Sci-Fi Channel Roswell Special Spoofed in UFO Mockrumentary

In 2002, the Sci-Fi Channel sponsored a dig in Roswell, New Mexico, at the site of a reported UFO crash. Archaeologists were searching for any debris that may have been left behind, hoping to find some answers to the 1947 mystery. A documentary came out of the project called "The Roswell Crash: Startling New Evidence," which was hosted by Bryant Gumbel. The film and others like it are the subject of parody in "The Top Secret UFO Project," filmmaker R. J. Thomas' spoof of UFO documentaries.

"The Roswell legend will never die," Mr. Thomas said. "People will keep digging and researching and studying it forever."

As the legend goes, in July of 1947, a rancher named William "Mack" Brazel discovered a large amount of unusual debris scattered across his property, a ranch about 75 miles northwest of Roswell. Neighbors told Brazel they had seen a mysterious blue light around 3:00 a.m., and suggested he go to Roswell to report his find.

In Mr. Thomas' mockrumentary, a Colorado farmer wakes up in the middle of the night to the sound of a loud crash. The next day he finds mysterious debris in one of his fields that resemble shattered pieces of metal. Government officials come in and remove the debris, quickly giving the public a routine explanation, lest anyone think the pieces were remnants of a crashed flying saucer.

Based on Thomas' 2004 novella of the same name, "The Top Secret UFO Project" chronicles the UFO-related events experienced by a tiny Colorado hamlet called Jasper. According to the film, the town dealt with one unusual event after another in the summer of 1956. After a farmer saw a spaceship fly over his property, scientists rushed into Jasper to investigate, reporters rushed in looking for stories, and government officials rushed in to keep it a secret from the world.

Billed as "the movie the government does not want you to see," "The Top Secret UFO Project," is a parody of UFO documentaries, from the upscale films like "The Roswell Crash: Startling New Evidence," to the cheesy docs of the 1970s like "Overlords of the UFO."

Mr. Thomas plays a documentary filmmaker who, in 2003, discovered (by accident) some top secret government films pertaining to the Jasper Incident of 1956. This inspired him to make a documentary about Jasper's UFO story, and to discover the truth behind what really happened that mysterious summer in Colorado.

"The Sci-Fi Channel documentary is a class act," Mr. Thomas said. "Mine is closer to the 1970s Sunn Classics pictures. The ones that would come to the neighborhood theater backed by lots of TV ads to proclaim that the film had some sensational new discovery. They'd also say that the picture would run for one week only, so you'd better hurry on down and see it."

"The Top Secret UFO Project" is available on DVD at BooksAndSuchMart.com.

"The Top Secret UFO Project (DVD Promo)" is available for viewing on GoogleVideo.com.