I don’t think it’s a cop out for two reasons. First, it’s entertainment, not educational programming. If it were on PBS, or if it were the only history program on TV, or if Neil deGrasse Tyson were the host, and said things like, “I’m not saying ancient aliens built this monument… but I can’t rule it out, either”, then yes, I’d absolutely have a problem with it. But really – it’s on the same channel that brings us “Stan Lee’s Superhumans”.
The second reason why I’m okay with it is, it draws in people who would otherwise not watch anything even marginally educational. Maybe they go from “Ancient Aliens” to “Ancient Engineering” – who knows? For myself, I enjoyed the early seasons of the show because it was entertaining, but I also learned about real places and things that I probably wouldn’t have discovered otherwise. Early episodes were not a waste of my time.
Naivete and crackpot theories are not limited to the general public. I think belief in the unbelievable is an essential human trait, and we’ll never see the end of it.
