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Rating:  -
"Medium" has been my favorite show on television for six seasons. This fifth season DVD continues the excellent quality of the video series. The show's great strength is anchored on Patricia Arquette's range as an actress. Her warmth with the camera lets us see a complete woman, flaws and all. It was interesting to watch Arquettes's interview on the special features on disc 5 where she relates that she is not an overly emotional person, which is dissimilar between her the character of Allison. The balance between the family dynamic, Allison's psychic experiences and the mystery of solving a criminal case and trying to fit the pieces together makes the show intriguing week after week. The excellent cast of regulars and guest stars make each episode a quality treat.
I showed the episode "A Person of Interest" to the acting class I teach to spark discussion about the difference between acting for television and film. Jake Weber's interview with Arquette also has some tips about the accelerated pace of television shooting and the way she sometimes generates an interior emotion like crying by first working on the externals. I appreciated how Arquette comments on the quality of the actor who plays the young man who plays the flashback engineer whose father burns his hand on the stovetop in that particular episode.
The fifth season episodes are very strong. Arquette directed the first episode "Soul Survivor" where the soul of a criminal transfers into the body of a miner with a spike in his head. How the episode unfolds to show a parallel story of a man who has convinced a woman that he is the incarnation of her dead husband is great writing. "How to Make a Killing in Business" is an excellent 3-part story arc where Allison leaves the DA's office to accept a high salary job in the corporate world, only to have all of the plot weave back into the solving of a grizzly crime. I was pleased to see Angelica Huston return and the actress from the old "Moonlighting" series in "The Talented Ms. Boddicker." The only suggestion I might have on the DVD package is to have a booklet with the cast delineated episode by episode. I noted the woman whose face is all over television on the new "V" series was in the "Things to Do in Phoenix When You're Dead" episode. I'd liked to have read a bit about each actor. That said, this is another excellent season of what I experience as the best show on television. Bravo!
Rating:  -
Lots of shows have played around with the premonition and psychic vision backbone that forms the procedural skeleton of countless television shows. Whether it's a live Ouija-board-esque, host talks to dead relative half hour spook show or a 42-minute narrative about solving clues with a sixth sense, there's a basic requirement for admission to each show: you have to want to believe. Belief as a fundamental tool has seen just as much play on the screen as shows about the skeptics and frauds (House, Psych, Mentalist - or any show that uses deductive reasoning in lieu of supernatural forces). Medium, however, lies firmly on the side of pure unwavering belief. Even when protagonist Allison Dubois temporarily loses her ability the show never ceases to pound home its message "there is validity to psychic abilities". The series spent a good deal of time mapping out the eccentricities of Allison's gift and now, in its fifth season gets to expand and deal more the effects of life on the ability, and not just vice versa.
First off, if you don't already know, what is a "medium"? It's an intermediary for communication, in this instance, between the dead and the living. Allison (Patricia Arquette) has been assisting District Attorney Manuel Devalos (Miguel Sandoval) and detective Scanlon (David Cubitt) with investigations ever since her gift manifested in the first season. The fourth season came to a close with Allison's relationship with the investigators-for-hire company Ameri-Tips ending, Joe (Jake Weber) breaking off his business deal with his multimillionaire partner (Kelly Preston) and their daughters gradually coming to understand the gift they've inherited from their mother. Plus, Devalos has been re-elected to District Attorney, a move that reopens doors for Allison.
Only, Allison doesn't open the door all the way. She takes on cases to keep the episode's working on a show by show basis, but at home her personal life (and the drama which emanates there from) stutters to a crawl. A few interesting subplots arise including Allison's vision of a coming apocalypse and a serial killer haunting her dreams. However, these plots are disappointingly shallow and the show seems to lose steam halfway through the season - at least on the part of the adults. Instead, a good deal of attention is relocated to her daughters Ariel (Sofia Vassilieva) and Bridgette (Maria Lark) who deal with their gifts in adolescent and teenaged settings. It's an interesting shift, but you can't help but feel like the show is starting to spin-off within itself into a teenage-aimed drama about being able to predict the winner of a science fair or which essay questions will appear on the big test.
Supporting the adult departure idea is the absence of Weber in the final quarter of the season as he "moves" to San Diego [read: takes a hiatus from the show?]. Furthermore, the end of the season, which we won't spoil here, feels tacked on. Nevermind that it steals a very prominent causation device from the recently canceled Eli Stone. Medium's fifth season shows signs of wear on the series and a lack of interesting storylines in comparison to past seasons. If the show wants to stay relevant it needs to reestablish itself as the type of show which made it popular 4 years ago.
DVD Bonus Features:
The season 5 set has a smattering of extra features that actually break away from the all too typical offerings of TV seasons these days. The one item in the extras that feels somewhat ordinary is the "making of" featurette which has all the typical talking heads from the cast, crew and creators as they smile at the camera between takes and talk about the concept which broke the 100 episode mark in this season. The second featurette "Apocalypse...Now?" discusses the biggest subplot of the season, its realization and how they decided to execute it. The final two featurettes give us face to face time with Patricia Arquette and Jake Weber before giving us a nice little profile of one of the child actors from the show.
Rating: -
This is the fifth season of MEDIUM a creative, excellently executed drama that is one of the best on television. There are 18 episodes in this excellent season. And thank goodness this was its last season on NBC which never treated it as the quality show it is. Always a midseason replacement, always a chance of cancellation and never given quality promotion. I can give huge kudos to CBS which now carries MEDIUM this season. It has premiered gloriously in the fall like it deserves and the show's storyline has flowed effortlessly from the end of season 5.
Now back to season 5 which this review is about. MEDIUM has always been a rarity on television for its characters are very believable and real. Yes, Allison has dreams and that is the basis of the show. But foremost Allison is a wife and mother. She is not always perfect. She is human and tries her best to do good and juggle all these things. The show in no way uses the dreams as a gimmick. They are a part of Allison's life and they become real to the viewer. Her husband Joe is the perfect partner for her. He struggles often on how to be there for her as the dreams envelop her life but they have a true marriage based on love, friendship and acceptance. The three children are also very real. This is your average family that must deal with some added kicks in life. The daughters have picked up their mothers gift and life is often unpredictable.
But if you watch the show you know all this. The professional side of her life with the DA and the police department is just as believable. The highest kudos for the success of this show must go to the writers and the great ensemble cast. Every actor carries their load with great conviction. Led by the great Patricia Arquette this show for all its sordid and scary moments is based on heart. Her acting is so flawless here that you don't even realize she is doing it. Every emotion is real and every dilemma heartfelt. Allison Dubois becomes very real in her hands.
All series these days are released on dvd but MEDIUM is one that is a must have if you enjoy the show or its genre. The tension and continuity gets lost sometimes on tv with the commercials breaking in. To see it with no interruption adds to the drama and emotion immensely. Also, for all the different dreams she has there is a story line about her family and all the characters that has been a continuous ongoing drama since season one. Season five breaks the mold a little and has a 2 parter and a 3 parter. Tension runs strong as Allison is pursued by a killer who believes her dreams are signs from the devil and the show gets very very creative when Allison leaves the DA's office for a unique job opportunity. The story line is very creative and adds to the already deep drama.
The ending of the season is very dramatic with a heartwrenching conclusion that leaves a lot in the air as it provides the opportunity for the show to continue or end as no one really knew what was in the cards at that time. I won't give away the storyline but the last episodes of saeason five are among the best of the entire run of this series.
MEDIUM is television of the highest caliber and thanks to Patricia Arquette and crew the standards continue to remain very high. This is a very intense show filled with deep psychological drama and many scares. Highly recommended.
Rating: -
I dig this show because it is often dark and even a little scary. It's a show my wife and I can watch together. That being said, we can both usually figure out where the plot is going 5 to 10 minutes in and the way both the husband and district attorney seem to doubt her abilities over and over again every episode is a little silly. How many times does she have to do something paranormal before they just shut up and take her word for it? Flawed but still fun television show.
Rating: -
This show has a likable, great cast. I honestly keep forgetting that Patricia Arquette is acting. She is so convincing that it's hard not to take the character of Allison seriously, instead of "what a loon." I'm a mom and it's WONDERFUL to see someone who looks like a mom instead of glamourous star with tons of makeup. Joe and Allison have real fights. Joe isn't perfect. Allison isn't perfect. Their marriage deals with faith and trust in each other, broken cars, losing jobs, taking kids to the doctor, etc. I love the family relationships. The kids act like, well, normal kids. Is anyone else tired of "super-brainy," mouthy brats being promoted on TV?
The DA, lead detective, and deputy mayor make up the other side of Allison's life. Another great ensemble! All three are down to earth and none fit into the usual niches of their roles. The DA doesn't act like a law book. The lead detective doesn't act like Starsky or Hutch. The deputy mayor is both logical and calming. They're intriguing characters and I would like to hear more of their stories, too.
I was SO glad that CBS picked up "Medium!" I am hoping that CBS will do a better job in promoting this little gem filled with a new mystery every week. With NBC and its crazy scheduling, I missed the first couple of episodes before I knew that it was back on the air. Never got to see reruns during the summer--I hope that changes.
I've purchased the first four seasons and am looking forward to this release!
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