The Pentagon UFO Videos Are Only the Beginning: 8 UFO Docs to Watch

One of the most well-known and intriguing figures in the “aliens do exist” category is Bob Lazar, who claims to have been hired as a government scientist to reverse-engineer captured alien technology at a secret facility in the Nevada desert. He’s derided as a conspiracy theorist by many, and held up as evidence of a massive government cover-up by others. (You know… by conspiracy theorists.) This documentary gives Lazar ample space to make his claims, and they are fascinating to hear — if they’re not fact, they’re incredibly fun fiction.

As a narrator intones early on: “This story is extraordinary. Especially if it’s true.”

Stream Bob Lazar: Area 51 & Flying Saucers on Netflix

Another figure of towering importance in the community of believers is ufologist Steven Greer, a former emergency room physician who left his medical career to found the Center for the Study of Extraterrestrial Intelligence (CSETI) and The Disclosure Project. The former works to develop a protocol for initiating contact with alien life; the latter seeks to expose the government’s alleged knowledge of UFOs, extraterrestrial intelligence and alien technology. It’s The Disclosure Project’s work that serves as the focus of this Netflix documentary. Purporting to have information from well-connected governmental officials, Unacknowledged features Greer weaving a complex tale of lies, deception, and all the things “they” aren’t telling us.

Watch Unacknowledged on Netflix

No discussion of alien-focused infotainment would be complete without acknowledging the History Channel’s long-running stalwart of squishy science and questionable claims. Over 15 seasons and nearly 200 episodes, the program has worked to explain numerous historical phenomena as the work not of lost or poorly-understood human societies, but of aliens. Joan of Arc, Nazi Germany, Chichen Itza or the Old West — there’s seemingly no topic this show can’t weave into its decade-long narrative of alien influence on human history. It’s been widely panned by historians and scientists, but as a piece of National Treasure-esque creative writing, it’s massively entertaining.

Where to stream Ancient Aliens

This British miniseries, currently available on Netflix, isn’t just about aliens — it covers all sorts of tinfoil-hat ground. Nazis, the Royal Family, presidential assassinations, the moon landing — each of the show’s 10 episodes is devoted to a specific and well-known conspiracy theory. One of those episodes, of course, covers the existence of aliens. It gives special attention to a 1979 incident known as the Dechmont Woods Encounter. In it, British forester Robert Taylor claimed to have lost consciousness and woken up bruised and battered after coming across a spinning object hovering in a field. While some have attributed Taylor’s experience as an isolated epileptic incident, it’s held up by ufologists as the only purported encounter to result in a criminal investigation.

Stream Conspiracies on Netflix

Similar in scope to Conspiracies, this American-made Netflix series takes on its own selection of pet topics for the skeptics and believers out there — from Fort Knox to the Playboy Mansion, West Point to the Freemasons. One entire episode is focused on Area 51, the long-rumored and kinda-sorta-maybe-confirmed government facility believed by many to contain the remnants of alien spacecraft that have crashed on Earth.

The series approaches conspiracy theories with a believer’s voice and an overly-dramatic sensibility that can sweep you up if you’re willing to be entertained.

Stream America's Book of Secrets on Netflix

This documentary series available on Hulu and Amazon Prime centers around the work of MUFON, the Mutual UFO Network, an American non-profit organization comprised of thousands of volunteers who work to catalog and analyze reports of UFO encounters. The titular site, Hangar 1, contains the archived files that MUFON opens to the public in this series — “real case files” from “actual UFO investigations”, the show very seriously notes.

Where to stream Hangar 1

While some of the media listed to this point can tend to be a bit amateurish or slanted in its portrayals, this feature-length 2003 documentary oozes professionalism. Narrated by well-known actor Peter Coyote — who among his many other credits starred in the blockbuster ET: The Extra-Terrestrial — it takes a sober, fair and balanced view on the topic. Government officials and regular people alike are interviewed, believers and skeptics alike. It’s simply well-done and stands the test of time against the many newer entrants in the genre.

Where to stream Out Of The Blue

Are you convinced that aliens exist yet? No?

Maybe there’s room to believe in conspiracy theories and be skeptical of aliens; maybe the aliens were the conspiracy all along.

That’s the compelling case offered by this documentary, which profiles teams within the United States military that worked to actively propagate the UFO mythos and belief community as a means to explain away evidence of secret military weapons programs. It interviews former US Air Force Special Agent Richard Doty, who worked for the government’s Office of Special Investigations. In Doty’s claims, they spread misinformation and manipulated famous ufologists — possibly even the ones featured in the documentaries listed above.

It might be the most logical explanation of all, and DeLonge’s work could well be the latest in a grand tradition of earnest believers being swept up in something that’s fun to think about, but also very convenient for someone else to have as an explanation for the things they really don’t want you knowing.

One way or another, the truth is out there.

Scott Hines is an architect, blogger and internet user who lives in Louisville, Kentucky with his wife, two young children, and a small, loud dog.

Where to stream Mirage Men