UFO Cover Up? Live
| UFO Coverup? Live | |
|---|---|
.png) | |
| Directed by | Martin Pasetta |
| Written by | Barry Taff Tracy Tormé |
| Produced by | Michael B. Seligman |
| Starring | Mike Farrell |
| Edited by | Bob Demaio Scott Reynolds |
| Music by | Joey Carbone Jerry Lambert |
Production company | BizNet Studios |
| Distributed by | Lexington Broadcast Services Company |
Release date |
|
Running time | 2 hours |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
UFO Coverup? Live was a US television broadcast which aired in syndication on October 14, 1988. The program introduced Americans to the Majestic 12 hoax.[1][2] It featured the first public mention of Nevada's Area 51 as a site associated with aliens.[3]
Synopsis
[edit]The program was hosted by actor Mike Farrell, best known for his role as Captain B.J. Hunnicutt on the television series M*A*S*H (1975–83). Despite being pre-recorded, the program imitated the style of a live broadcast and advertised itself as "via satellite".
The program featured former Bluebook spokeman William T. Coleman, former Bluebook head Robert Friend, and SETI figure Thomas Redmond McDonough. It discussed the 1952 Washington, D.C., UFO incident, the subsequent Samford press conference, the 1948 Mantell UFO incident in which a pilot crashed chasing a UFO, and the 1976 Tehran UFO incident. Notable hoaxers including George Adamski and Billy Meier were discussed. Soviet UFOlogists Sergei Bulantsev and Leonard Nikishin wre interviewed about Soviet events, including the Tunguska blast of 1908. Budd Hopkins and psychiatrist Rima E. Laibow were interviewed about their work with people who report recovered memories of alien abductions. Bill Moore, Stanton Friedman and Jesse Marcel Jr were interviewed about the Roswell incident. Robert Emenegger and Paul Shartle were interviewed about the Holloman UFO incident, where a UFO allegedly landed near the base. UFO Author Richard F. Haines was interviewed as were multiple pilots such as Neil Daniels. Skeptics David Williamson, James Oberg, and Herbert Spiegel were interviewed. The program featured clips from films such as Earth vs the Flying Saucers, Plan 9 from Outer Space, Devil Girl from Mars, and Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
Drawing upon the work of ufologists Bill Moore and Jaime Shandera, the program interviewed shadow-clad informants Falcon (Richard Doty) and Condor about the Majestic 12 documents.[4] Falcon (Doty) told a story of three aliens (called EBEs) that were "guests" of the United States government, one of which was fond of strawberry icecream. Falcon claimed the aliens come from Zeta Reticuli. Condor and Falcon claimed that the US government and the aliens have entered into an agreement to allow them to operate a base in Nevada called Area 51.
Reactions
[edit]| External videos | |
|---|---|
 Bill Moore addresses MUFON, July 1 1989 |
UFO author Philip J. Imbrogno argued the program, with its mention of an alien who likes strawberry ice cream, "made many viewers laugh at the show, and in effect made the study of the phenomenon look downright silly."[5] At MUFON 1989, in Las Vegas, Bill Moore admitted that the program was not truthful and some of its content had been disinformation originally shared with Paul Bennewitz.[6] Stanton Friedman later wrote that he regretted his participation, complaining about reading off teleprompters and disturbed "Falcon" and "Condor" were untrustworthy. [7] UFO author Bill Knell argued the program "brought the U.F.O Phenomenon into more U.S. households than anything anyone else has done in years".[8] UFO Coverup? Live influenced Chris Carter's 1990s hit television show The X-Files. [9][10]
See also
[edit]- Unidentified Flying Objects: The True Story of Flying Saucers, a similar film from 1956
- UFOs: Past, Present, and Future, a similar film from 1974
References
[edit]- ^ Gulyas, Aaron (June 11, 2015). "The Paranormal and the Paranoid: Conspiratorial Science Fiction Television". Rowman & Littlefield – via Google Books.
- ^ Peebles, Curtis (December 12, 1995). "Watch the Skies!: A Chronicle of the Flying Saucer Myth". Berkley Books – via Google Books.
- ^ Clary, David A. (January 22, 2001). "Before and After Roswell: The Flying Saucer in America, 1947-1999". Xlibris Corporation – via Google Books.
- ^ Pilkington, Mark (July 29, 2010). "Mirage Men: A Journey into Disinformation, Paranoia and UFOs". Little, Brown Book Group – via Google Books.
- ^ Imbrogno, Philip J. (December 12, 2010). "Ultraterrestrial Contact: A Paranormal Investigator's Explorations Into the Hidden Abduction Epidemic". Llewellyn Worldwide – via Google Books.
- ^ "Shockingly Close to the Truth". Prometheus Books – via Google Books.
- ^ Lindemann, Michael (December 12, 1991). "UFOs and the alien presence : six viewpoints". Santa Barbara, Calif. : 2020 Group, Visitors Investigation Project – via Internet Archive.
- ^ Boeche, Ray (July 1, 2012). "Journal of the Fortean Research Center Paperbound". Lulu.com – via Google Books.
- ^ Goldman, Jane; Carter, Chris (December 12, 1995). "The "X-files" Book of the Unexplained". Simon & Schuster – via Google Books.
- ^ Schuster, Hal (December 12, 1997). "The Unauthorized Guide to the X-files". Prima Pub. – via Google Books.