| In Ghost Whisperer I Trust With their quaint interest in the truth, TV's crusading psychics offer a new kind of escapism in the duplicitous Bush era By Dale Hrabi Jennifer Love Hewitt sees all as the Ghost Whisperer I have a confession: I'm compulsively drawn to TV's psychics and their criminal-nabbing, family-reuniting powers. Please don't tell my bosses at Radar. They demand icy skepticism at all times and once sprayed me with mace just for saying I liked Jesus. And, really, all I meant was that I liked Jesus's look: the tidy beard, the mysteriously Caucasian skin, the skillful exploitation of lambs as accessories. Despite the risks of being discovered and maimed, I can't help myself. I love the spooky showboating sleuths who populate two hit Court TV shows, Psychic Detectives and Haunting Evidence, and can't get enough of Jennifer Love Hewitt as the supernaturally perky Ghost Whisperer in CBS's "based-on-reality" series. I haven't yet fully succumbed to Medium (too dreary), Psyche (too third-eye-in-cheek), or the newest wannabe, Heroes, but the latter is scattered with clairvoyants and telepaths and conspiracies, so I'll probably keep tuning in ... discreetly. 
TRUTH BRIGADE Haunting Evidence's crimefighters arrive on the scene: (from left) Paranormal investigator Patrick Burns; Psychic profiler Carla Baron; and medium John J. Oliver I'm told my top-secret perversion is also popular in England (home of hits like Most Haunted and the supposedly awesome Afterlife), Australia (Sensing Murder), and Japan, where 17 million weekly viewers watch a reality show called Chounouryoku Sousakan which translates as "FBI: Psychic Detectives" or possibly "Deviant Behavior Set to John Philip Sousa Marches." And then there are the Scandinavians, reportedly as nuts for televised psychics as they are for alcoholism and despair. But hold on. I'm not a disconsolate drunk like the Swedes, or short, like the Japanese. I'm not gullible white trash. (My family preferred the term "pallid debris.") No stranger to skepticism, I graduated from a reputable university where my ruthless demystification of the Pippi Longstocking trilogy was widely praised. So why am I suddenly so susceptible to psychic sleuths? Perhaps it has something to do with this shady point in America's history, when public figures from "novelists" to priests to pedophiliac Republican congressmen just routinely lie. When it comes to trotting out my skepticism, my exhaustion makes poor Lindsay Lohan's seem mild. Frankly, I'm desperate to believe in something, and TV's truth-chasing psychics offer a nice antidote to institutionalized deceit. I admire their determination to expose criminals who have, so far, "got away with it." I love the seductive notion that no lie can escape their apparent All-Knowingness. Even if they're lying, too and, yes, I'm versed in the tricks of cold reading, and realize that clever editing can simulate psychic awareness -well, I don't care. In her second season as the Ghost Whisperer, Hewitt is growing increasingly skilled at scripted omniscience. Her daffy, humble character, Melinda Gordon, sells antiques at the senselessly named store Same As It Never Was in a town that's hermetically sweet in that pre-terrorism, 1950s way (no surprise: the show is filmed on the old Back to the Future set). Nevertheless, this town is crawling with dead people. Ghosts who need to be heard. They either didn't commit some crime, or don't actually hate their mothers. And since Melinda alone can hear their whispers, they randomly assault her as she's buying lattes or coordinating another ill-conceived "vintage" outfit in which to show off her intuitive cleavage. You'd think she might find this unnerving, but Melinda is both patient and never more than fleetingly troubled. At the end of each episode, after laboriously repeating the ghost's message word-for-word to the being's once-disbelieving but now incredibly touched relatives, she sends the ghoul safely into the Light. That's when my boyfriend usually starts crying. And I'll admit it: sometimes, me, too. Characteristic of psychic shows, the plot always hinges on a need for closure. As in: "Did Grandma really commit suicide?" Or: "But what about those hanging chads?" Or: "Did Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert know about Mark Foley's IMs or not?" While Hewitt's character achieves closure of a gentle, loving, poorly acted sort, the real-life mystics of Court TV's Psychic Detectives and Haunting Evidence pull no punches. The former reenacts investigations that psychics have allegedly solved; the latter showcases paranormal sleuthing in real-time, as a trio of spiritualists try to kick-start cold cases in the tradition of America's Most Wanted. As the Haunted Evidence crew visits mundane towns quintessentially "torn apart" by the slaughter of someone's child, wife, or girlfriend, their SUV creeps down lonely streets until one of them yells "Stop!" correctly identifying the murder scene, as the voice-over points out. Then the real work begins. Globally "sought-after medium" John Oliver, rarely seen without his $260 Gucci sunglasses (perhaps because his eyes tend to roll back in his head), spends a lot of time aggressively sniffing the air before delivering his insights in the authoritative, slightly prissy manner of a wedding planner. "Renowned psychic profiler" Carla Baron - a "fierce, Holly Hunterish woman" tends to get pissed as her sense of the murder crystallizes. In the case of a girl who was fatally raped while drunk, Baron suddenly bristles: "She told [the attacker], 'I don't even feel it. Do what you want.' And that infuriates him." It's gaudy television, full of bluish lighting and gratuitous f/x, but, for anyone who needs a break from the 24/7 cynicism the Bush years require, it's also soothing television. After suspending doubt for an hour, watching as Oliver and Baron cluck and fume their way closer to the killer's identity, or a child-molester gets cornered by the Psychic Detectives, I'm ready to return 'refreshed and renewed'to the business of doubting absolutely everything. At least until it's my time to be prodded into the Light by Jennifer Love Hewitt's breasts. www.radaronline.com |
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The Right
Psychic Stuff A Court TV producer turned to the cops to find crime-busting seers How do you suss out a psychic? That has been the preoccupation of Robyn Hutt,who's had a major hand in finding stars for two Court TV shows that tap into the great unknown to solve crimes, Psychic Detectives and Haunting Evidence. Hutt,who is senior vice president of current programming and specials at the network, isn't the ethereal type. And her levelheaded approach has probably been a real good thing. Her crews were spooked several times when filming Haunting Evidence earlier this year. The program,which stars medium John Oliver, psychic profiler Carla Baron and paranormal investigator Patrick Burns, focuses on murders that have never been solved."There have been several times when the crew that's filming is completely terrified,"Hutt says."They have been standing in the woods at the scene of a murder and been completely freaked out. But we haven't had anyone quit yet." Carla Baron's reputation as a medium has been building ever since she was a child. By the time she was a voice major at Carnegie Mellon University in Pennsylvania, people started showing up at her door in numbers - and occasionally, a cop would elbow in on the last 20 minutes of a reading in hopes she could help him with a case. Hutt seems to have managed to find psychics with the right stuff. During the making of both series, police have been startled on a few occasions when the TV psychics reveal something that law enforcement officials were trying to keep secret from the general public, she says. "They've asked us to turn off the cameras, and want to talk with the psychics privately."  Carla Baron, Haunting Evidence Screenz Magazine (Fall '06) |
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Premieres Wednesday, June 14th at 10:30 PM ET/PT New York, NY (May 25, 2006) From the network that started the paranormal crime-solving phenomenon with Psychic Detectives, comes a new show that takes the genre to the next level. Haunting Evidence, a new original series premiering Wednesday, June 14th at 10:30 PM, follows an unusual investigation with a team of unconventional experts comprised of psychic profiler Carla Baron, medium John Oliver, and paranormal investigator Patrick Burns. In each episode, Carla and John -- who receive little or no information on the case other than the victim's name -- use their skills to visualize and describe the details of the crime with amazing accuracy. Then, within 24-hours, the team provides law enforcement with their insights, which include vivid descriptions of the culprit as well as other telling leads that may offer clues, and eventually closure, to a case that has gone cold. Ms. Baron offers, "I truly feel that as a series, Haunting Evidence will usher the audience into each investigation with a fresh perspective never seen before the next subsequent plateau, if you will, following the lead of Court TV's immensely popular groundbreaking series, Psychic Detectives." "For my own contribution, the viewer will gain a unique access into the mind of a psychic profiler, and the particular process I undergo, as it happens in 'real' time," Carla explains. "A more enlightened viewing public, and a network of the extraordinary caliber of Court TV to boot who could ask for a more winning combination than that!" "Haunting Evidence" is produced for Court TV by Departure Films, with Max Weissman as executive producer and Tim Robbins, producer. For Court TV, Robyn Hutt, Senior Vice President Current Programming and Specials, is the series creator. Madelyn Brudner is the Coordinating Producer; Ed Hersh is the Executive in Charge of Production. |
 Carla Interviews with Ghost! Magazine Re: Ghost! Magazine --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hello to everyone, Yes, I had a tremendous honor bestowed to me the other day. As an interviewer, you rarely get the opportunity to be challanged by an interview subject who has such charisma and sophistication. In what proved to be my absolute favorite interview, by a landslide, (and I've done many interviews over the years), I was enlightened and mesmerized by her abilities and sincere honesty. It was a treat to interview such a compelling individual. The interview will be showcased in our Fall issue, along with my glowing review of Ms. Baron's new program, 'Haunting Evidence.' I applaud Ms. Carla Baron for being the shining and standout voice, that she is, for psychic phenomena. She proves that psychics can be credible, intelligent, and strong willed. My hats off to you my friend; & best wishes on a VERY, VERY long run on your new program. Jason McCurry Media Reporter Ghost! Magazine |
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Court TV Unveils 'Haunting Evidence' Following the success of Court TV's original series Psychic Detectives, the network takes the paranormal/crime-solving phenomenon one step further.  Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) December 19, 2005 -- Following the success of Court TV's original series Psychic Detectives, the network takes the paranormal/crime-solving phenomenon one step further. Viewers are taken inside an unusual investigation, as a team comprised of one nationally renowned psychic profiler (Carla Baron), a seasoned paranormal investigator (Patrick Burns), and a gifted medium (John J. Oliver) visit "haunted" crime scenes, in hopes of providing fresh insight to cold cases. Court TV is set to air its latest offering in the paranormal investigation genre. Entitled "Haunting Evidence," the new show is scheduled to premiere this June as a tentpole series for the network. Originally conceived as a companion program for Court TV's widely popular Psychic Detectives series, Haunting Evidence will follow the team of three as they visit various unsolved crime scenes in an attempt to profile the nature of these crimes and further assist authorities. Baron and Oliver will utilize their respective psychic and mediumistic senses, while Burns will complement the team utilizing technology-based paranormal investigation techniques in an effort to corroborate the interpretations of Baron and Oliver. "The quintessence of the program," Baron reveals, will be to "- potentially warm up what would otherwise be classified as 'cold' cases. Two pilot episodes have been produced and production of the series is scheduled to resume in late January 2006. "I'm thrilled to be an integral part of this new progressive series on behalf of Court TV," exclaims Baron. Ms. Baron elaborates, "Haunting Evidence brings a perspective that most other shows in this genre do not -- a unique opportunity to witness our intuitive process in what I term 'real time' -- a proverbial peek, if you will, into the psychic realm as it relates to unsolved cases in practical application." In addition, Baron is anxious to perhaps explore with this series, and her expert Hauntings' team, some of the literally hundreds of missing persons & homicide cases that have poured in requesting her assistance during recent months. "Maybe now, we can bring much needed closure to these families and individuals," Baron expresses with hope in her heart. "Even if we can help just one person, one family, through the efforts of this program, it will have been worth everything." |
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Ghost world Spirited TV programmers are finding that their message is the medium By ROBERT DOMINGUEZ  Carla Baron (kneeling) of Court TV's 'Psychic Detectives' Psychic James Van Praagh has always made a nice living by claiming to see dead people. But he has made a killing with his ability to foresee how television audiences would be entranced by programming about psychic phenomena, haunted houses and other otherworldly encounters. He's channeling a trend that has ghost-themed shows materializing on several, well, channels. On TV these days, paranormal is the new normal. Van Praagh, a best-selling author of several books on communicating with spirits, is now the executive producer of "Ghost Whisperer," an upcoming CBS series that stars Jennifer Love Hewitt as a newlywed who talks to the dead. Following in the otherworldly footsteps of NBC's similarly themed drama, "Medium," "Ghost Whisperer" is based on an actual psychic, and is just one of a slew of new shows about the paranormal ~ all featuring real-life ghost hunters, crime-solving mediums or supposedly haunted places. "I predicted this would happen five years ago on 'Larry King,' right after 'The Sixth Sense' came out," says Van Praagh, referring to the 1999 hit film about a boy who sees dead people. "But what's so amazing," he adds, "is how it's become much more acceptable in the mainstream, where you're now seeing more and more of these types of shows." The TV landscape has become a veritable ghost town in recent months, led in great part by the success of "Ghost Hunters," which began its second season in July. Shown weekly on the Sci-Fi Channel, the reality series features a team of paranormal investigators from Rhode Island who travel to supposedly haunted sites across the U.S. and attempt to gather evidence of ghostly activity, using such high-tech equipment as infrared cameras and digital recorders. "This kind of show is popular because almost everyone has had a paranormal experience or knows of someone who has," says Grant Wilson, one of the lead investigators on "Ghost Hunters." Now viewers will have plenty of chances to be creeped out, as several new shows have been patterned after "Ghost Hunters." In June, Biography Channel launched "Dead Famous: Ghostly Encounters," a reality show that pairs a female skeptic with a male psychic ~ think Mulder and Scully of "The X Files" chasing after the spirits of such deceased famous folk as Frank Sinatra, Marilyn Monroe and Jim Morrison. The Travel Channel, which regularly produces such spooky specials as "America's Most Haunted Places" and "Haunted Hotels," premiered "Most Haunted" last month. The Friday-night show features a team of paranormal investigators that goes to sites in Europe. Recently returning for a third season on Court TV is "Psychic Detectives," a series that recounts real-life cases on which cops and psychics worked together. Based on its popularity, in November Court TV is debuting "Haunting Evidence," which has yet another investigative team ~ a psychic, a medium and a forensics expert visiting "haunted" crime scenes. Not everyone views these shows as harmless entertainment. Joe Nickell, a columnist for Skeptical Inquirer magazine who regularly debunks psychics, mediums and other paranomal phenomena, calls the current trend "shameful." "You have ignorant people on these shows misleading the public," says Nickell. "The two most egregious ones are 'Psychic Detectives' and these hapless guys on 'Ghost Hunters' with their Radio Shack equipment 'detecting' ghostly phenomena. It's nonsense, because they're not scientists. "There's no end to these stories being out there, because they sell," adds Nickell. "That's the bottom line." Meanwhile, Van Praagh has turned his self-professed "gift" for communicating with the spirit world into a cottage industry. Besides his books, two years ago he hosted "Beyond," a syndicated daytime talk show where he professed to contact the spirits of his guests' loved ones. And his life has been the subject of two TV movies in which he has been portrayed by such heavyweights as Tom Selleck and Ted Danson. Van Praagh sees even more opportunities to capitalize on the public's increasing interest in otherworldly topics. This fall, in addition to "Ghost Whisperer," he's producing two shows that will merge the paranormal with two of the hotter trends in reality programming. "Possessed Possessions," a special for The Learning Channel, will have psychics reading the energy from people's belongings. "It's like a creepy 'Antiques Roadshow,'" says Van Praagh. The other show, for A&E, will have people receiving "psychic intuitive makeovers," he says. "This all wasn't as accepted as it is now," says Van Praagh. "More people than ever are believing in life after death. They're looking for other belief systems and for other ways to deal with the world around them, and people want to find out what this is all about." (Originally published on August 16, 2005) All contents ©2005 Daily News, L.P. |
