Crypto-History: Ancient Aliens Season Twelve, Volume 1 on DVD

I love a good conjecture. Take what we know, add in a pinch of what we don't know, shake it well, and voila: conjecture, the third cousin of "What if" and "Maybe."

That's why I enjoy watching ANCIENT ALIENS -- and with twelve seasons under their belt on The History Channel, I'm apparently not the only one.

The producers of ANCIENT ALIENS never fail to intrigue and provoke, applying new interpretations to ancient lore while simultaneously keeping abreast of the most current events in ufology, and this twelfth season is no exception. From Antarctica to Canada, from early American druids to subterranean lizard people, ANCIENT ALIENS excels at drawing lines between disparate data points to make entertaining connections.

One of the more interesting episodes deals with objects that can only be observed from miles overhead. Those who pay attention to such things already know about the Nazca lines and other such structures that form shapes which could only be observed from the sky. However, another such item was a relatively recent discovery: the Badlands Guardian was found by someone using Google Earth to scope out a location, only to discover what appeared to be an enormously sculpted Native American profile with headdress. Whether the image is an illusion caused by natural erosion or the result of the work of ancient people...well, the conjecture is where all the fun is.

Some of the episodes in this season wil evoke memories of the classic run of THE X FILES, as they explore space-borne infections and alien-human hybridization. Others have a more Lovecraftian feel, looking into legends of undersea gods and creatures. "The Star Gods of Sirius" is one such episode, making a compelling, if drawn out, linguistic argument to connect legends of various lands into a representation of the same beings.

Regardless of your take on the subject of alien visitations to Earth, these episodes will be sure to entertain. Could sceptics and believers get equal enjoyment from this collection? According to ancient astronaut theorists, the answer is a resounding "Yes!"