Monday night, April 14, the syndicated television show "Strange Universe" aired a 30-minute segment describing alleged new footage of an "alien interview" supposedly spirited out of Area 51 by a man known only as Victor. In the view of CNI News, everything about this production was deplorable.

Strange Universe was "allowed" to air only a few seconds of the alleged footage, which is the property of Rocket Pictures. Those few seconds showed an apparent "alien," more or less of the "gray" variety, standing or sitting almost motionless. The head and right shoulder were visible; the rest of the entity was in shadow. A small green light moved up and down in the lower right corner of the screen. That was it.

At least five people -- researcher Robert O. Dean, abductee Jesse Long, special effects artist/abductee Steve Neill, MUFON investigator/abductee Alice Leavy, and author/abductee Whitley Strieber -- had been shown the entire several minutes of footage and were asked to comment on camera. Strange Universe edited their remarks to remove nearly all indications that the footage might be regarded as fake, while playing and replaying several remarks by Whitley Strieber and Bob Dean, both of whom were clearly moved by some elements of the footage. Only one negative opinion, by Jesse Long, was heard during the broadcast.

CNI News has talked with Steve Neill, who said he was sure the footage was fake. He surmised that the alien was a puppet. "I could recreate that in my garage over the weekend," he told us. Jesse Long clearly stated that he thought the footage was fake. Even Whitley Strieber told CNI News that he doubted the film's authenticity. We can only conclude that Strange Universe strongly slanted their story in favor of the footage.

In addition, Strange Universe repeatedly stated that the more famous Santilli "alien abduction" footage had also come from Area 51. This is complete nonsense -- no one has ever made such a claim.

CNI News believes this Strange Universe segment should be considered as nothing more than a 30-minute infomercial for the "alien interview" video soon to be released by Rocket Pictures. We wonder: Does Strange Universe have a financial stake in that video?

Dear Michael, Rebecca & Jeff:

I saw the CNI NEWS story blasting STRANGE UNIVERSE's "Alien Interview" show. Although I was not involved in producing that story, I do have some opinions that I wish to share with you. First off, I have to admit that I agree with most of your criticism. It was too little footage to stretch as far as we did. The "Alien Autopsy" reference to AREA 51 was obviously a mistake; I know that our director of research Rene Barnett told an editor that it was inaccurate, but the ball was dropped and nobody changed it. In talking with those who did this story it is generally agreed that mistakes were made, and we can all learn from it. I personally am embarassed by those mistakes, and I know that others here at STRANGE UNIVERSE who work hard to do things right also feel badly about it.

However, I am equally disappointed that you would choose to so strongly blast our low points, when you have given little to no coverage to our high points. Come on you guys, give us some credit. Who else jumped all over the Arizona sightings. We've been out there 3 times in a month, and have helped to move that story along. We have reason to believe that Dan Rather's CBS News covered it as a direct result of their watching the STRANGE UNIVERSE story!

Also, STRANGE UNIVERSE was just about the only TV show that covered Steven Greer's congressional briefings. It's ironic to me that immediately following the blast of STRANGE U. you tell the story of the DC briefings, with no mention that we made it a significant cover story. We have promoted Steven's work, and interviewed most of his primary witnesses. We also investigated what turned out to be false reports of interference with witnesses, and set that straight.

I assure you that we have no financial interest in ROCKET PICTURES, and it was never our intention to make an "infomercial". We were promised more footage than we were allowed to show, and by that time we were committed to doing an entire show.

I respect the work you do, and I would hope to get respect back. Some of your reporting is accurate, some is inaccurate, and the search for the "Japanese cameraman" could be seen as a publicity stunt. I have no problem with that....we all have to promote our services and find ways to attract an audience.

Just give us equal due. If you are going to slam us when we miss the mark, then give us proper credit for what we do well. Other wise, you have created an unnecessary adversarial relationship.

It's a remarkable time......filled with increased sightings, possible disclosure and an equal number of increased frauds and hoaxes. Let's support each other, instead of dissing each other. Constructive criticism is great, and I personally seek it from you and other serious UFO researchers, investigators and interested parties. A pat on the back when we do well is also appreciated. Remember the golden rule....it's good business.

Respectfully yours,

Scott Catamas Producer for STRANGE UNIVERSE

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