With the constant barrage of paranormal media and new television series I thought I would post my viewpoints and opinions on two new shows, Extreme Paranormal & Ghost Lab.

First, Extreme Paranormal is by far one of the worst shows that I have ever laid eyes on. It is so bad that you really just want to watch it again to see what kind of ridiculous nonsense that they come up with. Kind of like the sick fascination people have with disturbing videos. You don't really want to watch it, but for some reason are baffled and intrigued by what is actually going on. The show is a joke and the investigators that are featured on it are as well. If this show never came back onto the air, I think the entire viewer population would be better off. This small team of misfits make claims and perform actions that simply defy logic and reasoning, not to mention that most promote unethical and even dangerous behavior.

My review of this show would not be any better written than the article written by Who Forted's, Greg Newkirk, so I simply let them say what it is that I feel about this show. Who Forted is a blog run by Ghost Hunters Inc. and others that associate with them on topics from paranormal media, strange news across the globe, and often picking fun at the para-celebrities. While I have not agreed with many of their earlier tirades and misinformation, I found myself completely agreeing with this particular one. You can read the article here at http://whofortedblog.com/?p=828

Recently, I have noticed a petition going around to cancel this show. It is ridiculous and absurd to throw around a petition. The networks are less concerned about the well-being of the paranormal field and more about ratings and money or shows like Extreme Paranormal, Paranormal State, Ghost Adventures, etc would have been canceled a long time ago. If you want the show to be canceled, all you have to do is one thing, get everybody to watch something else at that time. No ratings equals a shit-canned show.

Now I did watch a few episodes of Ghost Lab and while I was expecting something far more dramatic and hair pulling, I have to admit that the show is better than some of the others being promoted. I like the use of multiple and hands free data loggers to track and monitor information being collected and the fact that they have a headquarters that is mobile and able to track and monitor data OUTSIDE of the location is brilliant. While I don't agree with some of their statements that their theories were proven based on arbitrary evidence, I must also understand that this is media. Who knows what was cut out in the editing room.

While they claim to use science alongside their investigations, I don't necessarily agree with that, based off what I have seen. Most of the issues that I have with some of the theories that are being presented is that most are based off unproven statements and accepted beliefs in the paranormal field that have yet to be determined factual. I was also a little discouraged when there was no extended research done on instances that would seem rather vital to the investigation, as was the case with the speaker that "supposedly" went off on its own. Perhaps it is just me, but when something like that should occur and it is made known that there is no power going to the speaker, I am sure as hell going to verify that the information presented is indeed correct. Than again, this could have been the wonders of editing taking place.

Overall, it is hard to make a final decision on Ghost Lab and I feel that I will probably watch a few more episodes before making the determination of whether or not this show is both entertaining as well as presenting paranormal research in a newer and more credible light.

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