Jan 15 2008
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Review of “An Alien History of Planet Earth”
I “bin laid up” in bed for the last few days with the flu, which gave me a chance to do something I don’t do very often: watch TV. What to my wondering eyes should appear, but the newly released History International Channel documentary An Alien History of Planet Earth. British journalist Nick Cook, a seasoned reporter for Jane’s Defence Weekly and author of the landmark book The Hunt For Zero Point, was the host.
Most of the interviewees expressed doubt about actual aliens visiting Earth, which sort of negates the title of the program. Cook concentrates on the U.S., which admittedly doesn’t include all of the planet. The target audience may feel that they are the victims of a bait-and-switch since aliens are hardly mentioned. After viewing, one gets the feeling that a band of faceless executives came up with the title to appeal to a demographic which probably would not have enjoyed this show, but I did.
The program examines one of my favorite subjects: black budget projects and cutting-edge aircraft and how the US government has used the UFO subject to cover up research and development of them. What Cook concentrates on are issues covered in his book, like the mysterious “bell.” This device was built and used by the Nazis in the closing months of WWII to apparently develop an anti-gravity aircraft.
It is refreshing that Cook and his producers interviewed people with conflicting opinions about UFOs. Bruce Maccabee makes an appearance, speaking about the 1952 Washington, D.C. sightings and the Air Force reaction. Roswell is first dismissed by one interviewee as Skyhook balloons, and then considered as a secret aircraft test gone awry. Supporting this idea is an involved discussion of Project Paperclip, which bought captured Nazi scientists to the White Sands Test Range after WWII. There is of course Nick Redfern’s controversial account of Roswell, which should be read by everyone interested in the subject, which was somehow ignored by Cook, although Bodysnatchers In The Desert was apparently released after filming had wrapped on Alien History.
Cook traveled to Dulce, New Mexico to interview Edmond Gomez, son of rancher Manuel Gomez, who’s ranch bore the brunt of cattle mutilations in the 1970s and ’80s. In a rare moment in the anomalies TV biz, Gomez said he believes that aliens had nothing to do with the livestock problems. From what he and his family experienced, Gomez is convinced that it is mostly, if not entirely due to human agencies.
One glaring error that mars the program was Cook’s representation of the 1964 Soccorro, New Mexico incident. He muses (supported by CGI animation) that Patrolman Lonnie Zamora’s sighting of a strange craft landing and then taking off from a shallow gully was another possible test of a secret airframe. Cook describes the craft as disc-shaped, and uses that idea to support his thesis that something using avrocar-like technology was being tested. According to all readily-available information, what Zamora described was oblong or egg-shaped.
What Cook and his producers attempted to do, it seems, was to play both sides of the ufological belief system so as not to offend anyone in particular, while showing that UFOs have often been used as a cover for advanced defense testing. This message comes through clearly. Cook, with access to some of the top insiders in the aerospace business has heard rumors of UFO technology and aliens for years. He tended to ignore these whispers until they became too numerous and consistent to ignore. Perhaps someone on the inside is out to brand Cook as a kook, but his sober analysis is generally valuable no matter what your belief system dictates, and the wealth of original research contained in Hunt For Zero Point is invaluable.
I must admit that I originally wanted to watch the program to see if the segment Cook and his crew had shot with me here in L.A. was included. It wasn’t. There wasn’t even a segment on the Bennewitz affair. He did tell me after the interview that an aircraft which crashed in the remote mountains north of Dulce, NM in 1986 was probably not an early UAV, as I suspected. This is an incident which features prominently in my book Project Beta. Cook has after all been writing on black-budget aerospace for years, so I deferred to his opinion, even though he was not willing to hazard a guess as to what the thing really was.
There is no indication on the History International Channel’s site about a repeat of this program, so you may need to order a DVD or catch snippets of it on youtube.
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January 15th, 2008 at 10:06 pm
Sorry to hear you’ve been sick. I liked this show too, and if it’s the same one where they go to the huge circular thing in germany, it’s actually available for viewing at google video…
January 16th, 2008 at 1:12 pm
I feel for you, Greg-I’ve was laid out
most of the weekend with something
similar.
I’m doubly sorry your part got left
on the cutting room floor, as it were-
PROJECT BETA was a fascinating read,
and deserving of a wider audience.
(”The Bell” , though, sounds like more
NFS flummery, though I admit to being
intrigued by the cover illo…)
January 16th, 2008 at 6:37 pm
I hope you recover soon Greg. Maybe it well help you know that, after all this talk about your book, I promise I will purchase it the next time I order something from Amazon (probably in February)
You guys should have an Amazon link on the webpage so if someone buys anything you could get a tiny percentage.
I saw that program you write about. I tought it was really interesting, although I think you’re right about Socorro, and the misleading title.
Maybe that Nazi “bell” has something to do with the Kecksburg incident. They DO share a simmilar shape. Hmmm…
January 16th, 2008 at 7:26 pm
Good grief, if he knew that little about a case as important as Socorro- can’t say I have much faith in this guy.
By the way Greg, this is off topic but it kind of relates to a post you made a while back where you mention the fundamentalist skeptics. If you get a chance please read Rupert Sheldrake’s response to the Richard Dawkins program “Enemies of Reason”. It has been posted over at The Daily Grail.
January 16th, 2008 at 7:32 pm
Oh yeah, and I hope you get to feeling better!
January 17th, 2008 at 1:23 am
Richelle,
All better now (pretty much) thanks. Thanks for the pointer on the video.
January 17th, 2008 at 1:24 am
Craig,
Yes, I also tend to get squirrely around Nazi UFO stuff, but Farrell’s book is well-reaserched.
January 17th, 2008 at 1:25 am
RPJ,
The book I mentioned does have extensive discussion about the bell/ Kecksburg parallels.
January 17th, 2008 at 1:26 am
Ben,
Thanks for your well-wishes and I will take a look at that essay. Sounds intriguing, and I like Sheldrake anyway.