George's mysterious murder and his final indignity

Poor old George. He was a harmless, lonely, eccentric who liked collecting wood and yarning over the fence. He was born in Germany, interned on Somes Island during both world wars and liked nothing as much as a free toasted sammie down the pub. Then he was murdered in his bed on a rainy winter's night in the late 70s. His murderer, or murderers, have never been caught.

George may or may not have had money. He said he did and that he kept it in the house. He didn't believe in banks.

His is an interesting story; a sad story. He probably had a bit to say about things when he was alive: he'd lived through a lot and washed up in New Zealand.

He has no gravestone.

Now, in a final indignity, his story features on Sensing Murder (TV2, tonight at 8.30pm).

You might note that the title of this series is not Solving Murder. I'm not sure what sensing murder is. You go into the house where there was a murder, and you sense it? Well, I could do that. Or pretend to do that. And still let the coppers get on with either solving murders, or, very occasionally, not solving them.

But I am not a psychic. Kelvin and Deb are. Which is why, using their "astonishing gifts" they will be able to come up with new clues in poor old George's unsolved murder.

This takes a very long time. But at least we know it's not hocus pocus. We know this because the Seal of the President of the United States is displayed.

Rebecca Gibney, who hosts this not hocus pocus, tells us very seriously that the US Government spent 15 years investigating psychic phenomena. So did the FBI and the CIA. Conclusion: no normal explanation could be offered. And as a result "decided psychic phenomena is worthy of further investigation". No sources are given.

You might think that after all those years of investigation, America's best investigators could have come up with something a little more concrete.

The two psychics - Kelvin's a Kiwi, Deb's an Aussie - were chosen from a number asked to identify details about an obscure, solved murder. Only a few were able to do this - proving, well, what? That most psychics are useless?

The two were kept under strict supervision - which is never seen, so perhaps it was psychic supervision. This was to ensure they did no research into George's murder. They were allowed to ask questions but would only be given answers if they asked a question to which the answer was yes. This asking and answering, or not answering, wasn't shown. Something like that. It does go on. An hour and a half of this, with am-dram reconstructions, and I felt the other side calling me quite insistently.

Deb who "openly lives and communicates with the spirit world" explains how it works. "You can hear the voices ... they haven't got sound most of the time. It's like a vibration ... like a radio signal coming through the atmosphere."

How annoying. But George seemed to have sound. He tells Kelvin, "the buggers, the buggers". He tells Deb a couple of jokes. He may or may not have told them who dunnit.

Gibney says at the end: "Perhaps his treasure never existed, or perhaps it remains hidden to this day."

Perhaps? The psychics didn't ask? Or perhaps they did and George didn't have sound at that particular moment. Or, more likely, more than poor old George's treasure remains hidden.