As our 4 or 5 fans may have deduced over the years, the Derosby Brothers (and many other members of our family) are fans of ghosts and the supernatural in general.  Alan’s even tossed around the idea of getting some equipment and going on road trips to bust or debunk.  I for one would love to put on the gray jumpsuit and strap on the EM goggles.  At any rate, the marathon got me thinking.  I started comparing Paranormal State to the other “ghostly” reality shows and here’s what I came up with.  Listed from best to worst, here’s my take on the Reality Ghostbuster genre of shows.

1.)  Ghost Hunters (Ghost Hunters Academy and Ghost Hunters International) – The SyFy Channel:  The benchmark for the genre.  Jason Hawes, Grant Wilson, the founders of TAPS (The American Parnormal Society) from here in New England have the best trained and most professional staff, both experienced and likeable.  They have the best equipment and most importantly, the most success with it.  Not only are they extremely thourough in their placement of cameras, audio recorders, and even little flashlights, their attention to detail pays off as they tend to collect more actual evidence than any other show I’ve seen on TV. 

The thing I like the most about them though, is the fact that they are not so quick to jump to conclusions.  They are just as likely to debunk an event, especially in the earlier episodes.  They bring their EMF detectors and have discovered everything from poor wiring creating EM hotspots to ventillation systems transferring sounds from one room to the next and even put their plumbing experience to work on one episode.  They’ve even caught their clients trying to pull one over on them on more than one occasion.  All in all, not only is it the best of the “reality Ghostbuster” lot, it’s one of my favorite shows on TV today.

2.)  Ghost Lab – Discovery Channel, kind of like Ghost Hunters light.  The Klinge brothers (Brad and Barry) have all the enthusiasm of Jason and Grant and certainly have the equipment to back it up. 

But what they have in attitude, they sometimes lose in their short-sightedness.  They come across to me as more cowboys than scientists, and where they definitely embody the spirit of the Ghostbusters from the movie, they lose that credibility that comes from being able to look for a more rational explanation to what’s going on around them.  Still, it’s a great watch for a weekend afternoon.

 3.)  Ghost Adventures - The Travel Channel.  Take the three biggest idiots you find in a random frat house at any college campus around the US, get them drunk, lock them in a dark building at midnight, then scare the living shit out of them.  That pretty much covers what this show has to offer. 

It’s a riot.  Check out the episode where they go to Bobbie Mackie’s to get a good dose of what these guys are all about.  Zak Bagans, Nick Groff and Aaron Goodwin are great hosts and aa blast to watch and really entertain.  Few ghosts, little proof, but worth the watch nonetheless. 

 4.)  Paranormal State – A&E TV.  This show definitely takes itself more seriously than the others.  Ryan Buell and his crew are actually trying to save people from their demons.  His earnest desire to help is endearing, but is quickly overshadowed by his blind belief in everything they run into with no apparent desire for any scepticsm.  They’ve run into everything from poltergeists to natural spirits, and even a demon or two.  He’s convinced himself that one demon in particular has it out for him and occasionally runs into his arch-enemy from time to time. 

His crew never seems to be made up of the same people from one show to the next, the only constants being his longtime friend and cast member Sergei and resident “occult specialist” and team odd duck Eilfie.  The crew has all the equipment but rarely seems to be able to catch even the slightest bit of EVP or photographical evidence.  When they do, it’s automatically assumed to be of supernatural origin, no proof required.  It’s frustrating to watch and at times uncomfortable.  Buell and his team mean well though and where the show lacks all that is empirical,  they make up for it in heart.  And as an added plus, they got rid of that quack psychic Chip Coffey.  If you want to see a charlatan of Patric Jane stature (of the Mentalist), tune in to that show.  If you notice, it’s not on my list.

Does anyone else have a favorite?  Am I alone in my love of these shows?  What’s your take?

I decided to play the game on the intermediate level, (called “experienced” in the game) and for the most part it’s been a fairly fun and relatively easy game.  Then last night I got to the boss in the secret basement of the New York Public Library. 

Stupid Librarian Ghost

My wife got home from class as I was in mid-fight and started watching my progress, or lack thereof.  She stared in amazement and kept uttering “holy crap” as flames and exploding ghost parts filled the screen.  I think I was knocked down about 20 or 30 times during the fight.  My compatriots fared about as well as I racked up quite a few assists giving the other boys a helping hand.  Thanks to Egon’s constant prompting about hitting the ghostly levitating book stands flying around the room, I decided that’s what I needed to aim at first.  As they are flying around faster than you can maneuver your trusty blast beam and they change direction on a dime, I got a few more “holy crap”s from my wife. 

I likened my current situation to “trying to piss on a hornet”, which got her laughing hard enough to snarf her coffee.  Mission accomplished.   (if you’ve ever played this game, that is exactly what 90 percent of the battles look like from your point of view, especially with the ecto-blaster.  Thanks for that piece of crap weapon, Ghostbusters 2).

I did beat the level finally and now I’m in the Gozer dimensional version of the library for even more busting fun.  When I do finish the game (if I do) I’ll post up my review.   

Alternate Library, Courtesy of Gozer

As an added benefit, the manufacturer seems to have finally posted the patch to fix the glitches everyone was complaining about when the game was first released.  Thank you Atari.

Now word is out that there is a Ghostbusters game coming for PS3 with online capabilities.  We have three of us ready to bust ghosts.  We might need a fourth.  Anyone out there with a PS3 and ready to kick some paranormal butt?  Let us know.  You could be the one to become the fourth Ghostbuster.

www.ghostbustersgame.com

With his 2 friends Sock and Ben helping him, the first season follows Sam’s adventures as he learns his new lot in life, tries to find and do good in his new carrer path (pissing his new “boss” off in the process), trying to figure out why the Devil seems to have taken a shine to Sam (I’m thinking Sam’s FATHER is the Devil’s son, so ol’ scratch is his Grand-dad….), and how he might be able to get out of his contract after all. 

Brett Harrison, playing main character and “Reaper” Sam and Tyler Labine as his best friend Sock really set the pace for the whole show.  Playing the show’s third stooge and in my opinion underrated by the producers (they barely show the guy in the commercials) is Rick Gonzales as Sam’s other friend and co-worker Ben.  The three of them channel classic Ackroyd, Murray, Hudson, and Ramis (the Ghostbusters for the non-geek readers out there) but with a younger slacker-boy edge.  Missy Peregrym as Sam’s on-again, off-again love interest and friend Andi is a fanboy’s dream girl; good looking, smart, and shows some understanding (or potential to understand) Sam’s unusual career choice (like hunting down escaped convicts from hell).

The shining star in the cast, however, has got to be Ray Wise.  He plays the Devil with the perfect mix of charm and wit.  The character is perfectly written as well.  Jjust when you start to really like character, he changes his demeanor on a dime to remind us who he really is.

I’ve got the new season 2 opener recorded and ready to watch.  I’ll let you know how it was when I’m finished.  If you haven’t seen it, or enjoyed it last year, give it a try.   You can catch Reaper on the CW, Tuesdays 8/7c, or check it out online at http://www.cwtv.com/shows/reaper.

-CWD

Thanks to IGN for this clip.  http://ps3.ign.com/dor/objects/14218851/ghostbusters/videos/ghostbust_totherescue_020209.html

 -CWD

1,  Resident Evil 5

2.  Batman: Arkham Asylum

3. God of War 3

4.  Ghostbusters

5.  Wolfenstein

6.  MLB 09

7. Assassin’s Creed 2

There are actually quite a few really good looking games, however with a family, budgetting also means not buying every new game that comes out.  So when new games do come out, we must be picky.  However, for the Craig’s out there that don’t have a PS3, fear not.  Playstation has announced a drop in price so the $399 machine will now be going for $299.  Even though that is still a lot of money, if Craig asks for gift certificates for his birthday and fathers day, he will find that the PS3 is within his gentle loving reach.

You’d think the 3rd party suppliers would at least be courting the console manufacturer with the most sales on some games.  But no.  There are a few bright spots (Ghostbusters is slated for a June 16 release date), but all in all the Wii’s near future looks to be dismal (see the images below for the gory details). 

Is it just PS3 envy on my part, or did the brass at Nintendo piss off the president of Capcom again?  What the hell?  Maybe this is all part of the “Economic Stimulus Package” we’ve heard so much about.  To play Street Fighter 4 or Resident evil 5 you can either buy one system for $499 or another that has a laundry list of issues including rendering your disks unplayable (http://xbox-360-problems-fix.blogspot.com/), which requires the user to purchase a new system.   Funny, I don’t feel stimulated….

-CWD