the Dragon in the infirmary; Ripley duly burst in on Andrews, attempting to warn him again of the creature's presence. Still refusing to believe her, Andrews ordered Aaron to detain her and escort her back to the medical facility. At that moment the Dragon lunged down from an overheard air duct and lifted Andrews off of his feet, pulling him into the vent shaft and killing him, blood raining down as the other prisoners watched in horror.

Andrews was taken by the Dragon to a small Hive in an abandoned area of the facility, where he was cocooned alongside Boggs and Rains and subjected to the eggmorphing process. The Weyland-Yutani commandos that were later dispatched to Fiorina were not thorough in their search of the mine and so did not discover Andrews' body as it began to transform into an Ovomorph.

Personality and traits

"Listen to me, you piece of shit—you screw with me one more time, I'll cut you in half!"

―Andrews admonishing Clemens (from Alien³)

As befitting of a man in his position, Andrews was hard, bullish and often aggressive, and he ran the prison on Fiorina 161 with a heavy hand. However, he was considered fair by the inmates, a fact they were grateful for, given that he had the power to exile them from the prison complex to face almost certain death on the surface of Fiorina should he choose. Andrews did not believe that any of the prisoners were in any way reformed after "taking on religion", but he recognized the strength of their convictions and made sure not to offend them. He did, however, harbor a particular grudge against Clemens, whom he viewed as "insolent, possibly dangerous".

Andrews had an intense dislike for unforeseen events that disrupted normal routine, and was was also a very frugal man, constantly troubled about the economic implications of his actions, especially concerning the use of the expensive and rarely used deep space communications systems at the prison, and was concerned by how this would reflect on him in the eyes of his superiors. He met Ripley's warnings regarding the Alien with extreme skepticism, a standpoint that was proven ironically wrong when he was taken by the creature while admonishing Ripley for her repeated insistence that it was loose in the prison.

Behind the Scenes

Development

The character of Andrews was largely derived from an individual named The Abbot in Vincent Ward's unmade script for Alien³, both being the man in charge of the commune in which Ripley finds herself. Both are also combative with Ripley and refuse to listen to her suggestions that a Xenomorph is on the loose, a fact that ultimately costs them their lives.

Deleted death scene

Originally, Andrews did not die when the Dragon took him inside the mess hall. Instead, a later sequence was to show how the Xenomorph had built a Hive in the prison's assembly hall, wherein Dillon and Morse find numerous prisoners cocooned alive, including Andrews. The Superintendent begs to be killed, and is granted his wish when Dillon sets fire to the Hive with a flare.

While two of the cocoons for this scene were at least partially constructed, it was ultimately cut before filming took place and in the final cut of the film, the Dragon merely kills its victims instead of capturing them.

Trivia

• As an homage to Alien, Andrews has a drinking bird on the desk in his office.

Appearances

• Alien³/novel/comic
• Alien: The Weyland-Yutani Report
• Deep Black (indirect mention)

Gallery