Files of the Unexplained Review 2024 Tv Show Series Cast Crew Online
In the first episode, a 1973 alien abduction incident is revisited. In Pascagoula, Mississippi, Charles Hickson, then 42 and Calvin Parker, then 19, were fishing on the river at night after their shift working on the local shipping port. Both men report two bright lights hovering right above the water and beings with pinchers for hands coming out. Then both report that they were brought into the ship and examined; Hickson even describes a giant eye looking him over. Then they were deposited back near the river.
Via animated reenactments, archival footage and interviews with Parker (who died in 2023, after the episode was filmed) and Hickson’s son Eddie, among others, the show’s producers break down the encounter to show whether the men’s accounts of the abduction seemed credible. This wasn’t an incident that was swept under the rug; while Parker was always reluctant to talk about the incident, Hickson took advantage of the media opportunities that came his way, including an interview with Johnny Carson and a stage show that brought him some income.
The abduction affected both men greatly; both ended up being changed forever by the incident, and even Hickson was affected as he was pulled in multiple directions by people wanting to hear the story, as well as straining under the skepticism of the American public. But a recording between the two men that was made without their permission when they reported the incident to law enforcement was released in 2020, showing that both men believed in what they saw, even when no one else was there to listen to their story.
Speaking of which, the formula that Files Of The Unexplained is pretty much the formula that In Search Of… pioneered almost 50 years ago: Interviews, reenactments, and lots and lots of speculation. Which is absolutely fine, if that’s all you’re expecting from the series.
The episodes aren’t all that long; most are in the 30-35 minute range, with the longest being 48 minutes. So they’re not examining these cases with a fine-toothed comb; they’re going over the broad strokes, mostly interviewing people who were involved or at least related to those involved. Given that most of the episodes take place decades in the past, the perspective of those intervening decades are interesting to listen to.
For instance, hearing directly from Calvin Parker and his wife, who was his girlfriend at the time, about the Pascagoula incident was invaluable, because to him, the abduction gave him some severe PTSD, and he would rather forget about it. But half a century after it happened, it’s still at the forefront of his mind. It was good insight into how an incident like this can change a person, especially one that wasn’t inclined to wildly reporting about things like this to begin with.
