Medium Season 2 Recap

Medium just wrapped up its second season on NBC. While it isn't a smash hit, Medium has rewarded its fans by tinkering with the formula to keep the show fresh.

Usually, an episode of Medium opens with a crime being committed. Then the scene ends with Allison DuBois (a real person, portrayed on TV by Patricia Arquette) wakes up. The credits roll as we ponder what her dream meant.

Then we cut to a breakfast scene where Allison and husband Joe (Jake Weber) are preparing for work while helping their three girls get ready for school. All of the family scenes are very realistic on Medium, providing good balance with all of the crime-solving and dream sequences.

Allison then goes off to her job at the Phoenix District Attorney's office, where she finds out that the dream she had corresponds to a real crime. Then she helps her colleagues solve the case.

While this sounds formulaic, Medium has shaken things up several times. Once, the criminal in the dream started talking back to Allison. Another time, Allison's daughter Ariel had the dreams. Still another time, Allison woke up thinking she was someone else. This caused quite a scene because she didn't know who Joe was.

The second season of Medium ended with series of three episodes that will change the show's future. Jason Priestley starred as a husband who is thrown in jail for killing his wife. Through a strong effort by DA Manuel Devalos (Miguel Ferrer), Priestley's character is thrown in jail.

However, Devalos gets major egg on his face when other women turn up dead, with each victim's head on the body of the newest victim. Devalos is pushed to the side by a new "assistant" DA after he is unable to catch the "Re-capitator."

Things get worse when Allison befriends a woman played by Neve Campbell. Allison believes she will be the next victim and tries to warn her to move to a different hotel. She refuses, and she turns out to be an ambitious reporter who outs Allison as a psychic who helps Devalos solve crimes.

This revelation leads to more than just a crush of reporters hounding Allison (one asks, "Do you see any dead people here right now?"). Joe is about to sue his company over security issues after Joe survives a shooting incident at work, but his lawyer quits on him because of all the commotion over his "crazy" wife.

So on the next season of Medium - which begins in January - Allison will have to do her job with everyone knowing that she claims to be psychic. It's a good way for Medium's producers to keep the show from falling into a rut. That kind of innovation keeps fans coming back.