Xenopedia
Register
Xenopedia
No edit summary
No edit summary
Line 10: Line 10:
 
|status = Deceased<ref name="Alien3book124">{{cite book|title=[[Alien 3 (novel)|Alien<sup>3</sup> novelization]]|author=[[Alan Dean Foster]]|publisher=Warner Books, Inc.|year=1992|page=124}}</ref>
 
|status = Deceased<ref name="Alien3book124">{{cite book|title=[[Alien 3 (novel)|Alien<sup>3</sup> novelization]]|author=[[Alan Dean Foster]]|publisher=Warner Books, Inc.|year=1992|page=124}}</ref>
 
|actor =
 
|actor =
}}'''Jones''' (nicknamed '''Jonesy''' by the crew) was a [[cat]], more specifically a Ginger Tom, kept aboard the {{USCSS|Nostromo}} as [[Ellen Ripley]]'s pet.<ref name="A1cards15">{{A1}} cards - card no. 15 "Introducing Jones"</ref> While the cat's official purpose was to control rodents aboard the ship,<ref name="CMTM136">{{cite book|title=''[[Aliens: Colonial Marines Technical Manual]]''|author=Lee Brimmicombe-Wood|publisher=HarperPrism|year=1996|page=136}}</ref> it also served as a source of relaxation and entertainment for the crew.<ref name="Alienbook109">{{cite book|title=[[Alien (novel)|Alien novelization]]|author=[[Alan Dean Foster]]|publisher=Warner Books, Inc.|year=1979|page=109}}</ref>
+
}}'''Jones''', nicknamed '''Jonesy''', was a [[cat]], more specifically a Ginger Tom, kept aboard the {{USCSS|Nostromo}} as [[Ellen Ripley]]'s pet.<ref name="A1cards15">{{A1}} cards - card no. 15 "Introducing Jones"</ref> While the cat's official purpose was to control rodents aboard the ship,<ref name="CMTM136">{{cite book|title=''[[Aliens: Colonial Marines Technical Manual]]''|author=Lee Brimmicombe-Wood|publisher=HarperPrism|year=1996|page=136}}</ref> it also served as a source of relaxation and entertainment for the crew.<ref name="Alienbook109">{{cite book|title=[[Alien (novel)|Alien novelization]]|author=[[Alan Dean Foster]]|publisher=Warner Books, Inc.|year=1979|page=109}}</ref>
   
 
Jones and Ripley were the only individuals who survived the ''Nostromo'''s encounter with a [[The Alien (Xenomorph)|Xenomorph]] and the ship's subsequent destruction.
 
Jones and Ripley were the only individuals who survived the ''Nostromo'''s encounter with a [[The Alien (Xenomorph)|Xenomorph]] and the ship's subsequent destruction.
Line 25: Line 25:
   
 
==Behind the Scenes==
 
==Behind the Scenes==
  +
In {{A1}}, four cats were used to portray Jones, with one for holding, hissing, scampering, etc.<ref name="Vault170">{{cite book|title=''[[Alien Vault: The Definitive Story of the Making of the Film]]''|author=[[Ian Nathan]]|publisher=[[Voyageur Press]]|year=[[2011]]|page=170}}</ref>
  +
 
Originally, during the Gateway Station park scene in the [[Aliens Special Edition|Special Edition]] of {{A2}}, Jones was to stalk a fake bird hopping among fallen leaves and then jump at it, hitting the wall. Ripley was to then call Jones "Dumbshit" and Jones was to step back from the wall confused.<ref>http://www.imsdb.com/scripts/Aliens.html - EXT. PARK 4 Sunlight streams in shafts through a stand of poplars, beyond which a verdant meadow is VISIBLE. EXTREME F.G. Jones stalks toward a bird hopping among fallen leaves. He leaps. And smack into A WALL. RIPLEY: (voice over) Dumbshit. WIDER ANGLE as Jones steps back confused from the HIGH-RESOLUTION ENVIRONMENTAL WALL SCREEN, a sort of cinerama video-loop.</ref> This scene may have been cut due to the crew being unable to make the cat jump at the wall.
 
Originally, during the Gateway Station park scene in the [[Aliens Special Edition|Special Edition]] of {{A2}}, Jones was to stalk a fake bird hopping among fallen leaves and then jump at it, hitting the wall. Ripley was to then call Jones "Dumbshit" and Jones was to step back from the wall confused.<ref>http://www.imsdb.com/scripts/Aliens.html - EXT. PARK 4 Sunlight streams in shafts through a stand of poplars, beyond which a verdant meadow is VISIBLE. EXTREME F.G. Jones stalks toward a bird hopping among fallen leaves. He leaps. And smack into A WALL. RIPLEY: (voice over) Dumbshit. WIDER ANGLE as Jones steps back confused from the HIGH-RESOLUTION ENVIRONMENTAL WALL SCREEN, a sort of cinerama video-loop.</ref> This scene may have been cut due to the crew being unable to make the cat jump at the wall.
   
 
==Trivia==
 
==Trivia==
 
*Jones is likely a reference to the old tradition of a "ship's cat", whereby the animals are brought aboard sea-going vessels to hunt rodents and other undesirable vermin aboard the ship.
 
*Jones is likely a reference to the old tradition of a "ship's cat", whereby the animals are brought aboard sea-going vessels to hunt rodents and other undesirable vermin aboard the ship.
*In the [[Alien (novel)|novelisation]] of {{A1}}, several short passages are actually written from Jones' perspective.<ref name="Alienbook109"/>
+
*In the [[Alien (novel)|novelisation]] of ''Alien'', several short passages are actually written from Jones' perspective.<ref name="Alienbook109"/>
 
*Jones reappears in the video game {{ACM}}, as an Easter Egg in the "Nostromo" multiplayer Survivor map (released as part of the ''Movie map Pack'' DLC). When playing on this map, vigilant players may catch a glimpse of the cat darting between the ship's ventilation ducts. Jones can also be tracked on the [[M314 Motion Tracker|Motion Tracker]] (although only when you can see Jones with your eyes running from one duct to another) and will appear as a red dot, which usually indicates an enemy. However Jones' appearance in ''Aliens: Colonial Marines'' is non-canon due to it being in a multiplayer map.
 
*Jones reappears in the video game {{ACM}}, as an Easter Egg in the "Nostromo" multiplayer Survivor map (released as part of the ''Movie map Pack'' DLC). When playing on this map, vigilant players may catch a glimpse of the cat darting between the ship's ventilation ducts. Jones can also be tracked on the [[M314 Motion Tracker|Motion Tracker]] (although only when you can see Jones with your eyes running from one duct to another) and will appear as a red dot, which usually indicates an enemy. However Jones' appearance in ''Aliens: Colonial Marines'' is non-canon due to it being in a multiplayer map.
 
*Jones has been [[w:c:halo:Jonesy|referenced several times]] in the ''Halo'' franchise; ''Halo'' developer Bungie has admitted to taking inspiration for their games from the ''Alien'' franchise, and {{A2}} in particular.
 
*Jones has been [[w:c:halo:Jonesy|referenced several times]] in the ''Halo'' franchise; ''Halo'' developer Bungie has admitted to taking inspiration for their games from the ''Alien'' franchise, and {{A2}} in particular.

Revision as of 19:08, 16 July 2014

"Here, kitty kitty! Here, Jonesy!"
Brett, beckoning Jones (from Alien)

Jones, nicknamed Jonesy, was a cat, more specifically a Ginger Tom, kept aboard the USCSS Nostromo as Ellen Ripley's pet.[3] While the cat's official purpose was to control rodents aboard the ship,[4] it also served as a source of relaxation and entertainment for the crew.[5]

Jones and Ripley were the only individuals who survived the Nostromo's encounter with a Xenomorph and the ship's subsequent destruction.

Biography

Aboard the Nostromo

Owing to Jones' small size and mass, he comfortably shared a hypersleep capsule with one of the crew members during the Nostromo's long journeys.[6] When the Alien began stalking the ship's occupants, Jones was apparently of little interest to the creature and he survived the incident unscathed. However, he was indirectly responsible for the death of Brett; when the latter pursued Jones through the ship's cargo hold, seeking to catch him so that he would not be accidentally picked up on the motion trackers being used by the crew to hunt the Alien, the cat inadvertently lured him into a room where the Alien was hiding. Jones saw the Alien drag Brett's body into the air shafts.

Ripley later found Jones and put him in a carry case. At one point, Ripley was forced to abandon Jones to the Alien, but, while the Xenomorph was notably distracted by the cat, it did not attack it. Jones was later recovered and put in hypersleep aboard the Narcissus after escaping with Ripley.

57 years later

"And you, you little shithead, you're staying here."
Ripley, to Jones (from Aliens)

Ripley and Jones remained in hypersleep for 57 years. They were eventually saved by a deep-space salvage crew and taken to Gateway Station, where they were reunited after Ripley had undergone a thorough medical examination. Jones subsequently moved in with Ripley at her new apartment. When Ripley returned to LV-426 aboard the USS Sulaco, Jones stayed behind on Gateway. Prior to her death on Fiorina "Fury" 161, Ripley sadly laments in her own mind that Jones would have died during the time she has been spending travelling to and from LV-426 in hypersleep.[2]

Behind the Scenes

In Alien, four cats were used to portray Jones, with one for holding, hissing, scampering, etc.[7]

Originally, during the Gateway Station park scene in the Special Edition of Aliens, Jones was to stalk a fake bird hopping among fallen leaves and then jump at it, hitting the wall. Ripley was to then call Jones "Dumbshit" and Jones was to step back from the wall confused.[8] This scene may have been cut due to the crew being unable to make the cat jump at the wall.

Trivia

  • Jones is likely a reference to the old tradition of a "ship's cat", whereby the animals are brought aboard sea-going vessels to hunt rodents and other undesirable vermin aboard the ship.
  • In the novelisation of Alien, several short passages are actually written from Jones' perspective.[5]
  • Jones reappears in the video game Aliens: Colonial Marines, as an Easter Egg in the "Nostromo" multiplayer Survivor map (released as part of the Movie map Pack DLC). When playing on this map, vigilant players may catch a glimpse of the cat darting between the ship's ventilation ducts. Jones can also be tracked on the Motion Tracker (although only when you can see Jones with your eyes running from one duct to another) and will appear as a red dot, which usually indicates an enemy. However Jones' appearance in Aliens: Colonial Marines is non-canon due to it being in a multiplayer map.
  • Jones has been referenced several times in the Halo franchise; Halo developer Bungie has admitted to taking inspiration for their games from the Alien franchise, and Aliens in particular.
  • Jones has been referenced in World of Warcraft and can be found in Dalaran in the The Legerdemain Inn resting comfortably on a ledge as you go up the stairs to the second floor. The various Marines from Aliens are also scattered throughout the game.
  • A cat similar to Jones appears in Aliens: Infestation, jumping out of a vent aboard the USS Sulaco.
  • Film critic Anne Billson published a free eBook titled "My Day by Jones: A Cat's-Eye View of Alien".
  • Jones is the only cat to appear on screen in the Alien films. 
  • In Aliens, due to a different cat actor being used, Jones is noticeably bigger than in Alien.

Appearances

Non-canon

Gallery

References

  1. Dan O'Bannon, Ronald Shusett (writers) and Ridley Scott (director). Alien (1986), 20th Century Fox [DVD].
  2. 2.0 2.1 Alan Dean Foster. Alien3 novelization, p. 124 (1992), Warner Books, Inc..
  3. Alien cards - card no. 15 "Introducing Jones"
  4. Lee Brimmicombe-Wood. 'Aliens: Colonial Marines Technical Manual', p. 136 (1996), HarperPrism.
  5. 5.0 5.1 Alan Dean Foster. Alien novelization, p. 109 (1979), Warner Books, Inc..
  6. Alan Dean Foster. Alien novelization, p. 8 (1979), Warner Books, Inc..
  7. Ian Nathan. 'Alien Vault: The Definitive Story of the Making of the Film', p. 170 (2011), Voyageur Press.
  8. http://www.imsdb.com/scripts/Aliens.html - EXT. PARK 4 Sunlight streams in shafts through a stand of poplars, beyond which a verdant meadow is VISIBLE. EXTREME F.G. Jones stalks toward a bird hopping among fallen leaves. He leaps. And smack into A WALL. RIPLEY: (voice over) Dumbshit. WIDER ANGLE as Jones steps back confused from the HIGH-RESOLUTION ENVIRONMENTAL WALL SCREEN, a sort of cinerama video-loop.