Someone could say, "Je is a fake! Prove to me he is real!" Someone else could counter, "Je is real! Prove that he is a fake"!
The burden of proof is to fall upon those who make the out of the ordinary, spectacular claim. Or so goes the reasoning. However, I don't think any of us want to fall into this viscous cycle of arguing.
We know THIS much: Crossing-Over is taped, editted.l We don't know anything about the gallery members. We know a lot of them are from his hometown of New York, We don't know who all is included in the disclaimers 'third parties'. We DO know that: Je has been plying his trade for about 18? years and he has gotten good at what he does....whatever it is that he is doing exactly. Otherwise, he wouldn't be on tv! He has been tested, along with a hand-picked group of other psychic-mediums by a Dr. Schwartz at the University of Arizona, and the picture painted of THAT one test sheds somewhat favorable light on his ability (although his tests have been deemd flawed by others, including James Randi himself)
If you really want to know the truth about someone, you have to investigate everything about the person. I don't think anybody has really taken the time to do this.
What if I told you that David Blaine really DOES levitate. What if I told you I saw him do it, in the flesh. What if I claimed that he wasn't turned to the side...that I saw him directly from the rear, levitate both feet off the ground. What would you say to me, other than, "Prooooove it!!!" What it really takes is some indepth research. Has anybody bothered to research David Blaine? Suuure, there was this CLAIM that David used that 'trick' where he turned sideways. Well, if he DID, then the giggly/spooked girls on the sidewalk who witnessed him levitate from the rear, were lying...or, the filming was dubbed. All this talk though is speculation...for and against David Blaine. Has anyone read an in depth report of him in say, the New York Times?
The botton line with these tv showmen, including John Edward, is that there is simply a lot of talk, and not enough truth seeking research.
Personally? I think the shows disclaimer pretty much buries him. I believe there could have been just as legally a protective disclaimer where it says that due to the nature of the subjectmatter, it is difficult to know if the claims made are real or not. And that John Edward, the show, the producers, or third parties cannot be held liable for interpretations made by those being read, or the families and friends thereof, nor of the viewing opublic. But noooooo. They go and say that the show is for entertainment purposes only, and that third parties have been heavily relied upon, and that it is not intended to be a factual statement in any way whatsoever.