There are no weird people

 

“UFO-mysteriet” (The UFO Mystery) is a Swedish TV series, broadcast on the private network TV4. Four episodes have been produced so far, but since they are said to be “season one”, I suppose it´s possible we might see more. The show host Felix Herngren (a former comic actor) teams up with Clas Svahn, president of UFO-Sverige, a fairly skeptical ufology organization, to investigate the topic. Herngren comes across as something of a “true believer”, but it´s unclear whether it´s just a pose or whether he actually believes in saucers and aliens. The dynamic duo is followed by two producers, one of them a skeptic, the other a true believer or at least mystery-monger. Their motto seems to be "there are no weird people, only weird experiences". 

I´m not sure how much a newbie can really learn from this series, except that the UFO issue is very bewildering, but then, it *is* bewildering, so no argument there. I found it entertaining and even learned a few new things, despite having followed the UFO issue most of my life. For instance, I had no idea that the UFO archives in Norrköping were so large! The series “only” covers Sweden and the United States, but then, most of the action is in America. Too much action, in fact. The ufologists present at a private conference in the US cancelled their interviews with Felix Herngren´s team on unclear grounds, perhaps assuming that a TV series hosted by a former comedian would be mocking them (Avi Loeb eventually reconsidered and gave TV4 their interview). While the series does contain some comic relief, it´s mostly serious – or as serious as the topic allows.

A number of scientists are interviewed, and so are serious eye-witnesses. But yes, we also get to meet “the tinfoil hat brigade”, such as religious UFO cultists and abductees. Area 51 is prominently featured in one episode. Sometimes it´s difficult to know who is serious and who isn´t. What are we to make of Gösta Carlsson or “the Pollen King” in Ängelholm who claims that aliens gave him a secret formula for plant medicine…which he did indeed started to produce, making him a rich man. Carlsson invested a substantial sum of his money in the local ice hockey team! So indirectly Rögle BK became a successful sports team due to profits generated by a UFO-related quack remedy?! Even Clas Svahn calls the Pollen King case “complex”…

Herngren and even his skeptical producer seem to think that the “simulation” theory is the most likely explanation for the UFO phenomenon. We all live inside a Matrix-like reality. My preferred hypothesis is that we´re not dealing with a unified phenomenon at all, but at least a dozen different problems thrown together by the Zeitgeist. One of the explanations is surely “spiritual” in nature (an option explored in the last episode). On the opposite side of the spectrum, we have misidentification and military hardware. One of the UFOs mentioned in the series was a blimp, another is unexplained but was probably some kind of missile retrieved from a lake by the Swedish military. And in the US, we have the notorious UAP footage, which I suppose could be misidentified military hardware!

It will be interesting to see if Felix Herngren will continue his peregrinations in another season. The possibilities for further research are almost endless: Whitley Strieber, “Ancient Aliens”, Steven Greer, the Peruvian alien mummies…the list just goes on and on. Who knows, maybe Donald Trump will go on record and admit that he´s really a space bro! OK, maybe not. Still, I did think “UFO-mysteriet” was worth watching, so there´s that.