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Jones, also referred to as Jonesy,[2] and "little shit-head," was a cat kept aboard the USCSS Nostromo as Ellen Ripley's pet. While the cat's official purpose was to control rodents aboard the ship,[3] he also served as a source of companionship, relaxation and entertainment for the crew.[4]

Jonesy and Ripley were the only two to survive the Nostromo incident caused by a Xenomorph and the ship's subsequent destruction.

History[]

The Intruder[]

Owing to Jonesy's small size and mass, he comfortably shared a hypersleep capsule with one of the crew members during the Nostromo's long journeys. While the Nostromo's crew were hunting for the Alien, Jonesy came up on the motion tracker made by Ash and was mistaken as the Alien. Ripley and Parker sent Brett to catch Jonesy. When Brett finally caught up with Jonesy in a cargo room, he started to try to coax the cat out to make sure he didn't set off the motion tracker again. Jonesy noticed the strange silhouette behind Brett and began to hiss. By the time Brett turned around, the creature attacked him and carried him up into the air ducts with Jonesy witnessing the ordeal. Jonesy was approached by the Alien when Ripley left him in his cage, but the Alien left him alone as Jonesy was apparently of little interest to the creature and he survived the incident unscathed. He was put in cryo-sleep after escaping the Nostromo with Ripley.

57 Years later[]

Ripley and Jonesy remained in cryostasis for 57 years. The salvage crew that picked them up initially thought the unusual readings from the cryotube was that of an alien life form, but visual inspection revealed to them that they were simply reading the human and feline sets of DNA as one organism. After their recovery, they were reunited in the hospital of Gateway Station by Carter Burke. Jonesy then went to stay with Ripley at her new apartment. When Ripley must return to LV-426, she fondly curses him and says, "And you, you little shit-head, you're staying here". It is unclear what became of Jonesy after Ripley's assignment to the USS Sulaco and subsequent death on Fiorina 161.

Trivia[]

  • During the scene in the first film when the Alien descended behind Brett (actor Harry Dean Stanton), to get Jonesy to react fearfully to the monster a German Shepherd was placed in front of Jonesy. A screen was placed between the two, so the cat wouldn't see it at first, and came over. The screen was then suddenly removed to make Jonesy stop, and start hissing.[5]
  • In his commentary track for Aliens, director James Cameron explains how they got the cat playing Jones in that movie to hiss during Ripley's nightmare: the Jones of that movie was shown another cat, prompting the reaction.
  • Jonesy has been referenced several times in the Halo universe, a video game franchise developed by Bungie.
  • Jonesy is referenced in World of Warcraft and can be found in Dalaran, at The Legerdemain Inn. Resting comfortably on a ledge as you go up the stairs to the second floor.
  • Newt can be considered his spiritual successor in Aliens, though Jonesy himself was present in the sequel. Both accompany Ripley when she goes to hypersleep and Ripley goes out of the way to protect them.
  • Since a different cat was used for the sequel (given the prolonged time during the filming of the two films), Jonesy appears to be skinnier in the sequel than in the original film. In Alien four identical cats were used to portray Jonesy, the crew's pet.[6]
  • Since Jonesy was in cryostasis for 57 years, he would almost certainly be the oldest cat in history, being around 60 years old when Ripley left him. The current world record is 38 years 3 days, achieved by Creme Puff (1967–2005).
  • Jonesy may potentially be the last survivor of the Nostromo.
  • Jonesy stars in his own graphic novel, titled Jonesy: Nine Lives on the Nostromo, released October 2018.[7]
  • Jonesy appears in Fortnite as a cosmetic item called "Weyland-Yutani Cat Carrier".
  • Jonesy also appears in Dead by Daylight, appearing in lobby animations for Ellen Ripley as part of Chapter 29: Alien.
  • During the second mission of Alien: Isolation, we can hear a cat meow in the distance, as players get closer a airlock, the cat abruptly stops meowing.

References[]

  1. Interview with Sooz Kempner
  2. Alien cards - card no. 15 "Introducing Jones"
  3. Lee Brimmicombe-Wood (1996). Aliens: Colonial Marines Technical Manual. HarperPrism, 136.
  4. Alan Dean Foster (1979). Alien novelization. Warner Books, Inc., 109.
  5. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078748/trivia
  6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alien_(film)#cite_note-McIntee,_14-50
  7. Jonsey, the cat from ‘Alien’, is getting his own spin-off by Anna Matheson, NME, 21st October 2018
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