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Medium (TV series)

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Medium
Intertitle
Created byGlenn Gordon Caron
Starringsee below
Narrated byAllison DuBois
(portrayed by Patricia Arquette)
Country of originUnited States
No. of seasons7
No. of episodes117 (list of episodes)
Production
Running time45 minutes
Original release
NetworkNBC (2005–2009)
CBS (2009–)
ReleaseJanuary 3, 2005 (2005-01-03) –
present

Medium is an American supernatural and dramatic television series that premiered on NBC on January 3, 2005. Its focus is Allison DuBois (Patricia Arquette), a medium who works as a consultant for the Phoenix, Arizona district attorney's office. The lead character is a wife to loving husband, Joe DuBois, and the mother of three daughters who all inherited her gift, apparently passed from generation to generation. The original premise of the show was based on reported experiences of self-proclaimed medium Allison DuBois, who claims to have worked with law enforcement agencies across the country in criminal investigations.

Medium was created by Glenn Gordon Caron and is produced by Picturemaker Productions and Grammnet Productions in association with CBS Television Studios, originally known as Paramount Television and CBS Paramount Television.

The series aired on NBC during its first five seasons before switching to CBS, whose production division produces the show,[1] beginning with the sixth season. Season 7 begins in September 2010.

Plot

Main article: List of Medium episodes

Allison DuBois (Patricia Arquette) is a strong-willed mother of three, a devoted wife, and a law student who has had the gift of being able to talk to dead people, as well as foresee events, and witness past events in her dreams. When she begins working for the Phoenix District Attorney, Devalos, as an intern, she has a dream which relates to a murder in Texas, the successful solving of which convinces her boss and others working in the D.A.'s office – and herself and her husband – that her gift is real.

The real challenge is initially convincing her boss, D.A. Manuel Devalos (Miguel Sandoval) — and subsequently the other doubters in the criminal justice system — that her psychic abilities can give them the upper hand when it comes to solving violent and horrifying crimes, whose mysteries often reside with those who lie beyond the grave. Information on certain people or crimes comes to her in dreams or in cryptic visions which often do not mean what they initially suggest.

Allison is often accompanied by Det. Lee Scanlon (David Cubitt), who initially did not believe in her "gift". Allison often bends the rules of the law when she is determined to stop a crime about which she's had a vision. Additionally, Allison has helped and been helped by Captain Kenneth Push of the Texas Rangers (Arliss Howard), who is the first law-enforcement person to whom Allison revealed her gift, and Cynthia Keener (Anjelica Huston) of AmeriTips, a nationwide private detective agency. In season four, it was revealed that Cynthia had a daughter who was missing. Allison's dreams revealed to Cynthia that her daughter was dead. Cynthia made a choice to kill the murderer of her daughter and do time in jail. Keener later appeared in season five to help Allison on a case for the D.A. At that time, it was said that Cynthia has a couple more months to go before she is eligible for parole. During this season, it was also revealed that Lynn DiNovi, Lee's live-in lover and an assistant to the Mayor of Phoenix who occasionally is a liaison with the D.A.'s office, had become pregnant with Lee's child. In the season five finale, Allison discovers that she has a brain tumor located on her brainstem. In order to prevent apparent murders in the future, Allison risked her life as she postpones the critical surgery out of fear that the surgery would prevent her from solving the case. During her operation the tumor was successfully removed, but her husband, Joe, is told that Allison is in a comatose state, with doubts of her survival. The last scene of season five on NBC is Allison in a hospital bed on life support.

The sixth season premiered on Friday September 25, 2009 on CBS. In this episode, Allison had finally gotten out of the coma and was now suffering the consequences for postponing the surgery. Aside from a non-usable right hand and a cane to use while she walks, Allison's abilities slowly begin to resurface (after four months) as a form of déjà vu. At the end of the episode, it is shown that Allison is slowly but surely recovering when her right hand begins working. Since the premiere of the sixth season, many changes have affected the DuBois family positively and negatively. Not only has their eldest daughter Ariel taken the role of a nurturing older sister to siblings Bridgette and Marie, she falls victim to a bodily possession and shortly recovering after Allison's help. After her emergency brainstem surgery, Allison gets back into her normal routine working alongside with D.A. Devalos and Det. Lee Scanlon, with possible side-effects of her surgery affecting her dreams. Also, perennial bachelor Lee proposes to Lynn after a long and stressful relationship. As the season progressed, Ariel's transformation from a young girl into a strong, confident woman was evident in the episode "Time Keeps on Slippin'", where she must solve a crime on her own in the future. A more shocking event occurs in the season finale, when Allison receives a letter from her Neurologist that she needs to be seen about her brain tumor. Meanwhile, Ariel also receives a letter of her own, when she is accepted into the University of her choice away from home. The horror begins when Joe awakens to a deceased Allison in their bed, having died from her tumor during the night. As the family mourns the death of their beloved mother and wife, Ariel is pleased to be contacted by Allison from the otherside, asking her to do one last thing for her before she passes on, but the challenge of succeeding was more than Ariel expected. The episode plunges into a dark and depressing territory as Ariel soon becomes damaged from the serious choices she must make. After giving up on solving the murder and deciding to follow her own path despite her mother's wishes, she begins to wash Allison away with every sip of alcohol. Ariel leaves Phoenix without notice and Allison feels she destroyed her family, taking one last chance to stop this mess. Suddenly, she awakens in her bed the exact morning Joe found her dead, but this time, she wakes him from slumber. Pleased to be alive and that all was just a dream, Allison learns the most important lesson of all, that everyone should follow their dreams and succeed. At the end of the sixth season, Allison, Joe, Ariel, Manuel and his wife, Lily, are seen celebrating Lynn and Lee's wedding, all toasting to their bright futures, ending the season on a high note.

CBS renewed Medium for a seventh season and it is expected to premiere September 2010.

Family

All of Allison's daughters appear to have inherited Allison's gift. Ariel (Sofia Vassilieva) and Bridgette (Maria Lark) also have visions or dreams, which usually occur when their mother is in a bind in searching for answers to her own dreams. In Season 3, Allison's youngest daughter, Marie (Madison Carabello and Miranda Carabello), also begins to exhibit a paranormal inclination. Currently, she has been shown viewing a premium TV channel that the family does not subscribe to, reading the mind of her optometrist in order to pass her eye exam and unknowingly using paper dolls to predict the future of her father's company. In season 5, Marie had her first "dream", where she saw herself on stage with stage fright during her school's play. In earlier seasons, Bridgette never appears to be bothered by her abilities, but during season 4 she has some moments of frustration either understanding her visions or communicating them to her parents. Ariel usually has a harder time trying to cope with a developing gift she knows very little about. The second season episode "Sweet Child O'Mine" reveals that Allison and Joe lost their first child, a boy they planned to name Bryan. Around the anniversary of his loss each year, Allison has dreams of a life where Bryan had grown up as a part of the family, though often in these dreams he dies in front of her.

Allison's younger half brother, Michael "Lucky", has the family gift too, but doesn't like to acknowledge it, since it always seems to bring him trouble. Initially, Allison believed the gift had skipped a generation and her mother had had no psychic abilities. However, she later discovered that her mother had always possessed the gift, but had done everything she could to repress it.

In the season six finale, Ariel expresses the same feelings that Allison and her own mother once did, wanting to wash away the ghosts with alcohol. This is a symbolic turn for Ariel's character as Allison realizes how much she's grown and how Ariel's inherited gift places a strain on her life.

Main/recurring cast

Actor/Actress Character Role Notes Duration
Patricia Arquette Allison DuBois The Medium Protagonist Season 1 – present
Jake Weber Joe DuBois Allison's husband Engineer
Miguel Sandoval Manuel Devalos Allison's boss District Attorney of Phoenix
Sofia Vassilieva Ariel DuBois Oldest DuBois daughter
Maria Lark Bridgette DuBois Middle DuBois daughter
David Cubitt Lee Scanlon Detective Allison's co-worker Season 1 – present, recurring previously
Madison and Miranda Carabello Marie DuBois Youngest DuBois daughter Season 1 – present (recurring)
Tina DiJoseph Lynn DiNovi Mayor's Liaison, later Deputy Mayor Lee's girlfriend, later wife Season 1 – present (recurring)
Ryan Hurst Michael "Lucky" Benoit Allison's half-brother Seasons 1 – 3 (recurring)
Arliss Howard Kenneth Push Captain of the Texas Rangers Seasons 1 – 3 (recurring)
Holliston Coleman Hannah Ariel's best friend Season 1 – 6 (recurring)
Bruce Gray Mr. Dubois Joe's father (deceased) Ghost Season 1 – 6 (recurring)
Kathy Baker Mrs. Dubois Joe's mother Season 1 – 6 (recurring)
Kurtwood Smith Edward Cooper FBI Agent (deceased) Ghost Seasons 3 – 5 (recurring)
John Prosky Tom Van Dyke Former District Attorney (deceased) Manuel's Rival Seasons 3 & 4 (recurring)
Anjelica Huston Cynthia Keener Allison's employer AmeriTips investigator Seasons 4 & 5 (recurring)
Annamarie Kenoyer Ashley Whitaker Ariel's friend Season 5 & 6 (recurring)

Notable guest stars

4

Reception

Ratings

The series premiere received 16.13 million viewers and a 6.3 rating in the 18–49 demo against CSI: Miami's 18.17 million and 6.6 rating.[2] Medium was a consistent performer throughout its first season and landed in the Nielsen Top 20 with an average of 13.9 million viewers.[3] The series remained in its original time slot for the second season when the network announced its Fall 2005 schedule. Throughout the season, the series experienced a decline in viewership, pulling an average of 11 million viewers.[4] Medium was renewed for a third season in April 2006,[5] but was missing from NBC's Fall 2006 schedule. The series was slated to return in early 2007; however, in October it was announced that production would resume immediately for a third season start-up on November 15, 2006, replacing the time slot vacated by Kidnapped.[6] Its move to the Wednesday time slot opposite CBS' CSI: NY and ABC's Lost led to some ratings erosion, in comparison to the ratings success of the first two seasons, with year-end ratings for the third season dipping into single-digit millions of viewers.[7][8] Despite the ratings decline on Wednesdays, the series was seen by the network as a reliable self-starter, building on its then lead-in Crossing Jordan.[9] The ratings decline put the series on the bubble for renewal, but the series showed signs of life when NBC requested six additional scripts in April 2007.[8]

Renewal for a fourth season of Medium was announced on May 7, 2007, with an undetermined premiere date and number of episodes.[10] It was the seventh series to be renewed by the network, behind solid performers Heroes and Law & Order: SVU.[9] One week later, the network announced that Medium would move to the Sunday 9 p.m. time slot upon its return in January 2008.[11] News on the series' return did not come until December 2007 when NBC announced that the fourth season would begin in January in its original Monday 10 p.m. time slot,[12] despite the WGA Strike of 2007, which forced the show to cease production, allowing for only nine segments/episodes to be filmed.[13] Scheduling returning mid-season shows in timeslots where they were previously successful was a pattern for NBC during the strike: Law & Order returned to Wednesdays at 10 and The Apprentice was back on Thursdays at 9:00 p.m.[14]

With the ratings improvement Medium demonstrated in its fourth season after returning to Mondays, it was one of the first series to be renewed in an early announcement in April 2008 from NBC regarding its 2008–09 season.[15] Similar to the previous season, Medium was initially scheduled to move to the Sunday night line-up; however, a December 2008 press release revealed that the fifth season would air in the series' original Monday night 10 p.m. time slot.[16]

After some ratings erosion during its fifth season, NBC renewed Medium for an abridged sixth season in early May 2009.[17] However, within a week negotiations stalled over episode count[18] and subsequently NBC decided not to renew the series despite the fact that it outperforms some of the network's renewed shows.[19] Within 24 hours of NBC's cancellation, CBS, whose production arm produces the series, renewed the show for a full, 22-episode, sixth season,[20] placing it in the Friday at 9:00 p.m. slot between fellow CBS in-house productions Ghost Whisperer and Numb3rs.[21] CBS first aired this series with a rerun episode on July 21, 2009. The sixth season premiered on Friday, September 25, 2009 at 9pm.[22] Throughout its sixth season, Medium and its lead-in Ghost Whisperer won their respective time slots on most Fridays, and each show took turns being the most-watched show of the night.[23] As the season drew to a close, Ghost Whisperer was considered a definite renewal, whereas Medium was once again on the bubble for renewal.[24] However, in a dramatic move from CBS, the network announced on May 18, 2010, that Medium was renewed for a seventh season, while seven other series were canceled by the network.[25] Upon its return in September 2010, Medium is scheduled to fill the Friday at 8 p.m. slot vacated by Ghost Whisperer.

Seasonal ratings/broadcast history

Seasonal rankings (based on average total viewers per episode) of Medium.

Note: Each U.S. network television season generally starts in late September and ends in late May (except for the fifth season), which coincides with the completion of May sweeps. Times mentioned in this section are in Eastern Time.

Season Network Time slot Season premiere Season finale Episode
count 		TV season Season
rank 		Viewers
(in millions)
DVR not included
1 NBC Monday 10:00 pm January 3, 2005 May 23, 2005 16 2004–2005 #19 13.9[3]
2 September 19, 2005 May 22, 2006 22 2005–2006 #31 11.2[4]
3 Wednesday 10:00 pm November 15, 2006 May 16, 2007 22 2006–2007 #51 8.3[7]
4 Monday 10:00 pm January 7, 2008 May 12, 2008 16 2007–2008 #41 10.5[26]
5 February 2, 2009 June 1, 2009 19 2008–2009 #61 8.5[27]
6 CBS Friday 9:00 pm September 25, 2009 May 21, 2010 22 2009–2010 #52 7.9[28]
7 Friday 8:00 pm September 24, 2010 May, 2011 22 2010–2011

The series began a syndication run on the cable network Lifetime on March 26, 2006.

Awards

Year Group Award Result Recipient(s)
2005 BMI Film & TV Awards BMI TV Music Award Won Mychael Danna, Jeff Beal
Emmy Award Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series Won Patricia Arquette
Imagen Foundation Awards Best Actor – Television Nominated Miguel Sandoval
Satellite Award Outstanding Actress in a Series, Drama Nominated Patricia Arquette
Outstanding Actor in a Series, Drama Nominated Jake Weber
2006 ASCAP Film and Television Music Awards ASCAP Award – Top TV Series Won Sean Callery
Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films Saturn Award – Best Actress in a Television Program Nominated Patricia Arquette
Golden Globes Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Drama Nominated Patricia Arquette
Motion Picture Sound Editors Golden Reel Award – Best Sound Editing in Television Short Form – Music Won Robert Cotnoir (music editor) For "The Song Remains the Same"
Screen Actors Guild Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series Nominated Patricia Arquette
Young Artist Awards Best Performance in a TV Series (Drama) – Supporting Young Actress Won Sofia Vassilieva
Best Performance in a TV Series (Comedy or Drama) – Young Actress Age Ten or Younger Nominated Maria Lark
2007 ALMA Awards Outstanding Supporting Actor – Television Series, Mini-Series or Television Movie Nominated Miguel Sandoval
Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films Saturn Award – Best Actress in a Television Program Nominated Patricia Arquette
Emmy Award Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series Nominated Patricia Arquette
Golden Globes Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Drama Nominated Patricia Arquette
Screen Actors Guild Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series Nominated Patricia Arquette
Young Artist Awards Best Performance in a TV Series (Comedy or Drama) – Young Actress Age Ten or Younger Won Maria Lark
2008 BMI Film & TV Awards BMI TV Music Award Won Mychael Danna
Golden Globes Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Drama Nominated Patricia Arquette
Emmy Award Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series Nominated Anjelica Huston
TV Land Awards Favorite Character From the Other Side Nominated Patricia Arquette
2010 Screen Actors Guild Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series Nominated Patricia Arquette

DVD releases

CBS DVD (distributed by Paramount) has released the first 4 seasons of Medium on DVD in Regions 1, 2 & 4. Season 5 was released in Region 1 on October 6, 2009.

Season Ep # Discs Release Dates Bonus material (Region 1)
Region 1 Region 2 (UK) Region 2 (GER) Region 4
1 16 5 June 13, 2006 August 14, 2006 November 2, 2006 September 7, 2006 Extended version Of The "Pilot", Cast and Crew Commentaries On Select Episodes, Deleted Scenes On Select Episodes, The Making of Medium, The Story of Medium, Interpreting Allison DeBois, Gag Reel, TV Spots.
2 22 6 October 3, 2006 July 9, 2007 September 6, 2007 June 6, 2007 Deleted scenes, Cast And Crew Commentaries On Select Episodes, The Story of Medium Season 2, Medium in Another Dimension, A Day In The Life Of The Dubois Daughters, The Museum of Television & Radio Q&A With Cast and Creative Team, Gag Reel.
3 22 6 October 16, 2007 July 7, 2008 November 6, 2008 July 9, 2008 Cast And Crew Commentaries On Select Episodes, Drawing On Dreams, Directing With David Arquette, Acting Is My "Racquet", The Story Of Medium, Season 3, Gag Reel, The Making of "Medium" : Season 3.
4 16 4 September 9, 2008 June 15, 2009 September 3, 2009 June 3, 2009 Deleted scenes with commentary by Glenn Gordon Caron and Larry Teng, "Joe's Crayon Dream", "Introducing Cynthia Keener", "The Making of Medium season 4", Gag reel
5 19 5 October 6, 2009 August 30, 2010[29] TBA July 1, 2010 Script to Screen "Apocalypse...Now?" , Curious Maria, The Making of Medium : Season 5, Jake & Patricia Q & A
6 22 6 October 5, 2010 TBA TBA TBA The Mind Behind Medium, The 100th Episode of Medium: A Celebration, Zombies on the Loose: The Making of 'Bite Me', The Music of Medium, Non-Fat Double Medium

References

  1. ^ Tim Molloy (August 4, 2009). "Medium Revels in Place Among Living Dead". TVGuide.com. Retrieved 2009-08-04.
  2. ^ "NBC's Debut Of 'Medium' Sees 'Live People'--Lots of 'Em, As CBS Wins Monday". MediaPost. Retrieved 2009-05-06. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  3. ^ a b "2004–05 Primetime Wrap". Hollywood Reporter.com. May 27, 2005.
  4. ^ a b "2005–06 Primetime Wrap". Hollywood Reporter.com. May 26, 2006.
  5. ^ "Three More NBC Series Get the Call – 'Vegas', 'Medium,' 'Jordan' all renewed for '06–'07". Zap2It.com. Retrieved 2009-01-28.
  6. ^ "Medium and 3 lb. Set November Premiers". Zap2It.com. Retrieved 2008-03-09.
  7. ^ a b "2006–07 primetime wrap". HollywoodReporter.com. May 25, 2007.
  8. ^ a b "A Good Omen for Medium – No pickup yet, but NBC asks for more scripts". Zap2It.com. Retrieved 2008-03-09.
  9. ^ a b "NBC Foresees Medium Renewal – Show gets fourth season in 2007–08". Zap2It.com. Retrieved 2008-03-09.
  10. ^ "Prime-time Premonition: NBC Brings Back Medium". TVGuide.com. Retrieved 2007-05-07.
  11. ^ "NBC Has Flair for the Dramatic". Zap2It.com. Retrieved 2008-03-09.
  12. ^ "NBC Slots 'Medium,' Firms Up Schedule". Zap2It.com. Retrieved 2008-03-09.
  13. ^ "Strike Chart". TVGuide.com. Retrieved 2007-11-09.
  14. ^ "NBC Rolls Out a Full Slate of Original Programming for the First Quarter of 2008". thefutoncritic.com. Retrieved 2007-12-06.
  15. ^ "NBC Fall Lineup 08/09". TVGuide.com. Retrieved 2008-04-02.
  16. ^ "NBC Kicks-off a Post-Super Bowl Primetime Schedule with New Mid-season Series Premieres, Popular Series Returns, the "ER" Series Finale and an Original Movie Event". nbcumv.com. Retrieved 2008-12-03.
  17. ^ "Fall TV: NBC Sizes Up Medium for a Sixth Season". TVGuide.com. Retrieved 2009-04-03.
  18. ^ "'Medium' may go to CBS". Hollywoodreporter.com. Retrieved 2009-05-17.
  19. ^ "CBS & NBC Feud Over 'Medium' Win/Loss". Deadlinehollywooddaily.com. Retrieved 2009-05-20.
  20. ^ "You'll Be Channeling CBS to See 'Medium' This Fall, and NBC Is Spooked". Washington Post.com. May 21, 2009. Retrieved 2009-05-21.
  21. ^ "CBS Announces 2009–2010 Schedule". TVbytheNumbers.com. Retrieved 2009-05-20.
  22. ^ "Fall TV: CBS Announces Premiere Dates". TVGuide.com. Retrieved 2009-06-24.
  23. ^ "Ratings Report: Medium wins its timeslot on a slow night". Crushable.com. Retrieved 2010-03-20.
  24. ^ "CBS: Moonlight Still Canceled; Numb3rs, Medium On The Bubble". TVbytheNumbers.com. Retrieved 2010-04-28.
  25. ^ "CBS Cleans House, Cancels Seven". TV.com. Retrieved 2010-05-31.
  26. ^ "Season 3 Program Rankings" (PDF). ABCMedianet.com. Retrieved 2008-06-02.
  27. ^ "Season 4 Program Rankings". ABCMedianet.com. Retrieved 2009-06-02.
  28. ^ "Deadline.com: Full Series Rankings for The 2009–2010 Broadcast Season". May 27, 2010. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |source= ignored (help)
  29. ^ "Medium: Season 5".
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