''Sightings'' is an American
paranormal
Paranormal events are purported phenomena described in popular culture, folk, and other non-scientific bodies of knowledge, whose existence within these contexts is described as being beyond the scope of normal scientific understanding. Nota ...
and
news
News is information about current events. This may be provided through many different Media (communication), media: word of mouth, printing, Mail, postal systems, broadcasting, Telecommunications, electronic communication, or through the tes ...
television show
A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed betw ...
that originally aired in the 1990s. The show began as a
special
Special or specials may refer to:
Policing
* Specials, Ulster Special Constabulary, the Northern Ireland police force
* Specials, Special Constable, an auxiliary, volunteer, or temporary; police worker or police officer
Literature
* ''Specia ...
titled ''The UFO Report: Sightings'' on October 17, 1991, as well as eventual follow up reports, ''Ghost Report'' and the ''Psychic Experience''. The original Concept Creator and Supervising Producer of that hour special produced by Paramount for Fox TV was
Linda Moulton Howe
Linda Moulton Howe (born January 20, 1942) is an American investigative journalist and Regional Emmy award-winning documentary film maker best known for her work as a ufologist and advocate of a variety of conspiracy theories, including her in ...
, an
Emmy Award
The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
-winning TV producer and documentary filmmaker of TV specials about science and the environment. One of her Emmy Award-winning broadcasts was ''A Strange Harvest'' (KMGH-TV in May 1980), about the worldwide
animal-mutilation mystery linked by law enforcement to
extraterrestrial biological entities.
Show history
After the special broadcast to high ratings, it went forward into weekly TV production as the program ''Sightings''. The show featured everything from
UFO
An unidentified flying object (UFO), more recently renamed by US officials as a UAP (unidentified aerial phenomenon), is any perceived aerial phenomenon that cannot be immediately identified or explained. On investigation, most UFOs are id ...
s to
ghost
A ghost is the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that is believed to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to rea ...
s to
Bigfoot
Bigfoot, also commonly referred to as Sasquatch, is a purported ape-like creature said to inhabit the forest of North America. Many dubious articles have been offered in attempts to prove the existence of Bigfoot, including anecdotal claims o ...
in an investigative news format and was hosted by reporter
Tim White. The show was created by Ann Daniels Productions, Fair Dinkum Productions (Winkler-Daniel Productions from 1991–93), and
Paramount Domestic Television
Paramount Domestic Television (PDT) was the television distribution arm of American television production company Paramount Television, once the TV arm of Paramount Pictures. It was formed in 1982 originally as Paramount Domestic Television and V ...
(Wilshire Court Productions from 1992–93) . Its
executive producer
Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights o ...
s were
Henry Winkler
Henry Franklin Winkler, OBE (born October 30, 1945), is an American actor, comedian, author, executive producer, and director. After rising to fame as Arthur "Fonzie" Fonzarelli on the American television series ''Happy Days'', Winkler has ...
and Ann Daniel.
The program began on
Fox
Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush'').
Twelve sp ...
in 1992, in a 30-minute-long format that aired on Friday nights. When the show was put into
syndication
Syndication may refer to:
* Broadcast syndication, where individual stations buy programs outside the network system
* Print syndication, where individual newspapers or magazines license news articles, columns, or comic strips
* Web syndication, ...
in 1994, it was extended to an hour-long format and was on at various times. In 1996, it was picked up by
Sci Fi Channel
Syfy (formerly Sci-Fi Channel, later shortened to Sci Fi; stylized as SYFY) is an American basic cable channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. Lau ...
. ''Sightings'' was cancelled in 1997 (although five special episodes aired in 1998), and reruns continued on the
Sci Fi Channel
Syfy (formerly Sci-Fi Channel, later shortened to Sci Fi; stylized as SYFY) is an American basic cable channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. Lau ...
until April 2003.
In 1998, the producers made a new UFO special that aired on
UPN
The United Paramount Network (UPN) was an American broadcast television network that launched on January 16, 1995. It was originally owned by Chris-Craft Industries' United Television. Viacom (through its Paramount Television unit, which pr ...
, called ''Danger in Our Skies: The New UFO Threat'' hosted by
Jim Forbes.
In 2003, a program called ''
Unexplained Mysteries
''Unexplained Mysteries'' is an American documentary television series that originally aired in syndication from 2003 to 2004 for a single season. The show deals with eyewitness accounts of paranormal activity, especially aliens, UFO
A ...
'' debuted in syndication. Although it did not have the same hosted news format like ''Sightings'', it was produced by many of the same individuals involved with ''Sightings'', and sometimes reused footage and graphics from the earlier program.
Episodes
Home media
There have been three
home video
Home video is prerecorded media sold or rented for home viewing. The term originates from the VHS and Betamax era, when the predominant medium was videotapes, but has carried over to optical disc formats such as DVD, Blu-ray and streaming me ...
releases of the ''Sightings'' television show: ''Sightings: The UFO Report'', ''Sightings: The Ghost Report'', and ''Sightings: The Psychic Experience''. The videos were repackaged segments from season one and two of the television show. All three videos were originally released in 1996 on VHS tapes.
Merchandise
*Two books were released in 1997 related to the ''Sightings'' television show - ''Sightings: Beyond Imagination Lies the Truth'' and ''Sightings: UFOs''.
*One software product was released related to the ''Sightings'' television show called ''Sightings: UFOPedia''. The software included pictures, reports, footage, and never before seen footage from the show in an encyclopedia format.
*A line of clothing was released related to the ''Sightings'' television show that included T-shirts. The shirts would have either a ghost, alien, or psychic on the front with the word ''Sightings''.
*Textile posters were sold related to the "Sightings" television show produced by Heart Rock S.r.l. - Italy. The posters were silk and featured the "Sightings" logo along with the illustrations that were on the VHS tape box covers (an alien, a ghost, or a psychic). The posters measured 75 x 110 cm.
Sightings: Heartland Ghost
In 2002, one of the stories featured on ''Sightings'' became the subject of a television movie on the
Showtime
Showtime or Show Time may refer to:
Film
* ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film
* ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur
Television Networks and channels
* Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...
network, called ''Sightings: Heartland Ghost''. The movie tells the story of a ''Sightings'' crew sent to investigate a
poltergeist
In ghostlore, a poltergeist ( or ; German for "rumbling ghost" or "noisy spirit") is a type of ghost or spirit that is responsible for physical disturbances, such as loud noises and objects being moved or destroyed. Most claims or fictional descr ...
haunting
The list of reportedly haunted locations throughout the world, that are locations said to be haunted by ghosts or other supernatural beings, including demons. Reports of haunted locations are part of ghostlore, which is a form of folklore.
Ar ...
, eventually becoming victimized by the ghost themselves. The movie was later released on DVD.
References
External links
*
The Sightings Information Page
{{Syfy Shows
Fox Broadcasting Company original programming
Television series by CBS Studios
Paranormal television
1990s American television news shows
1992 American television series debuts
1997 American television series endings
UFO-related television