What do you believe? Are we really alone in the vastness of space? Do we have closer neighbors than we realize? Has Earth been visited by UFOs before or are the many sightings just hoaxes? Quite honestly the answer for each of those questions is the same; because there is no rock-solid proof it's entirely up to you and what you believe. Until the day a space craft lands on the White House lawn and a tentacled alien shakes hands with the President live on CNN, most people in the world will equate UFOs and extraterrestrials with Star Trek and other pieces of fiction. Even then there would be non-believers.

If you're anything like me, then you read or watch whatever science fiction you can and probably catch Coast to Coast AM on occasion. I'm by no means a diehard believer, but rather someone with an open mind who likes to think that there's truth behind some sightings. As such I appreciate shows dealing with the subject matter and am known to sit through random documentaries every now and then. In this regard the History Channel has actually done a fine job diversifying its content and including UFO sightings on its list of historical moments to talk about. Granted most of these efforts feel rather sensationalized but they get the job done more or less.

One of the ways the History Channel has explored the alien phenomena is through a show called UFO Hunters which had its first season start in January of this year. It's also worth noting that UFO Hunters is a spin-off of UFO Files from 2004 and is made by the same production company. Basically, UFO Hunters catalogues unidentified flying object investigations by UFO Magazine's editor Bill Birnes and his team of "experts" in the field as they visit several crash sites and talk to witnesses. On the squad are Pay Uskert, Ted Acworth (the only rational person in the bunch), Jeff Tomlinson, and John Tindall who all join Bill out on patrol and in the lab.

The thirteen episodes that make up the first season of UFO Hunters cover a wide variety of locations and famous sightings. Here you'll find information about the Maury Island sighting from two weeks before Roswell, the 1956 RAF Bentwaters incident, as well as crashes that reportedly took place in Mexico in 1974 and 2007. The most interesting episodes come later in the season with accounts from people who say they were witnesses to UFOs including some military air traffic controllers. Throughout it all the episodes are mostly entertaining with the way they explore the subject matter but there are a few points that can't go ignored.

For starters Bill is such a domineering personality with a one-sided view on the subject that it completely blinds him to reality. He walks around with his UFO Magazine hat (which makes this show feel like an advertisement for the publication) and preaches to anyone who will listen about the existence of extraterrestrials and UFOs in particular. Even when blatant evidence is displayed before his eyes he will debunk it with merely a glance and keep on trucking. His behavior and mannerisms on the show hinder more than they help and he adds a level of corniness to the whole affair, bringing a sensationalized element that borderline discredits the series and what it strives to achieve.

Another flaw found in UFO Hunters is the fact that Bill's lackeys follow suit with how he presents himself. They'll talk at length about things that are obvious or already proven and it gets kind of old after a while. Many episodes almost feel as though they are simply drawn out by useless prattle. While each episode is roughly forty minutes they more or less could have been wrapped up in twenty.

Despite those negative impressions I must say that there are some good moments with this program from time to time. I do appreciate some of the interviews that are conducted and some of the field research makes for entertaining television. Even the Mythbuster-like segments back in the labs are cool from time to time though they almost always discredit Bill's theories.

By the time UFO Hunters' first season wraps up you'll probably feel tired of the show. The team over sensationalizes everything to the nth degree and every theory that comes up is shot down by the end of the episode. It left me with the impression that the group of investigators really had no idea what they were doing since minor details were completely omitted in place their gut feelings. This show doesn't instill any confidence in the viewer that UFOs really exist and if anything it produces more evidence to the contrary. Folks who watch the sky at night looking for things unknown can consider this DVD a rental but it's probably not worth a purchase.

UFO Hunters is presented with 1.78:1 widescreen but guess what...it's NOT anamorphic! That really struck me as odd considering how new this show was but the History Channel has proven time and time again that they seemingly don't care about anamorphic transfer. That's a big mistake and as more and more people acquire widescreen televisions it's only going to serve as a source of embitterment for their fans. This glaring flaw in production aside the show looks pretty good with a solid image that's free of digital artifacts. The colors a tad lackluster in some scenes and there are moments where grain permeates the picture but these aren't really prevalent.

Considering History Channel didn't spring for an anamorphic presentation it's no surprise that the audio is straightforward and simplistic as well. English 2.0 Dolby Digital is all you're going to find here for options. In all honesty this is a show that didn't need a 5.1 mix since there really isn't a call for a robust and dynamic presence on the soundstage. What's here is functional and clean, and that's really all you're going to get. No subtitles are included here either.

The only bonus features you're going to find on this four disc set are a few additional scenes on the fourth DVD. These really are nothing revolutionary and in all honesty they are kind of a waste of space on the disc. Some type of commentary about the show or feature depicting its creation could have been interesting but sadly there's nothing of the sort.

UFO Hunters had some strong potential to be a very entertaining and scientific look at the UFO phenomenon. Unfortunately Bill Birnes and his league of followers fumble the ball at all of the key moments. There is no strong presence from any of the cast in front of the camera, all of the theories are half-baked, and facts are ignored in lieu of "good" TV. In the end this is a series that is need of some serious revamping if it's going to survive. Even so there're enough entertaining and interesting bits to at least warrant a rental by UFO enthusiasts.

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