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Ghost Hunters International Season 1 Episode 7

Frankenstein's Castle

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8.3

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Episode Summary

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AIRED: 2/20/08

Josh Gates of Destination Truth joins GHI to investigate Frankenstein's Castle in Darmstadt, Germany.

Fan Episode Reviews (2)

BORING!

8.1

By assasin61, Aug 08, 2010

thats the perfect name for this episode boring AND bleh. first of all they didnt catch any real evidence except for a few sounds and personal experiences which they didnt even put much efort in2 debunking. the only sensible guy on the team was that guy from destination truth that that used his was more like jason grant. he ue kinda seemed like he was ready to prove a place not haunted rather than vice versa. the main problem with these people is theyre tryin to prove that a place IS haunted so any little evidence they can find, they use it to call a place haunted and sometimes it doesnt get a popular investigation and debunked properly. this was another one of those episodes that put me to sleep while i was watching it, and i was barely scared at all. overall, this was a boring and disappointing episode and im glad its the season finale so now we gety to see some REAL ghost hunting and not this amateur crap. b4 the end of the episode i already knew this place would be called haunted >_>moreless
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A special guest star changes the team dynamic

7.0

By entil2001, Feb 22, 2008

Technically a "special episode", this is effectively the spring finale for GHI, which has already been picked up for additional episodes later in the year. Despite the fact that the team is still relatively new and the focus should be on them, the Sci-Fi Channel is loathe to miss any opportunity for cross-promotion. Since their show "Destination: Truth" is about to resume in early March, the network had the perfect excuse to toss Josh Gates into the mix.

The effect is immediate. Instead of focusing on the case itself, GHI is forced to split time between the investigation and guest-star education. Considering that Gates has already run into TAPS and other paranormal investigators on several occasions, it seems disingenuous for him to act ignorant about methodology. GHI occasionally explores some unusual investigation concepts, but none of them are so esoteric that Gates would be confused.

Most of his contributions were isolated to annoying asides and mocking commentary. While critics of GHI and the franchise in general were no doubt amused, fans of the show had good reason to be annoyed. "Destination: Truth" is hardly the epitome of scientific investigating; Gates has little reason to take on a superior tone.

His presence did change the dynamic in other ways, however, and it wasn't always good. Robb and Andy were a little more eager to show their strengths, and I think that reflected less well on Andy. Barry's strengths were emphasized (perhaps defensively after some of the strident criticism he's received since the premiere). Donna was portrayed with more experience and aplomb, while Shannon was tossed much further into the background.

Brian, however, came out looking out of control. The entire scene made it look like he was vying for Gates' approval, showing off in the process, and his behavior is beyond unprofessional. I actually felt bad for Brian, because some of the damage was the result of malicious editing and Brian seems to be a favorite whipping boy for Pilgrim Films. But ultimately the damage is self-inflicted. If there was a Brian on my team, acting like that, I'm not sure he would get past the first investigation.

I did like Barry's experiment, but I found it ludicrous that he had absolutely no idea what to expect out of it or how to interpret the output data. That made the experimentation rather pointless, especially given the short analysis time that the production cycle allows. This highlights one of the main issues with paranormal investigation as a whole; too many of the "researchers" have absolutely no idea how the equipment works or what the output really means. If the team doesn't understand what the experiment produced, how can the audience consider it remotely meaningful?

The personal experiences were interesting enough, even if they were rather familiar to all GHI fans. It was nice that the experiences matched the client reports, because that's one of the primary goals. They may not have an explanation, but they were able to verify that the experiences take place. Catching the motion of the door handle on camera was more intriguing, even if they didn't have the coverage available to prove that no one was on the other side of the door.

The two EVPS were more substantial than most of the recordings featured to date, and once again Barry found them. It makes sense for the EVPs to be in German, and the translations were logical enough, but it had to be massaged through so many subjective filters of translation and expectation that it's hard to judge. I also wonder why EVPs related to events within the past several centuries would be rendered in a language from 1800 years ago (based on Robb's comment at the very end). It didn't quite add up for me, but with more time, they might have been able to resolve the contradictions.

I can't help but wonder whether or not the investigation (and episode) would have worked better without the interfering influence of Josh Gates. His presence may have undermined some of the adjustments being made in response to the initial criticisms. Perhaps that will turn out to be a positive in the end, however, since all it did was make me wish I could see the team investigate on their own. They have me looking forward to the next batch of episodes, and that's probably the best outcome possible.moreless
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Cast & Crew: STARS

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Robb Demarest	Lead Investigator
Shannon Sylvia	Investigator
Brian Harnois	Tech Manager
Donna LaCroix	Case Manager
Andy Andrews (II)	Lead Investigator
Barry Fitzgerald (II)	Investigator

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Cast & Crew: RECURRING AND GUESTS

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Josh Gates

Guest Investigator

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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TRIVIA (3)
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- The investigation of Frankenstein's Castle took place on January 6-7, 2008, according to the date embedded in the camera footage.
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- This is Shannon Sylvia's final investigation with the GHI team, though there is no explanation given as to why she doesn't return. There had been some friction between her and some of the other team members, however, and she was taken to task for it by Robb in an earlier episode.
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- Also Appearing:
  Investigation: Frankenstein's Castle - Darmstadt, Germany
  Walter Scheele - Frankenstein Expert
  Joerg Heyer - Historian
  Eva Neubacher - Eyewitness
  
  The Outing: Possman Brewery - Germany
  Martin Hente - Brewery Technical Manager
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QUOTES (9)
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- Robb: (after he, Josh and Andy attempt to debunk a story) Good job, Andy.
  Josh: What about me, I didn't do a good job?
  Andy: You did a good job.
  Josh: Good job, Andy?!
  Robb: You stood and listened to things.
  Josh: Well, it's what I do.
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- Brian: (after he demonstrates his "style" of provoking) I hate provoking like this, because I feel like an ass...
  Josh: Yeah.
  Brian: It depends on how you react to the whole... kind of, what spirit it is. If you got some ninety year old lady ghost, you can't say, 'Bitch! Show yourself!' She's gonna fly, she's gonna run away. You know what I mean?
  Josh: Sure, sure. There's no reason to speak to the elderly that way, alive or dead.
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- Brian: (referring to the alchemist von Frankenstein) If you mess with nitroglycerine and you blow yourself out of the tower and you fall into the trees, and oh, he wasn't too badly hurt...
  Josh: That is a lucky, lucky guy. Well, of course, then he poisoned himself, so...
  Brian: Yeah, I guess...
  Josh: Being stupid will catch up with you eventually.
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- Male EVP: (in old German, meaning "Come here") Kommt hier.
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- Male EVP: (in German, meaning "Arbogast is here!") Arbo ist hier!
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- Walter: And this is the room where the people who own the castle say the ghost of Anne Marie comes flying up here, settles down here- naked, nice, young and spicy! And she is crying, and she is hoping and praying that her boyfriend will come back and be together with her up here.
  Josh: If there's a naked girl in this room, I will find her!
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- Josh: (trying to communicate with a spirit said to throw rocks) If you can hear me, please whip a rock in Andy's face.
  Robb: Is this Syfy or Comedy Central, gentlemen?
  Josh: Well, but they said that the ghost only throws rocks at people who are disturbing the ghost. My comedy will disturb anyone.
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- (after Andy drops a camcorder as he climbs down from the roof of a building)
  Josh: Having been to some of the most remote locations in the world, it is truly impressive that my closest brush with death is Andy Andrews nearly killing me with a camcorder.
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- Josh: I was gonna ask during the EVP session if news had reached the spirit world at how thoroughly I trashed Barry at darts last night.
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NOTES (3)
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- Josh would return the favor and have Robb and future GHI team member Dustin Pari join him in the Peruvian jungle to search for a cryptid known as the Chullachaqui in the third season Destination Truth episode "Chullachaqui/Bermuda Triangle". In season four, Barry would also appear on DT episode "Live From Ireland: The Search For The Banshee Ghost".
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- Josh Gates of Destination Truth is introduced as being a cryptozoologist (ie someone who attempts to find hard evidence of legendary creatures, such as Bigfoot and werewolves). But he and his show soon branch out into ghost hunting in future seasons of DT, using many of the techniques taught him by the GHI team.
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- International Airdates
  
  United Kingdom: 09 July 2008 on Living2
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ALLUSIONS (1)
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- Josh: (as they tour the German brewery) Very Laverne and Shirley in here!
  
  The 1970s TV show Laverne and Shirley featured Penny Marshall (Laverne) and Cindy Williams (Shirley) as two blue collar, working class girls who made a living capping bottles in the Shotz Brewery.
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