The Soul Dog
Episode 1 of Truth Seekers wastes absolutely no time getting right to the heart of the drama. A possessed woman walks into her kitchen and burns herself alive. As we cut forward slightly, we catch up with Astrid inside a hospital who can see a burnt corpse stalking toward her. After this opening scene, we meet our protagonist Gus Roberts, a married man and paranormal extraordinaire. As the radio crackles, Gus turns and sees… his Father. Breathing a sign of relief, Gus heads out to work. On the way, he receives a call from his boss Dave who promises a surprise. That surprise happens to be training up Elton…who happens to be in the same room and hears Gus badmouthing him. Well, the duo pack up their things and prepare to head out together. Elton cracks some jokes about the radio broadcast he’s listening to, which happens to be a number station. Repeating the number 1 constantly, Elton’s interjection about the number 5 appears to change the broadcast slightly. Gus is clearly rattled but the pair drive off to Mrs Connolly’s house. There, Gus notices that someone has cut through the wires and heads out to his van in a bid to find a replacement. While he does, Mrs Connolly makes some tea for the duo while Elton listens to her story. Only, the lights start flickering and there’s clearly something else going on here. On the way home Elton talks about the paranormal, prompting Gus to discuss his YouTube channel and a slow moving door that proves these supernatural elements exist. Elton is not impressed though and doubts him. The next day they head back to Mrs Connolly’s house again; this time her TV isn’t working correctly. With Elton filming, the trio creep through the upstairs hallway until they come to Vernon’s study. Only, something is very wrong. The room dimensions are way off – especially given Elton used to be an architect. He encourages Elton to continue filming as Gus looks around for clues. Within the room they find a hidden doorway. Inside that they find the exact same broadcast showing on the downstairs’ TV. Audio tapes seem to hint toward Vernon working on soul separation. This is only further accentuated by a strange dog hidden under a blanket. Brilliant green tendrils of light reach out and seem to possess Mrs Connolly. As a ghostly voice calls her upstairs, she drops on all fours while the duo leave. The number broadcast has changed again and Elton wants to leave. Only, suddenly a figure rushes across the road surprising them both. That figure is the burnt corpse and a strange distorted plague doctor. Hiding in the back of the van happens to be Astrid, which is where the episode ends.
The Episode Review
With a pretty good opener, the series does well to blend its supernatural elements with a simple dose of comedy. The scenes inside Mrs Connelly’s house are good and certainly creepy. The characters are pretty simple and archetypal for now but there’s a few good jokes used to hide some of this. Namely, the incident involving Elton in the same room with Gus early on. With short episodes, this one feels designed to be binge-watched and the tone early on certainly reinforces that light, breezy feel. There’s certainly enough mystery here to keep you watching.
