Well,
they’ve finally done it. Slipped completely off the rails. The latest episode
bears almost no relation to the sighting on which it was based. I mean
(SPOILERS) that it opens with Hynek either reviewing what was the
Chiles-Whitted sighting in
1948, or having been on the aircraft to see it
himself. It’s not overly clear which it was, but I would guess Hynek was
reviewing the information rather than having been a participant. Paul Hynek
said during my radio interview with him that Hynek had been on the plane… or
that was one interpretation.
 |
| The Chiles-Whitted Illustrations. |
And
that’s sort of it for the UFO investigation. Hynek and Quinn (who might be
Ruppelt, might not be Ruppelt or might be sort of Ruppelt) head to Alabama
where Chiles and Whitted saw the cigar-shaped craft with square windows and a
flame out the back. They think that it might be a rocket and head down to talk
with Werner von Braun, the German rocket whiz.
What
we have here, is not really an investigation into the sighting, but an excuse
for Quinn to crash through a barrier on the base and later break into what must
be a top secret research lab, complete with an Independence Day alien suspended
in liquid preservative. The rules for guarding highly classified material are
apparently ignored on this base because there really is no way that Hynek and
Quinn should have been able to get in as easily as they did, escape as easily
as they did or for Hynek to carry out the photograph of the alien he took…
 |
| The Zond IV Reentry. |
And
did I mention the crop circle that Hynek found?
And,
just so we remember the time frame, we have Mimi Hynek and Joel attending some
sort of afternoon drill on what to do if there is an atomic bomb attack. Hynek
mentions that it won’t do any good if the bomb drops, and they happen to be
close to ground zero he is right, but if not, then a fallout shelter, which is
designed to protect from fallout and not over blast of a bomb with all the
sun-like heat would be beneficial.
For
James Carrion (The Roswell Deception), we have the spies, Soviet, I would guess,
who are hanging around Mimi Hynek and radioing their findings back to their
home base. Here too, we have the penetration of a secure facility that is much
too easy by the female spy. Spy lady asks to use the restroom on the base and
is allowed to roam the hallways until she finds the office that contains all
the UFO stuff, which she then photographs.
I’m
not going to continue with this. I have enjoyed the previous episodes, which
seemed to be about the sightings, even with large the liberties taken with them.
I was going to say that this is science fiction, thought that’s not really fair
to science fiction. It’s more of a thriller with a hint of the UFO thrown in as
the connecting thread. I can only hope that the next episode slides back on the
rails and sticks a little closer to the UFO investigation.
For
those interested in the sighting that was the basis for this show, and I use
the term basis loosely, here is where you can read more about it:
Rather
than rewrite these postings for here, I thought it simpler to just point to
what I have written in the past. Besides, there are lots of illustrations that
go with this sighting and I think those are almost as important as the written
word.
Finally,
I will note that back in 1948, just as History
mentioned at the end of the episode, Hynek believed that the solution for the
sighting was a bolide. Given what I have learned about the case and in a review
of the Air Force file on it, I find no reason to reject that solution. History should get some credit for the
notes at the end of the show. I just wonder how many people bother to read
those.
5 comments:
I wouldn’t be so sure regarding the duo stumbling across the alien and getting away with a photograph. As we all know, Hilda and Bernard Ray were able to do just that.
Excuse me for one moment as I separate my tongue from my cheek.
I have always had a problem with the general idea of any government, organisation etc putting an alien body on display regardless of how high the security is in said facility. If (and it’s a big if) any government had possession of an alien body, to me it would seem much more plausible that pictures would be taken then highly encrypted on some digital storage facility, then the actual body itself would be separated into samples and specimens then stored in such a way that it would not be obvious that these specimens came from something non human.
Putting it as a whole body on display in some facility for whatever reason has never seemed right to me.
What a fun episode! Kevin, you must not have watched, but this is full-blown X-Files mythology.
Hynek and Quinn, as Mulder and Scully, breaking through the gate at a top-secret facility because “the truth is in there.”
Werner Von Braun, as a cross between the Cigarette Smoking Man and Deep Throat.
Susie Miller, still developing, but sort of a female Alex Krycek.
The US Military as “The Consortium” in charge of directing the alien conspiracy.
Some guy, who will likely be revealed as schizophrenic, keeps trying to make contact with Mulder (Hynek) about the alien presence, a la Max Fenig.
Strange beings that look suspiciously like aliens, being housed in aquarium tanks.
God, I miss that show! but I am enjoying this!
..I watch the show with my family and fill in where I can when it comes to obvious flaws in the show; but I think most who are watching the show are certainly watching it as a mixture of fact and fiction and are okay with that. If the series was about the American Civil War or the JFK case I can only imagine the tumult it would create. Otherwise I think the only people who will be really annoyed will be the Skeptical Inquirer crowd; I can already see the headlines, "Gullible UFO believers swallow "Project Bluebook series hook, line and sinker..."..
edithkeeler writes: >> What a fun episode! Kevin, you must not have watched, but this is full-blown X-Files mythology.<<
Oh, I think Kevin did! I've told Kevin and my fellow skeptics that this program is the best thing for ufoolery in decades and finally brings it into the 21st century! Otherwise you are indeed correct, this is an excellently "fun episode!... (and) is full-blown X-Files mythology." Gosh, I couldn't have said it better! (Love You!)
At some point in the X-Files reprise, Duchovny does a monologue that runs down the complete and utter "UFO" conspiracy myth. Look for it! And this series only drives it all home: IT'S ALL FICTION!
I love you guys so much!
SugarRayTaylor: interesting comments and I agree with most of what you said: assuming there are actual alien bodies, I'm guessing there was no protocol on what to do with the first one found. But I would assume they would want to keep it almost 100% intact and they could learn what they needed with non-invasive procedures. It would also make sense as you suggested to probably keep "samples" of it in other places....
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