The Primetime Dish

So this past Monday was the season finale of “Medium.” Alas there will be no more dreams and psychic visions until next February when the show begins airing again. The season finale wrapped up several stories nicely, but for once there was no cliff hanger.

Alison was hired by a lawyer to try and prove that his house wasn’t haunted, as his wife was convinced she was hearing a baby crying. Alison didn’t feel anything, but later had a dream that a woman drowned her child in the house. A quick search confirmed it, and the lawyer admitted he knew, but only after they bought the house. He had sunk so much money into it, he couldn’t afford to move and he knew the wife would want to. After the wife found out the truth, she killed herself in the tub the kid drowned in. Worse yet, a note was left by the wife in Alison’s mailbox saying if anything happened to her, she did not take her own life and her husband should be considered a suspect. Uh oh! More dreams from Alison cracked this case though. As it turned out, there was another child in the house who saw the mother drown her baby son . . . a little girl. You can see where this one is going! Yes the little girl was the wife all grown up. Worse yet, the little girl and her brother were products of an affair and their father . . . .was also the husband’s father! In case that was too confusing, the wife knowingly married her half-brother! The father of them both didn’t realize his daughter-in-law was also his daughter at first, as he hadn’t seen her since she was a little girl. Eventually he realized it, but he didn’t say anything. Ew! So the daughter basically set everything up as some sick punishment for her father and her father’s family. Double Ew! Can I just ask what is with all my shows exploring the brother-sister love theme lately? It’s very creepy.

Meanwhile the new/temporary DA got the news he was dying. He decided to spend what time he had left with his family, and he and the mayor decided to ask Manuel back. He accepted, and Alison was also hired back. Finally! I have to say while the season has been good, Manuel’s absence has been noted and felt. I feel bad though, I wanted the new DA VanDyke gone, but not like this. I was convinced they’d bust him on corruption or something.

Finally Joe, convinced his partner was insane, decided to dissolve the business. She was more than happy to let him go and buy him out for 250,000 dollars. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize she had a plan all along, so Joe should have refused right there. He didn’t though, as they could use that money. Oh she had a plan all right . . . .she played him like a fiddle. She wanted his idea as she knew she could sell it to a competing company who was developing similar technology. Once she had him in the company, she made him think she was nuts so he’d want out. In the end though the man who bought the invention from her (for 2 million dollars!) liked Joe’s better than what he’s been working on, so he hired Joe for his company to keep developing it. Yay for Joe!

So that is the season finale of “Medium” in a nutshell. No shocking cliff hanger, which is what I was expecting. Fortunately the show will be back next season, but it will be a long wait.

The following are the official spoilers for the season finale episode of “Medium.” Read on to be spoiled!

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So last week’s episode of “Ghost Whisperer” I thought was just ho-hum. I’m a horror movie fan, so it was interesting to see that as the topic of the episode. In this episode a guy creating indie-horror films designed to really scare those he selected to be in them met his maker while making the films. He was the ghost and haunting the girl he was in love with and who was secretly helping him make the films. The whole point of the haunting was not to convince her to finish the films per say, but to make her realize her passion was in film making and not her family inspired and chosen major economics.

The real key points of the whole episode were those surrounding Melinda. The film maker realized Melinda had a fascination with horror films, but she couldn’t explain why she liked to be scared or what about them drew her to them. At the very end Melinda had a memory from her childhood of a man standing over her bed in an odd mask. I can’t be sure, but it looked like her father to me. I’m getting the feeling that her father may have been involved in some cultish activity when he was alive and was seeking to use Melinda for whatever he had planned. Maybe when things didn’t work out, he went off and had Gabriel hoping he’d be able to do what he needed?

Onto this week’s episode of “Medium,” which was a bizarre one for sure. But hey, at least the bad guy didn’t get away! In this episode the family car died, so Joe ended up finding a steal at the body shop. A man was selling a pimped out car for far below what it was worth. Hmmm, can you say suspicious? Allison soon found out that the man’s wife died in it, supposedly from a car jacking. Having watched the show too much, I knew the husband somehow set up the car jacking. However though that part was predictable, what I really liked was how this episode threw you off in the investigation with a “fake” suspect/accomplice, who in fact was a model on a poster on the garage wall where the man set his wife up to be shot by a gun in a vice. Very clever! Allison figured it all out when the car’s GPS took her to the garage and then refused to start back up so she could leave. She had to abandon it there, and later the husband was found dead of carbon monoxide poisoning. It seems like the wife’s ghost got her revenge! I did wonder though wouldn’t or couldn’t Allison be an accomplice given she left the car there?

Also Allison had dreams about Joe’s partner apparently seducing him one late at night in the office, which all seem to be coming true. The show ended with her going into the office acting exactly as she had in Allison’s dream, but the show stopped with a “To Be Continued” before anything happened. So we are left with a cliff-hanger until Monday where we have to find out if she’s going to seduce Joe or not. I have always thought she wanted him, but since that is so obvious, maybe they won’t go there?

Photo Source: NBC.com

Upcoming show spoilers for “Ghost Whisperer” and “Medium”

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So one of the issues I’ve had with a lot of the recent episodes of “Medium” is that the bad guys aren’t getting caught. Low and behold with the latest episode we had the return of one of these! Agent Cooper from the FBI returned to Phoenix on the trail of another serial killer. Allison ran into him before. Cooper was a profiler for the FBI, but when the system failed to catch the killers, he would kill them himself because he saw it as justice being served (how “Dexter”). Well Allison appeared to dream that he went and killed the latest serial killer, and she wasn’t going to let him get away with it again. As it turned out, the killer killed Cooper! So Cooper ended up dead, but asked Allison to help him catch the killer. Allison had dreams of what the killer looked like, but Cooper claimed she was wrong and described another man. It turns out Cooper sent her on a wild goose chase. In the end the real killer died in a car accident, which Cooper knew would happen. So even in death, he made it so that he still got his style of justice. The killer this time was caught, but in a way, not really.

Meanwhile Joe in this episode was busy pitching his new business idea trying to get a buyer. Kelly Preston began her guest star run this week as someone interested in Joe’s idea. However she wanted 51 percent of the profits and ownership, leaving Joe with 49 percent. Joe refused to do this as he was giving up control, but Megan (Kelly) convinced him he wouldn’t get a better deal than this from anyone, so he signed on. Something tells me Megan wants more than Joe’s solar cell invention, she wants his body!

I am still hoping to see the new evil DA ousted and Devalas back in charge. I am really missing him on the show!

Photo Source: NBC.com

Official spoilers for the next couple of episodes ahead . . . .

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Well you know you watch too much TV when you start seeing every twist and turn before it happens. Or maybe you are psychic? Either way, I predicted pretty much everything that would happen in this two-parter of “Medium,” right down to the “shocking conclusion.” Still, I did enjoy it, but at the same time felt a little saddened by the outcome.

This two part episode surrounded the disappearance of Cynthia Keener’s daughter Suzie 9 years ago. Allison had dreams about what happened to her then, because it was happening to another girl now. A man had supposedly kidnapped two girls, always holding two prisoner at a time to torture one while the other watched or listen. Of course the twist was that one of the girls was in on it and actually the one instigating the game.

As with many of the past few episodes of the show, it seemed like the killer was going to get away with it. She was clever and there was no evidence tying her to Cynthia’s daughter’s murder or the most recent kidnapping, which went wrong when she got spooked and killed the man posing as the kidnapper, who was her boyfriend. She came off just looking like a victim of this man. Cynthia couldn’t accept her daughter’s killer might get away, so she of course killed her in the “shocking end.”

I saw it coming, I knew it was going to happen. While I’m glad it was not yet another “killer goes free” episode, this still didn’t have a satisfying ending for me. I really liked the Cynthia character and was so hoping that they could keep Angelica Houston around as a recurring character. I’m sure she’s busy though so she only signed on for a short-term role. Still though, I’m sad to see her go.

Now Allison seems out of work yet again. Fortunately the family’s luck seems to be turning around, as a slip in the bank got Joe a big fat “please don’t sue us” pay-off from the bank. He plans to use the money to try and patents his little moon-solar-panel invention. Once again though I found myself a bit upset with Joe in this episode. He wanted to use the kids’ college fund and was upset when Allison wouldn’t support him, given he’s always supported her. I’m fast losing any sympathy at all for Joe!

I am hoping we’ll get to see more of Manuel and Lee in future episodes from here on out. I miss them!

Photo Source: NBC.com

Some official spoiler listings for two of my favorite “I See Dead People” shows, “Ghost Whisperer” and “Medium.”

Read on to be spoiled . . .

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“Medium” has always dealt with issues of murder, kidnapping and what not; not exactly fun and games. However the past few episodes, and in fact much of this season, just seem darker and more violent than usual. I’m not sure what to think about that. I mean I have been cringing while watching the show lately, something I didn’t used to do. I think part of it is a purposeful reflection on the troubles the family is going through, with both Joe and Allison facing dark times with the loss of their jobs.

Photo from NBC.com

Recently we’ve had to face a lot two-part episodes as well. Previously Allison and Ariel were both having odd dreams of death and murder, which ended up connecting two similarly different cases. Also Joe’s mom faces cancer and an uncertain future. Currently Allison and Cynthia (guest star Angelica Houston) are involved in a kidnapping case which appears linked to the disappearance of Cynthia’s daughter years ago by a couple of psychopaths that kidnap and torture young girls.

The one bright spot going on is Joe is now having funny dreams! Joe is dreaming of an invention of sorts which he’s looking to patent and make money off of, but Allison says they don’t have the money now to do this. Obviously this is going to cause some problems between them, as if they need anymore. I hope Joe can make it work, because let me tell you he’s annoying me. I was glad Elton (from the Cosby Show, the unemployment office worker) basically asked him if he was doing anything to get a job. In my opinion he’s not, as he could get a job but is seems doesn’t want to do something he thinks is beneath him and his education. You have kids to feed buddy, suck it up!

KELLY PRESTON (’THE TENTH CIRCLE,’ ‘DEATH SENTENCE’) TO GUEST STAR ON NBC’S ‘MEDIUM’ FOR A FOUR EPISODE ARC AS AN ATTRACTIVE VENTURE CAPITALIST WHO SEES SOMETHING SPECIAL IN JOE (JAKE WEBER) AND HIS NEW INVENTION, WHICH ULTIMATELY CREATES TENSION IN HIS MARRIAGE TO ALLISON (EMMY WINNER PATRICIA ARQUETTE)

BURBANK, Calif. - March 24, 2008 - Actress Kelly Preston (”The Tenth Circle,” “Death Sentence”) will guest star in NBC’s hit drama “Medium” for a four episode arc, beginning Monday, April 14, 10-11:00 p.m. ET. Beginning with an episode entitled “Partners In Crime,” Preston will play Meghan Doyle, an attractive venture capitalist who likes what she sees when Joe Dubois (Jake Weber) makes a presentation on his new solar power-based invention to her investment firm. Her decision to independently fund and become business partners with Joe ultimately creates tension in his marriage to Allison (Emmy winner Patricia Arquette), it was announced today by Executive Producer Glenn Gordon Caron.

“We’re thrilled to have Kelly join us for the final episodes of Season 4,” said Caron. “For the role of Meghan Doyle, a venture capitalist who decides to underwrite Joe, we needed an actress who exuded both intelligence and sexuality. Someone who could stand toe-to-toe with Patricia and Jake, and credibly create chaos in a household and a marriage that is as strong as any on television.”

Preston has proven her versatility with strong performances in smaller independent films including “From Dusk ‘Til Dawn” and “Citizen Ruth” as well as in hit feature films, including her breakout role in “Jerry McGuire” opposite Tom Cruise. Since then, she has appeared alongside Michael Keaton in “Jack Frost,” Jim Carrey in “The Cat in the Hat” and received critical notices for her role opposite Kevin Costner in “For the Love of the Game.” She appeared in “Battlefield Earth,” a film produced by her husband of 16 years, John Travolta, and most recently starred with Kevin Bacon in “Death Sentence.” Later this year, Preston will star in “The Tenth Circle,” based on the New York Times best-selling novel by Jodi Picoult.