Who's Out There?

The legendary Orson Welles hosts this fascinating documentary about the possibility of extraterrestrial life! Who's Out There begins with the trailblazing filmmaker reminiscing about his infamous War of the Worlds panic broadcast of 1938, as well as reading passages from H.G. Wells's original novel about an invasion from Mars. Interspersed with Welles's memories are interviews with people who believed the radio show was real (including one man who packed up his car and headed for the hills -- without his wife and kids!) Orson then takes us on a journey from science fiction to science fact as we learn that there really could be life on other planets, though not necessarily with tentacles and death rays. At a symposium at Boston University, luminaries such as Carl Sagan and Ashley Montagu discuss the implications of a possible "first contact" between Earth and an alien world (footage from this conference was later used in a famous episode of The X-Files.) The scenes in Orson's study were shot by his personal cinematographer, Gary Graver (F For Fake, The Other Side of the Wind). Welles only agreed to make Who's Out There for the government after then-President Richard M. Nixon had the IRS audit his taxes. Nixon still probably wasn't thrilled with Orson's satirical 1969 record, The Begatting of the President. Who's Out There is unique for being one of the few times Welles ever discussed the War of the Worlds controversy extensively on camera.

PLUS: Returning From The Moon (1966): This MIT Science Reporter episode examines the difficulties the Apollo Command Module will face returning from the moon. The moon landing was still three years away when this program, presented by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, originally aired in 1966. Flight of Apollo 7 (1968): The story of the first manned flight in the Apollo series. Without this test mission, the moon landing could never have been achieved. Includes the first television broadcast from outer space.

• documentary