TVSquad

Sometimes the only thing worse than a show that's absolutely horrible is a show that's just okay. The kind that mildly engages you but leaves you with very little to think, or rant about, later. Ghost Whisperer stars Jennifer Love Hewitt as a woman who is able to communicate with "Earth-bound spirits" who flock to her because she's the only conduit between them and the people they left behind.

If this sounds a lot like The Sixth Sense, you're right. In fact, the show can pretty much be described as The Sixth Sense with a totally hot chick. But let's not get too wrapped up in comparisons here, because it's not as if The Sixth Sense was the first to explore the idea of talking to the dead.

The first episode of the series begins with Melinda (Hewitt, who is also listed as a producer) as a young girl discovering her gift at a funeral in a scene that's probably meant to be shocking but really isn't to anyone who's gone to a movie in the last thirty years. We then fast forward to Melinda's wedding day, where during the reception she's contacted by her husband's dead brother, as well as a mysterious figure lurking outside the window.

The "mysterious figure" turns out to be a Vietnam vet named Paul who went MIA in 1972 and never met his son. His daughter-in-law is pregnant, which has sent a "ripple through the spirit world." Paul implores Melinda to communicate his feelings to his son, who is skeptical at first, but soon realizes she really is telling the truth.

The show centers on an idea that's been done before, sometimes better, sometimes worse. Unfortunately, that may be what causes the show itself to "pass into the light" like the freed spirits it portrays. It offers up a kind of explanation for things all of us consider: the afterlife, the idea of our loved ones sending us messages from beyond, and that all-important idea of "closure." It doesn't, however, present these in any way that's new or compelling. It is, to repeat myself, just okay, and with a new Fall season with much better shows to offer, I don't see this one hanging on for too long.