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Episode Recap: A Cure for What Ails You
Medium began this episode with a Peeping Tom. If a guy walks around the neighborhood, peering into people’s houses, from the sidewalk, no less, is considered a Peeping Tom then I guess I am one, too. Who doesn’t love to look into random houses and see how other people live. I always thought of Peeping Toms as rather seedy characters who crept around in bushes and spied on people. But the real mystery is, why was the girl undressing in front of the window that looked out on the main street anyhow? I think people are as much exhibitionists as they are voyeuristic. Sure, there would be no Jerry Springer without voyeurs, but you’ve got to have people willing to open the proverbial trench coat in order for there to be something to see.
Lynn’s tennis partner, Kim, ended up dead after an apparent accident cause when her pain medication affected her ability to stand upright. The woman’s husband, Russell Furlong, claimed to have argued with her and then went to sleep in the other room, when the next thing he knew, there was an ambulance at the door. Did any of you believe that hogwash? I for one did not. I knew that sniveling idiot killed his wife the first minute I saw him crying. His theatrical hysteria was plumb ridiculous.
It was nice to see Lee and Lynn together again. Lynn cracked me up when she got up in the middle of the night (or at 11:40 PM, actually), to go home and Lee complained. She just gave it to him straight, “Man up – learn to sleep alone. All the big kids do it.”
My favorite line of the evening came when Allison called Scanlon and told him she had just had a dream about him. He warned her, “Allison, do me a favor and close your eyes. I gotta get out of bed now and I’m not wearing any clothes.”
He teased her later when she called again late at night, “If this is about me leaving the seat up…”
During the investigation of Kim’s death, Allison found herself experiencing similar symptoms, acting as if she had been poisoned. She needed to be rushed to the hospital. Joe was pissed off when the moronic doctor told him she was sleeping. “That was a $500 nap you just took.” But more than his anger at the money spent, was that she “scared the crap out of” him. Of course, you know what I was thinking did they leave those three girls alone while then went to the hospital? Where was Ariel? She was completely invisible this week. Joe would have put Ariel in charge, and wouldn’t that mean she had to still be awake when they got home? They didn’t even speak to her when they got back.
Finally, Marie gets a storyline; she was in desperate need of glasses. “Marie’s creasing up her face again!” Bridgette shouted from the kitchen table. Joe took her to the only doctor he could find that would take them without insurance. (Total aside, why don’t these people have insurance for their children? Seems like it would be a good investment for some of the $30,000 for the girls’ college education funds Joe was so willing to spend on his new venture.) Unfortunately, Marie read the doctor’s mind - he knew the charts by heart - and was deemed to have perfect vision. When Joe asked her what was on the chart she had just “read” perfectly, she asked, “That chart? Is that an animal?” It irked Joe that the doctor would not re-examine her. But Joe had a plan. It was really sweet how he got the optometrist to re-diagnose Marie. He made the doctor listen to Julie Andrews while he asked Marie to read the eye chart. Marie was so adorable when squinting, she asked Joe to, “Give me a hint, Daddy.”
She looked awfully cute with her new glasses. She is getting so big. I can remember like it was yesterday when either Al or Joe was carrying her around on their hips. They grow up so fast.
Joe was smug as heck when he had made the doctor see the error of his ways. He started referring to himself as Mac Daddy, which made him feel pretty darned proud of himself. Allison warned him playfully, “Don’t write a check that you can’t cash, Mac Daddy.”
Joe’s best line:
“I’m a boy - it’s one of the differences. I don’t notice rings and I pee standing up.”
Adviprin was a clever mixture of Advil and Ibuprofen and aspirin. Though I found it really scary to rehash what happened all those years back when someone tampered with the pain pills in the drugstores. What I really want to know is what kind of people sit around with strangers in an airport and plot the murders of their partners, etc? What a bunch of creeps.
I loved when the three of them, Scanlon, Allison and Lynn, showed up on Furlong’s doorstep like Charlie’s Angels – (the original gang). They looked so tough standing there, Lynn with her arms crossed. Scanlon let Furlong know they intended to wait for one of the five to eventually crack, slip and then, bam, they’d come after him. It couldn’t happen soon enough in my book.
Nowadays, you don’t have to leave the comfort of your couch to be a peeping tom, just travel on over to our Online Video Guide and spy on some Medium clips!
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Apr 22, 2008 2:47 AM
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I didn't believe that hogwash of a story. What I really want to know is what kind of people sit around with strangers in an airport and plot the murders of their partners, etc?Very good question, I would of like to of known how they all meet. Weird.
But anyway, that was also my favorite line about Alison closing her eyes. Shoot, if I was her I would of kept mine open.
And where was Ariel?
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Apr 22, 2008 6:45 AM
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Tonight's episode was the first time ever that I actually liked Lynn. When she had lines they were either funny or she didn't take herself so seriously. It was a much better job than her usual. Maybe she's been taking lessons!
I thought the basic premise of the crime was beyond stupid. That realistically just would not happen. A group of 5 strangers who'd just met, while being stranded in an airport, hatch a murderous plan to kill 5 people. C'mon.
But, the rest of the story was okay, though since we have lived that story in real life, it was easy to figure out about the tampering, etc.
I guess I, too, am a Peeping Tom. Heck, I figure if people leave their curtains/drapes open at night and I'm walking or driving by, I'm practically invited to look in. I wouldn't stop dead in my tracks and inspect the room through the window, but I do look. Doesn't everyone?
Regarding insurance for the girls. With having little or no income they would have been able to get state insurance for the girls at least. Though I'm not sure what Arizona is like. And Joe is now getting a paycheck, but prior to that and depending on the amount he's bringing in (along with Allison), I think they could have applied for some assistance for the girls.
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Apr 22, 2008 7:01 AM
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The guy's fingerprints were all over every single pill in the bottle...how does that not help their case against him???
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Apr 22, 2008 8:53 AM
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Oh, so now you like Joe this week, Paula? Not a "louse" this week, Paula?
Oh yeah, you don't like the fact that he doesn't have insurance for the kids, or that they didn't speak with Ariel after coming home from the hospital (Sofia Vassilieva has been away filming a movie--didn't you know that?)
Anyway, it was an interesting episode, but I was disappointed that the murderer(s) pretty much got away with it, since there is no guarantee any of them will crack, as Scanlon and the others hope.
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Apr 22, 2008 9:05 AM
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The actress that plays Ariel is filming "My Sisters Keeper", so I'm sure they're shooting around her.
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Apr 22, 2008 9:22 AM
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Yeah, I agree that the crime was hokey - very, very Agatha Christie. Like another poster, I couldn't believe they'd let Herman's Head go despite the fact that his prints were on every single capsule. I'd have assumed he was guilty and poisoned other pills to throw off blame. (Of course, what moron would undertake this and NOT wear rubber gloves?) Still, I'm willing to write this whole thing off as creative license and not lose too much sleep over it.
It was wonderful to see Joe, Lee, and Lynn all in great form. And I know I'm not the only one hoping that Allison wouldn't "close her eyes" as Lee hopped out of bed. Were I she, I'd consider that a perk of the job!
It would have been nice if they'd had some explanation for Ariel's absence. Really don't like the kid, but it's odd when she's not there.
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Apr 22, 2008 9:50 AM
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Of course, you know what I was thinking did they leave those three girls alone while then went to the hospital? Where was Ariel? She was completely invisible this week. Joe would have put Ariel in charge, and wouldn’t that mean she had to still be awake when they got home? They didn’t even speak to her when they got back.
Joe could have woken Ariel up to let her know he was taking Allison to the hospital, but she wouldn't have had to stay awake to keep an eye on her sisters. I don't know any parents who stay awake all night to keep an eye on the kids. As long as Joe let her know they were leaving, it was fine. She's old enough to watch Bridget and Marie.
I figured out the "mystery" quickly since I remember the Tylenol scare. Although, until Allison's dream about the people in the airport, I thought it was just the husband and that he'd poisoned multiple bottles and placed them around the city/state.
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Apr 22, 2008 10:31 AM
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Paula - I guess that because Joe didn't notice if his business partner had a ring or not takes him off the "But like most men, Joe’s a louse, easily seduced by dirty martinis and lured by a pretty, rich femme fatale" list?
Just kidding - but that was the first thing I thought about when Joe talked about his new partner! Doesn't sound like a guy easily seduced!
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Apr 22, 2008 10:57 AM
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Ismebard: its funny that you said that because everytime I see him in a show, that is the first thing I think of "Hermans Head".
Now, I know that everyone thought that plot was hokey, but think about this,
havent you ever been to a party or bar and meet people and the conversation starts off light then after drinking it turns to something dark or bizzare, I know I have. How do you think some crimes are committed or people get hired to do them. Life often imitates art, so it must of happened someplace at sometime.
I love Joe. Hated him in Meet Joe Black, but love him in Medium. I love when he becomes a problem solver in his own right.
I love it that you never know what to expect with the endings.
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Apr 22, 2008 11:30 AM
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I too thought it was odd that five strangers would sit around an airport and discuss plans for murder. (One involved someone's son.) And like those who suffered from Adviprin, I wasn't clear on exactly what happened.
I particularly was confused with how the airport telephone came into play. Who was to call whom? And why?
Since the husband's fingerprints were on each of the tablets, I would assume he'd be a natural to arrest. But then what about the others - did they too inject each pill individually?
Sorry if I just totally missed this. Perhaps I was mind-reading an animal chart.
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Apr 22, 2008 11:50 AM
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Does anyone know whether this episode was part one of a two-parter? They know who "done it," but there were no arrests. Did I miss something?
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Apr 22, 2008 11:54 AM
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The plot was intriguing until it came to the strangers-plotting-deaths part. Very lame & unbelievable, too many people involved to think they could get away with it. I did like how the other conspirators weren't shown. (Check out Hitchcock's classic "Strangers On A Train.") The rest was very enjoyable, especially the Marie/Joe story. (But insurance for your kids is pretty important, Al & Joe...)
GarryB., what's your problem, man? Get rid of that chip on your shoulder.
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Apr 22, 2008 11:55 AM
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I thought the plot was interesting - even without any arrests. But like the Adviprin, not clear.
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Apr 22, 2008 12:16 PM
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Arizona does have state health insurance for children. The problem for Joe & Al might be annual income. Since it appears they lost their jobs in the middle of the year, they could be over the annual income to qualify for 2008. The requirements are stated as:
To qualify for KidsCare you must:
Be a resident of Arizona
Be 18 years old or younger
Be a U.S. citizen or a qualified eligible immigrant - regardless of the status of the parents
Not currently be covered by other health insurance
Not qualify for coverage through a state agency employee
Be a member of a household that meets the KidsCare income guidelines
Be a member of a household that is willing to pay a premium
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Apr 22, 2008 12:23 PM
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