SPIRITED DEBATE PSYCHICS' PROLIFERATING ON TV, BUT IS IT RARE TO FIND A MEDIUM WHOSE WORK IS WELL-DONE?Byline: David Kronke Television Writer TELEVISION, that most versatile of mediums, is capable of performing many services for its viewers, but one thing it can't do is comfort the bereaved or assuage as·suage tr.v. as·suaged, as·suag·ing, as·suag·es 1. To make (something burdensome or painful) less intense or severe: assuage her grief. See Synonyms at relieve. 2. the ineffable sense of loss that comes with the death of a loved one. Which is not to say that it hasn't started trying. This week, informing survivors that their dearly departed have achieved serenity on the ``other side'' goes prime-time, following in the wake of the Sci-Fi Channel's most popular series, ``Crossing Over With John Edward
John Edward McGee, Jr. (born October 19, 1969), better known as John Edward, is an American author, and television personality. ,'' now also seen in syndication. ``Contact: Talking to Noun 1. talking to - a lengthy rebuke; "a good lecture was my father's idea of discipline"; "the teacher gave him a talking to" lecture, speech rebuke, reprehension, reprimand, reproof, reproval - an act or expression of criticism and censure; "he had to the Dead,'' featuring medium George Anderson George Anderson may refer to:
in full American Broadcasting Co. Major U.S. television network. It began when the expanding national radio network NBC split into the separate Red and Blue networks in 1928. . On Sunday and April 30, CBS (Cell Broadcast Service) See cell broadcast. presents the miniseries ``Living With the Dead,'' a drama starring Ted Danson This biographical article or section needs additional references for verification. Please help [ to improve this article] by adding additional sources. Unverifiable material about living persons must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. and based oh-so-loosely on the life of James Van Praagh, who also conveys otherworldly messages to those still in the land of the living and will headline his own syndicated program in the fall. Stanley M. Brooks, executive producer of ``Living With the Dead,'' credits Hollywood with awakening this quixotic quix·ot·ic also quix·ot·i·cal adj. 1. Caught up in the romance of noble deeds and the pursuit of unreachable goals; idealistic without regard to practicality. 2. spiritual yearning in America. ``Unquestionably un·ques·tion·a·ble adj. Beyond question or doubt. See Synonyms at authentic. un·ques  tion·a·bil , 'The Sixth Sense' awakened a curiosity
that was there but people didn't speak of,'' he says.
``With technology, we've demystified every part of existence - we
can watch birth from inside the womb, we can read DNA DNA: see nucleic acid. DNA or deoxyribonucleic acid One of two types of nucleic acid (the other is RNA); a complex organic compound found in all living cells and many viruses. It is the chemical substance of genes. charts, we've been to the moon and Mars - those things aren't scary anymore. The one mystery still left, that no one can explain, is death. There hasn't been anyone to go over there and come back and say what it's like. ``That's still unsolved - everyone would love to believe that our loved ones loved ones npl → seres mpl queridos loved ones npl → proches mpl et amis chers loved ones love npl who have passed on still have a connection to the living,'' Brooks continues. ``When that film came out, I was listening to radio stations and was amazed to listen to people getting deep, profound relief and comfort from the message that we're still connected. That's what they responded to; that's why they went to it over and over. It wasn't just a movie for them.'' A former skeptic Brooks concedes he was a skeptic until Van Praagh conducted a meeting at his home in which a co-producer heard heretofore unrelated details of an auto-accident death of a relative who had been decapitated de·cap·i·tate tr.v. de·cap·i·tat·ed, de·cap·i·tat·ing, de·cap·i·tates To cut off the head of; behead. [Late Latin d . ``There was no woo-woo in my house, ever,'' Brooks says, adding, ``but spend one session with (Van Praagh) and there's no other explanation.'' Obviously, not everyone is convinced. ``That's like asking me, 'What do you think of guys who do three-card-monte games on the sidewalk?' '' says Dallas Observer The Dallas Observer is a free alternative weekly newspaper distributed around the Dallas, Texas (USA) area. At its inception, it was conceived as a weekly local arts and cinema review publication, with the credo "Advocate for Excellence in the Arts" on the cover. pop-culture critic Robert Wilonsky Robert Elliott Wilonsky (born 24 October 1968) is an American journalist and the host of Higher Definition, an interview program on the cable television network HDNet. Biography Early life He was born in Dallas, Texas to Margaret and Herschel Wilonsky. . ``They're suckering in the weak-minded in the audience. This is where TV flat-out says to its audience, 'We hate you; we know you're stupid, and we're going to put seances on TV and most of you will think that it's real.' '' Robert Thompson Robert Thompson may refer to:
Hence, ``Contact'' and ``Living With the Dead.'' In ``Contact,'' Anderson purports to speak with souls connected with Vanna White, Mackenzie Phillips, Bret ``The Hitman'' Hart (as a TV wrestler, perhaps the only genre with more dubious credibility than psychics) and the mother and sister of Bonnie Bakley, whose husband, Robert Blake, was arrested Thursday for her murder (no particulars of the crime are discussed in the special). Anderson makes a show of not knowing who his celebrity subjects are; he attributes his abilities, a la a superhero's secret origin, to a near-fatal illness at age 6. Throughout the show, there are disclaimers to his abilities that run along the lines of: ``Impossible? That's for you to decide.'' ``I don't think it's up to me (to tell viewers I have all the answers),'' Anderson says. ``I'm merely an instrument. It's really about the subjects on the special and their loved ones reaching out. It's not to do with me. It's up to them to experience comfort from messages. ``One thing I have to compliment the souls in the hereafter - with each subject, the souls reached out in such a way that they provided the subject with things so personal only the subject would know.'' Dramatic license Van Praagh, on the other hand, cops to the fact that many souls wouldn't recognize him from his miniseries - he's never, for example, helped stop a serial killer serial killer Forensic psychiatry A person who commits serial murders Prototypic SK White ♂ age 30; 97% are ♂; 80% are sociopaths. See Dahmer, Depraved heart murder, Ice Man. Cf Megan's law, Son of Sam law. . ``It's difficult to convey a spiritual book to a four-hour miniseries; they wanted a dramatic vehicle,'' he explains. ``I didn't mind if the message got out in a dramatic form.'' Van Praagh says he was initially approached for the ``Crossing Over'' series, but expectation of criticism such as Wilonsky's of the Sci-Fi Channel - ``You'd think that'd be a tip-off, wouldn't you?'' says Wilonsky; `` 'We're on the crazy make-believe channel' '' - dissuaded him. ``I didn't think it was appropriate - people would think it was not real, so I waited.'' Van Praagh admits that exploiting people's loss can be ``unfortunate; that's a circus act. You have to present these things with integrity. You have to teach and enlighten them. For the miniseries, there were a lot of script changes; if it's not sensationalized, then it's fine. ... There's a fine line.'' Van Praagh says he quit trying to solve murders when he experienced a ``3-year-old girl in New Orleans'' contact him after a particularly brutal murder. ``When I saw her (get) hit with a shovel, I couldn't take anymore cases.'' ``Think of all the crimes that'd be solved if these guys weren't frauds,'' Wilonsky says. ``Wouldn't they be using their talents for better purposes?'' ``The ethical and moral issues brought up here are fairly complex,'' says Thompson. ``It's show business, not the business of the soul. The charlatan char·la·tan n. A person fraudulently claiming knowledge and skills not possessed. charlatan (shar´l element would be hard to take.'' Of ``Crossing Over,'' Thompson says, ``It's some of the most artistic snake-oil salesmanship I've seen in a long time. Even when you know your position, you let yourself get sucked into the show. ``So far, we haven't seen encounters where they turn out to be like 'Jerry Springer,' with a dead guy throwing lightning rods, but we may not have to wait too long,'' he adds. ``Soon, we may see a mean old rich uncle throw lightning bolts, making someone's skin break out into boils.'' CONTACT: TALKING TO THE DEAD What: Medium George Anderson delivers messages from the great beyond to Vanna White, Mackenzie Phillips and Bonnie Bakley's family. Where: ABC (Channel 7). When: 10 tonight. LIVING WITH THE DEAD What: Fictionalized miniseries starring Ted Danson as real-life medium James Van Praagh, who discovers his paranormal paranormal, adj 1. outside the realm of normal experience or scientific explanation. n 2. collective term for anomalous phenomena. abilities and uses them to stop a serial killer. Where: CBS (Channel 2). When: 9 p.m. Sunday and April 30. CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1) ANDERSON (2) VAN PRAAGH |
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