The series, which claims to use science to investigate reports of sightings of unidentified flying objects (UFOs), is the latest entry in a genre of unscripted TV that follows a formula that can be best described as: Easily frightened people searching in the dark for things that frighten them and getting frightened on camera.
It's really not as scary as it sounds.
The formula began with ghost hunting shows and then expanded to include cryptozoology, the paranormal, and now almost anything out of the ordinary.
True to form, "Chasing UFOs" includes a team of "investigators" who climb into a big SUV and hit the road, explaining their latest case to each other, and the viewer, en route.
The "Chasing" team, which consists of "adventurer" Erin Ryder, "scientist" Ben McGee and UFOlogist James Fox, brings little new to the formula, beyond singing a UFO song while driving to a location.
UFOs may not be a good fit. For example, it may make sense to whisper while hunting for a large mysterious creature in a dark forest or while searching for a ghost in a darkened house, but lights in the sky? Are aliens in a mile-wide spaceship imagined to be so skittish that they'll bolt if they hear a raised voice?