Review of Phenomenon: The Lost Archives Volume 5

Introduction

Readers of our forums will have noticed a proliferation of conspiracy theory threads in recent weeks, ranging from discussions about whether NASA actually put men on the moon, to opinions on America`s attitude to global warming.

The Phenomenon Archives are American TV programs, supposedly based on "recently unearthed" government archives. The episodes deal with various topics, including alleged government conspiracies and the supernatural.

This is the fifth disc and features the episodes American Midnight and H.A.A.R.P.: Holes In Heaven?.

Video

The video is presented in full-frame and is of variable quality depending on the source material used. The programs are introduced by Dean Stockwell and these segments are of good quality with no dirt or grain. In addition, any interviews filmed for the series are of similar good quality.

Other footage varies in quality wildly, sometimes due to age and sometimes due to it being "camcorder" material.

However, the overall image quality is no better or no worse than other programs of this nature and it is perfectly watchable.

Audio

The soundtrack comes in Dolby Digital Stereo, and performs adequately, with the dialogue being clear and understandable at all times.

There is some generic music, which isn`t especially exciting.

Features

There are no extras, with just scene selection available from the menus.

Conclusion

American Midnight begins with an investigation into two mysterious deaths in southern America which the program producers claim to be related to a CIA drugs/arms operation. The program then links these killing to the Iran Contra affair/Oliver North etc. This program is actually reasonably interesting and presents a great deal of supporting evidence to back up the allegations made.

H.A.A.R.P.: Holes In Heaven? looks at a top secret installation that purports to influence the weather or could be part of the Star Wars anti-missile system. The problem with this program is that there is too much speculation and not enough hard evidence, which renders the arguments for/against fairly unconvincing.

Overall, this volume has one above average episode and one that really isn`t particularly good. Video and sound are both adequate and the retail price is in the budget bracket at £12.99.

I`m not of fan of this type of sensationalist investigative journalism, and those who want to watch this sort of material can get plenty of it on satellite/cable TV. Consequently, this may appeal to some, but it`s not the sort of thing that I would buy on DVD.