The Second Season DVD set is a hit!......

by Barry Brecheisen

There’s something about Jennifer Love Hewitt that I’ve always found cute and adorable. Although a child actress, it’s refreshing that she didn’t go the Lindsay Lohan route as the out of hand bratty actress. Hewitt has always brought charm to her characters and you can’t help but like her from her days in Party of Five and now on the CBS series Ghost Whisperer.

Based on real life medium James Van Praagh, Hewitt portrays newlywed Melinda Gordon, an antique store owner who can talk to the dead, or “Earth bound spirits,” as her Grandmother referred to them. A gift she uses to help both them and their families find closure. It’s a gift that at times is an asset but more often than not a liability to her daily life.

It’s not an original story line in fact recently there’s been several series with similar plots. Patricia Arquette’s Medium (based also on a real life person) can talk to the dead, can see the future in dreams and can even read people’s minds to help solve murders. The recently (undeservingly) cancelled Raines, starred Jeff Goldblum as a LAPD detective who interacts with the dead crime victims he’s investigating. Of course Touch by an Angel and in some ways the Dead Zone are also coming from the same arena as a person who uses their unique powers to help makes things right in the world.

At times it can be hokey, yet Hewitt brings warmth to the series that helps you to believe in the unbelievable. As far as a TV series goes, the production, the acting and the stories lines are well written and executed. Yet it’s one of those genres you can either get into or you can’t. I’ve actually always been a fan of shows like X-Files, Lost and those types of shows that deal with an element of the supernatural.

So with that in mind, as Ghost Whisperer is getting ready for it’s third season the second season has just been released on DVD. The six-disc collection includes all 22 episodes and brings a darker tone than season one. If you haven’t seen the first season you may want to go back and start from the beginning. There’s something nice about waiting until the show is released on DVD and watching them one by one. You don’t have to wait a whole week until the next episode and its feel more like a long movie or a mini-series.

If you are new to the series I don’t want to give too much away. The second season picks off where the last one left off and resolves the cliffhanger but of course adds a new one by the end of the season. Adding Jay Mohr as a reoccurring character playing a Professor who is fascinated by the spirit world and Melinda was a nice touch. The second season continues to flesh out Melinda’s past and it’s these storylines that help to make this show stand out from the pack.

As with any DVD collection these days, there are plenty of Special Features. They include several documentaries including one looking back at the whole process of creating season two, one on Hewitt’s costume designer and still another one on the make-up artist creating the look for the ghosts.

One of the cooler features is the webseries called The Other Side that was originally only available online. This is an 8-part “webisode” that lets us experience the world of the dead through the eyes of the ghost. I must say I was disappointed the collection lacked a blooper real or deleted scenes, those are always my favorite bonus features. Regardless, the collection has a healthy amount of bonus materials to satisfy any fan.

So if you are a fan of stories about ghosts or just find Jennifer Love Hewitt hot then this collection is for you. Catch up now before you get left behind, Season three is coming up quick and you have two season’s worth of episodes to watch.

Story: © 2007 Lumino Magazine. All Rights Reserved.
DVD Image: © 2007 CBS DVD - a CBS Corporation and Paramount Home Entertainment, a division of Paramount Pictures Corporation - a Viacom company. All Rights Reserved.