Merrick Has Seen
The Debut Episode Of
GHOST HUNTERS ACADEMY!!

Merrick here...
GHOST HUNTERS ACADEMY, the latest offshoot in the GHOST HUNTERS franchise, premiers tonight on SyFy (still "The Sci Fi Channel" to those of us refusing to embrace the network's rebranding). Whereas ongoing series GHOST HUNTERS and GHOST HUNTERS INTERNATIONAL feature experienced teams of paranormal investigators attempting to debunk reported 'hauntings', ACADEMY shows us what it takes to become a quality investigator. We're introduced to five candidates who, once trained, will receive the opportunity to investigate with either TAPS (The Atlantic Paranormal Society - featured prominently in the original GHOST HUNTERS series) or the GHOST HUNTERS INTERNATIONAL team. Adding a reality show twist to already established formats and conceits, Academy members stand the risk of being shown the door should they misstep in a significant way. Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson (founders of TAPS and the lead investigators on the original GHOST HUNTERS series) appear briefly here to set proceedings into motion, before deploying Academy recruits with TAPS veterans Steve Gonsalves and Dave Tango - both charged with shaking down & sorting out these new kids. Ghost hunting seems to be all the rage these days (I just flipped through two Christmas catalogs - both of them featured sections devoted to ghost hunting equipment and paraphernalia), and...with newer shows like PARANORMAL STATE and GHOST ADVENTURES now coming onto the scene...a spinoff of this nature is neither surprising or inappropriate. As a whole, Academy does a nice job of illuminating the painstaking minutiae involved in full-scale paranormal investigations - i.e. the stuff that already seems second nature to the other GH teams, and that viewers would not likely notice while watching a standard episode of ACADEMY's sister shows (like the significance of an investigator's position in a room they're studying). But Academy comes up short in one critical regard: it assumes viewers are coming to the new series with an established understanding of many elements of ghost hunting - and that its audience brings with it a deep familiarity with the other GHOST HUNTERS series as well. For example: one of the...would these new folks be called "contestants"?...claims to be a medium, and that this is an ability not warmly embraced by TAPS. Another of the recruits hides what she claims to be highly "empathic" capacities...because she's afraid Gonsalves and Tango will frown upon her should they find out. But, why? I've seen damn near every episode of both GH series to date and, while I recall TAPS' lack of enthusiasm for mediums/empaths being perviously discussed, I don't remember a single detail of the matter off the top of my head. If a follower like me doesn't get it, new viewers will almost certainly be left asking why so much screen time/concern is devoted to such abstract matters. ACADEMY should be easily digestible to established TAPS/GHOST HUNTERS devotees, but I'm not sure it's going to pull in a broader audience. GHA is very much akin to its progenitor series. And, with the Academy kids being sent to investigate locations at which TAPS has previously gathered significant evidence, it's a safe bet this new group may amass some pretty impressive data along the way. While the kids being trained aren't always the most charismatic lot (considering TAPS' penchant for associating themselves with "everyman" types, perhaps they shouldn't be), it's kinda fun watching Gonsalves...a police officer of sharp wit and monk-like placidity...systematically bust the balls of wide-eyed recruits. Some of them are desperate to kiss-ass in any way, most of 'em have no refined ghost hunting skills to speak of, and Gonsalves and Tango take no prisoners - but always nicely. It'll be interesting to see how this develops once these recruits develop more skills, and once guidance from Tango and Gonsalves is no longer required. Will they become a reputable investigatory team in the own right? Will they end up being SCOOBY DOO rejects? Will, as this episode insinuates, some of this gang be bounced from the show entirely due to lack of sincerity, untruthfulness, or general incompetence? These are all uncertainties. Which...in the end...is really what these shows are all about.