Celebrity Paranormal Project - TV-14

Scary-but-dumb reality loser isn't for kids.

TV Rating: TV-14 Network: VH1 Cast: Gary Busey, Rachel Hunter, Hal Sparks Genre: Reality TV

Common Sense Note

Parents should know that this scary, pointless reality show features close-up shots of people (mostly C-list celebrities) being truly scared, as well as computer-generated images of ghosts and other paranormal activity. Participants engage in creepy acts like tying up a noose or sawing through bone in order to draw out spirits. Scenes are often dark, shadowy, and sometimes pierced with unexplained screams. Some participants treat others poorly, and in at least one episode, two people engaged in a screaming match. Lots of cursing, too, though most is bleeped.

Families can discuss haunted houses. Do you believe in ghosts or other spirits? Why or why not? Have you ever felt or seen something that couldn't be explained except by paranormal activity? Do you believe that the show's participants actually experience paranormal activity? Do you think some of the activity is faked by the producers? Why would they do that? Why do so many reality TV stars keep showing up in other projects? Do you think shows like this help their career or hurt it?

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Common Sense Review

Reviewed By: Sierra Filucci

As if reality shows couldn't get any more ridiculous, now CELEBRITY PARANORMAL PROJECT has reared its ugly head. In each episode of this "celebreality" series, five C- and D-list stars (Survivor contestants, actor Gary Busey, ex-model Rachel Hunter, etc.) travel to an allegedly haunted place and conduct late-night experiments to ascertain the intensity of paranormal activity.

Based out of a well-lit trailer, pairs of celebs travel into dark, decrepit buildings carrying video cameras and wearing headlamps, microphones, and mini-cams directed at their faces. The base camp leader directs them to a specific place in the building and then plays a recorded message describing the paranormal activity recorded in the area. Then the leader gives further instructions in order to help the pair make contact with otherworldly forces.

In one episode, for example, the group set up camp at the abandoned Waverly Hills Sanatorium, where 63,000 people died of tuberculosis in the early 1900s. One celebrity pair visited the operating room, where TB patients had their rib cages opened to expose their diseased lungs. Busey, a enthusiastic believer, sawed through a rib bone in order to re-enact the activity of the room and draw out the ghost who supposedly wanders the halls.

Then, in order to build tension in an otherwise dull experiment, the camp leader asked the pair to split, sending Busey's partner out into the dark hallway alone. While she was there, she heard footsteps, saw shadows, and felt a presence -- next thing you know, she was screaming her lungs out while viewers watched her horrified face on the mini-cam, Blair Witch-style.

While some of the participants seemed truly affected by their surroundings in that episode, it was hard to believe the so-called evidence of paranormal activity that they discover. And it seemed particularly revealing that the one participant (Toccara from America's Next Top Model) who seemed to really grasp the ridiculousness of the experiment was the only one not to feel a presence.

Interspersed between the "reality" segments in each episode are computer-generated scenes of ghosts and re-enactments of creepy historical events (like a hanging or a gory operation), creating the impression that viewers are witnessing more scary activity than they really are.

Despite the silliness of the whole thing, you may find it hard to walk through the dark house alone after turning off the television. Kids should definitely stay away, and even teens may experience some sleep disturbances after a show like this.

Older fans may enjoy The Blair Witch Project. Younger folks may be better off with Ghost Hunters or Is It Real?.

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Content		CS	adults	kids
Content
Sexual Content Some female participants wear tight clothing. Some discussion of abortion, sex before marriage, etc.
Violence Discussion of severe violence, including murder. Some blurry, computer-generated re-enactments of violence. Lots of scary tension.
Language Tons of bleeped curse words -- most of which are obvious, despite the bleeping.
Message
	Social Behavior No redeeming social value.
	Commercialism Participants are often from other reality shows, so in a way, these other shows are being promoted.
	Drug/Alcohol/Tobacco Some smoking.