Bill and Ted discuss John Carpenter’s 1988 adaption of Ray Nelson’s 1963 cosmic horror short story “Eight O’Clock in the Morning.” Largely inspired by Bill Wray’s comic book version of Nelson’s story in Alien Encounters #6 (from April 1986) Carpenter’s “They Live” provides a clever political satire wrapped in a campy Sci-Fi B-Movie wrapper where a down on his luck everyday blue-collar man (Rowdy Rody Piper) drifts into L.A. seeking work only to discover the truth of his problems are beyond his imagination. With the help of a fellow construction worker and friend, Frank (Keith David), they join a resistance movement to fight against the shadowy alien forces living unseen hidden away just outside natural human perception. Carpenter delves into the populist angst of those who believe in the promise of the America dream and yet find themselves taken advantage of by predatory media, politics and economic systems outside their control. If you enjoyed this film, you may also like these Ted’s Picks: Videodrome (1983), The Hidden (1987), The Matrix (1999)