Project Blue Book (2019) s02e01 Episode Script

Previously on "Project Blue Book" Spaceships, aliens, all this stuff we're asked to investigate the Air Force knows they don't exist.
There is nothing that can come out of that sky that you or I can't explain.
If you believe that you have seen these strange lights in the sky, please raise your hands.
You don't actually believe an inch of this could be for real, do you? The probability of us being alone in our universe is zero.
And what does your husband do? I can't really talk about it.
I think there's something more going on.
Logic can't begin to explain what we're dealing with here.
Something big is about to happen, something you've been waiting for since you took this job: proof.
I'd like to be up there, sir.
No one's better qualified at this stage.
In my opinion, it was an aircraft, but I have no idea what kind.
I'm convinced that Captain Quinn believes his story.
The confusion described, the disorientation sounds more like hypoxic dementia.
After all we've seen, you sold me out.
The only way to really get to the truth is to convince them that we don't believe.
Because if we don't believe, then we're not a threat, and if we're not a threat, then We keep our jobs.
Jobs which will allow us to continue our search for the truth.
We have our orders, fellas.
Keep it together.
Generals, I'm moving in to engage.
What the hell? I can't keep up with it! I can't hold it.
It's taking control! Captain, standing by.
Losing power.
Losing control.
Has the target been eliminated? Captain Quinn, what is your status? Come in, Captain Quinn.
Captain Quinn, do you copy? Do you copy? Pull up.
Pull up, Captain.
There are still things that I just can't account for.
There is nothing that can come out of that sky that you or I can't explain.
Even when the truth flies right over your head, it's still impossible to believe.
This is gonna change everything.
Captain? Need I remind you of our purpose here? Captain, do you read me? Flying saucers don't exist.
Captain! Captain.
Captain, what do you think? It's, uh it's for the generals.
I figured if we advertised our patriotic victories, we'd earn back some trust.
- Give the generals what they want, - lets us uncover the truth in our own time.
You don't seem so sure now.
I've been thinking about what happened up there, that plane over D.
C.
That theory of yours, hypoxic dementia.
Maybe I was imagining things.
Going somewhere? Ah, it just came up last-minute.
Top secret flight request to Roswell, New Mexico, just came up? What the hell is going on? I got another one of those calls last night.
Yeah? Guy ranting about Roswell, saying he knows all its secrets all our secrets.
Says he has real evidence this time.
There's always gonna be some nutbag out there that says that they have evidence.
You can't take it personal.
Calls are one thing.
Every time I give an inch to someone who's looking to tear our nation apart with conspiracy theories about aliens and flying saucers, it tells me one thing.
I didn't do my fucking job.
Sure, I'm having second thoughts.
I mean, look at all these cases.
Every single one of them has some sort of scientific logical explanation.
You mean excuse.
Look, I don't know what I saw up there, but I do know people are scared, and it's our job to tell them there's nothing to be afraid of.
But that doesn't change the fact that you and I have both seen things that can't be explained.
General Harding is ready for you both.
Here we go.
Look what we accomplished in D.
C.
An unknown threat buzzes the White House.
Hundreds of people witness it, and yet we're the ones to put it to bed.
How? Because we officially investigated it.
I want Project Blue Book to formally close the Roswell Incident.
Closing Roswell means reopening it.
You put Blue Book in that position and they fail, those guys won't be the only ones to lose their jobs.
Are you ready to face that? Yeah? Generals.
Sir, you wanted to see us? We're going on a little field trip.
Uh, where? New Mexico.
I'll brief you in the air.
Yes, sir.
Would you excuse us, please, Doctor? - Certainly.
- Thank you.
You see anything unusual out there, I want you to call me right away, you got it? Yes, sir.
Go ahead.
General Blackstone's an old friend.
Deputy commander of the 58th Bomb Wing.
Helped us clean up the whole Roswell debacle back in '47.
- Jimmy.
- Ryan.
Great to see you.
What it's been, about six years now? Looking more like, uh, ten for you.
Ah.
General, Captain Quinn, Dr.
Hynek.
I'm sure the general has told you all about our, uh, situation here.
His side of it, yes.
Six years on, we've still got locals spreading lies about, uh, aliens running around out in the desert.
Yeah, you said you had a file room set up for these guys so they can get started? I got the reports all laid out for you.
I'll be right outside if you need anything else.
- Thank you.
- You're welcome, sir.
This is all redacted.
There's nothing here.
You do know what we need to do here, right? Rubber-stamp this and move on.
You wanna rubber-stamp something like that? I was actually relieved to get your call, Jim.
Ever since D.
C.
, town's been talking again.
People just don't wanna believe.
People? How many people? If this was just a weather balloon, why all the secrecy? I mean, there's not even a photograph of the crash site.
This is ridiculous! I mean, this can't be all there is.
Doc I mean, there's obviously something going on here.
Listen, Harding wouldn't have brought us - if this was a total cover-up.
- Oh, yeah, he would, if he thought we were gonna play ball.
After D.
C.
, we're the ones who close cases, remember? Doesn't mean every case is a cover-up now.
- Go, go, go! - What's going on? Stay here.
General, we have a report of a downed aircraft about 50 miles northwest of here.
- Is it one of ours? - No, sir.
We have no idea what it is, but apparently the whole desert's on fire.
There it is.
What the hell is that? All right, let's get that flag out of there.
Put some shovels on that fire, let's go.
What are you waiting for? Let's go, let's go! Hey, what have you got? This was found at the site, but it's locked.
Okay, let me see that, please.
Thank you.
Doc, what is that? I don't know yet.
Harding? The day the, uh, original Roswell crash was reported in the press, July - 8, 19 - 1947, yes.
Jim.
Box has your name on it.
How'd you know how to do that? What is that? What are you doing? Evidently somebody left us a message.
"In 1947, alien spacecraft crashed in this desert.
Before you stands the man who covered it all up, General Harding".
"Tomorrow at 9:00 a.
m.
, I will show the world proof of what really happened in Roswell, New Mexico".
You can see this smoke for miles, Jim.
Only a matter of time before this place starts rumbling again.
Can't have this happen again.
I need to find out who did this.
You don't think I'd have an idea.
It's your town.
Jimmy, after what you pulled here in '47, you know who'd wanna stage a stunt like this? Everyone.
General, the captain and I were talking.
There's a TV station here in town.
What if we went there to stop this news from spreading, get ahead of it like we did in D.
C.
? That's actually a great idea.
Tell them it's a national security issue.
Tell them to keep their mouths shut.
Anyone's got a problem, you let me know.
Sir.
Quinn.
That note.
It stays between us, you understand? Of course, sir.
What the hell was that all about back there, huh? I know you weren't just trying to make us look good.
If you read the reports, you'd know that Harding was the man in charge of the investigation and that he ordered all the material gathered at the crash site flown out of the base as quickly as possible on two separate planes, in case one crashed.
Wait, how do you know that? That's classified information.
I have a source I rely on for these kind of situations now.
- What source? - We have 24 hours to find out who wrote this; we won't be able to do that if we wait on Harding to give his orders.
What, we have to find this nutjob? Well, if Harding finds him first, he'll bury anything they have and we'll never know if any of it's true.
Hello? Mimi.
Oh, Allen.
Where are you? I thought you'd be home hours ago.
I'm in New Mexico.
Roswell, actually.
What? When did that happen? Late last night.
Harding practically kidnapped us.
Look, I need some information again.
Okay, just hold on.
Is this my handsome captain calling me to say he's running late? I'm actually calling to cancel.
I'm out of town for a couple days.
Anywhere fun? Anywhere but.
And here I was, hoping to enjoy that warm bed of yours again.
The first thing I'm gonna need is, uh, names of witnesses who may have seen something strange, peculiar July 1947.
Well, when I get back, I promise.
I gotta go.
- I'll miss you.
- You too.
You look flushed.
Sunburn.
Not used to this heat.
You get what you needed? I have to check back later.
Is this source, like, a student or something scouring the library? Yeah, something like that.
Come on, station's this way.
There was another crash? No, no, there was no crash.
That's why we're here.
It's all a hoax.
So if anyone tries to report What do you mean, a hoax? Well, it's under investigation, which means that for now, should anything get broadcast without prior Air Force authorization, it would be a national security issue.
Totally understand.
Whatever the Air Force wants.
Don't wanna lose my license again.
Lose your license again? What do you mean? - Mr.
McDoyle.
- Yes? Someone tried to take your broadcast license away? Uh, when? Uh, it was back in '47, after the first crash, but it was just a misunderstanding.
You got nothing to worry about this time.
I'm a patriot, just like you boys.
Well, that wasn't weird at all, was it? So on the day of the original crash, the radio station reportedly broadcast calls from panicked locals who say they saw an actual ship crash down.
The radio station that's now the TV station.
The Air Force allegedly confiscated the tapes of those calls and, it would appear, threatened to take away the station license as well.
Okay, how do you know all this stuff? Why do you know all this stuff? I told you, after D.
C.
, I started looking into past cases.
Yeah, to understand the history a little bit more, yes, but these details there's nothing in the official reports.
What else do you know about what happened here? And where are you getting this information? It's just drawn together from various sources, researches, reports it's all public record.
So it's hearsay.
Well, you look at it that way, our entire job is hearsay.
The unofficial version of events at Roswell is quite compelling, Captain.
All right, Doc.
Compel me, then.
July 5, 1947.
There was a major storm.
The locals said it was the lightning that took it down that night.
Next morning, a rancher by the name of Mike Connors found his field covered in a strange metal.
He said whatever the debris was, he could tell that it wasn't man-made.
By the end of the day, his neighbors are showing up, collecting bits of it for themselves, and he felt it was his duty to inform the authorities.
They took one look at it, and they all thought the same thing.
It was part of an extraterrestrial craft.
And someone leaked it out.
Soon as the story hit the wire, it caused shockwaves far and wide.
Papers in Europe even got hold of it.
And that is when the big guns arrived.
General Harding, he was put in charge of the investigation, or the cover-up, depending on how you look at it.
Once he got to Connors' farm, no one's really sure what happened, but two days later, Connors bought himself a brand-new car, and the entire town stopped talking.
During that time, the wreckage was flown out of Roswell and taken to Texas, where Harding held a press conference.
The saucer, he said, was nothing more than a weather balloon.
I'm gonna get a cheeseburger.
You want a cheeseburger? Did you hear anything that I said? Every word.
Getting at the truth and entertaining every conspiracy story are two very different things, Doc.
Well, maybe you need to ask yourself which conspiracy you are entertaining, because you saw Harding - at that crash site, and he was - Hi.
Thank you.
There you go.
- Okay - He's hiding something.
Let's say even half your story is true.
How does one person silence an entire town? One by one, starting at the radio station.
After D.
C.
, we agreed to work together from the inside, following the evidence wherever it led us.
We also agreed to keep our heads down so they don't get cut off.
I mean, Harding's practically our chaperone here.
Then we just need to be extra careful.
Look, if someone in Roswell really is holding the smoking gun, then this isn't just our chance to reveal the truth; it also means the cover-up is real, which makes it our duty to bring Harding down.
Look, Captain, I know you swore an oath.
I know what Harding has done for you.
But this, this is it's bigger than that.
You realize what you're saying.
If the government is covering up the existence of flying saucers in Roswell, then you and I are in the best position to expose that truth.
Are you willing to do that with me? Mike Connors.
It's been a while.
- Hmm.
- General.
Shit, I forget how hot it gets out here.
I swear I have no idea how you make a living in a place like this.
Oh, I got your message.
What message? You really didn't need all the theatrics, although calling my house in the middle of the night just to get me here? That was ballsy.
What happened? Seriously.
Did you you spend it all? Did you lose it at the track? Who wrote this? Look I'm here so we can work this out, just like last time.
You just give me the evidence that you say you've kept and this is yours.
But this isn't me.
I don't have anything.
You of all people should know that I don't like being lied to.
Now, Mike, you really want me to believe that it wasn't you? Come on.
You know, when you first came to see me I thought you were here to help.
And you did.
That money changed my life.
And I've regretted it every day since.
Get the hell off my land.
Okay.
Gentlemen he needs more convincing.
You think you can get away with this again? again, Harding! Now we know the real truth of what happened there! - We'll see you next week.
- - Thank you.
Have a nice night.
- Sounds great.
Evan.
Betty.
Oh, you missed a whopper of a meeting today.
The Aurora Incident of 1897.
I think my mind is still reeling over last week's McMinville photos, but I'm glad I caught you before you left.
Oh, I know that face.
You're down the rabbit hole, aren't you? I'm looking for more on Roswell.
Aren't we all? Specifically eyewitness testimony, people who saw the crash, the debris, anything like that.
I'm just so impressed by what you've been able to find.
I'll tell you what.
I've got my research notebook here.
I'll copy what I have.
I'll bring it to next week's meeting.
Do you mind if I borrow it? It's time-sensitive.
You have a time-sensitive Roswell situation? It's a long story.
Take close care of this, Betty, but you have to promise to tell me that long story.
Evan thank you.
I will bring this back next week, I promise.
Who was that? Uh, that's Betty Carpenter.
She likes to lurk in the back.
Just moved here from Raleigh.
Is that what she told you? Evan I know who that is.
Yeah, I think this this trucker, Duncan Booker.
That's the best place to start, from what I see here.
- Thank you.
- You're a lifesaver.
No problem.
We gotta wrap this up, Doc.
Harding is gonna be wondering where we've been.
And the note says the evidence comes out at 9:00 a.
m.
tomorrow.
We're running out of time.
Come on.
Who's this guy again? Only witness to claim to have seen the saucer in the sky.
Hello? Mr.
Booker? Uh Mr.
Booker? Duncan Booker.
Hello? Well, if I was betting on who pulled our desert stunt, I'd go all in on this guy.
You see something? I'll be right back.
There was more than one crash site.
Hey.
Oh, hold on! Duncan! U.
S.
Air Force.
You don't need to run! Air Force? What are you doing in my house? What were you doing running if it's your house? Door was open, by the way.
We knocked first.
It just Still trespassing.
We're sorry; we really thought you were inside.
We just wanted to talk to you.
Think I pulled that stunt out in the desert, don't you the tires? You know about that? It's a small town.
Word travels fast.
Well, what exactly did you hear? Something, um, about a hoax.
Exposing evidence, I don't know.
Folks around here are crazy, though, ever since the first one.
All this stuff here, uh, the maps, diagrams, photos You think I'm crazy now? It just looks a whole lot like a plan to expose evidence, that's all.
It's research.
Nothing wrong with that, is there? That craft you built in the backyard, is that research as well? It's my business, not yours.
We didn't come here to interrogate you.
We just wanna hear your story about that night.
Know what happened the last time the Air Force asked to hear about that? No.
But it doesn't look like it went well.
Duncan, we're part of Project Blue Book.
We'd like to hear your story, all of it.
Then maybe we can help you.
Help how? We don't think you're crazy.
Maybe we can get the truth out there, but we can't do that if we don't know what really happened.
Wasn't just me, you know.
Judy saw it too.
Who's Judy? My girlfriend.
We were in love back then.
One night, we were parked way out, watching the storm roll in.
We get them out here where there's thunder and lighting but no rain.
We were trying to take advantage, I guess you could say.
One minute, you got some nice rolling thunder.
Then it, uh sounded like the sky itself was falling.
We watched the ship crash down out over a ranch.
Judy begged me not to go look, but I didn't listen to her.
Now a day doesn't go by that I wish I hadn't.
Duncan, we should go back.
I, uh I got right up close to it.
Saw inside.
Saw saw something start to open the hatch.
Run! And we ran for our lives.
When I called the base to tell them my story, well, they threatened us.
Judy was so scared, she agreed to whatever they wanted her to.
- Don't sign this! - I have to sign it, Duncan! Left town shortly after that.
Never saw her again.
That's why I can't let this go.
You know, we used to talk about getting married before all that happened.
I don't blame her, though.
They told us they'd bury us out in the desert if we didn't say it was a weather balloon.
Yeah, I'm sorry, are you saying Air Force officials threatened your life? Not officials.
Just one man.
I knew something didn't feel right this time.
Well, for all we know, it was just a bluff.
We can't risk that.
Eisenhower's not the ally we thought.
If we don't prove our worth now, we can kiss oversight on this matter good-bye.
He needs to see that we're in charge.
So seal up the town and tighten it up like last time.
These people have been through enough of that, Hugh.
Hey, don't give up on me now.
We've gotta protect the program.
Don't pretend that you do what needs to be done when I'm the one doing it.
I'll call you when I'm finished.
Son of a bitch.
Are you sure you can't stay? I was gonna make blueberry pancakes.
- You're a sweetheart.
- I can't.
What, you gotta work? Where do you work? Never asked you that.
It's a boring secretarial job.
You won't lose any points, don't worry.
Okay.
Can you help me with my What are you doing? I'm sorry, miss, this is a matter of national security.
Need to see what you're hiding under there.
I have to go to work.
Well, you are gonna be a little late.
He's been lying from the start.
You do realize that was a firsthand account of Harding threatening a civilian to hide what happened here.
No weather balloon fits that story.
If you believe Duncan's story about Harding, you have to believe all of it.
So you believe he saw a flying saucer fall from the sky? We have to reinterview him, check his details, but, you know, it's a theory.
Well, how about this theory? He's crazy.
Come on.
The man built a flying saucer.
Who does that? Maybe a man struggling with the trauma of a legitimate past encounter.
And what about all the other witness accounts? Two people we've talked to two people.
So far, but there are others.
All those people who called in to the station? We can find them, unless you think they'd all be lying too.
Well, all I'm saying is that before we go accusing the U.
S.
Air Force of a crime, we have to have some real - What's all this? - Whoa, ho! Hold it right there! No more vehicles! You can't come through here.
I need you to turn this Jeep around.
Airman, Captain Michael Quinn.
What are you talking about? What's going on? - This is the way out.
- Roswell's under quarantine, sir, with shoot-to-kill orders on anyone who tries to leave.
Under whose authority? General Harding.
Whole town's locked down.
Well, this is the way out.
What are we supposed to do? I'm sorry, sir.
I need you to turn this Jeep around.
Shooter! Shooter! Doc, get down! Up on the ridge! Three o'clock! He's on the move! Shooter's getting away! Let's go, let's go! - You all right, Doc? - Yeah.
I got you.
Close call.
Sir, you gotta get out of here.
This town's remembering his playbook.
It's just like before.
Harding's silencing Roswell again.
Not if we're here.
Come on, let's go.
Right now, we're working on a plan to go door to door.
We're gonna start here.
We'll work our way north.
- If we - General.
Sir.
What the hell's going on out there? Where have you two been? We almost just got killed by an active shooter at your checkpoint.
- A shooter? - Roswell's under quarantine? No wonder people are trying to attack us.
Sir what really happened here? No one in this town is falling for that weather balloon theory anymore, and neither are we, so either you come clean with us right now Enough.
Frank, can you give us a couple minutes? Hell yes.
I got a crazy shooter to deal with now.
First of all, I'm glad you're okay.
Secondly, I'm sorry.
The reason we put out a quarantine was for everyone's safety.
More like to keep the cover-up going.
Oh, you think there was a cover-up, do you? - Yeah.
- Sir, we just You're right.
There was.
What crashed in '47 wasn't a weather balloon.
That's just what we had to tell the public.
It was a top secret spy balloon, code-named Project Mogul.
Its primary purpose was the long-range detection of sound waves generated by the Soviets' atomic bomb tests.
We couldn't let the Russians know what we were up to, so we lied.
We told the world it was a weather balloon.
And then we tried to put the genie back in the bottle.
So there was a cover-up in Roswell.
To hide a classified government program to keep Americans safe? You're damn right there was.
And now you know the real truth.
Dismissed.
Even you have to admit it makes sense.
The secrecy, the clamping down on civilians, need to change initial reports.
Yeah, these witnesses did see something they never saw before; no one had.
Yeah, but the debris these witnesses described sure, there may have been some sophisticated audio equipment on board, but a spy balloon is still just a balloon made of rubber, sticks, and tinfoil.
How could so many have gotten it so wrong? You worried they got it wrong, Doc, or you did? Sir! We found the shooter! He's barricaded himself in his house.
We have him surrounded.
Sir.
What's going on? Who's in there? Post that was fired on tracked the shooter back here.
He's been setting off smoke bombs when we arrived.
He's holed up inside right now.
Name's Stewart Terry, former service member.
What are they gonna do to him? Professor, stay back.
I want that man alive, you hear me? Sir.
Squad, let's move out.
- Roll out! - Let's go! - Move! - Where is he? Let's go, kick it in! Captain, he's escaping out the back.
Captain! Captain! Get your hands off of me! So he pretty much confessed to shooting at the checkpoint earlier.
He say why? Said he had a bad taste in his mouth from the last time the military took over the town.
Couldn't bear to see it happen again.
What about the tire stunt? - Swore it wasn't him.
- Thanks, fellas.
Good team effort.
Get that burn looked at, Captain.
Yeah.
Doc thanks for your help.
I believe I just pointed at him.
You were the one who ran.
Nice work, fellas.
Certainly wasn't expecting this when I asked you to come.
What's gonna happen to him? Well, he'll be facing a military trial and probably spend the rest of his life in prison.
Let's get back to base.
I wanna get in a plane home as fast as possible.
You do live here.
Evan, um hello.
This is Allen Hynek's home.
I I looked up the address.
Your name's not really Betty, is it? And you're his wife.
Come inside.
Please.
Do you want a scotch? Bourbon? Uh bourbon's all right.
I just put in a couple of ice cubes, if that's okay.
Mm-hmm.
Evan I'm sorry.
I mean, I lied about who I was because I was worried I wouldn't be accepted into the group.
When Caroline told me who you were, I thought you were working with the FBI.
They try to infiltrate our groups not just ours, across the whole country.
But what does the FBI want with civilian UFO groups? They think we're dangerous.
Well, that's silly.
We are dangerous.
The government is involved in a massive conspiracy to cover up the evidence of visitors from other worlds.
When we try to expose the truth, that makes us enemies of the state.
How much does your husband share with you? He shares Do you have access to his files? Why are you asking me that? I don't wanna make you uncomfortable, but you are aware of Blue Book's reputation? Well, are you aware of my husband's? Yes, and it's stellar at least for now.
Mimi, you have the ability to do something that we could never do, to pass along information to the one person who could make a difference.
And that makes you part of the solution.
If I show you what I know together we could blow the lid off this whole government cover-up.
There, how's that? Thank you.
What is it? I know that look.
Doc Okay why lure in the Air Force claiming a conspiracy if all you were planning to do was go out in a blaze of glory? Oh, come on.
Still? Okay.
Because he had no evidence and his plan was to be a martyr for the cause all along.
How's that? That's the shooter.
You're gonna be all right.
Looks like someone beat the hell out of him.
Excuse me there, fellas.
Could we have a moment, please? Thank you.
Who did this to you? I tried to tell him I'm not who you're after.
Who? You tried to tell who? White hair blue eyes.
Kept saying it's personal.
And you don't know who that is? When I shot that post, I was just trying to scare 'em.
Felt like it was happening again.
Thought the Army was coming after me for what I'd done.
But I told him I kept my secret after the first crash.
Why would I wanna try and broadcast it now? What secret after the first crash? You are in a world of shit right now.
We might be able to help you but only if you tell us the truth.
What secret from the first crash? What almost no one knows Is that there were two separate crash sites: that rancher's field everyone read about and another, far more secure site Hey, guys! You gotta see this! Where they found the rest of the ship.
- Look at this! - What is it? Over here! That's where I was stationed.
Ordered to secure the perimeter.
Authorized to shoot anybody who wasn't supposed to be there.
Thought it was a kid at first, sneaking a peek at what no one was meant to see.
Hey, kid, you can't be here! So I chased him.
Hey! I know this sounds crazy but when I shot it.
I could feel its pain.
Never told anyone.
Weeks later, when the wreckage was cleared, I retraced my steps, recovered its remains Buried it under a big dead tree on my land so no one would know.
It's still out there.
What's going on? What is that? Let's go! Move! Get out now! Five, five, six five, three, nine.