While still trying to avoid reality as much as possible (because I have unfortunately kept informed of sordid and absurd happenings this week, especially involving the sickening SCOTUS six fascist fanatics), I stumbled upon yet another extraterrestrial-themed TV episode, this time in an old series (if old is more than 20 years ago).
Unlike SCOTUS, the show didn’t disappoint, but it did have factual gaffs among the fiction (very much like a clueless-of-the-Constitution SCOTUS citizenship opinion released yesterday).
Back in early April when I blogged about an alien movie called Paul, I also mentioned my peeve at Tubi for “featuring” a TV show called The Relic Hunter, with three seasons running from 1999 to 2002. It starred Tia Carrere as professor and relic hunter Sydney Fox, but it disappeared from Tubi before I could finish the first season.
Leading me to snark that I’d now never know if it eventually had an episode about an alien-related relic. Well, guess what?
Two weeks after moving from Nevada to New Mexico, the show appeared again on Tubi, and last week I was halfway through Season 3 when there it was, Episode 13 called “Fire in the Sky” and described as follows: “A native American cataclysm 600 years ago leads Sydney to believe aliens were involved.”
The episode takes place in modern-day Washington State with the premise of an ancient Indian Tribe legend about “fire in the sky,” so I was bummed it didn’t occur in New Mexico, specifically the Chaco Canyon, Pueblo Bonita area covered in my Other Worldly novels. Though the ancient Anasazi of my new state of residence were mentioned—not to mention Roswell. More on that in a moment.
At least it didn’t include the usual evil aliens out to destroy Earth, but the plot did have what are (unfortunately) probably typical hypocritical government goons who threaten and intimidate those they deem “UFO freaks” in the name of national security while they, too, seek this mysterious alien relic for their own nefarious purpose. Including hiding its existence from the public. Of course.
The ancient relic was a gleaming metal fragment featuring a modern geometric symbol, supposedly derived of an alien spacecraft observed crashing in the forest by an Indian Tribe centuries ago.
The show mentions this mysterious symbol also appearing in Roswell, NM, in 1947, ostensibly via the alien crash reported there, then later called a mere weather balloon by…government goons. Problem is, writers of The Relic Hunter were apparently clueless about one of the most famous UFO incidents in US history, because they have Sydney Fox responding to the Roswell mention by nodding and saying “Area 51,” like she knew what they were talking about.
Uh, no. Not only is Area 51 in a completely different location—as in the State of Nevada not New Mexico—but the government facility also didn’t exist in 1947.
Also, the mention of an “ETP” threw me, as it was an unfamiliar acronym that turned out to stand for Extraterrestrial Phenomenon. For grins, I googled ETP, but all that came up was Exchange-Traded Product. Definitely not an alien thing.
There was, however, some excellent Indian snark (to its credit, the show actually hired actual American Indian actors for key roles) when Sydney’s assistant Nigel mentions how it’s usually the “calvary” who saves the day. “Not my version,” says the Indian. Gotta love it.
I finished watching the entire series this week, because this time around I noticed the warning that The Relic Hunter was leaving Tubi in “twelve days,” despite it still being “featured.” Sheesh.
I’d looked forward to the final episode about Stonehenge, hoping it might also involve extraterrestrial activity like my Other Worldly novels, but alas, it was disappointing—and boring. It also did not wrap up the series, leading me to assume it was a show that was unexpectedly cancelled.
But the good news is this week I also got a New Mexico license plate, so hopefully I won’t be stopped again by US Border Patrol looking for what they call “illegal” aliens coming across the US/Mexico border. Not that I plan on returning to the El Paso airport any time soon.
Would that I could flit around in alien vessels like my OW protagonist Rowan Layne to avoid this petty yet sinister crap plaguing our nation. For now, I’ll keep unpacking and finding fun stuff to watch on TV as a diversion. And hopefully I’ll return to drafting Alien Origins again soon. Because writing is also an excellent diversion, though I don’t relish addressing current events when I’ve already covered most of this contemptible corruption ad nauseum in my other seven novels.