The Amateur Scientist Reviews: Paranormal State
Brian Thompson
Imagine you’re a hollow husk of a human being. You’re running only on your body’s autonomous systems and perhaps a 20oz. bottle of Mountain Dew. Yes, your brain still works, but only inasmuch as it isn’t blocking the signals from your eyes, and you’ve often taken the advice of local newspaper film critics and “checked” it “at the door” in order to enjoy things like flashing lights and the Star Wars prequels. Even at this point—even when your standards of entertainment have been lowered to the point where they’re nothing but a gaping crater—even then, A&E’s Paranormal State is a malignant tumor in your television.
I watched the entire season one DVD set in a single sitting, and I’ve finally come to terms with the fact that those hours are lost to me. There is no life after death for this wasted time. Set up all the electromagnetic field detectors and infrared cameras you like, and you’ll find no trace of them. No other experience has so forcefully driven home the utter despair of an existential reality. True, I didn’t believe in an afterlife before, but the exploits of the Paranormal State crew have done nothing to change my mind. I hope there is no afterlife, so our ghosts can be saved the indignity of being chased around by these witless buffoons.
Ryan Buell is the host/perpetrator. This may not be apparent at first, since he doesn’t demonstrate any of the traditional traits one expects in a television presenter—likability, varied inflection, personality. But the show does seem to be designed solely to perpetuate Buell’s messianic delusions. In the intro, he explains that as a child he was terrified by paranormal experiences, so he made it his life’s mission to investigate the mysterious. With every investigation, he’s one step closer to the truth. Buell doesn’t elaborate as to what these terrifying experiences were, offer any evidence that they actually occurred, or tell us why we should give a sh!t. He does point out, however, that sometimes he and his team of dumbfounded pretend researchers act as warriors. In what capacity is anyone’s guess, as they spend most of their time on the show running around in the dark and looking confused.
When I came to the end of the season, I must admit to being mystified. Why did A&E give these morons a show? And before you jump on me for name-calling, let me remind you that Buell’s chief researcher’s unintelligible and nonsensical mumbles must occasionally be subtitled even though she’s speaking English. It’s the Arts and Entertainment channel, after all. As a kid, I’d watch tours down the Rhine during the day and Monty Python and the Holy Grail at night. Now the channel’s just a depository for ghost enthusiasts with delusions of grandeur and racist bounty hunters with mullets.
Even in a field as chock full of nonsense and idiocy as paranormal research, Buell and his Penn State-based Paranormal Research Society can’t possibly be considered experts. Buell himself is only 25 and started the PRS as a student organization. Their official website claims that some Penn State faculty and staff members have joined the group (say goodbye to tenure!), but this isn’t evident on the show. These are the kind of candle-wielding neo-Pagans you see wearing Tim Burton t-shirts in the New Age section of Barnes & Noble. In other words, they’re a nuisance. Every episode begins with the written introduction: “Each year, PRS receives hundreds of reports of paranormal activity…only responding to the most severe.” But how much experience could these kids rack up in less than six years? And don’t any of them ever graduate?
I’m not going to go through every episode since they’re mostly all the same. Sure, there’s the occasional monster story. They even investigate the famous West Virginia Mothman, though their detective work consists of running into the woods in the middle of the night and not finding anything. But the show largely coasts by on various hauntings. For the purposes of this review, I’ll focus on a typical episode entitled “Vegas”.
The PRS crew uses their A&E budget to (apparently) ignore their academic obligations and fly to Las Vegas, where a 14-year-old girl claims to be visited by a dead peer. The girl seems normal enough, but one wonders what her mother was thinking calling a group of paranormal researchers with cameras instead of a licensed psychologist to deal with her daughter’s visions. We’re told via Buell’s obnoxious voiceover that the girl has a traumatic past, though it’s unclear how exactly she was abused. This is a serious issue and another reason why the PRS is wholly unqualified to deal with this poor girl, but that doesn’t stop Buell from drawing some kind of parallel between his own allegedly horrific childhood and hers. Buell obviously thinks he’s a real-life Fox Mulder, but this kind of crap comes off as both irresponsible and exploitative.
As investigators, the PRS team are worthless. The girl says her ghostly companion’s name is Emily and that she has bruises around her neck as if she were strangled. Mumbles the Researcher and her crew of interns search Las Vegas’ public records but are unable to come up with any violent crimes committed near the girl’s home involving an Emily. So without any reason why they should do so, they decide to comb through a national database, and (surprise!) find a 15-year-old named Emily who was strangled to death. Only the real-life Emily was murdered in 1990. In San Antonio. Instead of seeing this evidence and wondering why a ghost would wait seventeen years before manifesting herself in another state, Buell becomes instantly convinced that this is the ghost they’re looking for. And instead of having the girl describe and corroborate the details of the murder, they show her the police report and tell her that this is the ghost she’s been seeing.
At this point, Buell brings in a parapsychologist to talk to the girl and provide a professional opinion on her condition. A parapsychologist, you see, is like a psychologist, only without the scientific education, ethics, or expertise. Basically, they’re just like those kids in the New Age book section, only they’re grown up and have their shirts tucked in. Of course the parapsychologist backs up the girl’s story. That’s why they brought him. But he also rules out the possibility that she might be hallucinating her dead friend by saying that at fourteen, she’s too young to be schizophrenic. I’m no doctor, so I don’t know if she’s schizophrenic or not, but a two-second Google search will tell you that the peak onset years for schizophrenia are adolescence and early adulthood. Not only are they exploiting this girl, they’re giving false medical advice. This has left the realm of crap TV and turned into a criminal act.
Sadly, it gets worse. Buell brings in his recurring sidekick, a self-proclaimed psychic medium named Chip Coffey. In most of his appearances, Coffey is a fairly innocuous presence. He usually just wanders around talking about how he senses emotions in various corners of a room. In this case, he pretends to play the role of skeptic, asking Buell if he’s directly asked the girl if she’s making all of this up. Buell acts like the thought has never occurred to him, and it probably hasn’t. I can think of several other thoughts that have probably never occurred to him. Buell asks Coffey how they would know if the girl were telling the truth, to which, based on nothing, Coffey responds, “She’ll tell me.” Coffey then lies on the girl’s bedroom floor as if he’s her best friend over for a slumber party and poses the obvious question. She says that everything she’s recounted is 100% true. Instead of questioning her further, Coffey exclaims “Good for you!” and proceeds to tell her all about how she’s a medium with a “special gift”.
Let me get this out of the way: Chip Coffey is slime. Go to his website, and you’ll see that he touts his ability to communicate with your dead loved ones, bringing you comfort and peace. But like every other charlatan in his business, he’ll charge you out the ass for that peace. $400 an hour for a telephone “reading”. Never mind the fact that if he or anyone like him can prove they have these powers, there’s a million dollar prize waiting from the James Randi Educational Foundation. Coffey could say he isn’t interested in the prize, but why then is he interested in your $400? Keep in mind that this is the man Buell offers to “mentor” this disturbed young girl. I wonder how much money Coffey could fleece from her mother.
Paranormal State eventually falls into the same trappings as every other half-baked ghost hunting farce. Buell asserts that 3 AM is known as “dead time”, when paranormal activity is at its peak, though he doesn’t back up this claim with anything as mundane as evidence or even reasoning. During “dead time”, the PRS team sets up motion detectors and infrared cameras. I have no idea how a non-corporeal being would set off a motion detector, and neither does Sergey, the PRS tech guy. And the IR cameras are set up to look for “cold spots” in the room, but just like in every other ghost hunting show, there’s never any explanation as to why ghosts would necessarily make a room cold.
I could go on and on about the true horrors of this pseudo-horror show. There’s a disturbing amount of Catholic mysticism—lots of holy water and crosses and blessed icons of the saints buried in the four corners of property. Taking Paranormal State at face value, it’s amazing how easy it is to rid a house of an evil spirit just by telling it to go away in Jesus’ name. Don’t spend too much time thinking about why this would be the case, considering Jesus’ dad supposedly created those spirits and could theoretically have stopped them from terrorizing these people in the first place.
It’s the involvement of innocent children in this nonsense that is the real tragedy here. The very first episode deals with another obviously disturbed kid whose delusions Buell and his crew feed, nurture, and present to the world as entertainment. The hokey hyper-editing, ridiculous sound effects, and creaky production values aside, this show is pure trash, and the people involved should really be ashamed of themselves.
On one of the DVD commentary tracks, Buell explains his on-the-scene code word for angry demons. He calls them “bunnies”. The point here is to confuse them and rob them of their evil majesty. This is just one more lump on the bullsh!t pile, but on the off chance that these demons are actually real, I thought I’d give this little trick away. Demons, when you hear Buell running around in the dark talking about bunnies, that’s when you strike. In Jesus’ name, that’s when you strike.
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About The Amateur Scientist: Brian Thompson is a professor of amateur science at a major imaginary university. He has been able to read and write for over seventeen years.
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Holy crap. I’d never even heard of this show, but I’m certainly not going to watch it now. These people sound reprehensible for using kids like that.
Besides, from what you’ve written, I can guarantee that I’ve seen more convincing accounts of ghostly activity in fiction than what Paranormal State purports to be true.
Icanot belive,the things people write,useing children/i am 43 i was one of those children,with no one to help me?for the people who say i wont watch this show? so what!do your own thing! for people who have lived with six sences,mabey it helps us? it is not easy to live with clearvoiance,you live differently,than others! say what you want,this show helps people! what about drug rehab/shows? dont you think those help people?
What I find most disturbing is, as Brian points out, the exploitation and false medical advice. Kids can’t be diagnosed with Schizophrenia until age 18 (there are a few other psychotic disorders that applies to as well), but some kids start displaying schizophrenic symptoms long before that.
Hey, Brian. It’s me…Chip Coffey…the “charlatan” who “fleeces” people out of their hard earned money. Whereas I generally respect everyone’s right to express his/her opinions in appropriate fashion, I do expect that those opinions have some basis in FACT.
FYI:
1. Savannah, the young woman in the Vegas episode of “Paranormal State,” did receive evaluation/counseling from a licensed professional.
2. I received no money for the work I did with Savannah and her mother. And yes, I do charge for my services, but I also do a great deal of “pro bono” and volunteer work.
3. You are correct. I have no interest whatsoever in taking “The Randi Challenge.” Not because I don’t like money (most people, including you, I’d imagine, do), but because I find James Randi to be an obnoxious, closed-minded man with a vast ego. (At least that is his public persona.)
…AND I feel that I must “prove” myself only to my clients and God. (I’m sure you’ll have a derisive comeback for THAT statement!)
No one involved with PS is “ashamed” of the show. Or its frequent religious/spiritual content. Or the fact that we genuinely try to help our clients, who, by the way, overwhelmingly express gratitude for the work that we do with them.
Despite the fact that you do not like the show, it does, indeed, have a large fan base and will return for another season late in the summer.
I personally got to experience the gift of Chip Coffey. I was the one who sought out PRS…out of sheer desperation for the events me and my family had experienced for years. Chip impressed me with his insight of events that were NEVER divulged to the PRS team (or anyone else for that matter). He is the real-deal as far as I'm concerned. I thank the PRS team…and Chip for their assistance and help in trying to rid my home of the evil we have endured. For those of you who DON'T believe…I can understand. I was a non-believer until I lived it. This show is not scripted. It is not fake…we are REAL people with REAL problems…and no where to turn to. Thank you Chip! You made a difference in my life. The Fury.
Well, Chip, you haven’t refuted any of my facts. However, I’ll deal with your points in the order you dribbled them.
1. What kind of licensed professional evaluated/counseled Savannah? Why wasn’t this made clear in the show? Who was this person? And even if this is true, it still doesn’t change the fact that the show’s “parapsychologist” gave her a baseless negative schizophrenia diagnosis. Nor does it refute the fact that you encouraged her delusions with only a bare minimum of questioning.
2. I didn’t accuse you of receiving money for working with Savannah or her mother. I rightly accused you of fleecing money from those sadly gullible enough to pay for your “readings.” And a good deal of it at that.
3. We both enjoy the idea of money, but Randi’s personality has no bearing on the JREF challenge. It’s an independent test of fact conducted under controlled conditions. If you are able to prove your claimed abilities, you would not only win a million dollars, but you would also go down in history as the first so-called psychic to do so. Is your aversion to Randi’s ego enough to wave off a guaranteed Nobel Prize? And if you can’t prove your claimed abilities, what’s the point in claiming you have them? I expect my plumber to be able to prove he can unclog my toilet. Otherwise, I’d just call a clown like you. (Is that comeback derisive enough?)
I wouldn’t expect anyone involved with “Paranormal State” to be ashamed of the show, which is made clear in my review. That’s kind of why its existence is so reprehensible, in point of fact. Whether your clients are grateful for what you do is beside the point. Christian Scientists are grateful for the power of prayer up until the point when it doesn’t save them from cancer. Millions of people are grateful for homeopathic remedies even though they don’t work. It’s called the placebo effect. And charlatans like you feed on it. It’s not the fault of your victims, either. It’s no fault but your own.
I can actually cut Buell some slack. He’s young, ambitious, misinformed, and excited about being on TV. Understandable. You, however, as a veteran of this nonsense, are below forgiveness. But if you’d like to chat with me one-on-one for The Amateur Scientist Podcast, I’d be more than happy to give you a fair hearing. Email me: brian (at) amateurscientist.org.
“And the IR cameras are set up to look for “cold spots” in the room, but just like in every other ghost hunting show, there’s never any explanation as to why ghosts would necessarily make a room cold.”
There is a theory that as spirits try to manifest themselves they draw energy from their surroundings to fuel them as they try to communicate or appear while drawing this energy from the room making the temperature drop significantly. Just as many other things in this field it’s just a theory and is unproven.
As for your reply to Mr.Coffey on why the outside help to Savannah was not shown in the show, stop and consider the fact that this is a half hour program not including the time subtracted for commercials. I agree that the show has it weak points as does ANY show but there will never be enough time to show everything in the multiple day investigations, hence some things are cut. Yes, some of the things that aren’t mentioned in the show are relevant to the story but it happens and most of the time you can find more details on the shows on the net. May I also add that though I do not know this as a fact I’m almost positive that they don’t edit/add effects to the show personally so if you must, lay the brunt of your displeasure with that on A&E not the group themselves.
In all honesty PRS doesn’t exist solely for the entertainment of their audience. They are there to do what is asked of them and try to help out a family or individual, I entertain the idea that they may just be inducing a placebo effect but my view on that is, if it works what’s the problem? As for the people who are concerned with the effect the show may have on their audience, sure you could say that they are selling a “how to get rid of your malevolent spirits in 3 easy steps” guide(which once again there is much more to the investigations then is shown due to time so this statement is a bit ignorant) but none the less, if you honestly take advice and/or direction from your television without further research you have far worse problems then ghosts.
To reply to the accusations of the team handing out false medical information, there is no one stopping these people from exploring medical help. Yes there are some things said that in the context presented sounds a bit bad but I assure you that as I’ve said two times above, the team does a lot more then we see for the people they help and for entertainment and time reasons is not shown. The team is quite active in the internet community as are most people these day’s and if anyone has that much of a problem with the show why not try to contact the cast to find out more information rather then accusing them of “exploiting children and giving false medical advice” from what you saw on a 30 minute television program.
I don’t think I will get into the section where Chip Coffey is labeled “slime” because that would lead me to attack the lack of knowledge and pure rudeness of the statement rather then inform on the subject and it seems if that is truly Chip he defended himself as he saw fit.
You’re making an awful lot of assumptions here. Regardless of what wonderful standards the PRS crew may or may not have off-camera, they’re choosing to present themselves via this show. If A&E is hacking up their work and showing them in a false light, then PRS has a responsibility to set the record straight. What use is it to give any of these people the benefit of the doubt when they’ve had ample time to correct any mistakes that have been made on the show?
Also, the cold spot hypothesis (yes, it is a hypothesis–not a theory) you mentioned is post hoc, unscientific, and nonsensical. What kind of “energy” would this be? You may benefit from learning the definition of pseudoscience: unscientific claims supported with scientific jargon. See the same vague energy explanations for magnetic bracelets, reflexology foot pads, and feng shui.
And how could anyone be so callous and arrogant to believe that any lie that makes someone feel better is good for them? Since when has the truth been considered optional when it comes to helping people in need? The PRS gang may make someone feel like she isn’t being chased by demons for now, but what are they going to do when this person’s psychosis regroups? This is nothing but faith healing at best, and all those cripples you see being lifted from their wheelchairs by the greedy hands of a televangelist, I can assure you, fall back to reality the moment the cameras are turned off.
Which is where Chip Coffey and the rest of these PRS idiots earn the title of “slime.” They don’t care whether they’re telling the truth to these poor people. They film, they’re paid, and they leave. This is the definition of exploitation, and it’s particularly egregious when the exploited are as mentally and emotionally strained as the subjects of this show.
There’s no name for these people that is any ruder than the acts they perpetrate on television.
were you there?slime' sounds like you need some anger classes?
Ok, amateur scientist why should people listen to what you say when you probably don’t even know what you’re saying, after all your “display” name is AMATEUR SCIENTIST… Don’t you know that the word Amateur is defined as “a person inexperienced or unskilled in a particular activity”. So why should anyone go by what you say?
And honestly if you don’t want to be hounded by religious people, don’t talk badly about or say anything that can be implied as negitivity towards a religion. And Catholicism uses holy water for spiritual healing. For example when someone is babtised the religious leader will ask that person, ” Are you willing to serve and live by God?” and he/she will also have them say “God I give my life to you.” then he/she will tilt that person backwards into the water into an almost laying position then pull them back up and when that has been done that person is now cleansed of all their sins. The reason for a water babtismal is to rid someone of their sins and the bad/evil that presides within them.
And you said “Christian Scientists are grateful for the power of prayer up until the point when it doesn’t save them from cancer.” but if that person has chosen to believe in God and put there life into his hands, then they’ve chosen to have faith and know that what God does or does not do in their life is in God’s will for that person. God already knows what is going to happen in people’s lives, and if anyone chooses not to follow or believe in God find someone that does and ask to borrow their Bible, then you need to read Revalation 21:8, and for those of you that don’t know that’s chapter 21 verse 8 look for a big and or bold 21 scroll down to a small 8 and read it.
Considering his bio says he’s a professor of amateur science at an imaginary university, I’m going to go out on a limb and say he knows the meaning of the word “amateur”.
No need to borrow a Bible. Just Google search Revelation 21:8.
Who says I don’t want to be hounded by religious people. There’s nothing sexier than a physically curious Pentecostal. Or maybe I just have a thing for denim skirts. Either way, sniper chick (what?), your detailed description of silly, superstitious rituals doesn’t expunge their silliness in any way. I understand the point of all the holy water, I’m just saying there’s no reason a vial of tepid liquid is in any way infused with healing powers simply because a man in a dress waved his hands over it.
Also, I don’t need to borrow anyone’s Bible. I have a few. They’re on the shelf next to the Harry Potters and the Lords of the Rings. Also, if God already knows what’s going to happen in your life, why does he create anyone he knows is going to suffer for all eternity under the claws of the seven-headed dragon? Or is he just sadistic that way?
Great article! As an Associate Prof. at a simular university, I believe the problem is
the “SHOW” Anytime a legitimate organization such as the Paranormal State group or the TAPS
group is involved in a SHOW, I believe they are under great pressure from the producers to
up-the-anti a bit. Integrity asside of course.
Actually, the reason for a room to go cold isn’t the presence of a spiritual being at all. You feel the room goes cold when a spirit is absorbing (or transforming) heat energy (battery energy) (electrical energy) to use for making its presence known or using energy or force. Pushing
objects, effing around making noises, stuff like that. Also from what I’ve noted I would
also make a guess that spirits draw off of human energy like an introvert, hence the
exorcisms being done while paying no attention to anything the entity does. Giving it fear
and attention would be feeding it.
Similar to people like yourself blogger.
Just a question to the statement above…..if the ghost is “absorbing” heat energy the second law of thermodynamics (go ahead and goggle it) states that heat energy always flows from warmer areas to cooler areas never the other way around, so If a “spirit” is absorbing the energy he should be warmer than the surrounding objects (ie. people, elctrical energy, whatever is in the room – everything has an infrared signiture except for objects where the molecular motion has ceased (absolute zero) which by the way doesnt exist on Earth (go ahead and goggle that too)) right? Well I would absolutly love if someone can provide a infrared pic (using an infrared camera not an IR filter on a digital camera) of an apparition for me to see, but guess what, in this day and age of the internet as well as the ever lowering costs of an infrared cameras, from what I’ve encountered on the internet or wherever for that matter….THEY DONT EXIST! i’m not saying that I am a complete skeptic or anything I just know enough to know that I don’t know! And who knows maybe Chip and the other mediums really know what there doing and can sense things that the rest of us can’t (I know it’s TV and your only seeing one perspective but u can’t deny some of the connections they have made without any previous knowledge) all I’m saying is that the use of thermal imaging for “paranormal investigations” sounds like a good idea on paper but I don’t think you me or anybody else on this planet is ever going to get an infrared image of full bodied apparition. It seems that thermal imaging is being used not so much for the actuall scientific data that it can collect but iss being used more as “a fancy gadget to see ghosts” which really boils down to mis leading an uninform public for scare tactics or better yet ratings! Don’t even get me started on “Frank’s Box”! …..The glorified AM/FM scanner…..Who would have thought that “a higher being” would reach out to good ol Frank from a galaxy far far away to show him how to communicate with them via an AM/FM Scanner with a delay effect! Hey wait a minute I have a radio and a delay pedal for my old guitar at home I should see If I can get some messsages too but I forgot I need a “qualified” person to interpret the message. Give me a break! ……Sorry for the rant but I want to believe in ghosts it’s just that I can’t with all the clearly laid out bullshit that’s being thrown at me from all angles……Bye for now,A CERTIFIED Infrared ThermographerP.S Let’s talk about that ovilus (or however u spell it) that was featured on the paranormal state I’d love to see the selection of words that it has to choose from but I can bet that there all “scary” words and offer no choices like “puppies” or “happy” or….”bullshit”P.P.S How about the infrared picture of the hand print on the wall in the opening credits of paranormal state…..any other thermographers (or anyone who know’s what conduction is for that matter)know’s what I’m talking about.
Just an observation:
Why are all the subjects working class people?
Do the rich and educated folks of our world not have a right to be “haunted”?
And why don’t we get to see the vast amount of “other worldly” activity that the victims claim “happen every day” but slow to almost nothing recordable during the taping of the show…..oh, yes, and why don’t the subjects own camcorders that should be carried (and properly charged) at all times while at home?
Oops, that might open pandoras box, mightn’t it?
Oh, well…..just an observation.
Hmmm. I'm rich and educated. I'm a clinical research scientist. I was the last person to believe that my house was "haunted". I got a good slap in the face when I could no longer consider events as "coincidence", or force myself to believe there was some other logical explanation. When this happens (for many years)…and you have construction workers quit…relatives who are held down and strangled by "unknown" forces…and dozens of witnesses…how do you explain it away? I tried. Trust me! PRS consults professionals and spends a lot of time "disproving" people before they even think of putting them on their show. You may think they're fake, but I've got proof that they're not. They truly want to help people like me who have no where else to turn.
I think that ghosts are elitists. They’re probably going to vote for Obama, too.
why waste the time to write,something so dumb?i thing you just like to hear yourself talk?
It seems to me that Mr. Coffey is the only person able to discuss this topic in a mature manner. Everyone is entitled to their own beliefs. It doesn't matter if you are for or against what the show represents. Face it, on T.V. – is anything REALITY. If you don't like what's on, change the channel.
This is a terribly biased review, with the only goal being to completely trash the show. I find it hard to believe that you feel entirely certain about this, because for someone who watched so many episodes, you seem to have missed all the good aspects of the show, or purposefully ignored them. I could list them, but it's easier to explain why your review is, well, terrible.
"Their official website claims that some Penn State faculty and staff members have joined the group (say goodbye to tenure!), but this isn’t evident on the show. These are the kind of candle-wielding neo-Pagans you see wearing Tim Burton t-shirts in the New Age section of Barnes & Noble. In other words, they’re a nuisance."
-You speak of PRS like you know them. You say they are not experts; what defines an expert? Can you not be a certain age? You need proof that faculty and staff have joined their group. You can't trust them? I'd like proof that these people are a nuisance. Do you know better because you met them?
"He does point out, however, that sometimes he and his team of dumbfounded pretend researchers act as warriors. In what capacity is anyone’s guess, as they spend most of their time on the show running around in the dark and looking confused."
-This quote alone proves to me that you have no interest in providing an accurate review. Pretend researchers? Confused? How? Perhaps you are. This is a quote from the title sequence of the show; of course it's over-the-top. Try not to take it so seriously.
"The PRS crew uses their A&E budget to (apparently) ignore their academic obligations and fly to Las Vegas"
-Please don't presume to understand the crew's academic obligations. This kind of remark does not belong in a review, and only serves to denigrate the crew as if to imply they care not about schooling.
And you continue to talk about this trip to Las Vegas; this one-half hour of television. This was one of their weaker episodes, so it does not surprise me that you would focus on it. However, in order to accurately gauge a TV series, you have to consider it as just that; a series.
Your description of Chip Coffey astounds me.
"In most of his appearances, Coffey is a fairly innocuous presence. He usually just wanders around talking about how he senses emotions in various corners of a room."
-If this is what you saw, I'm not sure what show you were watching. Coffey does much more than this. Perhaps this is what you might expect of a fake psychic; to make generalized statements that can be applied to anything. However, Chip Coffey, in this show, is rather specific, and eerily accurate in his readings, most of the time. Did you watch the show? Could you please take a less obviously cynical tone with your reviews?
"Taking Paranormal State at face value, it’s amazing how easy it is to rid a house of an evil spirit just by telling it to go away in Jesus’ name. Don’t spend too much time thinking about why this would be the case, considering Jesus’ dad supposedly created those spirits and could theoretically have stopped them from terrorizing these people in the first place."
-As if you would know better. Have you had experience expelling spirits? You probably don't believe in them in the first place, but who are you to disagree with their methods? Whether or not they 'work', PRS's methods seem to work for the clients, so that's good enough for me, good enough for the clients, and probably for PRS as well.
"The hokey hyper-editing, ridiculous sound effects, and creaky production values aside, this show is pure trash, and the people involved should really be ashamed of themselves."
-Without these production techniques, the show would be boring. They do a very good job of toning down the sound effects, when it's important to hear what the investigators are hearing. If you want trash, watch episodes of "Ghost Hunters International". I'm sure it would drive you crazy. These are adults who have a television show, but to call them experts would be a inaccurate compliment.
The people involved with this show, Paranormal State, should be extremely proud of themselves, as they have created what is the best paranormal show on television. Sure, it may have it's problems, but you provide irrelevant reasons, and make ridiculous claims. Please try to have more of an open mind next time you write a review. Of all the bad TV out there, you had to pick this show to rant about?
Indeed, this review is biased against Paranormal State, and the main point is to trash the show. This is because I watched the show's entire first season, which biased me against it. And in this watching, I learned that it was trash. I'm also biased against In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale. It too was awful, and if I'd written a review of it, it would have been trashed. This is how the whole review thing works. I didn't list the "good aspects" of the show because they aren't there. I wish you would have enlightened us.
I don't doubt that Penn State faculty members have worked with PRS. I just ridiculed anyone who would put his academic career on the line for such a worthless effort. And if you need evidence that these kids are a nuisance, watch how they exploit the subjects of their show on a weekly basis.
I didn't say these kids are confused, I said they looked confused. And I base that on the fact that in several episodes they're shown wandering around houses or forests with nothing but dead-eyed stares.
I don't pretend to know these kids' academic obligations. Hence the word "apparently". Regardless, they'd be better served going to class than schooling themselves in how to turn on a camera in the middle of the night.
I focused on the Las Vegas episode because I won't bore people by going into detail about every show. Also, it's a representative example of what happens on the show. Plus, it demonstrates just how exploitative this show can be in that they target a young girl. Again, this is how the whole review thing is done.
When you see Chip Coffey give what you consider to be accurate readings on this show, keep in mind that it is, in fact, a television show. For more information about how Coffey pretends to be a psychic for money, you can always go here:
http://www.amateurscientist.org/search/label/Chip...
And for a detailed account of how Paranormal State and Chip Coffey rigged an episode of the show, you can go here:http://eyeontheparanormal.blogspot.com/2008/10/ey...
Anyway, I don't believe in spirits because there's no evidence they exist. And because there's no evidence they exist, it's silly for the PRS crew to go around acting as if they do. And even if spirits do exist, there's no reason to think they create "cold spots" or bump furniture or come out at 3am like this kids claim. This is theater and nothing more. It has nothing to do with evidence-based scientific investigation.
And even with the terrible production techniques, the show is still boring.
And please abandon the whole "open mind" suggestion. It's meaningless and fatuous. If my mind wasn't open, I wouldn't have watched the show in the first place. "Cynical" and "skeptical" don't mean the same thing. I'm not going to take anything these people say as fact when no evidence is provided. And all information available from simply watching the show points to the conclusion that the PRS crew are nothing but amateur fame hounds trying to ride the coattails of a depressing trend toward "paranormal investigation" shows on television. And the fact that you couldn't bring up any factual point to refute this is very telling.
Hey, John Collier, If you don't appreciate and believe in this great show, why are you watching it?
Ryan Buell, Chip Coffey, and all the curious and helpful people on this show are simply trying to help those that are struggling with the PRS that's in their lives. I think there are only a gifted few in this world that God gave the ability to be able to actually communicate with people who have died. These people are only trying to help them. Wouldn't you want to have some answers if this was happening to you?
There is definately something that happens to our souls after we die. No one goes into the afterlife the same way. There's always a connection to the living.
As for "rich and educated folks", God doesn't discriminate.
amen!!!!!!!!!!
Re : As for "rich and educated folks", God doesn't discriminate. __I can't personally vouch for that statement, but the "spirits" sure do. That is the point.. I didn't mention God.__"Ghost Hunters International". is even worse than Paranormal State. I too have a "gift", but I don't earn a dime when I'm helping someone. Perhaps because I can't just snap my fingers to envision an anomaly at will. I don't know anyone who can, and after 68 years, I've learned to appreciate the gift and appreciate people of all walks of life without the need to exploit them.__Have a nice life.__
mabey you set your goals to low?god wants you to earn a dime?god WHATS YOU TO LIVE LIFE TO the FULLEST TILL IT OVER FLOWS!!!!!!!!!!read the bible sometime?being poor dose not make you more holy than others?
Brian-Ha ha , you are an unheard of loser. What channel is your show on? People can only be exploited if they allow themselves to be. You are just mad because you watched a whole season alone on a Friday night. Thank you for promoting the show, well, actually to maybe ten viewers- since there are very few people who have actually read your crap article. I am just sorry I can't get back the time I wasted reading it. I hope PRS comes over to your house and exercises the A-hole demons you have inside you "In Jesus name". Or do you have a PO box because you still live with your grandma?
this show helps me. i was achild who didnot understand,what to do?thease kinds of gifts,remove you from others!if you dont have other sences,like us you couldnot understand?as far as chip makeing money/he should!! anyone who dose a job should get paid!