The Fourth Season

Ghost Whisperer is a fun and exciting feel-good drama with a horror aspect to it. Since the series' first season, I have been hooked on it. Season four is no different, as it puts the main cast through some pretty trying situations. There are also some changes with the cast, which to my surprise turned out for the better. Jay Mohr leaves the show and is replaced by Jamie Kennedy, who provides an interesting balance. In addition, the series continues to build upon its mythology about the main character's ghost seeing/talking abilities and the ramifications of using those special gifts. In general, Ghost Whisperer continues to entertain in its fourth season.

As earlier mentioned, there are many changes on the horizon this season. The first major change occurs in the premiere episode "Firestarter". A fire breaks out in the office of Eli James (Jamie Kennedy), who is a psychology professor at Rockland University. He is not well liked by his peers and tends to focus on work versus people. During the fire, Eli dies for a few minutes. Upon his return, he finds he has the ability to hear the dead. When Melinda learns of his newfound ability, she helps him understand the gift and how he can use it help wayward souls. At the same time, Rick leaves Grandview to pursue other interests. Eli becomes her new best friend in the effort to crossover ghosts.

As the season continues, business slowly returns to normal. Melinda coaches Eli on how to use his talents for good. At first, he is reluctant and wants no part of it. However, after witnessing Melinda do her thing, it grows on him and he has a change of heart. Eli makes for a solid addition to the cast. Kennedy, to my surprise, is very good in the show. He gives his character a social awkwardness, which works for his role. Personally, I am not a fan of Kennedy, but I do like him as Eli. The only thing I did not care for is how fast he became an expert on crossing over ghosts.

Later in "Imaginary Friends and Enemies", Melinda's life is thrown in upheaval. Jim is killed and his ghost refuses to leave her. This development gets pretty intense and only more dramatic when his ghost does the unthinkable. A man named Sam dies and Jim takes over his body. As it happens, Melinda watches and believes Sam is Jim. Unfortunately, he does not have Jim or Sam's memory. The relationship between Jim/Sam and Melinda becomes a central development for the remainder of the season. It is a little over-the-top, but still quite entertaining.

As for season episodes, there are a number of solid ones. The general premise continues to work well. Melinda and/or Eli stumble upon a troubled ghost and help them worth through various problems to ultimately crossover. The ghosts tend to be angrier than past seasons, which make for some good drama. At the same time, the show maintains its feel-good nature, as (almost) every episode ends with a happy note.

Some of these episodes include "Big Chills", Melinda is reunited with her high school nemesis and uncovers a plot with a bad horror flick feeling to it, "Bloodline", a young girl suddenly dies on the tennis court and Melinda pieces together a secret between two families, "Ball and Chain", a confused ghost leads Melinda to a torturous man, "Leap of Faith", Melinda meets a man who has no memory, just like Jim/Sam, and "The Book of Changes", an intense season finale with a twist.

Overall, Ghost Whisperer continues to be strong in its fourth season. There are several dramatic changes to the cast, which include Jim's death and his rebirth as Sam, Jamie Kennedy joining the cast as Melinda's sidekick, and many other things. The series' mythology is further investigated, as Melinda learns more about the consequences of her actions. In addition, the season episodes continue to blend drama, mystery, and horror with a feel-good approach. It is a must for fans.

Episode Guide

1. Firestarter: When a fire breaks out at Rockland University, Jim saves a young psychology professor, Eli, who suffers a near-death experience. Melinda befriends him and soon realizes they share the same ability.
2. Big Chills: Melinda reconnects with some high school classmates after one of them dies mysteriously.
3. Ghost in the Machine: When Ned shows Melinda his online gaming community, Melinda discovers a ghost is haunting the game.
4. Save Our Souls: Melinda and Jim go away on a romantic cruise, and Melinda comes into contact with an angry ghost who haunts a newlywed couple.
5. Bloodline: Melinda investigates the death of a high school athlete whose ghost is following a family that is not her own.
6. Imaginary Friends and Enemies: Melinda plays a game of hide-and-seek when a child's make-believe friend causes havoc during a wedding party and she attempts to calm the ghosts running amok.
7. Threshold: While coping with dramatic changes in her personal life, Melinda struggles with helping a desperate teenage ghost because she no longer feels that her gift of talking to the dead is helpful.
8. Heart & Soul: Melinda is drawn to a man who is suffering from amnesia and enthusiastically tries to help him regain his memory.
9. Pieces of You: Melinda tracks down a girl who has been missing for twelve years and discovers a long-held secret.
10. Ball and Chain: Melinda assists a ghost who must face hard facts about her marriage.
11. Life on the Line: Melinda helps a family in turmoil after a freak accident. Meanwhile, Delia has her first haunting and discovers why sometimes it's easier to be a skeptic than a believer.
12. This Joint's Haunted: Melinda and Sam go on a road trip into his past and end up in trouble, from bar fights to disruptive ghosts, and Melinda comes face-to-face with the biggest threat yet to her romantic hopes.
13. Body of Water: Melinda confronts a crisis that grips the whole town -- the unearthing of a grave that leads to a mass haunting. But that's not nearly as scary to her as the woman who shows up to accept the engagement ring Sam bought for her.
14. Slow Burn: While Melinda assists the ghost of a domineering mother who is hiding a dark secret, she tries to date Sam without revealing her gift for seeing ghosts.
15. Greek Tragedy: When a sorority pledge goes missing in the woods, Melinda and Eli discover the ghost who led her there. Sam begins to question his relationship with Melinda.
16. Ghost Busted: Melinda shares her special gift with Sam and his reaction is not what she expects.
17. Delusions of Grandview: When Melinda shares some devastating news with Sam, their relationship is left in limbo.
18. Leap of Faith: After Melinda encounters a man in her basement who has the same condition as Sam, she helps them both reconcile their new lives with their old ones.
19. Thrilled to Death: Melinda and Eli help a ghost settle his unfinished business with a mysterious young woman who may be involved in the death of a man.
20. Stage Fright: A soap opera "remote" shoot descends on Grandview, turning the town upside down; Melinda unearths a story as soapy as the show it's disrupting. Also, a miraculous turn in Melinda's life changes everything for her and Jim.
21. Cursed: Melinda grows fond of a girl's dollhouse that appears to be full of ghosts in need.
22. Endless Love: Melinda prepares for her wedding and helps a girl who believes she is being lured by vampires.
23. The Book of Changes: Melinda worries for her unborn child when she experiences a visit from a ghost.

The DVD

Video:
The video in this release is given in an anamorphic 1.85:1 ratio widescreen color format. The picture quality is quite good. It suffers from a slight grain, but detail remains to be sharp and clear. However, there are moments when the picture suffers noticeable compression artifacts. Overall, the picture is relatively clean and should look good on big screen televisions.

Audio:
The audio track in this release is in English 5.1 Dolby digital surround. There is also an English 2.0 Dolby digital stereo track. In general, the sound quality is very good and it provides an audible and clean track. The dialogue is usually a little flat while music and sound effects come off rich and vibrant. Additionally the 5.1 track is somewhat dynamic and occasionally uses the surround sound capability with music and ambient sound effects. There are no subtitles included, but the release has support for closed captioning.

Extras:

• The Jamie Kennedy Experiment (9:24): is an interview featurette with David Conrad, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Jamie Kennedy, Camryn Manheim, Kim Moses, Ian Sander, Christopher Sanders, and PK Simonds. The focus is on Kennedy's new character. They discuss the character, role on the show, and other related aspects.
• Season 4: Love Never Dies (11:01): is a featurette with David Conrad, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Camryn Manheim, Kim Moses, Ian Sander, and PK Simonds. It is about the season story arc of Jim's death and return as Sam.
• Scoring the Spirit World (9:33): stars Grant Conway, Gordon Fordyee, Kim Moses, Ian Sander, PK Simonds, Mark Snow, and Lindsay Wolfington. They talk about the music for season four and how important it is to pick the right music because of it can set the stage for a scene.
• The Other Side III Webseries (29:06): is the third installment of the webisodes based on Ghost Whisperer.
• Interactive Haunted Dollhouse: is an game that can be played from a DVD player. Jim is stuck in the dollhouse. You click on different parts of the room and answer season four trivia questions to move ahead.
• Interactive Fashion Style Guide: is another interactive guide to the show's costumes. It includes "Fashion Guide", learn more about the main cast's outfits, and "Ghost Mash Up", make your own ghost costume.
• Grave Mistakes (:): is another interactive game. You navigate through a graveyard and answer trivia questions to escape.

Final Thoughts:
Ghost Whisperer's fourth season is exciting and dramatic. There are many changes for the cast, which include the departure of Rick Payne and the introduction of Jamie Kennedy as Eli James. Kennedy brings a surprisingly nice balance to the show. The series' mythology is also further explored and has dramatic implications for Melinda. In addition, the main season story arc deals with the death of Jim and his return as Sam. Overall, season four continues to offer lots of gripping, intense drama, mystery, and horror with a feel-good touch. It is must see TV.