Review: UFO Witness (2021)

It's been a while since we got a proper "boots on the ground" investigative docu-series exclusively on UFOs from one of the major television networks. Since the abrupt and allegedly mysterious cancellation of Bill Birnes' excellent 2008 series UFO Hunters, and the unfortunate failure of National Geographic's maligned Chasing UFOs, UFO reality shows have mostly followed a standard narrative documentary format, relying heavily on talking head interviews and cinematic recreations.

(https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/52903/ufo-witness)

While we've seen a little bit of deviation from this trend here and there—notably, Unidentified: Inside America's UFO Investigation features some on-location investigation and eyewitness interviews—shows that follow a person or team of investigators as they look into mysterious sightings have been mostly ghost and Sasquatch-related. 

The truth is, UFO investigations are the hardest to mold to this format. You can go to a haunted house to get EVPs, or a Bigfoot hotspot to search for evidence—but UFO sightings rarely provide this kind of "tangible" evidence that is ripe for dramatization on a network TV show. Research and witness interviews are one thing, but it isn't exactly exciting to go "UFO hunting," which mostly amounts to staring up into the sky in hopes you glimpse something unusual. You'd be hard pressed to come away with any interesting evidence even from a so-called "UFO hotspot." 

A part of me wonders if networks gave up on applying the UFO topic to this format after UFO researcher and filmmaker James Fox as well as Chasing UFOs co-star Ben McGee spoke out about their dissatisfaction on the direction of the show: (via Huffpost)

"...when we actually got out in the field, we began to realize that [the network was] more interested in poking around at night than allocating the time necessary during the day as [...] Americans love watching others sneak around at night from the comfort of their couches. [...] it was gratuitous nighttime baloney." - James Fox

"James and I both had expectations and [...] hopes of an ultimately serious product. We both saw the project heading in a different direction as time went on and were powerless to influence it." - Ben McGee

What most TV networks fail to realize is there is more to a "boots on the ground" investigation than running around in the dark with night vision cameras screaming at ghosts and demons. I think there is something really valuable about the insight you can gain just from looking around the site of a UFO or paranormal encounter.

Luckily for us, Ben Hansen does realize this, and has made it his mission to breathe new life into tried-and-true UFO stories by investigating them from a different angle, which includes locating the lost or forgotten sites of famous UFO sightings such as Lonnie Zamora's 1965 encounter in Soccoro, New Mexico or the Kelly/Hopkinsville goblin encounter.

The result is a seemingly authentic and surprisingly personal exploration of UFO cases old, new, obscure, and legendary. The show is more than just review, though, there are a few effective hooks throughout the season that keep things refreshing. Ben compares and contrasts older historical cases with more relevant cases like the sightings reported in 2017 by The New York Times, goes on location to supposed "landing sites" from the classic Hopkinsville and Soccoro cases, and—my personal favorite aspect of the show—talks to Jennie Zeidman, who worked closely with J. Allen Hynek on Project Blue Book.

Another major aspect of the show involves Ben discovering that his grandfather may have had some involvement in investigating major UFO cases for the US government. If the information presented is accurate—more on that in a moment—the show makes a compelling case that Ben's Grandfather may have been sent on assignments on days coinciding with major UFO events like alleged crash-retrievals. It's an emotional moment in the show that works well.

Of course, we all know that TV shows are beholden to ratings, and elements can be manipulated, exaggerated, and outright fabricated to keep things interesting. I give UFO docudrama series some leeway as long as the information presented seems accurate and any experiments or investigations are not obviously staged. Ultimately, this is entertainment, and presenting every single interaction 100% authentically isn't always entertaining. Dramatic editing and crafting a narrative is necessary in effective video production.

Some of the interactions on UFO Witness seem a little set-up to hit specific informational points, but everything presented seemed to be accurate and the investigations were not sensationalized, which was refreshing. I found the most egregious episode to be S1E7 "Aliens Underground", which focused on the legend of a secret alien base underground Dulce, New Mexico. This particular episode seemed manipulated in a way to give the impression of a spooky conspiracy the locals may be involved in. 

I don't think there's any convincing proof of a secret base under Dulce, but something strange does appear to be occurring there based on eyewitness testimony.

All in all, I think UFO enthusiasts who enjoy the Discovery Channel docu-series format will find the show different and refreshing enough that it's worth a watch. There aren't any huge, mind-blowing revelations here, but it's solid infotainment. 3/4 Stars.