ON THE SCREEN
HOPES for contact with aliens have been raised in recent times, with speculation over the cigar-shaped object Oumuamua being a spaceship and the discovery of gases on Venus that are normally associated with organic life. But even if neither of these turn out to lead anywhere, we have series like this, recently uploaded to Netflix, about aliens in history to keep us hoping. Not to be taken too seriously, the makers of the series comb history for bizarre or mysterious unexplained incidents that have been misconstrued, or perhaps can be misinterpreted, as alien visits or contact with extraterrestrials. Most are exercises in making scant evidence fit far-fetched theories. Season three begins with a look at the possibility that aliens might have visited ranchers, cowboys and Native Americans in the Wild West, as was fancifully depicted in the film Cowboys And Aliens. It includes the case of an “airship” that crashed in Texas in 1897, six years before the Wright brothers flew their first plane. TROY LENNON
IN September 2001, right after the World Trade Centre attacks had taken place, US president George W. Bush insisted on boarding Air Force One, the private presidential jet. But the Secret Service was wary after receiving a message telling them “Angel is next”. Angel was the code word for Air Force One, which had officials very worried that the aircraft would soon be targeted. It took off on a very steep ascent from Sarasota airport to avoid the possibility of being hit by ground fire from nearby woods. What followed should have been a three-hour trip to Washington but turned into a nine-hour odyssey. It was a time of great uncertainty because nobody in the government or Secret Service knew exactly what was happening and if there were more attacks coming. This documentary takes us inside the aircraft and the White House at that time, with interviews from Bush and some of the staff who were there. It is an enthralling perspective on 9/11 and what was going on behind the scenes. TROY LENNON