Is This DVD Set Fun to Watch? Ancient Astronaut Theorists Say, "Yes."

It is within reason that one could make a series all about the mysterious places and events on the planet that feed into and support the notion that we've been visited by alien intelligence in the distant past.

It beggars comprehension that there would be enough of this to support eleven whole seasons of television. And yet that's exactly what the History Channel has accomplished. (We can argue the merits of the discordant marriage of ANCIENT ALIENS and the concept of "history" another time.) It's become such a popular series that series regular Giorgio Tsoukalos has become a popular meme.

Of course, the secret to the series is to be able to mine the same material in different ways. The ancient Egyptian pyramids are an evergreen source, a well to which you can always return. The same for the Nazca lines, or the Mayan temples. The double-dipping is forgiveable, and really one only notices it when watching the series in a binge, the way one does with a collection released on DVD. Even ardent fans may not notice it as much tuning in with intervals of days between episodes.

ANCIENT ALIENS Season 11, Volume Two is a two-disc set that contains nine episodes, but nothing in the way of bonus features. However, many of the episodes are bonuses in and of themselves, as they are two-hour specials (or were, in a commercial-interrupted broadcast). And as much as the concept may get derided, there's enough real science and archaeology in each episode to inform and inspire. "The Artificial Human" shows some fascinating advances in robotics and cybernetics, while "The Sentinels" presents many parallels of myths from various Pacific islands.

So settle in, turn down the lights, and maybe line your ballcap with just a bit of tinfoil. Whether you're a believer or a skeptic, ANCIENT ALIENS is just fringe enough to be entertaining. And who knows? Maybe some day we'll get extraterrestrial corroboration, and ancient astronaut theorists will all be able to say, "We told you so."