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Paranormal State Undermines Own Concept
December 14, 2007

 

A&E’s Paranormal State features a gang of attractive Penn State college students, who also happen to be ghost hunters, out hunting for, well, ghosts.

To promote the show A&E unveiled a billboard in SoHo with an unusually techie twist: speakers that blast sound in a concentrated area. When a passerby walks in the cone of sound they hear a voice as though it were inside their head, while someone standing right next to them would hear nothing. The idea is to present the illusion of having a voice inside your head. The thing is, the billboard presents something of a Scooby Doo moment...

                            

                          The kids of Paranormal State, looking scary, yet attractive. Perfect for TV! (A&E)

In the Scooby Doo cartoons, for those who don’t recall or were too busy eating Scooby snacks to remember, the gang would travel in their psychedelic van to assorted “haunted” houses. Locals would swear that they were haunted, citing voices, apparitions, etc… Ultimately of course there were no ghosts, just creepy old guys in masks using special effects to trick people into thinking they were ghosts. And if it wasn’t for those meddling kids they would have gotten away with it too.

 

Having watched the first few episodes of Paranormal State, I am willing to say they are just as ridiculous as Scooby Doo was, and not nearly as entertaining. Some noises here and there, a cold spot or warm spot, some people swearing they totally saw something. Hell, they even busted out some “mediums” who not surprisingly found lots of spirits (have they ever not found spirits? If someone gave me a check I would tell them I felt a presence too).

 

This is why the billboard is so ironic: the ghostly effect created by the billboard is much more convincing than anything actually seen in the silly show… and no one is saying the billboard is haunted.

 

TV has been bombarded with assorted paranormal shows and all of them seem to lack that je ne sais quoi. The “ghost hunters” all of them amateurish (plumbers on Sci Fi’s Ghost Hunters, college kids on Paranormal State), at best seem to find drafty old houses. The most compelling footage seems to come more from the editing room than beyond the grave.

 

I bet if I put that sound emitting speaker in a house and said it was haunted, the ghost hunters would buy it hook line and sinker. Maybe we could even get We’s John Edward or Lifetime's Lisa Williams to “speak” to the not-really-dead.  So how about it A&E? That would be good television.


Posted by Alex Weprin on December 14, 2007 | Comments (13)


December 14, 2007
In response to: Paranormal State Undermines Own Concept
Podblack.wordpress.com commented:

You're brilliant! Thanks for the best review yet, I've just blogged it. :)




December 15, 2007
In response to: Paranormal State Undermines Own Concept
mikem commented:

well said, weprin




December 16, 2007
In response to: Paranormal State Undermines Own Concept
CHUCK1 commented:

IT'S FUNNY HOW COME YOU DON'T GO OUT THERE WITH THEM, NOW NOT EVERYONE REMEMBER'S BUT MTV (GIVE ME A MIN) HAD A SHOW LIKE THIS REMEMBER THE KIDS WOULD GO OUT AND SEE THE HAUNTED HOUSES WELL THEY PULLED THE SHOW BEACUSE THE KIDS BROUGHT BACK THINGS WITH THEM BAD THINGS REMEMBER IF YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND THE DEAD HOW CAN YOU UNDERSTAND THE LIVING I SAY YOU GO WITH THIS CREW JUST FOR ONE NIGHT AND MAYBE YOU WILL BE WRITING SUM THANG DIFFERENT... FACE YOUR OWN FEARS




December 17, 2007
In response to: Paranormal State Undermines Own Concept
arogers commented:

great review! but i dont think fred had a demon chasing him, so hes not as cool as ryan. of course you can say the name of the demon, but can flash it across national tv. It seems like a cheap way to strike the fear of god into people. sorry, but my bible makes a good door stop. not that im a non-believer, but give me objective proof. I would love to go with any ghost hunter group. I am willing to die, no joke, in the name of science to prove ghosts exist. currently the annual deaths per year for ghosts are ..hmm...0...sky diving on the other hand are 13 per year... ill take my chances with Belail. Please dont say the name, i dont want bad things to come to you. good entertaining show at moments, but scooby doo always has cooler plots and fewer crazies. the one thing i disagree with is you lack of mentioning the decently hot college chicks, who i believe are assistants in the background. new title for the show "hot chicks in haunted places". at least someone will watch then!




December 23, 2007
In response to: Paranormal State Undermines Own Concept
dealt soul commented:

Suckie review. How u gonna post a review on something you really dont have any idea what in true and not. Ever thought that some reviews like this will strike someone the wrong way, you know a bit discrimating on some religins.




January 2, 2008
In response to: Paranormal State Undermines Own Concept
maga7 commented:

You never know.




January 21, 2008
In response to: Paranormal State Undermines Own Concept
Rhys Hovey commented:

The billboard that is in use in NY for this series, is a simplified version of an ultrasound weapon that is used by organized crime to try to force people to kill themselves or very extended periods of time, pointed at their homes, and the FBI is not helping victims. This can be shown, please help spread awareness of this weapon. Give your children a choice. Learn about this crime from: www.youtube.com/rhyspaulhovey




February 7, 2008
In response to: Paranormal State Undermines Own Concept
what? ever commented:

CHUCK1: "IF YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND THE DEAD HOW CAN YOU UNDERSTAND THE LIVING" That is the stupidest thing I've ever heard, ever... if that were true then we would all be pretty screwed would we? How do people like you make it out of high school, I mean really.




February 8, 2008
In response to: Paranormal State Undermines Own Concept
Teacher commented:

The name of the show on MTV was titled "MTV''''s Fear". It lasted for a season and a half due to the unexplained phenomena castmembers endured AFTER their initial encounters on the show. A reunion show was aired between the end of the first season and the beginning of the second season where the former students were given an opportunity to speak about their experiences. Many of them admitted to being possessed by spirits or having a personal experience that led them to have more respect for the paranormal. It is my opinion that the general population fall into several categories regarding the supernatural: You have those who whole-heartedly believe, those whole-heartedly oppose, those who base their beliefs on that which can be proven, and the latter who could simply care less one way or the other. This is an age-old debate that will continue as long as humans continue to be the dominant species. It comes down to what you pesonally WANT to believe. Is their really life after death, or do we cease to exist completely after death?




February 19, 2008
In response to: Paranormal State Undermines Own Concept
PARANORMAL STATE SUCKS commented:

I'm laughing in hysterics about all the comments of "not understanding the dead..." This show does NOTHING to help me or anyone else understand the dead or the paranormal. It's a hacky show designed to score dollars for A & E and its producers. I doubt the children they call "experts" on this show (they frequently flash their field of expertise under their faces because you don't actually see them doing anything expert in the show - ever) even make enough money to make rent much less toothpaste. AND IT'S DUMB! I love the paranormal field but am outraged that TV still treats it like a sleepover ghost story. GROW UP. And make sure your experts are GROWN UP, too!




March 4, 2008
In response to: Paranormal State Undermines Own Concept
historian commented:

I attempted to watch two episodes of this show---it contains plenty of of pseudo science, but very little actual investigation and research. They take eyewitness claims for granted, do not look up property records and descriptions, newspapers accounts, the origin of the stories that they are looking into. No polygraphs (which are themselves disputed), no imagination tests (to determine if people could be misinterpreting ordinary noises, sights, etc.) no looking into natural explanations for 'hauntings', such as the peltier effect, building structure and noise levels, water sources, electrical sources. There are interesting paranormal cases, but there's little credible analysis on this show.




May 4, 2008
In response to: Paranormal State Undermines Own Concept
Lauren commented:

The reason I do enjoy watching this show is because the group does do research about the houses and their previous owners. They do look up property records and research old newspaper articles. They also contact people who can give them insight on the houses histories, including interviewing family members, friends and long time neighbors. They also question the menatal stability of those claiming to be haunted, and occassionally do fail to find evidence of true hauntings.




June 16, 2008
In response to: Paranormal State Undermines Own Concept
cjb commented:

Great review! I've watched some of the shows, and while it seemed to me like it was a bit candy coated, it was an easy hour kill on Monday night. I stopped watching when the whole Belial thing started. Granted, I wouldn't call myself an "expert" but I can't see how a group of college kids with camera equipment are. Maybe if I bought a bunch of fancy equipment and got a group of "experts" together I could make a show too? Anyway, considering what reading and research I've done on my own, I think Belial has better things to do than follow this guy around.





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