Ancient Aliens

Legends existed in China about dragons? Must've been aliens.

Mayans thought there were Gods who could influence the weather? Aliens.

Primitive cave paintings resembling weird looking humans? Aliens.

I don't necessarily think that the ancient astronaut theory is totally ludicrous, but the evidence provided by "experts" in this show is lacking, and almost entirely driven by conformation bias. They have already drawn their conclusion (aliens), and work their way backwards from there.

That said, you'll probably learn some interesting things about the past, and the idea itself is, at least for me, quite thought provoking.

Should you ever encounter the History Channel (it will always be the HISTORY CHANNEL to me) documentary series "Ancient Aliens", it would be a wise choice to watch it not with a grain of salt, but rather, a whole salt shaker. The series, which chronicles theories about "ancient astronauts" and possible historical encounters primitive cultures had with extra-terrestrial life and how it impacted the world, is a fine example of pseudo-science at at times blatant science-fiction masquerading as scientific fact. While some of the stories are intriguing, and while I do indeed believe in extra-terrestrial life (and that it may have contacted the modern world), the show presents so much conjecture and idea-grasping, that one cannot possibly take this series seriously.

Each episode centers on a different topic, from alien technology, to rumored underground or underwater cities that were the result of alien/human contact. A panel of "experts" (aka, UFO enthusiasts and pseudo-scientists) discuses theories ranging from remotely credible to downright diabolically far-fetched and implausible.

Although given my complaints about the rampant idea-grasping, sensationalizing the series presents, and the blatant pseudo-science, I will give credit in that the show has a great deal of entertainment value when viewed as a piece of science-fiction and as mere entertainment. Some of the stories and theories portrayed are riveting in their own way, and it's a great deal of fun to watch. In addition, some of the "scientists" and "experts" who appear frequently serve as good presenters and real-life "characters", giving the show a bizarre watch-ability.

While the show desperately attempts to be a serious documentary series, it fails overall, and as a documentary, I'd give the show about a 3 out of 10. However, the interesting stories presented, the unintentional hilarity of the show, and the delightful "characters" who are humorously misleading and present wildly insane ideas, give this show a high entertainment value, and a likability factor of about a 9 out of 10. So, averaging those scores together, the show is elevated to a very watchable and enjoyably, slightly-above average 6 out of 10 when viewed strictly as entertainment. Like I said, swallow many grains of salt when you turn this on, and watch it is Science-Fiction, and it will provide some great laughs. But watch it as a serious, real-life documentary, and you will be sorely disappointed.

I am sorry but I cannot watch this show for more than 10 minutes without shouting at the screen. It is worse now, I now find that I am getting annoyed at all TV documentaries after watch some of this show. They still talk about things as mysteries when they were solved years before, that things are fact when they aren't. They use lines like "Many People" and "Some scientists believe" never giving facts and figures. I find the main presenter patronising. Sorry I just can't watch any more of this show. Where has the Science and actual history gone. Where is the balanced reporting. How can someone look at a camera and state something to be a mystery when the facts are well known.

I used to get quite a kick out of this series because I enjoyed the guests, the variegated sites, and, yes, the cinematography (if it can be called that). However, in the last two seasons, the show has degenerated to a point beyond ridiculousness.

First, let me say I have firsthand knowledge (indeed, direct experience) with scientists who have contributed to the show--in fact, appeared on the show--only to later protest that their opinions were grossly misrepresented. For nearly every piece of "evidence," various alternative explanations are available but simply are not presented. This is not what one would call balanced reporting. If we wish to make incredible claims, we must provide incredible proof.

But more upsetting is the steadily increasing dose of pseudoscience, of which I will provide three examples: the first arguably weaker, the second and third extremely strong. Some scientist is quoted as declaring that such-and-such site in Bosnia is a pyramid. My friends, not every topographic feature that is narrow at the top, wide at the bottom, and _vaguely_ quadrangular is a pyramid. More proof is required. Far more distressing are abject _lies_ that are presented. We are told that "the Washington Monument aligns with the constellation Orion." I cannot for the life of me determine how a _single_ vertical structure can "align" with any complex pattern. If the monument aligns with Orion, then it also aligns with every other constellation. We are also told that the ancient inscriptions on such slab or other amazingly provide the latitude and longitude of the site--far before human beings understood such concepts. This is an abject lie. For, "latitude" has some absolute meaning: the equator is fixed and its position crystal-clear, and one can make a stab at identifying a latitude in an ancient petroglyph. But, since the position of the prime meridian is _purely_ _arbitrary_, how could ancient aliens have taught some tribe the longitude of a site? Wait: let me guess: the aliens had knowledge of where--some time in the future--a British astronomer would stab his cane into the ground in Greenwich and say, "Let's put the prime meridian _here_." And I will only just mention in passing the host of "researchers" who throw around terms such as "energy force field," clearly understanding neither energy, nor force, nor fields.

Sorry, editors of "Ancient Aliens," but you really must control the nonsense factor if you want to have any chance of convincing those who actually understand science and mathematics--rather than groupies who are wowed every time someone makes a glib claim that the evidence patently fails to support.

I just signed on today (30 October 2013) after viewing the first twelve minutes of the episode "The Satan Conspiracy" and concluding, "Enough is enough already!" Not only have the producers absolutely, totally, unmitigatedly run out of material--choosing to identify any millimeter-wide glitch in a painting or pebble that looks like it has a one percent chance of having been "engineered" as ironclad evidence that aliens have visited. To make matters worse, the pseudo-science has risen to a level where even a schoolchild recognizes that random non-experts are proffering random verbiage about utter nonsense.

I've been recording this series for years. After deleting this episode, I updated all three of my DVRs, no longer to record the series. I've simply had it!

Before letting you know my thoughts about the show,it would be very useful to inform you about my beliefs. In my opinion,when a person judges a documentary which presents non-mainstream information/ideas, the reader must be sure that there is no extremist or conservative point of view.

Personally i find it not only hard,but also foolish to accept everything mainstream archaeologists propose. But on the other hand i am not really a big alien fan,and i do not have a theory of mine which i am radical about.I simply like being skeptic and more importantly always trying to find reason in everything.That being said,let's move on to the actual review.

The biggest plus of the show is it's most obvious element: you know it is going to try to convince you about the existence of aliens and their appearing in human history and you definitely have the curiosity about how they are going to achieve it! Furthermore,you get what you would expect to get from a show messing around with that subject: lots and lots of footage from ancient monuments,artifacts,drawings,carvings,legends and scripts. That alone is justifying the summary of my review. Huge variety of information about many civilizations from all over the world are presented in good detail;not about every aspect of the culture thought, just information related to the topic of the show (personally i don't think it is bad to stick to the topic). The pieces of the "puzzle" created are so many, and at the same time the -original- footage is so eye-grasping that it gets you thinking.

On the other side however on SOME occasions, the philosophy and attitude of the "experts" presenting the show,follow the general rule of flawed approach to the truth:instead of trying to prove their claims the best logical way they can in order to MAKE YOU think for yourself (possibly) that "yea,they could be right,from what i see it is very possible that...", they prefer to prove them by disproving (and using irony in small doses) the other side,which on our occasion is mainstream archaeology. This,along with the fact that (again,on some occasions) they seem to jump on the desired conclusion a bit too easy, is why it gets 8/10.

As i pointed out,it is a decent show to watch no matter your beliefs, even if you don't care about aliens at all. The huge variety of original footage gives "Ancient Aliens" a quality only reduced by the occasional "extremism" of its main speakers. Bottom line:give it a try. It may convince you, or it may not, but you will learn something new for sure.