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Premierewatch '08: 'Medium'
When last we saw Medium's Allison DuBois and family, an ambitious journalist had revealed in print what exactly Allison did for the DA's office. Not that it mattered, since a new DA had come into power, changing the locks on DA's Davalos' door, demoting Scanlon and telling Allison that her services would no longer be required.
Making matters worse, Allison's husband Joe was still having problems coming to terms with being only one of two survivors of the hostage situation at his workplace, and was fired as well for refusing to sign a document saying he would never sue the company he had worked for for 15 years over the incident.
[It doesn't take a psychic to know that if you don't want to know what happens in the season premiere, stop reading now.]
We pick up where we left off. Both DuBois parents are still unemployed, Davalos is taking a forced vacation and Scanlon is spending his time doing Career Days for the Phoenix public school system.
Since there are only two other aerospace engineering companies in the area (it's hard out there for a rocket scientist) who aren't currently hiring, Joe files for unemployment and is given a whopping $240 a week to support his family on. He swallows his pride and calls his mother for a loan who says she has to discuss it with her accountant, but from all indications isn't ponying up because she doesn't want to, not because she can't afford to.
Ouch.
Meanwhile, Allison is having dreams about a Ben, a missing boy who was lured away by an unseen man at a toy store. Since neither the DA's office nor Scanlon will listen to her, she calls in to AmeriTips, a national, for-profit organization that privately investigates missing persons cases and offers rewards. Investigator Cynthia Keener (the always excellent Anjelica Huston) arranges to meet her at the mall food court.
It's immediately obvious that there's something up with Keener. She's able to identify Allison (who gave her maiden name when she called) without any sort of description and speaks of her own strong "intuition" several times. Pleasant enough at first, she quickly turns on Allison and cuts their meeting short when it becomes obvious that Allison was not an eyewitness to the abduction.
Luckily, thanks to the power of Google, Allison is able to give her psychic medium credentials. Once her vague dream tips pan out and the abductor is caught, Keener shows up on her doorstep with a personal check for $2,500 and an offer for Allison to help her on her investigations on a regular basis. Completely hush hush though so that Keener can get all the glory.
Since Huston is signed on for five more episodes, it will be interesting to see how this new arrangement plays out.
Other Thoughts:
- Would it really have been a hardship for Ben's dad to walk down to the end of the aisle with Ben while on his phone? I'm just glad it was his father not his mother who was with him. The last thing I want from my TV-viewing is another implication that career women are bad mothers.
- How dumb was the bad guy? Did he really think it was a good idea to leave the boy's body at one of the places where he worked? Also, while stuffing Ben into a doll box was incredibly creepy, if he wanted to get away with his crime, skipping that step might have made more sense. It easily could have been believed that Ben had wandered off, hidden in the warehouse when the police were looking for him and ate something he shouldn't.
- Davalos has a reason for not calling Allison back; he's out of the country. But Scanlon is being kind of a jerk. At least he still has his job. It's a good thing he's sleeping with the deputy mayor so that she could talk some sense into him about how to help himself.
- Are we really supposed to believe that Alison kept forgetting about the AmeriTips reward? I know she's a good person, but considering she's having to suffer the "Terms of Endearment" humiliation of putting back groceries, you would think money would never be far from her mind no matter her pure intentions.
- Patricia Arquette's highlights look fantastic. They distracted me though because I kept thinking that there's no way she's going to be maintain that obviously expensive color job with a family of five to feed.
Glad to see "Medium" back on Monday nights (even if it is replacing the much better and much-missed "Journeyman" *sniff*). I had forgotten about much of the season finale since it had been so long since the show aired, but I was glad to see the writers didn't just glide ahead a few months and have everything changed, Davalos and Scanlon in business as P.I.'s together (with Allison along as psychic sidekick), Joe working for NASA, Ariel doing whatever and the other girls just along for the ride. I sure hope the real Allison DuBois didn't have to go through this much crap, because I'd have just chucked the whole thing and said, "Y'know what? Solve your own damn cases...I'm going shopping." I agree, Scanlon is being a worm, but he always was kind of iffy where Alison was concerned. He always struck me as being the one amongst the characters who was the least trustworthy, whether it was just how the character was written or through very good acting. In any case, I think Allison needs to smack him a few times. I was also glad to see Joe still willing to help his wife along whenever she woke up from one of her visions. I still think he is the best husband character ever created on network TV, even if the actor who plays him (whose name always slips my mind) tends to speak in a monotone no matter what the emotion he is trying to portray (I realize he's not American, so that may be an attempt to keep a Phoenix accent in place, but still...). As for Sofia Vassilieva, I really wish she would have belted out a few notes herself, because she actually can sing (although nowhere near as good as her rival for the part of Maria Von Trapp in the episode). Forgive the delving into pervert territory, but she is growing up to be one very beautiful young lady. As for the other girls, I really wish they'd give the youngest more lines, now that she's old enough to handle them. The twins who play her are adorable, and they need more screen time, if only to give their next older sister hell. All in all, I liked the mystery, and unlike Brill, I thought the "boy in the box" touch was just right. Creepy, yes, but considering Morticia Addams...*ahem, Anjelica Houston is guest starring in several episodes this season, a little macabre was just what the doctor ordered. Nice returning episode, and I'm looking forward to the rest of the season. Oh, forgot one thing--if I were Ariel, I'd dump the redheaded friend after she pulled that stunt with the Maria-wannabe; true, she was just looking out for Ariel, but that was just low.
Dark Disciple | Jan 7, 2008 9:14:20 PM | #OK, so first thing to get clear, I do NOT believe in psychics, or anything paranormal for that matter. I do NOT believe people talk with the dead. That said, I really LOVE this show! What gets me are the actors and the parts they play. I can believe in the parts they play, the relationships, the humanity of their parts as people. Patricia Arquette is a real woman, with real womanly curves, nice bustline, narrower waist and wider hips, just like a huge number of women have in real life. And there is Anjelica Huston, who is exactly the same, very womanly in her curves as well as Patricia Arquette. I can't think of Ms. Huston as anything other than Morticia. I love the parallel story of the family dynamics, the girls, especially the teenager and her relationships in her school with her friends. I too, do not know who the actor is who plays Joe, but the man does such an excellent job in the part! Having been unemployed in a very narrow field as Joe was, I can sympathize as I have encountered exactly the same things in my very real life. My circumstances were nothing similar to Joe, but the end result was exactly the same, I was out of work and not likely to become employed again in my chosen field. So, even though I am an unbeliever in the paranoraml, I really LIKE this show! The storyline is really GOOD and gets my interest, and in the end, I guess that is what the producers want, someone like me who gets hooked on the story in spite of personal beliefs. Though I do not believe in the paranormal, I STILL love the show! Call me crazy......
rowlfe | Jan 7, 2008 11:17:07 PM | #I'm so happy that Medium is back!!!. I was kind of worried . Thank goodness that it wasn't cancelled. I really loved the last night episode. I really like to see an 3-D episode. Remember that one about 3 years ago( sorry, I don't remember the exact date of release). I'm a fan forever. I liked a lot the appearence on Medium of Anjelica Houston.
Enca | Jan 8, 2008 11:53:49 AM | #I really do like the premise of this show, and the actors are top-notch. (Sure do wish we had Journeyman back, though.) But I'm going to have to quit watching if NBC reverts back to its "little child in seriously-twisted mortal danger" theme from Season 1. Although the episode where Allison helps the little lost soul on the playground at night was very touching, much of Season 1 left me near tears for thought of real children in real peril. Maybe that's what the writers intended. I know real children are in real danger in unspeakable situations every day, but I don't need to wallow in it. Now in the first episode of Season 3 I got to see a perfectly charming little boy who is virtually mummified by rat poison. And I got to vicariously live out my personal terror of turning my back one moment and losing my 5-year-old daughter forever. Season 2 was very interesting. I watched every episode, and liked them all, but if this is where this train is going this season, I'm jumping off. Are you listening, NBC?
just a dad | Jan 8, 2008 11:59:54 AM | #"just a dad" let me correct you, this was the season premier of SEASON 4. I applaud the writers and the creator of this show, Glen Gordon Caron for always keeping the storylines compelling and intersting. There are many twists and turns so it always keeps Medium fresh and new.
All of the actors, except Tina Di Joseph, deserve Emmy nominations. They do superb work week in and week out. Yes, they have written Scanlon as being a huge jerk to Allison, and, frankly after all of the time they have spent together, I don't see why they still have him as the sceptic, but I guess someone has to be. David Cubitt plays Scanlon to perfection. Jake Weber is the actor's name who plays Joe Dubois.
I was very pleased with this season opener. This is one of the BEST shows on TV today and depicts one of the most real families in all of television.
"just a dad" if you are paying attention, Medium's writers have done a terrific job of evolving the storylines from season to season and kept the characters evolving as well. While it would be horrific to lose a child, there are enough stupid people in the world that can never be reminded enough of how fragile life is and how important it is to embrace, love, and protect your loved ones every day.
Betty | Jan 8, 2008 3:26:00 PM | #Great show! While I was very disappointed when I heard Journeyman was being canceled (I'd like to see it back but on another night), I was a fan of Medium first and I still am. It's easy to forget the last previous episode when so much time has passed but after a few minutes it was almost like Medium had never left. I look forward to more of it! Jake Weber is great, too. His voice is soothing and reassuring. Joe Dubois is the almost perfect husband. This season started off with a bang and hopefully they will keep it up.
It was a bit shocking to see the child like they showed him but that's probably because it's such a family show, in that it's centered around a family. A year or two ago on Medium, they showed a dog being tortured by a killer. That was very hard to watch, too, but people have to know that these things really are horrific. Just glossing over them sometimes makes it harder for people to care when it happens in real life.
EL | Jan 8, 2008 4:53:38 PM | #Great show! While I was very disappointed when I heard Journeyman was being canceled (I'd like to see it back but on another night), I was a fan of Medium first and I still am. It's easy to forget the last previous episode when so much time has passed but after a few minutes it was almost like Medium had never left. I look forward to more of it! Jake Weber is great, too. His voice is soothing and reassuring. Joe Dubois is the almost perfect husband. This season started off with a bang and hopefully they will keep it up.
It was a bit shocking to see the child like they showed him but that's probably because it's such a family show, in that it's centered around a family. A year or two ago on Medium, they showed a dog being tortured by a killer. That was very hard to watch, too, but people have to know that these things really are horrific. Just glossing over them sometimes makes it harder for people to care when it happens in real life.
EL | Jan 8, 2008 4:53:49 PM | #So glad to have Medium back! It really makes Allison's gift/curse seem believable since she just sees bits & pieces of scenes and has to figure out what's going on. I agree and like the fact that Allison has a regular body like most of us with curves. Her hair did look great, was noticing that myself.
Since The Sound of Music is one of my favorite movies, I have to point out that the lead (Maria) did NOT sing 16 going on 17, which Ariel was singing at the beginning of the show.........that was the oldest daughter Liesel, which they could give that part now to Ariel.
I love Medium, so glad to see it back, but I am wondering what they are going to do this year. Surely things have to change with Allison outed last year. Will be be calling on Scanlon now and then and working for Angelica Huston? Will Davalos get his job back? Hope Joe finds more rocket science work.
BTW, I hated the way that girl sang the Sound of Music songs. So slooow and show off-y! Ariel, go for it!
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