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R. Wilson Monroe, host of "Alien Visitation".
Closing credits, featuring a preview of next week's episode.
Alien Visitation was a television programme produced on Earth. In 2003, during the visit of Moya's crew to Earth, the program, hosted by American R. Wilson Monroe, conducted an interview with Aeryn Sun. At the time, however, the government ordered that the interview, and indeed other footage of the aliens, not be broadcast. At some point in early 2004, however, after the aliens and John Crichton had left, the prohibition was evidently lifted as an edition of Alien Visitation was broadcast dedicated to the visitors, including the Aeryn Sun interview and excerpts of home video footage shot by Bobby Coleman.
The tone of the episode varied between alarmist and hopeful, and painted the Moya shipmates in both a positive and negative light. This was accomplished via numerous interviews with psychologists, sociologists, religious leaders, and both Bobby and his aunt Olivia Crichton. Former Sheriff Robert Schelmacher, driven insane by his encounter with the aliens in 1985 ("Kansas") appears to tell his story; although Schelmacher comes off as crazy, Munroe supports his story that the aliens had visited Earth in the 1980s.
Notably absent from the proceedings is Crichton's father, Jack Crichton, as well as Pilot who, despite being introduced at the start of the program, does not figure in any of Bobby's videos.
At the show's conclusion, Monroe left viewers with a warning to be wary of the aliens and called for their quarantine should they ever return, as well as the unsealing of government accounts of the aliens' visit in 1985.
By method as yet unknown, Moya was able to intercept this broadcast (likely relayed through the Earth wormhole), and provided Crichton with a recording of it, which he proceeded to watch incessantly in the days following Aeryn's kidnapping. ("A Constellation of Doubt" 4.17)
At least one additional installment of Alien Visitation was produced, focusing on the Christmastime attack on the Crichton home, and the death of DK.
Host[]
Commentators[]
- Dr. Edith Anderson
- Reverend Nathan Buckley
- Ivan Chanderpaul
- Bobby Coleman
- Olivia Crichton
- Dr. Jason Fletcher
- Dr. Garrett Hamilton
- Dr. Edmund Johnston
- Alana Lichtenstein
- Dr. Jayne O'Connor
- Robert Schelmacher
- Unidentified High Level Administrative Source, Intelligence Community
- Bishop Mervin Vosko
- Major General Stephen Walcott
- Dr. Adrian Walker
- General Harwell Zawicki
Highlights[]
Among the more notable moments caught on tape and aired during the broadcast intercepted by Moya:
- Chiana mourning for a pet rat.
- D'Argo admiring the beauty of Earth and explaining how his tongue works.
- D'Argo reluctantly agreeing to "tongue" Bobby, rendering him unconscious.
- Sikozu criticizing Earth cultures and their tendency to conflict with each other.
- Sikozu rewarding Bobby for his curiosity by letting him use Moya's comms, while being caught on tape shifting her gravity and walking down a wall.
- Noranti criticizing Earth religions.
- Chiana trying out make-up in a bathroom and commenting on waste.
- Aeryn delivering presents to the Crichton home for Christmas.
- Rygel discussing his love of sugar, grease, fats, gambling, and phone sex.
- Crichton discussing what he missed the most during his three years in space: toilet paper and his family.
- Bobby views a recording of one of Lo'La's recent missions.
Behind the scenes[]
Alien Visitation sparked some fan outrage over the fact that the Moya crew are heard speaking English, without the apparent need for subtitles or translator microbes. While Aeryn is known to have learned English ("Kansas"), and Sikozu would have become fluent since "Crichton Kicks", it is unclear to what degree the others were cognisant of the language by the end of "Terra Firma" (the episode that took place during the events shown on Alien Visitation). However, a potential rationale is provided by the fact that "A Constellation of Doubt" reveals the Moya crew were on Earth for far longer than indicated in "Terra Firma" - likely in the order of months. Such immersion probably led to greater fluency, allowing their comments on Bobby's videos to be understood. This is further supported by Monroe stating outright at the end of the show that they had indeed learnt English.
The 2009 A&E DVD release includes extended versions of several of Bobby's videos as deleted scenes.