I remember my mum watching this show when I was younger and catching snippets which seemed quite interesting at the time, but I never really pursued it. It wasn't until Disney+ put it in my recommended watch list that I decided to give the first series a gander and it gripped me, I watched the entire first series within a week, which seems like a long time but when you're eagerly watching episodes in 5 minute increments between customers or housework, it really isn't and sadly that is the only spare time I have at the moment.
Ghost Whisperer follows Melinda Gordon, an antique shop owner who has the talent of seeing ghosts. She inherited this from her grandma who schooled her on her gift, and she uses it to help spirits stuck on earth to move on to a better place. During season 1 we see Melinda navigate her gift along with her work life, social life, and romantic life. Her best friend and husband are both aware of her gift and fully support her work with the spirits, Andrea going as far as to pick up her shifts and Jim covering for her or assisting her to make sure she is safe.
During this time we see her have to avoid her mother in law, ditch a double date, and even sleep over at a house due for demolition. But the bit that gets me most is how realistic the aspect where she has to talk to the deceased's family is. Obviously she is threatened and disbelieved on a daily basis whenever she is involved, she makes it clear she gets nothing out of it and tries to prove herself, but she also knows when to back off. Eventually the family members come around to her way of things when the ghost intervenes and all is good and we get resolutions, usually super sad, but it is scary to see something potentially happen to Melinda when she is being plagued by dead people who can also get quite aggressive with her.
Take the episodes regarding angry teenagers, we had a deceased twin in one who was angry her sister was put in an institution, and then a teenage boy who wanted to find his birth mother and was displaying poltergeist behaviour. Both stalked Melinda and made things difficult until she agreed to help at her own peril. They were putting her in danger considering neither of them actually wanted to move on.
But on that note, the subject matters that are explored during the show are all very deep. We've got adoption, orphans perishing in a fire, lovestruck couples who wont move on either dead or alive, themes of loss, love, and being unable to move on or grieve without intervention. The second episode explored a young boy who was involved in a train crash and it was both interesting to see how different the mother and father grieved for him, while also seeing how it hurt the little boy as he didn't understand he was dead.
I really liked how we saw Melinda blossom during this show. Her relationships grew stronger and she seemed like a normal person who just had the biggest heart. I dont think there was a single episode where she didn't shed a tear and I very nearly did too. But I think that helped the appeal of this show, it relied on emotion rather than the detective formula or ghost stories or even tragic deaths. This seemed to be a show in its own territory, we saw how they died in almost the middle of the episode just to explain why they ended up like this, but the focus of the episode was almost always the grieving aspect of the people left behind on both sides of life. Closure was granted to everyone which was so nice.
I also liked the aspect of a darker side to death though, what with the laughing man who randomly cropped up and seemed to have been stalking Melinda, not to mention the 'guardian' who took the premie baby, I enjoyed the nod to the fact there is so much we don't understand on the other side and it is more than just lost spirits.
What did gut me was the fact we lost Andrea at the end of the season. I wasn't expecting a main character death, especially not so soon, on top of that it was following a major event. This was a spectacular season finale that was for sure. It was painful in all the right ways, it made my heart ache. We'd grown so attached to this dynamic over 22 episodes and boom the show wont be the same again. There wont be that history between Melinda and her bestie that we are only slightly privy to, there won't be a familiar face from the get go who understands. It was tragic TV but I wouldn't change that, it is refreshing.
Overall, I'm giving the first season of Ghost Whisperer a 9/10. I've opted to score so highly because I enjoyed how different this show was compared to others from the same era that I've been circling. I enjoyed the range of emotions this one brought me and just how clever the episodes have been. The narratives behind the episodes shine through as well thought out and really do pack a punch. I can't wait for the next season! I don't think I'll be taking my usual break between seasons here!
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