Confirmation: The Hard Evidence of Aliens Among Us?
The truth is...on NBC?
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Confirmation: The Hard Evidence of Aliens Among Us?
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Hosted by Robert Davi
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NBC
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Feb. 17, 8-10 p.m.
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Review by Patrick Lee
 re spacecraft from another world secretly visiting the Earth? Are thousands of people being kidnapped by an alien species and subjected to horrifying experiments? Outrageous claims? Or could they possibly be true?
These are the questions posed by host Robert Davi at the outset of an ambitious TV special purporting to offer the first hard evidence of the truth behind reports of UFO phenomena. It begins with a look at photographs and video of UFOs--home video from Mexico, controversial footage from the space shuttle and the two 1950 McMinville, Ore., photographs that have so far withstood critical scrutiny.
The show then offers a history lesson on the modern beginning of the UFO phenomenon: in 1947 the first widespread reports of sightings of "flying disks" and a fanciful recreation of the now-famous Roswell incident. It balances this mythology with details from the U.S. Air Force's own report discrediting the Roswell UFO sightings and leaves the issue up in the air.
The special then examines reports from alleged abductees, shows gruesome recreations of abductees' supposed experiences, and interviews abduction author Budd Hopkins and multiple-abductee Jesse Long. There are also countervailing arguments by clinical psychologists and other skeptics.
One highlight of the show is a recreation of the chase by small-town Ohio police officers of a UFO in 1994, accompanied by police dispatch recordings of the encounter--a recreation right out of Close Encounters of the Third Kind. The breadth of police reports--and a denial of radar traffic by an FAA tower--raises a serious question: What did people see out there that night? Planets? A top-secret Air Force aircraft from a nearby base? No one knows.
As for the promised hard evidence of the title? It comes in the form of a purported "alien implant" that viewers see graphically removed--courtesy of home video--from the thumb of an alleged abductee named "Paul." But what is it? An x-ray diffraction can't identify it--leaving only more questions.
Seeing isn't believing
Based on the book of the same name by UFO expert Whitley Strieber, Confirmation: The Hard Evidence of Aliens Among Us? adds a question mark to the title in an attempt to remain non committal about the veracity of its claims. But it's no mistake that the show was produced under the auspices of NBC's entertainment division and not its news unit. This show is yet another in the grand tradition of Fox's alien autopsy special: Something to kill an evening with, but not too intellectually taxing.
The show spends a lot of time going over old ground, including a review of the federal government's supposed efforts to conceal the existence of extraterrestrials--efforts the government has denied since the accusations first arose. At its end, the show draws precious few conclusions about UFOs, and the promised "hard evidence" isn't very hard at all. What viewers are left with after two hours of moderately entertaining television is a call for more scientific study of UFO reports and as many questions as answers.
Still, Confirmation is handsomely produced, including recreations of supposed UFO encounters that make use of special effects worthy of The X-Files. There is some creepy stuff, particularly abductee Long's drawn-out story of his history of sexually explicit alien encounters. And even if viewers don't believe the abductees' stories, they can't help noticing that they seem genuinely anguished. "Either what's happening is a new psychological phenomenon--or it's true," says New Yorker writer and former skeptic C.D.B. Bryan.
To their credit, the producers subject their "evidence" to criticism by dispassionate experts, including professional UFO debunkers, astronauts, photo experts and special effects technicians, providing a lot of conflicting arguments to chew on. But the overall tone, as is usual with these kinds of specials, is breathless and credulous, and heavily reliant on people--like Strieber himself--whose livelihoods depend on the perpetuation of UFO mythology. They are hardly the most dispassionate sources. At the end, believers aren't likely to be swayed from their convictions, and skeptics aren't likely to be won over.
I'm still waiting for the real hard evidence of UFO visitations: A vial of black oil, an alien implant that triggers a supermarket scanner or the bulkhead from a Reticulan space cruiser. Now that would be convincing.
-- P.L.
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What If.... A Film About Judith Merril
A glimpse into the Golden Age of SF
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What If.... A Film About Judith Merril
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Featuring Jackie Burroughs
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Directed by Helene Klodawsky
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Space: The Imagination Station
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Feb. 18
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51 Minutes
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Review by A.M. Dellamonica
 hat If ... A Film About Judith Merril is a funny and entertaining biography of one of SF's most influential figures. One of the genre's first successful women writers, Merril talks candidly about her work and politics, and the role that science fiction played in shaping today's world. Though she died in Toronto in 1997, What If ... clearly shows that Merril is fondly remembered, and that her effect on science fiction was both positive and profound.
The film draws on a variety of sources to tell its story. Through Merril's memoirs (as read by actress Jackie Burroughs), interviews with members of the Toronto SF and intellectual community, excerpts from her fiction and clips of films based on her writing, audiences are shown the major events of Merril's adult life. Interspersed between the interviews are shots of pulp magazine covers, some featuring the masculine pseudonyms Merril used to sell stories early in her career.
It quickly becomes obvious that, in Merril's view, life, art and politics are very much intertwined. One of her first influential stories, "That Only A Mother" (1948), was written as a reaction to news reports about the effects of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II. She is credited with being one of the first SF authors to create believable female characters and to explore the effects of future technologies on women's lives. Her opposition to the Vietnam War eventually led her to leave the United States and settle in Canada. In the film's interviews, which occurred near the end of her life, viewers see Judith Merril still fully engaged with humanity's current problems: overpopulation, corporate feudalism and environmental devastation.
The stories within stories
What If ..., which is airing on Canada's Space: The Imagination Station, offers something for everyone. The stories about Merril's early life in New York and her membership in the legendary organization called the Futurians will interest anyone who studies the history of science fiction and fandom. Feminist writers will appreciate the evidence that the genre has opened to women--both readers and writers--significantly. Outrageous aspects of Merril's life, her political activism, the association with Toronto's alternative Rochdale College--not to mention the clips of her starring in the Canadian version of Doctor Who--never fail to entertain. The film covers a wide range of information in its 51 minutes, never digging too deep in any one area but presenting a thorough overview.
The pace of What If ... is measured, a metronome ticking off highlights of a fascinating story. There is little suspense in the narrative, only the lure of Merril's personal magnetism. In style the film is very much like the National Film Board of Canada's Forbidden Love, not only because of the use of pulp fiction covers in both documentaries but also in smaller ways--the intimacy in which the interviews are carried out, and the larger-than-life directorial approach. In what is otherwise a seamless piece of documentary, only the memoir readings jar; Jackie Burroughs' voice is similar to Merril's and yet noticeably different, an effect that is slightly alienating.
One of the first anecdotes Merril tells is particularly pleasing, as she describes her discovery of a literature of ideas between the torrid pulp covers of a magazine she had only opened because there was nothing else available for her to read. Every SF fan has had this experience, and as Merril tells this story it is impossible not to feel drawn into her story.
Well-edited, beautifully constructed and never dull. Definitely a great way to get to know one of SF's early lights.
-- A.M.
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My Favorite Martian
Martin the Martian is back from the 1960s...
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My Favorite Martian
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Rated PG
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Starring Christopher Lloyd, Jeff Daniels, Daryl Hannah
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Directed by Donald Petrie
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93 Minutes
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Review by Kathie Huddleston
 elevision reporter Tim O'Hara (Daniels) is having a bad day. When he finally gets a chance to produce an important news segment on a space launch with beautiful news anchor Brace Channing (Elizabeth Hurley), he screws it up. Not only does he lose any chance at getting together with Brace, he manages to get fired as well.
Then, on the way home from work, he sees a spaceship crash. Brace happens on the scene, and--their news instincts getting the better of them--they investigate. Even though it looks like something big crashed, all Tim finds is a beat-up toy spaceship. Brace tells him to get lost again, and Tim dejectedly heads home with the toy. He doesn't notice the invisible hitchhiker who stows away in his trunk.
The stowaway is actually a Martian (Lloyd) who has taken human form with the help of some special Martian chewing gum. The Martian presses a button and suddenly the toy ship expands to fill Tim's living room. The Martian and his talking space suit, Zoot, convince the reluctant Tim to help them out while they try to fix the ship. In the meantime, the Martian poses as Tim's uncle Martin.
As Martin attempts to fix his ship before it self-destructs, Tim discovers his true love and Zoot discovers washing machines. Meanwhile, an evil government scientist chases everyone, trying to prove that there really is alien life. And just who is that man in black with the sunglasses?
Strictly kid stuff
My Favorite Martian is the kind of manic slapstick mess that will only appeal to kids under the age of 10. Unfortunately, adults won't find much to laugh at in this predictable frenzied jumble of a movie. The film is based on the fondly remembered '60s sitcom of the same name, and its creators probably thought it was a stroke of genius to cast Lloyd in the role of Martin. After all, based on his past performances, consensus would have it that Lloyd actually is an alien from another planet. However, even Lloyd, who is a talented physical comedian, can't save this Martian. No one comes off very well, except Hurley and Ray Walston (who played Martin in the original sitcom and who doesn't get enough work these days).
The special effects are top-notch, but the director and writers throw in every sight gag imaginable, drive the story at breakneck speed and hope no one will notice how boring the film itself actually is. There are a couple of nice bits that bring a smile or two, but for every moment such as the opening, where a NASA robotic vehicle exploring Mars runs out of juice just short of discovering an amazing Martian city, there are 20 gags that don't work.
Too bad the filmmakers didn't realize what they really had on their hands. Walston could have been great in the role. If only they had come up with a script worthy of him, this Martian could have been worth the trip. What a waste of a talented cast and a big movie budget.
If I see one more movie with government bad guys chasing extraterrestrial good guys, I'll scream. Just because My Favorite Martian was based on a cheesy old sitcom doesn't give filmmakers the right to bore us. Let's hope this film doesn't make too much money. If it does, we can all look forward to My Favorite Martian Has A Baby.
-- Kat
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