Medium: rare; or, the House always wins

[scarfman]

capriuni wrote the other day about how it looks like Satan seems to be popping up as the arc villain on yet another tv series, this time Ghost Whisperer. Ann's post was mostly interested in how there doesn't seem to be a lot of pop history about Satan like there is about Jesus, but in my comments I went off on another tangent.

One of the reasons scarfpeople like Medium better than Ghost Whisperer (though we watch both) is that Medium - most likely because it's based on, and creatively consulted by, a real medium - is more realistic. Realistic, I mean, in terms of what real-life mediums, such as are profiled on Psychic Detectives on CourtTV, are capable of and are incapable of, and how the unseen really reacts in relation to the seen. Medium is also more realistic in that not all the stories are entirely tied up at the end. Also, a mutual friend once in chat complained while watching Medium that nothing happens on it, but I don't agree: it's just not paced at breakneck speed like so much crime tv is.

On the other hand, while composing this post I recall that the preview I saw recently for the second half of Medium's current season touted an upcoming appearance(s) of Kelsey Grammer (one of Medium's producers) as - How was it put? - "The Prince of Darkness". Edit: "The Angel of Death"

Another thing is: It seems television series aren't allowed to be merely episodic any more. If a show hasn't got any plotthreads that arc over multiple episodes audiences won't follow it, or the people in charge think audiences won't.

House MD, for instance, was purely episodic until about halfway through its first season. Then there was the six-episode arc about the hospital investor who tried to boss House around. Then his One True Love From His Past and her husband became recurring characters for the end of the first season and the beginning of the second (when she showed up, another mutual chat friend - I forget who - said, "House has officially jumped the shark"). Now, Wilson's moved in with House while Mrs. Wilson decides whether they're divorcing, so House and Wilson are the Odd Couple.

Some series trade on season- or series- arcs, and do it well. But it seems to be a case of the networks saying to the creators, "Battlestar Galactica does it! You too!" Medium and Monk of the shows scarfpeople watch seem to be bucking the trend, so far. But scarfmom started watching House late first season, and when the ex left the show scarfmom complained that the show wasn't what it used to be any more, and I had to straighten her out.

Comments

[capriuni.livejournal.com]

On the other hand, while composing this post I recall that the preview I saw recently for the second half of Medium's current season touted an upcoming appearance(s) of Kelsey Grammer (one of Medium's producers) as - How was it put? - "The Prince of Darkness".

Oy, Vey! As I said earlier: Just as bringing up Hitler loses the argument, bringing in Satan jumps the shark.

:::Shakes head:::

I wouldn't be surprised if Satan showed up in CSI:, next...

[athelind.livejournal.com]

Smallville doesn't need Satan. They have Jor-El and Lionel Luthor.

Interestingly, those two seem to be filling the Traditional Roles Of Satan In Legend And Lore more than those shadowy figures actually identified as such, directly or indirectly, in other series. While the endless parade of "Lords of Darkness" in most supernatural shows seem to be no more than less-amusing versions of a Buffy Seasonal Big Bad, Lionel and the entity claiming to be Jor-El scheme in the background, offering temptations, deceptions, and oh so many Faustian bargains.

[kail-panille.livejournal.com]

I seem to recall Mr. Grammer's character being described as "The Angel of Death."

[scarfman]

That could easily be. I thought I made clear that I wasn't sure I had it right.

[1-big-grizz.livejournal.com]

I love the new icon

[kail-panille.livejournal.com]

I wasn't waggling my finger, and I'm not certain I've got it right either. Just contributing to the massive distributed memory system that is the Internet.

[scarfman]

We all do what we can.

[redneckgaijin.livejournal.com]

"Battlestar Galactica does it! You too!"

Yes, and that's because Battlestar Galactica is a sucky sci-fi soap opera.

I strongly suggest you try Numb3rs. It's fun, it's intellectualy stimulating, it's dramatic, it's episodic, and it doesn't have any pregnant robots or Satan figures.

[scarfman]

Oh, we do watch Numb3rs, and love it. But we DVR it because it's on opposite BSG.

[pedanther]

One of the reasons scarfpeople like Medium better than Ghost Whisperer (though we watch both) is that Medium - most likely because it's based on, and creatively consulted by, a real medium - is more realistic.

As opposed to Ghost Whisperer, which is creatively consulted by James Van Praagh?

[scarfman]

If Ghost Whisperer has a practicing psychic as a consultant, I didn't know, and the name doesn't mean anything to me (not that I'd heard of Alison DuBois before Medium either). Still, Medium remains a fictionalization of the biography of a real person, while Ghost Whisperer doesn't pretend that it is, has more dramatic leeway, and uses it. Medium remains closer to Psychic Detectives than Ghost Whisperer is; as capriuni says above (articulating something I'd not myself put into words), Ghost Whisperer is more of the genre of Touched by an Angel. Love each of them for what they are (or, if you prefer, don't), but don't mistake them for the same genre just because their leads are both psychics.

[pedanther]

I should explain that I was not attempting to contradict you; I was rather making a pretty weak joke along the lines of "James Van Praagh = not a real medium". Sorry.