Destination Truth: Let's be honest...

English: Joshua Gates at the 2009 Comic-Con International in San Diego, California. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Ok so we make it a point to watch all "paranormal-esque" shows on television. Last night we checked out Destination Truth and it seems that Josh Gates and Erin Ryder have picked up a few new recruits. It wasn't long into the show that we realized these people must be getting some "direction" from the producers because no one could be that gullible and dramatic.
Don't get us wrong, we love Josh Gates, his humor alone is entertaining. That being said, we thought the whole "investigating the Mayan temples" segment to be rather silly. Why? Well lets be honest, it's in the middle of the jungle yet each noise they heard  just had to be "strange and paranormal" or so they acted-- and "big."  Never mind that a jungle is teaming with all sorts of wildlife, which we can assume is probably the source of the movement and noise...Hate to say it, but there is a an "over-reaction" to every sound and this is strange to see for such "seasoned" investigators.

If you ever venture into even a "bushy" area of your back yard in the dark, you will hear noises that seem "strange." However, this is the case in most wooded, bushy areas. Mice, birds, etc all make their presence heard in the dark. In fact you'll hear more then, than you will in the day. Go out tonight and see. Mice make an excessive amount of noise for their size.

In the second segment of the show they were off to Figi to look for some sort of large creature in the water. The most hilarious moment of the show was when Josh Gates was on some sort of a "makeshift" raft that just so happened to be left behind ever so conveniently and got knocked off by again, something "large." What is so strange is he just stood there, wouldn't you improve your chances of staying on the raft by getting down low on it ? At least crouch down? A stump underneath the water could scrape against the raft and cause you to easily lose your balance.

Ryder and her teammate kept radioing in that they saw something in the water and guess what....it was "big." Why is this a shocker? It's the ocean, there's big things in it. We had to chuckle when Ryder said, "whatever it was, it was bigger than any fish.." Has she ever researched the fact that Figi is well known for their big game fish, in some cases they have Blue Marlin that exceed 500 lbs. in weight? Or the Yellow fin tuna which is one of the largest tuna weighing in at around 300 lbs? Better yet the Giant Trevally? Known to enjoy the coastal waters and rivers of the islands? Should we mention there are still a few humpback whales that can be seen, dolphin and sea turtles too?

Ah well...the lesson here we think is that the chances of the Destination crew seeing something "otherworldly" or "paranormal" as probably slim in Figi. They may see something unclassified by man, but chances are we've missed it, and the ocean is a really big place. Let's not over dramatize though..it really makes the show a lot less legitimate.

Ghost Hunters New Season

Cable's Sy Fy network is obviously onto a good thing with their paranormal shows. While some stay interesting, others seem to falter through trials and tribulations, will this work for ratings? Etc. I know what they are doing, heck I do it all the time as a freelance writer, you find a topic, write on it and if you get a staggering number of hits, you branch off of that story and write more in hopes of capturing the magic again and again.

Sy Fy did this with Ghost Hunters, now you guys know, by now my big problems with the direction GH was going in, too commercial, too many celebrities, and almost on the brink of being well, over exposed. I called for a return to the basics (investigating real homes and I will make allowance for prisons and mental hospitals), what got me watching their show in the first place. Like all shows that start off great, money and fame seem to pollute it.

Image via WikipediaCue Ghost Hunters International. Well, lets just say this, I expect old castles and old buildings from old countries to be haunted. I say leave them alone. Going over to Scotland, England etc and stirring up ghosts in their domain that aren't bothering anyone is a little old hat now.. At best they may get an interesting EVP. At worst you fall asleep on your couch and realize with some disappointment that you did not sleep through the entire show. Everyone knows the Old World is haunted. If I am going to watch a bunch of people going off to remote areas of the world in pursuit of paranormal activity, I will watch Josh Gates in Destination Truth. Gates side remarks and statements he makes under his breath about the locals on any given show are golden and worth watching. I get his sense of humor and he is entertaining to say the least.

Image via WikipediaCue Ghost Hunters Academy. Why? This show also fell short in so many ways. First of all lets start of with Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson's golden boy Steve Consalves. Steve has a condescending air to him that some find off-putting. Why Hawes and Wilson fell in love with him is beyond me. I think he was an odd choice to head up this so called “academy.” Especially when you consider he is a walking mass of phobias. However, when you consider he wont fly in airplanes, squeals at the sight of bugs it's no surprise he is given the job of choosing the next GH member instead of investigating. Dave Tango, actually we think Dave Tango is worth a damn. He rarely yaks throughout an investigation, takes his job seriously and seems to be a sincere fellow. TPB (That Paranormal Blog) likes Tango. However, this show is not interesting for the most part and the fact that Consalves seems to nit pick over mundane mistakes the newbies make is irritating.

I remember plenty of goofy mistakes Consalves made when he was a newbie as well. In fact, note to self, If ever there is a Ghost Hunters Bloopers special, I'M THERE! Oh and while I have mentioned this before, please tell the females on the show, all of them, to Shut up!!! They talk continuously through investigations and it is maddening! Not that I have missed anything, other than the occasional “what was that?” or the occasional “bang/footsteps” that they claim to hear. Unlike some other paranormal shows, the camera man is never aimed in the direction GH investigators are looking which is why WE never see a damn thing.

Oh and for what it's worth, Bring back Weezy! Brian Harnois was fun to watch, had a colorful personality. For all his faults and so called mistakes the man would get on a plane for Christ's sake! Every mistake was blown out of proportion on the show and while they raked Harnois over the coals they all but breast fed Consalves and made exceptions for all of his errors and phobias. I recall someone “Consalves” criticizing him for wearing a hat that said “Dude Run”, a remark Harnois made while running from a ghost in one of the shows. I guess the “dude run” phrase gained some popularity. I think Consalves should get a hat that says, “Eek a spider, I'm going home.” Ok I guess I bashed Consalves enough.

Don't worry Ghost Hunters, although I am a harsh critic of your show, I continue to watch and hope that your latest season will be the best. Jason Hawes you remind me of my dad, so I can't possibly dislike you, and Grant, you seem like a nice enough fellow, I like your calm approach and soft spot for kids. You also have a lot of talents, composes music, plays guitar, writes and illustrates fantasy characters etc..I even heard you were quite the accomplished “chef.” Good luck in this new season..