I just finished watching the whole (free) three-hour Ancient Aliens Debunked movie on YouTube. Took me quite a while, as it’s hard to find three hours of free time. But it was worth the here-and-there effort. I’m not going to write a full review, just share impressions.
I’ll start with some mild criticisms. There were a few points where I would have aid things differently, or added a different perspective, that would have taken a different trajectory than the director (Chris White). One was the nephilim segment toward the end. While filming there were things I added that got edited out. But so what? It wasn’t not my film (and any film I’d make would be unwatchable). There was also one place where Giorgio Tsoukalos has “Moses” being shown the “roundness of earth” by God in an effort to (I guess – it’s hard to tell what Giorgio is thinking sometimes) say Moses went to space or something. This “verse” is not in any translation I can find, and I’ve done software searches through dozens of them. Giorgio (like his mentor Zecharia Sitchin) gave no actual verse reference. Moses was never vaulted above the earth in the Bible. Basically, he made this up. Christ should have called him out on that, but didn’t. Lastly, Chris should have credited Jason Colavito more prominently. Jason has done a lot of work in this area, and it’s all good stuff.
All in all, though, this is a terrific video. Chris did a lot of research for this and was able to make it digestible to the average viewer. He also (unlike the Ancient Aliens crowd) makes his sources accessible and gives actual citations of ancient texts.
I’d only seen a few pieces of Ancient Aliens on TV. I don’t watch much TV as it is, and spending any of my valuable time on that would be a true waste of time. Having seen a good number of scenes now via the Ancient Aliens Debunked documentary, I know that decision was the right one. This documentary demonstrates that the Ancient Aliens material is not only pseudo-scholarship, but borders on the simply stupid. The researchers presented on the show (I speak here of the people presented as authorities: David Hatcher Childress, Jason Martell, Erich von Daniken, etc.1) are some of the poorest thinkers I’ve ever heard. It’s disturbing that so many people can be persuaded by “researchers” who can’t apply simple rules of coherent thought or logic to what they do. The claims are absurd, and their defense is inept. Katy Perry thinks Ancient Aliens is “thought-provoking,” so here’s a suggestion: cast her as a researcher in future episodes. None of the present ones are any smarter. She’d at least be easier on the eyes.
Those who had a hand in making the series are even more blameworthy for the deceptive nature of the material. I lost count of the times when Tsoukalos would talk about “ancient texts” with visuals of some odd artifact or wall painting appearing, creating the impression that those artifacts SAY what the narrator is claiming, as though they were inscribed with the words. This is sheer dishonesty that goes beyond ineptitude. The textbook example is the Anunnaki material. The images of winged creatures and reptoid artifacts used to talk about the Anunnaki have nothing to do with them. They either come with no text at all (like those from the Ubaid period in Sumer) or texts near the images (the “winged men”) are well known and contain no content at all about the Anunnaki (and originated centuries after Sumerian culture had died out). The show repeatedly deceives the viewer in these ways. It’s about milking the audience for cash in DVD purchases.
I’ve often said that NONE of the ancient astronaut “evidence” is persuasive to anyone in the relevant fields. It is only persuasive to amateurs, people who don’t know the material. Chris White has demonstrated how the Ancient Aliens’ series claims are easily overturned and shown to be the nonsense they are with a little bit of serious research.
- I’m excluding people presented as curious inquirers brought into the show for variety and interest. Curiosity and asking questions are virtues. It’s just too bad people often base their beliefs on material that is demonstrably wrong because they depend on “researchers” instead of real scholarship. ↩
Why don’t you watchthe show before passing judgement
you don’t have to step in dog crap to know it’s shit
Because I’m thoroughly familiar with the material and have read thousands of pages on this stuff already. I already know the content (in more detail than a TV show allows) and know it’s nonsense.
I have no idea, who does? It comes down to belief. I like logic. In this matter of ancient aliens, we can a) onsider that the ancient gods are actually old anthropomorphisation of intellectual philosophical observations of environment or b) hold that
Ancient Aliens the show is full of lies.
http://ufologyexposed.blogspot.com/
I watched the show one time and it was so hyped just to get viewer attention annd rating. Tsoukalis “read” his lines well and if we didn’t use common sense we would have gotten swept up in his acting.
Great Review. I was drawn in for maybe 3 shows, but my common sense & logic kicked in. I thought it odd that a network, called “History” channel, that is Anti-G-d, is pushing this as hard as they are. And researched for truth… Ancient Aliens has NONE! I wish I could say it is opinion… However, it is far worse. It is pushing New Age by lying to its audience, intentionally. There is no other conclusion I can currently think of. History channel should’ve done 2mins of research, to verify claims made by a program that it airs under its name. A name that people assume is trustworthy (just like I’ve noticed w/ Science channel).
Research people! Don’t just think something sounds good, & leave it at that. Verify! Allow the evidence to give you your conclusion.
This (sadly) isn’t the only program/ show that uses outright deceptive & lying techniques. A show titled “The Tomb of Christ”, & another called “Secrets of the Bible (I believe is the name)- in which the narrator is introduced as an ancient biblical scholar, yet a quick google in her finds that she is an atheist, that has her education in Ancient Hebrew.
One episode claims that G-d has a wife. However, just a quick bible search w/ the name if this alleged wife, one sees that EVERY time this goddess name is mentioned, it is in G-d demanding any altars &/or idols to be destroyed completely, and even worse. The “evidence” they provide is bogus, and not once is this scripture mentioned. Only that she is mentioned in the Bible.Research! Get closest to the actual period in time, and only use well respected scholars- & several of them. New Age & “Aliens as our creator” is being pushed very hard by these channels. I believe it is because evolution is about to fall apart, and they need a back-up (yes, as most others that went through public indoctrination school, I fully believed in evolution, w/ G-d’s guidance- and even G-d was falling away. But, it was noticing that evolution &/or evolve would be used nearly 50 times in 1 hr, the lack if evidence, etc, I began truly digging, and decided what ever the evidence, true & unbiased, I would follow. And it fell apart! Watch Ben Stein’s documentary called expelled, to get a glimpse at just how bad this deception is.). Anyhow…. Don’t just believe something because the “boob tube” says so; even if on more “official” sounding channels. Take back your minds and ability to think freely & critically. So much amazing TRUTH out their to discover, no need to fill it w/ deceit!
there is nothing to keep an athiest from studying the bible (being a bible scholar). Belief is not required to read and research. Quite the opposite, reading and research will often dispel belief.
I almost thought I was watching a sitcom when I saw Ancient Aliens. .I was waiting for the laugh track to kick in!
The show sucks and anyone with any sense of good judgement of history or rational thought process would understand that this is just trying to sensationalize UFO crap that hasnt been proven in any way….so youre falling for that and even being ignorant standing up for it? Crazy people..this show is offensive to the standard that people expect from the History channel and the low standard of rationality that television viewers normally expect from the sci fi channel or film in general. Why are you letting yourselves be fooled like idiots. Laughable man…ha!
I think an ancient civilization, technologically advanced is a better
explanation for everything odd that’s been found. Think if all those
ancient cities around world are all that’s left of “Atlantis” The gods
the various civilizations around the world talked about weren’t aliens,
just an advanced people,,, and if there are aliens they have nothing? to do
with teaching us or building anything.
haha u are all so blinded by ure god u can’t see the truth there are many fucking things that can’t be explained in ancient aliens series that a normal , rational person can or cannot believe but i see u are to brainfucked by ure god to see the truth , how the fuck do u think all the civilizations from the world build pyramids , why pyramids when they didint had any kind of contact between themselves , and the so many report of ufo’s beeing seen through the time … u should gave it a thought before even fuckn commenting braindamaged kids
You must be kidding me…. You searched the bible with the LOGOS bible software and you are comparing that to the original work of someone who was at least double your age (and dedicated his entire life to this research) and who actually read the bible in Hebrew, exactly as written and without any software? Someone who actually knew the language fluently? Allow me to give you a personal example. I speak Russian. It is my native language. No software, no matter how sophisticated, NONE of the computerized tools can EVER interpret any Russian text to you as accurately as a person who speaks that language! Let me guess… You don’t speak anything but English. Right? And you have a phD? Learn another language! If nothing else, it will exercise your brain! By working so hard to “debunk” the work of others, you are missing the point, Dr. Heiser.
I’m not sure what the point is here. If it’s Sitchin, I am what he claimed to be and wasn’t. It isn’t about searching technology – it’s about competence in the languages and the sources. He makes demonstrable errors. Sorry you don’t like that.
So in the Documentary Ancient Aliens Debunked they prove how the megalithic stones were moved? I know it is a fact that no one can move them, even with today’s technology, and a lot of the original stories say they were built by the Gods in one night.
And also there had to have been some sort of contact between these civilizations and a reason they were all building Pyramid structures in relation with God.
We *can * do this today if desired. People could do it many years ago. You need to use the documentation resources associated with the film. The site for the film has bibliographic sources for this, as does this blog. There are ancient examples (textual descriptions) about how very large blocks were made and moved. My posts on Baalbek for instance document how (before cranes) blocks larger than those at Baalbek were moved in modern times (again, before cranes) – known instances of this. We can’t do all the work for you in the film. You have to get into the documentation.
I would have, but the website is unavailable it’s been down all day. I am familiar with Adam Jean-Pierre’s work though and it’s all theory just like Ancient Aliens. And what has been applied has been disproved, they didn’t have rope with the tensile strength or trees available with the tensile strength to support 800 tons let alone 1200 tons. We do have a crane that can vertically lift 1200 tons but it can’t drive it anywhere, and that still doesn’t prove how they did it back then, or why they chose to use 800 ton stones in the first place.
And I don’t completely take everything Ancient Aliens says as fact there’s a lot that can be disproved. But I do believe it is a valid theory simply because it’s based on believing aliens deceived early man into believing they were gods, that’s it! Until Aliens or Gods come down you can’t say anything is fact. It’s kind of unscientific and comes off egotistical, it has almost become more about proving you’re right, rather than getting to the bottom of what actually happened, which is the point right?
Houdin’s explanation for the great pyramid has technology *on site* so our being able to maneuver a crane has nothing to do with anything. The technology described in my post on Baalbek is also on site.
Well I’m saying the theories have not been applied, so you’re presenting theory as fact it’s kinda hypocritical if you ask me. And even then, mainstream archeologist agree his theories are far-fetched.. Otherwise there would be a documentary where they move a stone the size of the one at Baalbek using ropes and wood.
Houdin’s thesis remains unproven, UCL Egyptologist
Prof David Jeffreys described the internal spiral hypothesis as “far-fetched and horribly complicated”, while Oxford University’s Prof John Baines, declared he was “suspicious of any theory that seeks to explain only how the Great Pyramid was built”
A very weak response. If you read the posts about Houdin, you’ll see the word “theory” so that criticism goes down the tubes. Who cares if Jeffreys doesn’t understand the theory? Other Egyptologists (Bob Brier, e.g.) think it’s got a lot going for it. Read Baines’ remarks to yourself a couple of times – do they make any sense (“I’m suspicious of a theory that explains one building because it doesn’t explain another?”) Really? The great pyramid has unique features that other pyramids do not have (like the grand gallery). Maybe professor Baines ought to do some homework on what Houdin is saying and what he isn’t.
So it’s debatable, the Ancient Alien Theory is a valid theory. You cannot prove beyond a reasonable doubt that man moved the stones or that Gods are not Aliens.
No, it’s not valid at all. The idea of ancient alien visitation only becomes *viable* (which is different than valid) if there are aliens. What proof do you have that there are aliens? Math equations that try to argue it statistically? See here if that’s the case:
http://michaelsheiser.com/UFOReligions/2010/02/atheism-and-belief-in-intelligent-et-trusting-in-the-blessed-equation/).
Sorry. Without aliens, any theory involving aliens is DOA. It’s (very) simple logic. And to boot, even if there are aliens, that doesn’t mean they came here – an altogether different question. We could discover alien life someday and when we ask those aliens about coming to earth millennia ago they might say “huh? we never visited you folks.”
There’s literally nothing factual to support the idea, as interesting as the idea might be.
the same could be said to invalidate the existence of any and every god ever created by man. There’s literally nothing factual to support the idea, as interesting as the idea might be.
You seem to forget that there are historical accounts of the forestry in Jordan to Iraq’s rivers that are not what is there today. They talk about not only massively thick forestry but gigantic cedar trees thousands of years old. Some of the works mention olive trees so old and productive that single trees fed entire villages with softball-sized olives. Sargon himself laments the deforestation of what he considers his kingdom by the mountain men of the “double axes” or what we know as “Minoans.” The Egyptians cried over the same “Sea Peoples.” When you have no sea-faring technology and the other guy does, he can raid your lands resources and you cannot follow him home. American Redwood tree-sized cedars change all the dynamics.
I love A.A. series. It gives me food for thought. I also love A.A.D. film, and M.H. film on reading ancient texts. Ok, so you can count me as unbiased. Now, the reason for the pyramids, I think, is that all ancient cultures wanted to explain unknown, and thus thought of gods. Gods, had to be having their business in the skies, because this is the most unknown and unreachable space for those dwelling on surface. Thus, structures dedicated to gods, had to be built reaching for the skies. I think another testament to this explanation is that gods were frequently found on mountains. Now, if you want to build high, without having access to materials that can support many times their own weight, you have one option only – and that is to support progressively less and less weight, which is the same as to say you are going to build a pyramid. Many of us (I am) discover this simple physical reality in childhood, in the sandbox. You can’t build anything that stands longer than the water dries up that is not in a conical shape. The rest is just decoration or particular artifacts of technological approach to how exactly one builds a big pyramid. We see the progression of pyramid building technology in Egypt, for instance, where earlier pyramids were quite unimpressive and even displayed error-correction on-the-fly.
Sorry, I had to attend the 4-th of July festivities. To continue on the pyramids, I think that if I had to decide the whole A.A. idea solely on what is known about pyramids, I would have to conclude that there were no A.A. This is because, As Anthony says, we see the pyramids everywhere. Meaning that we see the lame lame construction idea, essentially technology-less one, being put on steroids by a virtue of having massive slave count. Because when you think pyramid, you don’t think “technology” (there isn’t any), but all you think is “Wow, how many slaves?”. It is as if we went to another planetary system, and left after ourselves nothing but a lame mound? Or a 200mm cannon (another example of lamest technology “throwing rocks” on steroids of massively enslaved population) to amaze those who will come thousands of years after us? So, Anthony, I think it is precisely because we see pyramids everywhere, we know that whoever built them were very lame people. If they knew anything at all, or had access to any sort of technology, there is no way they would build a mound, why not build a Petrona Tower, for instance, which is impossible to build not being on our technological level.
Spot on. If you could design, build and operate a craft that can travel at light-speed hundreds of millions of miles from your home star to ours why would you then need to build observatories to get home? N.A.S.A wouldn’t even consider a trip outward without already knowing the path traveled back. Anything to the contrary is suicide. What person sails a ship into watery oblivion?
You are confusing two different things, one, that the “mythology” deals with anything created by humans or human stories, two; that the mythology is meant to be translated literally using modern language concepts and ideas. Both of these are gross exaggerations and I will explain why.
1: All mythology is based on observable phenomena and is meant to be understood literally using the conceptual science of the time period from which it was used; not modern day understanding of scientific principles which no one in ancient times understood. Language was simpler and using a common object to explain a relationship was the superlative expanse available to them at their time. “Golden Apple” is a reference to the Sun, “Chariot” is a reference to the movement behind or motion of the Sun, “Poisoned Arrows, Darts, Rays, Spears” all a reference to rays of sunlight. So when some guy gets on T.V. and says the Mahabharata claims that the ancients saw Vimanas in the sky they do not mean a metaphor or allegory for U.F.O.-type flying saucer disks shaped like a pyramid they are speaking of their understanding of the cosmogony of the known universe as seen from their perspective. IE: “Vimanas” are cognate to Mount Meru the cosmic mountain where all the gods live; Olympos.
2: The ancients chose “golden chariot” because they meant to convey a moving object colored as the Sun is, without understanding that it is in fact a planetary star. “Poisoned darts” sting the skin like scorpions, snakes, thorns etcetera and can kill you just as too much Sun in a hot climate for to long will. Every single piece of mythology can be explained. Try G.S. Kirk’s The Nature of Greek Myths, Max Mueller’s Home of the Aryas or George Cox’s The Mythology of Aryan Nations.
There may have been contact between ancient civilizations that we do not know of but suggesting that Peruvians, Mayans, Aztecs, Olmecs could not arrive at the same engineering methods through trial and error that Asians and Mesopotamians did without additional corroborating evidence to the contrary is an incorrect assumption. It should be assumed that they did figure it out because the structures exist and are similar, not that they could not unless they knew each other first.
i think the author of this piece thinks that that the rest of us who watch television are idiots and believe everything that is shown…in the first place most of those who watch the ancient alien series know that certain things shown in the show need to be taken with a pinch of salt…of course they make up certain stuff to influence people’s perceptions and get higher rating for their series…but that is to be expected and viewers are well aware…what actually matters is that the series gives us serious food for thought and presents possible explanations for questions that conventional scientists have never been able to answer satisfactorily…it is very easy for somebody to discredit a person (like von daniken) who has dedicated his entire life to this subject and blow holes in his research…that is exactly what the makers of “ancient aliens debunked” have done…
Discerning user isn’t very discerning, so far as this comment goes. Let me correct what you think is my assumption. I wouldn’t say that “the rest of [you] who watch television are idiots and believe everything that is shown.” I would say anyone who believes what they see on Ancient Aliens is dimwitted and gullible. Lots of other stuff on television has some factual basis. That doesn’t.
Consider your last sentence . . . yeah, it IS easy. I agree. (And scientists HAVE answered these “mysteries” many times – it’s just that their research is found in books and journal articles, not the internet). That someone who has spent their whole life peddling nonsense doesn’t convert the nonsense into something sensible or fact-based. Nonsense cultivated over many years is still nonsense. But in von Daniken’s case, the problem is that he is a career conman> see http://michaelsheiser.com/PaleoBabble/2013/04/chariots-frauds-real-erich-von-daniken/
That’s not true everything that’s been published is just as theoretical as Ancient Aliens. Don’t talk about it like it’s all been applied and proven if it hasn’t. They only have theories just like Ancient Aliens. If you can’t prove to me that God was a divine entity that gave us knowledge, than you can’t prove he wasn’t an Alien that gave us knowledge.
There is just too many consistencies through out too many ancient cultures, with religious text saying entities from the heavens or the skies came down and imparted knowledge onto them. Nearly every ancient culture has a flood story or a story about some white bearded man with knowledge visiting them and we ignore it and say it’s just fantasy or symbolic of something. Well why are they all telling the same story and building the same pyramids across the world, when mainstream archeologist say there couldn’t have been any contact.
So the first step is getting you to understand there was contact among these ancient civilizations. And then getting you to understand that God doesn’t live in the clouds and play harp, and that he’s most likely some sort of extraterrestrial, who obviously by witness accounts needed a flying chariot.
It doesn’t work like this. If I (and you) do think that AA theory is valid, then it is our job to find the evidence. You can not ask anyone to provide the evidence that there were no AA. This is called “negative proof”. It has theoretical complications, and besides, why should anyone care to prove that there were no AA? They simply carry on supposing there weren’t any AA, until shown otherwise. M.H.m (it appears), does care to disprove the AA theory. That is his private business to begin with, but it seems that his reasons are the revolt against laziness and stupidity that is prevailing today. You can tell this by his points, because he doesn’t say “spend 30 years in academia like I did and then offer your opinion”, no, he only points out that a large part of the body of evidence in favor of AA is EASILY thrown away simply by not being so lazy and checking out work already painstakingly do and available to everyone. Imagine that you are a handyman. How would you react when you see literally a movement among the young to “find out how to measure the bath tab for real”, devising schemes and theories on measurements, and then seeing bunch of books published, and eventually a movie come out, proposing a revolutionary idea of using a multiple of one’s noses lengths! Wouldn’t you want to just cry out “Just stop by the Home Depot and get a freaking measuring tape!”?
It is explained in Aeschylus’ Prometheus Bound
“Senseless as beasts I gave men sense, possessed them of mind” -Prometheus
“until I the rising of the stars showed them, and when they set, though much obscure.”
“Of all inventions, I for them devised, And gave them writing that retaineth all”
“These manifold inventions for mankind I perfected, who, out upon’t, have none-No, not one shift-to rid me of this shame.”
Prometheus is the hermaphroditic God of creation and order, Phanes and Ananke, Protogonos and Metis as a single entity before he split into two just as Adam divided into Eve. It was from the study of observable phenomena, the “heavens” or stars, planets and Sun that mankind learned the “arts” just as he claims in Prometheus Bound. All new knowledge acquired is sacred and divine because we are understanding the works of God! Therefore, it is from God that we acquired our knowledge-base. Karl Penka described it best when he claimed that in order for the modern mind to interpret the ancient one must think as they do, discovering as they did, with a mind of a child; thinking as a child thinks will show you how to understand what the ancients meant.
I am sorry but I have to correct you on Daniken. More specifically on your label of him. He is very careful on the show to explain that he is “questioning” archaeological science not formulating his own conclusions. What makes his book, show and hypothesis (if you can call questions that) agreeable to such a large audience is the non-position he has taken on the matters of ancient mythology and religion. He is neither for “aliens” nor “extraterrestrial intelligences” or “God” but pointing out that the science is not in on any hypothesis so why limit yourself to a particular one? The show recently has become aware of this attraction to its ideas in that the participants now leave open the possibility that the “extraterrestrials” could be God!
Eric may be clever and an opportunist but he is not making any specific claims; other people on the show do that. I am not a fan even though I occasionally watch the show for laughs and giggles and I have read all the books from all the presenters on the program.
IF- an intelligent species could find us, was advanced enough to travel from one point in space to another, they would not be using rocket power. And — why would you assume they looked like us. In the next 500 years, or maybe earlier at the rate technology is advancing, humans will not be reproducing the way they do now. In the overall scheme of things males are simply DNA delivery devices. In reality we, males, are on our way to extinction. Biological technological advances are made now. What makes you think that they won’t be more intertwined.I argue that 1000, 2000, years from now our species will be unrecognizable. They certainly won’t be trying to mate with what to them are little more than educated apes. Also, why would they care.
As a historian, University of Michigan BA, MA, I find the so called history channel to be deceptive in the nth degree. Only the first amendment allows it to exist. Its programing is much to often distortions of real history, Merely repetitive entertainment for the unknowing masses. The Shroud of Turin for example. It is still presented as a possible reality even though it was proven to be a fake years ago. In the Middle Ages tourism surrounded holy relics. Is it any surprise that somebody made one.
That’s why I call it the Fantasy Channel.
Mr. Heiser
I’ve read most of the material on your various sites and watched/listened to many of your lectures, and all I can say from reading these comments is I’m sorry you still have to deal with people who are swayed by nifty graphics and talking heads with ridiculous hair on tv, and are so biased against people proffessing to be Christians, that they don’t take the time to look into your work and your credentials before calling you ignorant, close minded, or misinformed. You present things in a clear and direct manner, completely transparent, and sound in reason and theology. I frequently direct people to your sites whenever something of this nature comes up, and I do so with complete confidence in both your accuracy and sincerity. I respect what you do because, like you say, the majority of people with actual training in ancient languages and cultures don’t even bother addressing ancient astronaut claims and the like out of derision, which only means the loudest voices are the stupidest, as is all to often the case with anything. Keep trudging along, sir. Don’t let the bastards grind you down. Also: are you still working on a book that lays out the Divine Council and the Two Powers In Heaven?
thanks for the comment; enjoyed it, as it made me chuckle. Some really good lines in there! And I do indeed trudge. As to the book, yes, it’s still in the hopper. My employer wants to publish it, which means it’s guaranteed to be an e-book. I’m not sure about paper. We will have to negotiate that, and I suspect that will be happening (the negotiation) this fall. Then it needs a good content and copy edit. The draft is about 330 pages in MS Word.
Dr. Heiser,
I absolutely appreciate your educated opinion, and your efforts appear to be very well researched. The problem I have with skepticism however, (particularly in academia) while sometimes healthy, almost always completely seeks to disprove something. Why not approach someone else’s view with the viewpoint: “maybe yes, maybe no.” In that manner, most biased opinion can be eliminated.
True skepticism should be taking ALL opinions/suggestions/theories/facts, evaluating EVERYTHING and forming your own hypothesis based on analysis of ALL data. Discounting someone’s ideas simply because YOU think that they’re ludicrous, seems unproductive in my view. Remember, Black Holes were at one point considered a completely stupid idea by mainstream science, and now they’re widely accepted as fact.
While I personally do not agree with everything that’s presented in A.A., I do think that some things are worth considering. I don’t think that belief in God or religion occurred overnight as a means to explain the natural world. We can already do that without God, I think that ancient humans could as well. My personal view, is that these beliefs came from some kind of misinterpreted personal experience.
Criticizing an entire program that you haven’t watched, would be equivalent to me judging an entire religion when I haven’t even read their holy texts or even met with their practitioners. It just appears biased.
This is just my two cents. Take it for what it’s worth 🙂
Don’t kill the messenger because you do not care for the message. The simple, yet sad, truth today is that documentaries are no more factual than so-called reality shows. They are created for entertainment value only. Less and less Americans are able and/or willing, to differentiate between fact and fiction.
Regarding Schoch and The Sphinx at Giza: What does this have to do with ancient aliens? I don’t believe in ancient aliens or Atlantis. But this is an argument between a couple of geologists about topography and the age of a structure. It doesn’t prove or disprove anything about ancient aliens.
Despite so many whackos jumping on Schoh’s hypothesis to prove their pet fantasies, when he introduced it he never made claims for either ancient aliens or Atlantis, only for an earlier culture that must have been more advanced than current archaeology would credit. I know that Schoch has now become more interested in paranormal topics, but I’m not aware that he’s ever started endorsing ancient aliens or Atlantis as the source of The Sphinx.
Michael – just got round to watching this documentary and I was quite impressed. Firstly, I should state I am a fan of Ancient Aliens. Every time there is a new episode, I really look forward to it. But not because it is informative. It’s spectacularly good entertainment. It’s fun and at times, compelling as they are essentially “selling the dream” of alien visitation. However my background is in science and there hasn’t been an episode in which I haven’t had more questions than answers. Indeed, there is very very little in it that I do believe, in the same way there’s very little I believe in when a new Star Trek movie comes out, but I love them al (well, almost). As I said, it’s good fun and anyone who has watched AA would know it’s full of some great “characters”, or is that caricatures? (Yes I’m looking at you Tsoukalos). I’ve been hoping for a documentary like this because, as good as my science is, my history just can’t compete with the plethora of knowledge required to debunk the many theories on the show. This documentary is very well researched and I think sets an exceptional standard. Whilst I do not want AA to go away any time soon, I do hope every single fan of the show watches AA Debunked if only to give the kind of perspective/balance the show itself never ever offers.
Also, I do not understand the criticism you have received here. This documentary is not yours, it is Chris White’s. You are merely a consultant – there to talk about the deep chasm of mistakes made by the show when discussing ancient languages (of which you are en expert on). Whilst it may have aided you to have watched at least a season of AA, I do not believe it is a pre-requisite for the role you played in the documentary.
The narrator keeps saying “nukelar” instead of the correct pronounciation “nuclear”. Wtf?