Medium 2.21: "Death Takes a Policy"

Written by Diane Ademu-John
Directed by Ed Sherin


I get a little nervous when shows trot out “special guest stars” during a sweeps period, because it tends to smell of desperation. It works really well when the episode treats the guest star as if he or she was nothing special, leaving all of that to the promos. Molly Ringwald’s appearance was shouted from the rooftops, but her character could have been played by anyone.

I’m not so sure the same is true for Kelsey Grammer, because he did such a nuanced job as the Angel of Death. It could have been horribly overplayed, especially if the intention was to highlight his appearance on the show. His prominent role did play into that a little bit, but it never crossed the line into knowing self-awareness. When the “special guest star” acts like he or she knows that she’s there for name recognition only, it’s quite evident. So as mated as the actor and role might have been, it was still natural within the “Medium” universe.

On the whole, this was strong and clever episode, and it almost makes me wish that the Angel of Death would become a recurring character in the third season. Alison’s dream are rarely so interactive! Then again, there’s a wisdom to small doses of a good idea. I wouldn’t want this series to turn into another “Tru Calling” or morph into “Ghost Whisperer”.

The key to “Medium” is family, and the most effective scenes were, as usual, between Allison and Joe. I’ve often wondered if Allison would get some warning of her own death, and what Joe would think about that if or when it happened. Consider this a bit of a dry run. Joe’s reaction was nicely in character, and I love how he’s managed to slip through his surreal days and nights with a continually quirky attitude.

The one thing I found somewhat annoying was the plot convenience that delivered Allison the vital clue. I was skeptical of Ariel’s apparent lack of an E-mail address, since it’s all too easy to set one up in short order, and she was just a little too excited about getting one. It felt a little off. However, the kicker is that the spam she received focused almost entirely on the one thing that Allison needed (and frankly, I never get on *any* of my myriad addresses). Who gets spam on life insurance? (And really, wasn’t everyone else waiting in horror to hear just what Ariel was getting in that mailbox, based on real world experience?)

Writing: 1/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 2/4

Final Rating: 7/10