This episode of Medium aired originally on March 21 of 2005. In other words, it's a rerun from the first season. But heck, I'm new to Medium (having only seen a few episodes), so I'm going to review it anyway.
"I Married a Mind Reader" finds Allison DuBois (Arquette) home sick with a cold, watching a 1960s sitcom she remembers from reruns in childhood, called "I Married a Mind Reader." The TV show brings back memories, because it ended in a big Hollywood scandal. Married star Henry Stoller (Paul Blackthorne), killed his co-star and wife, Abigail Marsh (Frances Fisher), and is still (at age 84) in jail for the crime.
But things take a turn for the strange when Allison dreams herself back into the 1960s, taking on the identity of Dorothy Greybridge, Abigail's assistant on the TV program and Henry's mistress...and possibly the real perpetrator behind the crime...
I really got a kick out of this episode of Medium. True, it's a little lighter than the typical episode (like the gory "Still Life,") but that doesn't make it less fascinating. Of foremost interest is the loving recreation of 1960s Hollywood and a sitcom not unlike I Dream of Jeannie, or more closely, Bewitched. The black & white clips of the "I Married a Mind-Reader" show are evocative of a simpler, more innocent, and in some cases, more insipid time for mass entertainment. Every line of dialogue is a a carefully calculated (but ultimately harmless...) zinger, and every situation is "stock" (to borrow a phrase I heard repeatedly in a film I watched last night, Metallica: Some Kind of Monster). A much-put upon husband deals with his magically-oriented, troublesome wife. And hey, that's kinda (in a 2005 way...) the plot of Medium too. How very self-reflexive!
The inherent duality of 1960s Hollywood life is carefully crafted in this episode of Medium as a "perfect" suburban existence (life in the TV sitcom...) is contrasted with the sordid undertones of an industry built on good looks, money, passion, ratings...and secrets. The difference between TV as image (with actors as dream peddlers...) and the reality underneath (actors are just as flawed and venal as everybody else...) makes for compelling drama.
Medium's central conceit, nicely told through fun visuals here, is that psychic Allison goes into a "file cabinet" of thoughts to access the visions of others, and I found that a TV rerun was a nice, inventive way to get into this particular episode, and tell this story about a time and a crime long forgotten. The real Dorothy Greybridge, of course, is alive and in a coma when the reruns of "I Married a Mind Reader" are played on her hospital room TV, and that's how Allison gained access to them with her "thought antenna."
Ultimately, having watched a few episodes, I'm re-affirmed in my belief that the most valuable aspect of Medium is the chemistry/relationship between stars Matt Crower and Patricia Arquette. Like I indicated last week, these actors play between the lines, and there's a feeling of reality in this spousal relationship missing from such cookie-cutter programs as Ghost Whisperer. I find myself more involved in the "case of the week" because I'm curious to see how it will affect the DuBois marriage/relationship That's good writing and good acting. Because ultimately on TV, the people are more important than the stories. As the seasons wear on, the stories may repeat (and sometimes with markedly little variation...), but if we love the characters, we'll keep tuning in.
I'm still tuning in.
"I Married a Mind Reader" finds Allison DuBois (Arquette) home sick with a cold, watching a 1960s sitcom she remembers from reruns in childhood, called "I Married a Mind Reader." The TV show brings back memories, because it ended in a big Hollywood scandal. Married star Henry Stoller (Paul Blackthorne), killed his co-star and wife, Abigail Marsh (Frances Fisher), and is still (at age 84) in jail for the crime.
But things take a turn for the strange when Allison dreams herself back into the 1960s, taking on the identity of Dorothy Greybridge, Abigail's assistant on the TV program and Henry's mistress...and possibly the real perpetrator behind the crime...
I really got a kick out of this episode of Medium. True, it's a little lighter than the typical episode (like the gory "Still Life,") but that doesn't make it less fascinating. Of foremost interest is the loving recreation of 1960s Hollywood and a sitcom not unlike I Dream of Jeannie, or more closely, Bewitched. The black & white clips of the "I Married a Mind-Reader" show are evocative of a simpler, more innocent, and in some cases, more insipid time for mass entertainment. Every line of dialogue is a a carefully calculated (but ultimately harmless...) zinger, and every situation is "stock" (to borrow a phrase I heard repeatedly in a film I watched last night, Metallica: Some Kind of Monster). A much-put upon husband deals with his magically-oriented, troublesome wife. And hey, that's kinda (in a 2005 way...) the plot of Medium too. How very self-reflexive!
The inherent duality of 1960s Hollywood life is carefully crafted in this episode of Medium as a "perfect" suburban existence (life in the TV sitcom...) is contrasted with the sordid undertones of an industry built on good looks, money, passion, ratings...and secrets. The difference between TV as image (with actors as dream peddlers...) and the reality underneath (actors are just as flawed and venal as everybody else...) makes for compelling drama.
Medium's central conceit, nicely told through fun visuals here, is that psychic Allison goes into a "file cabinet" of thoughts to access the visions of others, and I found that a TV rerun was a nice, inventive way to get into this particular episode, and tell this story about a time and a crime long forgotten. The real Dorothy Greybridge, of course, is alive and in a coma when the reruns of "I Married a Mind Reader" are played on her hospital room TV, and that's how Allison gained access to them with her "thought antenna."
Ultimately, having watched a few episodes, I'm re-affirmed in my belief that the most valuable aspect of Medium is the chemistry/relationship between stars Matt Crower and Patricia Arquette. Like I indicated last week, these actors play between the lines, and there's a feeling of reality in this spousal relationship missing from such cookie-cutter programs as Ghost Whisperer. I find myself more involved in the "case of the week" because I'm curious to see how it will affect the DuBois marriage/relationship That's good writing and good acting. Because ultimately on TV, the people are more important than the stories. As the seasons wear on, the stories may repeat (and sometimes with markedly little variation...), but if we love the characters, we'll keep tuning in.
I'm still tuning in.
This is humourous. 16 years after this was written, I read it + notice "Matt Crower". The actual name of the actor is Jake Weber, who portrayed Matt Crower in American Gothic.
ReplyDeleteCouldn't resist pointing this out.
This is humourous. 16 years after this was written, I read it + notice "Matt Crower". The actual name of the actor is Jake Weber, who portrayed Matt Crower in American Gothic.
ReplyDeleteCouldn't resist pointing this out.