Lower Decks

Ghost Whisperer
“Thrilled to Death”
Originally Broadcast Friday, April 10th, 2009

Ghost Whisperer returns after a month-long hiatus and this is the episode we get? A disappointing Ghost of the Week with special guest star Hillary Duff and almost nothing to do with the newly reborn relationship between Melinda and Jim? To make matters worse, this week’s episode (April 17th) is another repeat! In a way, with the season’s lengthy, shocking storyline more or less wrapped up, things are back to normal. This was a decidedly normal episode.

Eli’s neighbor, Morgan (played by Hillary Duff), has been having frightening dreams. When Eli checks things out he hears a ghost and decides to call in the big guns: Melinda. They identify the ghost as a man named Rick but Morgan claims she doesn’t recognize him. Melinda and Eli quickly learn the truth: Morgan is a black widow who has married two much older men who promptly died.

Morgan met Rick at a cancer support group, he fell in love with her, and killed himself so he could leave her $500,000. Eventually Rick and Morgan make up after Melinda and Eli learn that she left all the money to the cancer group. He crosses over and Morgan, presumably a much better person, is left to continue with her life.

Yup. That’s the story.

There were a few scenes between Melinda and Jim as well as a scene between Jim and Delia. Although he has his memory back Jim is still reeling from the discovery that he looks like Sam, that he is Sam. He runs into one of his old EMT buddies who, obviously, doesn’t recognize him. The man doesn’t seem thrilled that Melinda is spending so much time with another man so soon after Jim’s death.

Jim later runs into the same man at an accident scene and is accused of being some sort of accident junkie. Poor Jim. He does take some positive steps, though. Using Sam’s college transcripts he plans on applying to medical school to become a doctor (obviously, he’ll learn everything Sam knew before actually attending any classes). More importantly, however, he has a second chance with Melinda. Not that he remembers dying. He just remembers being shot and then seeing Melinda. But still.

Speaking of second chances, killing Jim gave Ghost Whisperer something of a new lease on life. Although still successful at the start of its fourth season, the “controversial” story line was a shot in the arm for the series. Now that Jim is back to being Jim and Melinda doesn’t have to worry and cry and fret about him, will the viewers who were either enticed to return to the series or sample it for the first time stick around?

And although Jim has his memories back, to the rest of the world he’s Sam. How will that impact their life together? How long before someone accidentally refers to him as Jim in public? How will Melinda’s family react to her romance with a new man? How will Sam’s? Things aren’t back to normal, not by a long shot. If “Thrilled to Death” is an indication of how the rest of the season will play out I’m going to be disappointed. There has to be more to the Jim/Sam story.