User Reviews

This episode is a good example of how a veteran actor as guest star can steal the show. Barry Newman, whose own series, "Petrocelli," ran decades ago, owns this. Granted, the writers give him the best lines, and he knows how to deliver them. But, this isn't all laughs. The dénouement, another example the writers' ability to throw out red herrings, treats an issue which brings seriousness to the episode.

I agree that Season 5 was not the greatest, especially with the focus changing to the son, but this one managed to pretty much leave him out, and was thus reminiscent of earlier seasons.

We all talk about various TV series jumping the shark. GW has been preparing to jump the shark for awhile now, ever since Melinda'a dead husband jumped into another man's dying body. With this episode, GW took a massive leap over the shark. The wonderful Jay Mohr had played a professor of the paranormal for a season or two, and grew on the viewers. Suddenly, he was gone and replaced by a guy who cannot act or even speak properly, and has a face for radio, a face only a mother could love. His name is Jamie Kennedy, a former standup comedian and host of a forgettable Candid Camera-type TV show. Here, he plays a college teacher who can hear the dead talk. As the seasons have progressed, Kennedy has come to play a much larger role on the show, to the point where he's on screen more than the Melinda's sad sack of a husband, who is now a medical intern and thus working even more hours than when he was in his original body and worked as an EMT. This major shift might be OK if Kennedy could act and didn't look like Quasimodo on a bender. So what gives? Well, it is my understanding Kennedy is Hewitt's real-life boyfriend. And Hewitt produces the show. Get it? In this episode, Kennedy's dead parents gang up on him and each other. Mom has a deep dark secret and Dad is an eternal bully. Kennedy's nerdy character is caught in the middle, and he is front and center throughout this maudlin story. The episode was simply appalling. And there is no question the shark has been jumped. Fortunatgely, NBC's LAW & ORDER is now on in the same time slot on the same night. Hail and farewell, GW!