TAPS, Ghost Hunters & Honesty

Apparently there have been a recent string of criticisms circulating the net, even some supposed video garbage claiming that the guys in TAPS faked evidence in their recent live Halloween show. I don't know why it bothers me so much that there are skeptics out there. As someone who has experienced paranormal phenomenon first hand, Ghost Hunters is the type of show I have been longing for as long as I can remember. The chance to sit back and feel somewhat assured by the experiences of others who have seen things similar.

While I don't claim to know the guys in TAPS personally, I can tell you that they have a reputation for the thorough work they do and have found more ways to disprove hauntings and so-called paranormal activity than any of the other wanna-be shows. As much as I love a good psychic, they don't rely on intuitives to declare a place as haunted and gather information from the other side.

Researching the paranormal is a risky business, and sharing the evidence one uncovers is always going to be open to criticism from skeptics and nonbelievers. I'm sure that TAPS has faced their fair share during their time together, and while it hasn't killed any of them, it has served to make them stronger. Anyone who has ever watched the series, or read the book Jason Hawes put out last year, can tell you that Jason Hawes himself has an incredible time declaring a property haunted. He and Grant Wilson both have trained their team members to look for alternative explanations, every day causes for what might be considered paranormal activity. They have long argued against the accreditation of things like spirit orbs as actual evidence of paranormal activity.

TAPS have changed the face of paranormal research for the better. They have provided well documented evidence time and again, called in experts for second and third opinions on cases and evidence both and they put their reputations on the line every time their show airs on the Sci Fi Channel.

They have done amazing work for years, and I hope this skirmish of boo-hissers and nay-sayers washes down the drain where it belongs. Yes, we're all entitled to our own opinions, even the fools who aren't happy unless they're crushing other people's excitement and happiness, but those on the second half of that spectrum can laugh now. It's the people who aren't afraid to believe that there's something more to all of "this" who'll be laughing later. That's a guarantee.

Dylan and Brenda vs Kelly and Dylan

During the 1990's, I did not watch Beverly Hills 90210. My friends and I were nothing like the characters on that show, and the drama we faced often seemed much more intensive than the things that go on on that show. Recently, I've taken to religiously watching all the old episodes on SoapNet.

Yes, SoapNet is the devil. Soap operas in general are very nasty things to get involved in because they are a stretch out there from real life. The glamorous characters make us feel empty and small. Every woman on these shows is incredibly beautiful (okay, Donna Martin didn't get attractive until after graduation. She had the most poofy and hideous hair in the world, but I digress...) The men are all either perfect and gorgeous or beautiful, exotic and dangerous. Let's face it people, Brandon Walsh was the perfect boyfriend every teenage girl wishes she had. He was intelligent, kind, thoughtful, encouraging and between him and Dylan McKay it's hard to tell which one of them is more like James Dean half the time.

We had a friend once who watched Little House on the Prairie every night while watching dinner because he said it was like his daily dose of religion. So, as my obsession with this show of my youth grew into monumental proportions, my wonderful husband made a joke that Beverly Hills 90210 was like my daily dose of religion.

From the church of Peach Pit, the big question that continually baffles me is what on earth would possess Dylan McKay to choose Kelly Taylor over Brenda Walsh? Yeah, sure, we all know Kelly puts out. She was the bit slut of West Beverly High before she met Brenda. Maybe Kelly changed her ways, but let's face facts people. Kelly Taylor is a bitch. Okay, so Brenda Walsh isn't perfect. She certainly has her own bitchy edge about her, but she was much more suited to Dylan's tastes academically. All he and Kelly ever seemed to do was fight and have sex. He and Brenda shared a love for poetry, drama, great literature and the passion for life itself.

I understand the need for excessive drama in a soap opera. And teenagers, having been one once myself and now being the mother of one, I can tell you that they really do trade off boyfriends and girlfriends and toss around the words, "I love you" as casually as they might say, "Can I have ketchup, please?" The point being that I can see where a high school Kelly and Dylan fling could carry off into the first few months of college, but after that break up when Dylan thought they should see other people I really think they should have called it a day and moved on with their lives.

How in the hell can Kelly Taylor be Dylan McKay's soul mate? I don't care if they do have some random child together in the new series. Dylan and Brenda belong together.

I hate to say it, but I think that Kelly was more suitable for Brandon. She balanced out his goody-two-shoes air with her sleazy past.

So to the writers of Beverly Hills 90210 and the new series rekindled, grow a brain. Dylan McKay is too complicated a character to be worthy of Kelly Taylor.

/end rant here!