Psychic Detectives
Encyclopedia
Psychic Detectives or Psychic Investigators is a television program
produced by StoryHouse Productions for Court TV
, as of 2006 in its 5th season. The program documents real-life cases of situations in which police departments have enlisted the aid of psychic
s in solving difficult cases. The series production does not investigate the claims of the psychics showcased or confirm their claims. For entertainment it instead recreates some of the atmosphere surrounding psychic claims using a selection of well recognized intuitives, crime
psychics, psychic detective
s and supporters of paranormal
beliefs. A cross section of paranormal psychics are profiled though most are women who typically are engaged as self-described psychic medium
s communicating with the dead.
about whether events actually happened as re-created. Critics have also charged that several psychics have exaggerated or fantasized events or claims that did not actually occur. Viewers are encouraged to expand their search about specific psychics profiled for a broader range of information. There is no evidence that any psychic detective has ever provided significant assistance in a criminal State Police case using paranormal abilities. Generally fewer psychics are now involved with law enforcement
agencies than in the past as historical data has confirmed that psychic involvement has not improved the resolution of criminal and missing person cases.
August 2007 Psychic Detectives was awarded The Truly Terrible Television (TTTV) Award for peddling pseudoscience
and superstition
to its audience by the Independent Investigative Group IIG. Other winners have been Montel Williams
for every episode that has showcased Sylvia Browne
, Paranormal State
and SciFi's Ghost Hunters
.
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
produced by StoryHouse Productions for Court TV
Court TV
truTV is an American cable television network owned by Turner Broadcasting, a subsidiary of Time Warner. The network launched as Court TV in 1991, changing to truTV in 2008...
, as of 2006 in its 5th season. The program documents real-life cases of situations in which police departments have enlisted the aid of psychic
Psychic
A psychic is a person who professes an ability to perceive information hidden from the normal senses through extrasensory perception , or is said by others to have such abilities. It is also used to describe theatrical performers who use techniques such as prestidigitation, cold reading, and hot...
s in solving difficult cases. The series production does not investigate the claims of the psychics showcased or confirm their claims. For entertainment it instead recreates some of the atmosphere surrounding psychic claims using a selection of well recognized intuitives, crime
Crime
Crime is the breach of rules or laws for which some governing authority can ultimately prescribe a conviction...
psychics, psychic detective
Psychic detective
A psychic detective is defined as a person who investigates crimes by using their claimed paranormal psychic abilities. A number of people claim they have psychic abilities that have allowed them to assist police in solving kidnapping and murder cases, or locating a corpse...
s and supporters of paranormal
Paranormal
Paranormal is a general term that designates experiences that lie outside "the range of normal experience or scientific explanation" or that indicates phenomena understood to be outside of science's current ability to explain or measure...
beliefs. A cross section of paranormal psychics are profiled though most are women who typically are engaged as self-described psychic medium
Mediumship
Mediumship is described as a form of communication with spirits. It is a practice in religious beliefs such as Spiritualism, Spiritism, Espiritismo, Candomblé, Voodoo and Umbanda.- Concept :...
s communicating with the dead.
Criticism
The series has often been controversial in its portrayal of events with little scientific skepticismScientific skepticism
Scientific skepticism is the practice of questioning the veracity of claims lacking empirical evidence or reproducibility, as part of a methodological norm pursuing "the extension of certified knowledge". For example, Robert K...
about whether events actually happened as re-created. Critics have also charged that several psychics have exaggerated or fantasized events or claims that did not actually occur. Viewers are encouraged to expand their search about specific psychics profiled for a broader range of information. There is no evidence that any psychic detective has ever provided significant assistance in a criminal State Police case using paranormal abilities. Generally fewer psychics are now involved with law enforcement
Law enforcement agency
In North American English, a law enforcement agency is a government agency responsible for the enforcement of the laws.Outside North America, such organizations are called police services. In North America, some of these services are called police while others have other names In North American...
agencies than in the past as historical data has confirmed that psychic involvement has not improved the resolution of criminal and missing person cases.
August 2007 Psychic Detectives was awarded The Truly Terrible Television (TTTV) Award for peddling pseudoscience
Pseudoscience
Pseudoscience is a claim, belief, or practice which is presented as scientific, but which does not adhere to a valid scientific method, lacks supporting evidence or plausibility, cannot be reliably tested, or otherwise lacks scientific status...
and superstition
Superstition
Superstition is a belief in supernatural causality: that one event leads to the cause of another without any process in the physical world linking the two events....
to its audience by the Independent Investigative Group IIG. Other winners have been Montel Williams
Montel Williams
Montel Brian Anthony Williams is an American television personality, radio talk show host and actor. He is best known as host of the long-running The Montel Williams Show, and more recently as a spokesperson for the Partnership for Prescription Assistance...
for every episode that has showcased Sylvia Browne
Sylvia Browne
Sylvia Browne is an American author who describes herself as a psychic and spiritual medium...
, Paranormal State
Paranormal State
Paranormal State is an American paranormal reality television series that premiered on the A&E Network on December 10, 2007. The program follows and stars the Pennsylvania State University Paranormal Research Society, a student-led college club...
and SciFi's Ghost Hunters
Ghost Hunters
Ghost Hunters is an American paranormal reality television series that premiered on October 6, 2004, on Syfy . The program features paranormal investigators Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson who investigate places that are reported to be haunted. The two originally worked as plumbers for Roto-Rooter as...
.
Broadcasters
| Country | TV network(s) | Series premiere | Weekly schedule |
|---|---|---|---|
 Australia AustraliaAustralia Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area... |
Channel Seven Seven Network The Seven Network is an Australian television network owned by Seven West Media Limited. It dates back to 4 November 1956, when the first stations on the VHF7 frequency were established in Melbourne and Sydney.It is currently the second largest network in the country in terms of population reach... |
Mondays 12.10am | |
 Canada CanadaCanada Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean... |
Court TV Canada | Thursdays 9:00pm | |
 Japan JapanJapan Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south... |
Fox Crime Japan | ||
 United States United StatesUnited States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
Bio The Biography Channel The Biography Channel is an American digital cable television channel owned by A&E and based on the television series of the same name. A version of the channel also airs on ONO and Telefónica in Spain and on Sky Digital and cable television in the United Kingdom, a version of the channel also... Discovery en Español Discovery en Español Discovery en Español is the Spanish language version of the Discovery Channel. It is operated by Discovery Networks International's Latin America division in Miami, Florida.... |
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| United Kingdom United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages... |
Bio Bio Bio may refer to:*Bio., Australian pay-TV channel*The Biography Channel, an American cable channel sometimes called bio*Bio , graffiti artist*Bio , a Chuck Berry album released in 1973 by Chess Records... |
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External links
- IMDB.com: Psychic Detectives
- Psychic Detectives
- http://www.amindformurder.com/
- http://www.tampabayskeptics.org/