They had to do what they did if they were going to start the film with Ripley waking up from the previous story.

Carrie Henn had aged and was too recognisable to be recast.

Arguably the character is more potent as a dissectable corpse than she ever was as a living, bad line delivering, screeching living small thing in peril. That autopsy is the character's finest scene, it's stomach churning not just viscerally but also down to what Signorney brings to her performance.

Oh and it has Charles Dance, anything with Charles Dance is more watchable than Aliens.

Newt's death is an element that remained intact from Vincent Ward's ruined concept.

For me Ward's vision of Ripley constantly pummeled by events, plunged into an alien environment and finally defeating the Company's plans for the Alien was the big win.

Even the mess of the final film is better than having Ripley playing happy families with Newt and Hicks. In my view Alien films should have nightmarish nihilistic beginnings and main plots capped with an uplifting ending.

The first 30mins of Alien 3 (any version) has more atmosphere than practically any film these days. But that's me for you. My favorite Planet of the Apes film is the second one.