This is the pilot episode of In Research Of, the show where we watch the original TV show IN SEARCH OF… and consider some of the explanations that the producers chose not to present.

In our inaugural episode, we watch the TV Special In Search of Ancient Astronauts, a repackaged cut of a German documentary about Eric Von Daniken's book Chariots of the Gods. 

We want to thank Rachel and Chris Lackey for the theme music. They host the excellent show Rachel Watches Star Trek. 

Also, we want to credit Jason Colavito for his excellent research into this and many adjacent topics around the Ancient Astronauts and Ancient Aliens tropes of the past fifty years, including his book:  The Cult of Alien Gods: H. P. Lovecraft and Extraterrestrial Pop Culture

(Seriously - check out this link to Jason's article. He gives some great contemporary detail on the impact of this TV special such as "... within 48 hours of the program’s broadcast, Bantam Books had sold 250,000 new copies of Chariots of the Gods."  Amazing.)

Oh - so as Jeb mentions, EVD is directly mentioned in the brainstorming session with Lucas, Spielberg, and Kasdan! You can check that out here.

Walter Conkrite's  UFO's Friend, Foe or Fantasy  UFO documentary

Show Notes:

• Dr. Harold P. Klein worked for NASA and was a major figure in the Viking mission.
• The Baghdad Battery - no reason to believe this was ever used as a battery. More likely a scroll container. (Featured on Episode 16 - season 3 - of Mythbusters)
• Star Trek Into Darkness (you can watch the clip here)
•  Mesoamerican Sites/Artifacts Discussed:
  • Olmec Heads
    
  • Tula
    
  • Teotihuacan
    
  • Chichen Itza
    
  • Tiwanaku
    
    
• Piri Reis map
  
  
• Wernher Von Braun
  
  
• Stonehenge
  
  
• How did the ancients move stones?
  
  

Theme music (updated!) is by Rachel Lackey & Greig Johnson.

 

Keywords

Ancient Aliens, Ancient Astronauts, Eric Von Daniken, Skeptic, Archaeology, Science, Rod Serling