By Pauline Joy M. Gutierrez & Luigie P. Hadap
SOMETHING landed in Manila—and aliens were just part of what did.
A+E Network Asia’s History wrapped up History Con 2016, four days of exhibit, interactive events and on-ground activities at the World Trade Center from August 25 to 28.
The epic-scale convention, said to be the largest of its kind, featured a feast for everybody from motoring junkies to history buffs, in the exhibition spaces of its top-rating shows, plus a virtual-reality experience of the jungles courtesy of Alone, to a tour of the solar system with Titans of Space. Also on view was a section that showcased Philippine presidential limousines and World War II reenactments.
History personalities, including Photo Face-Off’s Justin Mott; Celebrity Car Wars’s KC Montero, Joey Mead King, Marc Nelson, Gaby de la Merced and Bobby Tonelli; Storage Wars’s Brandi Passante and Jarrod Schulz; and Gangland Undercover’s Damon Runyan and Ian Matthews all graced the star-studded opening, but the one who basked in the limelight was undoubtedly Ancient Aliens host Giorgio Tsoukalos.
Dubbed as “a hybrid of Carl Sagan and Indiana Jones,” the 38-year-old Swiss-born Greek-American host became famous for his staunch support in the belief that aliens had a hand in our history and technology in the past, otherwise known as the ancient astronaut theory.
The theory relies on the premise that primordial species, with knowledge far more advanced than that of humankind’s, were the ones responsible in shaping civilizations and societies in the prehistoric times, with their influences still evident to this day.
“When I was a little boy, my grandmother would read bedtime stories to me—and they weren’t necessarily normal bedtime stories. They were Atlantis and Chariots of the Gods,” Tsoukalos recounted in an exclusive interview with the BusinessMirror. This childhood fascination grew and made him pursue the subject matter, landing him the publishing chair of the magazine Legendary Times, the world’s leading ancient-astronaut journal, along with hosting the widely commended Ancient Aliens series.
The late-night show originally began as a two-hour documentary about ancient astronauts—aliens—sparked by the 2008 film Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull. After a positive reception and an “outpouring support,” Tsoukalos, as coexecutive producer, and the Ancient Alien team have been questing for 116 episodes now to understand mysterious phenomena scattered all over the world.
Going strong in its ninth season, Ancient Aliens continues to uncover enigmas, including alleged Egyptian hieroglyphs in Australia, where the TV host and his wife personally visited to check the ancient engravings sketched on the archeological site’s sandstone walls.
But while Tsoukalos’s stardom on TV cannot be refuted, many institutions and scholars argue against his propositions.
“I don’t react,” he said nonchalantly, adding that everyone should be open to questions and explorations. As an afterthought, he said, “When I started in this profession, I would often spend a lot of time trying to convince people that you should look into this and study that. But I’ve since learned to accept that we have our own views in almost everything and, quite frankly, that’s okay.”
Tsoukalos himself is not an outsider to extraterrestrial sightings, as can be expected from his line of work, claiming that in 2014 he and 30 other people saw “misplaced” stars in the Big Dipper constellation. “We spent 10 minutes of observing these two stars, which began to move equidistant from each other, and then disappeared into space. And that night, before I went to bed, all I could wonder was: what do the pilots look like?”
Ancient Aliens will in the lineup of A+E Network Asia’s brand-new series and original local and international productions to premiere in the third quarter of the year.
“We’re thrilled to make history with the launch of History Con here in Manila. History Con reinvents the way we connect with our audiences, as an on-ground extension of our brand that offers something for everyone, whether they’re our loyal fans who just can’t get enough of History, or they’re curious onlookers who are new to our brand. This is an experience beyond the television screen, engaging visitors at a deeper level and allowing them to feel, live and see history come alive in an entertaining way,” said Prem Kamath, deputy managing director of A+E Networks Asia.