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MEDIUM |
Allison Dubois - Patricia Arquette Joe Dubois - Jake Weber Manuel Devalos - Miguel Sandoval Lee Scanlon - David Cubitt 
OTHER MEDIUM SEASONS Season 1 Season 2 Season 3 Season 4 Season 5 Season 6 THEY ALSO SEE DEAD PEOPLE Ghost Whisperer Haunted Afterlife Millennium 
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Bring Your Daughter To Work DayAllison and her middle daughter Bridgette swap bodies, leaving the mother to take a maths test and the daughter to go to the District Attorney's office to try and defend a school friend who is accused of making a tramp drink drain cleaner. This is a fabulous way to start off the new series, taking the old and tired idea of a mother/daughter body swap and giving it a whole new lease of life through the standard MEDIUM set up, which freshens up the standard MEDIUM set up at the same time. The fun comes from Patricia Arquette playing a child in a woman's body and making a mess of her mother's job at the same time. It's very funny, very sweet and occasionally moving. There is also a very fine performance from Maria Lark as Bridgette who has been with the show from the beginning, but here gets a real chance to show what she can do as an actress in a big way for the first time. The crimes are a particularly nasty story with someone preying on a homeless drunk's weakness and then posting it on the internet for everyone to laugh at, but the mystery of whodunnit is obvious long before the truth comes out. Written by Michael NarducciDirected by Aaron Lipstadt Top The Match GameAllison wakes up one day to see symbols floating over people's foreheads, a sign of their compatibility. When she finds two people who have the same symbol, she tries to get them together only to find that both of them might be connected to killings in a park. The park strangler story is pretty average MEDIUM fare and turns out not to be all that interesting. Even the gimmick of the floaty symbols has been used before when Allison saw numbers on people's foreheads (The Future's So Bright). What lifts it out of the ordinary is the bright and cheery nature of it (dead bodies notwithstanding). Allison's delight at seeing she and Joe have the same symbols provokes a smile, but the scene in which little Marie explains about a man and a woman wrestling with no clothes on is laugh out loud funny. Written by Denise ThéDirected by Larry Teng Top Means And EndsAllison has dreams regarding Lee Scanlon that suggest he is responsible for threats and violence with regards to a case he is working on. This means that she cannot vouch for him in court. Over the seasons MEDIUM has come up with some interesting moral struggles for Allison to deal with and this provides another. How can she be a character witness for someone she believes has committed a crime, but how can she turn her back on a friend who has helped her so much? As usual, it is impeccably played and for once the interpersonal drama upstages the storyline. Even the side story involving Ariel's roomate in college has a part to play. Written by Tim TalbottDirected by Aaron Lipstadt Top How To Kill A Good GuyAllison's relationship with detective Scanlon sinks ever lower as she has visions that suggest his dead brother murdered a woman in an abandoned restroom Detective Scanlon has not had the best of times in the show and the recent troubles between him and Allison have added some much needed interpersonal conflict within the show. Whilst the story follows the usual MEDIUM template of misdirection, the personal links to Lee and the almost shocking ending lifts it out of the mediocre. Ariel's departure for college provides a family sideshow that isn't as tedious as many of the others have been. Written by Geoff GeibDirected by Larry Teng Top Talk To The HandAllison is worried when the skin graft on her arm starts to take over her movements and leads her toward the killers of a nurse. This is not the most original episode of MEDIUM ever, but by this point we've seen just about every way that Allison's life can be disrupted by the ghosts that come to her and a possessed hand is just another one of those. Bridget's life lesson in soccer is tediously condescending and adds nothing. Written by Craig Sweeny & Robert DohertyDirected by Colin Bucksey Top Where Were You When?Allison sees a disaster taking place at 9.18 in the morning, but not what morning. Whilst she tries to prepare people for a bomb blast or earthquake, she is also looking for a man whose hand has been found. There are times when you can tell who the bad guy in a show is just by who is in the cast and this is definitely one of those times. Fortunately, the whodunnit plays second fiddle to Allison's concerns over the impending disaster, which is a refreshing change from the usual who killed who stories. The sleep-graffiti-ing children don't add much though. Written by Jordan RosenbergDirected by Peter Werner Top Where Were You When?Allison loses the ability to understand what people are saying to her after having dreams of a murder by arson. A friendly linguist helps, but Joe finds it a weirdness too far. You have to feel sorry for Joe Dubois; every morning he wakes up not knowing what strange thing is going to have happened to his wife. She's been blinded, struck dumb, driven mad by music, forgotten who she is and who knows what else and he has been supportive throughout whilst she takes him from granted. His outburst of annoyance is well-deserved. The rest of the plot, though, is MEDIUM by the numbers and not very interesting, though as well-played as ever. Written by Akira Lisanne MittmanDirected by Aaron Lipstadt Top Smoke DamageAllison dreams of a girl caught in a fire and that dream may be linked to the death of the principle witness in a gang prosecution. Some of the plots that have been dreamed up in MEDIUM have been somewhat far-fetched, but this one is well out there. It involves contract killers, DNA links, firefighters and nonsensical motivations. There are just some things that are hard to swallow. On the home front, Manuel Devalos might be running for Mayor, which could lead to some interesting wrinkles. Written by Corey Reed & Travis DonnellyDirected by Aaron Lipstadt Top The People In Your NeighbourhoodA convicted child rapist moves into the neighbourhood and the local people are up in arms about it. Allison isn't so sure of his guilt, but then a girl goes missing. The switch into the subject of sex crimes and when, if ever, a convicted person should be allowed back onto the streets makes for a fresh perspective on the show and raises some pertinent issues that are more question-raising than the usual murder schtick. Sadly, it then descends into the usual murder schtick and can't even be bothered to come up with a real ending to top it all off. Written by Denise The, Jordan Rosenberg and Akira Lisanne MittmanDirected by Peter Werner Top Blood On The TracksA homeless man may be the cause of a train-related death, or he may be less homeless than he first appears. Joe finds his mother terminally ill and an old promise comes back to hurt Allison. Joe dealing with his mother's upcoming death is the main dramatic source of this episode and it is acted with the impeccable quality that we have come to expect from this particular cast. That's just as well because the murder case is as silly as some of the others that we have been having of late and that side of things is becoming distinctly jaded. Written by Geoff GeibDirected by Aaron Lipstadt Top Only Half LuckyAllison's brother has turned his life around, but it seems that it is not without help and a deal that might come at too high a price. Firstly it comes as a shock to find Allison's brother being played by Patricia Arquette's real brother David. It's not that he's bad or anything, just that the change of actor is jarring and confusing, making us wonder if there was more than one brother called Michael in the family. That aside, the story of possession is one that is at least not beyond the ridiculous, though it does skirt with it at times. Written by Corey Reed & Travis DonnellyDirected by Larry Reibman Top Labor PainsA man whose wife has gone missing is desperate enough to find out what happened to her that he is willing to kidnap Allison and drug her into having dreams. This is a nice change of pace as it puts a whole new slant on the consequences of Allison's powers and turns it around into a threat. It also gives Allison a strong moral decision to make, but then wimps out with an unsatisfying 'happy' ending. The actual murder mystery at the centre of this is more believable than most recent ones, but that doesn't mean really believable. Written by Tim TalbottDirected by Miguel Sandoval Top Me Without YouA plane with Joe in it crashes, leaving Allison alone to bring up her children. Years later she is prosecuting a mexican drug lord and uncovers evidence that Joe might still be alive. This final ever episode of MEDIUM looks like it's going down the path of another completely ridiculous plot, but it turns out to be Allison's own personal Pincher Martin moment, which then allows for a moving and appropriate ending to the show. The format was becoming tired and stale, but the acting from the start to the finish has been excellent, making MEDIUM a cut above most paranormal shows. Written by Craig Sweeny, Robert Doherty & Glenn Gordon CaronDirected by Peter Werner Top |
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