Episode: 11-28-05

Oh Medium, how I love thee. I don’t care if it’s known as a ‘supernatural’ show. Medium is the best family show on television.

When I read this week’s description, I knew the ‘Ariel presides over a slumber party’ would be the best part. This show is the strongest when depicting normal family life.

This episode (The Reckoning) was a standout thanks to wonderful acting from Patricia Arquette and from Sofia Vassilieva, who plays oldest daughter Ariel.

While Allison deals with a nightmare about hitting a young girl with her car, Ariel tries to impress a cool new friend at a slumber party. Ariel begins to tell the girls their fortunes, but ends up with more knowledge than she can handle. Apparently, she’s becoming more like her mother every day.

So we know Bridgette can see and talk to dead people, and Ariel can read minds and predict the future. What will be baby Marie’s specialty? Maybe Allison will walk into the kitchen some day and find spoons floating through the air around Marie’s high chair.

As Ariel grows older, her powers grow stronger. I love the way the writers use this clairvoyance as a metaphor for puberty: both offer thrills and despair that a child is not ready for.

I hope this show is on forever, because I want to know where all these characters end up in life.