GHOST WHISPERER SEASON TWO

Directed by John Gray, Eric Laneuville, Ian Sander, James Frawley, Peter Werner
Written by John Gray, Catherine Butterfield, Lois Johnson, Jed Seidel
Cinematography by James Chressanthis, Crescenzo Notarile
Music by Mark Snow
Cast: Jennifer Love Hewitt, David Conrad, Camryn Manheim, Jay Mohr, Tyler Patrick Jones, Aisha Tyler

2006/967mins/Color/Dolby Digital 5.1
1.85:1/English/United States/ NTSC Region 1

Review from CBS DVD Box Set

Since she was a little girl, Melinda has been able to see and speak to Earthbound spirits that have been unable to cross into the light. Melinda has dedicated her life to helping these spirits resolve their problems on Earth, so that they can cross-over to the afterlife.

Season two continues with the same pattern as season one, as each episode is focused on Melinda helping a specific ghost finish their business on Earth, while dealing with Melinda's relationships with her husband, running her antique store, and trying to keep her abilities a secret from those around her. The show is extremely episodic, with hardly any cross over from one episode to the next. Each of the ghosts are dealt with within the show's one hour running time, and while Melinda is the overt main focus of the show, the more subtle writing focuses on creating new spirit characters each episode for her to deal with.

Ghost Whisperer is essentially a hodge-podge of THE SIXTH SENSE and GHOST, with enough estrogen pumped into it from Touched By An Angel to turn any viewer into a whimpering little girl within minutes. The scares are relegated to effects left over from Charmed, with quick image flashes, hyper-edited jump frights, and the spirits being able to shift from one place to another in an instant. The show is much more focused on the emotional turmoil of the ghosts and Melinda, rather than subjecting the viewer to any real haunting creeps. 

Jennifer Love Hewitt and her cleavage return to the small screen here for the first time since her six year run as Sarah Reeves in Party Of Five. Not much has changed since then, as she her abilities to emote are still limited to quick shy smiles, being able to shed a single tear on command, and showing off her heaving breasts. This season introduces two new characters for Melinda to work off of. America's favorite TV fatty Camryn Manheim steps in as a single mom who begins working with Melinda, while Jay Mohr is an eccentric professor who deals in the study of spirits and mythology.

Ghost Whisperer has the potential to get some real good television scares, especially when Melinda deals with some of the more darker spirits that inhabit her world. But instead, it just plays it safe with plenty of sobbing emotions and heart-tugging moments.  Series creator John Gray, who is also the main director and writer, makes his television series debut here and knows exactly the audience he wants - housewives and teenage girls that have never read anything scarier than Goosebumps, and their significant others who just want to see Hewitt in belly shirts and plunging necklines.

The CBS DVD release, which compacts the twenty-two episode season two onto six discs in three slimcases, is chock full of features and extras for fans that need to know everything there is about Ghost Whisperer. Starting off set's features is commentary by John Gray and Kim Moses on premiere episode "Love Never Dies", Kim Moses' sole commentary to "Children Of Ghosts", while executive-producer Ian Sander steps in for commentary on "The Collector".

The bulk of the features are spread out over discs five and six. In "A Conversation With The Living", Hewitt and the producers talk about the evolution of the show and the character of Melinda. "Ghostly Visions" takes a look behind the scenes at the creation of vast array of practical make-up effects and special effects at bringing the spirits to the screen. "Grandview Graveyard" includes a look at some of the more memorable ghosts that appear this season, and the creators' response to their importance. "Melinda's Closet" takes a look at the vast wardrobe changes that Melinda goes through, while the costume designer talks about what he thinks looks good for both Hewitt and her character.

The extras finish out with the eight episodes of "The Other Side" Webseries, that ran online congruently with the main show. A behind the scenes look at "The Other Side", a trailer, and an interview with star Mark Hapka are also included.

Image:

Audio:

Extras:

Packaging:

This Film Features:

Review by Ryan Midnight. All Right Reserved. 2007. ©