Medium 2.22: "Twice Upon a Time"

Written by Rene Echevarria
Directed by Ronald Schwary


A lot has happened since the previous episode and my chance to see the season finale. Perhaps most obvious is the effect of the fall upfronts on the series and its scheduling. “Medium” will now be scheduled as a mid-season show, beginning in January 2007 (or earlier, if a new show tanks). Some have panicked about this, but the fact is, the season will still be 22 episodes and the mid-season “stigma” is no longer valid. After all, “24” is a mid-season show now, and its ratings have increased as a result.

In the case of “Medium”, the network has been less than attentive, so it’s hard to know what the effect will be. So far, the series has been able to weather the on/off scheduling pretty well, and one can only assume that starting in the mid-season would result in a more regular airing pattern. But since the series is not serialized in nature, the main benefit will be that the series will be on more regularly and it won’t be so easy to dismiss.

In terms of the season finale, I’m glad they focused on a more substantial dream world this time around, because the “twist” in the case was beyond predictable. OK, so the porn angle wasn’t something I saw coming, but the “twin” thing was pretty easy to figure out! The world of Alison’s vision, however, was a lot more interesting, especially in terms of where it brought her mentally.

Sooner or later, Alison’s role in the DA’s office will come out, and it’s just a matter of how and when. This episode picks up on a lot of Alison’s anxiety about that moment, which is a nice bit of insight. Her fears are rather justified, and I was left wondering whether or not that will motivate her to change her approach to things in the third season. She really came within hours of a horrific downslide for her family’s future; it might come down to taking ownership of how the news is broken to the world.

On a completely different note, I found it very interesting how this episode highlights Patricia’s natural beauty. There’s a real-world aspect to Allison (particularly her wardrobe) that seems more “real” in its inherent sexuality. Contrast that to the rising star version of Allison, where Patricia is all glammed up and looks hot in a completely different way. It was jarring, to say the least, but I found it extraordinary that the “perfect” version of Allison felt so wrong.

Now, it is time for a short farewell. As much as I enjoy this series, it is the series I feel the least desire to watch as soon as it airs and these are the reviews I get the least feedback on. As solid as the show is, it doesn’t have enough of the elements that usually compel me to watch attentively. As a result, I will no longer be writing reviews for “Medium”. Instead, I will cover “Medium” on the podcast that I recently started producing, “Dispatches from Tuzenor”.

Similarly, this is the part where I would usually launch into a discussion about the season as a whole. Instead, the “Medium” post-mortem (so to speak) will be the main focus of this week’s episode of “Dispatches from Tuzenor”. That episode should be up after the weekend, so I invite anyone interested to drop by the archive site (www.entil2001.com) and click on the link. (It’s also available on iTunes.)

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

Final Rating: 8/10

(Season 2 Final Average: 7.1)