Ancient Aliens

Ancient Aliens is an American television series that presents pseudoscientific hypotheses of ancient astronauts and past human-extraterrestrial contact in a non-critical, documentary format. Episodes, narrated by Robert Clotworthy, begin and end with rhetorical questions. Produced by Prometheus Entertainment, the series has aired on History and other A&E Networks since 2010. The series has been a target for criticism of History channel drift, and for promoting unorthodox or unproven hypotheses as fact.
The series is based on and inspired by the works of Erich von Däniken and Zecharia Sitchin, among other writers. The works of Graham Hancock, Robert Bauval, Brinsley Le Poer Trench, Charles Hapgood, and Edgar Cayce, are also referenced in many episodes. Producer Giorgio Tsoukalos and writer David Childress are featured guests.
Originally a two-hour documentary special broadcast by History, the series was broadcast as "Ancient Aliens: The Series" from 2010 to 2011. Seasons 4 to 7 aired on H2, with frequent re-airings of episodes on History. In 2015, the series returned to History after H2 was relaunched as Vice on TV. Season 15 premiered in 2020. Due to COVID-19 disrupting production, the season ended after only 12 episodes. The series continued with its sixteenth season in November 2020.
The series was parodied in the 2011 "South Park" episode "A History Channel Thanksgiving". Action Bronson has reacted to the series in two seasons of Vice's . William Shatner, who narrated the 1976 documentary , appeared in the Season 16 episode "William Shatner Meets "Ancient Aliens"". He later told "Inverse", he was "was dubious about the whole thing", adding "something's going on". The series has been criticized by the Smithsonian, among others, for overwhelming the viewer with "fictions and distortions" by using a Gish gallop. Brian Dunning debunked the series as "a slap in the face to the ingenuity of the human race".
Production.
The executive producer of "Ancient Aliens" is Kevin Burns, who also directed and wrote the pilot episode. Giorgio Tsoukalos serves as consulting producer, and is a permanent guest, appearing in every episode. UFO researcher C. Scott Littleton served as a producing consultant during the series development until his death in 2010.
The series was launched as a two-hour documentary special for the History Channel. Originally broadcast March 8, 2009, the special was re-run several times and is now packaged with the series as its pilot episode. "Ancient Aliens: The Series" aired on History from 2010 to 2011, then moved to H2 until 2015, where it was promoted as one of the network's flagship series. Frequent re-airings of episodes continued on the main channel, with highlights and selected episodes airing on A&E and Lifetime. The series was briefly made available for syndication in the Untied States and Canada in 2012.
On April 10, 2015, the series returned to History. H2 was relaunched as Vice on TV. In response to complaints from disgruntled fans, Vice on TV created . The fifteenth season premiered on January 24, 2020. Due to COVID-19 disrupting production, the season ended after 12 episodes. Production was soon restarted, and the series sixteenth season launched on November 13, 2020.
Premise and cosmology.
The premise of the series is based on and inspired by the pseudoscientific ancient astronauts hypothesis previously popularized in "Chariots of the Gods?" by Erich von Däniken, and "The 12th Planet", by Zecharia Sitchin, which purports extra-terrestrial beings visited the Earth in antiquity or prehistoric times and introduced civilization, architecture, and high-technology, to primitive humans. Many, if not all, of ancient man's achievements in language, mathematics, science, technology and stone construction, such as Egyptian pyramids, Pumapunku, and Stonehenge, are attributed to ancient man acting under the influence of extra-terrestrials. Remnants of said visitations are found in religious texts, ancient myth and legendary histories, and in the spiritual systems of many of the world's religions—such as Hinduism, Ancient Egyptian religion, Gnostic Christianity, and Mormonism. The hypothesis also purports ancient visitations left etymological remnants in many of the world's languages, such as the root words for "Dagon", "dragon", "dog", and "Danann", or the frequent occurrence of the word "anu" meaning friend or visitor. Many of the interviewed guest, who are introduced as "ancient alien theorists" or "researchers", support these claims, either in their own work—creating a shared cosmology—or via statements made on-camera. Claims that anatomically modern humans were the result of genetic modification and or are somehow biologically descended from the ancient aliens—a hypothesis also popularized by von Däniken and Sitchin—are the focus of many episodes.
UFO conspiracy theories and alien abduction claims, feature prominently in many episodes, in addition to claims related to the Roswell and Rendlesham Forest incidents. Such claims are explored within the context of the ancient astronauts cosmology, in addition to panspermia, and human space exploration both ancient and recent.
Presentation style.
The series presents all claims made by guests in an uncritical format. The narration frames responses to claims as a rhetorical question, which is answered as: "ancient alien theorists say yes[.]", or a variation thereof. "Chariots of the Gods?" used similar framing device. After a particular claim is explored in some detail, the narration cuts away with: "Perhaps more evidence can be found…". Another location, archeological find, or event, with a hypothetical connection to the previous claim, is introduced. The Smithsonian Institution described this presentation style as a Gish gallop. Terms such as "ancient astronauts", "ancient aliens", "alien visitors", "extra-terrestrial beings", "ancient gods", and "otherworldly beings", are used interchangeably by guests and the narration. Guests frequently conflate the meaning of "theory" and "hypothesis".
There is little use of precise calendrical dates in many episodes. Guests use terms such as "the remote past", "prehistoric times", or they refer to "… our ancient ancestors" in the abstract when discussing hypothetical historical events. There is a frequent demarcation of history in numerous episodes as before or after "The Ice Age", which guests imply to mean before and after the Younger Dryas period—or, 12,000 years ago.
Writer David Childress, who appears in every episode, frequently concludes his comments with the phrase "—probably extraterrestrials". Tsoukalos's appearances in the series inspired the Ancient Aliens meme which featured screenshots of Tsoukalos bearing the caption: "I'm not saying it was aliens … but it was aliens." Tsoukalos does not make that statement in any episode. Both Childress and Tsoukalos repeatedly assert ancient peoples lacked the vocabulary to describe extra-terrestrial "technological" or "high-tech" devices, such as rockets or missiles, advanced weapons, aircraft, powered land vehicles, and medical instruments, they supposedly witness. And thus referred to extra-terrestrial visitors as gods.
Evidence.
Little empirical evidence is offered in many episodes to support the presented claims, instead many segments focus on out-of-place artifacts, such as: the London Hammer, Antikythera mechanism, or the Auid object; or segments focus on alleged inconsistencies in the accepted historical record. Guests discuss evidence which supports their claims in general or abstract terms. Some guests have alleged professionals and government have suppressed evidence of ancient mysteries, such as the episode "The Prototypes" in which guests alleged the Smithsonian Institute suppressed findings of "giant humanoids" found alongside American Indian remains in the Kanawha Valley.
From Season 12 onward, episodes have included segments of potential evidence supporting the ancient astronauts hypothesis subjected to testing by credentialed scientists and medical professionals on-camera, such as: an elongated skull in "The Science Wars" which was subject to an MRI examination, and from which DNA was extracted and tested; or blue, porous, nitrogen-rich stones, examined in the episode "The Star Gods of Sirius". However, none of the results produced—from the skull, the stones, or other objects examined in later episodes—proved conclusive.
Frequent guests.
Erich von Däniken is the featured guest in the pilot episode, in addition to being the focus of two biographical episodes: "The Von Däniken Legacy", in Season 5, and "The Alien Phenomena", in Season 13.
In the first season, credentialed scientists and professionals, such as Sara Seager and Michael Denning, respond to claims made by other guests, but their rebuttals were not rigorous. In subsequent episodes, scientists and professionals offer explanations of scientific phenomena or historical events without endorsing claims made by other guests, or they offer personal commentary. Psychologist Jonathan Young appears in 123 episodes, providing explanations of myths and legends, and legendary history. Boston University associate professor Robert M. Schoch presents his Sphinx water erosion hypothesis, as well as his hypothesis concerning the age and purpose of Göbekli Tepe, in several episodes.
Radio talk show host George Noory appears in over 80 episodes, including the pilot episode. Reverend Barry Downing, known for describing angels in the Bible as ancient astronauts, appears in the pilot episode, and his comments are repeated in several other episodes. Writers Robert Bauval and Graham Hancock appear in many episodes. They both express skepticism of the ancient aliens premise, and expand on their own theories of ancient civilizations; Hancock repeats the statement from his work that "There is a forgotten episode in human history." In the episode "The Alien Phenomena", Bauval states "I don't see why not", with regard to von Däniken's claims originally made in "Chariots of the Gods?" potentially being true.
Segments and highlights from all first season episodes, including the pilot, were edited into later episodes up to Season 12, so that guests who appeared in Season 1 ostensibly appear in later seasons, although footage of their interviews was re-used.
Other claims.
Guests have presented other unproven historical and pseudoscientific hypotheses related to, or dependent upon an understanding of: Atlantis and other lost civilizations, as described in works by Brinsley Le Poer Trench and Edgar Cayce, or ley lines as originally described by Alfred Watkins; cataclysmic pole shifts as promoted by Charles Hapgood; various forms of Christian and Hindu creationism, or pseudohistory promoted by various religious movements; mythical elements of the Kabbalah, Zohar, and Book of Enoch; and various new religious movements. These hypotheses and claims are discussed within the scope of ancient astronauts cosmology.
Other concepts explored include faith healing, remote viewing, and various psychic phenomena. Numerous guests discuss various forms of catastrophism, and refer to other featured guests or historical figures as catastrophists or cataclysmists. In various episodes, guests have claimed prominent historical figures were either influenced by or were possible "extra-terrestrial" or "otherworldly beings".
Guests have also discussed unrelated pseudoscientific claims, such as: dinosaurs coexisting with humans until a recent extinction event, crystal healing and crystal skulls, as well as Freemasonry, rosicrucianism, and the New World Order. Linda Moulton Howe appears in several episodes which explore alien abduction, animal mutilation, and conspiracies involving military installations on Antarctica.
Prior to December 2012, several episodes explored facets of the 2012 Mayan doomsday prophecy. The episodes "The Maya Conspiracy" and "The Doomsday Prophecies", which aired in February 2012, explored the Maya calendar and its relation to the construction of Palenque, the god Kukulkan, in addition to links between the Maya civilization and the ancient astronaut hypothesis. Episodes focusing on Mesoamerica broadcast after 2012 make no mention of the 2012 phenomenon.
Reception.
The program had 1.676 million viewers in late October 2010, in mid-December (for the "Unexplained Structures" episode), and in late-January 2011 the series had 
Criticism.
The series has been widely criticized by historians, cosmologists, archaeologists and other scientific circles for presenting and promoting pseudoscience, pseudohistory and pseudoarchaeology as fact. Episodes are characterized as "far-fetched," "hugely speculative," and "expound[ing] wildly on theories suggesting that astronauts wandered the Earth freely in ancient times." Many of the claims made by guests are not commonly accepted as fact by the scientific community, and are frequently labelled as pseudoscience and pseudohistory. History professor Ronald H. Fritze observed that pseudoscience has a periodic popularity in the U.S.: "In a pop culture with a short memory and a voracious appetite, aliens and pyramids and lost civilizations are recycled like fashions."
Brad Lockwood of Forbes criticized "Ancient Aliens" as an example of History's channel drift toward "programs devoted to monsters, aliens, and conspiracies", commenting that, ""Ancient Aliens" defies all ability to suspend disbelief for the sake of entertainment." Alex Knapp, also of Forbes, cited archaeologist Keith Fitzpatrick-Matthews' rebuke of History for treating the series "nonsense as though it were fact."
Smithsonian Institution science writer Brian Switek was critical of the series, particularly an episode that suggested "aliens exterminated dinosaurs to make way for our species", which he characterized as "some of the most noxious sludge in television’s bottomless chum bucket." Switek accused the series of employing a Gish gallop technique to overwhelm the viewer with many "fictions and distortions."
Others have called attention to a paucity of opposing viewpoints. Kenneth Feder, Professor of Archaeology at Central Connecticut State University and author of "Frauds, Myths, and Mysteries: Science and Pseudoscience in Archaeology", has said that he was approached by "Ancient Aliens" producers regarding his potential participation. "My response was, I'd be happy to be on your show, but you should know that I think that the ancient astronaut hypothesis is execrable bullshit." Feder later explained, "I haven't heard back from them, rather remarkably. So, I guess maybe they're not interested in the other point of view." In the pilot episode, Sister Ilia Delio, OSF, of the Washington Theological Union, repeated past statements she made about the predilection for literalism common among supporters of the ancient astronaut hypothesis:
Frequent guests of the series have publicly expressed skepticism of the series, and of the ancient astronaut hypothesis. Seth Shostak, at a 2014 hearing of the House Committee on Science, said "The public is fascinated with the idea that we may be being visited now, or maybe in the past," but there is not any evidence which has convinced him "that we were visited in [historical] times." In a 2018 episode of "The Joe Rogan Experience", Robert Schoch said promoters of the ancient astronaut hypothesis "want everything to be 'ancient aliens'," which in his view was "sort of a cop-out", possibly as a motivation to sell books, DVDs, and conference tickets. His opinion is that belief in the hypothesis and other ancient mysteries "fills a void" for some people, but he "tries to fill that void with something real." He remarked that his own interviews for the series, as they are presented in the completed episodes, are sometimes taken "way out of context".
In 2016, Vice on TV producer Jodan Kinsley said of "Ancient Aliens" claims:
William Shatner appeared in the Season 16 episode "William Shatner Meets "Ancient Aliens"". He told "Inverse", "I had some spirited discussions with these experts who believe aliens were here, and like most people, I was dubious about the whole thing … They intrigued me enough to think something's going on."
"Skeptoid" (2020).
In a three-part podcast series, Brian Dunning debunked many of the claims featured on Ancient Aliens, responding to one claim as "there's actually nothing in there like it at all; the archaeological evidence like the skeletons is also made up." In the second installment Dunning stated von Däniken never visited Pumapunku, however, photographs of von Däniken visiting the site, taken in the mid-70s, are seen in the episode "The Alien Phenomena". Dunning correctly criticized guests and writers referenced in the series, such as Edgar Cayce, for "having never visited Egypt nor studied it". In the episode "Earth Station Egypt", Giorgio Tsoukalos stated he had not visited Egypt in "twenty-four years", and had never been to several sites he had described as man-made, but potentially alien in origin, in previous episodes. Dunning concluded "Ancient Aliens" is "at its core, a slap in the face to the ingenuity of the human race".
Criticism in other media.
"South Park" parodied the series in the episode "A History Channel Thanksgiving". Ramsey Isler of IGN commented, "The aim is placed squarely on "Ancient Aliens" specifically". South Park's animation style created a "a perfect satire of all the ridiculousness of this series, including the black and white art with aliens photoshopped in, and interviews with people of dubious authority".
Vice on TV premiered "" (also known as "Action Bronson Watches Ancient Aliens") with a special on April 20, 2016, followed by a ten-episode series beginning in July. The series features rapper Action Bronson, who praises "Ancient Aliens" as "the best thing that was ever created by man", while intoxicated by cannabis in company with other intoxicated celebrity guests. According to producers Jordan Kinley and Hannah Gregg, the show was conceived as a response to disgruntled viewers of H2 which Vice on TV's programming replaced.
Alien Con.
A&E Networks sponsored the Alien Con convention in 2016. Footage from the convention appeared in several episodes which aired in 2017 and 2018.
Related series and adaptation.
In 2014, History aired a four-episode limited series which cut-together highlights from several early season episodes. The series was released to video-on-demand services as "Ancient Aliens: Special Edition". Many frequent guests of "Ancient Aliens" regularly appear in other History programs, such as "The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch" and "The Curse of Oak Island". Segments from the other series appear in "Ancient Aliens", using differing editing and sound-mixing, and "Ancient Aliens" segments appear in other series.
Several episodes of "Ancient Aliens" were filmed simultaneously with Gaia "Ancient Civilizations" series based on identical set backdrops.
William Shatner, who appears in two episodes, presents "The UnXplained" for History which explores many of the same subjects as "Ancient Aliens". Shatner narrated the English-language version of the 1976 documentary , based on von Däniken's books published after "Chariots of the Gods?".
In April 2021, Counterbalance Entertainment announced they had closed a deal with Legendary Entertainment to produce a film adaptation of "Ancient Aliens". Josh Heald, creator of "Cobra Kai", will direct a script written by Luke Ryan who will also executive produce. According to Legendary, the film "will be a two-handed, globe-spanning adventure featuring ancient sites and artifacts, confronting the theories and questions raised by the popular docu-series."