That Guy: The nose has it when solving murders

Sniffing Murder follows the same format as crime-solving show Sensing Murder - a couple of psychics use their "astonishing gifts" to relive a victim's last moments and hunt for their killer.

Episode one begins: "She was never seen alive again, and with no clear leads the police have had to resort to using TV psychics Yvonne Evans and Paul Webber to assist with the investigation."

Evans uses her hands and physical contact to connect with the spirit world. She has been involved in more unsolved murders than anybody in Australasia. Webber solves crimes using birth dates, numerology and sometimes by sniffing women's underwear.

Each is driven separately through the victim's neighbourhood. After about two tanks of petrol, the psychics are nowhere near the crime scene, but then: "Paul has become uncomfort- able and agitated - could this be where Sue's grisly murder took place?"

Apparently not, as Webber is extremely hungover, after just coming off an all-night stag do. He vomits uncontrollably, halting the psychic investigation for 45 minutes.

But Evans has honed in on the crime scene and, for the first time, you get the sense that she, at least, may indeed be blessed with psychic gifts. The fact she selected the house with a television sound and lighting truck parked outside is the only thing that might make you question her abilities.

Evans gets strong psychic vibrations in the lounge, but after about 25 minutes of communicating with the spirit world, all she can offer viewers is the fact that the lounge used to have a ranchslider, which is confirmed by the presenter: "There was indeed a ranchslider door off the lounge as late as 1987, giving the home fantastic indoor-outdoor flow."

Psychic Webber is now sober and, to save money and time, he is driven directly to the crime scene.

He has been given the victim's birth date and immediately starts picking up strong psychic readings.

Then he looks at a recent photo of the victim, and correctly describes what she looks like, but he needs more information and asks for some underwear to sniff.

None of the victim's underwear is available, so he makes do with some from a female sound recordist in the Sniffing Murder production team.

He "sniffs for murder" but before he can shed any new light on the case, his psychic abilities get some interference from either Radio Hauraki or Classic Hits.

Webber says this kind of interference can be quite common, especially in homes with an HRV-type home ventilation system.

After the first ad break, we catch up with Evans, who is now at a recycling yard, and believes she has located the ranchslider door that was in the victim's house.

The programme then goes from bad to worse when we cut back to Webber, who we are told, "prior to becoming a television psychic, used to be a TV builder like Cocksie!"

We must watch for about five minutes as Webber points out the house's carpentry faults and we begin to wonder whether the psychics have forgotten why they are on the show.

But then, of course, the moment of truth: "Now the psychics must try to locate Sue's body."

The psychics are then chauffeured around aimlessly until the next advertising break. "Both psychics are getting confused information. Perhaps it has something to do with the spirits having to deal with two psychics at once. What's more, it must be hard to cross over to Paul, who by now has a cracking hangover."

Evans homes in on a yard in Mt Eden, while Webber seems to be taking the production crew on a wild goose chase through the Waitakere Ranges. We are convinced he is lost when he asks if he can sniff the underwear of the other psychic so he will at least know where she is looking.

He becomes somewhat annoyed when the crew refuses, and the next time we see him is in the back seat of the car ordering a Zinger Burger at a KFC drive-through.

The programme makers now have little choice but to turn their focus to ranchslider-obsessed Evans, who is about to dig up a Mt Eden section.

"She is sensing energy, and prepares to dig and expose the shocking truth that lies beneath."

After 40 minutes of fabricated TV, the first unpredictable moment! With the first stab of her spade, Evans hits a water main and an electricity cable and is promptly electrocuted.

"It seems that even in the spirit realm, water and electricity are a bad combination."

This is the only exciting moment in the episode, but it is all over. As the credits roll we are told of some incredible new developments since the programme was filmed.

The most amazing, perhaps, being the fact that the murder victim, Sue, has come forward having returned from her two-year OE in London.