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4.1.6 -- Host : George Knapp, Guest : Bob Lazar & Gene Huff, Topic : Area 51
More like a reunion than a formal talk show episode, as George Knapp was re-united with Bob Lazar, of Area 51 fame, and some other guy named Gene Huff, who seemed to have played a role in the affair as well. Lots of retrospective looks back from Lazar about both the good and the bad of having 15 minutes of esoteric fame. The entire first hour of the interview consisted of them having a side conversation on Bob's new business and its troubles with the Feds. Despite not having anything to do with Area 51, that first hour was a fun little side dish on an already killer episode.
Bonus Points :For Lazar saying he wished no one would believe him about Area 51 and it would make his life easier, confabulating the already confused minds of anyone trying to figure out if Lazar is on the up and up or not.
4.12.6 -- Host : George Noory, Guest : Kenneth Hanson, Topic : Gospel of Judas & Lost Bible Texts
On the heels of a big announcement of the discovery / translation of the Gospel of Judas, The Noor welcomed Kenneth Hanson to get biblical. First he gave the Judas Gospel story the once over and explained it in a way that was palatable to the C2C audience. He also brought a depth to it that was lacking in most mainstream coverage. Then he moved on to Bible texts in general and Noory hit him with about 1000 obscure questions that were excellent and Hanson seemed to have an answer for them all.
Bonus Points :For Hanson's unwillingness to give credence to aliens and other esoteric hijinks in the Bible, but also leaving the door open for them in a sly way.
4.15.6 -- Host : Art Bell, Guest : Brendan Cook and Barbara McBeath, Topic : EVPs
"Art Bell Returns ... Part Deux". An episode that will live in infamy for stirring up the gossipy C2C hardcore base. In short, Bell returns from mysterious hiatus. He just got married. He's moving to the Philippines. All hell breaks loose amongst C2C's fandom as everyone seems to have an opinion on it. Also, the GIS stopped by and played some EVPs.
Bonus Points :For Art Bell managing to shock, delight, confuse, or enrage his listeners one more time.
4.20.6 -- Host : George Noory, Guest : Billy Gibbons, Paola Harris, and Michael Salla, Topic : Rock and Roll / Exopolitics / Impending Comet Strike
An odd esoteric patchwork befitting C2C in all its glory. First, ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons shows up to talk about rock and roll and other stuff. Then, Paola Harris shows up for an hour and talks about geoufology, Paul Hellyer, and Corrado Balducci. Finally, Michael Salla shows up for the final two hours to talk about some dude who says a comet is going to hit Earth. Hoagland proceeds to show up and fight with Salla, spending a half hour debunking him, much to the shock and awe of many and the yawns of banality of some.
Bonus Points :For Hoagland's throwdown with Salla, one of the highlights of an otherwise tame 2006.
4.26.6 -- Host : George Noory, Guest : Robert Kriviat, Topic : Inside the "Alien Autopsy"
Another example of C2C getting the scoop on breaking esoteric news, as Noory had Robert Kriviat, the man behind geting "Alien Autopsy" on network TV, on C2C mere days after the man behind the actual alien autopsy film said it was fake. Got all that ? You did if you heard the episode, which was a behind the scenes look at esoteric that is rarely on display at C2C.
Bonus Points :For depth and details of Kriviat's negotiations with both Ray Santilli, of "Alien Autopsy" fame, and the FOX network. A good look at how esoteric gets from the underground to the mainstream and why.
4.30.6 -- Host : Kevin Mitnick, Guest : Steve Wozniak, Topic : Apple Computers
Filling in for the moving Art Bell, Kevin Mitnick scored a Coastie nomination with his stellar work with guest Steve Wozniak. While Woz may have done the bulk of the work, it is not debatable that this was a stand out episode. Wozniak, who seemed like an old pro on the talk show circuit, regailed us all with tails of his beginnings, his inventions, his pranks, and how he became a super millionaire / tech icon. Another example of C2C doing pop culture episodes that are done well.
Bonus Points :For Mitnick's style of "less is more" and for Wozniak's insight into some of the other tech icons he knows like Bill Gates and Steve Jobs.
5.11.6 -- Host : George Noory, Guest : John Lear, Topic : UFO secrets
The mysterious John Lear finally returned to C2C after being off the show for about 2 years and The Noor was the host, so it was a whole new Lear paradigm. Lear enchanted Noory with tales of sabotaged NASA missions and life on every planet in the solar system. Fantastic trip into some wild territory, including the "souls as currency" theory that Lear espoused last time on the show. Total mindbender of an episode.
Bonus Points : For Richard C. Hoagland's appearance in the middle of the show to wax poetic with Lear about some of Lear's fantastic concepts and to plug an upcoming conference.
5.15.6 -- Host : George Noory, Guest : Aaron Russo, Topic : Taxes and Freedom
Former Hollywood big shot, Aaron Russo became enlightened as to the shell game we are living in and he was pretty peeved off about it. Noory brought up all the crap he hates about the world and kept egging Russo on and Russo was ranting like a man on fire. Classic stuff.
Bonus Points : For the extended portion in the middle hour where they talked about Russo's friendship with Bette Midler for an extended period of time and no apparent reason other than Russo once worked with her.
5.16.6 -- Host : George Noory, Guest : Jim Marrs, Topic : 911, UFology, Esoterica
An excellent appearance by the master journalist of esoterica, Jim Marrs, where he covered, in-depth, for the first hour 911 and then in the second hour talked in-depth about the demise of X-Ops, some Discovery Channel show he was working on. Marrs had his working shoes on for this episode, bringing out lots of fascinating 911 stuff that I'd not heard before and hadn't been mentioned much on Coast at all. He followed it up with an amazing discussion on how Discovery put the kaybosh on X-Ops.
Bonus Points : For Jim giving out the phone number of the Discovery Channel folks so that C2C listeners could complain about the show being pulled. Outstanding !
5.21.6 -- Host : George Knapp, Guest : John Alexander, Topic : Ufology / Geopolitics
Almost like overhearing a conversation between old friends, George Knapp brought the Coastie goodness once again with his guest host stint featuring Col. John Alexander. What followed was some beyond insider discussion of Ufology, including talk of the infamous and highly controversial "Birds," a subject that is rarely, if ever, touched upon on Coast. Alexander also ranted from the point of view of a remote viewing insider on how remote viewing has been perceived and evolved in the last decade or so.
Bonus Points : For Knapp crapping all over the internet once again. He really hates that damn interweb.
5.23.6 -- Host : George Noory, Guest : Paul Kimball, Topic : Ufology
C2C sent its sacred cows to the slaughterhouse as Paul Kimball put the boots to such C2C beloveds as Col. Corso, SERPO, the Disclosure Movement, and Steven Greer. Some strong discussion on key UFO cases and a lot of teasing for future projects along with lots of crapping on C2C icons. A fun ride.
Bonus Points : For Noory's question that inspired me to rant that inspired Kimball to name me #9 of Ufology's Generation NOW. The circle of The Noor completes itself.
5.25.6 -- Host : George Noory, Guest : Bob Larson, Topic : Exorcisms
The devil is everywhere and thank crap that Bob Larson can shake the demons from folks. Larson spent the better half of the show ranting about how we are a defiled race or something, interspersed with bone chilling clips of exorcisms. Larson has that Southern preacher charisma that you either have or your don't and Larson had it in overflowing buckets.
Bonus Points : For the Exorcism tapes that scared the crap out of me on more than one occasion.
5.29.6 -- Host : George Noory, Guest : Sir Lawrence Gardner, Will Henry, and Glenn Kimball, Topic : Da Vinci Code Roundtable
Da Vinci Code Roundtable featuring the Captain and Tenille of C2C, Will Henry and Sir Lawrence Gardner, along with the Cousin Oliver of Roundtables, Glenn Kimball. Great discussion of the themes of Da Vinci Code by some dudes who have dug around in that research for decades. Lots of information that you'll be forced to dole out the next time you come across one of those Da Vinci Code lovers who rants and raves about it.
Bonus Points : For the return of the Roundtable format, which had begun to collect dust in C2C's bag of tricks.
6.1.6 -- Host : George Noory, Guest : Steven Greer, Topic : The Life of Steven Greer
Normally when Steven Greer appears on C2C, he drops countless names and makes bold proclaimations. Okay, okay, that happened too, but what made this episode stand out was Greer discussing his recent "memoir" and talking about astral projection and his communication with mystical beings of some sort. Greer also claimed that a shadowy insider at SETI said they were getting ET signals constantly. A wild episode.
Bonus Points :For Noory's Oprah-esque sell-job on Greer's memoire. The Noor did everything but weep to put over Greer's book.
6.4.6 -- Host : George Noory, Guest : Dan Aykroyd & David Sereda, Topic : UFOs
This episode gains Coastie Contendership almost solely on the first hour, which was the one that featured Dan Aykroyd. The time Aykroyd got was terribly scant and precious little of it was spent talking about UFOs. The rest was spent dealing with know-nothing C2C callers and talking about John Belushi with Noory. After Aykroyd left, it was David Sereda for a solid 3 hours interview.
Bonus Points : Bizarro Bonus Points for the woman who called the show to tell Aykroyd a UFO sighting story and wasted 10 % of everyone's Aykroyd time.
6.10.6 -- Host : Ian Punnett, Guest : Dean Koontz, Topic : The works and thoughts of Dean Koontz
I confess, I didn't hear this one, but I received a ton of correspondence re: how great this episode was. This one had universal appeal and should have a strong showing in the voting come December.
Bonus Points : For Ian managing to get Koontz, the pop-in for 6.3.6, to come back for a full show on 6.10.6. That Punnett's got balls.
6.14.6 -- Host : George Noory, Guest : Alex Jones, Jim Marrs, and Daniel Estulin, Topic : Bilderburger Roundtable
The much discussed Bilderburger Roundtable, featuring Alex Jones, Jim Marrs, and some guy named Daniel Estulin. Not exactly the classic it looked like on paper, but a strong show that covered a lot of ground and revealed some new information. The on-air reunion of Jim Marrs and Alex Jones, who both starred in the classic Roundtable I, and their interraction throughout the episode was a story within the show that added an additional element of entertainment. The strong, albeit muted, showing from Estulin was also a pleasant surprise.
Bonus Points : For Noory and C2C slipping this episode into the TBA slot, blitzkrieg style. Go Noory.
6.17.6 -- Host : Art Bell, Guest : Russel Targ, Topic : The Return of Art Bell ... again.
C2C's resident disappearing act, Art Bell, made his third unofficial "return" of 2006, this time returing from moving to the Philippines. Much of this episode's quality is based on the first hour, which was all about Art's move to the Pacific and all the nuances and observations he had about it. This was some fascinating stuff. The caller interraction was excellent as well. The full show interview with Russel Targ was a nice strong interview and a rare one from Art Bell so far in '06.
Bonus Points : Bizarro Bonus Points for the technical difficulties that reared their ugly head throughout the show. They would cause the show to go down on the next night, right in the midst of a Hoagland interview.
6.21.6 -- Host : George Noory, Guest : John Anthony West, Topic : Ancient Egypt
Apparently, John Anthony West was on the forefront of the rabble rousing Sphynx aging theory from a few years back. He spent much of the interview reflecting on being in the midst of the furor caused by the theory and his feud with Zawi Hawas. Lots of strong info on Egypt and what is really going on with pyramid and antiquity research there. Also, lots of good perspective on Egypt's tourist industry via West's trips to the region.
Bonus Points : For West trying to convince Noory to send his 80 year old father on a trip to Egypt with him. I'm not sure whether to laugh or cry.
