patriciaarquette

(S03E08) After a one week delay, we finally get a look at "The Whole Truth" and I have to say, we really could have done without it. Team Medium dropped the ball and delivered an episode that is best described as boring. The episode just never seemed to pick up speed.

It was like the difference between seeing a comedian tell a joke and having your friend tell you the joke after they see it. It's still the same joke, but one way is much better. I think there was a good episode in this idea somewhere, but the way they told us just wasn't it.

The species known as television viewers (scientific name blearyeyeus videoboxus) are an odd sort. When it comes to comedies we tend to converge on the same watering hole . . . in other words, we all like to laugh and we watch many of the same shows as our friends do. When it comes to dramas, though, the species can be a bit picky. Take me, for example. I'm a big fan of shows like ER and Bones, but have never watched an episode of Grey's Anatomy or Lost. There are others who are big fans of those two shows, but can't stand ER or Bones.

Why do I bring this up? Well, when it came time to write the post on the Golden Globe nominees for best actress in a drama the pickiness surfaced. That's why, rather than me writing 'Never watched the show' in my analysis of the five nominees, I decided to turn this post over to some of the other members of the TV Squad staff to give their opinions of the actresses and who should win.

So, thanks in advance to Anna, Jen, Brett, and Jay, and let's begin after the jump.

(S01E07) The fine folks at Medium decided to kick off the new year with what I am calling an Ariel episode. And two big thumbs up to Sofia Vassilieva. I guess working along side the Golden Globe talent of Patricia Arquette must help, because she did a terrific job in a much more involved role than she usually gets.

Things got off to a creepy start with Allison's Carrie-esque dream of Ariel at the spring dance. Not only creepy because of the blood and stuff, but also because of how we know it will effect Allison. It's hard enough having all of the visions in her head, the lending library of horrible images as she puts it, but having it be one of her kids just amps it up. The parallel dream theme was set in motion very nicely in the breakfast scene when Ariel explained that she had the same dream, only with a rose petal ending, instead of the blood.

The nominees for the 64th Annual Golden Globe Awards were announced this morning. Here are the nominees in the major television categories:

Best TV Series - Drama
24
Big Love
Grey's Anatomy
Heroes
Lost

Best Performance by an Actress In A Television Series - Drama
Patricia Arquette, Medium
Edie Falco, The Sopranos
Evangeline Lilly, Lost
Ellen Pompeo, Grey's Anatomy
Kyra Sedgewick, The Closer

Best Performance by an Actor In A Television Series - Drama
Patrick Dempsey, Grey's Anatomy
Michael C. Hall, Dexter
Hugh Laurie, House
Bill Paxton, Big Love
Kiefer Sutherland, 24

Best Television Series - Musical Or Comedy
Desperate Housewives
Entourage
The Office
Ugly Betty
Weeds

Best Performance by an Actress In A Television Series - Musical Or Comedy
Marcia Cross, Desperate Housewives
America Ferrera, Ugly Betty
Felicity Huffman, Desperate Housewives
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, The New Adventures of Old Christine
Mary-Louise Parker, Weeds

Best Performance by an Actor In A Television Series - Musical Or Comedy
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
Zach Braff, Scrubs
Steve Carell, The Office
Jason Lee, My Name Is Earl
Tony Shalhoub, Monk

(UPDATE: One of our readers, Zachary, was kind enough to look up the miniseries nominees -- they weren't announced during this morning's ceremony. He posted them here.)

(SECOND UPDATE: Our sister site Cinematical is covering the movie nominations, if you're curious.)

(S03E04) Mark Sheppard makes his return in what has become a yearly tradition for Medium. Fans of the show will remember him from the season one episode "Penny For Your Thoughts" and season two's "Doctor's Orders." And, of course, fans of TV will remember him as Badger on Firefly. We still don't know whether there will be a fourth season of Medium yet, but if there is, I would be all for a fourth Dr. Walker episode. I get the feeling that the powers that be at the show might be into it as well, given the "we'll just have to wait and see" ending of last nights show. IfMagazine did an interview with Sheppard in August that goes into some of the details about how the Walker story came to be.

(S03E03) This was an interesting episode. When Allison 'woke up' from the first dream, I wasn't sure about the whole groundhog day idea. It's something we've seen before, my favorite version being "Run Cleo Run" from Cleopatra 2525, but it holds the potential to get boring. As the mystery unfolded though, this version of the story turned out to be pretty good. The changes between the different versions of the day were big enough that things didn't feel repetitious.

Unfortunately, I was spoiled on the aftermath of the car crash from the first dream. Glenn Gordon Caron mentioned it in his live blog for the premiere last week. I'm sure it was much better for those that didn't know it was coming, but even knowing, that was a nice bit of effects work with the amputation. The car crash that led to it was good too, but points out two things I had issues with in the episode.

(S03E01/S03E02) I was surprised that NBC held Medium back when they announced the fall schedule. While it hasn't been a breakout hit, it has performed well in its first two seasons, and managed to garner some awards. I suppose the thought process was to launch all the untested new stuff, knowing that something isn't going to work out, and then bring Medium in to shore things up. Whatever the case, Allison is back, and with a two hour premiere.

The first thing that stood out to me about this episode was that it was co-written by Medium creator Glenn Gordon Caron and Javier Grillo-Marxuach. Javier was formerly a writer-producer for Lost and is a good hire for this show. The two of them put together a great story that managed to weave a few different story lines together into an interesting mystery.

The last weekend in June is apparently a good time to get married if you're a celebrity. All the focus was on Nicole and Keith down in Australia while television stars Marcia Cross and Patricia Arquette quietly married. Arquette and her longtime boyfriend, actor Thomas Jane, married in Italy over the weekend. A rep for Arquette tells People magazine that it was a small affair with close family but didn't elaborate on whether that included David Arquette and Courtney Cox-Arquette (probably, eh?). Arquette and Jane have a 3-year-old daughter, Harlow Olivia Calliope, together. Previously, Arquette was married to Nicolas Cage.

Everyone deals with miscarriage in their own way - and very, very many of us have dealt with it. When I had a miscarriage, my grief was swift and overwhelming. I mourned deeply the child with whom I'd already fallen in love, and with my next pregnancy I was detached, never quite believing he was real until the 20-week ultrasound. Now, less than two years later, I've accepted the loss as something that just happens, and remember the pain only distantly. Allison Dubois, on the other hand, has grief that remains terribly present. Every year around the time of her miscarriage, she has visions of "Brian," who would be about 15. She's a sensitive soul. The dreams keep her up, mourning what could have been.

"I need coffee," she tells her husband at 6 a.m. when he realizes she's awake. He calls her bluff, telling her to just drink tea, and she insists. "I'll be gone a few hours, I'll cry without anyone hearing me, and I will come back with a bag of coffee," she says. Soon, she's discovering the body of the Coffee Palace's manager. And we're thrust into the mystery; is it a robbery gone bad? An easy way out for the victim's husband? Or something else? Where's the twist?

Before we talk twists, though, I'd like everyone to say "hi" to my friend Kristi, who said she stood next to Patricia Arquette during the filming of this episode! Hi Kristi!

Best:
5. The Backyardigans A preschoolers' show I'd watch if I didn't have kids. Yes, when you drove past my house the other day, that was me dancing along to "I love being a princess!"
4. Law & Order: Criminal Intent  I thought I couldn't watch the show without Vincent D'Onofrio. But Chris Noth and Annabelle Sciora have the kind of vulnerable-yet-professional chemistry that I never dreamed possible between Chris and Sarah Jessica Parker or Annabelle and James Gandolfini.
3. Grey's Anatomy  It's kooky, it's outlandish, and all the characters, I can't help but love 'em despite their annoying peccadilloes. And who knew I'd fall in love with Dr. Bailey?
2. Medium  I'd watch it just for the family drama. But the mysteries are fantastic, the writing eloquent and witty, the twists always fool me until 52 past the hour.
1. The 4400  Sci fi that transports, characters that draw me in, and it's coming back in 2006. Hurray!

Worst:

5. Saturday Night Live  My husband still gets excited about Saturday nights. Until I remind him, honey, it's just not funny!
4. ER  I'm so sad that I hate Thursdays now. I used to love Thursdays.
3. 7:30 p.m. timeslot  There's nothing good on at 7:30 p.m., not even on the Food Network. I hate 7:30 p.m.
2. Sandra Lee's Semi-homemade Cooking  Make it from scratch or buy it from the store. And either way, aren't we all old enough now to admit whether we can, or cannot, cook?
1. Out of Practice  Stockard Channing, Henry Winkler, what have ye wrought?