"Project U.F.O." (1978) TV series 1978-1979

Creator:

Jack Webb

Seasons:

1 | 2

Release Date:

19 February 1978 (USA)

Genre:

Sci-Fi

Plot:

Two agents of the U.S. Government's Project Blue Book project investigate sightings of extraterrestrials and unidentified flying objects.

Plot Keywords:

Government | Extraterrestrial | Docudrama | Acronym In Title | Operation Blue Book

Cast

 (Series Cast Summary - 3 of 24)

Caskey Swaim	...	Staff Sergeant Harry Fitz (26 episodes, 1978-1979)
Edward Winter	...	Captain Ben Ryan / ... (14 episodes, 1978-1979)
William Jordan	...	Major Jake Gatlin (13 episodes, 1978)

Also Known As:

Project Blue Book (USA) (alternative title)

Runtime:

60 min (26 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Company:

Mark VII Ltd.

Quotes:

[Opening narration]
Announcer: Ezekiel saw the wheel. This is the wheel he said he saw. These are unidentified flying objects that people say they are seeing now. Are they proof that we are being visited by civilizations from other stars? Or just what are they? The United States Air Force began an investigation of this high strangeness in a search for the truth. What you are about to see is part of that 20-year search.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Dead End (1985)

I remember this series...

This series was based on Project Blue Book, and one of the former officers assigned to Blue Book was actually a technical adviser to the show.

The problem, of course, is that today, we know that Blue Book was an attempt at Public Relations by the USAF to show that they had a handle on this UFO thing when they really didn't, and that they frequently used the most ludicrous explanations for sightings they could think of. Usually, an officer who was assigned to Blue Book was someone who was at a career dead end, and the Air Force was happy to get out of the whole thing in 1969.

The problem with Jack Webb's concept is that he tried to treat it like one of his cop shows, but still create a little action. So you'd have this elaborate special effects sequence setting up the story, followed by some "prosaic explanation" (as famous UFO Debunker Phil Klass used to say) as to what they actually saw. OH, that was swamp gas? Really?

To be absolutely fair, they were right. 95% of UFO sightings can be explained as something that was misidentified by people. Still, that didn't make for very good drama. The Air Force even cooperated in this series, hoping it would be good PR, but it was anything but.