A new television show; Ghost Hunters International (a spinoff from Ghost Hunters, both Wed.’s on the Sci-Fi channel) had its premier this past month. This team includes Brian, Donna, and Andy from Ghost Hunters with associate Barry from Ireland, and newcomers Shannon and the leader; Rob. This is my quick review of the recent episode, Evil Unearthed.
The team really got excited with their experiences at the Italian site. Donna claims to have been repeatedly touched by something, although this was at the urging on of Brian. I found that whole sequence a little weird. Brian keeps shouting and then Donna reacts to Brian’s shouting, but I don’t think anything really happened, typical Brian weirdness.
Shannon almost started crying she was so scared and not to be mean, but that really blows my mind. You are out hunting ghosts, but the second you even suspect you find something, you go rigid with fear, that is just so not the way to Ghost Hunt, I am sorry! Ridiculous! You really have to give Rob credit though for questioning Donna’s reactions, and making Shannon and Donna go back in when they were scared, letting them know, duh! that’s why we’re here people. (in not so many words; he has more tact than I do.)
The case at the old English Mansion went a little smoother, a much more TAPS (The Atlantic Paranormal Society from Ghost Hunters) style investigation. For all the excitement and experiences the team had at both places though, all they came up with were some very iffy EVP’s (electronic voice phenomona caught on tape). It just goes to show that this team is really letting their fears control them. Brian is always the inventor of something from nothing, with Donna and Barry his willing cohorts and vice-versa. At least Andy and Rob both seem level headed and out to dismiss most of the nonsense.
18 responses so far ↓
Annie // January 24, 2008 at 12:33 am |
Love the new GHI team, tho I do feel that they need another Lead Investigator with Robb (Like Jason and Grant on Ghost Hunters). I don’t feel that Andy should be acting as a Lead Investigator. He is there for debunking and he is very good at it, but is not a great investigator. He tends to overreact (ex: The local investigation where the man hung himself in the attic and Andy couldn’t breath walking up the stairs. Even Jason looked peturbed and other TAPS members were saying he tends to blows stuff out of proportion. The lighthouse (where he saw a video on TV of Asian investigators trapped in a room) and he talked Jason and Grant into going and Jason ended up fishing because there was nothing go on there. The time Steve said you should have known better to Andy and he sulked the rest of the day like a little kid and kind of messed up the investigation because everyone was focused on him). Andy is a nice enough guy but he doesn’t have the right personality to lead the group. Brian is the best Ghost Hunter in the group. I know people have problems with him, but he is the only one who truly is not afraid. He was the only one who climbed under the Church after they were told there was a demonic under there. He is the only one who runs towards the ghost not away. (Yes I remember Penn State but everyone has a right to be startled once). I would consider making Brian the co-Lead. The new girl Shannon is very nice but if she doesn’t get a backbone soon I don’t see her making it. She is afraid of her own shadow. How she ever got involved in paranormal investigating is beyond me. Donna and Berry are solid. Robb is a good investigator but could use some acting lessons. I hope he gets better as time goes on. He doesn’t seem comfortable infront of the camera. That’s why he needs a co-lead, a buddy. I miss Jason and Grant. Last commit… Why do Andy and Donna get out of reviewing. Everyone should help with the grunt work.
edtajchman // January 24, 2008 at 1:01 am |
Thanks for reading and I agree with most of what you said, …nice to see someone who agrees with me …lol (mostly). I hear your criticisms of Andy and I’ve had the same thoughts, but I think he’s stepped up and matured, more so than he was on Ghost Hunters like you say. Brian? maybe youre right, all that he needed is a more lead role, which didn’t happen on GH because he walked away for a while, he does seem to be more together. Barry is good I like him, but sometimes he gets scared when supposed contact is made, like in the Irish episodes last year, when he walked away mid investigation, and interrupted when Jason and Grant were getting good footstep noises, he has the potential to be good, he’s a little up and down though. I agree, Jason and Grant are the best and most level headed investigators. Ya Shannon’s got to go, ..nuff said. Andy has put in a good bit of reviewing time with GH, but you’re right Donna has never really done any review work, but I guess she’s the researcher or public relations or whatever. Thanks for reading and your comments…..
Annie // January 24, 2008 at 3:06 pm |
I’m waiting to give my review of Donna and Berry and I’ll tell you why. In the beginning Donna (only not as bad) was like Shannon, afraid of her own shadow. Lately tho I have noticed her stepping up more and becoming braver. I hope it continues. I know she was freaking when something was touching her over and over a week or so ago, but if something kept touching you over and over, you would probably freak too. The last couple of shows, she has stuck out her hand and invited something to touch her. Barry did freak out in Ireland and left the investigation, but the ghosts in Europe are older and seem to be darker. Besides that was one scary, creepy face that they caught on camera and I think it would have shook up even the best investigator. Also, on the next investigation, when Grant was in that pit and Barry was monitoring the equipment and thought Grant or possibly Jason was going to be attacked, he ran up those stairs to help. He didn’t run away. So for those reasons, I’m waiting to decide about Donna and Barry…Annie
edtajchman // January 24, 2008 at 4:47 pm |
Hi Annie, …. For me, if you go by Jason and Grant, they honestly never have freaked more than a little on any investigation. If they can remain level headed in Europe, why couldn’t Berry? Donna thinks she is a medium, which is cool, just not for a show that’s based on hard evidence, or should be anyway. Rob really impresses me, he is level headed, doesn’t get scared, even helps out on review, challenges his team to be level headed as well……
Annie // January 24, 2008 at 9:24 pm |
Hi Ed… I totally agree that Jason and Grant are hands down the best investigators. Their friendship as well as their investigative skills, make the show great to watch. That’s why I think Robb needs a co-lead. Someone he truly likes, trusts and can be friends with. He’s a great investigator and I think he would be more comfortable if he had someone to buddy up with. Maybe Barry? If Barry can pull himself together and keep his emotions in check (no more running away) he’s good on camera, has personality, experience and a great deal of knowledge about the history. He also knows the most about the European way of Ghost Hunting. I still think Brian is the bravest Ghost Hunter in this group, but I agree with you that he also needs to grow up. If he would mature a little more, I think he would be great. I know in the regular Ghost Hunters series he was in trouble alot. But I kind of felt sorry for him because when he came back, no matter how hard he worked, Jason and Grant could never seem to get over his past. This caused them to jump on him for every little thing and caused the rest of the group to disrespect and pick on him. I also felt that Steve, at times, would set Brian up. He was always in Jason’s ear telling him Brian’s every move. If you watched on Wednesday. I can’t remember which show. Jason and Grant were complaining that they weren’t watching the reviews and decided to rewatch only Brian’s portion because they felt Steve wouldn’t screw off. But if you watched Steve was the one who kept screwing around and messing with Brian. At one point Brian said “I’m trying to ignore you”. Jason said during one the shows that Brian was the hardest worker they ever had. Also funny that when Brian left, Steve became Tech Manager and suddenly became very responsible with his duties. Now Donna… well the whole medium or sensitive or whatever… I don’t see it. I think Donna’s thinks she’s sensitive but I don’t think she is. I could be wrong. If they want to bring sensitives or pagan’s or demonologist, that’s cool but make sure they are what they say or don’t say anything. You’ll notice Jason and Grant won’t talk about their paranormal experiences. They can’t prove it, so they don’t talk about it…Take Care…Annie
edtajchman // January 24, 2008 at 10:59 pm |
hello again lol,
ya I watched Wed., geez I’ve seen every episode a lot, I rewatch them on DVR when I’m bored, I’m a ghost nerd I guess.
*Berry definitely has potential, his EVP style is probably the best, he would make a good co-lead, but I do like Andy’s debunking.
*Brian was picked on after he came back with his act together you’re right, they never truly gave him a second chance, but then again, if it were up to Jason he wouldn’t have had a second chance at all, but still he wasn’t treated fairly and Steve did pick on him.
*Steve, he’s great… very mellow and funny too, when he experiences something, which isn’t often, he really runs with it, without losing it at all. I do wish he would get more into it though sometimes with EVP work like Barry does, with his more gentlemanly style, introducing yourself and being more tactful, I guess that’s the European style or whatever.
*Donna, you pointed out she was good in this last episode and I agree, if she would just tone down the whole sensitivity thing, but if she really is I guess you really couldn’t tone it down, but still, she doesn’t go into it with that debunk attitude. Jason and Grant do have that way of not talking about their experiences, Donna just dives right in.
-Ed
debi // January 25, 2008 at 7:21 pm |
well, I want so bad for this show to be as entertaining as the original Ghost Hunters but so far, Rob is the nly one that I half way care for. Brian is SO annoying to me. He gets WAY over-excited and I think he blows stuff out of porportion just as much as Andy if not more so. I just haven’t seen any evidence really that makes me think they’ve encountered anything “Internationally”. I just have a hard time watching this group and believing most of them. I think they desperately want to find something big and are trying to make mountains out of moehills. I LOVE Jason and Grant and the original Ghost Hunters–although I wish they’d stop playing that so-called eerie music when we’re trying to listen to the ‘whispers’ (like in the St. Augustine Lighthouse). Maybe GHI will get better. I’m going to try to keep an open mind. We’ll see. Keeping my fingers crossed.
edtajchman // January 25, 2008 at 9:51 pm |
yah I have a hard time hearing the evp’s also,……but this last episode’s EVP’s I have to admit were a little chilling at least.
Annie // January 26, 2008 at 8:15 pm |
Hi…I’m a Ghost Hunter nerd too. I’m afraid GHI may never have the same success as GH’s because you need those strong leads to keep everything levelheaded. If the group starts goofing off Jason and Grant quickly pulls it back together. Robb is great but it would be nice to see a second lead to cover Robb’s back. Andy is the best debunker in the group, but I don’t see him as a lead. Robb is kind of a strong personality like Jason, that’s why I think a more mellow personality simular to Grant would be nice to balance and calm the group. But it needs to be someone that Robb can click with, so it will work on camera. Also, I think that this team needs to get a backbone. There is no chance of them being as successful as GH’s if they freak out or run away every time something happens. If something happens on GH’s, Jason, Grant, Steve, Dustin, Tango and Paula are running towards it. That’s why they catch so much on GH’s. It’s the way they go about the investigation. There’s no chaos or screwing around. They sit quietly in rooms and listen and if something happens, they don’t run away or walk away and investigate somewhere else in the building or say I need a break and go outside, which basically ends any chance of capturing anything. They stick it out until the activity ends. And even tho I know you guys don’t like Brian, he will run towards the activity, not away from it. And yes he definitely needs to grown up….Also, dido, the music during critical times in the show stinks. You can’t hear the EVP’s….Annie
edtajchman // January 27, 2008 at 5:24 am |
Hi again Annie,
All good points…..well said.
Do you ever read those supposedly true ghost stories on about.com?http://paranormal.about.com/od/paranormalgeneralinfo/a/news_080126n.htm
kind of interesting…
do you know of any good ghost hunting or story sites or anything?….
-Ed
tennistom // February 6, 2008 at 6:58 pm |
Brian’s a hack. I’ve watched GHI every week, and noticed at least two oocasions where battery power was an issue, ( always a problem on his other show), and then one time where he said he saw a shadow move across a room and out a door. He had no equipment with him, and was alone. No one goes anywhere alone on either show, so I think he tried to draw attention to himself . He is a screw up of the first order.
edtajchman // February 6, 2008 at 10:05 pm |
I think your assesment is a little harsh, but I have to agree, that sometimes he puts on a bit of a show. Where Jason and Grant are quick to dismiss something, he’s quick to overlook any fault and claim it has evidence. One week he seems solid, the next a bit of a showman like you say. I think Barry is a bigger hack than Brian though, every episode, hes alone and running from or towards something, lol, with never any hard evidence. Have u ever seen Jason and Grant act that way? not even close, …..
Robert // February 8, 2008 at 12:05 pm |
GHI…A good concept but poor casting.
Rob seems to me to have no personality. Nice guy and knows what he is doing but boring. Tries to play up to the camera as being Mr. GH to much
Donna….I like Donna. Good researcher and eager to learn. She seems to have lost some of her nerves with this team though. She needs to stick with Jason and Grant so she can learn more.
Shannon…Needs to find a new line of work.
Andy…A combination of Rob and Brian. Needs to grow up a little also.
Barry…I like Barry and would love to see him stay teamed with Jason and Grant.
Now for Brian….
As far as Brian goes, as Jason and Grant said on GH…”Brain has yet to go to a place that is NOT haunted.” Brain has no credibility with me. As stated here things happen to him and he sees things when no one else is around. Example 1…one show on GH’s he came down to the others claiming that as he came back down a hallway, a chair was turned upside down in the middle of that hallway. It wasn’t like that when he first passed it.
Example 2… In the GHI show Evil Unearthed. The group was in a large room and Donna said that she had been touched. Brian, from the other side of the room, started saying “…I see it. It’s moving toward you Donna. Don’t worry I got your back.” Funny how in Donna’s little interview afterwards she stated…” It was total darkness and you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face”. Brian must have eaten his carrots the day.
So for me Brian hold no credibility. That’s just two examples. There are many other’s on GH.
edtajchman // February 8, 2008 at 1:33 pm |
I agree, the last episode was hard to watch, Shannon and Donna are at each others throats, and neither one is fantastic,….And I said the same thing about Brian, with that ‘thing’ that was touching Donna in the 1st episode, was all at Brian’s assertion,…..lame……
kady w // February 8, 2008 at 3:33 pm |
Don’t think GHI is going to make it. Now we have Donna and Shannon at each other and on the the old GH we had Brian and Jason going round and round. Leave that crap out of the weekly shows. I had high hopes for GHI because of Euopean haunted places being so old, maybe that is where Grant and Jason should be, then we would have a good show.
edtajchman // February 8, 2008 at 3:45 pm |
what really gets me is Barry, he makes it laughable, he can be forgiven for his past ‘running’ but he did it in this weeks episode AGAIN,…this isn’t ghost runners….lol….. that whole thing was set up so that there would be no way to follow up on the experience, Barry is a runner and is lame….
OJO // February 13, 2008 at 9:12 pm |
I know this is going to sound petty, but I really can’t get past the greasy hair…Rob makes me feel like I want to take a shower and Andy’s hair has slowly progressed to the same level of greasy. They don’t exude professionalism. Also, the “acting” is painful to watch. It would make it all worth it if they actually found some evidence, but thus far the show is all hype with no substance.
edtajchman // February 13, 2008 at 11:05 pm |
The more the season goes on the more I am disheartened as well. In an effort to make it more ‘exciting’ Sci-Fi channel has gone over the top and taken away what makes Ghost Hunters so awsome, the debunking and not running scared aspect. Rob does impress me though, Andy and Brian are average, everyone else should go! Or Donna should change her role from investigator to medium/case liason.