Medium

Domestic issues are often the sub-plot for television thrillers – in Mediumthey’re the main event. Sure, suburban mum Alison Dubois has suddenly been given a vision of an imminent murder and the district attorney is out of town – but she still has to kids two get to school.

TEN’s Wednesday night thriller pretends to be about the ‘other world’, but it’s actually about ours. That’s why the almost comic exchanges with her husband seem so at home:

Joe: Do you remember where you live?
Alison: Hmm, I’m seeing a house. I’m seeing a guy in his underwear. I’m seeing lots of dishes in the sink.
Joe: It’s amazing how you do that.

The drama is found in her sixth-sense abilities, but the reason for caring is firmly rooted in how they will affect her family life. It’s a formula that worked well for television greats like the ‘Sopranos’. Ultimately audiences were more interested in Tony and Carmela’s marriage than their nefarious crime syndicate. Why? Because our heroes have to be firmly grounded in reality or they are no real use to us. That’s why Alison Dubois can find hidden bodies but still misplace her car keys. She is a harried, overworked adult with relational issues – like you and me. And that is why her take on the spirituality of her situation is so much more likely to be listened to than those of the cast of Charmed.

From her very first extra sensory perception, Alison senses a purpose behind the experience. It’s terrifying and disturbing, but it’s also a gift. [“Maybe this is what I’m all about quote”], she tells Joe. She recognises a benevolent, divine hand behind even the things she dislikes the most. But as the series has progressed it has become increasingly clear that this representation of God is none too communicative. Her gift is unpredictable and uncooperative, never wrong but frequently misunderstood. Whatever is behind her visions is unlikely to reveal itself. It is ultimately up to her to bring sense to sensations, to separate her insights from her indigestion.

Add to this the completely unquestioned nature of the power at work in her. So far Medium as presented us with a spiritual world that is universally good. If there is evil present, then it is invariably a reflection of the darkness at the heart of men (No kidding – I’ve yet to see a female villain turn up, but that’s another issue). In that respect, the experiences being showcased are quite ‘New Age’. They represent opportunities to commune with a knowledge and existence that is somehow higher and better, but still within the grasp of the average Alison.

Medium leaves the viewer with the sort of spirituality that is beneficial but benign. It is powerful but ultimately non-threatening because it doesn’t ask anything of the participant beyond belief. If the higher being behind all of this has any message it is simply that we should stop hurting each other – and then He can stop hurting Alison.

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