Ghost Whisperer: Season Four

Of all the mysteries that human beings have encountered we have managed to resolve quite a few of them. We now understand the movement of the stars in the sky and have begun to fathom the inner workings on the very code that defines us as a species. From the vast expanse out the cosmos to the intricate molecular dance of DNA deep within us the unknown is steadily revealed to us. Still, there is one great mystery that is mostly never to be understood; what happens to us when we die. Almost every major religion has as an integral tenant of faith some postulation of just what occurs when we shuffle off this mortal coil. An adjunct to this deep seated need to understand death is our need to communicate. This brings us to something that is also old as our species; attempting to communicate with the dead. At one point in time a claim to such ability would get you on the fast track to a burning stake. Now it is the premise of several major television series and more movie than can be easily counted. One of the most notable entries into this supernatural genre is ‘Ghost Whisperer’. It is preparing for its fifth season but while you are waiting you can catch up with the last season by means of the latest DVD season set release. The series admittedly not the greatest on air or even the best of this genre but it does have more than enough going for it; most importantly it is an entertaining guilty pleasure. It is able to strike a delicate balance between an ongoing soap opera drama, the paranormal and the right hint of a good old fashion mystery. This series was part of the continuing effort on the part of the CBS network to alter the general direction of their program resetting their base line demographic towards a more young adult level. They have migrated their programming from older audience members to becoming the crime drama network. A series like this based in the fantasy and paranormal realm to counterbalance the intense concentration in the forensic sciences typified by their flagship CSI series.

The basic premise of the series is a pretty young woman, Melinda Gordon (Jennifer Love Hewitt) who lives with her husband Jim Clancy (David Conrad) in the small New England town of Grandview. She would appear to be just a regular small town gal except for her perchance for running around in what amounts at flimsy night gowns (not that any man in town would complain) and her ability to speak to the dead. For Melinda this unusual ability is both a gift and a curse. She is overjoyed when she can assist recently deceased individual resolve whatever circumstances that is preventing them from crossing over to their celestial destination. The dark downside comes in when investigating those circumstances draw Melinda into more drama and mystery that a normal person could endure. While ghost whispering is an unusual profession it does pay the bills so Jim is employed as a paramedic and Melinda runs a quaint antique shop named ‘The Same As It Never Was’.

Following a trend established a couple of seasons ago the tone of the series has been getter darker and more sinister. To achieve this writers have been moving towards less dependency on a ghost of the week in favor of themes and character arcs the run through the season and even the entire series. This did permit the series to expand the mythos that underlies the fundamental premise. Part of this became a fairly major component of the thrust of this season was Melinda’s quest to undercover the origins of her ability. This began in earnest in the=e third season but here the roots of being a ghost whisperer is strongly rooted in her family tree. In this season it manifests as a certain degree of destiny at work propelling her to continue to help the dead and living. Her long time friend Professor Rick Payne (Jay Mohr) has always been there for her to help her understand some of the more obscure aspects of the supernatural world she has to deal with on a near daily basis.

This would be the last season that he is involved and hopefully the loss of his academic contribution will not adversely affect the continuation of the production. Melinda does meet someone else at Rockland University, Eli James (Jamie Kennedy) who is also a professor. After a near death experience in a fire he discovers that he also can communicate with the dead. With all of this going on they never lose sight of the main thrust of the series as Melinda helps the never ending stream of dead folk who just want to move on. Grandview does appear to be the Grand Central Station for the dead with what seems like an unusually high number of dead people in dire need of Melinda’s services. The bottom line is this is fun to watch and consistently entertaining.

Posted 09/29/09