f, as The X-Files' Fox Mulder might say, "The truth is out there,"
then the researchers running the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence
program are likely to be the first ones to find it. On the other hand,
there are numerous people who believe they've already been in contact
with aliens. National Geographic's Phantom Quest: The Search for
Extraterrestrials studies the claims of both groups, ultimately seeking
to reveal precisely what an encounter with beings from another planet could
mean for humanity.
The video opens by explaining the purpose of SETI, a project that,
since 1992, has monitored the natural radio waves generated by interstellar
phenomena. Through discussions with various astronomers and signal experts,
the videotape outlines the goals of SETI, its rocky funding history
and the high-tech method by which the scientists scan 16 million channels per
second. The assumption that an advanced civilization would choose to
communicate via radio is addressed too, as is the statistical likelihood of
actually finding intelligent life on other worlds.
Phantom Quest also profiles individuals who contend they have
already interacted with extraterrestrials. A writer and homemaker share
stories of their unsettling encounters with otherworldly beings, while a
Harvard professor of psychiatry--who regularly counsels alien abduction
survivors--defends the veracity of his clients' seemingly far-fetched
experiences. An effort to communicate with unearthly visitors through
telepathy is briefly examined, with the leader of that grassroots effort
estimating that a confirmable meeting could take place within the next few
years. Such speculation is echoed in the final few minutes of the show, when
one of the SETI scientists offers a theoretical timetable for the discovery
of radio signals generated by intelligent entities elsewhere in the
cosmos.
You call this exploring?
From the highest mountain peaks to the deepest ocean trenches, National
Geographic Society explorers have developed a well-deserved reputation for
solid and highly educational research. Unfortunately, their sterling
credentials apparently don't extend too far beyond our planet, as Phantom
Quest is surprisingly unsophisticated and slipshod.
For folks wholly unfamiliar with the ongoing scientific search for
evidence of alien life, the video does offer some basic information. SETI
founder Dr. Frank Drake provides persuasive reasons why radio is more
efficient than rockets in making contact with entities from other worlds,
while his colleagues convincingly debunk some of the more outlandish UFO
claims. Yet their insightful remarks are frequently subverted by distracting
visual effects, such as a research lab viewed from behind the dial of a
vintage radio, and an overly dramatic narrator who, when discussing
principles like the speed of light, utters such ridiculous statements as
"Even a slow tune goes 186,000 miles a second."
However, the people who believe aliens have already landed fare even
worse. Although their comments are presented in a fairly straightforward
fashion, their admittedly incredible experiences are dramatized in a
sensational Unsolved Mysteries-type manner. And, in a significantly
more disingenuous maneuver, each of these speakers is introduced via a quick
voice-over, while the identities of the SETI stargazers are established
through on-screen titles. The observations of the trained researchers
therefore subtly appear to be more important than those of their starry-eyed
but no less committed counterparts.
Sadly, such editorial tampering, combined
with simplistic narration and obtrusive production techniques, prevents
Phantom Quest: The Search for Extraterrestrials from furnishing
viewers with a truly balanced and enlightening examination of the hunt for
intelligent life elsewhere in the universe.
