Hulu’s Ancient Aliens Makes A Good Argument If You Ignore Science And Facts
Before I get into why I’m obsessed with Ancient Aliens on Hulu, I need to first get it out of the way that I don’t believe anything that’s said on the series because the theories presented as fact don’t hold up under scrutiny by any stretch of the imagination. So why bother watching the series, and taking in all of the pseudo-science that benefits my life in no way whatsoever?
I wish I had an answer, but for now, I’ll say that most of the allegedly unexplained ancient phenomena, which can be clarified through anthropology, logic, deductive reasoning, and literally anything other than aliens covered in the series, has inherent entertainment value that I can’t ignore.
Gishing Out More Than We Can Swallow
Ancient Aliens has been heavily criticized for using the aggressive rhetorical technique known as the Gish Gallop, which pummels viewers with rapid-fire theories and postulations that move so fast you simply can’t keep up with them, let alone fact-check or refute them in real-time.
The common tactic on Ancient Aliens involves bringing in a credible expert in their respective field (an archeologist, for example), then pivoting over to consulting producer and frequent talking (big) head Giorgio A. Tsoukalos, who thinks that the best explanation for the pyramids being built is … you guessed it, aliens!
Nikola Tesla Was Allegedly Inspired By Aliens
The first episode of Ancient Aliens, entitled “The Evidence,” is so insane that you won’t even believe my breakdown.
“The Evidence” starts out pretty tame, making some claims that maybe the massive stones used to construct pyramids were actually shaped with giant 30-foot saws and then moved with an elaborate pulley system.
While that sounds like a reasonable assertion, the narrative quickly shifts to point out that since modern cranes couldn’t move these stones, then ancient civilizations probably had outside help in the form of extra-terrestrials because pulley technology wasn’t utilized during this time in history, according to our seasoned “experts.”
Before you can even wrap your head around this concept, it’s suggested that the Egyptian pyramids were actually giant microwave-transmitting power plants, giving ancient civilizations wireless electricity the world over.
But it gets worse. The prevailing theory established in this episode is that Nikola Tesla was aware of this, and his Tesla Coil design was actually his attempt to recreate this technology that was allegedly given to humans by ancient aliens.
Interesting Questions With Bogus Answers
One of the reasons Ancient Aliens appeals to me is that the series does raise a lot of interesting questions about how massive ancient structures were built and how huge leaps in human evolution may have occurred, but only if you ignore the “science” behind the proposed answers the series is trying to jam down your throat.
I’m genuinely curious about how Stonehenge was built, but I can tell you with absolute certainty that the crop circle that appeared next to it in 1991, which was admittedly built by pranksters, doesn’t hold the mathematical key to opening a whimsical portal to another dimension where aliens can freely arrive and depart as they please if only we could crack the code.
The season 14 episode in question that I’m referencing, “The Secrets of Stonehenge,” also fails to mention that Stonehenge was systematically rebuilt over the course of decades in the 20th century using modern technology, and reconstructed in the shape the builders thought it would have looked like when it was erected millennia ago.
Earnestly Idiotic, Or An Elaborate Prank
But by blurring the line between historical fact, pseudo-scientific speculation, and delivering these “findings” as aggressively as possible, Ancient Aliens does the unthinkable. Across 257 episodes, the series “what ifs” its way through history, one profoundly stupid hot-take at a time.
If that’s not enough, there are hundreds of instances of CGI renderings “recreating” how the ancient wonders of the world were, at the very least, created by alien technology that was given to humans if not constructed by aliens outright.
Total Conspiracy Theory Channel Drift
GFR SCORE
Ancient Aliens has been heavily criticized for the network decay of the History Channel, and rightfully so. While the questions asked throughout the series are history-adjacent, the logical leaps that are taken during every single second of its run-time transform “history” into a long-winded conspiracy theory about how we’re not alone, and how our modern technology is actually primitive compared to that of our ancient ancestors.
The topics of discussion in Ancient Aliens are, at best, something that you’d entertain while sitting around a campfire with friends after a few adult beverages, but why so much effort is put into producing 20 seasons (and counting) of this series is absolutely beyond me.
If you, like me, want to believe in intelligent life from other planets, Ancient Aliens (available through a Hulu subscription) will make you reconsider your stance and doubt the fact that there’s even intelligent life on Earth.
