Project Blue Book squanders a fantastic, real-life premise by trying to patch together its own flimsy mythology

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The History channel UFO thriller starring Aidan Gillen and Neal McDonough, based on true events from the 1950s, is too clunky, says Vinnie Mancuso. "Project Blue Book underlines everything twice; character motives, plot, subplots, pseudo-science, mysteries, all repeated over and over to create a deep mystery show that also somehow holds your hand through the proceedings," says Mancuso. "It’s not all bad; there are some out-of-this-world performances happening underneath this show’s period-appropriate fedoras, and for a History Channel original, the production value is consistently sleek and impressive over the six episodes I saw. But ultimately, the series is much less a new X-Files and more something you can throw on the 'next' pile."

ALSO:

• Project Blue Book still represents a step in the right direction for History’s scripted drama ambitions
• It feels like X-Files Light with a lot of indistinguishable men
• Executive producer Robert Zemeckis: “I felt it was a great idea for a TV series with a premise that really lent itself to amazing and compelling stories"