"And I must say," he continued, "that of all the crews I've worked with over the years, these guys are really polished and I wouldn't mind working with them again. And of course Bill Birnes is the best. He knows the subject, as did everyone else that was involved with the episode."

There are some critics of the program who fail to give it much in the way of credibility, but Beckley quickly dismissed those negative voices.

"Some people have asked me, well, is everything on UFO Hunters for real? Or is it just a lot of hokum and sensationalism? I have to say, regarding the episode that I shot, called The Silencers, that everything seemed to be on the up and up. Everyone on the program seemed to be remarkably sure of what they were saying. True, to some, the statements made may be a little more farfetched than people who are into the hardcore science of Ufology, what we call the nuts-and-bolts people, may be comfortable with. They might say, 'Well, there isn't enough evidence.' But these three guys are trying to get to the bottom of the mystery. Nothing is made up on the set; everything is legitimate as far as that goes.

"And I think the UFO Hunters do a very good job in getting the information over to the public-a very large percentage of the public who are really not that familiar with the subject whatsoever. You know, it is television, and it has to appeal to a large audience. It's not just what we call 'talking heads.' In order to make a show like this successful, there has to be the appearance of some kind of action. Not just people standing around looking at the sky. For those who find fault with UFO Hunters, I strongly recommend they try their hand at producing a UFO-oriented show and see just how easy it is.

"There is room out there for several programs on the subject, but it takes more than talk to produce a series for television. That's 13 shows a season. It's a hump-busting process and one that requires time, dedication, money and of course the ability to sell it to a network.

"But the end result of my involvement with this process," Beckley said, "is that I believe that UFO Hunters works within the accepted creative process to present the subject in a fair and balanced manner, without being overly sensationalistic, and represents the best interests of the field. I hope there are future seasons to look forward to."

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For more information or to purchase these books, simply click on their titles:
Mystery of the Men in Black: The UFO Silencers
The Secret Life Of Paul Villa: UFO Contact From Coma Berenices

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