What you get with the Ghost Whisperer is a lighthearted and feel-good series about, what can be the hardest thing in life, death.
This doesn't mean that death is handled in a simplistic and blithe manner. Truthfully, the subject matter, on the whole, is handled with care and expertise.
What makes the show so watchable are the relationships and characters, which are portrayed and make it a pleasure and a joy to watch. The directors are on top of their game too. Each of them has the ability to make you feel happy and elated and then creep you out with an eerie atmosphere - and ultimately have you reaching for the hankies at the soppy happy ending. I still marvel at how the writers turned even the darkest tales into lightness as the ghost always, mostly, walks into the light. Though I won't complain too much as most episodes lifted me up and put a smile on my face, which is always a good thing.
Jennifer Love Hewitt as Melinda Gordon and David as Jim Clancy and, later, Sam "Jim" Lucas work perfectly together and are pretty believable as the "Perfect - Good-Looking Couple" - do these really exist? Ah, well, it give's the viewer something to dream about. Then add to the mix, Aisha Tyler as Andrea, Jay Mohr as Prof. Rick Payne, Camryn Manheim as Delia Banks, Christoph Sanders and Tyler Patrick Jones as Ned Banks, Jamie Kennedy as Prof. Eli James, and David Clennon as Carl you get a great cast with well written and fleshed out main personalities. Though, there are some issues here too. The main one for me being the Jim and Sam storyline: This had so many possibilities and just as the writers start to get their teeth into the subject matter the story just peters out. Sam is pretty much forgotten, even by the people who know Sam... Parents, family, previous friends, and lovers... nobody that knows Sam ever turns up. This is a wasted possibility and left me quite dissatisfied.
This, however, is the only thing which is wrong with the entire five seasons... continuity. Even though the majority of the stories are standalone, there's a major storyline which runs through each season. These are dark and ominous but all of them just peter out or are resolved instantaneously. The worst for this is the story concerning Melinda's father and brother. This had all the mystery and suspense and was building up to be one hell of a story... and the writers decided to change direction... and in one episode the story was resolved and both brother and father were forgotten and never seen again. More missed opportunities.
A major missed opportunity was the relationship between Melinda and Rick. These two had palpable chemistry, though it would have wrecked the "Perfect Couple" image the show wants to put across. So out goes one major character to be replaced by a very similar one, Eli - and this one is minus any sexual sparks. I did hope that Rick might appear again, especially at some crucial times in her life, since he was meant to be such a good friend. But he just turned out to be somebody else who is out of sight and out of... who was I talking about again?
To be honest, and thinking too much on it the "Bye Bye - You're Gone" list is pretty massive. Not only is there Sam's missing people, Rick, Melinda's Dad and Brother, there's even Melinda's Mum (though she only lives one town over) and Jim's Mum who also disappears for good - bad grandparents, who never come over to check on their grandson. To the extreme that their own offspring never discuss them with their son.
Another gripe of mine is Delia's unwavering self-perpetuated ignorance concerning ghosts. Though she has a few ghostly experiences herself, she is unwilling to believe in there existence. Then after the longest time... piff-paff-puff - and she's not talking to the dead too.
Even though you'd think all this would be a major setback and a viewer turn off, it's actually just a niggle as each story has merits of their own and holds the viewer attention and actually sturs emotions. At the end of the day, you can let the niggles just fade away and you will still enjoy the story.
This is the second time I've watched the series as it's being rerun on the telly and I enjoyed it just as much the second time around. I still wish that there were more "realistic" stories as not everything has a happy ending.
If you want an easy watch with a few smiles, a couple of laughs, along with a ghost story and a morality tale then this could be for you. A nice way to spend forty-five minutes curled up with your loved one on a dark winters night.
