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binnall reviews "Predictions with George Noory"

Analysis

1.30.2006

Because the people demanded it !

I'll be honest. I tried to get by without watching George Noory's "Predictions Special". I was lucky enough to have my cable company not carry the special, so I had that ready-made excuse. Then, of course, Noory and company started allowing folks to watch it on their computer via the internet. TV on the computer ? What ?! I don't do that.

But ... the letters and forum posts continued, "When are you going to review George Noory's 'Predictions Special' ?" I couldn't let my readers down.

We are locked and loaded for your official BoA review of George Noory's Predictions Special.

I've broken it down into two digestible parts for y'all.

First, we've got this page, which is straight analysis. Was it any good ? Would I recommend it ? What did I like ? What didn't I like ? That crap.

Next, we've got the Play by Play, which is pretty much a running time commentary on the special, complete with what the predictions were (as best as I could get them), odd Nooryisms, and general observations. If you haven't seen the special yet and don't want it ruined, consider this your SPOILER WARNING.


Summary

This was basically C2C if they made it into an hour long special. You know what you are going to get, prognosticators of varying skill (some would say "none"), each using a different gimmick (tarot, numerology, remote viewing, mediumship, etc.) The special boasted 8 prognosticators, ranging from C2C's infamous Ed Dames and Sean David Morton to the more sublime Dr. Louis Turi and Glynis McCants. It also featured C2C stalwarts Stan Deyo and Joe Jacobs as well. Throw in Hans Christian King and some dude named Art Rosengarten and you've got the cast of characters.

And, of course, it is hosted by Coast to Coast AM's George Noory. Noory, or "The Noor" as I call him, was pretty much as you'd expect him. It was surreal to see a face speaking with "the Noory voice", but I got over that as the show went on.

Each guest had a segment where they sat with Noory in a funky looking studio and Noory asked them about 2006. Some folks, like Sean David Morton, Louis Turi, and Joe Jacobs got real gutsy and put some dates and specifics behind some predictions, where you know they will either get a "hit" or a "miss". Others, like Art Rosengarten, Glynnis McCants and Ed Dames left their predictions vague enough to be barely discernible.

The show was an hour long and it cost me $5.95 to watch it on my computer.


What I Liked

The fact that Noory had a TV show and his funky studio was classic Noory. In the play by play, I remark that it looks like a fortune teller's shop or an opium den but it really has to be seen to be truly believed.

It was a plus that each psychic was kept separate so we didn't have a situation where one dude tried to talk over another and hog camera time. I also liked how they put the psychic's prediction both at the bottom of the screen and summarized them all at the end of their segment. That was a nice touch.

I was afraid I was going to be bored with a stream of psychics, but each had their own little twist on prognosticating, so it broke up the monotony all predictions.

A big bonus of the special and perhaps the best reason to get the show was just to see what some of these folks looked like. Ed Dames and Sean David Morton are living, breathing, people and to see them on TV instead of hearing them on the radio is an odd change of pace.

If you are a faithful C2C fan, you will love the in-jokes, like Glynis talking about her husband, Noory's corny jokes, or the typical C2C hyperbole to describe the hit rate of some of the more dubious psychics.

The production values were excellent. The graphics at the bottom to explain esoteric terms was a nice touch. Also, they tried to match stock footage with some of the predictions and that had a pretty cool effect. Despite my antediluvian fears of watching TV on the computer, this was easy and no different from watching on TV.

Dr.Louis Turi is, by far, the star of the show. He has a charisma that is un-matched. Look for Turi putting on his reading glasses as the the spit-take hilarious moment of the show. That alone was worth a portion of the price of the show. Also, Turi builds up until just sort of snapping at the end and turning it into a plea for less negativity in the world. It really is a sight to behold.


What I Didn't Like

Pretty much the only thing I didn't like about the show was the subject matter. In fact, that is what kept me from getting off my duff and watching the show in the first place. I don't take psychics seriously (C2C brand psychics, at least) so it was hard for me to get totally "into" the show. That said, it did improve the show's "camp" value.

There are many people who truly hate some of the psychics on the special and I can see how those people would loathe the show. There are no tough questions or past "misses" brought up, it's pretty much played in favor of the psychic, though Noory does play partisan host fairly well (except for his hype for the psychics, which is patronizing as hell).

The order of psychics probably should have been tweaked. I didn't like how Sean David Morton and Ed Dames were the first two guests. They were two of the main "draws" of the special and there was some downtime after that. I wouldn't have had two "card readers", Art Rosengarten and Joe Jacobs, back to back either.

Sean David Morton and Hans Christian King each had contradictory predictions (re: how the Democrats will do in the '06 elections) that will guarantee the special gets at least one hit, by default. It was laughably funny as King made his prediction like 10 minutes after Morton made the opposite prediction.


Recommendation

If you are a C2C hardcore fan, get it. It's an odd little gem and a rarity that you get to see Coast to Coast attempt to translate its product to a video format. It's fun watching Noory interview people and you can kind of imagine what he may be like while hosting Coast. It's a blast seeing what some of the guests look like, but it's also fun being disappointed that some folks are rather normal looking.

I will over-extend some of what I said last year about the "After Dark CD". I went in wanting to hate it and rip on it, but after it was all over, I found myself liking it. C2C doesn't try and gouge its fans for much stuff. A CD one year, a Pay Per View special the next, that's not much. And when they do put out an additional product, it's usually fairly good. Throw in the nominal price of $6 to watch it on my computer, which was actually much easier to do than I thought, and you've got a pretty good deal. So ... "Predictions with George Noory" is a fun hour and worthy of checking out if you are a Coast fan. Best parts : Turi's segment and Noory's interview set. Worst part : It was about psychics.

If you are a skeptic or hate psychics from Coast, and I don't blame you if you are, skip it. Unless you are a masochist. Then again, you probably didn't need my recommendation, as you weren't going to get it anyway. If you are bored with psychics, in general, you may tire of the show after a while.


Looking Ahead

All I can really say is that if they make another special, please find a different topic. Ufology, cryptozoology, secret societies, or conspiracies are infinitely more interesting that psychics. Ghosts and ancient legends are less exciting than the others, but still more exciting than psychics.

I'd still get "Predictions '07", because I'd enjoyed this one, but the bloom would be off the rose at that point. I'd like to see the series continued, but without such a dubious topic.


Play by Play

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