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MEDIUM |
Season Overview
Allison Dubois - Patricia Arquette Joe Dubois - Jake Weber Manuel Devalos - Miguel Sandoval Lee Scanlon - David Cubitt 
OTHER MEDIUM SEASONS Season 1 Season 3 Season 4 Season 5 Season 6 THEY ALSO SEE DEAD PEOPLE Ghost Whisperer Haunted Afterlife Millennium 
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Season OverviewThere is very little to tell the second season of MEDIUM from the first. Each week brings a new case, a new set of dreams to solve the crime and a new domestic drama for the DuBois family, the DA and Detective Scanlon. They are also fairly interchangeable. whilst the stories are rarely anything to get overly excited about, the cast continue to be excellent. This show lives and dies by the performance of Patricia Arquette and she is easily equal to the job whilst getting solid support from Jake Weber, Miguel Sandoval and David Cubitt as the men in her life. Together, this cast makes the most of what they are given. The show is always watchable and occasionally comes up with a new wrinkle or remarkable sequence (The Song Remains the Same) to keep it fresh when it does show signs of becoming a touch repetitive. TopWhen Push Comes to ShoveIt's three months since Allison last dreamed and Captain Push remains in a coma since he cut the wires on his life support machine. The serial killer they had been chasing starts again and Allison 'meets' Push's father. She learns that her dream of a sperm donor is the key to the crimes, but that she must finish the dream. This means putting the delicate balance that she has manage to reforge with her husband under threat again. Season Two of the ghost-wrangling, crime-busting show opens with an episode that ties up the plot that provided the climactic cliffhanger to Season 1. It's more police procedural than anything else, visits from the coma victim's dead father notwithstanding. True, the main clue as to the identity of the killer comes from a dream, but everything else, the investigation and the sting to catch that person, is pure cop show. The home life has moved on and seems to have stabilised, but there is an undercurrent of unease that is not aided by a rather bizarre therapy session that leads to an admission of guilt that seems out of place. The cast are all back, comfortable with their roles and on good form. MEDIUM is back and welcome for it. Written by Glenn Gordon CaronDirected by Aaron Lipstadt Top The Song Remains the SameAllison gets a song stuck in her head so loudly that she can barely hear. This leads her to the broken ipod of a girl who must now be considered kidnapped. The local priest seems to know something about it, but cannot speak because it was told to him under seal of the confessional. Could Allison's dreams of a plane crash hold the answer? This episode opens with a startling dream sequence in the form of a red-drenched pop video to Gloria Gaynor's I Will Survive starring Patricia Arquette. It takes a few moments to get over that opening, but the constant playing of the song over the next ten minutes of the show with the dialogue muted and subtitled is equally startling, though far more annoying. At least there's a point to that. What there isn't a point to is the other dream that Allison is having in which she is witness to a plane crash. This will later be the clue to the location of the missing girl, but it relies on a coincidence of such utterly astounding proportions that it is hardly believable for a second. The debate over a priest's responsbilities under the seal of the confessional has all been done before, but does provide an interesting backdrop as the plot develops towards its unlikely denoument and Patricia Arquette's angry, frustrated performance is very strong. Shame about the ridiculous ending. Written by Bruce MillerDirected by Vincent Misiano Top Time Out of MindAllison dreams that she is a woman in the fifties who has been put into a mental institution because she has visions of being a woman in 2004 called Allison Dubois with a husband called Joe and three lovely children. Understandably spooked, she has to find out how that woman could know all about her fifty years before she was born in order to avert a modern tragedy. A change of tack and a welcome one as the loop between Allison and the woman in the fifties is both spooky and intriguing. The resolution is simple enough and a little predictable, but satisfying. Written by Robert DohertyDirected by Arliss Howard Top Light SleeperAllison's dreams turn into sleepwalking, sleepwalking into the middle of a highway, sleepwalking into the bank to withdraw a large amount of money and eventually sleepwalking to the crashed car of a millionaire who disappeared with his son. Forget the story about the kidnapped kid and the dead millionaire, this episode is all about the effect on the family of drink. Sure, Allison is sleepwalking, but that's just a metaphor for drinking and doing the crazy, dangerous things that drunks do. The destruction of a marriage, the break up of a family, the lack of understanding on either side, the shouting and the fear. It's all there to be seen and to be read, well played by Jake Weber as the husband trying to cope with all of this. By comparison, the kidnapping plot and the story about Allison's daughter wanting to walk home from school are irrelevances. Written by Peter EganDirected by Elodie Keene Top Sweet DreamsAllison starts to have dreams about a friend she had when she was in high school and sets out to find out what happened to her. At the same time, she is involved in a case trying to track down the missing daughter of a city official who may be guilty of more than losing his girl. Whilst it is initially interesting to see Allison as a young woman, the flashbacks to her youth become increasingly repetitive and dull. The case of the father who starts off as a porn fiend and gets worse is more interesting and certainly darker, although the two strands of the story are wrapped up a little more neatly than reality would suggest. Written by Moira KirlandDirected by Aaron Lipstadt Top Dead AimAllison dreams of a man walking into the DA's office and shooting everyone else in sight. Fortunately, that turns out not to be too literal, but then she has more immediate concerns when an old adversary in the courtroom is using a medium of his own to destroy the case she is working on. The massacre in the DA's office gives this episode an immediacy that raises it above the norm, which is really where it belongs. The story is nuts and bolts legal/police drama and only the presence of the other medium and the massacre dream makes it any different from any of the others. Written by Melinda HsuDirected by Richard Pearce Top Judge, Jury and ExecutionerJoe gets called up for jury service and life gets complicated as Allison starts to have dreams about the case, that of a man accused of allowing his wife to die through negligence. Allison believes that he was a little more active in his wife's death, but can't get involved as it could lead to the trial being called off due to her influence over Joe. Hard though it must be for two people in a situation like Allison and Joe, it is hard to believe that the spouse of someone working in the DA's office would not automatically be struck off any jury that the DA's office was prosecuting. The rest is a by the book detective story with a few dreams involving a deer just to give some hints. Not one of the best. Written by Bruce MillerDirected by Peter Werner Top Too Close to CallIt's election time and DA Devalos is trying to keep his job, so when Allison has a vision that could interfere with his big showcase court action, he tells her specifically to stay away from it. Instead, she ropes in Detective Scanlon and the man they suspect ends up in the hospital as the result of a car accident. It's nice to see Miguel Sandoval's DA Devalos go postal on Allison's ass when she makes a complete hash of the investigation, going against his orders and threatening his re-election. That she is eventually proved correct is beside the point. It is a salutory lesson and enlivens an otherwise fairly ordinary episode. The subplot in which an old flame of Joe's comes back into his life with an agenda only goes to highlight how impossible it would be to live with someone like Allison from whom you could keep no secrets. Written by Rene EchevarriaDirected by Steve Robman Top Still LifeAllison gets involved with paintings that come to life in 3D. This episode is partly in 3D and not generally shown in the UK for that reason. Therefore, no review is available. If you would like to add one, please click here to e-mail it to us. Written byDirected by Top The ReckoningAllison dreams of hitting a young girl with her car and also of a woman whose house appears to be haunted and who appears to have an abusive husband. Whilst living in paranoia of the accident, she comes to believe that these two dreams are not as unconnected as they appear. This episode is dominated by the performance by Suki Kaiser as the woman who fears she is losing her mind because of the strange hauntings that are going on in her house, hauntings that it becomes clear aren't bothering her husband as much. Hers is a fine showing that makes the woman's fear and desperation palpable. There is also a wonderful moment when the husband's cigarette smoke wafts over a ghostly face behind him that is guaranteed to raise chills. Written by Moira KirlandDirected by Aaron Lipstadt Top I Married a Mind ReaderAllison is ill and when she is ill her gifts go haywire. In this case, whilst watching reruns of an old black and white sitcom called I Married a Mind Reader she starts to dream about the scandal that killed one of the stars. Only in her dreams it didn't happen the way history tells it. OK, having the black and white tv show at the centre of the plot starts off like a gag episode, but it drifts back towards a normal type of episode with just extended dream sequences, some of which are in black and white. It also benefits from two excellent central performances from Paul Blackthorne (Harry in THE DRESDEN FILES) and Frances Fisher (EUREKA) as the bitchy leading stars. Whilst they're on the screen they're more fun to be around than the regular cast. The period is also lovingly realised, mainly through costume and hairstyles rather than any big touches, giving the whole thing much more authenticity and making this one of the more fun episodes. Written by Rene EchevarriaDirected by Duane Clark Top Doctor's OrdersA spirit that is responsible for a string of murders carried out by doctors under his influence takes an interest in Allison's oldest daughter, leading her to believe that she is his next victim. So why is she dreaming about a butcher and why has she been arrested? This episode is a direct sequel to Penny For Your Thoughts and whilst it isn't necessary to have seen that it certainly helps to be familiar with the evil spirit to up the creep factor. There's plenty more for Mark A Sheppard to do as the evil spirit as he is given the screen time rather than being seen as his victim which was the case last time around and he makes the most of it. The plot, told between Allison being arrested and jailed as flashback, cleverly builds up the plot against her and is very effective. It is just a shame that it wimps out and doesn't take it to what would have been the logical and more interesting conclusion. Written by Rene EchevarriaDirected by Helen Shaver Top Raising CainAllison helps in the case of a missing boy where it becomes clear that the god-fearing mother tried to kill him because of the evil that is inside him. When Allison dreams of that boy carrying out a massacre in High School, she wonders if she should be helping him at all. Is the prevention of an atrocity justification for the carrying out of a smaller atrocity? That's the dilemma facing Allison this time around, but it's the only thing that actually stops this from descending into total dullness. Even the usually reliable scenes of domestic chaos are uninteresting. Written by Craig SweenyDirected by Ed Sherin Top A Changed ManAllison has a fall and gets an MRI scan of her head to see if everything is OK. The scan locates an abnormality that might explain her 'gifts'. When the same is found in one of the girls, Joe is delighted to finally have a rational explanation, but Allison is more concerned with the man she meets in the waiting room. Allison knows she is special and likes to feel that, so when it turns out that it might all be because of the brain abnormality she is far less thrilled than her husband who hopes to have an explanation for his scientific mind finally. It's a clash of views that is nicely underplayed by the two leads and certainly overshadows the otherwise fairly standard police procedural sub-story. Written by Bruce MillerDirected by Lewis H. Gould Top Sweet Child O' MineAllison has a dream of the son that she miscarried some fifteen years earlier. When the same boy shows up in a murder investigation, Allison finds herself trying to justify him, but is it more than a case of maternal instinct in overdrive. The mystery at the heart of this episode relies on a coincidence of such epic proportions as to make it ridiculous. Much more interesting is the guilt and pain that Allison continues to carry around for her miscarried child even a decade and a half later. It's the kind of subdued hurt that is easy to believe in, especially when delivered by the always excellent Patricia Arquette. Written by Moira KirlandDirected by Perry Lang Top Allison WonderlandAllison dreams that David Carradine is thrown off the top of a tall building. The next day, DA Devalos asks Allison to help find the mentally disturbed brother of some friends. She tracks him down to LA, but he is dead - thrown of a building. Apart from the fact that the dead man is appearing in the guise of actor David Carradine (he's mentally disturbed and this is how he sees himself) this is a standard MEDIUM plot that doesn't do anything new enough to stand out from all the others. The subplot about one of the daughters potentially channelling the dead author of one her favourite books is equally uninteresting. Great title though. Written by Bernadette McNamaraDirected by Michael T Moore Top Lucky in LoveAllison dreams that her brother is involved in a bank robbery and then he shows up in Phoenix with a shy girlfriend in tow. The bank robbery goes down and Allison is racked by doubts as to whether her brother really was there. Allison's family is riddled with the ability to see ghosts and so what actually happens to Allison's brother (the 'Lucky' of the title) is obvious right from the get go. That his girlfriend is a con artist is as clear as day, but that she is also a ghost takes a little longer to work out. Once you have, however, everything then follows a fairly predictable course. Written by Robert DohertyDirected by David Jones (III) Top SOSAllison is getting signals about girls who have minor problems (a fall from a rock, car breakdown, home alone and scared) who then turn up dead very soon after. The press get wind of a serial killer they dub the Bad Samaritan and also learn that Allison saved one of the attempted victims, necessitating a public statement and a more private conversation with the girls. Then she realises that the killer is someone like her and has dreamed of where she lives. Forget the police procedural side of this story as it gets nowhere at all and comes to an incredibly anticlimactic end. The focus of this episode is on Allison and telling the truth about who she is and what she can do. To the public, she has to lie in order to save herself from the media frenzy that would have followed the truth, but with her family she finally has to tell the truth, knowing that her girls are children who could spill the beans at any time. Even the interesting plot twists of having the killer being endowed with the same talents as Allison and having a killer threaten her family are wasted, thrown away when they could have proved to be the core of another story. Written by Rob PearlsteinDirected by Tim Squyres Top Knowing HerThree women are found dead and assumed to be murdered drug mules. Unfortunately, one of them doesn't fit the profile and Allison's dreams put Detective Scanlon right at the heart of the case. David Cubitt's self-confident, sometimes smug, detective has been around since the start in a supporting role, but this episode puts him front and centre of the stage, giving him a backstory and some depth for the first time. It's not a particularly original backstory and the depth isn't that deep, but it makes a nice change to see him as more than just a minor character. It's just a little confusing and hard to tell when Allison is dreaming and when we are seeing the true events around Detective Scanlon as there is often to frame of reference to suggest which is which. Written by Glenn Gordon CaronDirected by David Paymer Top The Darkness is Light EnoughAllison dreams of a girl being kissed by a faceless man. She turns out to be blind, but sure that someone is watching her sleep in her own apartment. Her story might be the clue to a five year old miscarriage of justice, but can she make anyone believe her? Molly Ringwald plays the blind girl and makes a convincing job of it too, making her character much more real than the vulnerable woman she might have been, going for spiky and annoyed. Unfortunately, the rest of the plot isn't up to doing her justice as it meanders around, repeating the dreams and getting nowhere else fast. The insistence of the side plot with Joe being threatened in his job by a younger man is just annoying. Written by Ken Kelsch, Nicolas Wauters & Analisa BrouetDirected by Aaron Lipstadt Top Death Takes a PolicyAllison finds herself in the company of Death, looking down at her own funeral. The next day, she is almost hit by a truck. When she sees the face of her Death in an advert for life insurance, she uncovers an unconventional plot. Kelsey Grammar guests as Death and the insurance man, managing to be slimy and disreputable in both without a glimmer of his FRASIER comedy persona. The idea that she herself is going to die comes home hard to Allison and leaves her rattled and unwilling to drive, leading to some amusement at the lengths she has to go to in order to get a lift. Otherwise, though, this is a bog standard episode - competent without being special. Written by Diane Ademu-JohnDirected by Ed Sherin Top Twice Upon a TimeAllison's grandmother turns up in a dream about a day that changed Allison's life. Whilst in reality she finds her life unravelling as she loses her job and the public become aware of her abilities, her dreams tell the story of what her life would have been like had she gone on to become an expensive lawyer. The alternate reality story comes around in most genre shows sooner or later and a show that is based on dreams means that it is far too easy a target to miss, so we are treated to Allison as a high-priced and moral-free lawyer with no kids and a husband who really doesn't love her. All of this is signified by the fact that she has a different suit and hairstyle. It doesn't really matter because it's clear from very early on that this life isn't making her happy and also that it's a dream. Much more interesting is the story of her present day life coming apart at the seams as her job collapses and she becomes a media target. Sadly, it's all a twist too far by the end. Written by René EchevarriaDirected by Ronald L. Schwary Top |
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