| Medium | |
|---|---|
 Medium intertitle |
|
| Format | Drama |
| Created by | Glenn Gordon Caron |
| Starring | see below |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of seasons | 4 |
| No. of episodes | 69 (List of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Running time | approx. 45 minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | NBC |
| Picture format | 480i (SDTV), 1080i (HDTV) |
| Original run | January 3, 2005 – present |
| External links | |
| Official website | |
| IMDb profile | |
| TV.com summary | |
Medium is an American drama television series about a woman (played by Patricia Arquette) who acts as a research medium for the Phoenix, Arizona, district attorney's office. The series is based on experiences from self-proclaimed psychic Allison DuBois, who has claimed to have worked with law enforcement agencies across the country in criminal investigations. The show was created by Glenn Gordon Caron and produced by Picturemaker Productions and Grammnet Productions in association with CBS Paramount Television.
Contents |
Plot
Allison DuBois (Patricia Arquette) is a strong-willed mother of three, a devoted wife, and law student who begins to suspect that she can talk to dead people, see the future in her dreams, and read people's thoughts. Fearing for her mental health, she turns for support to her husband Joe (Jake Weber), an aerospace engineer, who slowly comes to believe that what his wife is telling him just might be true, upon discovering that some of her dreams match the details of a murder in Texas. The real challenge is convincing her boss, D.A. Devalos (Miguel Sandoval) -- and the other doubters in the criminal justice system -- that her psychic abilities can give them the upper hand when it comes to solving violent and horrifying crimes, whose mysteries often reside with those who lie beyond the grave. Information on certain people or crimes come to her in dreams or visions in cryptic forms, and never really mean what they seem to. All of her daughters appear to have inherited their mother's gift, with Ariel (Sofia Vassilieva) and Bridgette (Maria Lark) also having visions or dreams, which usually occur when their mother is in a bind in searching for answers to her own dreams. In Season 3, Allison's youngest daughter, Marie (Madison and Miranda Carabello), is also shown to be paranormally inclined. Currently, her only ability is to watch a premium TV channel that the family does not subscribe to. Bridgette never appears to be bothered by her abilities, while Ariel usually has a harder time trying to cope with a gift she knows very little about. Allison's younger half brother, Michael "Lucky", has the family gift too, but doesn't like to acknowledge it much, since it always seems to bring him trouble. Allison is often accompanied by Det. Lee Scanlon (David Cubitt), who initially did not believe that she had a "gift". Allison often bends the rules of the law when she is determined to stop a crime about which she's had a vision from happening. Allison has also helped or been helped by Captain Kenneth Push of the Texas Rangers (Arliss Howard), who is the first law-enforcement person to whom Allison revealed her gift.
Cast & Crew
| Actor | Role | Notes |  |
|---|---|---|---|
| Patricia Arquette | Allison DuBois | Protagonist | |
| Jessy Schram | Young Allison Roland (recurring) | ||
| Jake Weber | Joe DuBois | Allison's husband | |
| Miguel Sandoval | District Attorney Manuel Devalos | Allison's boss | |
| Sofia Vassilieva | Ariel DuBois | Allison & Joe's oldest daughter | |
| Maria Lark | Bridgette DuBois | Allison & Joe's middle daughter | |
| David Cubitt | Detective Lee Scanlon (Season 2+, recurring Season 1) | Allison's coworker | |
| Tina DiJoseph | Lynn DiNovi (recurring) | Mayor's Liaison, later Deputy Mayor | |
| Madison Carabello | Marie DuBois (recurring) | Allison & Joe's youngest daughter | |
| Miranda Carabello | L-R: Lee Scanlon, Allison DuBois, D.A. Devalos | ||
| Arliss Howard | Captain Kenneth Push (recurring) | Works for the Texas Rangers |
Crew
Executive Producers: Glenn Gordon Caron, Kelsey Grammer, Ronald L. Schwary, Rene Echevarria, Steve Starkey
Awards
| Year | Group | Award | Result | Recipient(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | BMI Film & TV Awards | BMI TV Music Award | Won | Mychael Danna, Jeff Beal |
| Emmy Award | Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series | Won | Patricia Arquette | |
| Imagen Foundation Awards | Best Actor - Television | Nominated | Miguel Sandoval | |
| Satellite Award | Outstanding Actress in a Series, Drama | Nominated | Patricia Arquette | |
| Outstanding Actor in a Series, Drama | Nominated | Jake Weber | ||
| 2006 | ASCAP Film and Television Music Awards | ASCAP Award - Top TV Series | Won | Sean Callery |
| Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films | Saturn Award - Best Actress in a Television Program | Nominated | Patricia Arquette | |
| Golden Globes | Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Drama | Nominated | Patricia Arquette | |
| Motion Picture Sound Editors | Golden Reel Award - Best Sound Editing in Television Short Form - Music | Won | Robert Cotnoir (music editor) For "The Song Remains the Same" | |
| Screen Actors Guild | Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series | Nominated | Patricia Arquette | |
| Young Artist Awards | Best Performance in a TV Series (Drama) - Supporting Young Actress | Won | Sofia Vassilieva | |
| Best Performance in a TV Series (Comedy or Drama) - Young Actress Age Ten or Younger | Nominated | Maria Lark | ||
| 2007 | ALMA Awards | Outstanding Supporting Actor - Television Series, Mini-Series or Television Movie | Nominated | Miguel Sandoval |
| Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films | Saturn Award - Best Actress in a Television Program | Nominated | Patricia Arquette | |
| Emmy Award | Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series | Nominated | Patricia Arquette | |
| Golden Globes | Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Drama | Nominated | Patricia Arquette | |
| Screen Actors Guild | Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series | Nominated | Patricia Arquette | |
| 2008 | Golden Globes | Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Drama | Nominated | Patricia Arquette |
Episodes
DVD Releases
| Season | Episodes | Originally aired | DVD releases | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Region 1 | Region 2 (UK) | Region 2 (GER) | ||||
| 1 | 16 | 2005 | June 13, 2006 | August 14, 2006 | November 2, 2006 | |
| 2 | 22 | 2005–2006 | October 3, 2006 | July 9, 2007 | September 6, 2007 | |
| 3 | 22 | 2006–2007 | October 162007 | TBA | TBA | |
U.S. Television Ratings/NBC Broadcast History
Seasonal rankings (based on average total viewers per episode) of Medium on NBC. Note: Each U.S. network television season starts in late September and ends in late May, which coincides with the completion of May sweeps. Times mentioned in this section are in the Eastern & Pacific time zones.
| Season | Timeslot | Season Premiere | Season Finale | TV Season | Season Rank |
Viewers (in millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Monday 10:00 pm | January 32005 | May 232005 | 2004-2005 | #19 | 13.9 [1] |
| 2 | September 192005 | May 222006 | 2005-2006 | #35 | 11.2 [2] | |
| 3 | Wednesday 10:00 pm | November 152006 | May 162007 | 2006-2007 | #61 | 8.5 [3] |
| 4 | Monday 10:00 pm | January 72008 | TBA | 2007-2008 | TBA | TBA |
Despite a strong second-season finish in the ratings, and Arquette's Emmy win, Medium was missing from NBC's Fall 2006 schedule. The network announced the series would return early in 2007, however on October 132006, it was announced that production would resume immediately for a third season start-up at 9:00 p.m. EST on November 152006, with a two-hour season premiere, replacing the time slot vacated by Kidnapped, which was shifted to Saturday nights. Starting November 222006, Medium aired on Wednesdays at 10:00 p.m. EST. On May 72007, NBC announced that Medium was renewed for a fourth season[4][5], which would not begin until 2008. Despite the WGA Strike of 2007, which forced the show to cease production, allowing for only nine segments/episodes to be filmed[6], NBC announced on December 62007 that Medium's fourth season will begin on January 7 in its original time slot, Mondays at 10 p.m. EST. This seems to be a pattern for NBC, scheduling mid-season shows in time periods where they were previously successful: Law & Order returning to Wednesdays at 10 and The Apprentice back on Thursdays at 9:00 p.m. [7] The series began an off-network syndication run on the cable network Lifetime on March 262006.
References
- ^ "2004-05 Primetime Wrap", Hollywood Reporter, May 272005.
- ^ "2005-06 Primetime Wrap", Hollywood Reporter, May 262006.
- ^ "2006-07 primetime wrap", Hollywood Reporter, May 252007.
- ^ Medium: NBC Renews Patricia Arquette Series. TVSeriesFinale.com. Retrieved on 2007-05-07.
- ^ Prime-time Premonition: NBC Brings Back Medium. TVGuide.com. Retrieved on 2007-05-07.
- ^ Strike Chart. TVGuide.com. Retrieved on 2007-11-09.
- ^ NBC ROLLS OUT A FULL SLATE OF ORIGINAL PROGRAMMING FOR THE FIRST QUARTER OF 2008. thefutoncritic.com. Retrieved on 2007-12-06.
