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For just about as long as people have been around they have
puzzled over what happens to us when we die. Questions involving the survival of
some aspect of what make us unique as a person whether it be called soul
(literally breath in the Bible), life force or residual consciousness people
appear to have a rather deeply engrained need to believe in the survival of at
least some part of us after we cast off this mortal coil. When this age old
manifestation of our innate curiosity is combined with the equally ancient need
to communicate you wind up with the natural combination of the two; speaking
with the dead. When a theme is this fundamental to the collective human
condition it is only to be expected that it becomes the basis for numerous
movies and television shows. Several such shows are popular now but the one that
stands out from the pack is from CBS Paramount; ‘Medium’. This can be a touchy
subject since many religions have very immutable doctrine pertaining to the
practice but that is outside the scope of this consideration. When you focus on
the production values of the series it come out as the best of the genre and is
able to more than hold its own when compared to other televised dramatic series.
The medium who is the focus of this series is Allison Dubois (Patricia Arquette);
the character based on the real life Dubois who has worked with several police
forces, assisted in jury selection and has plied her unusual calling for a
number of years The series has gathered a strong and loyal fan base which has
successfully carried the show through to its current sixth season. While the new
season is unfolding you can catch up with the previous year now available on
DVD.
The longevity of the series so far, and six years now is quite
an accomplishment, demonstrates there is much more to the series than the
supernatural gimmick of talking to the dead. The show is a tautly constructed
character driven series set against a well developed paranormal backdrop. Sure
there is typically the ‘guest spirit of the week’ but ancillary plot points
contained in the episodic story arcs frequently further the development of a
much broader based continuing story that encompasses the entire season and in
some instances the series as a whole. It has been noted that this is an
alternative to the high tech forensic science oriented series that proliferated
on the television in recent years. This series represents a 180 degree turn from
that type of show. Where one employs cutting advances in science this series
uses a methodology as old as recorded history and almost impossible to
accurately substantiate. A show such as this based on something beyond the
experience of most of the audience requires a higher skill level on the part of
the creative minds behind the scenes. It is vital to create a world that has to
be internally consistent. It is okay to use paranormal abilities as long as they
are explained within the rule set that is established. Here the gift is
something that tends to run in the family. Allison’s family has a history of
this ability and her daughters Ariel (Sofia Vassilieva) and Bridgette (Maria
Lark) have manifested the same dreams that connect her to the ‘other side’
typically to right some wrong. Her youngest daughter Marie (Madison and Miranda
Carabello) has started to so signs of joining the family business. In the case
of Marie her ability seems to manifest in the very economical ability to view
upper tier cable stations that their cable plan does not subscribe to.
In this season Allison is still recuperating from the last
season’s surgery to remove a growth on her brain stem. Afraid that this would
remove ‘the gift’ she postponed the procedure in order to save her family. This
resulted in Allison falling into a season finale coma. Prior to that Allison has
been consulting for the Phoenix Arizona District Attorney Manuel Devalos (Miguel
Sandoval) helping him get to the bottom of the more difficult cases. Usually she
is partnered with police Lee Scanlon (David Cubitt). This unusual vocation has
put strain on Allison’s marriage to Joe (Jake Weber). The hook for most of the
stories is that the meaning of her dreams is rarely straight forward. For
example she dreamt about an apocalyptic end of the world. It turns out side had
to prevent a man from murdering his entire family. Often when she ca=n correctly
interpret the dreams it affords her a perspective of a ghost who can be privy to
information not obtainable through any means available to the CSI teams. One of
the main things that separate this series from others of the genre is the
emotional honesty that the cast imparts to the production. Allison is basically
a soccer mom and suburban housewife working outside the home. While few can
directly understand the gift millions of families can readily identify with the
protagonist and her family. The cast and crew do not depend on the ability so it
never gets a chance to become an overused gimmick. Ultimately this is a gripping
crime drama that is well worth adding to your collection.
Posted 10/05/09