Review: 'Ancient Aliens' isn't just for conspiracy nuts

Posted Tuesday, June 12, 2018 at 9:12 AM Central
Last updated Tuesday, June 12, 2018 at 9:39 AM Central

by John Couture

I must admit that I love watching shows on the History Channel. Whether it's Oak Island or a new theory about the Templars or who really shot JFK, there's just something about the production value that sucks me in.

Interestingly, since I spend so much time watching the History, I have seen countless commercials for Ancient Aliens, but I have never tempted to tune in. Perhaps it was the daunting reality that with 13 seasons under its belt, it would be quite an investment, both in time and money, to get caught up on the show.

So, when the opportunity to review the 10th Anniversary Edition of Ancient Aliens popped up, I jumped at it. Needless to say, I was instantly hooked. The series primarily serves the purpose to the question, "What if aliens?" If you have ever seen this guy and his successful meme, then you've seen the impact of Ancient Aliens.

That is Giorgio A. Tsoukalos and besides becoming an Internet sensation with his own meme, he has appeared in 97 episodes of the series and is easily the show's most recognizable talent. He believes that ancient aliens interacted with ancient humans and that we continue to feel the impact of this today.

It is a lot to swallow, but going in with a skeptical eye is a fun way to approach the highly successful series. It debuted in 2009 and has produced 135 episodes over the course of 13 seasons. The 14h season recently debuted on the History channel and as you can see Giorgio A. Tsoukalos hasn't given up the fight for Ancient Aliens.

I know what you're thinking and you wouldn't be the first person to accuse Ancient Aliens of pseudoscience and a revisionist view of history, but you can't deny it makes for compelling television. There's a reason that the show is the bread and butter of the History Channel and that is because much like the tagline from the also successful TV show The X-Files, people want to believe.

The beautiful thing about the show is that everything is presented in a way that is hard to argue. Everything is always couched around maybe and perhaps and hence the reason for the Internet meme. Basically, everything can be boiled down to aliens if you have an open mind and flexible disposition.

Personally, I don't know about all of that, but I do know that it's hard to argue against its successful formula. As someone who considers himself a history buff, I find myself intrigued at times by the show's assertions. But, I also find Drunk History entertaining, however, I don't think that my beliefs will be swayed by people postulating alternative facts after copious amounts of alcohol.

You have to take everything in Ancient Aliens with a big pinch of salt, but you can still get entertainment value out of it. I don't know at this point if Giorgio A. Tsoukalos truly believes in extraterrestrials or if he's simply espousing these wild views for the sake of the show's continued success. And you know what? It doesn't matter. The only thing that does matter is each hour is entertaining and helps to shed some light on some of History's darker corners.

Personally, I'm a must-see evidence with my own eyes kind of guy when it comes to this sort of stuff, but I do find it interesting to consider alternative ideas and what they might contain. As a man of faith, I also subscribe to the Contact theory on the existence of aliens. If we are the only intelligent life in this massive universe, it seems like it would be a gigantic waste of space.

That said, even I find it difficult to believe that aliens intervened in the Civil War or that Einstein was an alien, but it still makes for a fun hour to think about. While I've seen about 20 episodes so far (the first two seasons and cherry-picked episodes from the other seasons), I can't wait to get back and dig into the rest of the collection.

Ancient Aliens: The 10th Anniversary is a massive collection that contains all 135 episodes from the show's first 13 season. That is over 120 hours of entertainment and I have a feeling that I will never get over the giddiness of seeing Giorgio A. Tsoukalos' passion for the subject.

Ancient Aliens: The 10th Anniversary is currently available on DVD and carries a very reasonable suggested retail price of $99.98.