A Haunting: The Television Series Is One Wonderfully Fright-Filled Box Set

Courtesy: Timeless Media Group/Shout! Factory/Discovery Channel/Discovery Communications/Destination America

Halloween is a little over a week away. Many stores have already stored away their Halloween decorations and have replaced them with their Christmas decorations. Others are even already pumping the annual stream of Christmas music over their speakers. It’s sad. But worry not Halloween lovers. Timeless Media and Shout! Factory have not fallen victim to that trend just yet. Timeless Media and Shout! Factory released A Haunting: The Television Series last Tuesday. This nine-disc box set is a good fit for any fan of the paranormal whether on Halloween or any other time of the year. The main reason for that is that it has compiled the series’ first six seasons into one complete set. The inclusion of the series’ first six seasons in one place is its own positive in that it means not having to hunt from box to box for one episode or another. It just means hunting through one full box. This is only one positive to this set. Another positive to the box in whole is that one box versus multiple boxes saves space on anyone’s DVD rack o in said persons’ cabinets (depending on which one a person uses). And last but hardly least of all worth noting of this set is the stories themselves. What examination of this set would be complete without a look at the stories that make up the set? They offer plenty of frights for audiences. This is the case both on Halloween and any time of the year. Together with the box’s packaging and its associated factors, the stories included in this set complete the box and make it one that anyone looking for a good scare will appreciate whether it be on Halloween or any other time of the year.

A Haunting is one of the more interesting paranormal series on television in recent years. Unlike its counterparts on Syfy, LMN, and Travel Channel, it never seemed to really fit in with the other programs on Discovery or even Destination America. Yet somehow it has continued to maintain a healthy fan base. It has gone on to see a number of episode compilations released throughout the years as well as stand-alone single season sets for said fan base. Now, fans have been rewarded for their loyalty to the series with this complete nine-disc set that encompasses the series’ first six seasons. Having all six previously released seasons put into one complete set is a reward as those single-season stand-alone sets and compilation discs are not easy to find. Now audiences won’t have to hunt for each one. They can have all six previously released seasons in a single box. Those that do have any of said previous releases will appreciate this set as having all six seasons in one set also means no more fumbling through their other boxes for one episode or another. They need only open the box and flip through the discs to find their favorite episodes. It’s a major positive and possibly the most important to the box set in terms of what does and doesn’t work about it.

Timeless Media and Shout! Factory’s newly released A Haunting: The Television Series succeeds so strongly primarily because of the inclusion of all six of the series’ previous seasons in one box. Their inclusion means no more hunting in stores, online and through DVD racks for one season or another. It’s all right there in one box set. Having everything in one single box set is a positive not just for the content but also for the matter of space, speaking of DVD racks. Any number of stand-alone compilation discs has been spawned from A Haunting. And each of the series’ previous seasons have been released as stand-alone sets, too. All of those compilation discs and stand-alone seas sets take up a lot of room on DVD racks. Now audiences can trade in all of those noted releases in favor of this ergonomically packaged nine-disc set. All nine discs that make up the series’ previous seasons are here. They have been packaged in exactly the same fashion as other releases from Timeless Media and Shout! Factory. That packaging means has become the standard seemingly across the board. However not every company out there utilizes that standard even today, believe it or not. It’s sad. Thankfully fans of A Haunting don’t have to worry about that. It’s one more reason that the partnership between Timeless Media and Shout! Factory has made both leaders in home releases of TV series and movies. And it’s one more reason that audiences will appreciate this latest release from their partnership.

The overall packaging of A Haunting: The Television Series and the inclusion of the series’ full six season run—prior to its now seventh season airing on Destination America—couple to make the box set even more enjoyable for audiences than it would have been in lacking one factor or the other. As important as those factors are, the stories that make up each season are just as important if not more so. Without interesting and gripping tales of terror, there would be nothing to watch. In “Hungry Ghosts,” audiences are taken to Japan where an American family is haunted by ancient spirits when the family moves into a posh new home upon the father accepting a high-ranking position in his company. “Nightmare Upstairs” sees an Arkansas family scared out of its house when it is revealed that it is haunted by demons and possibly evil incarnate itself. Viewers are also taken to Ireland for a heart wrenching story about a house haunted by the spirit of a murdered child in “A Haunting in Ireland.” These are just a few of the terror-filled tales that make up A Haunting’s six-season run in this set. There are far more tales from which viewers can choose their own favorite(s). Needless to say, having so many stories to take in, there are plenty of frights to be had. And after watching the stories that make up A Haunting: The Television Series, audiences might not be going to sleep anytime soon. Some might even find themselves checking under their beds and even turning on that night light when they go to bed. Who knows? There might…or might not….be something there….Or maybe they’re all just stories. Audiences can choose for themselves when they purchase A Haunting: The Television Series for themselves. It is available now on DVD and can be ordered direct via the Timeless Media website at https://www.shoutfactory.com/tentpoles/timeless-media-group. More information on this and other releases from Timeless Media is available online now at:

Website: https://www.shoutfactory.com/tentpoles/timeless-media-group

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Timeless-Media-Group/358391474233364

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Weird Creatures Is Weird, Wild Fun

Courtesy: PBS/itv

Everybody knows the names of Steve Irwin and Jack Hanna.  Now nature lovers can add one more name to the list of famed nature show hosts.  That man’s name is Nick Baker.  This young Brit hosts his own show on Britain’s itv called Weird Creatures with Nick Baker.  One part Wild Kratts and one part Crocodile Hunter, this series is aimed at much the same audiences as those shows.  So the question is what sets this series apart from its contemporaries?  The primary aspect of Weird Creatures with Nick Baker that sets it apart is that host Nick Baker comes across as being much more akin to Ghost Adventures host Zak Bagans than Hanna or Irwin in terms of his personality.  That is likely because of his seemingly young age.  Also worthy of note in this series is that unlike other nature series, episodes aren’t cut even if Baker and company don’t find the creature for which they are searching.  Regardless of whether or not their intended “target” is found, Baker and company still discuss other creatures that are discovered along the way.  So audiences are still introduced to any number of animals throughout each episode.  Lastly, audiences will appreciate from Weird Creatures with Nick Baker the fact that instead of just showing footage of country’s from which given animals originate, he and his crew actually travel to said regions.  The manifest function here is that not only are audiences treated to animals that they had never known about, they also get a glimpse of different regions of the world due to Baker’s globe hopping.  All of these factors and others show why this nature series stands out as one that today’s younger viewers will love to watch.

The first aspect of Weird Creatures with Nick Baker that audiences will appreciate in watching its first season (or “series” as it’s called by the Brits) is that while Baker obviously knows his stuff, he doesn’t try to be like contemporaries Jack Hanna and the late Steve Irwin.  Rather, he has his own “edge” about him so to speak.  He comes across as being looser about everything that he does than Hanna or Irwin.  He just doesn’t come across as being like Hanna or Irwin.  Even in his look, he will appeal more to younger viewers than to those that perhaps grew up watching those that came before him.  This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, either.  That “edge” and younger look mixed in with an obvious love for and full understanding of his subjects could potentially influence younger viewers to take an interest in biology, zoology, and their associated sciences.  And what parent today could argue against their child or children gaining new interest in said subjects and careers? Exactly.  This is merely the starting point for what makes the show’s first season enjoyable.

Host Nick Baker’s peronsality, his look, and his love for and understanding of his subjects is the starting point for what makes the first season of his show enjoyable.  The adventures on which he and his crew embark are another part of what makes this first season enjoyable, too.  Just like Baker himself comes across as being unorthodox to a point, so do the episodes contained in Season One.  So many nature shows typically broadcast on American television feel spit-shined for lack of better wording.  Audiences are left feeling with American nature shows like their hosts magically find their “target “ animals in each episode.  And they seem so proper.  Weird Creatures with Nick Baker is the antithesis of said programs.  Even if Baker and company don’t find the animals for which they are searching, they still present to their viewers other animals that might not have ever been introduced to viewers.  And as in the case of the Pink Fairy Armadillo, this does indeed happen.  They never do find one in the wild.  But they are lucky enough to meet an Argentinian woman that keeps a stuffed Pink Fairy Armadillo in her home.   They almost don’t manage to find a Basking Shark, either in another episode.  But the weather and mother nature cooperate just enough to the point that they finally get to see one up close in said episode’s final minutes.  It’s nice to see this more “raw” feel from a nature show than something more spit shined and broadcast ready.

That Baker and his crew make the best of some difficult situations serves to make his show even more enjoyable when set next to his personality as a host.  There is still one last factor to look at that makes the show work, though.  That last factor is the exotic locales to which Baker and company travel for each episode of the show.  Again, one can’t help but compare Weird Creatures… to the likes of certain other nature based programs past and present in terms of its travel factor.  So many other nature based shows only present file footage of animals in their natural habitats.  And even the creature specific Animal Planet series River Monsters is limited in showing the areas to which its host travels.  This series on the other hand openly displays the regions to which the crew travels.  What they are doing is promoting interest in not only animals but in geography, and other natural sciences.  It does so much without even trying too hard.  And it is the final piece of Season One that makes it complete and complete fun for audiences.  It is available now and can be ordered direct from the PBS online store at http://www.shoppbs.org/product/index.jsp?productId=19453476&cp=&sr=1&kw=weird+creatures+with+nick+baker&origkw=Weird+Creatures+with+Nick+Baker&parentPage=search.  More information on this series is available online at http://www.facebook.com/Weird.Creatures.With.Nick.Baker. To keep up with the latest sports and entertainment reviews and news, go online to http://www.facebook.com/philspicks and “Like” it.  Fans can always keep up with the latest sports and entertainment reviews and news in the Phil’s Pick blog at https://philspicks.wordpress.com.

A Haunting Season Five Offers Fans Ten More Frightful Episodes

Courtesy: Timeless Media Group/Shout! Factory

Paranormal shows are quite popular right now across the television spectrum.  Bio channel is frontloaded with paranormal shows including: Celebrity Ghost Stories, My Ghost Story, The Haunting Of, and re-runs of Psychic Kids just to name a few.  Travel Channel has Ghost Adventures.  Syfy has Ghost Hunters and Haunted Collector. At one point, the network even had Ghost Hunters International.  That show was short-lived, though.  And at one point, A&E had Paranormal State.  That show ran for five seasons before being moved to Bio Channel and re-run.  And even Discovery Channel for some time had its own show in A Haunting.  It lasted for roughly four seasons on the network before pulled it and it was moved to Discovery’s digital “sister station”, Destination America.  The show aired its fifth season on Destination America after having been off the air for five years.  Now fans of this show can watch all ten episodes from Season Five any time they want thanks to Shout! Factory and Timeless Media Group.

For those that have never experienced this show, it is one of the scarier of the crop of paranormal programs out there today.  So what is it that makes A Haunting stand out?  Let’s start with the most obvious of factors.  It isn’t a reality show.  That eliminates Paranormal State, Psychic Kids, Ghost Hunters (and its spinoff), Ghost Adventures, and Haunted Collector.  To a certain extent, one could also argue that The Haunting of would be eliminated, too.  Having eliminated all of those, that leaves just My Ghost Story and A Haunting.  My Ghost Story seems somewhat hokey with its re-enactments.  Sure, A Haunting uses re-enactments and interviews, too.  But the production values of the re-enactments in A Haunting are far more professional.  The re-enactments are so well done that they play out like something straight out of a horror movie.  Because of that, it is so much easier to suspend one’s disbelief and be pulled into these stories of ordinary individuals that have been affected by or have encountered something which they cannot explain.  In turn, it is so much easier to be scared regardless of whether or not one believes in the unexplained.

Each professionally re-enacted story told by the ordinary individuals is the main key to the success of this show in scaring its audiences.  The stories are so well told through the course of each episode that even those that don’t believe will find themselves not wanting to watch any of the chill inducing episodes alone or in the dark.  Through the course of the 2012 season, audiences are introduced to a family in Winston-Salem, North Carolina that was at one point, haunted by the spirit of a civil war soldier that had been killed in battle.  Viewers are also introduced to a family whose story doesn’t exactly have a happy ending.  The family in question ends up moving out of its house because an evil spirit is not just haunting the house, but also physically assaulted one of the young ladies in the family.  It becomes so brazen that it lays down in one of the girls’ beds right next to her solely to terrorize her.  The visualization of this evil spirit and the actress’s reaction will frighten any viewer with even the strongest constitution.      

One can tell by now just how scary the episodes contained within A Haunting: The 2012 Season is.  There is still another factor that must be noted about this set that audiences will appreciate.  That factor is the double-disc set’s packaging.  Timeless Media Group, being associated with Shout! Factory, it is no surprise that the discs contained in the case for this season both have their own space within the case.  Shout! Factory was one of the first companies to actively start packaging its multi-disc sets in more ergonomic packaging.  This set is no different.  All ten episodes on both discs are kept safe in their case as one disc is placed in its own spot on one side of the case, while the other is on the other side of the case.  This preserves the quality of the discs as it prevents them from becoming scratched up unlike say, the packaging method for Syfy’s Ghost Hunters season sets.  The discs in those sets are packed one on top of another with no regard for the discs’ safety.  This makes the new set of episodes from A Haunting that much more worth the money for those that are fans of the paranormal sciences and paranormal programming in general.  A Haunting: The 2012 Season is available now in stores and online.

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