Customer Reviews

Medium - The Third Season

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

After a successful first year staring in January 2005, MEDIUM is now in its fourth year of interviewing ghosts and tracking down their killers. It will return in January 2008. When I first saw the trailers for the show, I didn't know if I would be all that interested. After all, the concept of a psychic solving crimes isn't new and has been often times been nearly run into the ground by movies, books, and television episodes of characters that get haunted by apparitions.

But "Do you believe in ghosts?" seems to be a popular perennial topic. People love arguing over the afterlife and what shape it will take. Interestingly enough, at the same time MEDIUM was airing, GHOST WHISPERER was already in development at another network. GHOST WHISPERER focuses more on relationship-driven plots, but does occasionally deal with crime victims.

From the very beginning, though, MEDIUM was all about the crimes. Think of it as CSI with ghosts. Court TV also offers PSYCHIC DETECTIVES, a reality-based recreation of criminal cases that were solved, or at least investigated, by real psychics. There is plenty of interest in the subject, and the market doesn't appear to be nearing saturation yet.

In fact, the show is based - somewhat - on the real life of Allison DuBois, a practicing psychic who once interned at the district attorney's office in Glendale, Arizona. The character Allison DuBois, portrayed so charmingly by Patricia Arquette, is also a wife and mother of three daughters. Haunted by her dreams and contacts with the afterlife, Allison is drawn to solving crimes. In the opening season, she was met with staunch resistance but eventually won a position in the district attorney's office.

Now in this third season DVD collection, Allison is an old hand at shepherding ghosts and solving crimes. As she's gone along, though, the crimes have gotten more personal and hit closer to home. Jake Weber plays Allison's husband, Joe. He's, literally, a rocket scientist. Together, they couldn't come from more different backgrounds, but they make everything work. Their relationship is the backbone of this show, and Jake's reaction and struggles with dealing with Allison's "gift" is what brings me back again and again.

I love how the whole family gets along. Joe is adrift in a sea of estrogen and female stress, yet he's got his own problems as he battles job pressures and Allison's dreams that haunt them both at night. Not only that, but the stress that Allison and his kids bring into his life isn't something he can talk about with any of his work buddies. Allison is the hero of the show, but Joe is my personal hero. The way he deals with everything, the way he's just one inch away from constantly being overwhelmed, makes me root for him all the time.

Season 3 brings a lot of the action into the family arena. The past couple episodes have touched on the family, but as the girls have gotten older and come into their own powers, more emphasis has been placed on that. The girls - Bridgette, Ariel, and Marie - are amazing in their own right. They're not perfect. I like the fact that they come across as real kids with real issues and real rebellion at times. Marie is played by Madison and Miranda Carabello. Bridgette is played by Maria Lark. Ariel is played by fan-favorite Sofia Vassilieva.

The season opener is a two-part story, "Four Dreams Part 1" and "Four Dreams Part 2", has Allison and Bridgette working together to solve one of Allison's cases. Marie's problems surface in "Profiles in Terror" and tie into Allison's battle with an abrasive FBI profiler whose findings don't agree with hers. "Mother's Little Helper" focuses on Allison and Ariel as they share dreams. One of the strongest episodes of the season is "Second Opinion" because it involves the possible future Marie, and Allison's fears. Those fears are the same ones faced by many parents in the world today. This one hit especially close to home for me because I've had to deal with a cancer scare with my own daughter. This is the kind of writing that makes an episode of MEDIUM double-down with excitement and emotional weight.

The episodes involving the volatile relationship Joe and Allison share are the best. That relationship gets touched on in "Ghost in the Machine" as the result of a camera Allison gets for Joe as a present. The idea of a camera (although it's a camcorder in this case) that can show images from the future or past isn't new, but the episode still manages to throw an edge on the story. "Apocalypse, Push" reunites Allison with the Texas Ranger she first helped in the series' premiere episode, but it also features Joe as he has to deal with issues that again make him a real character to me and the show's fans. "Very Merry Maggie" has Joe worrying about his health, and Allison is so busy that she can't give his situation or mental drain the attention she otherwise would.

The best of the Joe-centric episodes come at the end of the season, though. In "Joe Day Afternoon," Joe gets held hostage at his job. The problems he has to deal with as a result crop up again in "No One To Watch Over Me" as he has to go back to work and still has a lot of residual fear. "Head Games" and "Heads Will Roll" features Joe's decision whether to join a lawsuit against his employer. I love Joe. My heart goes out to him. I know he's a fictional character, but Weber just plays him so well that I believe if he really existed, this is just how he would be.

In addition to her husband and daughters, Allison also has a brother. Michael has some of the same powers Allison has. He's featured in "1-900-Lucky" where his job as a hot-line psychic leads him into the same crime investigation Allison's already working on.

When the family isn't featured in the spotlight so much, the season relied on the fabulous and intriguing natures of the crimes Allison becomes involved with. "Be Kind, Rewind" slams Allison with haunting dreams about losing her legs, and plays the emotional card that brings in the viewers. Dr. Charles Walker, Allison's recurring foe that first appeared in first season's "Penny for Your Thoughts," puts in an appearance in this season's "Blood Relation." These episodes are always chilling.

"The Whole Truth" is a heartbreaker because it involves Allison's search for a little boy. These episodes where a ticking clock is involved always fuels the interest and I can't help but love them. "Better Off Dead" has a twist involving ghosts that is fantastic and fun. "Very Merry Maggie" is creepy, and shows how much the series can bounce back and forth between fun, interesting, and downright scary.

"The One Behind the Wheel" puts Allison at risk, and those episodes are always crowd pleasers. I can't help but be more interested when Allison is menaced. No matter what the other people in her life think, she's always alone ultimately. "We Had a Dream" has a psychic killer who tracks her down to her home. Allison's younger self puts in an appearance in "The Boy Next Door" and gives viewers a glimpse of what her life was like as she was growing up. "Whatever Possessed You" has two investigations that ultimately pull together in a surprising way.
The final three episodes of the season pull a lot of things together and build a larger, more emotional story. "Head Games," "Heads Will Roll," and "Everything Comes to a Head" builds tension and the threat level to Allison, Joe, and their marriage as outside pressures threaten to cave in on them. And Allison has to go outside her normal activities to bring a killer to justice.

MEDIUM is an amazing show. I love the episodes because most of them are self-contained and don't require constant attention to the series to understand what's going on. You can dip in and out of the season and keep up - except for the continued shows. But that's what I pick the DVD sets up for: to see the episodes I might have inadvertently missed and to revisit favorite episodes.

If you're a fan of the series, the third season set is out and keep the same great standards as the first two sets. If you haven't seen the series before, this season rounds out the series and makes the characters even stronger than before. You can start here with this one and know what's going on.

Unfortunately, special features are almost non-existent. I would love to see some behind-the-scenes stuff, some interviews with the real Allison DuBois and maybe the district attorney she worked for, as well as background on real-life cases that the medium solved. I love the show, but I would love finding out more about the real person it's based on as well.

This season (3) the plot-lines become more intense, and the characters are more developed. Finally, I can feel a connection for Mr. Dubois, who is now a fleshed out and sympathetic character, as he deals with a difficult trauma in the story, and Allison, deals with her (and her D.A. boss') worst fear.

This is very good TV, well acted and well written, but as always, not a kid friendly show, but good for a late night scare!

Great season, great season finale 3 parter eps. Patricia Arquette was nom's for an Emmy, SAG, and Golden Globe this year...the reasons are all evident in this series. She should bve winning MORE awards for her honest portlayal.
But this set, great show!

I started watching Medium during the first season, and have followed it all the way to the present. I LOVE THIS SHOW! It's intriguing and suspenseful, and everything a well thought out drama should be. I have always loved detective and supernatural fiction whether in paper or television format, and I think that this show continues to bring a perfect blend of these two elements into its current season. I look forward to seeing more seasons in the future from this wonderful and intelligent show.

The 22 episodes in the Season 3 DVD of "Medium" are incredibly written tight dramas that show how commercial television touch TV art. In short, "Medium" is the only show on television this year that I HAVE to watch. The formula is so exquisitely balanced between the paranormal aspect of Allison and her children's dreams, the crime dramas of Allison's job, and the balance of family. The writing on Season 3 maintains consistent quality. The regular cast and the impressive players in the episodes are excellent.

Patricia Arquette is breathtaking to watch. The scene in "Be Kind, Rewind" where she wakes up in a hospital bed to make a gruesome discovery sets the hair standing on end on my arms. In "The One Behind the Wheel" Arquette takes on a different character of Sandra and totally plays the differences with astounding concentration.

Jake Weber's character endures a violent encounter in "Joe Day Afternoon" in an apparent homage to "Dog Day Afternoon." Weber's character stews in his subsequent depression to create a well-stirred sauce of self-pity and very real demands on his household.

Ariel played by now teen heartthrob Sofia Vassilieva has a great episode in a homage to the film "Carrie" where we see the same vat of blood poured upon her head. Maria Lark as Bridget is hysterical in the gag real as she pronounces her math teacher's name about 50 different ways.

The themes this season are also extremely heady. In "Second Opinion" we see the fears of families facing leukemia. In "The Boy Next Door," "Very Merry Maggie," and "The Whole Truth" we face predators & child abuse.

Neve Campbell's portrayal of the reporter who befriends and betrays Allison turned my stomach with such a brazen but reasonable character. Campbell does incredibly well. Jason Priestly also stars as the husband who tries to murder his way out of his prenup. Patricia Arquette's real-life husband Tom Jane stars as an old boyfriend, which creates jealousy in Joe who tries to banish the ghost from his house. One of my favorite episodes brings back Allison's brother Michael as a telephone psychic who gets involved in a case in "1-800-LUCKY." There are no weak episodes. The special features over the six-disc set are entertaining and fascinating. This is an excellent package from this riveting series. Bravo!

I am a recent widow and this show filled empty hands with comfort.
Since season 1, my favorite Joe's appearance became increased and Alison getting chubby.
This is the great marketing by production because most house wives are far from "Desperate house wives" beauty but they (include me) need husband like Joe.
He listens to wife, took care of their kids, has lot of hair, even he makes coffee for them and gives good night kisses for kids!! What a perfect husband he is!
My favorite program was "Valentine's day" (am I correct?). Alison was someone's personality but Joe escorted (follow) wherever she goes. That theme music and Joe's sorry face was in my head for a whole and constantly made me cry at work. Gush!
I'll guarantee you you'll stock this show if you are 30 something or up. No offence, but don't waste your time at "Ghost wispier" like as I used to.

A great show that wonderfully combines a drama that is a thriller with a family element included. In the 3rd season the actors have grown into their roles as opposed to grown bored of them. A year that brought Patricia Arquette both Emmy & Golden Globe nominations. Maria Lark never fails to delight with her quirky yet, realistic portrayal of Bridgette. We also see Jake Weber as Joe, and Sofia Vassilieva as Ariel stretch their acting abilities to new heights in season 3.

This is a perfect DVD release in every way. All DVD's should be released like Medium. I watched everything on all six discs and enjoyed it all. Full, uncut episodes. Single sided discs. Two discs per separate plastic container. Three containers in all enclosed in a storage box. Lots of bonus material; commentaries by cast and crew, deleted scenes, the making of mini documentary, etc. The discs play flawlessly, color is perfect, picture quality is top notich, sound is great. This set contains the episode, JOE DAY AFTERNOON where Joe is taken hostage at work, which begins a story line of four more continuing episodes culminating in a closely guarded secret being revealed. (I won't give it away incase you haven't seen it yet.) What's the meaning of my review title? You'll just have to watch the bonus material in the set to find out.

I know I should be thrilled by the whole concept of the show. But the real reason why I find this show is captivating is because of Joe DuBois. He holds the family together. He is subjected to something that defy scientific logics and yet he was able to handle it in a rational and practical manner. I also found some kind of routine here in most of the episodes.. breakfast table and bedroom. This is were the real essence of the story becomes strong. The children, the strength of Allison and Joe's relationship, but most of all the strength of Joe's personal character, his responsibilities and devotion to his family. He is not perfect.. he has his ups and downs, even his dead father thinks that he is incapable of making adult decisions. But I think he is the pillar of the family. Without his character (in this show) I don't think 'Medium' will be any different from other psychic shows. The only reason why I dont want to give it a 5 is because Joe's characters in real life doesn't really exist.

I can hardly wait for each new Medium Series DVD to be released. This series is so interesting with the drama of a detective series, and the humor of family life. I love watching this series over and over. I know I will be getting my copy quicker through Amazon, and I don't have to search from store to store to find it.