Rob Lowe and sons investigate ghost stories on ‘The Lowe Files’
On a scale of Not Rob Lowe Fan to Rob Lowe Fan, I’ve always drifted toward the latter.
Having said that, his new show, “The Lowe Files” (10 p.m. Wednesday, A&E), is among the goofiest things you’ll see this year.
“Since I was a little boy, I’ve loved spooky legends and scary mysteries,” Lowe says by way of introduction. “And when I had boys of my own, we bonded over those campfire stories and debated whether Bigfoot was real or if ghosts really existed. And we swore that one day, we would find out those answers together. That day has come.”
So Rob and his sons, Matthew and John Owen, hit the road to explore unsolved mysteries. In the premiere, that means spending the night in Preston Castle, an allegedly haunted former reformatory in Galt, California.
“So what makes us different from any other idiot who’s taken cameras into haunted mansions and castles and whatever?” one of the boys asks off-camera.
“You remember the shaman your mom and I met in Big Sur,” Rob begins.
Let that line sink in for a moment, because it’s one of the single greatest sentences ever uttered. And it’s said without so much as a whiff of irony.
“We will bring him to help manifest whatever energy may or not be,” he continues. “Nobody has brought a shaman to try to reach across the void to bring out these spirits.”
The boys’ mother, Sheryl Berkoff, calls to express her concern, but Rob insists the shaman will protect them. This protection, it turns out, involves oils from about a half dozen plants, as well as frankincense and myrrh, that he plans to spit on whatever’s in there as a cleansing process.
The Lowes’ investigation contains all the night-vision shots you’ve come to expect on “Ghost Adventures” and the rash of similar shows. Noises are heard, spirits are spoken to, and strange machines that aren’t fully explained light up.
“We’re just gonna chill here. This is where that woman’s body was found,” the Emmy and six-time Golden Globe nominee declares.
One piece of their equipment, which just as well could have been a thermometer, registers a temperature drop. “Drops in temperature are always associated with spirits, traditionally,” Rob says.
Also, you know, fans and air conditioning.
Shortly before they bolt the castle comes this excited exchange: “Did you see that light just there?” “Yeah, there were lights through there.” “Yeah, you saw that right? (Pause) Oh, that’s a car.”
Upcoming episodes promise investigations of Bigfoot, alien abductions, a top-secret space program, an alien base 2,000 feet underwater off the coast of Malibu and something called a “wood ape.”
“The Lowe Files” isn’t an elaborate goof like Will Ferrell and Kristen Wiig’s Lifetime movie,“ A Deadly Adoption.” At least I don’t think it is.
Much like the Lowes, I’m choosing to believe.
■ In the 1980s, the Romanian government created “Comrade Detective” (Friday, Amazon), the country’s most popular and longest-running series. Actually it didn’t, but that’s the premise behind this spoof that finds the voices of its heroes dubbed by Channing Tatum and Joseph Gordon-Levitt.
■ Camp Firewood is open for a reunion as cast members including Amy Poehler, Chris Meloni, Chris Pine, David Hyde Pierce, Elizabeth Banks, Janeane Garofalo, Jason Schwartzman, Kristen Wiig, Molly Shannon and Paul Rudd return for “Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later” (Friday, Netflix).
■ A young mother (Jessica Biel) has no idea why she murdered a man she didn’t know, but a detective (Bill Pullman) is determined to solve the mystery in “The Sinner” (10 p.m. Wednesday, USA).
■ If, like me, you’ve been waiting for this season of “Casual” (Tuesday, Hulu) to end so you can binge-watch it, the way streaming was intended, that day has arrived.
Contact Christopher Lawrence at clawrence@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4567. Follow @life_onthecouch on Twitter.
Shows to know for the week ahead
■ In the 1980s, the Romanian government created "Comrade Detective" (Friday, Amazon), the country's most popular and longest-running series. Actually it didn't, but that's the premise behind this spoof that finds the voices of its heroes dubbed by Channing Tatum and Joseph Gordon-Levitt.
■ Camp Firewood is open for a reunion as cast members including Amy Poehler, Chris Meloni, Chris Pine, David Hyde Pierce, Elizabeth Banks, Janeane Garofalo, Jason Schwartzman, Kristen Wiig, Molly Shannon and Paul Rudd return for "Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later" (Friday, Netflix).
■ A young mother (Jessica Biel) has no idea why she murdered a man she didn't know, but a detective (Bill Pullman) is determined to solve the mystery in "The Sinner" (10 p.m. Wednesday, USA).
■ If, like me, you've been waiting for this season of "Casual" (Tuesday, Hulu) to end so you can binge watch it, the way streaming was intended, that day has arrived.
