Television content centered on UFOs and extraterrestrial themes has been a staple of entertainment and informative programming for decades, reflecting society’s enduring fascination with the unknown. This content, spanning films, documentaries, and TV shows, offers a diverse exploration of the mysteries of the cosmos and humanity’s potential interactions with extraterrestrial life.
Films: Sci-fi movies often use the concept of UFOs and aliens as central plot devices. Classics like “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” and “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” delve into the profound emotional and societal impacts of human-alien interactions. These narratives, while fictional, often touch upon deeper themes of communication, understanding, and the universal quest for connection.
Documentaries: These take a more factual approach, delving into real-life sightings, encounters, and government investigations. Series like “Unidentified: Inside America’s UFO Investigation” shed light on official inquiries into UFO phenomena, while standalone documentaries might focus on specific incidents, such as the Roswell crash or the Rendlesham Forest incident. Through interviews, expert analyses, and archival footage, these documentaries aim to present a balanced view of events, encouraging viewers to draw their own conclusions.
TV Shows: Series like “The X-Files” blend fiction with elements of real UFO lore, weaving intricate plots that touch upon government conspiracies, alien abductions, and the broader implications of extraterrestrial life. Other shows might adopt a more comedic or light-hearted approach, using the concept of aliens as a backdrop for character-driven narratives.
Movies:
- Close Encounters of the Third Kind – Directed by Steven Spielberg
- E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial – Directed by Steven Spielberg
- Independence Day – Directed by Roland Emmerich
- War of the Worlds – Directed by Steven Spielberg
- District 9 – Directed by Neill Blomkamp
- The Day the Earth Stood Still – Directed by Robert Wise
- Men in Black – Directed by Barry Sonnenfeld
- Arrival – Directed by Denis Villeneuve
- Signs – Directed by M. Night Shyamalan
- The Fourth Kind – Directed by Olatunde Osunsanmi
- Cowboys & Aliens – Directed by Jon Favreau
- Fire in the Sky – Directed by Robert Lieberman
- Contact – Directed by Robert Zemeckis
- The Abyss – Directed by James Cameron
- Starman – Directed by John Carpenter
- Communion – Directed by Philippe Mora
- The Forgotten – Directed by Joseph Ruben
- Skyline – Directed by The Brothers Strause
- Battle: Los Angeles – Directed by Jonathan Liebesman
- Mars Attacks! – Directed by Tim Burton
- The Thing – Directed by John Carpenter
- Predator – Directed by John McTiernan
- Paul – Directed by Greg Mottola
- Super 8 – Directed by J.J. Abrams
- The Watch – Directed by Akiva Schaffer
TV Shows:
- The X-Files – Created by Chris Carter
- Falling Skies – Created by Robert Rodat
- Taken – Created by Leslie Bohem
- V (2009) – Created by Kenneth Johnson
- V (1984) – Created by Kenneth Johnson
- Roswell – Developed by Jason Katims
- Roswell, New Mexico – Developed by Carina Adly MacKenzie
- The Invaders – Created by Larry Cohen
- Project Blue Book – Created by David O’Leary
- Doctor Who – Created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber, Donald Wilson
- Stargate SG-1 – Created by Brad Wright, Jonathan Glassner
- Stargate Atlantis – Created by Brad Wright, Robert C. Cooper
- Torchwood – Created by Russell T Davies
- Farscape – Created by Rockne S. O’Bannon
- Star Trek – Created by Gene Roddenberry
- The Outer Limits – Created by Leslie Stevens
- The Twilight Zone – Created by Rod Serling
- 3rd Rock from the Sun – Created by Bonnie Turner, Terry Turner
- People of Earth – Created by David Jenkins
- Defiance – Created by Rockne S. O’Bannon, Kevin Murphy, Michael Taylor
- Colony – Created by Carlton Cuse, Ryan J. Condal
- Earth: Final Conflict – Created by Gene Roddenberry
- Threshold – Created by Bragi F. Schut
- Invasion – Created by Shaun Cassidy
- Ancient Aliens – Produced by Prometheus Entertainment (Pseudoscience)
Documentaries:
- Unidentified: Inside America’s UFO Investigation – Directed by Anthony Lappé
- The Phenomenon – Directed by James Fox
- Mirage Men – Directed by John Lundberg
- Bob Lazar: Area 51 & Flying Saucers – Directed by Jeremy Kenyon Lockyer Corbell
- Louis Theroux’s Weird Weekends: UFOs – Directed by Louis Theroux
- John was Trying to Contact Aliens – Directed by Matthew Killip
- Alien Autopsy: Fact or Fiction?
- Unacknowledged – Directed by Michael Mazzola
- Close Encounters of the Fifth Kind – Directed by Michael Mazzola
- Patient Seventeen – Directed by Jeremy Kenyon Lockyer Corbell
- I Know What I Saw – Directed by James Fox
- Hunt for the Skinwalker – Directed by Jeremy Kenyon Lockyer Corbell
- UFOs: The Untold Stories – Produced by National Geographic
- UFOs and Nukes: The Secret Link Revealed – Directed by Robert Hastings
- The Phoenix Lights – We Are Not Alone – Directed by Lynne Kitei
- Out of the Blue – Directed by James Fox
- Sirius – Directed by Amardeep Kaleka
- The Day Before Disclosure – Directed by Terje Toftenes, Truls Toftenes
- The Disclosure Project – Directed by Michael Mazzola
- UFOs: Past, Present, and Future/UFOs: It Has Begun – Directed by Ray Rivas
- Travis: The True Story of Travis Walton – Directed by Jennifer W. Stein
- Above Top Secret: Uncover the Mysteries of the Digital Age – Directed by Blake Cousins and Brent Cousins
- The Secret NASA Transmissions: The Smoking Gun – Directed by Graham W. Birdsall
- UFO Chronicles: Pilot Encounters and Underground Bases – Directed by Anthony T. Miles
- The UFO Incident – Directed by Richard A. Colla
- Hangar 1: The UFO Files – Directed by Guy Reid