Meredith Vieira joins the TAPS team as they look for the ghost of a Matron.
Don’t you just love it when weeks of complaining finally pay off? This week, the TAPS team investigates the Sailors’ Snug Harbor in Staten Island, New York.
Meredith Vieira, host of Who Wants to be a Millionaire?, guest-investigates in this episode alongside TAPS’ founders, Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson. She basically does my job for me, pointing out two things that could debunk the team’s findings. Ironically, she still is supportive of them in the end, like a mother enabling her drug addicted children. The team and their guest attempt to find conclusive evidence of a “woman in white’s” existence.
After watching Ghost Hunters long enough, you begin to see a lot of holes in logic. For example, why are their walkie-talkie briefings in the van right before a case? They are obviously driving to the client’s locations so shouldn’t they have already had their briefing? Isn’t it redundant? All of these little inconsistencies compound after a while, and then you find yourself wanting anything but plumbers looking for ghosts.
To be fair, this episode did contain a surprise or two, but it also gave us a glimpse of what it is like when guest investigators come to the show. The matron of the campus chained up her handicapped son in the basement of one of the buildings. It is believed that she is still haunting the campus while wearing her white uniform. For this investigation, TAPS brought in a classy guest, Meredith Vierira, to help investigate. After showing up overdressed, Vierira was given a run down of the camera set up at the site. She expressed (faked) amazement. Meredith Vierira brought a surprising amount of common sense to the team. She stated things like “it gets confusing in the dark quickly” and how it is difficulty to separate your thoughts and preconceptions. These points are what I’ve been complaining about since I began reviewing the series for tvgeekarmy.com.
A surprise twist occurred later in the episode with Amy Bruni performing a flashlight test to gauge the spiritual presence in the house. From a simple yes or no question, we learned that the matron is not the one haunting the premises. Hawes and Wilson also hear a strange voice — one that even the cameras pick up — while investigating. We later learn from the client that a Hispanic employee heard someone direct her in Spanish.
It was nice to see some interesting twists and it was even nicer to see Vierira subtly point out logical inconsistencies to the TAPS logic. It may not have been on purpose, but it worked for me. I hope it works for you.
This review originally appeared on TV Geek Army.