Page 71 - Encyclopedia of the Unusual and Unexplained Vol. 3

Ghosts and Phantoms 51

lthough ghosts and phantoms are fre-
quent subjects for television documen-
taries, there have been few series that
A have treated the spirit world in a serious
manner. In 1953, Topper, a fantasy-comedy about a
Ghosts on
businessman who is harassed by a ghostly couple try-
ing to get him to loosen up and enjoy life, became a
Television Series
successful television series. The characters were
derived from Topper (1937), a comedy that became
popular enough among motion picture audiences to Today, the most popular television programs deal-
produce two sequels. ing with ghosts and the afterlife are Crossing Over
with John Edward and Beyond with James Van
On Alcoa Presents: One Step Beyond, which pre-
Praagh. Their presentations consist primarily of their
miered in the 1950s, serious students of psychical
professed ability as mediums to establish communi-
research recognized many classic cases of ghosts
cation with spirits and to relay personal communica-
and phantoms presented in a balanced manner, but
tions to family members who have come to the studio
with the actual names and places changed.
as members of the audience.
The emphasis was on romantic comedy in the tele-
Sources:
vision series The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1968–70) in
Internet Movie Database Inc. [Online] http://us.imdb.com.
which the restless spirit of a handsome sea captain
Maltin, Leonard, ed. Leonard Maltin’s 1999 Movie & Video Guide.
(Edward Mulhare) haunted a beautiful widow (Hope
New York: Dutton Signet, 1998.
Lange) in a picturesque New England seaside cottage.
Steiger, Brad, and Sherry Hansen Steiger. Hollywood and the
The series was another successful adaptation of a Supernatural. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1990.
popular motion picture (The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, 1947). VideoHound’s Golden Movie Retriever. Farmington Hills, Mich.:
Visible Ink Press, 1999.
Serious treatment of ghosts and phantoms
remained largely the province of documentaries until
The X-Files premiered in the 1993–94 season.
Although FBI agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny)
and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) investigated many
areas of the paranormal, hauntings and ghostly phe-
nomena were treated as matters of serious inquiry
throughout the series’ nine-year run.
The Others (1999–2000) also treated the spirit
world seriously, but was canceled after one season.
The series starred Julianne Nicholson as a college
student with latent mediumistic abilities who was
mentored by an experienced medium (Bill Cobbs).
In September 2002, the series Haunted premiered
with Matthew Fox as a private investigator who
received assistance from the spirit world while solv-
ing crimes. In October 2002, the Sci Fi Channel began
an eight-week revision of the classic series In Search
Of with host Mitch Pileggi offering occasional seg-
ments on ghosts.

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