jbeswick
"Like Ghost Hunters, but on a different channel"
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Like Ghost Hunters, but on a different channel
-
Jan 15, 2011
- by jbeswick
- posted in Paranormal Locations
Rating:
Ghost reality TV is big business, and the show format has quickly cemented a formula that makes most of these shows hard to tell apart:
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1. Find "locals" to provide authentic creepy stories about a location.
2. Stay at the location overnight with stacks of infrared cameras and voice recorders.
3. Make dubious claims about hearing things and seeing things that are never recorded.
4. Present the evidence after the fact and have a "paranormal expert" certify it as proof.
5. Go to the bank.
This particular incarnation follows the improbably-named Zak Bagans and his two "researchers" as they physically lock themselves into locations for the night. Zak is very enthusiastic and spends too much time exercising his upper arms at the gym. His ability to connect the dots and make conclusions that would normally require large amount of alcohol is impressive.
One typical example would be the "EVP" sessions where ghosts whisper random words in response to questions, but the sound is only picked up on digital recorders apparently. Zak will hear a slight breeze in the recording, determine that the word whispered was "DIE" and that the seventh circle of hell has opened and they've created a portal that only Zool can close.
Occasionally they do something that I would charitably call 'stupid' - such as locking one of the crew in a morgue refrigerator and then wondering off and getting lost while the victim freaks out. If that happened to me, I'd beat Zak to within an inch of his life with his own camera and wouldn't care how big his biceps are. But it's only TV of course.
Overall there's not much to recommend this show. Pretty much all haunted locations on the continent have been exhausted by Jason and Grant from Ghost Hunters, and after thousands of hours of footage, nobody has captured footage that's even slightly compelling. Now, although the format is getting fairly tired, I would be really interested in seeing Adam and Jamie from Mythbusters hosting their own ghost show - talk about revolutionizing the genre!
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drifter51
July 12, 2011
My wife and I watch some of these shows from time to time. She is more into it than I am. Frankly, I think we are more interested in learning about the history of some of these places which can be fascinating. But overall, I think these shows are mostly a waste of time.
jbeswick
July 12, 2011
It's true - I always feel like I've wasted an hour whenever the credits roll.
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woopak_the_thrill
January 15, 2011
much as I think GHOST HUNTERS is staged these days, this one is obviously staged. I dunno, they seem to stumble around wanting to get scared, and for me, that looks too overzealous for a scientist. At the very least, it is better than GHOST LAB.
jbeswick
January 15, 2011
I agree - practically ever episode of these shows has manufactured elements now (EVPs being the most obvious). Ghost Lab would be great as a Will Farrell comedy...
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James Beswick (jbeswick)
Lunch.com's "token Brit".
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About this tv show
The Travel Channel's paranormal investigative team consists of Zak Bagans, the host and lead investigator Zak Bagans, investigator, Nick Groff and the cameraman Aaron Goodwin.
The show was based from the Sci-Fi channels, Ghost Adventures: The Documentary Film (2006).
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The show was based from the Sci-Fi channels, Ghost Adventures: The Documentary Film (2006).
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