LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A controversial television seance airing on Monday will claim it has reached the spirit of John Lennon, but viewers will have to pay $9.95 to find out what the peace-loving Beatle has to say.


The special, being carried on pay-TV service In Demand, was organized by the producers of a 2003 attempt to channel the late Princess Diana. That show failed to find Diana and received reviews that could have sunk the Titanic but it is estimated to have grossed close to $8 million.

Sight unseen, the Lennon effort has been attacked by the late Beatle's friends and fans as a tasteless effort to profit from his assassination 25 years ago. But producers say they are hoping to lure an audience that now loves such prime-time network TV shows as "Ghost Whisperer" and "Medium."

The program features what is described as an Electronic Voice Phenomenon, or EVP, that a psychic on the show claims is the disembodied voice of Lennon speaking at a seance in one of his favorite New York restaurants, La Fortuna.

EVP is based on a belief that spirit voices communicate through radio and TV broadcast signals.

On the television show, filming at La Fortuna suddenly stops and a narrator says something odd has happened. They then claim that a mysterious voice can be heard on the voice feed of one of the psychics.

The producers then call in "EVP specialist" Sandra Belanger to examine the voice and she proclaims it the real deal.

"That's very consistent with a Class A EVP," she said, regarding the level and clarity of the voice. She also says the voice sounds like how Lennon would have talked.

Reuters was given a preview of the program, "The Spirit of John Lennon," on condition that it not reveal what the "voice" said during the taped seance.

Producer Paul Sharratt, who heads Starcast Productions and who calls himself a skeptic, said hearing the voice has made him a believer.

"The Spirit of John Lennon" is being done without the knowledge or consent of Lennon's estate or his widow Yoko Ono, who declined comment. Her longtime friend and spokesman Elliot Mintz has called the entire exercise "tacky, exploitative and far removed" from the icon's way of life.

"A pay-per-view seance was never his style," said Mintz.

He said he was thinking about doing one of these when The Sun spoke to him a few years back.

muirdo said:

the sun spoke to john ?

"A pay-per-view seance was never his style," said Mintz.





I love understatement

Beyonce reached John Lennon?

While they're at it, they should try to contact the ghost of Yoko's career!

JediMaster said:

JediMaster said:

badum ching!

JediMaster said:

That would imply she had one to begin with.

John Lennon asks for peace, says pay TV seance By Sue Zeidler




LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - "Peace ... The Message is Peace."



That's what the producers of a pay-television seance to contact John Lennon claimed the former Beatle said when communicating with them from beyond the grave.

The show aired on Monday on pay-TV service In Demand and was organized by the producers of a failed 2003 attempt to channel the late Princess Diana's spirit, a show that earned scathing reviews but was estimated to have grossed close to $8 million.

People who paid $9.95 to watch the pay-per-view Lennon special from 9 p.m. (0100 GMT) to 10:30 p.m. (0230 GMT) saw audio crew members, a psychic and an expert in paranormal activity claim that the late Beatle's spirit made contact with them through what is described as an Electronic Voice Phenomenon (EVP).

The EVP was discovered during a taping of a seance at La Fortuna restaurant in New York, which Lennon frequented.

The show's organizers said psychic Joe Power's voice feed went dead for a few seconds and the message was found on it when the tape of the voice feed was played back.

EVP is based on a belief that spirit voices communicate through radio and TV broadcast signals.

On the television show, filming at La Fortuna suddenly stopped and a narrator said something odd has happened. Show participants said that a mysterious voice can be heard on Power's voice feed.

The producers called in "EVP specialist" Sandra Belanger to examine the voice and she proclaims it Lennon's.

Producer Paul Sharratt, who heads Starcast Productions and calls himself a skeptic, said hearing the voice has made him a believer.

The program was made without the knowledge or consent of Lennon's estate or his widow Yoko Ono, who declined comment.

Ono's long-time friend and spokesman Elliot Mintz has called the entire exercise "tacky, exploitative and far removed" from Lennon's way of life. "A pay-per-view seance was never his style," said Mintz.

Lennon was assassinated by a deranged fan in New York 25 years ago.

Mach said:

or hired by government..
[Edited 4/25/06 9:08am]

TMPletz said:

True dat! Well, she had a career of living off of John, but that is still going strong!