I’m really sorry but after three seasons of this show now, it just is evident that it’s not something that will ever improve. There seemed to be glimmers of hope in season two, but those have flown right out the window now and it’s just way too hard to try and stomach this over-righteous crap. I’m so sick of these kids posing themselves as paranormal investigators while really trying to be religious psychologists. Your phone rings asking for help in ridding a place of poltergeists or understand phenomena that can’t possibly be explained so you should rush right out there and give these people assistance. Yet you show up and tell them how they’re living their lives wrongly and what they can do to correct them which will then in turn drive these “spirits” from their existence. Take your Bible-thumping ways and find a pulpit; don’t make a mockery of research that already gets its fair share of ridicule.
There are a number of paranormal shows on television today. Destination Truth, The Haunting, and perhaps the most well known one of all, Ghost Hunters. All of them investigate paranormal activity and ghosts in their own ways and with their own methods. That is where we could start talking about the Paranormal Research Society (PRS) of Penn State University who are the focus group of Paranormal State. Ryan Buell is the leader of this group and faced some very strange paranormal situations as a child, and therefore would like to get to the bottom of them by helping others with the same affliction. Together with a band of other believers and experts, Ryan goes out to help people figure out what is tormenting their lives and do whatever they can to get rid of it.
Sounds pretty simple and straightforward like any other ghost investigating show right? I mean, that’s even what the commercials on television would lead you to believe about Paranormal State. But they couldn’t be more wrong. This is a series that is about religion and a group of kids trying to spread the Word of our Lord and savior, Jesus Christ. No, I’m not kidding and don’t let anyone try to tell you otherwise because that is exactly what this show is about.
The PRS get a phone call from someone in need of their assistance to get rid of some evil being or to find out why a place is haunted. The usual itinerary consists of a group from PRS heading over to the client’s place, setting up shop for about two and a half days, asking a lot of questions, and then blessing the place before they leave. Mind you that they barely do any investigating at all of the actual haunting grounds, and the only time they actually do that is between three and four in the morning which they consider “dead time.” Dead time is supposedly the time when spirits are most active. Some footsteps, a whisper or two, and then the next thing you know holy water is sprinkled all over the place.
Season three of Paranormal State is more of the same crap that the first two seasons have spewed forth and it amazes me anyone with even a remote interest in the paranormal would dare watch this show. This group of “investigators” (which is used very loosely) comes up with their own crackpot theories as to what is going on or what may be causing these haunts, but they’re so ludicrous that I want to reach through the screen and choke them. In no way do they help their clients but more so insult who they are as human beings. These people are looking for assistance and guidance and just plain old help but they’re given lessons on life by a group of morons and a nutcase psychic named Chip Coffey. Never will you experience suspense or thrills or chills or even real moments of paranormal incidences because the damn producers don’t allow the focus to ever be on what the show should truly be about.
Episodes
Disc One:
Desperate Households
Laws Of Attraction
Lady Vampire
Room & Board
Church Of The Damned
The Firehouse
The Anniversary
The Sickness
Disc Two:
The Drowned
The Fury
The Basement
The Possession: Return Of Six
The Soul Collector
The Lady In White
Room 37
Disc Three:
The Raven
Ghosts Of Gettysburg
Three Like Mine
Dead And Back
Devil’s Nest
The episodes are shown in Widescreen format and look good as the actual quality is quite good. Some of the footage is shown through a handheld camera that appears to be held by someone who has Parkinson’s disease because it is shaky as all hell.
The episodes are heard in Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Sound and if it weren’t for the purposely horrible sounding effects; all would sound just fine. Those sound effects really cheapen up any legitimacy they find.
Client Updates – Five episodes from the season get short recaps and then updates on how the clients are doing now. I didn’t really see any of this as updates per se, but more so just an overview of the episodes picked out. Weird. (9:06)
Paranormal Tools – Besides the normal tools that the PRS team uses on their investigations, they sometimes use their surroundings and other objects/specialists to help them delve deeper. Some of the other tools they’ve used involved sonar and the Ganzfield Experiment which actually made me laugh out loud. Seriously. (9:34)
Behind-The-Scenes – A little bit of bonus footage that really adds nothing. (5:31)
Paranormal State sucks, just plain sucks. It will never be Ghost Hunters no matter how hard they try. But when I sit back and think about how little they care about the paranormal and focus on psychiatry; I don’t believe they’re even trying to be like their much more successful counterparts. The show is just incredibly lame and never entertaining unless you count laughing at just how insane and stupid everything they do is. The special features give you close to a half an hour of extra stuff, but who cares when the series is so horrible in the first place. Avoid this at all costs. I’m serious. Don’t flip channels even. Use the guide on your cable box so in case an episode of Paranormal State is on, you won’t even have to flip through it but can bypass it altogether.
A&E Home Video presents Paranormal State: The Complete Season Three. Directed by: Bradley Beasley. Starring: Ryan Buell, Chip Coffey, Shannon Sylvia, and many others. Running time: 462 minutes on 3 discs. Rating: PG-13. Released on DVD: October 6, 2009. Available at Amazon.com
