In the docuseries Investigation Alien, KLAS-TV anchor and reporter George Knapp tracks down new leads that show evidence of extraterrestrial contact. Knapp, who has worked for KLAS for most of the past 43 years and has won Emmy, Peabody and Murrow Awards for his investigative reporting, has been on the “UFO beat” in Vegas since 1987, making him one of the most recognized authorities on the topic of possible alien contact.
Opening Shot: Investigative reporter George Knapp gets out of his SUV in the middle of the desert and answers a phone call about a lead.
The Gist: Knapp started investigating UFO sightings when he interviewed John Lear back in 1987; the aviation expert claimed that he knew that the federal government had alien bodies and technology in top-secret storage somewhere in the Nevada desert. In recent years, the idea that the government has been studying UFOs and alien encounters for decades has gotten more credence, with congressional testimony from decorated military officers on the topic making headlines. Knapp, of course, was at those hearings.
One of the questions he seeks to answer is why are these extraterrestrials coming here? There seems to be evidence that if they are coming, they’re here to observe and study how we live. To that end, Knapp travels to Oregon to investigate reports of cattle mutilations, a phenomenon that has been going on since at least the 1970s. With the help of Doug Laux, a former CIA case officer, Knapp interviews ranchers and a county sheriff who has seen the mutilated cattle up close.
What’s strange is that parts of the cattle, from reproductive organs to facial features, are cut out with surgical precision. But there is no blood spilled, as if the cows are drained of blood before they’re cut up. In one or two cases, the cattle are positioned in a way that would be physically impossible if they just collapsed. Finally, no scavengers approach the body as it decomposes; the flesh melts into the ground and the bones that are left behind are clean and untouched.
Both Knapp and Laux consider all possibilities, including earthly ones that might be plausible, like rival ranchers or people using the cows as ritual sacrifices. But both men see evidence that whatever or whoever did this might be from elsewhere — and we’re not talking the next county over.
What Shows Will It Remind You Of? Investigation Alien reminds us of the recent Netflix series Files Of The Unexplained.
Our Take: One of the big things you need to realize before watching Investigation Alien is that George Knapp is not some crackpot journalist spouting conspiracy theories on an obscure YouTube channel, and he’s not Art Bell, who used to field calls from people who claimed to be abducted by aliens, whether those stories were true or not (ironically, Knapp does host a weekend edition of Bell’s old radio show, Coast To Coast AM). We mentioned his awards up at the top of this review to indicate that Knapp brings journalistic rigor to his work.
We can see that in the first episode. Knapp isn’t exactly skeptical, but he doesn’t immediately buy into whatever claims he’s investigating. He considers all possibilities, even if one of those possibilities leads him down a road that reveals a very earth-bound explanation of a phenomenon. Laux seems to have that same degree of open-minded skepticism, maybe even leaning more towards trying to find earthly explanations than Knapp might.
But it’s that open-mindedness and skepticism that lends the series a legitimate air. Knapp tries to get people who have not gone publicly on record about their sightings in the past, mainly because they didn’t want to be identified with something many think is “crazy”. But because of Knapp’s background and journalistic skills, he’s able to get the reluctant sources to go on camera because he’s providing legitimacy to their testimony.
As we watch Knapp travel to different locales in North America and elsewhere — the second episode sends him to Brazil, for instance — we’ll be able to get a really good view into how he approaches this story, especially when he uses people like Laux to help give him different perspectives. That is what we mean by “journalistic rigor”; he never takes any of these claims at face value, and it’s why he’s been so successful on this beat for 37 years.
Sex and Skin: None.
Parting Shot: We get a preview of the Brazil episode, where former Marine helicopter pilot Vernice “Vee” Armour joins him to fill in one of the knowledge gaps that Knapp admits he has, which is aviation.
Sleeper Star: David Hunt is an example of one of the ranchers who’s seen cattle mutilations who never wanted to speak on the record. But he speaks to Knapp, after Knapp and the producers put in a lot of effort to convince him to speak on camera.
Most Pilot-y Line: The photos of the mutilated cattle are pretty creepy, and it seemed like the filmmakers wanted to go back to them over and over in the episode.
Our Call: STREAM IT. Knapp’s legitimacy as a journalist and his skepticism lends Investigation Alien an level of legitimacy that few other alien-sighting docuseries have.
Joel Keller (@joelkeller) writes about food, entertainment, parenting and tech, but he doesn’t kid himself: he’s a TV junkie. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon, RollingStone.com, VanityFair.com, Fast Company and elsewhere.