Paranormal State 9/15/08 "The Fire" and Ethical Obligation

Last night's episode was quite the disappointment.

For those of you who may not know, Paranormal State is a half-hour docu-drama/reality show on A&E that has the potential to be great. It has the potential to bring the actual science (not pseudo-science) of paranormal research within reach of the common American,who may be incredibly skeptical of psychics, seances, and "spirit guides," and even of traditional "scientific" means of exploration including EMF, EVP, and Ion Flux.

While the Penn State research team does not discount any method that may be useful in increasing the world's understanding of what we consider the "paranormal," their most impressive footage involves photos, video, audio, and sensory experiences with paranormal anomalies.

Those who know me know that I am fascinated by the "paranormal." I refer to the term in quotes because I believe the only reason these anomalies are in some way less than normal, is our current lack of scientific understanding. I was very excited when I heard that Ryan Buell and his exceptional team would be allowing the public a glimpse into what they do.

However, my feelings on the show have been mixed, and I've decided that I'm definitely a fan; but on an episode to episode basis.

Last week's episode "The Glove," for example, was exciting not only as riveting entertainment, but also exciting in the fact that the team recorded lots of very visible, at times violent, anomalous activity that seemed quite unexplainable and outside the realm of mere coincidence. If you have not seen the episode, I strongly recommend you do. If we assume (although we never can) that the tormented clients, team, and producers viewed the events of genuine and did nothing to "enhance" their significance, then we should be shocked by the reality of what we see!

Unfortunately, that was not the case in last night's episode, "The Fire." The clients were the children of Ronald and Colleen, victims of a shooting with no leads. The clients reported seeing bright lights at what would have been the time of the murder, auditory experiences, voices begging for vengeance, and even a strange "gift" left for one daughter.

I knew things would not be going in my favor, as a fair-weather fan, as soon as Ryan began to introduce the case. His mission was to use other-worldly experiences to possibly solve a crime that had detectives stymied. A very big step from helping terrified families take control of homes they feel are still occupied by the dead.

I felt a little better when psychic Chip Coffey was called in to consult. I am a big fan of Chip. He is a very intuitive psychic who works not only to help the living, but also the dead. Whether or not I believe in his gift (I do, by the way, to some extent) I do believe that he has philanthropic motives. His no nonsense approach calls out so called psychics who take advantage of the grieving and the unstable.

Unfortunately, despite Chip's presence and dead-on intuition, the show amounted to nothing more than a crime-channel exploration of the use of psychics in investigation. I trust Chip and his intuition has impressed and shocked me for years. I blame producers who clearly wanted to explore the ratings-grabbing possibility of solving a crime but had no way to do so other than to rely on the sensitive.

Such a poor showing doesn't just make for bad tv, for those who hope someone will shed light on unexplained phenomena, but it damages the credibility of the Penn State Research team, and all teams relying on scientific procedure to get a glimpse into these seemingly incredible events.

Despite Chip Coffey's skill as a medium, his readings and intuition seem highly skeptical to the general public, who often regard psychics as harmless wackos, when they are not held to the scientific standard of collaboration.

Perhaps the medium's readings were dead on. Perhaps he was able to absolve Ronald's sons from any knowledge of the murder, at least in his own heart. Chip Coffey's appearance on the show is far from what ruined it for me. If anything, he should be very upset with the producers who made him an easy charlatan in the eyes of the general public.

To the producers of Paranormal State: actual evidence of the unexplained, backed up by several witnesses and media formats is all the entertainment America needs. PRS does not need to jump into paranormal murder mysteries in the show's second season. The show does not need to be clipped together in such a haphazard way to create cliffhangers or add an element of "suprise."

When I saw what was clearly a hand appear while the thermal camera was trained on the wall with possibly no explanation; I was riveted.

Paranormal State, PRS, and Ryan Buell have amazing potential, not only as researchers and entertainers, but as spokespeople for the scientific research of everything deemed "paranormal." I urge you to use this opportunity.