''Sightings'' is an American

paranormal Paranormal events are purported phenomena described in popular culture, folk, and other non-scientific bodies of knowledge, whose existence within these contexts is described as being beyond the scope of normal scientific understanding. Not ...

and news television show that first aired in the 1990s. The show began on October 17, 1991, as a

special Special or specials may refer to: Policing * Specials, Ulster Special Constabulary, the Northern Ireland police force * Specials, Special Constable, an auxiliary, volunteer, or temporary; police worker or police officer * Special police forces ...

titled ''The UFO Report: Sightings''. It was followed by the follow-up reports, ''Ghost Report'' and the ''Psychic Experience''. The creator and supervising producer of the initial episode, produced by Paramount for Fox TV, was Linda Moulton Howe. One of her episodes was ''A Strange Harvest'', about the worldwide animal-mutilation mystery linked to extraterrestrial beings.

Show history

After the special broadcast to high ratings, it went forward into weekly TV production as the program ''Sightings''. The show featured everything from

UFO An unidentified flying object (UFO) is an object or phenomenon seen in the sky but not yet identified or explained. The term was coined when United States Air Force (USAF) investigations into flying saucers found too broad a range of shapes ...

s to

ghost In folklore, a ghost is the soul or Spirit (supernatural entity), spirit of a dead Human, person or non-human animal that is believed by some people to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely, from a ...

s to

Bigfoot Bigfoot (), also commonly referred to as Sasquatch (), is a large, hairy Mythic humanoids, mythical creature said to inhabit forests in North America, particularly in the Pacific Northwest.Example definitions include: *"A large, hairy, manlike ...

in an investigative news format and was hosted by reporter Tim White. The show was created by Ann Daniels Productions, Fair Dinkum Productions (Winkler-Daniel Productions from 1991 to 1993), and

Paramount Domestic Television Paramount Domestic Television (PDT) was the television distribution arm of American television production company Paramount Television, once the television arm of Paramount Pictures. It was formed in 1982 originally as Paramount Domestic Televis ...

(Wilshire Court Productions from 1992 to 1993). Its

executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the production of media. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights or royalties). In film ...

s were

Henry Winkler Henry Franklin Winkler (born October 30, 1945) is an American actor, producer, director, and author. Widely known as Arthur "Fonzie" Fonzarelli on the sitcom ''Happy Days'' (1974–1984), Winkler has distinguished himself as a character acto ...

and Ann Daniel. The program began on

Fox Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...

in 1992, in a 30-minute-long format that aired on Friday nights. When the show was put into syndication in 1994, it was extended to an hour-long format and was on at various times. In 1996, it was picked up by Sci Fi Channel. ''Sightings'' was cancelled in 1997, although five special episodes aired in 1998, and reruns continued on the Sci Fi Channel until April 2003. In 1998, the producers made a new UFO special that aired on

UPN The United Paramount Network (UPN) was an American broadcast television network that operated from 1995 to 2006. It was originally a joint venture between Chris-Craft Industries (later sold to News Corporation)'s subsidiary, United Television, ...

, called ''Danger in Our Skies: The New UFO Threat'' hosted by Jim Forbes. In 2003, a program called ''

Unexplained Mysteries ''Unexplained Mysteries'' is an American documentary television series that originally aired in syndication from 2003 to 2004 for a single season. The show deals with eyewitness accounts of paranormal activity, especially aliens, UFOs, and gh ...

'' debuted in syndication. Although it did not have the same hosted news format like ''Sightings'', it was produced by many of the same individuals involved with ''Sightings'', and sometimes reused footage and graphics from the earlier program.

Episodes

Home media

There have been three

home video Home video is recorded media sold or Video rental shop, rented for home viewing. The term originates from the VHS and Betamax era, when the predominant medium was videotapes, but has carried over to optical disc formats such as DVD and Blu-ray. ...

releases of the ''Sightings'' television show: ''Sightings: The UFO Report'', ''Sightings: The Ghost Report'', and ''Sightings: The Psychic Experience''. The videos were repackaged segments from season one and two of the television show. All three videos were originally released in 1996 on VHS tapes.

Merchandise

*Two books were released in 1997 related to the ''Sightings'' television show - ''Sightings: Beyond Imagination Lies the Truth'' and ''Sightings: UFOs''. *One software product was released related to the ''Sightings'' television show called ''Sightings: UFOPedia''. The software included pictures, reports, footage, and never before seen footage from the show in an encyclopedia format. *A line of clothing was released related to the ''Sightings'' television show that included T-shirts. The shirts would have either a ghost, alien, or psychic on the front with the word ''Sightings''. *Textile posters were sold related to the "Sightings" television show produced by Heart Rock S.r.l. - Italy. The posters were silk and featured the "Sightings" logo along with the illustrations that were on the VHS tape box covers (an alien, a ghost, or a psychic). The posters measured 75 x 110 cm.

Sightings: Heartland Ghost

In 2002, one of the stories featured on ''Sightings'' became the subject of a television movie on the

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...

network, called ''Sightings: Heartland Ghost''. The movie tells the story of a ''Sightings'' crew sent to investigate a

poltergeist In German folklore and ghostlore, a poltergeist ( or ; ; or ) is a type of ghost or spirit that is responsible for physical disturbances, such as loud noises and objects being moved or destroyed. Most claims or fictional descriptions of polter ...

haunting This is a list of locations that are (or have been) said to be haunted by ghosts, demons, or other supernatural beings throughout the world. Reports of haunted locations are part of ghostlore, which is a form of folklore. Argentina * Cinco ...

, eventually becoming victimized by the ghost themselves. The movie was later released on DVD.

References

External links

*
The Sightings Information Page
{{Syfy Shows Fox Broadcasting Company original programming Television series by CBS Studios Paranormal television 1990s American television news shows 1992 American television series debuts 1997 American television series endings UFO-related television Cattle mutilation