Ghost Whisperer – The Third Season

The show’s most basic premise remains intact. Melinda Gordon is a newlywed and owns the antique shop in a quaint New England town. From childhood she has had the “gift” of being able to see the ghosts of those restless departed souls unable to cross over into the great beyond. If this sounds familiar, it should. Remember little Haley Joel Osment from The Sixth Sense? Like his character, Cole, Melinda takes the responsibility of helping these spirits accomplish some unfinished earthly business so that they can move into the light. The series almost always ends with some tearjerker moments as a loved one is connected, through Melinda, with the departed friend or family member.

In the first season, Melinda was joined by her friend and business partner Andrea (Tyler). At the end of that freshman season, Andrea was killed and became a pawn in a good vs. evil struggle between Melinda and a mysterious “wide-brimmed hat man”. I was sorry to see the character literally depart the show, but I thought that cliffhanger was one of the more effective moments I’ve seen. The sacrifice of the character provided an ending I’ll admit I never saw coming. To replace Andrea, Camryn Manheim from The Practice joined the cast as Melinda’s new partner Delia in the second season. The better addition to the second season cast was Jay Mohr as Professor Payne, who develops a very interesting chemistry with Melinda. He was only intended as a short arc character, but the relationship was quite a dynamic one from the start. The producers quickly recognized the lucky circumstance and made it a permanent part of the show, but I’m sorry to report he will not be going beyond this third season, at least as a regular.

Now that you’re up to speed, what can you expect out of season 3? I’m glad you asked. Season 3 is more about the city of Grandview itself. We learn quite a bit about the town’s past and that it is an epicenter, of sorts, for the ghostly matters that Melinda deals with. It was no accident that she finds herself here. In the very first episode Melinda is being stalked, and the story arc involving the town begins. In Don’t Try This At Home Melinda gets involved with the old Bloody Mary urban legend when a college girl dies. The Weight Of What Was is the show’s creepy Halloween episode, and a perfect one at that. We find out about the hidden underbelly of Grandview. In the final two episodes of a writer’s strike shortened season, we also get clued in that Melinda’s family has a connection to Old Grandview as well.

Video

Each episode of Ghost Whisperer is presented in a 1.78:1 aspect ratio. This looks pretty much identical to the HD broadcasts I watched during the season’s run. I compared a DVR version to the DVD release and found them to be pretty much the same. The bitrate is respectable, and although there is some compression artifact, I didn’t find it all that distracting. Much of the show is shot at night, so solid black levels are a must, and they deliver for the most part (marred only by that occasional artifact noise). Colors are pretty much natural but don’t always cut through well in the darkness. Melinda is often wearing colorful outfits that tend to reproduce well, and even at times brightly, particularly in those daylight scenes. There’s nothing here that should keep you from thoroughly enjoying the episodes.

Audio

The Dolby Digital 5.1 track works very nicely to set up those spooky moments we all really watch the show for. Excellent use of rears for spatial effects gives you a very wide and open environment that allows you to easily immerse yourself in the show. Music is used quite a bit, and the mix is always presented perfectly placed and clean. Dialog is also always where it needs to be and is never muddled or lost in other sounds.

Special Features

In an odd twist, all of the extras are on the first two discs:

Disc 1:

Animated Short: This 2 minute piece is more like a comic book than an animation short. It just shows Melinda being taken to the hospital and a ghost telling her they are getting stronger and coming for her. The dialog is in balloons with no spoken words at all.

Welcome To The Underground: This 12 minute piece has the cast and crew talking about the somewhat radical changes for the third season. You also get a look at some production design for the new Grandville underworld sets.

The Other Side II – Web Series:  The second of these web episodes. They feature Zack, a ghost from this season dealing with the temptation to join the group of ghosts who refuse to cross over. There are eight and you can view each one individually or all at once. Together they run a little more than 20 minutes.

Disc 2:

Interactives:  There are several little tedious interactive things here, including a Melinda Diary, and a build your own cemetery scene.

Bringing The Spirits To Life: This 11 minute piece examines the evolution of the spirits on the show. Crew members talk about the “ghost rules” and how they have changed since the first season. The F/X guys weigh in on the increased demand for effects as the ghosts are more able to interact with the world of the living.

Payne’s World: Jay Mohr answers questions about his character and mostly jokes around for 7 minutes.

Evolution Of Melinda: This 48 second piece hardly counts as an extra. It’s a super fast slide show of about a hundred shots of Melinda throughout the show. Boring!

Final Thoughts

Over all I’m still not sure how much I like such an overpowering story arc for the show. I still think it works at its best in the standalone moments where Melinda is helping the ghost take care of unfinished business. I’m not sure what else might have been in store had the show been allowed a full season. I will await the fourth year with some anxiety. I think it will either give the show new legs or take them out from under it completely. It’s going to be sink or swim for Ghost Whisperer, so you’re going to want to catch up on these 3^rd season episodes so you’re up to speed once the fun starts again. Things are about to get shaken up a bit. How do I know? “I don’t know. I just feel it.”