TAPS Ghosthunters Paranormal Show Review

Weird as it seems, a comment to my site prompted this entry to my blog. I get a lot of traffic to this blog because of Most Haunted, and GhostHunters/ TAPS searches. In a few searches my site pops up a the first web article (to which I can only say "sorry" to fans of MH and TAPS).

I'm a huge fan of paranormal shows that seem to be never ending on our cable television line up. Travel Channel, for example, inundates us with shows about haunted houses, haunted inns, haunted places left and right. In fact it seems that there are so many stories about ghosts and goblins that you'd have to wonder where the "travel" component fits in.

I guess they must do well in the ratings game since the theme never changes and people keep tuning in. Back several years ago, Travel Channel began carrying "Most Haunted" which quickly became a favorite show of mine - besides interest in ghosts and spirits, I also enjoy watching shows about old castles, old structures, museums, and history of the British Isles. Most Haunted has a reputation for having some staged activity and they fired a medium for faking a contact with an alleged ghost. I go into all of that in this post. But Most Haunted has a great staff and crew and the show is fun to watch - whether its choreographed or not. MH never fails the viewer to provide some entertainment and a laugh.

GhostHunters (or TAPS) is another paranormal show that airs on Sci-Fi Channel. It's sort of ironic that a show dedicated to "scientific investigation" of ghosts airs on the "SCIENCE FICTION CHANNEL" but there is humor in most things. I gave a pretty harsh review of TAPS show in general and a comical review of TAPS at Lisheen Ruins. I received some hate mail from some of their dedicated fans but that's perfectly understandable given the fact that TAPS has a paranormal cult following. Of course, it's nowhere near the size of the Most Haunted following which has a life of its own.
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In a lot of ways, GhostHunters is a cheap imitation of Most Haunted. Most Haunted is directed and produced by Yvette Fielding and her husband Karl Beattie - two well-respected people in film and theatre. Just about every aspect of Most Haunted has a professional appearance - from the theme music to the camera coordination through out the show. TAPS on the other hand is a show that never seems to get off the ground. Between redundant clips that often reveal nothing such as Jason debunking mist for breathing, or endless minutes of watching them connect and disconnect wires - with the TAPS crew, it's amateur hour and a disappointing one at that
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Moreover, for fans interested in seeing paranormal activity captured, most of the Ghost Hunter shows are a total bust. The fact that they waste so much time in the Reveal section of the show to tell someone they didn't find anything is beyond me. I think one of the worst episodes had to be the recent adventure in Salem. The only one that seemed to get something out of this show was Donna, who had a chance to relive her youth, but for the rest of us, it was one ugly ride to nowhere. No ghosts, no goblins, nothing. A big fat zero. And when TAPS can't even catch a ghost in Salem, MA, they might as well hang up their Proton Packs.

You'd have to believe GhostHunters/TAPS is on its last leg. Last evening they went back to the Sanatorium for a live Halloween special which featured ECW Wrestler Elijah as an assistant paranormal investigator. It's clear to everyone that TAPS has reached a new low by trying to mix pro wrestling with ghost-hunting. You have to wonder if TAPS realizes that viewer reaction was so negative to such a move. Or did Sci-Fi Channel impose the use of Elijah as a marketing stunt to either bring better ratings to Ghosts Hunters or viewers to ECW. Quite frankly, you'd think that the genre for both is entirely different so its a bizarre mix anyway.

Naturally, it took about two minutes for Elijah to "see something". After about an hour of this mess, and monitoring an accompanying website that didn't function properly, I decided it was time for bed. I kept hoping that Jason and Grant my disprove my theory that they are the two most incompetent ghost hunters on the planet, but alas they failed me. Instead of holding contests to add to staff, they should have a contest to replace themselves and their producer. It's God-awful television.

And don't get me wrong. Each week I root like heck for them to get it right. I still think one of the best paranormal episodes on television was a GhostHunters episode that featured a haunted lighthouse where they absolutely captured activity of something following them up and down the stairs. If anyone remembers the name of the location, please feel free to comment.

The biggest disappointment on Halloween night 2007 is that Travel Channel didn't team with Living TV and deliver us an episode of Most Haunted Live. Maybe you guys can get it right next time. Meanwhile, its time for Grant and Jason to get back to plumbing. Whoever thought Derek Achorah would upstage GhostHunters?

And yes, I carved the pumpkin in the picture. Thank God for easy designs.

Most Haunted OR Ghost Hunters

Ghost Hunters - TAPS: Paranormal show review

Switching gears from my usual diatribe, I have to comment on a television show that I usually watch on Wednesday evenings courtesy of the Sci Fi Channel: Ghost Hunters. The show is about T.A.P.S. (The Atlantic Paranormal Society). TAPS is about two daytime plumbers, Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson, who turn into ghost hunters in the evening or weekends (not sure which) who travel to alleged hunted locations and attempt to either capture or disprove paranormal activity.

Previously, I commented on the show where they investigated Lisheen Ruins, which was mildly entertaining with some interesting phenomena captured - but nothing that gave you the "wow" factor. I've been watching the show since its inception thinking that it might rival Most Haunted (another show about ghost hunting see my story here). And I have to say that this season has been very disappointing. In fact, its been painful to watch. Which is why although I've been watching, there hasn't been enough interesting footage or dialogue witnessed to warrant the amount of time and effort it takes to write a review (even a fun, satiric one).

Ghost Hunters is a mixed bag. I believe that these guys are earnestly trying to catch or disprove that ghosts haunt dwellings and places. They use electronic tools and go about their work in a highly-professional manner - as opposed to having Derek Acohra running around feigning possession (reference to previous seasons of Most Haunted prior to Acohra being fired). There is no question on the sincerity of the TAPS group in what they hope to accomplish, and by the methodology employed. The problem is that the show is simply uneventful if not downright boring; instead of providing interesting footage of ghosts or moving chairs, or even noise that go bump in the night, it is mired with discussions about TAPS staff behavior, and lots of footage of running wire cables, and conducting technical set up (and break down), and silly discussions by the two younger investigators with footage of their foolish and misplaced antics - for example, a three minutes sequence where one was afraid of a spider (all seem very distracting, and why would we care?). Sadly, the best segments this season have been the tours of the sites prior to the investigation.

Ghost Hunters seems like its more about "how TAPS operates" than it is about ghost hunting, which is unfortunate. I have two theories on why this is. One is that they simply aren't catching enough phenomena (because there isn't any) so they are using all of the "nonsense" as filler to fulfill their hour commitment to the Sci Fi Network each week, or two - they aren't going about their investigations properly hence they are catching nothing to show viewers (and then are forced to provide filler, etc).

Whatever, the rationale, the show has really taking a major fall this season. These kinds of shows are few and far between for those of us who enjoy shows about the paranormal. But airing a show with little content, if not being somewhat dishonest in the presentation by fading commercial with Wilson exclaiming, "what the frig" as if he's captured true phenomena, only to learn upon return that it is a false read -- is nothing short of - disingenuous, if not - insulting to the viewer. (It's more along the lines of, we know that so far we are boring the death out of our viewers, but we've got to go to commercial, and if we don't keep the hook in, they are bound to change the channel!)

And moreover, cramming in two sites into two half hour segments is self defeating. By 20 after the hour (as in last night's USS Lexington show), the viewer already figures that the investigation is a "bust" since there is little time left to investigate in the given half hour allotted, and we know they will stop investigating and provide the viewer the consistent "Breakdown", "Analysis" and "Reveal" segments. This almost makes you want to stop watching immediately.

Ghost Hunters would serve it viewership well by being more selective about what they air each week. Shows that are mildly entertaining with little to no spirit content should be nixed from the on the air schedule. The airing of these shows after showing trailers all week that set high expectations with viewers is very much like going to a fine dining restaurant after reading a great review, envisioning receipt of the perfect fillet minon, but having someone deliver you a cold grilled cheese.

Jason and Grant should get their act together. This show could be so much more if they just focused on providing quality, and not quantity.

Most Haunted OR Ghost Hunters

Most Haunted Live coming to the United States on June 1st!

For those who don't know, I'm a big fan of the British- based show Most Haunted which is hosted by Yvette Fielding. Fielding is is usually flanked by spiritual medium, David Wells and a small band of regulars - team members who investigate paranormal activity, and crew operating cameras and sound equipment. There is great chemistry with the group as they look for spirits from the netherworld during their weekly taped broadcast. The show airs in Britain on LivingTV, and in the United States on The Travel Channel, Fridays at 10 p.m. (with a usual repeat airing on Saturday mornings at 9 a.m. for those of us that need the sleep - check listings).

Well there is exciting news for Most Haunted enthusiasts! On June 1st - to sort of kick off the new season - the Most Haunted Live crew plan to visit the Eastern State Penitentiary located in Pennsylvania for an unprecedented seven hour live broadcast beginning at 8 p.m on the Travel Channel. ESP, as its fondly referred to was built around 1828, and is full of lore and reports of ghostly happenings. This is a perfect site for our gang of paranormal investigators to research and the fact that its States-side is even more exciting!

My thoughts on the show

While I won't get into the topic of whether or not I believe in ghosts in this article, I have to concede that there is good reason that Most Haunted has a huge world-wide fan base that is near to a cult proportion following amongst its viewers. The show is incredibly entertaining and is so well produced that you want to tune in each Friday to see what happens next.

The show has something for everyone since it contains elements of history, architecture, drama, storytelling, terror, humor, and some buffoonery - all components that make it all the worth while to tune in each week. It generally follows the same format in a very predictable fashion - which is obviously what works since the ratings are through the roof here and abroad. In fact, the UK is currently airing its ninth season on LivingTV (and we will be viewing the seveth series here in the United States via Travel Channel beginning on June 8th).

Each episode starts out with a brief two minute introduction by Yvette Fielding on where this weeks' location is and what kinds of creepy happenings have been seen or heard by visitors to the location. This sort of level sets the scare to raise your expectations and level of anxiety. This is then followed by about a 7 minute daylight tour of the location led by the show's guest medium, who is usually flanked and fed leading questions by Director Yvette Fielding who clearly is rooting for something to creep up and haunt the crew to haides. The medium almost always picks up on vibes or sees images in his minds eye showing events or people that have dwelled in the building, and are still in astral form on the premises, who are, we are told, watching the crew as they walk the location. And there is usually a promise that the location is quite active tonight, and they can expect "activity".

What is usually remarkable (or silly depending on your take) about this part of the show is that the viewers are always told that the medium is never provided any information about the location prior to his arrival. So then when the medium generally manages to "pick up on" or "communicate" with a person who is identified by name, and that name fits almost precisely with a previous owner or resident's name - and is confirmed by the team skeptic/historian (who accompanies the medium and Fielding), it lends to either solidify the "ohhhs and ahhhs" for those who believe that what they are seeing is real, or provides laughter for those who think the show is nothing more than a choreographed sketch. Either way, its extremely gripping.

After receiving a commitment of ghosts and ghouls watching (and sometimes warning), we switch to night vision camera mode. The rest of the show is filled with the team investigating the rooms (and sometimes grounds) either alone or in small groups, filming and recording sounds like moans, creeks, bangs and knocks that show a terrified crew screaming and jumping about asking "what was that"; occasionally light anomalies are captured on screen that show up as orbs and streaks of light - and generally appear at the time that the spirits are called upon to "let them know they are there." Most Haunted rewinds these particular sightings for us to see for ourselves in the case we missed it, or want to validate for ourselves.

The team tend to do much of the same each week and at times to give it flavor they practice "table tipping", to operating a make shift Ouija Boards where yes or no questions are often fed to the spirit to get provocative answers to stir the moment. Sometimes, and particularly when Derek Acorah was a member of the team (more on him later), the audience would have to endure a "possession" or two by a spirit over the medium. When they occur, they are by far the most hokiest part of the show that generally leaves viewers perplexed and agitated.

All in all, its an entertaining hour that speeds by. You get just enough of each segment to leave you wanting more, and there is generally enough 'evidence' to get you to partially believe that what you are seeing makes the case that ghosts do in fact haunt the location. I can recall early in the initial seasons that there were a few investigations that had gone bust. For some reason, this never happens now, although activity ranges from active to slightly active. The viewers are told that the MH crew has more ghostly experiences because the trust they have in each other after working together so long benefits their ability to make contact with those who have passed on. Simply put, it would be a very boring show if they just sat around in the dark with nothing happening.

Staging Elements and Derek Acorah; Most Haunted exposed

Most Haunted went through a rough period of accusations of staging. To some this is like what Pro Wrestling went through in the 1990s, when it was revealed that it was choreographed staging and entertainment than actual competitive battling. But like wresting, there are those who are going to believe its real no matter what evidence you provide. And today wrestling is as popular as ever and still taken as real by some viewers.

The problem with MH is that its base viewership probably wants to believe - because spiritualism is a very serious thing for some people - and MH provides a link to that whole world, so when stories or videos leak on the Internet exposing MH, there is an angry backlash amongst the viewership. A series of events exposing Derek Acorah happened during a few Most Haunted tapings which eventually ended up with either Derek's dismissal from the show or his leaving. We still don't have the straight story on this and perhaps never will. Ciarán O'Keeffe, paranormal investigator and MH skeptic called Derek out and accused him of being a fake after O'Keefe intentionally slipped a name to him through the MH crew which was nothing more than an anagram that read "Derek Faker" and another time they slipped one in that read "Derek Lies". There is a good article here from the UK's Daily Mirror expose on Most Haunted's most entertaining, and least trusted medium. And here is another article on the matter.

I have to admit that even my wife found Derek's antics over-acted, and his numerous possessions came across as very fake, violent, and down-right agitating. I think for most of us, who sort of sit on the fence on what we are seeing, felt as though we were be pushed over to the "this whole thing is total BS category" nearly every time Derek appeared. And the more he appeared, the worse his antics became. Ultimately, I believe Derek's leaving had much to do with saving Most Haunted's reputation with viewers. He became a liability they could no longer float. Reports are that the crew on the show wanted Derek gone much sooner but the producers had to weigh this against his popularity which helped with ratings. This site provides video that pretty much closes the book on Acorah - you can view for yourself and decide. I think to save both Derek's professional career and Most Haunted's credibility, the two simply agreed to part ways quietly. Thus Derek was gone after Series 6.

Life after Acorah

In contrast, David Wells, who now serves as Most Haunted's full time medium, is a mild, mannered, low-key, believable medium, who tends to approach his work cautiously and seriously. At times, he simply cannot reach the spirits, which I believe lends to his credibility, and adds to the show's overall credibility. Wells is a full time medium and UK astrologer who devotes time to other shows and specials on spiritualism, etc.

It's sort of remarkable that when Acorah and Wells were on the same show, the often didn't pick up on the same spirits. I would bet that from a professional standpoint, Wells and Acorah probably don't comment on each other's talents.

Nothwithstanding, the show continuous to flourish, and there appear to be plenty of sites for the Most Haunted crew to investigate world-wide. Fans are hoping that MH doesn't run its course and come to an end, but with 175 episodes already taped, there are always the reruns for those who want to watch.

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Conclusion

As part of this blog, I think I will begin commenting on Most Haunted Live and Series 7 which will all begin on June 1st with the Eastern State Penitentiary show.

Happy viewing!

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Other links:

Eastern State Peniteniary

More on Acorah since his removal from MH

Tribute to Most Haunted

Most Haunted Locations by Series

Most Haunted OR Ghost Hunters