Medium Review: Head Games
Brett has a review of the plot filled Head Games , the first of a three episode series, up at TV Squad. Fabulous job, as always, so be sure to check it out.
Oh, and don’t miss the comments. One of his readers mentions the way the waiter ignored Allison and our mysterious woman at the restaurant as something to pay attention to. Is the reader right? Are we being given some sort of clue or is this just a way to up her coolness quotient in Allison’s eyes? I guess there’s only one way to find out and that is to wait for next week’s episode.
Photo by Kreon. Courtesy of Stock Exchange
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17 opinions for Medium Review: Head Games
Betty
May 3, 2007 at 11:54 am
Brett always does such a terrific job on his reviews. He always hits the nail ont he head so succinctly.
Good episode - can’t wait for next week!
Betty
May 3, 2007 at 11:54 am
BTW Katelyn, the glitches seem to have gone away finally! Yippee!
Brett
May 3, 2007 at 12:09 pm
I’m still not sure what the commenter, Thor, was referring to. My best guess is that he thinks Debra might already be dead. It’s an interesting theory, but I thought that the guy in the restaurant looked at her when she called. Did he just look in her general direction possibly?
Also in the comments, Betty has a great theory that Debra is in cohoots with Walter. That would explain the second murder while he was locked up very nicely.
Holly
May 3, 2007 at 2:47 pm
I really enjoyed last night’s episode. I’m glad to know that I wasn’t the only one yelling at the television, telling Allison to shut her mouth. Also, I think Allison throwing the cell phone into the bathtub was a little much. It’s obvious he’s not cheating on her. I like all of the storylines and I can’t wait to see next week’s episode. It looks really good!!!
Personally, I think Debra is a reporter by the way she was asking those questions. Remember in “We Had a Dream” when there was a reporter calling Deputy Doll about why the DA’s office knew a plane was going to hit that prison before it happened. I think she’s trying to get inside information about the DA’s office and possibly Allison. Remember on the wall, it said “Wrong roommate, Allison.” That has to raise some questions about her. My money’s on her being a nosey reporter.
Betty
May 3, 2007 at 4:06 pm
Holly, I think you have a good point about the reporter - good observation. I didn’t think of that - you could be right. Never even entered my mind, but then again, most things that have to do with Di Novi I try real hard to forget. LOL!
Tsk, tsk, Holly, you are young and inexperienced, and unfortunately, you do not yet realize that men are lying, cheating dogs. Yes, we know that Joe is communicating with the formerly pregnant woman from his office. Allison doesn’t know that. Joe’s behavior, or any man’s behavior when they start acting different, distant, hiding their emails, text messages, phone calls, is NEVER a good sign - i.e. an affair. Men are pretty simple creatures. Allison and Joe both are fairly volatile when the right buttons get pushed as we’ve seen before - remember one time Joe threw everything off the kitchen table when he and Allison were arguing about something - I think it was when she had the characteristics of that serial killer. Add to that the fact that Joe has been so distant, hasn’t communicated with her, has slept on the couch several times, and shows no interest in what she has to say lately. If he had just told her who he was talking to, she would probably understand that they both shared this horrible thing and needed to talk to each other about it, but no he clams up. C’mon, Joe of all people, taking his cell phone into the bathroom with him? I think Allison’s actions were completely appropriate. Was she right? That’s a different story.
In a perfect world, everyone would do the right thing, but people are not perfect and do stupid things in anger and say stupid things in anger. Everyone has done or said something they wish they could take back, but life doesn’t work that way.
The truth is, if that woman wasn’t pregnant/giving birth to a baby, she and Joe would probably end up in a sexual affair. They would conciously think they were not going to do that, but more than likely that would be the end result. Big emotional events can easily take their toll on a marriage. I’ve often heard it said that when a couple loses a child, a huge percentage later divorce. No one was at fault in the death of the child, and you would think they would be even closer, but unfortunately it doesn’t turn out that way.
Glen Gordon Caron has said that this season would bring some strife to Allison and Joe’s marriage. We may have a cliff hanger with their marriage still out of balance and have to wait until the 4th season to see it resolved. As Bette Davis would say, “put on your seatbelts, we’re in for a bumpy ride.”
Sheila
May 3, 2007 at 4:47 pm
I’m with Holly on the cell phone in the bathtub business. It seemed like way too strong a reaction for, what?, one prior offense? I wonder if they cut out another text messaging scene.
Katelyn
May 3, 2007 at 4:57 pm
Brett,
I can’t wait to find out who Debra is and what she’s up to.
Holly,
I remember that. I thought at the time that we hadn’t seen the last of the reporter. It does seem like Debra could be her.
Betty,
Good point about the man/woman dynamic. I guess if your husband was acting strange, disappearing from bed and not communicating with you, getting angry about secret texting wouldn’t be a big over reaction.
Dawn
May 3, 2007 at 7:15 pm
I have to say I agree with Holly about Debra being a reporter. She is way too friendly and pushy, and NOSY, to be anything but a reporter. I have my own theory about how the next episode is going to play out, but I’m not gonna say anything. Just in case I’m wrong.
Also I thought Allison’s reaction to Joe having the cell phone in the bathroom with him was perfect. After all, he was being sneaky and mysterious and lying to her, hiding things from her. Why should she believe him when he says “It’s not what you think it is.”? Isn’t that what every man who’s ever been caught cheating has said? So why should she blindly trust him, given his recent behavior? I thought it was hysterical when she threw the phone into the tub.
And I have to say I LOVED this episode. I say that about pretty much all of them, but this one is right near the top of my list. The writers and cast continue to amaze with the new and creative stories they come up with week after week, and the actors keep getting better and better. I think these next two episodes are going to be KILLER! And I think the writers are either setting us up for a monster cliffhanger, or a fantastic finale. Either way, this season’s going out with a bang. It’s gonna make it that much harder to wait til next season.
Chris
May 3, 2007 at 9:34 pm
Do we have ANY updates yet on the show’s renewal?
Somehow it will all come together with numerous cliffhanger elements buf I do believe Debra is already onto Allison… We know enough from the spoiler that things come out and there’s much unsettled business…it would be terrible were it cancelled…
Dawn
May 3, 2007 at 9:54 pm
I really think that the show WILL be back next year. Even though there’s been no official word yet, there are a number of things that make me believe that it will return.
1. Even though it has been unable to beat Lost or CSI:NY, it has a consistent fanbase, and it also routinely builds on its lead-in both in total viewers and in the 18-49 demo. It went from 7.1 million viewers last week to 7.7 million this week. It also grew by 1.72 million from its CJ lead-in last night, and improved by 69% in the 18-49 demo, scoring a modest, but respectable 2.7 in that demographic, which is excellent for NBC.
2. NBC is reportedly only presenting 5 new shows at the upfronts this year, only 3 of which are dramas. So this tells me that a lot of their currently scheduled shows will be returning.
3. While only a couple of weeks ago, Medium was being called a “bubble show”, talk in recent weeks has been positive, with the general consensus among tv insiders being that Medium will return on NBC. The fate of some of NBC’s other bubble shows is still in doubt.
4. NBC has reportedly renewed Friday Night Lights, a show that,while a critical darling, scored much lower ratings than Medium, and Las Vegas, which scored about the same ratings as Medium, but on a night with no competition. It is also rumored that Crossing Jordan may be renewed, which also has lower ratings than Medium and is considered an aging show and on its way out, if not this year, then next year.
5. A lot of people in the television community are speculating that Patricia Arquette has a very good chance at an Emmy nomination this year(and maybe a win). I don’t think NBC’s going to let a potential award winner like that get away, not when their network is struggling so badly and they need anything they can get to draw attention to the net, and nothing does that like an award-winning show or actor.
I could go on and on, but I think it’s safe to say that Medium is a pretty sure bet to return next season, hopefully on a better night. Oh, and I almost forgot, NBC has already ordered six more scripts of Medium, which is a good indicator of a pending renewal. So I think we can breathe easier. If it doesn’t get renewed, I will be TOTALLY SHOCKED.
Katelyn
May 4, 2007 at 8:13 am
Dawn,
A very convincing body of evidence. I won’t relax completely until I hear that Medium is definitely coming back, though.
Betty
May 4, 2007 at 2:54 pm
Dawn, you have some great points, but the Emmy thing is not necesssarily right - there have been a number of shows and actors nominated AFTER their shows were cancelled.
I certainly hope that is not the case.
I can’t help but think after looking at the recent ratings and comparing those to the season, Medium consistently has higher ratings than a number of their shows that have already been renewed - it doesn’t seem fair. I am so sick of hearing about these shows and how fabulous they are week after week while Medium rarely gets the recognition it deserves.
Chris
May 4, 2007 at 8:56 pm
Did anyone least of all PA expect to win that first year? I recall shock as her reaction (mine too)…albeit deserved, no one couldve predicted it…that’s what got it renewed for season 2…
One more reason: Lifetime’s purchase of reruns means it has syndication written all over and a full order for season 4 would put it very near the 100 mark…
I think NBC learned its lesson not to mess with Medium watchers since we had to wait for so-called “bigger” stars’ programs such as “Studio 60″ fall first…
Holly
May 6, 2007 at 3:06 pm
I agree with you all so much. The way NBC has treated Medium is horrible. I am sick and tired of hearing about the same shows over and over, and never hearing anything about Medium. Even my friends talk about these shows and I can’t get them to tune in to watch Medium (10 is just too late). Medium better get another season, or I will be so upset. They can’t just leave us after the next couple episodes they’ve got lined up. They just can’t!
And Betty, I may be inexperienced, but it just seems like her reaction came out of nowhere. Yes, she was upset, but it didn’t seem like she was upset enough to start throwing stuff into a bathtub. Just before she did that she seemed okay. I just think they should have put in more reason for her to do that, because it still doesn’t seem justified to me. Still loved the episode, though.
Brenna
May 6, 2007 at 10:06 pm
I agree, too. They just have to bring the show back. They’re leaving too many loose ends. I have a good feeling that they will pick the show up, but I won’t relax either until it is announced officially.
I am not surprised by Allison throwing the phone in the tub. I think that if I were in her shoes, I might do the same thing. It might have been an overreaction, but she can be quite emotional especially if she thinks something is wrong with her marriage.
Betty
May 7, 2007 at 12:13 pm
Holly, I think you may be equating Allison’s reaction to that one scene in the bathroom, but if you put together all of the stuff that has been going on with Joe now for a good while - although they don’t mention the time frame in the series, we know all of these things haven’t happened over the course of a week - it’s been a while. I think when you add everything up together AND the stress Allison has been under with this trial and how Joe has not been her support system for some time now, it was just the one thing that pushed her over the edge.
If we were just talking about the incident with the hidden text message, I agree it would be overreacting, but when you add everything together, it isn’t. Often times women pick up on something being wrong or out of balance, but let themselves rationalize it away. Instead of listening to their gut that something is seiously whacky, they explain it away to themselves. It’s the case of you know, but you don’t want to know. I think Allison just put Joe on notice that something is wonky with his behavior.
With her abilities, Allison is probably picking up some vibe here, too. Although she has admitted you often have trouble picking up on those closest to you, she gets flashes of things that feel wrong.
Holly
May 7, 2007 at 3:53 pm
I do see what you are saying, Betty, and I think I might understand it a little better now. Sometimes when someone holds something (or a lot of things) in for a long time, it can come out all at once. I just thought that it seemed like she was getting too mad over the texting, like they should have put another reason for her suspicion. I think that I felt really sorry for Joe in that scene, and for Allison to do that was kinda cruel. He was down, and she pushed him down even farther. If only Joe would discuss what he was feeling, they wouldn’t have to go through all of this. It’s a mess, but I’m sure that they’ll eventually get over it (or at least I hope). Even though I love seeing played out, I want the old Allison and Joe back. No more throwing cell phones and no more telling your life story to a stranger. Their personalities work really well together, and this makes me really sad. Oh…I can’t wait to see what happens next!
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