There are shows that get a lot of attention, shows like FlashForward and House and Gossip Girl and The Biggest Loser. They’re new, or lots of people watch them, or dramatic things happen to sexy people. And then there are shows that are older, about older and less sexy people, that exist in the background, the broadcast workhorses. And sometimes, they’re actually quite good.
Medium is just such a show. It was on NBC for several years and did reasonably well, until NBC in its infinite wisdom decided that Jay Leno would be a much better use of 10pm. (Insert standard grumbling here). I was afraid Medium would be cancelled, as is usually the case, but thankfully CBS decided they could find an audience for well-written television and scooped it up. The premise of the show is the standard crime drama crossed with a little supernatural flair – Allison DuBois begins as a normal, middle American housewife until she starts to have dreams about people dying. As it happens, Allison’s dreams are real, and allow her to help the district attorney’s office find and convict criminals, and even occasionally to prevent future murders. The show is like a grown-up version of the standard young adult fantasy plotline: you discover you have magical powers that can be used for good, others learn about your powers and initially reject you, eventually you use your powers to save them in an awesome and heroic way, you are the super amazing chosen one.
The real life of Allison DuBois: make school lunches, discuss her husband's work project, wake up after dreaming about a serial killer, interview suspect
At least, that’s how it would go in the young adult fantasy novel. What makes Medium so great is that Allison’s life continues to look a lot like yours or mine. She still does laundry. Her kids forget to do their homework, and she has to drop it off at school, which makes her late for a meeting. Allison’s husband Joe initially doubts her gruesome visions of the future, but learns to accept them and supports her career in any way he can. One thing about the show that has gotten some attention is Allison herself, played by Patricia Arquette complete with a realistic, mother-of-three body type. You’re not going to believe me, but it turns out her husband still finds her sexy even though she is larger than a size four. Even weirder, despite years of typical financial stress, three daughters, and a wacky, prophetic REM cycle, Allison and Joe still love each other and work hard to maintain their marriage. There are many scenes that take place at night, when Allison and Joe are in bed. The scenes usually involve them talking about their days. I know! It’s downright odd!
The brilliant thing about Medium is that the show has actually hit upon a rhetorical technique that makes for some extremely effective storytelling. The realism of Allison and Joe’s life, down to the tedium of making breakfast every morning and the perpetual question of who takes the kids to school, pulls the supernatural elements of the show out of fantasy land and well into the realm of plausibility. Sure, we don’t really believe that a woman could speak with ghosts or dream about the future, but when it happens and Allison then forgets to get groceries and they have to get pizza for dinner, the whole thing feels reasonable. It feels scarier when Allison gets caught in a dangerous situation, and it feels more satisfying when she catches the bad guy. Allison DuBois’ surprisingly mundane fictional life is both the most persuasive and surprising aspect of the whole premise. So yes, we can all talk about how Chuck Bass kissed a boy on Gossip Girl this week (insert Katy Perry joke here). I was more impressed when Allison remembered where she put her daughter’s permission slip.