A couple tears for a ghost

GHOST WHISPERER: 4.06 “Imaginary Friends and Enemies”

I feel a little bad for anyone who doesn’t read the upcoming news for random TV shows they don’t normally watch. I subscribe to a lot of blogs, and they tend to report on a number of shows. One of which is Ghost Whisperer. I don’t watch this show all that often–it really depends on my Friday schedule–but I’ve been reading rumblings since this summer about a main character being killed off. I’ve heard speculation; I’ve come up with my own thoughts. Actually, they all seem to coincide.

But for those of your that are rumor-free, this episode was probably pretty rough for you. It’s here that we see the fate of Jim.

Poor Melinda. She goes to a wedding, planning on expanding her business and having a romantic evening, only to find herself knee deep in a ghost drama, ending in having her own husband shot.

To be honest, the episode itself seemed a little convoluted. There were too many characters both appearing in the episode and just spoken of. I got very confused with all the men. The ghost first spoke to the daughter, then Melinda, then the mother, then Melinda, then all three! Meanwhile, he was angry at Trish, then at Trish’s fiance. It was all very hard to follow after a while.

And then came the very end: revenge. The to-be husband appears in the cabin only to take his anger out on the person who ratted him out: Jim. Of course, it ends in gunplay. And who shoots him? A cop.

This is where I thought it was a little stretched. I doubted that they would shoot unknowingly into a hostage situation–a struggle at that–where they couldn’t see who they were shooting. Especially when one of the men in the cabin was a cop.

But he did, and down goes Jim. Fortunately, he’s ok. But at the last minute: embolism. So he’s gone.

I was going back and forth with all these fakeouts. First, I was sure that the rumors were right. There he goes, shot by the fiance in the cabin. Then when he was ok, only shot in the arm, I was sure that the rumors faked us out. There must be someone else later in the season who would die! But then as soon as I saw his pristine, clean face, I knew. The clean, blue plaid shirt–I knew it. The angle he was looking at Melinda. He couldn’t be alive. And then we saw him lying in the bed with his ghost with Melinda.

I’m sap. I must tell you. That got me, even though part of me saw it coming. I watered up at the sight of Melinda’s heartbroken face, calling out that it couldn’t be him. Not you!

Next week will be hard, I know it. I’m a little torn, though, about this episode. I guess it definitely gave a shock to the viewers. I mean, it wasn’t a Jim-centric episode! It was anything but. And everything else was going ok. He was a survivor. Just a small embolism.

I guess I was expecting the Jim death show to be all about family. It was, to an extent. Melinda won’t be having his baby (or could she have gotten pregnant before he died?). That alone is heartbreaking.

Now, I know he’ll be around for at least one more episode, but how long? I’m disappointed. I always liked him, and I liked that she always had an ally. Sure, this will open her up to new possibilities and obstacles, but it will be sad.

For those bigger fans who want a little more details, here are a couple links for you:

For some hints/spoilers to answer your questions, take a look here (including an interview with David Conrad): Spoiler Junkie

For another take on the episode from a constant watcher: TV Squad

ABC, I want a do-over

Looks like ABC is in the business of buying. Buying new and used shows. Not only were they in the mix to buy the newly dumped King of the Hill, but they’re going to be airing Scrubs midseason, which they bought from NBC last year. Really, this is all new to me. I’ve only known this to happen in the past with Sister, Sister (bought by the WB way back when from ABC, I believe) and, of course, Buffy (bought from the WB by UPN).

What’s new for ABC is that they’re buying their own show…that they cancelled…ten years ago.

That’s right. ABC is now in production for the new show Cupid–I mean, the old show Cupid…which is new…kinda.

In 1998, ABC aired the TV show Cupid, starring the now esteemed Jeremy Piven of Entourage fame and created by Rob Thomas. The show surrounded a character named Trevor Hale, who might be Cupid! Among the cast was Paula Marshall, who played Dr. Claire Allen. The show only lasted about 14 or 15 episodes and then was cancelled.

For 2009, ABC is airing the TV show Cupid, starring Bobby Cannavale, who played the on-again-off-again boyfriend to Will on Will & Grace (who strangely has the same facial shape and structure as Jeremy Piven, hmmm), and is created by Rob Thomas. The show surrounds a character named Trevor Hale, who might be Cupid! Among the cast is Sarah Paulson, who plays Dr. Claire Allen.

Say what? It’s the SAME SHOW. Ten years later, ABC is picking up the failed show it cancelled itself that starred an actor that’s now grown into fame and fortune with Emmy Awards under his belt. So we’re trying to replace the lead with someone who’s claim to fame is being a recurring character in a series from about five years ago.

Plus, the leading lady doesn’t compare in looks to the original. No offense to Sarah Paulson (I’m a huge fan of Studio 60, where she played Harriet Hayes), but Paula Marshall is stunning.

So why the redo? I know we remake classics: 90210 is the first that comes to mind, and I know Melrose Place is next on deck. But see, the original ones were…successful. This is a failed show.

What makes them think it’d be successful this time around? Why did Rob Thomas pitch it again? From what I can tell, there was a cult following behind it (in fact, message boards on IMDB still tell people to boycot ABC). I appreciate that maybe today is a better time to do a show, but to do the exact show? They could at least change character names and plot a little.

Plus, it’s got straight competition. The CW just started airing Valentine, which is about gods that take the image of people on Earth in order to help people find love.

This just flabbergasts me. But maybe there’s hope! Hurry, someone alert Joss Whedon. Pitch Firefly again–just this time, with different actors. Same plot. Same character names. Just different people. But go now, ABC’s spending its money fast.

[Note the sarcasm, Whedonites. You think I'd give up Jewel Staite time? Please.]

No ‘Bones’ about it

BONES: 4.07 “The Skull in the Sculpture”

Sorry my title’s lame. I had to use it at some point, right?

Anyway, Wednesday’s episode of Bones was good. To be honest, maybe it was the sickness I was fighting, but I couldn’t quite concentrate on it. I could concentrate on the main plot, but I kept missing one-liner after one-liner–which is unfortunate, because there were many. Fortunately, I TiVoed it, which meant that I had the rewind button.

The main one-liners happened to be from or in response to a returning guest star, Carla Gallo. Now, I love her. I watched her in Undeclared and a few episodes of Carnivale. I tend to really enjoy whatever she’s on. And she didn’t disappoint in Bones. She had that strange quirky side that all of the characters seem to have; unfortunately, to them, she’s just too obnoxious to keep around!

Oh, and she breaks things like skulls. Whoops.

But anyway, I’ll be disappointed that she won’t be the new Zack, but on the bright side, we still don’t have a new Zack! I love that they can’t seem to replace him. It’s such a fun little element they’ve brought into this season. I do wonder if Daisy will be returning anyway, if only because she’s Sweets’ sweetie.

The rest of the episode was straight-forward. I enjoyed seeing Vicki Lewis also guest. I must admit, at first I didn’t even recognize her. As a fan of NewsRadio, I’m prone to picking out alums, but she missed my sharp eye–even after I saw her name pass by the guest star list. Anyway, she did a great job, I’d say, even if she did smush a guy like a bug.

Sadly, I don’t have much else to say. I almost fear to say that I saw a little bit of the ending coming. I kinda could see that Vicki was going to be one of the suspects, despite everyone ignoring her. Perhaps it was her callous attitude? The fact that she didn’t care? I’m not sure. But I hope every episode isn’t so predictable.

And then there is Angela. It was interesting to see that she had a swinging side, but it didn’t grab my attention much. Then again, perhaps it’s because I’m fan of Buffy, so the whole lesbian kiss thing isn’t new to me. I suppose we needed to see that someone cared about the case and was fighting for someone–and that she’s still struggling with relationship troubles.

But Hodgins and the jaws of life: That was just great.

As always, I’m opening this up to thoughts from our veteran watchers. I’m still new, so let me know if you disagree or agree!

The Office: Best episode this season

THE OFFICE: 5.06 “Customer Survey”

That’s right. I’m proclaiming it. This episode was the best one this season! Why? Well, let’s go down the list, shall we?

1. It was funny: Yes, they all have been funny, but this episode had me laughing out loud in almost every scene. I hadn’t laughed this hard in an episode since possibly seasons 1 or 2.

2. Characters: We moved out of the usual characters. Kelly wasn’t just a ditzy girl. She actually ACTED. No, I’m not talking about the actress actually put forth effort. She always does that. I mean that Kelly actually moved out of her box and did something when she was upset. She didn’t just lie. She actually took action to get back at someone–in this case, Jim and Dwight. And the reason behind it was just hilarious: Because they didn’t go to her America’s Got Talent finale party. Classic.

3. Dirty twists: Angela’s having her wedding at Dwight’s? Say what? Ok, when I first heard Andy suggest that, I thought for sure that it was another step to make Dwight sad and mopey, but boy did they play it off well. The devilish looks between Angela and Dwight were great, and Andy’s attempt to shift over into the camera shot was just so meta it was fantastic.

4. Jim was in the episode: Ok, yes, Jim has been in all the episodes this season, but where? He’s been hiding in the shadows, and we haven’t heard much from him. Finally, he has a plot AND he got teamed up with Dwight, which if we’ve learned anything, is always a fun thing to watch.

5. Pam was in the episode: Whoever decided that this earpiece thing could work had it nailed. Fan-bloody-tastic. I loved that we FINALLY had our Pam back. Maybe not in person, but in reactions: “That’s what she said! That’s what she said! That’s what she said!” I love it. Plus, it made the silence at the end so much more distinct.

My only complaint was the cold open. I don’t know why it was necessary, really. I guess I also wish they had built up Alex’s character a little more, too, because that seemed to come out of nowhere. By the way, TV Squad had a great analysis of Alex’s speech:

So, let me just explain this to the women: no guy makes a prepared speech about your “art” because he cares about your “art”. If one of your guy friends ever — ever — makes a prepared speech to you about anything (even, say, cleaning supplies or kitty litter), he’s doing it because he wants to sleep with you. Trust me on this.

Hilarious, too.

Anyway, like I said, great episode. We had hilarity, a great step back to the classic Jim/Dwight jokes, less emphasis on Michael while also making him look like someone who could be the boss (the customer survey meetings), and plot movement with Angela/Andy/Dwight and Jim/Pam.

I have to go Brit again: Fan-bloody-tastic.