Customer Reviews

Ghost Whisperer: Seasons 1-4

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I watched one of these episodes on T.V. one day and was hooked. I wanted to see the rest of the episodes. I wanted to see them from the very start. When I found them here on Amazon I was excited and had to buy them. I checked the prices at Best Buy and Walmart for these four seasons and they were pretty pricey if I bought them individually. I am very happy with my purchase. I love it!!!!!!!

What can I say? I'd heard about this show when it first aired but never watched a single episode mainly because I just kinda forgot about it. Then, some months ago, I see that SciFi is broadcasting a number of episodes in a row and, on a whim, I sat down to watch. I got hooked, even from watching eps from season 3 and not having any background from the previous seasons.

The show has a nice element of creepiness, an occasional touch of horror, suspense, intrigue, and can also make you laugh. And it can get rather touching, too. The show really does a nice job of blending a lot of emotions together without going to one extreme or the other. The pacing of the stories is good and even though there's an occasional, noticeable, storyline pattern detectable when watching one episode after another, it doesn't take away from the show due to the solid writing.

It's a good show. Check it out.

I am 100% satisfied with my purchase!!!!!! I was a HUGE HUGE FAN of the Ghost Whisperer Series and was devastated when I heard the show had been cancelled. I still can't believe they cancelled season Five half way through the season!!!! WHAT WERE THEY THINKING????
I got Ghost Whisperer: Seasons 1-4 and I highly recommended it to any fan of this show!!! I am just waiting for a release date of Season Five and I will be purchasing that one as well. My purchase was delivered promptly and before estimated delivery date.
D. Goulet

I just love this finctional but entertaining show. It is so nice watching this without commercials, interruptions, and waiting for the next week to see what happens next.

[This review is spoiler-free!]

SHOW OVERVIEW

For those of you like me who would pass by this show because of its supernatural ties, know that it is full of substance, not relying on any dazzling paranormal special effects to compensate for lack of depth. As another reviewer notes, the show uses the ghosts to explore human relationships, both among the living and the dead, rather than just for scares or oohs and ahhs. To classify it, the show is a drama with some laughs, romance, mystery, and moments of horror mixed in. I adore this show, but I admit it has its melodramatic or corny/sappy moments.

CHARACTERS: Even more so than plot and Melinda's day-to-day hauntings, Ghost Whisperer is about quality character development. The main characters are likable, and relatable, despite their extraordinary brushes with the afterlife. A few episodes in, and you feel like you know them personally, so you care about them. Melinda Gordon (Jennifer Love Hewitt), the gifted protagonist who runs an antique shop, is simply a good person: she's compassionate, thoughtful, empathetic, and genuine. You admire her. She also maintains her relatability--when she tears up, so will you! Though I agree with many viewers that the generous necklines characteristic of her wardrobe are needlessly distracting, and Hewitt's fake lashes are a bit too much, somehow Melinda's down-to-earth personality seems genuine enough that you grow to overlook her showcasing.

Melinda's husband, Jim Clancy (David Conrad), a paramedic and firefighter, is similarly sincere. He's sensitive, caring, understanding, and supportive, all while upholding his masculinity, refreshingly. As a couple, Melinda and Jim share a touching emotional connection--and perhaps too perfect a relationship, some say. But this is my response: Shows do not offer us a look at any character's life 24/7. What we are shown are the times that best exemplify the characters. If in the first episode and multiple ones thereafter, we had seen Jim and Melinda get in a tiff, what would our impression be of their relationship as a whole? We'd think their marriage was tumultuous. Instead, we are offered a picture of a typically harmonious couple, so that when there IS a conflict, we immediately realize the gravity of the issue pitting them against each other.

Melinda's character evolution seems natural. Her wardrobe also becomes less eclectic as she gains greater footing in the spiritual world and boosts her confidence and experience. There are a few cast changes/additions over the seasons, including the inexplicable sudden aging of one child character. I think these changes are positive, aside from the addition of Jaime Kennedy's character Eli, who I think utterly lacks charm.

PLOT: Storylines per episode involve Melinda communicating with earthbound spirits and the loved ones those spirits left behind, helping them conduct their "unfinished business with the living." They start with an encounter and end with what always aims to be a poignant, upbeat closure. While I agree with some viewers that the plots are predictable to the point of redundancy, I disagree that such patterning detracts from the show. Just look at crime shows like CSI. You know there is going to be some wrongdoing, and that the show will likely open with the event and close with the crime's resolution and the capture of the culprit. But you still watch the show, and perhaps you even re-watch episodes even once the mystery is gone because you want to revisit a particular storyline or character. That's how it is with Ghost Whisperer.

Underlying these spurts of action--and increasing in presence as the seasons progress--is a greater, more sinister plot: the growing power among the dark earthbound spirits.

SPECIAL FEATURES

There are a good number of special features throughout the seasons, including deleted scenes, audio commentary, and blooper reels (which are not there for every episode), as well as interactive games; behind-the-scenes sneak-peeks at wardrobe, ghost make-up, the cast, and the music; and miscellaneous tidbits such as "A Tour of Grandview" and "Ghost Whisperer Mythology."

**Note: The Season One box reads, "Some music has been changed in this home entertainment version," and Season Two reads, "Some episodes may be edited from their original network version," without specifying how.

*A NOTE ON WHERE TO BUY*
Amazon does not offer the best deal as of right now. Here are some of the competitors' prices as of June 9, 2011:

Wal-Mart: $94.96, Barnes and Noble: $79.95; not carried at Target, Books a Million, Borders, or Best Buy

I placed an order for a set of DVD's: Complete seasons 1-4 Ghost Whisperer with this seller and paid for 2-day express shipping. The order was placed on June 20, and when I hadn't received it by June 24, I contacted the seller. When I hadn't received an email response about my order by June 25, I got online to write this poor review for poor customer service and communication. I still have not received my order and it's been 5 days. :(

The DVDs arrived in a very short manner of time and in excellent condition !!!!!

I ordered this for my wife for a Christmas present and it arrived on time and before the 25th. It was new and what I expected.

I bought this item for my wife (for Christmas) who is a big fan of Ghost Whisperer. I can't wait til she opens it up. There were other sites that offered it cheaper (from the UK) but you get what you pay for.

[note: this is a review of the series, not the DVDs so much]

So, this is what Jessica Love Hewitt is up to these days. I'm not a fan of ghost stories generally and would normally warn those who aren't to shy away from this series. However, if you can get by the ghosts, several of the episodes use the ghost story as a plot device to explore compelling HUMAN stories (somewhat like Hewitt's film "If Only"). As such, even if you don't like ghosts, read on:

The good:
In the episodes I've seen at least, the story with the ghosts provided a segway into a far more compelling human drama. For example, in one episode I saw, the ghosts torment a father and daughter who feel guilty over the mother's death. The emotionally compelling part of the episode was seeing the father and daughter deal with their guilt and frustration. Hewitt, as the ghost whisperer, indirectly helps these catharses.

Now, the bad:
The ghosts aren't subtle. With a few exceptions (generally shadows in a dark room), the ghosts look and act just like normal people, only that "only" Hewitt can see them. There's no especially pale skin, glow, or anything else to make the ghosts seem supernatural. Admittedly, this varies by episode, and some ghosts seem to have supernatural powers. Still, don't expect freaky special effects.

In short, if you like the type of sitcom/dramas generally shown on the WE channel, you might like Ghost Whisperer. Don't be too turned off by the ghosts in the stories (even if the ghosts can get snarky at times). However, this isn't a sci-fi series or comedy sitcom.