Exploring the Paranormal with…Ozzy Osbourne?

The Osbournes Want to Believe is an unlikely guilty pleasure (you can place the emphasis on whichever of those adjectives you choose). And I’m just as surprised as anyone to come to such a conclusion. I’ve never considered myself a fan of Ozzy Osbourne — in any context — or of the Osbourne Family, whose members seem to owe their very existence to starring in a number of reality shows and/or serving as hosts or co-hosts of even more programs, in which groups of celebs of dubious qualifications talk a great deal about topics of equally dubious substance (Hollywood, fashion, etc.). If television suddenly ceased to exist, would the Osbournes themselves cease to exist as well?

Ozzy, as we know, is the former front man of Black Sabbath, whose heavy metal music I avoided like the plague back in the day. Sharon Osbourne, became Ozzy’s manager and wife years ago, and has been a constant presence on the tube (America’s Got Talent, The Talk). Daughter Kelly has immersed herself in show-biz glitz and fashion. Another offspring, Aimee, has managed to sidestep the trappings of reality show madness (and, so it appears, Osbourne madness). Jack, however, caught my attention a few years ago with his forays into life as a paranormal investigator — on television, of course— after recovering from years of drug addiction and depression. As a paranormal enthusiast myself, albeit from the safety of my living room sofa, I find him the most interesting Osbourne; he takes his paranormal investigations seriously, and has learned much about the fine points of various phenomena — from ghosts, to UFOs, to cryptids such as Bigfoot and Nessie.

There are, in fact, several programs featuring real-life videos and investigators who take their jobs seriously. Curiously, most of these appear on The Travel Channel (which might want to consider re-naming itself), such as Paranormal Caught on Camera, Kindred Spirits with ghost hunters Amy Bruni and Adam Berry, Ghost Adventures, and others.

Jack starred in the reality series Haunted Highway in 2012 -13, and, beginning in 2019, starred in Portals to Hell, investigating various haunted locales across the country with experienced paranormal investigator Katrina Weidman.

Now, let’s get to the current “guilty pleasure” to which this piece is dedicated. Premiering in August of 2020, each episode of The Osbournes Want to Believe consists of Ozzy, Sharon, and Jack sitting in comfy chairs in their home theatre, usually accompanied by at least one of their many dogs, as Jack shows his skeptical parents brief video clips of bizarre paranormal phenomena from around the world that are familiar to aficionados of the discipline. He introduces each clip as Sharon and Ozzy watch and comment — sometimes with dismissive remarks, other times with genuine astonishment. Jack then asks them to rate the believability of each clip on his “Woogie Boogie” scale, from 1 to 10.

Through it all, Ozzy sits in the center chair, looking like something one of the dogs dragged in, and thanks no doubt in large part to his years of excess and drug/alcohol abuse, mumbles much of what he has to say, often to the point where subtitles are mercifully provided for viewers at the bottom of the screen. Yet, just when one can become convinced that the former rocker’s brain has been irrevocably fried by those years of abuse — such as when he dozes off in the middle of the discussion — he might suddenly show a spark of deductive reasoning, or even state his own theory for what he has just witnessed on the video clip (for strange phenomena in the sky, his go-to explanation tends to be “ball lightning”).

Sharon, for her part, is often prone to offering interpretations without bothering to think things through before speaking, and is capable of making less sense than her husband. As Jack tries his best to present one baffling video after another, his responses to their comments alternate between hope, frustration, and his disbelief with their skepticism. Oh, and by the way, the hailstorm of four-letter words among the three of them must leave the post-production guy in charge of “bleeping” them exhausted by the end of each episode.

But here’s the most astonishing part: if you accept its modest goal for what it is, the show is highly entertaining and genuinely funny, as the curse-laden discussions among the Osbournes are often punctuated by bits of “JibJab”-style animation and cartoonish sound effects. Jack manages to present his evidence with genuine earnestness, while also keeping things light and fun, making a fair number of sardonic remarks at his parents’ expense.

It behooves us to remember that, even in this setting and skeptical treatment of the subject matter, the video clips Jack presents are, at the very least, intriguing — and often extremely creepy — if not thoroughly convincing. Some have also made their way onto the compelling Paranormal Caught on Camera series.

The Osbournes Want to Believe is on Tuesdays at 8:00 p.m. (Eastern), but repeats have been finding their way into other Travel Channel timeslots as well. Chances are you won’t need to look long before finding a random episode in progress. And in between chuckles, you just might find yourself wanting to believe as well— if you don’t already.

Until next time…

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