MEDIUM

From 2005 to 2011 one of my favorite television series was MEDIUM. Although I don't normally watch a series until it comes out on dvd, this was one I took in regularly, especially in the early years when it was on NBC. I particularly loved the interplay between psychic/medium/special assistant to city DA Allison Dubois (Patricia Arquette) and engineer/loving husband Joe Dubois (Jake Weber). I loved Joe, who seemed to reposnd to his wife's dreams/sleepless nights and unpredictable behavior with a mix of love/patience/age advice/bemusement/humor. There was never any doubt they had a special love affair, even when his attention strayed. The three daughters sometimes didn't feel as real to me as they should have, but I enjoyed the smart-talking middle child the most (played by Maria Lark). I always liked DA Manuel Devalos (played well by Miguel Sandoval), thought I was less enamored with police detective Lee Scanlon (David Cubitt). Many of the guest dead (ghosts) who inhabitied both her sleeping and awake hours were a hoot. Early stories were better, and the later ones seemed to simplistic, and maybe even too "cutesie". Arquette wasn't the strongest actor I have ever followed in a series, but she was ok, and you kind of felt for her character, as she tended to lean toward the sympathetic, honest side of things. The show kind of spawned (or got out of the gates early) on the paranormal solving of crimes genre. I finally got to see last season, and it was ok. A bit melancholy in the final episode. Decent television for the most part. Not nearly as gory or intense as some of the other criminal procedurals.