Last night I sat down to watch the highly anticipated season premiere of Medium, one of my favorite shows. My first reaction to the episode titled "And Then", was: "Good God, what did they do with the writers?" I am not sure if this was the product of the writers' strike or if it was taped earlier, but the episode was flat, predictable and...in one word, BORING. Sorry, NBC.Spoiler alert!
In the premiere, we are given a recap of what happened last season and left with a depressed cast who should all go on some meds.
Allison (Patricia Arquette) was depressed because no one would take her calls or listen to her dreams and she was having money problems.
Her usually witty husband Joe (Jake Weber) was depressed because he was out of work and his mother wouldn't lend him money.
Their teenage daughter Ariel (Sofia Vassilieva) was depressed because she realized that another girl sang better than her (and maybe she was depressed because the writers made her do something nice instead of act like the spoiled brat that we have all come to want to smack).
Detective Lee Scanlon (David Cubitt) was depressed because he has been demoted to playing with puppets instead of being an active crime investigator.
His girlfriend (what's her name) was also equally depressed (and depressing) as she waded through her few lines as if reading off a cereal box. Though maybe her depression is justified--NBC doesn't even see fit to acknowledge her role in the cast, even though she's been in many episodes.
Allison's former boss D.A. Devalos (Miguel Sandoval) was depressed because someone else has his job and now he'll have to go back to being just a...sigh...lawyer.
Then there's Academy Award-winning Anjelica Huston who plays Cynthia Keener, an investigator for "Ameritips". I'm sure that she was depressed because her role was so minute. I hope they develop her character better in future episodes.
Let's see...who else was depressed? Oh yes, let's not forget the millions of viewers who watched, predicted every step and tried to keep from dozing off. Pass the Valium!
As for plot, it was equally as depressing: a kidnapped boy, a pointless side-story about Ariel auditioning for a school musical, a dream of the kidnapper's feet (he likes to dance) and another dream of mice, a scene where Scanlon finds the dead boy packaged up in a doll box and mice running around.
At this point I thought, the killer is a young man who likes to dance and he's an exterminator. And lo and behold, it seems that maybe I should take over for Allison Dubois. What's disappointing is that there's no real investigation. The killer just conveniently shows up, let's himself into the scene of the crime (dancing to music, of course)...
"And Then"?
The show is over. (Thank God!) Talk about anti-climactic. A visit to your dentist for a root canal would be more suspenseful and less painful.
So please, NBC...get some good writers! I loved this show! I love the cast! But hey, there are other new shows on now, so give us some credit here and write for the intelligent viewer. We deserve better.
By the way, my paranormal suspense novel Divine Intervention is often compared to Medium (and CSI and Ghost Whisperer) and will definitely appeal to fans of the show. And I can promise you there are no flat characters and the story line is anything but predictable or boring. So while you're waiting for Medium to get back on track, feel free to pick up a copy of Divine Intervention at Amazon.
4 comments:
Don't take this the wrong way, but you are nuts. The episode was one of the best ever.
Hey Tom:
Thanks for your input. It's always subjective to the viewer. You loved it; I wanted to change channels.
I was expecting more--it was as if the story of the kidnapped boy was thrown in around all the problems of the cast and then tied up in a neat bow at the end. Too neat for me. I liked the suspense of the last season better.
So here's to hoping that next week's show is even better. :)
I agree with Tom. You are absolutely NUTS!! You were obviously watching a different show than I was because the one I saw was fantastic and one of the best they have ever done. It was a phenomenal way to start the fourth season. Apparently you thought you were watching something else. I know opinions are subjective, but I think you were WAAAY off the mark on this one. To paraphrase Allison Dubois, "Remember what you're watching and try that one again."
Hi Dawn:
Well, nuts I may be, but I still think the episode was too predictable and too cut and dry. And there are many others on the forums at NBC that agree with me.
My point is, I know that the Medium team can do far better than give us a show that has no investigation, no suspense and a very depressed cast. I love this show and I don't want to see it run dry, which is what will happen if they don't give viewers some credit.
I mean, come on...not only did I know who the killer was very early on, he waltzes in at the end and basically gives himslef away with his dancing and his explanation that he's the exterminator who has had to set out poison. Too clean.
As for the premiere being the best, well, from a writer's perspective almost any other episode was better written. From a fans perspective, the majority of the episodes made me feel a sense of urgency, and I enjoyed the thrill of following the clues and solving the case.
Such was not the case with the premiere. Let's hope next week's is better! :)
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