Family, Fame, and Focus:
How Ghost Whisperer and Medium are actually very different.
When I first saw the descriptions of the two shows, I kind of just lumped them together as two parallel shows. After all, they are both about a female medium who sees ghosts and communicates with them to get things done. Both are pretty, both are married, and both struggle to come to terms with their gift's effect on the people in their lives.
But, they are actually different. In many ways, Medium is closer to something like Law and Order than Ghost Whisperer. And Ghost Whisperer is closer to Oprah. Medium is about a woman named Allison who can see ghosts and who has dreams sent to her by ghosts about how they died. She uses these dreams to help the District Attorney prosecute cases against murderers, kidnappers, and other criminals.
There is very little focus on the ghosts themselves. There are times where you don't even really know where the dreams are coming from, because the victim is still alive so technically they can't be the one sending her the dreams.
Also, there are times when they have a different effect on her. Like a young girl who was deaf was kidnapped, and until the girl returned to her mother, Allison was deaf too. Which didn't really make sense. It isn't like her being deaf helped her find the girl, it may actually have impeded her ability to find her.
Anyway, Melissa, the medium in Ghost Whisperer, does not solve crimes. She is kind of like a social worker or therapist. You see the ghosts come to her. Every episode (with the exception of three or four), is about her finding a ghost or a ghost coming to her with unfinished business and her helping them move on by talking to their family.
Melissa feels like she cannot ignore them, if she sees a ghost she has to help them. Allison helps ghosts who ask her for help. Basically, Melissa will go out of her way to help if she even sees a ghost, Allison will avoid them.
The best example of this is in episodes where they go to the hospital. Obviously, a place high in ghosts. Allison puts on headphones and ignores them, so they don't know she can see them. Melissa goes to help the ghost who needs her, but acknowledges the ghosts she meets and then comes back later to help them.
The focus of the two, and the show itself, is different. Medium is about solving the crime. Ghost Whisperer is about bringing peace to the families and finding closure before people move on. Medium almost never (only three times) talks about something other than just being a ghost. Most of the time, it is in reference to a ghost that she says 'should pack for the heat'.
In regards to the Fame they have, obviously Allison will get more because she is working to put people away. A news reporter even outs her as a "psychic", while Melissa had a few people (a blogger and a professor) start to question her, they both let it go. The blogger because he dies, the professor because he sees what she can do and becomes an ally.
Family, though, I find is a really big difference. Allison has three kids. Melissa has one in the final season. But the biggest difference is with the husbands.
Allison's husband annoys me. A lot. He has really no character development. Actually, he does. He just gets worse. From the very first season he seems annoyed with Allison 80% of the time. And most of that time, it isn't things she can control.
The ghosts have more of an effect on Allison than Melissa. In Ghost Whisperer, they can move things and effect lights. Things like that, but not much more. In Medium, ghosts can make Allison deaf, make it so everything she hears is gibberish, make it so all she hears is a song, make her hand move on her own, and in several episodes a ghost completely takes over her body. None of these things are in her control.
But her husband always gets mad at her for it. In one episode, he apologizes and says sometimes it just gets to him and he is sorry. But, he doesn't actually change. He still gets mad at her every time, like she can control it. And in the final season, it starts to suggest he is going to start an affair with her doctor. Not the first time this suggestion came up, but the only time it escalated instead of ending. (Ex. his business partner who kissed him, but then he didn't tell Allison, his ex who invited him to lunch and he went even though Allison said he shouldn't, and that she could tell his ex was still interested in him). The only reason he didn't was because he died first.
On the other hand, Melissa's husband is hugely supportive. He only ever questions it once when she is in danger. But he loves that she helps people, he loves that she is selfless. And when she says that she can't just ignore a ghost in trouble, he says he is constantly amazed that he could love her more.
Also, Allison's husband in the beginning basically suggested that he didn't even really believe her gift. And there are other times where it seems like he wants to try and undermine it as real. While Melissa's husband totally accepts and even when she thinks she has lost it, is supportive her.
Allison's husband doesn't just get mad at her. When he finds out the kids are psychic he is just as annoyed with them. He is teaching his daughter to drive and she can tell what he is going to say before he says it, at least that is what he assumes. It is totally possible that she actually knew what to do because she studied, but no, he assumes she is just reading his mind and gets mad at her and acts like he is miserable spending time with her. He even constantly blows her off.
Meanwhile, when Melissa said she was worried about passing her gift on, her husband said that he would love any kid they had no matter what.
It is just two very different relationships. And what is interesting is that, I don't know if Allison's husband would have married her if he had known about her gift or the job she would have. While Melissa's husband knew before and accepted it. Maybe that is why Allison's husband sometimes takes issue with it, because he didn't really have the chance to accept it.
Like in Bewitched, she tells him on their wedding night. After it is more difficult to just walk away. If he had known before and come to terms with it first, he might be more accepting now because he agreed to it. This was kind of just sprung on him, and he seems bitter about it.
Not to say that Allison is totally innocent in their relationship. She is pretty narrow-minded, in that she misses big things. She doesn't notice her kids miss her, her husband is frustrated and lonely because she isn't there, and in one episode she completely ignores her daughter's feelings and drives her away.
She is so blinded sometimes by what she does that she doesn't see how it affects her family. And then she thinks about it briefly, but then dismisses it almost instantly. (Ex. in one a man is hunting her for her gift putting her and her kids in danger, she thinks about giving up her gift, and then next morning after having a dream she has completely moved on from that idea).
So, I can kind of see why her husband is frustrated. But he just kind of doesn't really talk it out, his solution seems to be get mad, ignore it, or pout. Then, later, he turns to infidelity.
Anyway, over all, I think while I thought both were interesting, they should not be compared or seen as similar. There are different things that are good about both, but one should not watch one assuming it will be like the other.
Ghost Whisperer is a feel-good kind of show. Most of the episodes end on a pretty happy, but emotional note (A mom saying good-bye to her child, as he moves on to a better place and she can move on and forgive herself). Medium is a crime show, things are often solved, but there aren't a huge number of truly 'happy' endings beyond the bad guy going to jail or dying.
Also, there are times when they have a different effect on her. Like a young girl who was deaf was kidnapped, and until the girl returned to her mother, Allison was deaf too. Which didn't really make sense. It isn't like her being deaf helped her find the girl, it may actually have impeded her ability to find her.
Anyway, Melissa, the medium in Ghost Whisperer, does not solve crimes. She is kind of like a social worker or therapist. You see the ghosts come to her. Every episode (with the exception of three or four), is about her finding a ghost or a ghost coming to her with unfinished business and her helping them move on by talking to their family.
Melissa feels like she cannot ignore them, if she sees a ghost she has to help them. Allison helps ghosts who ask her for help. Basically, Melissa will go out of her way to help if she even sees a ghost, Allison will avoid them.
The best example of this is in episodes where they go to the hospital. Obviously, a place high in ghosts. Allison puts on headphones and ignores them, so they don't know she can see them. Melissa goes to help the ghost who needs her, but acknowledges the ghosts she meets and then comes back later to help them.
The focus of the two, and the show itself, is different. Medium is about solving the crime. Ghost Whisperer is about bringing peace to the families and finding closure before people move on. Medium almost never (only three times) talks about something other than just being a ghost. Most of the time, it is in reference to a ghost that she says 'should pack for the heat'.
In regards to the Fame they have, obviously Allison will get more because she is working to put people away. A news reporter even outs her as a "psychic", while Melissa had a few people (a blogger and a professor) start to question her, they both let it go. The blogger because he dies, the professor because he sees what she can do and becomes an ally.
Family, though, I find is a really big difference. Allison has three kids. Melissa has one in the final season. But the biggest difference is with the husbands.
Allison's husband annoys me. A lot. He has really no character development. Actually, he does. He just gets worse. From the very first season he seems annoyed with Allison 80% of the time. And most of that time, it isn't things she can control.
The ghosts have more of an effect on Allison than Melissa. In Ghost Whisperer, they can move things and effect lights. Things like that, but not much more. In Medium, ghosts can make Allison deaf, make it so everything she hears is gibberish, make it so all she hears is a song, make her hand move on her own, and in several episodes a ghost completely takes over her body. None of these things are in her control.
But her husband always gets mad at her for it. In one episode, he apologizes and says sometimes it just gets to him and he is sorry. But, he doesn't actually change. He still gets mad at her every time, like she can control it. And in the final season, it starts to suggest he is going to start an affair with her doctor. Not the first time this suggestion came up, but the only time it escalated instead of ending. (Ex. his business partner who kissed him, but then he didn't tell Allison, his ex who invited him to lunch and he went even though Allison said he shouldn't, and that she could tell his ex was still interested in him). The only reason he didn't was because he died first.
On the other hand, Melissa's husband is hugely supportive. He only ever questions it once when she is in danger. But he loves that she helps people, he loves that she is selfless. And when she says that she can't just ignore a ghost in trouble, he says he is constantly amazed that he could love her more.
Also, Allison's husband in the beginning basically suggested that he didn't even really believe her gift. And there are other times where it seems like he wants to try and undermine it as real. While Melissa's husband totally accepts and even when she thinks she has lost it, is supportive her.
Allison's husband doesn't just get mad at her. When he finds out the kids are psychic he is just as annoyed with them. He is teaching his daughter to drive and she can tell what he is going to say before he says it, at least that is what he assumes. It is totally possible that she actually knew what to do because she studied, but no, he assumes she is just reading his mind and gets mad at her and acts like he is miserable spending time with her. He even constantly blows her off.
Meanwhile, when Melissa said she was worried about passing her gift on, her husband said that he would love any kid they had no matter what.
It is just two very different relationships. And what is interesting is that, I don't know if Allison's husband would have married her if he had known about her gift or the job she would have. While Melissa's husband knew before and accepted it. Maybe that is why Allison's husband sometimes takes issue with it, because he didn't really have the chance to accept it.
Like in Bewitched, she tells him on their wedding night. After it is more difficult to just walk away. If he had known before and come to terms with it first, he might be more accepting now because he agreed to it. This was kind of just sprung on him, and he seems bitter about it.
Not to say that Allison is totally innocent in their relationship. She is pretty narrow-minded, in that she misses big things. She doesn't notice her kids miss her, her husband is frustrated and lonely because she isn't there, and in one episode she completely ignores her daughter's feelings and drives her away.
She is so blinded sometimes by what she does that she doesn't see how it affects her family. And then she thinks about it briefly, but then dismisses it almost instantly. (Ex. in one a man is hunting her for her gift putting her and her kids in danger, she thinks about giving up her gift, and then next morning after having a dream she has completely moved on from that idea).
So, I can kind of see why her husband is frustrated. But he just kind of doesn't really talk it out, his solution seems to be get mad, ignore it, or pout. Then, later, he turns to infidelity.
Anyway, over all, I think while I thought both were interesting, they should not be compared or seen as similar. There are different things that are good about both, but one should not watch one assuming it will be like the other.
Ghost Whisperer is a feel-good kind of show. Most of the episodes end on a pretty happy, but emotional note (A mom saying good-bye to her child, as he moves on to a better place and she can move on and forgive herself). Medium is a crime show, things are often solved, but there aren't a huge number of truly 'happy' endings beyond the bad guy going to jail or dying.
