Medium Becoming Murky

When NBC’s Medium debuted in 2005, it quickly became my favorite, must-watch-each-week-without-fail TV show. Not only did I love the show’s premise of a woman who experiences psychic visions and finds a unique niche in using her abilities to fight crime; I also loved the writing, the directing, and the incredibly talented and believable actors who had been cast to portray the roles of real life psychic medium, Allison Dubois, her family, and crime fighting cohorts. (Patricia Arquette, Jake Weber, Sofia Vassilieva, Maria Lark, Miguel Sandoval, David Cubitt, and Tina DiJoseph have impressed me since day one.) America agreed with me and the cast has picked up a slew of awards over the years. Most impressively, Patricia Arquette won an Emmy for outstanding lead actress in a drama series in 2005.

Now in Season 5, Medium has changed. Nearly every scene seems to be filmed in the murky dark. Ominous, creepy shadows and a “gotcha!” spine-chilling, terror inspiring soundtrack add to the atmosphere. Almost gone are the fun and quirky daytime scenes with the whole family playfully arguing around the breakfast table; the kids’ shenanigans in school; and other casual, everyday happenings of this extraordinary psychic family. Even Joe’s new office is set in the dark. How ridiculous!

Even the website shows just how poorly lit the scenes are. Shown above is the real website for last night's episode, "All in the Family."

In addition, I’ve found myself wanting to change the channel during the last two episodes. In “Truth Be Told,” which aired last week, an incredibly annoying game show buzzer, which went off in Allison’s head every time someone lied, was set far too loud. In “All in the Family,” which aired last night, I was turned off by the gruesome portrayal of a man wrapping his live sister (we thought it was his mother) in a blue tarp, then bludgeoning her to death when she tried to wriggle free. Yuck! I changed the channel to watch the final NCAA basketball championship which was airing at the same time (NBC should have aired popular reruns), then changed back the channel in a few minutes.

Although I must admit that I admire the powers that be for attempting to keep twin, Miranda Carabello, cast as the youngest daughter, Marie, throughout all five years of the series, she isn’t doing so well with her speaking parts. The kid needs serious acting classes. Whoever dressed her needs a reality check, for she appears more like a sloppy glamour model, than a six-year old kid. Neat braids and non-prescription (or real prescription) eye glasses might help her look more the role.

I would love for the show to return to it’s roots and tell more stories about the real Allison Dubois, her attempts to find missing children, and her work as a medium between the living and those who have passed on (a part-time job to help ends meet, perhaps?).