Q&A with Ben and Devin from "Fact or Faked: Paranormal Files"

Today, I got to be in on a Q&A teleconference with FoF's Ben Hansen (yes the cutie in the video on the sidebar) and the new tech member on the team, Devin Marble.

They begin their second season on Wednesday the 23rd beside "Ghost Hunters." Expect me to put up my FoF reviews on Thursday mornings along with the expected tank top shots--took new ones for this season!

I had to ask Ben that, after filming 2 seasons now, if his belief in ghosts, Bigfoot or UFOs have changed. He said that ghosts and Bigfoot have not had good photographic evidence, but Bigfoot has had some compelling eyewitness accounts, but UFOs evidence photographically and by witnesses is extremely compelling.

They are excited about the first two cases on the opening episode: Battle LA and Queen Mary. For those who haven't heard of the 1947 battle of LA, here's Wiki description:

The Battle of Los Angeles, also known as The Great Los Angeles Air Raid, is the name given by contemporary sources to the rumored enemy attack and subsequent anti-aircraft artillery barrage which took place from late February 24 to early February 25, 1942 over Los Angeles, California.[1][2] The incident occurred less than three months after the United States entered World War II as a result of the Japanese Imperial Navy's attack on Pearl Harbor, and one day after the Bombardment of Ellwood on February 23.

Initially, the target of the aerial barrage was thought to be an attacking force from Japan, but speaking at a press conference shortly afterward, Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox called the incident a "false alarm." Newspapers of the time published a number of sensational reports and speculations of a cover-up. A small number of modern-day UFOlogists have suggested the targets were extraterrestrial spacecraft.[3] When documenting the incident in 1983, the U.S. Office of Air Force History attributed the event to a case of "war nerves" likely triggered by a lost weather balloon and exacerbated by stray flares and shell bursts from adjoining batteries.



Devin Marble is a gadget/tech dude and grew up in Tucson. He was into paranormal stuff as a kid. A gadget geek who was excited to chase chupacabra in one of the cases, a creature he heard of a lot growing up in Southern Arizona. He seems like a very open, honest, sweet and very enthusiastic person. He likes to not just come up with ideas outside of the box, he throws the box away. He likes novel and new ways to test and do things.

Cast:
Ben: Investigative and interviewing, law enforcement background.
Devin: Tech specialist.
Austin: Stunts, will do anything physical, an MMA fighter and Ben's roommate right now.
Jael: Investigative, interviewing and interpreter.
Chi-Lan: Photographic specialist
Bill: Scientist, paranormal investigator, ghost gadget designing.

Ben says, NOT DEBUNKING, using scientific method: Their goal--neutral while investigating the outcome, hypothesis, theory, experiments to test theory. They have 3 criteria for a case: Photographic/recorded evidence, eyewitness, way to test it.

Devin finds it exciting to have a giant question mark at the end of a case. He likes when the mystery remains. He's a geek, so he loved the ectoplasm case. If you liked nightcrawlers, there will be an episode this season where you will see something similar to the nightcrawlers in Fresno episode. They might be using a new technology Ben worked on in one of this season's episode.

They really enjoy being able to share some of these cases people didn't know about, like the UFOs over the capital or the Battle of LA occurred. Being able to bring these cases forth is exciting for them and Ben sounds a bit like an excited kid on Xmas Eve when he talks about the UFO cases that are his special favorite.

All in all, these are seriously intelligent, inquisitive nerds and geeks and I feel confident having them work this new season. The subjects sound like they go towards the more intriguing and dark cases and away from the mermaid fluff (thank you Syfy gods!), so I am more hyped about this season. My hopes are really up for them to let out their geeky awkward tendencies so we can adore them like Jaime and Adam on Mythbusters. We trust people who are more endearing to us and real, so I think part of their credibility will be, being themselves.

Keep it up guys! And, Ben, can't wait to see those pretty blue eyes again!