Monday, April 24, 2006

Eenie, meenie, jellybeanie, the spirits are about to speak

I would try to find a way to profit from the gullibility of superstitious people if I didn't have any of my "atheistic" MORALS about taking advantage of stupid people.


LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A controversial television seance airing on Monday will claim it has reached the spirit of John Lennon, but viewers will have to pay $9.95 to find out what the peace-loving Beatle has to say.

The special, being carried on pay-TV service In Demand, was organized by the producers of a 2003 attempt to channel the late Princess Diana. That show failed to find Diana and received reviews that could have sunk the Titanic but it is estimated to have grossed close to $8 million. (ching ching!)

Sight unseen, the Lennon effort has been attacked by the late Beatle's friends and fans as a tasteless effort to profit from his assassination 25 years ago. But producers say they are hoping to lure an audience that now loves such prime-time network TV shows as "Ghost Whisperer" and "Medium."

The program features what is described as an Electronic Voice Phenomenon, or EVP, that a psychic on the show claims is the disembodied voice of Lennon speaking at a seance in one of his favorite New York restaurants, La Fortuna.

EVP is based on a belief that spirit voices communicate through radio and TV broadcast signals.

On the television show, filming at La Fortuna suddenly stops and a narrator says something odd has happened. They then claim that a mysterious voice can be heard on the voice feed of one of the psychics.

The producers then call in "EVP specialist" Sandra Belanger to examine the voice and she proclaims it the real deal.

"That's very consistent with a Class A EVP," she said, regarding the level and clarity of the voice. She also says the voice sounds like how Lennon would have talked.

Reuters was given a preview of the program, "The Spirit of John Lennon," on condition that it not reveal what the "voice" said during the taped seance.

Producer Paul Sharratt, who heads Starcast Productions and who calls himself a skeptic, said hearing the voice has made him a believer.

"The Spirit of John Lennon" is being done without the knowledge or consent of Lennon's estate or his widow Yoko Ono, who declined comment. Her longtime friend and spokesman Elliot Mintz has called the entire exercise "tacky, exploitative and far removed" from the icon's way of life.

"A pay-per-view seance was never his style," said Mintz.


MORE OOGIE-BOOGINESS! Researchers Probe Ghost Sightings on Ship

5 comments:

jhbowden said...

Have you seen the South Park episode with John Edward?

South Park TV satire skewers John Edward psychic pretensions

"Now that the Osbourne clan has knocked the cable TV cartoon South Park from its place of preeminence in the pantheon of shock and vulgar humor, what's left for the show's creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker to do to deliver a jolt to a jaded national audience? In one of the best episodes in the series, the jolt administered to viewers of the November 27, 2002, broadcast was an unexpected blend of skepticism and debunking in a satire worthy of Twain at his most cutting, with psychic huckster John Edward the focus of Stone and Parker's venom."

Stew said...

Whenever I see scams like that I am filled with jealousy that I didn't think of it first.

My favourite scams involve magnets. How come magnets in shoes, bracelets etc only do good? How come they don't make the arthritus/whatever worse? How do the magnets know? And they can remove calcium from water pipes and make car engines more efficient. Yesiree, magnets.

Anonymous said...

If John Lennon was really able to talk from beyond the grave, he would have probably said something along the lines of "why the fuck don't you spend your time talking with the people who are still alive?"

Stardust said...

Tommykey - Ramen!

Stardust said...

Have you seen the South Park episode with John Edward?

Nope...haven't seen that one yet. Thanks for the link.