"Aliens - striden om utomjordingarna" is a new series produced by SVT, the Swedish public service TV broadcaster. Yes, it´s another series about UFOs and aliens (or purported such). It´s obviously an attempt to compete with TV4´s popular "UFO-mysteriet", reviewed elsewhere on this blog. Only one episode of "Aliens" have been shown so far, and I have to admit that "UFO-mysteriet" is more fast paced and funny! That´s hardly surprising, since TV4´s series stars comic actor Felix Herngren, while SVT´s narrator is an ethnologist named Kalle Ström.
Both productions feature Clas Svahn, president of UFO-Sverige, a fairly skeptical ufology organization, who dominates the reporting on UFOs in Swedish media. "Aliens" also follow groups of true believers. They seem to be a motley crew of New Age individuals, conspiracy theorists and people interested in alternative history. At one point, one of these groups travel to Bosnia to an "ancient pyramid" (which geologists claim is a natural formation) where they "feel the Energy" or whatever.
With one exception (a supposed contactee-abductee), none of the alternative people come across as outright lunatics, but their epistemology is clearly different from that of Svahn and other skeptics, let alone scientists. "Intuition" and purely personal experiences or even faith are seen as obvious guides to reality.
Last year´s "disclosure" in the United States energized the alternative scene in Sweden, with many hoping that they would finally be vindicated after decades, indeed, generations. Svahn was less impressed by the congressional hearings and even says explicitly at one point that he has no use for the true believers.
I assume the point of the series is to contrast the skeptics and the UFO faithful, and perhaps arrange some kind of confrontation between them, but at least in this first episode, the closest we come is a believer who accuses Svahn of knowing the truth but hiding it as the skeptic sneaks around the tables at a New Age fan event...
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