Michael Bishop

Cool, Ingeniero ! I like these! It's like watching some kind of mini-recap episode...but better, because you've pooled information from multiple sources. A fun read!

...I wish I could assign my students reports on topics like this, lol.

Thank you VivisectedEngineer.

I love the details shown in the other films that give you an idea of what the technology, challenges, and horror are contributing to the background of the story. Michael Bishop's history is a missed opportunity in what we have been shown.

Ingeniero great stuff!

A while back I was curious about the scientist you posted above. I wanted to work him into a fanfic i was writing. There is virtually nothing about him. He is credited as "Company Man" and that's about all.

One of the DLCs for Colonial Marines expands Michael Weylands (and USS Patna) story quite significantly but i agree it was a missed opportunity to expand his character more in film

Ingeniero This style of story telling is reminiscent of the Fifield thread- again, very good job of summarizing and using images.

Thanks for the work and sharing! 

Thank you for writing that dk. You are most welcome. I'm trying to shed light on small segments and get excited about them in anticipation of watching the films again.

Ingeniero There is an AR script read going on if you wish to participate in. I Moon Girl brings her own flare to the table and you could as well if you choose to do so. It is about having fun afterall.

"It is about having fun afterall."

Yes it is dk. Thank you for the invite and I will participate.

Ingenerio - 

i was progressing through and wondered initially if there was another timeline released and snippets from there. no. it IS though one of our members delivering more quality content.

Ingenerio - I  would be really interested to see how many of these you could within your spare time.

I guarantee this - i will read and comment on everyone.

Perhaps at the end the mods get them together and pin it ?

Could be a formidable portfolio ahead.

Well Done i love it

Thank you for the compliment sherris. I love timelines. 

No problem on the request above. We're all here for all kinds of different reasons; entertainment, time well spent recovering from injury, obsessive nature catering, curiosity, etc...

I do have a few topics in the pipeline that I prepare in batches and will certainly include a timeline (great idea) for context.

I just rewatched Alien3 and I came to the conclusion that it is not Michael Bishop in the movie, but another Bishop android.  Look at the last picture you posted which shows a closeup of Bishops' face.  Look at his left ear (on your right).  It is really hanging off of his face.  There are many other shots that show this too and some of them are more obvious than the one you posted.  I came to the conclusion that it is actually another Bishop android because that Bishop shows no sign of pain even though his whole ear is literally hanging off of his face.

After discussing this with I Moon Girl does anyone actually know where and when the name Michael Weyland/Bishop become attached to this character.

In the film and script this character is credited as Bishop II, and is never actually introduced formally in the film.

BISHOP II
You know who I am.


 RIPLEY
Yeah.  A droid.  Same model as
Bishop.  Sent by the fucking Company.


 BISHOP II
I'm not the Bishop android. I designed it. I'm the prototype.
I'm very human. I was sent here to show you a friendly face 
and to demonstrate how important you are to us. To me.
Please come down.

But he is listed on the Alienverse wiki & fandom pages as Michael Weyland OR Michael Bishop.

http://alienanthology.wikia.com/wiki/Michael_Weyland

http://alienfilmspedia.wikia.com/wiki/Michael_Bishop

And in the recent video game Alien: Colonial Marine: Stasis Interrupted he is officially Michael Weyland. This game is considered Canon by FOX.

BUT Lance Henriksen himself believed his character was an advanced model of Bishop.

https://alienseries.wordpress.com/2012/10/22/debate-bishop-ii-man-or-machine/

So somewhere between Alien 3 release in 1992 and Stasis interrupted in 2013 this character went from Bishop II to Michael Weyland / Michael Bishop???

IRaptus - This is a mystery! :)

The story of the Stasis Interrupted DLC is awesome in my op. The story!!!

Ati it is a big mystery. I hadn't really thought about it until I Moon Girl pointed it out.

It is a clever story they have woven in between Aliens and Alien3 in Stasis Interrupted, I agree.

@IRaptus & Ati

Does Stasis Interrupted explain how that egg got on the the Sulaco? 

I read a theory by someone else on AvP Galaxy and their theory actually makes the most sense to me.  The theory is that Bishop put the egg on the ship and there is a little proof of this in this when, in Alien3, Ripley plugs in Bishop and asks him questions.  Bishop seems kind of dodgy with his answers and doesn't seem to want to answer them.  The reason he doesn't is because he doesn't want Ripley to know that he put the egg on the Sulaco because he likes Ripley.  Yet, Bishop is part of the WY company, so, like Ash, he listens to his boss.  He has to because it's in his programming.  He also asks to be terminated.  He gave a reason, but maybe another reason is because Ripley might find out the truth of what Bishop may have done.

IRaptus - I know. :) Last year I had mentioned here that the two versions of Alien 3 introduce Bishop as two different characters... but some members did not like the piece of info. :D

I Moon Girl - This is the movie version, enjoy! :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9G2H6hUTM0

---

I agree I Moon Girl. I believe Bishop (Artificial Person in Aliens) would act like all other Weyland androids and be loyal to Special Order 937. 

Acquisition of a xenomorph was job one at Weyland-Yutani Corporation and Bishop may have been raised right and retained good manners when serving cornbread but why would he not be loyal to Special Order 937. And he sure wouldn't share this loyalty with the human crew.

Bishop placing an egg in the hypersleep area of the Sulaco seems to be the only feasible way it got there.

Michael Bishop designed the Artificial Person Executive Officer Bishop (Model 341-B). He was absolutely determined to capture a xenomorph and I believe anything that he created (3 lines of APs) would be loyal to Michael Bishop's interests.

ADF's official novelisation of Alien 3 notes

As he is trying to convince Ripley to come with him, Bishop II claims Carter Burke was a rogue agent during the events of Aliens, and not a representative of the company’s interests. When Aaron hits Bishop II with a lead pipe, Foster describes the impact as “spongy.” “Real blood poured from Bishop II’s cracked skull.” Earlier drafts of the script also indicate that Bishop II is the human creator of the Bishop android. “No wires. No milk. Real blood.”

http://www.geeksofdoom.com/2014/07/15/15-things-didnt-know-alien-3-official-movie-novelization

Ill have to dig out my copy of the novelisation but it looks like he is referred to in the book as Bishop II as well. Still doesn't confirm he isn't an advanced model android though.

I had to pick up my Alien 3 novelization too IRaptus. Thank you for the piece above. I always thought that was the real human Michael Bishop who was speaking to Ellen Ripley. I still do.

The Bishop II reference that continues is from Ripley's perspective. She calls him that (Bishop II) believing that he is another android and not the human Michael Bishop.

"Bishop II she told herself. Bishop Redux."

Alien 3 novelization, page 244.

I believe the reference you have above to Bishop II is what they were calling Michael Bishop before he was hit and bled red blood.

Until then, Ellen Ripley (who coined Bishop II in her head) was referring to him this way until Michael Bishop was attacked and confirmed human with the injury. 

Also, we spoke about the "Company Man" above that asked for Ripley. In the novelization, page 244, he is referred to as part of a pair of "biomedical technicians" and it mentions the outfits they are wearing.

To all- keen observations. I watched A3 quite a bit and that Bishop scene never dawned on me- I saw him bleed so took it that he was human. Another basic observation is if he was human and made Bishop, I would imagine him appearing older. I will have to pop in the Assembly Cut very soon.

The credit goes to I Moon Girl it was her observations that sparked this interesting debate :)

Ati Im curious as to what happened last time you raised this idea?

Damn it, I can't find my book Id like to re-read that whole section

Look how far his ear is hanging off of his head!  He did grunt a little in pain a couple of times, but I would be expecting a lot more if that injury is as bad as it looks.

So, to explain the red blood.  What if he is a droid with a human brain in it?  That would explain why he looks the same age as the android he made and would also explain why there is blood in him.  The brain needs blood to function.  So, with this, we can explain why he bleeds red blood, looks exactly like a Bishop android that he apparently created yet doesn't look any older than, and it would explain why he isn't in much pain.  Those grunts could just be him angry at the fact that his face got messed up.  I'd be made about that too.  So, he's an advanced droid.  I'm not saying I believe this, but this is an explanation to me.

I would think if he was human, that hit would have knocked him unconscious.

I Moon Girl, you ask the best questions. Thank you so very much.

Michael Bishop was born in 2127 and he took this hit in 2179 (age 52). 

"He was a strong proponent of the human enhancement...bone strength plating, circulatory nano upgrades..."

Weyland-Yutani Report, page 139.

The upgrades Michael Bishop adopted to his human body is the reason he was able to survive that hit and then still try to plead with Ellen Ripley.

@Ingeniero

Interesting.  Thanks for the info.  I might have to buy that book. 

Back to the ear. It is fairly vascular but mostly cartilage and not much nerve endings and thus not a lot of pain.   

For the egg in A3, I thought it was pretty much exhaustively decided it was a plot device that we look the other way and enjoy the movie. 

@I Moon Girl

I like your theory that we are not seeing Michael Bishop in Alien 3, but another Bishop Android! ...But I would like to respectfully disagree!

First, re-watch the scene in Aliens where [Lance?] Bishop gets impaled by the Xeno queen. 

The Bishop getting impaled and ripped in-half scene is a subject of fascination for me, I sometimes watch it on a loop because it is so captivatingly expressive.

From this scene we learn that Bishop Androids are very much capable of feeling and expressing reactions to pain! So, I think if one's ear got partially severed it would have more of a reaction than Michael Bishop did.

Second, sometimes when someone sustains a very severe injury, adrenaline prevents them from feeling the full extent of their injuries and they do not initially express normal pain reactions. This may have been the case for Michael Bishop.

Third, Michael Bishop bleeds a red fluid resembling blood, whereas most Androids bleed a white fluid. This could be easily explained away though, I admit.

Fourth and finally: though I'm probably personalizing things too much, and this is not likely what the writers and directors intended... I like to consider what sort of personality type is likely to create Androids. 

For a number of reasons, I personally think we High Functioning Autistics are just the sort of people for the task. 

Many of us have atypical pain responses, sometimes including abnormally high pain tolerance, or not readily detecting that we're in physical pain. This is actually a disadvantage because it can and does lead to injuries and illnesses going undetected and untreated. 

We're also decidedly not captivatingly expressive, but many of us are fascinated enough with the concept, that I think designing emotionally expressive Androids would fall well within our sphere of interest.

Maybe Michael Bishop is a High Functioning Autistic, who set out to create an empathetic, expressive android who doesn't share his same flaws, and maybe Michael Bishop didn't notice that his ear was hanging off since his sensory processing is a bit wonky. That's my pet theory, anyway! :P

@ VivisectedEngineer

It's not a theory, it's just a logical conclusion with the information presented in the 4 main Alien movies that are basically as canon as it gets.  The man we know as Michael Bishop in Alien3 was never formally introduced.  Luckily Ingeniero has the facts on who Michael Bishop is; otherwise all we could do is draw logical conclusions.

The clip you mention about Bishop being impaled by the Xeno Queen is a random incident and I don't think is enough evidence to assert that androids can feel pain.  I'm not saying they do or they don't, but if they do feel pain, then they are able to ignore it, unlike humans.  This is factual when you consider Ash being "brought back from the dead" with only his head in Alien.  This is also fact with Bishop being "brought back from the dead" in Alien3.  This is also a fact with David becoming headless in Prometheus.  This is also the case with Call in Alien: Resurrection who was shot.  In all of those situations, neither android expressed pain, or at least much, even though they were in pieces or were shot.  There voices might have been messed up in some of those examples, but I guess that could be expected when all that's left of an android is its' head and I wouldn't be surprised if an android that lost its' head also experienced some messed up interior components which would mess with the androids voice.  There is also fact in Alien: Covenant where Walter gets his hand eaten by acid when he punched the Neomorph.  I don't remember Walter ever experiencing pain.  I just remember him with look of fear or surprise or determination on his face (I can't actual remember that part very well, but I'm pretty sure he didn't show signs of pain.)

For Michael Bishop to have enough adrenaline running through him to ignore a massive gash in the back of his head with his ear falling off wouldn't make sense to me.  I do agree that humans can receive extra adrenaline in moments of life or death or situations similar, but Michael Bishop doesn't seem to fit the bill for that to happen for me.  To me, Michael Bishop is trying to have a conversation that he so desperately wants to go his way.  That blow would have easily knocked out a normal human being and would likely result in a concussion or even cause death.  Plus, I don't think he wants a Xeno Queen more than what his life is worth.  That's the question with all WY employees, "Would they sacrifice themselves for a chance to have a Xeno?"  I think we have our answer, in a way, in Alien: Resurrection, which is, "No."  It's not WY employees in A:R, but they are humans that want something from the Xeno and are willing to steal people to get it.  They even have the technology to remove the Xeno from themselves, but they still choose to steal people to get impregnated with the Xeno.

On your third point, I thought that the Bishop that's trying to get Ripley from killing herself is an android with a human brain in it, which is why he bleeds red, but according to the facts from Ingeniero, it's Michael Bishop with human technological upgrades.  That makes sense to me and is the only example that I know of in the Alien-verse where humans have merged with technology.

Of course, all of my ideas on androids come from me not thinking that they have many, if any, actual human emotions.  Androids could be programmed to act like they are experiencing pain because, as David said in Prometheus to the question, "Why do you wear a space suit?"  David replies, "Because it makes your kind (humans) feel more comfortable if the android blends in with humans." (or something like that).  So, that pain you think Bishop is feeling in the movie Aliens could all be part of his programming, but he may not actually be feeling anything.  That brings the question, "If I think, do I feel?"  This is a very abstract question and I'm sure different people have different beliefs on how this relates to AI androids.  AI stands for Artificial Intelligience.  Here is one definition for it...

ar·ti·fi·cial in·tel·li·gence

the theory and development of computer systems able to perform tasks that normally require human intelligence, such as visual perception, speech recognition, decision-making, and translation between languages.

It doesn't state feelings in there, but if androids had AI and feelings, I'm sure they could make better and more human decisions.  We discussed emotions with androids early and I really don't feel like continuing that debate.  I feel like we kind of have our own, yet separate beliefs on that.

It's a little bit funny that the creator is called Bishop II.