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'Ghost Whisperer': The ghost of Santa Claus
Another Very Special Christmas Episode, another Bad Santa. Our favorite Ghost Whisperer is dealing with someone who may or may not be Jolly Old Saint Nick. Melinda is convinced that he's just a confused ghost -- because it's completely rational to deal with wayward spirits who have gotten stuck on their way to the Other Side, but Santa Claus? That's crazy talk!
God rest ye merry spoilerhounds let nothing you dismay...
The Spirit of the Week has long white hair, a white beard, wears a red shirt, looks as if he would shake like a bowl full of jelly were he to laugh... hey, I'm just saying, it really could be Santa. (And if he is: What happened to my Malibu Barbie Dream House back in 1978, huh, fat man? I'm still waiting...) The fact that he seems bent on tormenting a corporate-type guy who seems to be too busy for his son is kind of out of character, I'll admit.
That corporate type is William, and his adorable-moppet son, Riley, desperately wants William and his mom to get back together. Not-Claus has decided that what Riley really wants and needs is for William to engage with his son again -- heck, he's got a heartbreaking letter written in childish scrawl to prove it. "Please, Santa, I just want my father back for Christmas!" Not-Claus interprets that to mean that daddy William needs to be punished every time he pulls away from his son. Melinda reasons that it's a weird request, since Riley is actually with his dad, and it's his mom who's not there, but Not-Claus doesn't want to hear it.
Melinda busies herself trying to figure out who the delusional ghost is -- William's stepfather? An employee who died? One of the people hurt by William's Mergers and Acquisitions business? A third-century Anatolian bishop? None of those possibilities fit, and Melinda is getting frustrated, because this ornery ghost is making it difficult for her to get everything ready for the big Christmas dinner she's hosting.
Eventually, Melinda figures out what's really going on: That letter Not-Claus has was actually written by William when he was a boy. His dad left when William was a kid, and his mom lied to him that daddy was traveling the world doing important work. Young William eventually figured out that mom was lying, and he's been distrustful of everything ever since.
Way back when, William's mom found the letter, felt awful, and tracked down her wayward hubby and delivered it to him. Wayward Daddy went somewhat nuts soon thereafter -- he was an organic tea mogul, but he ended up selling the company, giving away all of his money and possessions, and pretty much losing it. When he died, he somehow assumed that he was Santa, and it was his mission to give Riley what he wanted, rather than reconcile with William.
But it's more complicated than that -- William discovered that his wife had an affair at about the time Riley was conceived. He's now obsessed with the idea that Riley is just another lie -- maybe he's not really his son! Until he gets the results of a paternity test, he's not going to be able to be close to Riley, no matter what he needs.
Melinda manages to engineer a tearful quasi-reunion between batpoop crazy dead daddy and work-obsessed, guarded son. Daddy Not-Claus tells William that little details like actual paternity are just clutter -- what's in William's heart? Does he love Riley? OK, then! The seeds of reconciliation are sown, and everyone lives happily ever after -- at least until someone leaves the cap off the toothpaste and fails to mention it, which will doubtless send William into another "I can't trust anyone!" tizzy. But that's a matter for another show.
In the end, Melinda was so busy dealing with Not-Claus that she couldn't pull off the lavish Christmas dinner she was going to throw for family and friends. Not to worry: Jim has contacted everyone, moved them into the store, and revamped it as a Christmas potluck. That sounds like much more fun, anyway.
Thoughts:
Do Melinda's ghostly charges ever get peevish that she doesn't repeat what they say word-for-word? Not-Claus gave this long, impassioned speech -- the things he always wished he'd said to the child he abandoned -- and Melinda would edit it down to two sentences. I kept expecting him to yell at her for that.
Not-Claus really did play it up to the hilt. The finger-by-the-side-of-his-nose thing was a nice touch.
I am confused about one thing: Why could kids see Not-Claus if he wasn't Santa? Are kids just more open to ghosties? Did Not-Santa want them to see him? Weird.
Also weird: Not-Santa just stuck around after the reunion. Isn't the whole point that these spirits have to move on to the other side or things get wonky? Or does he get a Christmas dispensation?
Finally: Melinda is an incredibly brave woman to wear a gorgeous white coat outside in the winter -- especially when she's picking snow up from the gutter (ew!) to engage in a snowball fight. That's got to be a monster to dry-clean.
Kids could always see ghost, mostly those from 8/7 and younger. Their more in tune to the things around them as in why sometimes kids seem to be looking or gooing at things when nothing is actually happening. This was all explained in Season 1 and then briefly retouched upon in Season 2.
Not-Santa, not crossing over. I'm sure he did but possibly do to time constraints it was done off screen.
Also about the paraphrasing, it's a show that has a time limit. If she were to repeat everything the dead said we'd get nothing in the form of a storyline and also who would want to watch to here things repeated twice. Mel often does say practically what the ghost says but other times she just shortens it up, depends on how close the crossing over scene is to the ending credits.
Jeffrey | Dec 14, 2007 7:55:30 PM | #They've actually gotten much better with the Melinda "translations"... I remember a first season episode where a ghost-dad gave this long, impassioned speech apologizing for his past sins, went on at length about his love for his daughter and how happy he was that she had grown into a beautiful young woman, yada yada for a good two minutes and Melinda says simply, "Your father is proud of you." Wha?
I noticed the white coat, too. First, because she initially walked out of William's house with no coat on at all (brr!), second because it made me think of that black winter coat she wore in the circus episode that was set in July. The July coat looked warmer. (But Mel's wardrobe has gotten saner this season, much to my disappointment. I miss being slack-jawed in amazement at her odd fashion sense.)
shelwood | Dec 15, 2007 12:49:31 AM | #Some ghosts don't cross over and the Not-Santa is happy to stay and spread Christmas cheer. It's the bad ghosts that stay you should worry about.
anlette | Dec 15, 2007 8:02:20 AM | #I wonder if this ghost will show up again? I think it is interesting how the writers and editors decide how to have Melinda explain to the grieving family or friends what the ghosts are telling her.
I like Melinda's new conservative wordrobe much better than the clothes she used to wear.
Penny | Dec 15, 2007 10:19:45 AM | #Re her paraphrasing: I think it's less about time-saving and more about not boring the viewers.
Jon88 | Dec 16, 2007 4:52:21 AM | #This episode was pretty interesting,not enough Jim though.
Trupen | Dec 16, 2007 12:31:54 PM | #Really? Boring the viewers? Time constraints? These are the reasons for Melinda's bad translations? Please. I think UN translators may work under tighter time and attention constraints. They seem capable of rising to the challenge. So should Melinda since it seems to be an important part of her ghost-whisperer job.
The writers could give her fewer words to say that actually convey more of the ghosts' meaning. They're the writers, for goodness sake. If they don't have the time to do it, then why should we listen to any of their words? Seems to me that there'd be even less possibility for boredom and shorter episodes if they didn't write anything at all.
Not, of course, that this should be an option.
Berlin | Dec 19, 2007 1:30:32 AM | #Part 2 (since this system seems to think I'm a computer):
Not-Santa was great and suitably creepy. But I kind of guessed who he was at the beginning of the ep and so I found myself a bit frustrated by Melinda's floundering attempts at figuring out his identity.
I too thought it was odd that she would dismiss the possible existence of a true Santa. Wasn't her "yes, but he's not real" explanation awesome!?! I guess everyone has their prejudices, even if they may routinely see things that others do not.
The best part of the episode, though, had to be when William accepted Riley as his son. Afterall, being a sperm donor doesn't necessarily make you a father. Daily care and love does. I'm glad he finally came to realize this.
Berlin | Dec 19, 2007 1:32:23 AM | #I need to know what type of coat that is. I noticed it in the finale of season 2. It's gorgeous! n where can I buy 1 like it (but obviously cheaper) lol
Lianne | Feb 8, 2008 11:09:59 AM | #I want to know why Riley's mother in the Christmas episode, shown in the UK in September 2008, was played by 2 different actresses?
Rosie | Sep 2, 2008 1:37:28 PM | #Ignore me I got it wrong! there was Riley's mum and Williams mum, they look alike tho
Rosie | Sep 2, 2008 1:39:48 PM | #
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