llison Dubois (Arquette) is a busy mother of three who is going to law school and interning at the D.A.'s office. She just wants to be a normal person, just like anyone else. Unfortunately, she has disturbing dreams of murders at night, ghosts gather around her bed, and she can reconstruct crime-scene photos and know what happened between the grisly images.
When Allison meets another psychic, the woman knows right away that Allison is special even among the special. She tells Allison that she knows she's been visited by the dead since she was a little girl and that she uses alcohol to quiet the voices. Allison nearly runs from her. She just wants that part of her life to go away. However, her rocket-scientist husband, Joe (Weber), decides to put her visions to the test. He faxes descriptions of Allison's visions to several law enforcement agencies, expecting to discover nothing more than that his wife is stressed out. And then the Texas Rangers call.
Allison travels to Texas and runs into the formidable Capt. Kenneth Push (Arliss Howard), a cynical Texas Ranger who doesn't believe for one minute a "soothsayer" is going to help his case. The ranger believes a 17-year-old boy has kidnapped, raped and killed a young child, but he doesn't have enough evidence to keep the boy locked up much longer. Allison's fax had several details the police never released about the crime, and he wants to know where she's getting her information.
Capt. Push puts Allison through test after test, trying to trip her up. But when she takes him to the correct crime scene and knows detail after detail about the crime and about the captain himself, even he begins to believe her. However, a hurricane is about to blow in, and it just may destroy any evidence the killer's left behind, including where the boy's body is buried. Beyond that, the hurricane may just destroy Allison's chance to prove she isn't crazy after all.
Channeling a haunted life
Medium isn't actually about a psychic's life. However, it is "inspired" by real-life research medium and police consultant Allison Dubois. Life is messy, and nobody's life fits into nice tidy episodes. However, according to Dubois in an interview, the pilot of this series comes pretty close to exposing the turning point in her life when she decided to use her gift and leave the law degree behind.
Medium is a good showcase for Arquette, who comes across genuinely as Allison, someone who is just a little too comfortable when strange things happen, such as when one of the dead at the foot of her bed ask her if she's all right after waking from a bad dream.
The series is at its best when Allison is at home with the family, interacting with her children or sparring with her husband, Joe. The dialogue between Joe and Allison is terrific and feels real. Unfortunately, because the family stuff is so good, the office scenes come off a bit less genuine, especially since those characters haven't been fleshed out to feel like real people.
Beyond Arquette, Weber as Joe is excellent and is a good balance for Allison. Creator and director Caron also does a great job at getting natural performances out of the little girls who play Allison's daughters. Additionally, Arliss Howard does a wonderful job as the cranky Texas Ranger Capt. Push.
While the pilot was an excellent starting point to the series, a second episode, "Night of the Wolf," is less successful. Again, the family stuff is rich and genuine. However, as soon as Allison starts getting chased through an airport by a bad guy, Medium feels more than a little dated.
