Ancient Aliens

This article is about a television program. For hypotheses 2.1

about extraterrestrial visitations during ancient times,
see Ancient astronaut hypothesis.
2.2

Series overview
Season 1 (200910)

2.3 Season 2 (2010)

Ancient Aliens is an American television documentary series that premiered on April 20, 2010 on the
History channel.[1] Produced by Prometheus Entertainment, the program presents hypotheses of ancient astronauts and proposes that historical texts, archaeology, and
legends contain evidence of past human-extraterrestrial
contact.[2][3] The show has been criticized for presenting
pseudoscience and pseudohistory.

2.4 Season 3 (2011)

2.5 Season 4 (201213)
2.6 Season 5 (2013)

The series de facto pilot was a TV special of the same 2.7

name that aired on March 8, 2009, on the History channel. Seasons 13 aired on the same channel until 2011.
2.8
From season 4 to the middle of season 7, the series aired
on H2. On April 10, 2015, episode premieres returned
2.9
to History. Season 8 began on July 24, 2015.

Season 6 (201314)
Season 7 (201415)
Season 8 (2015)

3 Reception
1

The program had 1.676 million viewers in late October

2010,[18] 2.034 million viewers in mid-December (for the
Unexplained Structures episode)[19] and in late January
2011 it had 1.309 million viewers.[20][21]

Production

Some reviewers have characterized the show as

far-fetched,[22] hugely speculative,[23] and "...expound[ing] wildly on theories suggesting that astronauts
wandered the Earth freely in ancient times.[24] Many
of the ideas presented in the show are not accepted by
the scientic community, and have been criticized as
pseudoscience and pseudohistory.[25] History professor
Ronald H. Fritze observed that pseudoscience as oered
by von Dniken and the Ancient Aliens program has a periodic popularity in the US: In a pop culture with a short
memory and a voracious appetite, aliens and pyramids
and lost civilizations are recycled like fashions.[25][26]

The executive producer of Ancient Aliens is Kevin Burns,

who also directed and wrote the pilot episode. Giorgio
A. Tsoukalos serves as consulting producer and appeared
on screen in the pilot.[4] Erich von Dniken appeared in
the pilot episode, and UFO researcher C. Scott Littleton
served as an expert consultant for the show until his death
in 2010.[5]

Radio talk show host George Noory speaks in ve

episodes, including the pilot. Reverend Barry Downing, known for describing angels in the Bible as ancient
astronauts, oered his viewpoints in the pilot episode.
Psychologist Jonathan Young, who brings a mythological
perspective, appears on screen in every episode but the Forbes.com contributor Brad Lockwood criticized Anrst pilot. Alternate history author David Hatcher Chil- cient Aliens as an example of the History Channels addition of programs devoted to monsters, aliens, and
dress speaks frequently in most episodes.
conspiracies, commenting that, "Ancient Aliens dees all ability to suspend disbelief for the sake of
entertainment.[27] Forbes.com sta writer Alex Knapp
also criticized the series and cited archaeologist Keith
Fitzpatrick-Matthews rebuke of the History Channel for
treating (Ancient Aliens) nonsense as though it were
2 Episodes
fact.[28]
Smithsonian.com science writer Brian Switek was ex1

tremely critical of the series, particularly an episode that

suggested aliens exterminated dinosaurs to make way
for our species. He characterized the show as some of
the most noxious sludge in televisions bottomless chum
bucket.[29][30]
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,[31] has said that he was approached by
Ancient Aliens producers regarding his potential participation. My response was, Id be happy to be on your
show, but you should know that I think that the ancient
astronaut hypothesis is execrable bullshit, he said, in an
interview. I havent heard back from them, rather remarkably. So, I guess maybe theyre not interested in the
other point of view.[32]

In popular culture

REFERENCES

[3] Evidence of Ancient Aliens?". History.com. December

25, 2010.
[4] Barb (December 4, 2010). December 4, 2010, Giorgio
Tsoukalos, Ancient Aliens & Twilight of the Gods""
(podcast). Radio Amerika Now. Retrieved June 20,
2011.
[5] Obituary of C. Scott Littleton. Anthropology News 52
(2): 3132. February 17, 2011. doi:10.1111/j.15563502.2011.52231.x.
[6] Aliens and Cover Ups. Ancient Aliens: Episode Info.
MSN TV. Retrieved December 23, 2012.
[7] Alien Power Plants. Ancient Aliens: Episode Info. MSN
TV. Retrieved December 23, 2012.
[8] Destination Orion. Ancient Aliens: Episode Info. MSN
TV. Retrieved December 23, 2012.
[9] The Einstein Factor. Ancient Aliens: Episode Info. MSN
TV. Retrieved December 23, 2012.
[10] Secrets of the Tombs. Ancient Aliens: Episode Info.
MSN TV. Retrieved December 23, 2012.

South Park parodied the show in an episode entitled "A

History Channel Thanksgiving" (November 11, 2011, [11] Prophets and Prophecies. Ancient Aliens Season 5
Episode Guide. History. Retrieved January 28, 2013.
episode 15.13). Reviewer Ramsey Isler commented,
The aim is placed squarely on Ancient Aliens speci[12] The Mystery of Nazca. Ancient Aliens Season 5
cally, and described the animation as a perfect satire
Episode Guide. History. Retrieved January 28, 2013.
of all the ridiculousness of this series, including the black
and white art with aliens photoshopped in, and interviews [13] Ancient Abductions. Ancient Aliens Season 5 Episode
with people of dubious authority.[33]
Guide. History. Retrieved February 14, 2013.

In a June 2011 Rolling Stone interview, singer Katy Perry [14] Ancient Aliens Episode Guide. History channel. Recommented that she had become obsessed with the
trieved October 25, 2014.
show, saying, When it talks about the sky people, how
everyone comes from the sky and how the Pyramids were [15] Shows A-Z ancient aliens on h2. the Futon Critic.
Retrieved October 25, 2014.
used for star observations, its too much for me. It all
[34]
seems to connect the dots. Its blowing my mind.
[16] LocateTV. www.LocateTV.com. Retrieved March 12,
2014.
In a March 2012 appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres
Show, actress Megan Fox remarked that she loved An- [17] Ancient Aliens Episode Guide - Season 6 - History.com.
cient Aliens. Ellen agreed the show and its theories were
www.History.com. Retrieved July 24, 2014.
thought-provoking.[35]
[18] TV Ratings for October 29, 2010. TV By the Numbers.

See also
List of topics characterized as pseudoscience

[20] TV Ratings for January 27, 2011. TV By the Numbers.

Pseudoarchaeology

[21] TV Ratings for January 28th, 2011. Inside TV Ratings.

Unsealed Alien Files

[19] TV Ratings for December 17, 2010. TV By the Numbers.

References

[1] Ancient Aliens Episode Guide. History.com. December 25, 2010.

[2] Ancient Aliens Theory. History.com. December 25,
2010.

[22] SH (April 30, 2011). Ancient Aliens. The Daily Telegraph (London). p. 38.
[23] Clay, Joe (April 30, 2011). Digital Choices. The Times
(London). p. 35.
[24] Ryan, Andrew (April 25, 2011). Tonight on TV/Critical
Picks. The Globe and Mail (Canada). p. R2.
[25] Fritze, Ronald H. (November 2009). On the Perils and
Pleasures of Confronting Pseudohistory. Historically
Speaking 10 (5): 25. ISSN 1941-4188.

[26] Fritze, Ronald. Ronald H. Fritze, On his book Invented

Knowledge: False History, Fake Science and PseudoReligions, Cover Interview. July 08, 2009. Rorotoko.com. Retrieved July 17, 2012.
[27] Lockwood, Brad. High Ratings Aside, Wheres the History on History?". October 17, 2011 (Forbes). Retrieved
March 21, 2012.
[28] Knapp, Alex (September 19, 2011). An Archaeologist Watches the History Channel and Questions the Part
About the Aliens. Tech (Forbes.com). Retrieved February 7, 2013.
[29] Switek, Brian. The Idiocy, Fabrications and Lies of Ancient Aliens. May 11, 2012. Smithsonian.com. Retrieved July 22, 2012.
[30] About Brian Switek. March 2, 2012. Smithsonian.com.
Retrieved July 22, 2012.
[31] Feder, K. (1990). Frauds, Myths, and Mysteries: Science
and Pseudoscience in Archaeology. New York, McGrawHill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages. isbn=9780078116971.
[32] Ancient Alien Astronauts: Interview with Ken Feder.
Skeptic.com archive. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
[33] Isler, Ramsey. South Park: A History Channel Thanksgiving Review. IGN Television Reviews. IGN Entertainment. Retrieved November 12, 2011.
[34] Katy Perry Talks Body Image, Fame and Politics in
Rolling Stone Cover Story. June 22, 2011. Rolling
Stone. Retrieved July 23, 2012.
[35] Howard, Pat. Ellen TV Talk Show Recap March 8,
2012. March 8, 2012. Recapo, Talk Show Recaps &
News 24/7. Retrieved July 23, 2012.

General references
Ancient Aliens Episode Guide. History channel.
Retrieved January 28, 2013.
Ancient Aliens Episodes. TV Guide. Retrieved
December 23, 2012.
Shows A-Z ancient aliens on h2. the Futon
Critic. Retrieved December 23, 2012.
Ancient Aliens Seasons & Episodes. MSN TV.
Retrieved December 21, 2014.

External links
Ocial website
Ancient Aliens at the Internet Movie Database

8 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

8.1

Text

Ancient Aliens Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Aliens?oldid=691923510 Contributors: Lou Sander, Bearcat, Cyberia23,

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8.2

Images

8.3

Content license

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