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‘We used a beachball as an alien!’ John Carpenter on his gloriously shonky sci-fi comedy Dark Star
(www.theguardian.com)
Attack of the killer tomatoes !
this post was submitted on 24 Nov 2025
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I rewatched Dark Star somewhat recently and was struck by how much of it clearly influenced Alien.
Also, Red Dwarf is more-or-less Dark Star the series, including the slob, dead crew-mate, dubiously smart artificial intelligence, and a pet as main characters.
Dan O'Bannon wrote both movies so I see Dark Star as more of a proto-Alien.
I recently learned the lyrics were about relativity.
A million suns shine down But I see only one When I think I'm over you I find I've just begun The years move faster than the days There's no warmth in the light How I miss those desert skies Your cool touch in the night
[Chorus] Benson, Arizona, blew warm wind through your hair My body flies the galaxy, my heart longs to be there Benson, Arizona, the same stars in the sky But they seemed so much kinder when we watched them, you and I
[Verse 2] Now the years pull us apart I'm young and now you're old But you're still in my heart And the memory won't grow cold I dream of times and spaces I left far behind Where we spent our last few days Benson's on my mind
[Chorus] Benson, Arizona, blew warm wind through your hair My body flies the galaxy, my heart longs to be there Benson, Arizona, the same stars in the sky But they seemed so much kinder when we watched them, you and I
Legend.
... "shonky"?
Maybe they meant "schlocky"?
/shrug
That makes sense. I wasn't sure if it was some newfangled lingo.
I do like "shonky", though.
Ah, it's those damn Australians!
Thanks for the link. TIL.
Us Brits too, hence the Guardian headline. Maybe one day it’ll spread everywhere like “sus”.