Medium, Season 5

MEDIUM, SEASON 5 (DVD)
Paramount Home Entertainment

Release Date: August 30th, 2010
Certificate (UK): 15
Running time: 1080 minutes

Creator: Glenn Gordon Caron

Cast: Patricia Arquette, Migual Sandoval, Sofia Vassilieva, Maria Lark, Jake Weber, David Cubitt, Anjelica Huston, Tracy Pollan

Medium, Season 6 Review

Back in 2005 when I heard that Patricia Arquette would be starring in all-new television show called Medium, I couldn’t be happier. Having been a fan since A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: The Dream Warrirors (1987), it seemed as if the actress was getting back to her roots with a role once again devoted to dreams and the occasional nightmare!

Loosely based on the experiences of the real-life Allison Dubois who worked on several investigative cases with local law enforcement, Medium would introduce viewers to the lively Dubois family.

Joe Dubois (Jake Weber), Allison’s husband, provides an attentive ear to her dream problems and offers advice on how best to deal her troubling cases.

They have three daughters; Ariel, the eldest, Bridgette, and Marie, the youngest. The girls all share their mother’s gift of insight which are both the source for the show’s lighter moments and cause for much of their parents worries.

Consisting of 18 episodes, Medium, Season 5 picks up with Allison working a series of cases with Scanlon (David Cubitt) again and as usual has to convince District Attorney Devalos (Migual Sandoval) to follow certain areas of investigation based on her insights. Insights which can sometimes be helpful, and other times, not so helpful.

Allison falls asleep while watching a game show in Truth Be Told and when she wakes up she has a brand new ability; when someone tells a lie, a buzzer goes off in her head! This creates some fun scenes with Bridgette and Ariel arguing in the kitchen. Allison put this new ability to use when one of Joe’s colleagues sues him for stealing an idea.

In Then… And Again, one of my favourite episodes in this season, we travel back in time to 2004 when Allison is pregnant with Marie. In the present, it’s the day of Marie’s 5th birthday Allison drops by Devalos’ home and walks in on him being held at gunpoint by a man he convicted back in 2004.

When the gunman shoots them both, we find out it’s a premonition Allison has of the future, even though she hasn’t met Scanlon or Devalos yet. It’s a well written episode, very clever and shows that Medium can time and time again come up with fresh ideas to keep viewers on the edge of their seats.

In the sixth episode, Apocalypse… Now?, Allison begins stocking up on survival goods for her family. While Bridget and Marie chomp on the snacks, their mom has a feeling that the end of the world is nigh based on her recent dreams. When the dreams point to a kidnapping, the focus shifts to finding a missing girl.

Angelica Houston makes a welcomed return as Cynthia Keener in the episode The First Bite is the Deepest. Allison goes to visit her in prison where she is serving her sentence for killing her daughter’s killer. Cynthia wants to be left alone but Allison needs her help as she’s been dreaming about one of Cynthia’s old cases. It’s great to see her back even though I detested her character in Season 4, I’ve come to understand a lot more about her with this episode.

In the season closer Bring Me the Head of Oswaldo Castillo, Allison is devastated to learn she has a brain tumour. The news couldn’t come at a worst time as she dreams of her family being murdered. Instead of having the surgery to save her life she is afraid of it taking away her abilities, and thus, not saving her family. Urged by Joe to have the surgery, Allison is faced with her most difficult choice ever.

Medium Season 5 continues to build on tight, well written stories. The tone is much darker than before and Allison, together her family, face even more challenges. As the girls grow up and their abilities develop, it’s a constant source of material for the writers. We see Bridgette diagnosing one of her teachers, Ariel disobeying her parents when she wants to go out and Marie giving stock market advice. Joe continues to have employment issues and as a result the family are always on the brink of financial ruin.

Despite Allison having worked for the D.A. for a number of years and solving a multitude of cases for his office, he always seems to be a source of conflict for her. Constantly having to prove herself before he does anything to get an investigation opened and at times he himself takes on cases which friends bring to him, but is always hesitant to listen to Allison when the information she brings him points in a different direction.

I’m always more intrigued by Allison’s home life though than her work life as it’s the family that are the show’s real strength. Sadly, with the show now cancelled after 7 seasons, Medium has now gone to TV heaven.

Patrick Samuel

The founder of Static Mass Emporium and one of its Editors in Chief is an emerging artist with a philosophy degree, working primarily with pastels and graphite pencils, but he also enjoys experimenting with water colours, acrylics, glass and oil paints.

Being on the autistic spectrum with Asperger’s Syndrome, he is stimulated by bold, contrasting colours, intricate details, multiple textures, and varying shades of light and dark. Patrick's work extends to sound and video, and when not drawing or painting, he can be found working on projects he shares online with his followers.

Patrick returned to drawing and painting after a prolonged break in December 2016 as part of his daily art therapy, and is now making the transition to being a full-time artist. As a spokesperson for autism awareness, he also gives talks and presentations on the benefits of creative therapy.

Static Mass is where he lives his passion for film and writing about it. A fan of film classics, documentaries and science fiction, Patrick prefers films with an impeccable way of storytelling that reflect on the human condition.

Patrick Samuel ¦ Asperger Artist

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