Why Did Seawater Kill the Aliens? Alien Nation Told You First.

Seven of you said it under our District 9 video: Alien Nation did it first. Another day in the yard!!!! In 1988 a ship full of slaves lands in the Mojave Desert with no way home, and three years later the Newcomers are living in Los Angeles under names an immigration officer made up on the spot. They get drunk on sour milk, someone is bringing back the drug their old masters used to keep them working, and one of them, a cop, begs his partner to stop the car before they reach the beach. So why does seawater kill them, and how early does the film tell you? This one follows every plant Alien Nation hides in plain sight (the milk, the two hearts, the methane, the raw food, one line about battery acid at 41:04) and checks the biology against the real thing: osmosis, freshwater fish in the sea, salmon that rebuild their gills, frogs, and why chocolate is a treat for you and a poison for your dog. Then we line it up against District 9, 21 years later. CHAPTERS 0:00 Intro 0:52 A slave ship in the first 80 seconds 2:40 Names, slurs and sour milk 4:57 The plants (and the beach) 6:45 Could seawater really do that? 8:41 Jabroka 10:20 Who made it, and did Blomkamp see it? 12:28 The ocean 13:43 The last line Narrated by: Me :) Thank you @silmarian, @sarahnachtrose, @ericanthonyriddell, @scooter_313, @williamwalker8107, @PsychedelicChameleon and @GuyWRWaynes for sending me back to 1988. SOURCES - Alien Nation (1988), dir. Graham Baker, written by Rockne S. O'Bannon, produced by Gale Anne Hurd and Richard Kobritz (20th Century Fox). Every film line quoted is from the film itself; end credits: aliens created at Stan Winston Studios by Alec Gillis, Shane Mahan, John Rosengrant, Tom Woodruff Jr. and Shannon Shea. - Alien Nation (1988) EPK featurette (1988); 35mm theatrical trailer ("From the producer of Aliens and The Terminator"). - Alien Nation production history, box office ($8.4M opening weekend, #1; $32.2M worldwide on $16M) and the George Jetson naming story: Wikipedia, "Alien Nation (film)"; Box Office Mojo. - James Caan on Alien Nation: The A.V. Club, Random Roles (2013), via Wikipedia. - Roger Ebert, review of Alien Nation, Chicago Sun-Times (1988); Siskel & Ebert (1988). - Alien Nation (TV series), Fox, 1989-1990, 22 episodes: Wikipedia. - District 9 (2009): Wikipedia; Neill Blomkamp interview, Bill Desowitz, "Neill Blomkamp Talks District 9", VFX World / AWN, Aug 14 2009; Sony Pictures UK interview with Neill Blomkamp and Sharlto Copley. - Ronald Reagan, Second Inaugural Address, Jan 21 1985 (Reagan Presidential Library transcript). - Evans DH, Piermarini PM, Choe KP (2005). The Multifunctional Fish Gill. Physiological Reviews 85(1). doi:10.1152/physrev.00050.2003 - Hopkins GR, Brodie ED Jr (2015). Occurrence of Amphibians in Saline Habitats: A Review and Evolutionary Perspective. Herpetological Monographs 29(1):1-27. doi:10.1655/HERPMONOGRAPHS-D-14-00006 - Cortinovis C, Caloni F (2016). Household Food Items Toxic to Dogs and Cats. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 3:26. doi:10.3389/fvets.2016.00026 - Zhao et al. (2024). Microbiological and Physicochemical Dynamics in Traditional and Industrial Fermentation Processes of Koumiss. Fermentation 10(1):66. doi:10.3390/fermentation10010066; kumis alcohol 0.7-2.5% (Law, ed., Microbiology and Biochemistry of Cheese and Fermented Milk, Springer 1997). - USGS Water Science School, "Where is Earth's water?" (over 96 percent is saline). - Parktown prawn (Libanasidus vittatus): Wikipedia. FOOTAGE Film clips are used under fair use for commentary and criticism: Alien Nation (1988), District 9 (2009), Signs (2002), Alien Nation (TV series, 1989), Tremors (1990, behind-the-scenes). Clips and footage via: 35mm Movie Trailers Scans, 8K VIDEO ULTRA HD HDR, American Kennel Club, Apex Clips, AP Archive, Inland Fisheries Ireland, KinoCheck Sci-Fi, Le chic shack à Stephie (Siskel & Ebert), Mongolian Nomad Family, Movie Jukebox, Nat Geo Animals, pinkbeams8, Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation & Institute, Sci- Inspi, Something to Show You, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Sony Pictures Releasing UK, studioADI, TrailersPlaygroundHD. Stills: Wikimedia Commons (Rockne S. O'Bannon photo by Realstevenrae, CC BY-SA 4.0; Neill Blomkamp photo by Natasha Baucas, CC BY 2.0; Parktown prawn photo by Androstachys, public domain).