Ghost Whisperer

I liked Ghost Whisperer. I don't know how long it will last, but who can tell nowadays. (I figured Joan of Arcadia for a seven year run.)

At least Jennifer Love Hewitt is back and she's not reprising Party of Five this time. She's chasing ghosts, which allows her to do everything she does well except sing. (She has a great voice. Started out singing in Texas at age 3. Maybe she'll meet a singing ghost somewhere along the way.)

So it's Ghost Whisperer on CBS versus Medium on NBC and that may rankle Medium fans but Medium is on a different night and seems to be slowing down this season. I always tape Medium because it usually puts me to sleep in the last half-hour, despite the admirable talents of Patricia Arquette and Jake Weber and their wonderful TV kids Sofia Vassilieva and Maria Lark.

It isn't Jennifer Love Hewitt versus Patricia Arquette in any case. These two actresses are as different as night and day in look, style and approach. Both total pros and completely capable of leading a series.

I didn't like the Medium rip-off scene where a prophetic nightmare wakes Melinda (Jennifer Love Hewitt) in bed with her husband (David Conrad), but once you get past the obvious similarities GW goes way beyond Medium. Melinda doesn't depend on dreams. She sees ghosts everywhere, all the time. (The bedroom in Medium is that show's main set.)

Ghost Whisperer is no Dead Zone and it's not jumping on the post-X-Files backlash bandwagon like Supernatural either. It's more Touched By An Angel (a similarity that Dead Zone exec producer Michael Piller specifically instructs his writers to avoid.)

The Ghost Whisperer pilot did center entirely on Hewitt, but it's her show, after all. I wondered if they cut stuff out for time. References to what her husband does for a living were rather obviously thrown in as voiceovers until they briefly discussed his day as a paramedic, rather than showing him in action somewhere in the beginning to establish him.

I liked that producer Hewitt pulled in character actors Eddie Jones (ex-Pa Kent from Lois & Clark, the Invisible Man's boss, etc) and Jon Polito and also Wentworth Miller (from Prison Break) as guest stars. (And was that June Lockhart as Melinda's grandma? Sure looked like her.) Wentworth Miller reminds me so much of Steve McQueen that I'm hooked on Prison Break, despite the limited nature of that plot line. And the scene where guest Balthazar Getty (as Michael Adams) told Melinda off was terrific.

Anyway, there's no denying that Hewitt is beautiful and maturing as an actress. She has a great, expressive face. (I admit that the whole show could be shot in close ups and I'd probably still like it.) Modern former child actors like Hewitt and Sarah Michelle Gellar and Seth Green knock me out because they always seem to know exactly what they're doing. They don't just stand around waiting while other actors deliver their lines. They're always "on".

But Hewitt is more than just a pretty face. (She could have been a Charmed One after Shannen Doherty left, but turned down the role.) I say let's see what happens with Ghost Whisperer. It may just be the surprise hit of the season.

When I first heard of this show I thought it would be the most ridiculous thing ever. But I have this habit of disliking really good shows at first. The thing about it that caught my eye and made me want to watch it was the theme song; the imagery was fascinating and the song was slightly haunting. Appropriate, I thought.

The show is about a woman who can communicate with spirits. She lives with her husband and owns an antique shop. I loved the idea that it was a husband and wife show -- there are so few of those. It's sweet.

I highly recommend this to someone who doesn't mind some extremely sappy moments, wants a little mystery, and is looking for a really cool theme song!

I am not a sappy person, nor do i like chick flicks.

Let me tell you, I REALLY liked this show. I cried 3 times from the touching scenes. Not TOUCHING scenes, emotional ones...what were you thinking? Give it a chance...J. Love is a decent actress who has had some stinker movies, but we've all got to pay the bills. Ladies, if ANYTHING watch it for the husband...

I was surprised to see Aisha Tyler in this show, and for the tiny amount of time she was in it, I thought she was very good.

The pilot was a little shallow in that they wanted to give you as much information as possible, but some areas need to be fleshed out. Give it a chance.

The Ghost Whisperer is a really good show that has the potential to be great. The storyline for the pilot was very compelling and touching. I have watched Medium, but I prefer THe Ghost Whisperer primarily because of the fact that GW deals more with helping earthbound souls find their way to the other side and not about solving crimes. Jennifer Love Hewitt is a joy to watch and the rest of the cast seems to be well suited to their roles. The only problem I had was some of the dialog seemed too campy and a little rough around the edges, but that is common with pilots. I'm really looking forward to seeing more from this one.

I have always enjoyed this type of story and have read and watched many of them. Ghost Whisperer has to be one of the best I've seen yet. Other than the news, I watch only two or three shows on TV. One of those is Medium which I thought was very good until Ghost Whisperer came on. Jennifer Hewitt is a pretty women but for me, her acting overshadows her beauty. In fact, all the acting is above the norm for TV. I hope that the writer will focus on David Conrad and Aisha Tyler to give them a chance to show their skills as well. Both play excellent supporting rolls and I suspect could enhance the show with a little more presence. With Medium, I'm disappointed with the rude kids, complaining husband and crybaby wife. The idea of the show is good but I don't expect it to last long because of the characters. Ghost Whisperer, on the other hand has everything going for it. May it live long and prosper!