The SciFi channel fills a much needed niche in the cable channel jungle, and I will admit that I am a fan. There are several good shows to watch, and many fun if not exactly quality movies that do entertain.
However, there are one or two shows that really should, in my humble opinion, be put to rest immediately. One of these is the show known as "Ghost Hunter".
How could a channel supposedly dedicated to Science Fiction and Fantasy be caught up in this horrific reality craze? I know such shows are cheap to produce (manufacture?), but the failed concept here crosses the line from scientific imagination and curiosity to charlatan tricks (feelings based measurements?) and junk science. A show that explores and attempts to accurately quantify such things as the possibility of ghosts would be most welcome, but this one empirically misses the point. When I see popular shows like this I am concerned that we are moving towards a dark age and away from any chance of enlightenment.
The actors (?) on the show come across as likeable characters, and it is not their fault that the concept and execution is all wrong. If anything the Ghost hunter crew makes the bone rattling bearable. But it should not have to do so.
There are many other great choices if SciFi insists on doing reality based shows. Look around for inspiration from such works as Mythbusters, How Its Made, or even Junkyard Challenge. But stay clear of a show that confuses science fact with junk science. Or maybe that is the point, that any science at all portrayed in this show is SciFi, in its most subtle form…
Aloha from the Beach,
greg
