Lower Decks

Ghost Whisperer
“Ghost Busted”
Originally Broadcast Friday, February 27th, 2009

When Professor Eli James was first introduced in “Firestarter” (the first episode of this season, originally broadcast October 3rd) I wasn’t impressed. All I knew about Jamie Kennedy was that he had starred in a hidden camera reality series called The Jamie Kennedy Experiment for a few years on The WB. During the first few episodes of the season the either the writers weren’t comfortable with the character or Jamie Kennedy wasn’t.

As the season progressed, however, Professor James started meshing with the rest of the cast. He befriended Jim/Sam, embraced his new found ability to hear ghosts and otherwise became a fine replacement for Jay Mohr’s Professor Payne. Both characters were meant to act as sidekicks for Melinda and add some low-key comedy to the series. And in their own ways both did. But because Eli is able to communicate with ghosts and that gives him a step up on Professor Payne (did Melinda ever call Professor Payne by his first name?) and everyone else in Melinda’s life.

“Ghost Busted,” as the title indicates, saw Ghost Whisperer meet Ghost Hunters when a ghost hunter named Linus shows up in Grandview and begins investigating. Melinda, who is trying to find the courage to tell Jim/Sam about her ghosts, doesn’t want to deal with Linus and asks Eli to check him out. Jim/Sam, much to Melinda’s chagrin, makes it very clear that he doesn’t believe in ghosts.

Thus, the episode is split between Eli and Linus hunting for the ghost supposedly haunting a house, and Melinda worrying about how Jim/Sam will react when she finally tells him the truth. Linus is actually able to detect ghosts, allowing Eli to see a ghost for the first time, and the two believe they have stumbled upon a murder. They assume the ghost is one Mrs. Bellsbury (aka Mrs. Bluberry), a 76 year-old who disappeared in 1999. Once Melinda gets involved, though, she sees the real ghost: a middle-aged man.

Meanwhile, Jim/Sam visits Eli to inquire about the way Melinda keeps getting involved with dead bodies. He assumes Melinda is secretly a profiler and wants confirmation. Eli tells him Melinda’s a criminologist working under the radar for the Federal government. When he tells Melinda that he lied to keep her cover she doesn’t take it well. Shortly thereafter, Melinda is forced to blurt out the truth when Jim/Sam confronts Linus (Jim/Sam almost hit a little boy with his truck after the kid overheard his parents talking with Linus about ghosts).

Eventually, the truth comes out about the Ghost of the Week as well. The ghost is not Mrs. Bellsbury but the father of Linus’s ex-girlfriend, Carrie, who is trying to support Linus in the afterlife the way he never did in life (in fact, he didn’t like Linus at all). Melinda and Eli gather everyone together, explain the situation, and cross over Carrie’s father.

After this happy family reunion, Melinda and Jim/Sam have a reunion of their own. He explains that waking up from his coma has left him grasping for things that are solid. Ghosts aren’t. His feelings for Melinda are. And he isn’t going to let ghosts come between them. He asks for some time to get used to Melinda’s skill and she tells him to take all the time he needs. They hug under Melinda’s porch as the rain pours down. A touching final scene.

So, Jim/Sam finally knows. And he seems to have accepted it, just as Jim accepted it (we still don’t know how Melinda broke the news, though). Now the only thing left to tell him is that he’s really Melinda’s dead husband’s spirit in another man’s body. That should be an interesting conversation. I’m sure the season finale — only five or six episodes away — will somehow involve that revelation. Will Jim/Sam ever get Jim’s memories back and Melinda her husband? Will we ever stop seeing Sam’s reflection in mirrors and computer screens?

The best part of this episode, though, was the ghost hunter. Linus was sincere in his hunting; he wanted to help people and actually felt bad about raising their expectations. He wasn’t a fraud, his various machines worked, and he didn’t try to cash in with the media. And Eli was so happy to finally see a ghost, even if it was a bit of a blur. Plus, Patrick Labyorteaux (Bud from JAG) had a guest role as Mrs. Blueberry’s neighbor with the loud dog named Trouble.

And could Melinda’s outfit during the last twenty minutes or so, the black skirt, black stockings and yellow checkered coat, have been any more adorable? I don’t think so. Jennifer Love Hewitt is truly a lovely woman and Melinda seems to have incredible taste in fashion.