See, I started watching it because originally, I was recommended by the Netflix gods to watch Medium. That failed horribly. Me and Patricia Arquette did not get along. Perhaps some people like her, but I found her character way too jaded and blue-collar to be believable in a supernatural element. Plus, she was supposedly applying to law school and working as an intern for the D.A., but she required a long explanation on how jury selection works. I've known that since I was 12 and read my first John Grisham book.
Anyway, I lasted 2 episodes before getting out, and am now watching Ghost Whisperer, which I love. Here are my impressions of the show:
1. Jennifer Love Hewitt is SO gorgeous. Seriously, if there were a model of the ideal Hollywood actress, she would be it. Angelina Jolie is more "exotic" but Hewitt is the perfect person for this role. Also, her cheekbones are incredible.
2. I also like how even though she's been seeing ghosts since she was a kid, there are still things that scare the crap out of her. (Things that her hot, muscley husband sometimes has to rescue her from. Oh darn.) But it allows one to really get involved in the story. That was part of the problem with Medium, is she didn't have the empathy and depth of feelings that Hewitt's character has. I was too little to watch Party of Five when it was on, so I missed Hewitt's teen-stardom era, but this show is really making me appreciate her talent as an actress. This show is labeled both as "emotional" and "scary" on its Netflix page, which goes to show how much work Hewitt has covering both ends of the inspirational and pure terror spectrum, all in the same 42 minutes. Most episodes start off with some sort of freaky apparition, usually worse with violent deaths, because apparently ghosts only start to look normal again when they interact with humans more (ie. when they start talking to Melinda). By the end of the episode, she's resolved the major emotional issues holding the ghost back, which I'll be honest, causes the eyes to well up a bit. I mean, come on, in one episode, she reunited a woman with a daughter who was kidnapped 13 years prior. Who wouldn't be moved by that?
3. The relationship that Melinda (Hewitt) and Jim have is probably one of the cutest long-term relationships on TV. The show's first episode features their wedding, so we see them only as a married couple, but their relationship is incredibly solid and supportive. If ever a man were the "rock" in a marriage, it's Jim. Whenever Melinda gets into trouble with violent ghosts, he is always there saving her, without even batting an eye. AND he's a paramedic. who wears firefighter gear on occasion. yum. He doesn't even really have flaws, which is great for us girls needing eye candy. While it may not always be realistic, it keeps the focus on the show's main plot. But anyway, they have cute couple-y interludes that provide some buoyancy to the show's heavy themes, and really gives us a nice "true love" angle.
4. I love Professor Payne. I think he and Melinda have the cutest innocent relationship. If Jim weren't around, I could easily see Melinda and Payne falling in love, albeit with a completely opposite relationship from her and Jim's! Melinda and Jim are always in sync, on the same page. Melinda and Payne are constantly clashing and bickering, but in a mutual-respect way, with passion.
5. I normally whip through Netflix shows pretty quick. Well, I mean, One Tree Hill took a while, but it's also 8 seasons to slog through. For some reason though, Ghost Whisperer is so content-heavy that it's taking me a while to get through the seasons. Of course, I was watching Rizzoli and Isles on disc at the same time (which I love, btw), but still, Ghost Whisperer is not a "playing-in-the-background" type of show. I really have to concentrate.
