I have to admit, I really wanted to hate this show. The Sci-fi channel
cancelled MST3000, one of the greatest TV shows of all time so that they could
bring us such fine material as ‘Tripping the Rift’. (Note for those of us who
actually have lives: ’Rift’ is a soft-core porn cartoon written by and for
Sci-fi geeks who’ve never actually gotten laid in their lives. Yippee.) So yeah,
it’s fair to say I have a grudge against their original productions.
Unfortunately ‘Ghost Hunters’ has robbed me of a little bit of fun. It’s
actually quite entertaining.
Goshers, I had my critic chainsaw all fueled up, too.
If you’ve seen other paranormal reality shows before (like ‘The Scariest
Places on Earth’ or ‘Fear’ for example) you pretty much know what to expect from
the series. There’s the typical herky-jerky “scary” camera work in order to
introduce the location. You get a little background info on the haunting, the
crew sets up, they video tape for a day or two, wander around talking to dead
folk, then analyze anything unusual they find on the tapes.
Our resident apparition chasers, dubbed TAPS (The Atlantic Paranormal
Society) are an amiable enough lot. They do tend to grow on you, but there is an
awful lot of petty griping that goes on amongst the group. I think Sci-fi is
going for the typical “real conflict” vibe that’s an integral part of so many
reality shows, but frankly the whole thing can get rather tiring. Furthermore,
some of the monologues presented as chit-chat seem painfully staged. (Yeah, to
put it in other words, it’s a typical “reality” show.)
From a paranormal perspective, the show is actually
quite good. Far from jumping at the chance to display every little dust speck
or June bug caught on video as a “spirit orb”, the researchers are careful not
to jump to conclusions. They do honest research while in the field, and try
to ascertain any logical explanation for the anomalies they capture on film. Assuming that
there is no hoaxery going on (and for you Pen & Teller types
out there, I'm sure that’s a big assumption) the show has seeming managed to
capture some genuine ghostly phenomenon, such as furniture moving by itself. The
show would be great educational viewing for anyone who wants to try
photographing spirits on their own. (Hey kids, grab your camera obscura and
let's
head down to cemetery!) And if you have a weakness for such things, it can raise
a goosebump or two.
The show can over-dramatize things (trust me, New Bedford isn’t nearly as
interesting as they made it seem) but at least it’s not boring. It’s worth a
gander if you’ve got nothing better to do.