TV Review: Mystery Hunters
What Parents Should Know
Parents need to know that each episode of this paranormal
newsmagazine series includes historical reenactments involving
ghosts, witches, and the like, some of which might frighten
very young or very sensitive kids.
- Families can talk about the paranormal. Do ghosts exist?
- Can you believe everything you hear? How do you decide if a story is true or not?
In Discovery Kids' MYSTERY HUNTERS, viewers are taken on a half-hour trip behind the scenes of the world's most thrilling paranormal riddles. The documentary-like show is hosted by teens Araya Mengesha and Christina Broccolini, who travel around the world interviewing experts and reenacting scenes in an attempt to solve years-old mysteries and ghost stories. Their sidekick, Doubting Dave (David Acer), is based in the Mystery Lab, where he conducts experiments that tie into each episode. Past travels have taken the group to the Oregon forest in search of Bigfoot (Dave makes a footprint cast out of plaster), to Toronto to visit a 1,000-year-old mummy, and to a spoon-bending workshop in San Francisco.
There's much to like about Mystery Hunters. Mengesha and Broccolini are easy to relate to and do a good job engaging the audience while reporting their stories. The show's vibrant graphics and visual recreations are sure to grab young audiences' attention.
What's perhaps best about the show, though, is that kids come away having leaned something about past and present-day puzzles. Parents should note that since many of the episodes deal with the paranormal -- including the existence of ghosts, witches, and monsters -- very young children might be frightened by the series' reenactments.
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