UFOs in fiction

In most cases, as the fictional story progresses, the Earth is being invaded by hostile alien forces from outer space, usually from Mars, as depicted in early science fiction, or the people are being destroyed by alien forces, as depicted in the film Independence Day.

UFOs appear in many forms of fiction other than film, such as video games in the Destroy All Humans!

Typically a small group of people or the military (which one depending on where the film was made), will fight off the invasion, however the monster Godzilla has fought against many UFOs.

UFOs in television programs fall into three basic categories: real UFOs, hoaxes, and misidentified terrestrial spacecraft (often landing in a backward rural area or traveling back in time as in Lost in Space and Star Trek).

Hoax stories include: Batman, The Beverly Hillbillies, The Brady Bunch, The Green Hornet, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., The Girl from U.N.C.L.E., Mission: Impossible, and The Wild Wild West (a hoax story with a real sighting at the end) Earth ships mistaken for UFOs appear in: I Dream of Jeannie, The Munsters, Lost in Space, Star Trek: The Original Series, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.