Jennings examines UFO sighting claims
The two-hour special “Peter Jennings Reporting: Seeing is Believing” (8 p.m., ABC) will probably not convince you to become a UFO follower. Nor will it convince those who swear they have “seen” UFOs to forsake their claims.
But it is an interesting example of how a sober, mainstream news team handles a story that some consider rather “iffy” and others feel reflects the passions of millions of Americans.
Jennings is rather upfront about his feelings.
“As a journalist,” he explains, “I began this project with a healthy does of skepticism and as open a mind as possible.”
But after conducting more than 150 interviews and reading reports of thousands of sightings, Jennings feels “there are important questions that have not been completely answered – and a great deal not fully explained.”
To illustrate the widespread belief in UFOs, Jennings visits talk-show host Art Bell, whose late-late-night chat fest is among radio’s most popular shows.
“Reporting” then offers an exhaustive parade of eyewitnesses, many of them of the nonflaky variety, including military pilots, police officers and airline personnel, who would swear they saw “something.” The show spends a great deal of time examining the Air Force’s own efforts to study, explain and debunk evidence of UFOs and how the Air Force’s own leading expert became an ardent believer.
But if you watch and listen carefully, you will see that the show’s subtitle, “Seeing is Believing” has a double meaning. Everyone agrees that people who have “seen” celestial phenomena become the most ardent proponents of UFOs.
Scientists have no problem accepting that thousands of people “saw” lights in the sky, but they’re still waiting for any credible evidence of a visiting spacecraft or other fantastic claims.
As one scientist explains, an eyewitness may be accepted in a court of law as credible evidence, but among researchers, eyewitness reports constitute the lowest and least reliable form of data.
Others speak with open contempt for the “science” of UFO-ology, which they dismiss as mere mythology. After all, if people see something in the sky, why assume it’s a spacecraft?
There is no more credible evidence of alien astronauts than of witches flying on broomsticks or the raucous sport of gods on Mount Olympus. For the true skeptic, UFO-ology remains a widely subscribed-to myth, and a common, if brilliantly elaborated, example of popular delusion.
Can’t get enough celebrity cellulite? Do you long to see what the pampered glitterati look like in “real life”?
Then the guilty-pleasure special “Stars Without Makeup” (9 p.m., Fox) is for you. The show’s tagline says it all: “They look more like you than you think.”
Other highlights
I’m betting someone gets hungry on tonight’s “Survivor” (8 p.m., CBS).
A rainy-day mood descends on “The O.C.” (8 p.m., Fox).
Drew Barrymore stars in the 1998 Cinderella adaptation “Ever After” (8 p.m., WB).
The cake also rises on “Will & Grace” (8:30 p.m., NBC).
Murder strikes at a convention of the hefty on “CSI” (9 p.m., CBS).
Video game promotion on “The Apprentice” (9 p.m., NBC).
Martin’s guilt affects his performance on “Without a Trace” (10 p.m., CBS).
The war in Iraq comes home on “ER” (10 p.m., NBC).
Scheduled on “Primetime” (10 p.m., ABC): an interview with model and tsunami survivor Petra Nemcova; out-of-control celebrity father Michael Lohan; grim conditions on cruise ships.
Cult choice
Dan Aykroyd and the late John Candy star in the 1988 camping caper “The Great Outdoors” (8:30 p.m., CMT), based on a script by John Hughes.
Series notes
An annoying visitor (Christina Ricci) on “Joey” (8 p.m., NBC) … Wrestling on “WWE SmackDown!” (8 p.m., UPN).