this week Real Talk Experts investigate reports of the paranormal in ‘The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch’

By Shona Dustan TV Media

Don’t walk alone: If you’ve been keeping up with History’s “Project Blue Book,” a place called Skinwalker Ranch will sound very familiar to you. The March 3 episode featured a storyline about mysterious goings on at the Utah ranch, and now that it’s taken a fictional stab at the subject matter, History is set to release a brand-new reality series about the creepy location. “The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch” premieres Tuesday, March 31, and it dives right into the paranormal.

The host of the series is Travis Taylor, an aerospace engineer from Alabama who boasts PhDs in aerospace systems engineering and optical science and engineering. He’s also earned master’s degrees in astronomy, science and engineering, mechanical and aerospace engineering and physics, not to mention a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering. Impressed yet? This most educated man is also an author, not just of scholarly or technical papers but of novels — he’s had 14 science fiction novels published to date. He’s appeared in a number of other TV series, including “The Universe,” so if there’s ever been a qualified host, this guy is it.

So, what is it about this ranch that makes it so creepy and intriguing? The Uinta Basin of northeastern Utah, where the ranch is located, is also known as “UFO Alley,” and there have been reports of mysterious sightings in the area for more than 50 years. Some locals claim there have been strange occurrences happening there for much longer — at least 200 years.

Stories about this specific ranch weren’t widely reported until the mid 1990s, though. In 1996, journalist George Knapp investigated claims by the Sherman family that their property was cursed or haunted or plagued by alien beings and eerie space ships. Their accounts included stories of crop circles, UFOs, strange cattle mutilation and much more.

Here’s an excerpt from Knapp’s 1996 article “Frequent Fliers” from Deseret News:

“One of the flying lights followed Gwen’s car on her way home from work one night. And while out in one of the fields with the family dogs, Terry heard male voices speaking an unfamiliar language. The voices seemed to be about 25 feet above him, but Terry couldn’t see a thing. The dogs were frantic. They barked and growled before running off to the ranch house, Terry said.”

The Shermans only owned the ranch for 18 months before they decided they were too spooked to stay. They sold the 480-acre property to wealthy Las Vegas real estate developer Robert Bigelow, who also happened to be a dedicated UFO enthusiast. Bigelow set up cameras and other recording equipment all over the property and spent years trying to catch whatever was visiting the ranch in the act. Knapp and biochemist Colm A. Kelleher worked with Big elow and ultimately published a book called “Hunt for the Skin walker: Science Confronts the Un explained at a Remote Ranch in Utah.” Though many claimed to have experienced paranormal activity during their research, no concrete evidence was ever recorded.

“The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch” delves into the hidden mysteries of the property, employing cutting-edge technology in an effort to succeed where Bigelow and his team did not. In a news release about the series, History claimed that “the team will apply hard science and make shocking discoveries while going further and risking more than anyone has done on the ranch before.”

Some of the mysteries they hope to solve include sightings of strange animals or beings, like a wolf that appeared to be at least three times the usual size and an abnormally large humanoid lurking in a tree. Kelleher shot at that humanoid, and when it fled, the researcher found enormous tracks in the snow where it had been.

Next door to the ranch is a man-made reservoir called Bottle

By Adam Thomlison TV Media

Q: Can you tell me why they took “Magnum P.I.” off the air and replaced it with “MacGyver?”

Hollow. It was flooded with fresh water in the 1970s and has since been the location of some seriously bizarre occurrences, mostly UFO-related. Back in the ‘90s, a local cop watched a bright light dive into the depths of the reservoir, only to re-emerge and zoom away. A few years later, a group of men claimed to have seen a

A: I panicked for a moment, not because I worried about the fate of “Magnum P.I.,” but because I thought maybe we’d traveled back in time to 1987 (and I don’t have any pastel-colored clothes).

But it turns out there’s no reason to worry about either. The hit remake of ‘80s action series “Magnum P.I,” which stars Jay Hernandez (“The Expanse”) as the titular detective, is just going into a mid-season hiatus, being replaced temporarily by the hit re- overlap for three seasons in the mid-’80s, “MacGyver” never replaced “Magnum” on the schedule because they aired on different networks. The original “Magnum” ran from 1980 to 1988 on CBS, while “MacGyver” ran from 1985 to 1992 on ABC. musician dies and his severed hand goes on a killing spree in the old mansion where they lived. blue light plunge into the lake. Many of these strange occurrences are detailed in the “Hunt for the Skinwalker” book, so if you’re looking for supplemental reading, that should be your first stop.

Q: In 1946, I saw a movie entitled “The Beast With Five Fingers.” It terrified me! Can you tell me more about it, and if it might still be available to rent or buy?

A: You aren’t the only one who remembers this film fondly — “The Beast With Five Fingers” has had more cultural staying power than you’d expect for a movie about a malevolent, disembodied hand — enough that you can still get it on DVD or stream it online.

This seems to be mostly due to a top-notch performance by horror legend Peter Lorre, as well as its source material, a short story of the same name penned by W.F. Harvey.

Lorre didn’t exactly star in the film — the audience was mostly expected to identify with the heroine, played by Andrea King (“The Very Thought of You,” 1944) — but he was called on to do most of the real acting work, and he delivered.

Q: Is “Star Trek: Discovery” coming back?

A: Yes, and it’s going to keep coming for quite a while.

For those who don’t know (or don’t subscribe), “Star Trek: Discovery” has aired two seasons so far on CBS’s online streaming service, CBS All Access (after an unorthodox launch that saw its premiere episode air on the CBS television network).

We know it’s been a hit for All Access, not because of ratings — streaming networks don’t have to release ratings — but because it’s already been renewed through to Season 5. That’s right, Season 3 hasn’t even aired yet and they’ve already bought two more.

So we know it’s coming back, but unfortunately we don’t know when. So far the only official word is “2020,” but that’s a big year (one day longer than most!).

The first season launched in September 2017, the second in January 2019, so we can’t even find a pattern to base a guess on.

Whether or not you’re a believer, this property’s long history of unexplained events will fascinate you. The very name of the ranch could give you chills: A skin-walker is a figure from Navajo culture, a malevolent witch who can shapeshift into the form of any living thing. Skinwalker Ranch, however, lies firmly in Ute territory, about 400 miles north of the Navajo Nation, so it was not Native Americans who named the ranch.

Tune in to History on Tuesday, March 31, for the premiere of “The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch,” and discover more about this legendary property and the chilling events that have occurred there make of ‘80s action series “MacGyver.”

In other good news, the wait is already almost over. The hiatus ends on April 10, when “Magnum P.I.” returns to air the remainder of its Season 2 episodes.

There’s been no word on a Season 3 renewal yet, and there likely won’t be until May when CBS announces its fall schedule. However, at this point it seems pretty likely. The ratings have been strong and total viewership has actually increased over Season 1 — CBS will likely want to see if that continues.

Also, as you can see, the network has a lot of faith in reboots of ‘80s action shows. For comparison, the new “MacGyver” has made it to four seasons with roughly the same ratings.

Just for kicks, I checked the records, and this is not something that happened during the original ‘80s runs of “Magnum” and “MacGyver.” Though they did

Though he also appeared in some true cinematic classics in his career — including the one-two punch of “The Maltese Falcon” (1941) and “Casablanca” (1942) — Lorre never failed to commit to even the campy horror flicks he did later on, such as this one.

In “The Beast With Five Fingers,” he played a slightly creepy assistant to a wealthy, aging musician. Yadda yadda yadda, the

Now that All Access’s other “Star Trek” series, “Picard,” has finished its first season, fans don’t even have that to tide them over, so they’ll just have to be patient. Given that they waited more than a decade for a new series after “Star Trek: Enterprise” ended in 2005, we know they’re up to the challenge.

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