Clinical death, an alien corpse discovered near Chelyabinsk and a lake-dwelling monster in the Tver region are some of the paranormal phenomena that the new television show "Inexplicable, But True!" ("Neobyasnimo, no fakt!") promises to investigate. The show's creators are betting that the Russian audience's readiness to believe in psychic powers and UFOs will guarantee good ratings. They are also confident that their down-to-earth approach -- making arguments based on facts, eyewitness testimony and photographic and video evidence -- will enable them to shrug off criticism from skeptics and potentially hostile organizations like the Russian Orthodox Church.The host of "Inexplicable," which premieres Thursday on TNT, will be Sergei Druzhko, an actor and singer with a personal interest in inexplicable phenomena. In the premiere, Druzhko plans to share his own near-death experience. After a skiing accident near Mount Elbrus, he survived for several hours buried in a snowy ravine, according to an interview included with a TNT press release announcing the show's premiere. Druzhko credits supernatural forces with keeping him alive until he was found by rescue workers. The host's dual status as investigator and participant makes him something like the fictional FBI Agent Fox Mulder on "The X-Files," whose work studying the paranormal ran parallel to his own probes into his sister's abduction by aliens.The host's personal involvement is just one way in which the show's creators are attempting to humanize unearthly subject matter. TNT spokesperson Viktoria Dzhigkayeva said that, unlike its American analogues such as "Unsolved Mysteries," "Inexplicable" will emphasize the human stories surrounding paranormal events. "We're going to show how people cope with paranormal encounters, how their lives change, how the people around them change," Dzhigkaeva said on Monday. Science and evidence are crucial to the show, she added, but attention to how extraordinary events have changed ordinary lives will distinguish "Inexplicable" from other programs in the genre and make it more appealing to a Russian audience.
View: Full Article | Source: The Moscow Times