You Can’t Even Get Good Aliens Anymore

A popular attraction based on a well-known series of sci-fi horror films travelled the UK and came to my hometown a few years ago. It was a bit like a cross between a theatre performance and an escape room. Actors dressed as marines from the franchise would rescue the audience and try to help them escape through several set-pieces as aliens attacked them.

I was very excited to go, having missed it every time it was in the city previously, so I arranged to go see it with folks from my office. There were multiple performances each night, and our tickets were booked for 20:00. When we bought them, we were told very firmly that we needed to be there at 19:50 sharp, so when the night came, we were there exactly at 19:50.

We checked in at the box office and then milled around in the bar area for a while until we were told to sit down and wait. We took our seats and waited and waited and waited…

When it was about half an hour after our show was due to start, I asked the person who checked us in when our show would start.

Employee: “Did you just get here?”

Me: “No, we’ve been here since 19:50!”

Employee: “Which group are you?”

I pointed.

Employee: “Well, the group next to you was here first, so we’re taking them in first. It’ll be about half an hour before you get seen.”

Me: “But our tickets were for 20:00, not 21:00.”

Employee: “That doesn’t matter.”

Unfortunately, I’d made plans to meet up with friends at 21:30 based on when the show was expected to end, so I told my colleagues that I couldn’t wait. We demanded the money back on our ticket, which was very reluctantly handed over.

However, as annoyed and disappointed as I was, I couldn’t help but laugh at the explanation we were given by the box office at that point: “Sorry, but one of the aliens called in sick.”