Saturday 14 March 2015

The Great UFO Conspiracy- review

This is the second of a two-part article. See here for essential background: http://hpanwo-voice.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/the-great-ufo-conspiracy-coming-soon.html.
It took some serious organizing to sit down and watch the television in my house. I watch it so seldom that the people I live with are used to having it to themselves and consider it shared between the three of them alone. I feel strange about this programme because although, as I said in the background link, I loathe disinformation broadcasts, I felt a strong sense of morbid curiosity. So, with my sick bag ready, I switched the TV onto More 4 at 9.05 PM and waited.

The titles were crude and childish cartoons accompanied by jocular mock-spooky music. The presenter, Dan Schreiber, wanted to know more about "alien conspiracy theories" which most people think are solely an American phenomenon; but Schreiber wanted to show that they are common in Britain too. Schreiber means "writer" in German... as in "story teller"; says a lot! He looks like a hipster with horn rimmed glasses and designer messed-up hair and he makes it clear that he's a Skeptic. But doesn't want to prove us wrong; he is just "fascinated" by us. He calls on Tony Topping (who will shortly be a guest on HPANWO Radio) and Tony gives him a summary of his life as a UFO witness and targeted individual. Schreiber describes him as having "classic conspiracy beliefs". The music changes to a parody of a detective movie score as Tony takes Schreiber to the places where Tony had his experiences, and also to the headquarters of the Royal Institute of International Affairs which Tony sees as a major part of the cover-up. When Tony describes his encounters with helicopters hovering low over him, Schreiber relates afterwards: "Helicopters are a common sight in the skies over British towns and cities yet Tony has used their appearance to come up with fantastical reasons to confirm his beliefs." This is a ridiculous misrepresentation of Tony's story, and I found that it set the scene for the rest of the programme.

Next stop was the veteran UFO author and investigator Timothy Good. Timothy told the story of what happened to him in the USA in 1963 when he was on tour with his classical orchestra and he encountered a young woman who communicated telepathically with Timothy. She turned out to be an extraterrestrial. He also talked about the Italian "Friendship" case. Schreiber said that he found it extraordinary that Timothy didn't conclude the most likely outcome of his alien encounter was that it was just a coincidence. Again, this completely whitewashes over the depth and complexity of the issue. In one of his books Timothy deals briefly with the possibility that Jesus had been an alien and the star of Bethlehem was a spaceship that gave instructions to the Three Wise Men by telepathy; why was it that Schreiber focused on this tiny little aspect of Timothy's research instead of the far larger and more important areas Timothy covers? In fact Schreiber refers to the "Jesus was an alien!" trope several more times over the duration of the programme, and it appears in the programme's blurb.

Then the location moves to The Barge Inn and the Bases at the Barge event and... of course!... The shot with Jeff Scott that the team were so determined to capture is included. Enter Miles Johnston, who tells Schreiber about crop circles and introduces him to Matthew Williams. "Crop circles were revealed to be a massive hoax in the 1990's!" Schreiber audaciously states... were they now?... But aliens are still involved in making them by influencing the human circle makers. The viewer is shown Win Keech's well known photographs of shadow people in crop circles without a real explanation of what's really going on with them. The same goes for when Miles talks about the black goo outside the MI6 headquarters. Once again there's a dumb trivialization of the subject, see here for a much better description: http://hpanwo-voice.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/bases-project-live-in-london.html. Schreiber is enthralled and grins inanely like a happy child: "This is like really amazing science fiction in the real world!... Miles Johnston is like Doctor Who!... Does he really believe it or is he making this all up? No way to be sure." There are a few scenes of Dan Schreiber sitting at his computer surfing the internet, and at one point the viewer is shown a clip of some alien autopsy footage from Russia; this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ihd21dHa7oE, which is probably a fake. Why didn't they show this much more interesting one which is far more likely to be real?: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMNr8li6ffM?... Answers on a postcard please. Schreiber then travels to a quiet location under a bridge where he meets up with Max Spiers who informs him about the Reptilian theory and the all-seeing eye in the dollar bill. Just before the last ad break Schreiber tells the viewer that a brand new groundbreaking theory has just emerged that will turn the whole world of alien conspiracy on its head!... It turns out that it's just that old chestnut Mark Pilkington brings up in Mirage Men which I analyze here: http://hpanwo.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/mirage-men-by-mark-pilkington.html and here: http://hpanwo-voice.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/mirage-men-film.html.

Sorry if the above comes across as scrappy and rough writing. My review is not as intelligently scathing as I hoped. To be honest it's because I'm simply too angry to go back and revise it at the moment; I might come back and edit it tomorrow after I've had a good night's sleep. The Great UFO Conspiracy was not as bad as I thought it would be... but then my expectations of it couldn't really be undercut. However, it was still truly unspeakably dire. It traveled through the world of UFOlogy and exopolitics avoiding all the best research while distorting, simplifying and lampooning all the subject matter they did condescend to feature. One of the reasons I'm annoyed is because I myself am briefly visible in one of the shots when I specifically told the unit who filmed at Bases at the Barge that I did not want to be included. I can only be seen for about a second in a cameo shot, but I was assured I would not be in it at all, even in a shot like that. I'm not sure if I can take any action as a result, but I will be making enquiries into my legal position. At the moment The Great UFO Conspiracy is available on 4OD, see: http://www.channel4.com/programmes/the-great-ufo-conspiracy/on-demand/58730-001, watch it if you like, but keep a sick-bag handy like I did. As I've said several times before, there's a limit to how bad TV programmes can be by accident. The intention of this travesty was to mislead and ridicule; it was definitely made for the objective of distracting the viewer away from the UFO and alien subject. Please don't try to tell me there is no conspiracy to cover-up UFO's! In fact it's extraordinary how much time, energy and resources the authorities expend in their effort to discredit the UFO phenomenon. Why would they bother to do that if we were all deluded fools believing in something so obviously non-existent?

21 comments:

Anonymous said...
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Anonymous said...

Hi Ben, I thought you would have wrote a review for this program pretty sharpish, I watched it myself tonight.

I found this program tonight THE most discordant of all the 'conspiracy' programs I have seen and is probably the most dangerous and sinister of recent programs. The Catholic Church has similarly employed this tactic I will call the triple A Effect 'Attentive Ameiable Auditor' wherin both this program (plumb pictures) and the Catholic Church - similarly - used a persons appointment to embark upon a sophisticated and multifaceted public relations exercise that is made to look as if it is all the decision of the inqusitive and eager reporter himself, when in reality the people behind the series - like the Catholic Church - is actually run by hidden agenda's, the churchs method likewise by ecclesiastical groups that are ruthless and do nothing to support the quest for truth but to cause confusion and ridicule. It serves their selfish purposes, in this case to take the piss and debunk.

This makes it all the more sadder, I knew this would happen Ben, they knew they would have to re-package their approach to stave off previous critisim and red-flags raised by people like yourself. The 'Auditing' element to the triple A method is that they will totally audit the dialogues and questions reducing them down to the most incredible and whimsicle as you clearly saw yourself with Timothy Goods 'Alien Encounter' and 'Jesus Hypothesis'. Considering Timothy's exhaustive and proffesional work I thought this was a cheap shot, but what did people expect!??. tHE 'Black Goo' thing aswell . . . I cringed, not beacause of the theory itself but that the entire conspiracy (I dont like using conspiracy) movement was reduced to this particular, personal theory. Did you see how they showed the short clip of Timothy 'bowing down' at the end out of context to make him look like a complete dick!. Subtle but effective.

I felt sorry for Tony the most, he just spoke in a genuine manner, as a man that had clearly been through a lot and as you said 'whitewashed' at the key moment, not to mention his own body of proffessional work. This agenda has been clearly used in the UFO series on Yesterday (tv), AS YOU KNOW, the guy's who run these institutions are all pretty much of the Eton and Uxbridge business and political crowd who ultimately dictate the final products put out there.

Dissapointing but I didn't expect anything else!. Cheers Ben

P.S The sick bag was next to me too, and used once or twice . . .

Ben Emlyn-Jones said...

Hi X, The moment it had finished I was back online typing furiously. It really was the pits wasn't it, and like you, I was waiting for it. There was as much chance of avoiding it as an approaching storm. It was the most cringe worthy thing I've seen in years, maybe ever. Whether it's as bad as Confessions of an Alien Abductee or not will be a matter of grave contention. Tony and Miles knew what would happen, but they truly believed they could do some good by subjecting themselves to this ordeal. Timothy, on the other hand, has not been on one of these TV shows before so he will not expect this. As for myself, I'll be on the blower to OFCOM Monday morning.

Saturday Sannie said...

*slumps*

Why oh why oh why oh why ....do people consent to even acknowledging these shows , let alone appearing on them ?

Personally i would love to know what was going through Tony toppings mind , surely he's an intelligent person , he must have realised how this show would have portrayed him , that basically the only reason they wanted to talk to him , was to make him look like a stark raving lunatic.

Please please please ...ask him these things when he's on the show!

*Begins banging his head off the desk*

......Oh dear god , not Timothy good , if anything this is one guy that should know better .

Personally I find crop circles to be something of a bone of contention , I know the loony fringe just go all gooey over them but its not something I've ever found to be compelling...but hey, I'm open minded and willing to be swayed , you could argue for years about crop circles , with so many hoaxes being perpetrated i find that its something...how would you say it? , they're easy ammunition that deniers would use to try and discredit anything related UFOs or aliens.

Y'know....i don't get it , i really don't , why do people agree to go on these shows? ...I'm just guessing here , but are they hoping to somehow enlighten the viewing public? surely this is false logic because by agreeing to appear on a show like this ...a show that is tailor made to belittle the topics covered and more importantly , to completely belittle the people agreeing to appear in it , your basic cancelling out any effect of "Trying to get the truth out to the masses"...

Not to mention deeply hurting your own credibility in the public eye...

Is it for money ?...Jesus , I'll personally start patreon up for them and pay them a little something overtime "They Don't!" go on a show like this.

Anonymous said...

Ben I have spoken with Tim today and he simply did it for his own promotion which he has always done in regards to his books etc. I don't hold that against him that's his choice. Tony I'm afraid didn't do himself any justice and the whole helicopter thing is common place. When I was in the Army we used to fly low over crop circle fields in Wiltshire to look at the formations. Plus these fields were designated areas for our flight training etc. On numerous times we hovered over people and vehicles because the lay of the land there causes this. I remember on one occasion we scared a woman so much she got in her car and sped off down the East Hill she forgot to take the camera off her car roof lol.
This programme like many others including one I've helped with does not do the subject any justice at all. I'm afraid all that will happen here is that Tony and the others will get slated and pulled apart across the net. It will not do them any good at all...

Marcel said...

The host, part latte-drinking hipster, part Angelos Epithemiou, professed an enthusiasm for the subject matter yet didn't seem to be familiar with any of the theories discussed, many of which would be common to anyone who had even so much as casually come across programmes such as 'Ancient Aliens' or 'Weird or What?' on the mainstream tellybox.

Ten years ago his ignorance would make for a believable plot device, but these ideas are not esoteric in 2015.

Also, as a general criticism of the documentary regardless of subject matter: it was disjointed as hell.

Neil Austin said...

Well, we had a pretty good idea what it was going to be...and we were right. It didn't fail to deliver as a pathetic hit-piece.
Perversely, in many ways, I find this rather reassuring in that it demonstrates and reaffirms what we already suspected - that the mainstream media's magic spell is rapidly wearing off and their only remaining tactic to keep the unenlightened masses 'on board' with their mantra is to keep pumping out more of their mocking baloney.
Just look at what hi-tech CGI stuff they are having to use just to try to convince us of NASA's current projects such as Orion
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NlXG0REiVzE#t=273
In this very polished video we can see that merely repeating the feats allegedly accomplished by Apollo in the late 60's and early 70's are a colossal challenge (dealing with radiation shielding)
If this short video demonstrates the lengths to which they have to go in order to perpetuate official myths, how can we be surprised at their attempts to debunk and divert attention away from simple truths?

Ben Emlyn-Jones said...

DP, I'm glad Timothy is not gutted over his treatment as I expected him to be.

Ben Emlyn-Jones said...

Hulie and DP. Tony believes he can do some good by allowing himself to be pilloried like this. So does Miles. I wish he were right and I were wrong.

Ben Emlyn-Jones said...

That's true, Neil. We can taker some comfort from the fact that this programme, like so many others, gives off the distinct off the whiff of desperation!

Colin said...

Nice article Ben, and yes it was dire. But what we've come to expect. Makes one wonder who they're aimed at, those interested in the subject usually give them a miss, those not watch Eastenders or some other tripe. So I wonder when the advertising revenue will be hit on these programs and they'll give up until disclosure. (???) Then they'll no doubt jump on the subject like the parasites they are.

I've watched most of these "UFO" docs on TV and just when you think it's going well, they hit you with sarcasm or sceptics.

You should have at least an apology for the use of your image, you ought to be paid but I doubt you'll get it. Some where blurred so they knew they had to.

Thanks for you hard work and dedication Ben. If you ever need a web-master I can chuck a decent wordpress or standard site together - (Free to you).

Anonymous said...

Colin Said.... " If you ever need a web-master I can chuck a decent wordpress or standard site together - (Free to you)."

Fair play Colin!

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Unknown said...

Thanks Ben for writing this review of the program. I couldn't bring myself to watch it although I do usually try to watch films and videos that show the 'debunking' side of a the UFOs subject just to see what ridiculous explanations they come up with.

I recently had a bit of an argument with Dr David Clarke on my YUFO facebook page after I posted links to the Richplanet TV - The 1997 Sheffield UFO Incident videos.

All he did was prove to me that he looks upon people who see UFOs as deluded.
That's how he starts all of his investigations with the premise of the whole thing being folklore, myth and unreal.

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1126419230706726&id=208155662533092

Ben Emlyn-Jones said...

On his Facebook page, Dr David Clarke has made some very intellectually dishonest comments on this programme. He repeats the crap from Channel 4 about Timothy Good saying "Jesus was an alien!" when he knows damn well that those words were a total misrepresentation of Timothy Good's very deep and complex work. He could have pointed out that and didn't.

Anonymous said...

Richard D Hall was approached to be included in this travesty. He refused. Mr Hall also predicted (Exactly) how this Channel-4 (Turd) would turn out. Everything he said about it came to pass. Channel-4 and Channel-5 are both Debunk and propaganda stations. Just look at the non stop demoralisation and Hate fuelling with their so called documentaries about Debt collectors,Benefits and bad Neighbours ETC. They are virtually non stop and never ending. They are all aimed at causing dissension and fomenting trouble among the masses. Media manipulation from the very top. Not surprising really, when you discover just who owns Channel-5 and who he is friends with. Bit of detective work goes a long way. I am very much afraid that the UFO area of research will always fall foul to these media idiots. The UFO phenomenon is getting scarier and scarier. And it really IS happening. Whatever is going on needs to be taken seriously before it's too late for anyone.

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Malius Malif said...

PRINCE CHARLES & THE MURDER OF DALE TRYON - UFO SECRETS

https://archive.org/details/@the_nine
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=baGfEdJjD-M

THIS VIDEO MONTAGE EXPLAINS HOW PRINCE CHARLES & HIS FRIENDS WERE HARASSED & THREATENED BY ONE OF THE CABAL'S (THE WORLD SECRET GOVERNMENT) FAKE UFO'S (BLACK OPS, ANTI-GRAVITY VEHICLES). ALSO HOW CHARLES' BEST FRIEND, BARONESS DALE TRYON, WAS TARGETED & SUBSEQUENTLY MURDERED BY THE CABAL BECAUSE OF HER COVERT COOPERATION WITH BOTH CHARLES & PRINCESS DIANA CONCERNING E.T. & (OFF-GRID)FREE ENERGY TECHNOLOGY DISCLOSURE, FOR THE BENEFIT OF ALL HUMANITY.

PLEASE HELP ME, & THE DISCLOSURE EFFORT, BY WATCHING, RESEARCHING & SHARING THIS VIDEO MONTAGE EVERYWHERE ON THE INTERNET.
THE CABAL ARE SABOTAGING ME FROM SHARING THIS KIND OF VITAL INFORMATION ON THE INTERNET WITH THEIR MYRIAD OF DIRTY TRICKS (E.G. SHADOW-BANNING, ETC.)


Ben Emlyn-Jones said...

Hi Malius. Thanks for the information. I'll have a look.