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« Ghost Whisperer
January 5, 2007: My Ghost Whisperer Is Back!
Ahhhh, yes. Red eyes and a tear-streaked face feels so good after meandering through a couple of consecutive "dry" Ghost Whisperer eps over the holidays. I can't help it. I like to cry during this show, because it's quite cathartic. Whenever I watch an episode that doesn't make me cry even a little, I feel rooked. But I'm a classic romantic. A certified sap. And I make no apologies for being a horror nerd that also enjoys a little tenderness in my shows here and there. With Ghost Whisperer, I get just enough dark and creepy with just enough tears shed *to keep me in touch with my inner sentimentalist.
*I draw the line with my music collection. Not a single Celine Dion or Air Supply CD in the bunch, I swear. Would the soundtrack to Pretty in Pink be considered a sappy CD to own?
A Ghost Whisperer's Best Friend
"OK, Bob, you lead."
Tsk, tsk, Miz Gordon. The Dog Whisperer could teach you a thing or two about "calm, assertive energy!" Well, you've never claimed to be a dog whisperer (at least, not to earth-bound canines), and you're really darn good at your job, so I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. And I wouldn't mind seeing Bob in every episode! My heart melts for golden retrievers.
Speaking of Being Good at Her Job...
I was thinking during this episode how even the coldest, most hostile people tend to instantly trust Melinda, and asking myself if this was even remotely realistic. I've concluded that Jennifer Love Hewitt is so well-cast for this role, it is believable to me, at least as believable as this show can get, knowing it is fiction. She's just got that easy-breezy demeanor and face that says, "You can talk to me about anything." I bet she's really fun to work with professionally, too.
Bonding with Delia and Ned
Oh wow, that scene between Delia and Ned started this episode's bawling for me. And without getting too detailed, I want to comment on how well-written this scene was. I've recently dealt with a difficult loss, and I'm still not quite recovered.... And everything, I mean everything, that Delia explained to Ned about the emotions of the grief process was so spot-on. It was almost as if she was imparting this much-needed wisdom to me, and I appreciated that scene so very much. And, as usual, I cannot say enough about Camryn Manheim's talent. I love any scene in Ghost Whisperer in which Delia truly gets a chance to contribute something important to the scene or to the characters around her.
Speaking of Great Supporting Characters
Professor Payne. Such a scene stealer, that Jay Mohr. Sometimes, the way he looks at Melinda makes me melt. His eyes and his face and his effortlessness as an actor are wonderful to watch. I enjoy him every chance we get to see him.
"You've actually managed to make the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. Wanna feel?" Classic Payne. So adorable.
However, I hate it that he had to be the bearer of bad news... the news we've all been dreading:
The loss of a loved one?! Say it isn't so! Please, please, let this be misdirection. We love our Jim. I happen to know that many people will abandon this show if they lose their (and our) beloved Jim. NOW I am worried about Jim.
Strange Series Serendipity
This has happened twice now with Ghost Whisperer and my other TV-Show-Blog, Masters of Horror — a week where the themes are so absolutely parallel, it feels paranormal! The week in which Ghost Whisperer dealt with "subsonic" sounds and ghosts communicating through music was the same week that Masters of Horror aired an episode called Sounds Like, and each was a great counterpart to the other show.
So guess what this week's Masters of Horror episode title is? The Right to Die. Um-hm. Weird, isn't it? In Masters of Horror, the same thing happened whenever the character on life-support flatlined. She wound wind up leaving her body and haunting people [and then some]; then once the hospital "zapped" her back, she'd re-enter her body again. MoH didn't take the astral projection angle, but the two stories were eerily similar. Of course, Ghost Whisperer was the kinder, gentler side of the paranormal spectrum. (See? This is the balance of which I speak!)
So... The Right to Die?
Obviously, this episode dealt with a huge and admittedly unpleasant, yet extremely important, issue. This isn't a soap-boxy type of platform, but good TV and good movies make viewers think, so this is what I've got to say. Even though I don't really make New Year's resolutions, this will be the year when I finally draft up a living will. It's really something that even at my young age, I know I should do. Because let's face it: Peace of mind is a priceless gift to myself, and knowing my wishes is a priceless gift to my loved ones.
And how amazing was that scene between Melinda and Jim when they discussed this issue? Wow.
See? Jim CANNOT DIE!
I swear, I'm going to end up with a fingernail-chewing habit from all of this worrying-about-Jim business.
*sigh*
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Jan 7, 2007 7:38 PM
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I will be the first comment to agree with you. If Jim dies, I WILL NOT watch the show anymore I don't care who is on it. He is such an integral part of the show's entire core. They go together so well! Hear this CBS, Jim goes so will I.
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Jan 8, 2007 12:16 AM
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I don't have Tivo and forgot to set my VCR... can someone clarify for me why you all think Jim is going to die from what happened this episode? I know the whole bird thing from other eps.
Thanks!!!
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Jan 8, 2007 1:01 AM
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Techiegirl - There was a latin phrase which showed up on Jim's back (visible to Melinda at least!)...which the professor ended up as translating as "death of a loved one" or "loss of a loved one"...something like that. (Personally, I really don't see why this should have to do with Jim and not the man in the coma, but Melinda seemed to be pretty freaked out by it. From the look on her face as she looked at Jim after Payne gave her the translation on the phone it was pretty clear that she was worried that it did have to do with her husband.
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Jan 8, 2007 1:32 AM
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Melinda heard the whispering again after Payne told her the translation. I think that is what led to her fear. I feel that they have been foreshadowing all season about Jim's impending doom! I do not like this. I have left so many shows when I character I loved died. I bawled when Andrea died last season but I stayed with it. I do not think I could continue to watch if Jim died. He keeps Melinda grounded as much as anyone can. I sometimes think they are setting up Payne to be a future love interest but he is too much of a cynic. Oh CBS please do not kill Jim!!!
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Jan 8, 2007 8:17 AM
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Someone must know whether the actor who plays Jim is leaving the show. With all the blogs etc. around.... I agree though, if he leaves I'm done. How can they kill off two people in as many years who are main characters. I was made when they killed the husband in Close to Home - come on CBS enough already.
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Jan 8, 2007 10:56 AM
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I thought the ghost storyline wasn't very good this week. Too familiar. Wasn't there a similar ep last year, where the "ghost" was in a coma or something? Maybe that was an episode of "Medium". The way I know I wasn't impressed with this ep was because I had to read the blog before I could remember what it was about!!!
Otherwise, I liked all the accompanying stories just fine. I think there was one more hint from the professor that he's all alone and his wife is no longer with him, though I can't think of the exact words he used. We'll just have to wait and see.
Camryn is just the greatest, isn't she?
As for Jim leaving, I agree that someone should have said something in a blog if that were true. I think Melinda also suspects something ominous because the prof said that whatever was written backwards on Jim's back was coming from the inside...as though something IN Jim was doing the warning.
I won't stop watching if Jim is killed off. I think sometimes the actor asks to leave, so that wouldn't be the fault of the network. Guess we'll find that out in time also. But, yes, I would be really upset if he leaves.
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Jan 8, 2007 1:19 PM
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Thanks, cag06! Maybe it is a warning of someone else close to them who will die, like Melinda's mother. Me, the eternal optimist! I can only hope it is not Jim!!!
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Jan 8, 2007 2:38 PM
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I am with Chris1215tine. I too stopped watching Close To Home after Christian Kane, the husband was killed off. He was the only reason I watched in the first place. He used to be Lindsey McDonald on Angel.
I almost stopped watching Ghost when Andrea died but I too stayed for Jim. If David Conrad leaves, so do I.
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Jan 8, 2007 3:35 PM
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I love the relationship Melinda and Jim have. It's positive, it's loving and it's supportive. The conversation about what would happen if they were faced with a similar situation was the kind of touching sentiment that is missing on a lot of tv shows when it comes to couplew. I think David Conrad is great. JLH and him have such natural chemistry. Having said all of that, as much as I hope (and think) that they are just trying to throw us off and he stays, I wouldn't stop watching if he were gone.
Ghost Whisperer is a show about death and its impact on the living. I don't turn in every week because of the relationship drama, though it sometimes provides some very touching and heartfelt moments. I tune in for the stories of people dealing with and overcoming tremendous loss in their life. The different storylines that convey all the things that the ghosts come to the realization that they may have overlooked when they were living, all the feelings of loss, helplessness and sadness that the survivors have to overcome, that is what this show is about. The fact that the relationship is strong is a nice grounding presence on the show, just as Andrea was, but it isn't really what makes the show. The ghosts and their loved ones do. Just my .02 cents.
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Jan 8, 2007 5:23 PM
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This show does seem like it is foreshadowing a death for Jim. I think that would be a mistake as well. They already killed off Andrea. I am still not over that. Andrea was a good character who had room to grow. Delia is all right, but I really don't want to hear about her dead husband anymore. That may seem mean, but come on now. Enough already.
Wasn't it clearly established a few weeks ago that Payne is married. Maybe I missed something along the way. I think I liked it better when I thought Payne was single than he being married. His comments sometimes seem creepy.
I don't think this show has done something like this before. Medium did do one where the cop was in a coma and he communicated with her that way.
Interesting episode. They are setting up something big for Jim in the finale I believe. Maybe Melinda will save him from certain death or something along those lines. That would be good. Heck even if they do kill him, Jim could stay around as a spirit.
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Jan 9, 2007 1:33 AM
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Hey speedy1383 and pinkie, last season there was an episode with someone in a coma, it wasn't exactly the same, but, similar. It was the eppy where the guy that Andrea used to work with in NY went on a hiking trip with his brother and father and he could only communicate with Melinda when he flatlined.
I remember this episode very well, because it involved Andrea so much and because every time that guy looked at her I would think to myself "I wish someone would look at me like that". Sad, I know. 
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Jan 9, 2007 10:56 AM
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Aha. I stand corrected. Makes me miss Andrea even more.
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Jan 9, 2007 12:13 PM
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speedy1383, I thought, too, there was a similar eppy on Medium, but now with blueree'shelp, I see there was also a similar eppy on GW last year. Thanks, blueree, I was just sure there was.
speedy1383, the prof is supposed to have a wife, but a few weeks ago I and others suspected she may also be dead and her ghost is in his house and I would guess in his office as well. There are just a few clues that say so, but other posters disagreed, so we'll see.
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Jan 9, 2007 12:51 PM
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Hi. Just sending a message to see if it will show up. I am not able to read any additions to thread since 1/9 1:33am and there are a number of additions listed in "search". Not sure what is going on!
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Jan 9, 2007 1:37 PM
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