Back when Michael Ausiello first broke the news that Jim (David Conrad) would die on Ghost Whisperer, the response was a resounding Noooooooooo. Ditto for when I blogged about his actual death. Since then, we (and Melinda, played by Jennifer Love Hewitt) have seen Ghost Jim step into another man’s body because he didn’t want to cross over and leave his wife. That accident victim, Sam, has amnesia, and Sim (what we shall call Sam-Jim) doesn’t remember Melinda — though he feels a strong, unexplained attraction to her. After weeks of watching Sim deal with the complicated family he isn’t close to (convenient!) and an ex (Teri Polo) that almost pulled him away from Melinda, he and Melinda are officially dating. On Friday’s episode, they shared their first kiss (below). So the question is, are you still mourning Jim’s passing, or have you begun to warm to this storyline?
From a ratings standpoint, the answer would appear to be the latter: The first five episodes of the season averaged 9.5 million viewers, while Jim’s death and the eight episodes that have followed have averaged 10.9 million (an increase of 14 percent). Producers wanted to show us Melinda and Jim falling in love, and I’m enjoying it more now that they’ve stopped showing Sam’s body so much. (Sim only looks like Conrad to viewers.) But I still wish they’d just planned a half-season flashback so it was our Jim we were seeing. We all know what it meant for Melinda to finally find him, someone who believed her gift and supported it. That’s the story I want to hear. Even though Sim, who doesn’t yet know that Melinda sees dead people, will have a similar experience, it’s not THE experience. You could argue that Melinda will be even more desperate now that she’s had that kind of love and lost it — and that’s why I’m tuning in each week — but again, it’s just not quite as satisfying as it could have been.
Your turn.
As much as they have tried to make these storyline work, its still a mistake and very stupid move.
I mean this storyline not these
I really like this storyline. I think it gives David Conrad something interesting to do other than just being the supportive husband he’s been playing for the past few years. I think there is something both sad and romantic about this storyline so I’m glad they chose to do it. It’s unfolding nicely.
I like that Conrad gets a little more depth, even if it’s…not as Jim. He deserves it! Jim was pretty 1-dimensional, and being Sam really gives him a chance to shine!
They did this same thing on One Life to Live when Al Holden “died”. Fans were in such an uproar that they had “Al” go into Michael McBain’s body and only the audience saw him as the same actor. Eventually they just stopped talking about it.
I was wayyy skeptical when this whole thing started, but have to admit I’m enjoying it. Like seeing the whole nerves about a first date, etc. The only problem I have is imagining Melinda physically interacting with Sam’s character. No offense to the actor playing Sam, but all the hotness points are on Jim’s side. Not so much a turn on when I envision Sam’s face there instead. Am I being too shallow? Nawww…
I cannot stand this storyline as it is right now. Melinda has no problem telling others every episode that she sees spirits. Why is it she cannot tell Sam. It’s like she is throwing herself at him, like in the last episode where she kisses him. Man, if I were Sam, I’d be all over her bones in a heartbeat. Like I said I feel she is throwing herself at him..
I’m still not loving this story line. I wish they would’ve just flashed back to how Melinda and the real Jim fell in love, and how she told HIM about her gift. I hate seeing Sam in mirrors! It’s creepy, and he’s no David Conrad!!
I hate this storyline!!! Bring Jim back from the dead, ASAP!!!!
i think it is a clever storyline. I love this show.
But I have to admit – I don’t know why she doesn’t tell Sam that she sees ghosts. Everyone else knows. Makes no sense and it would explain why she acts so nutty sometimes.
But great show – we just discovered it late last year – so now we are trying to find the first few seasons. Wish another network would do re-runs. Hallmark?
yeah, i stopped watching. i mean, he’s dead, but he’s in somebody else’s body, but they kept the same actor… WHAT WAS THE POINT?? a big part of my enjoyment of the show was melinda and jim’s marriage, and now that’s gone. i tried to watch an episode recently and it just annoyed me.
Stopped watching after Jim died. Tried to stick it out for a couple of episodes. I might have been able to stand it if he’d stayed a ghost who could help her, but the whole “jumping into another body” thing is just too creepy. Bye Ghost Whisperer. With Dollhouse/Sarah Connor on Fridays, I won’t miss it.
I cried my eyes out when Jim died. I like the story line, however. It kind of fits the whole story.
I love this storyline, and seriously, David Conrad has been on screen about 5 times more than he was in the past even though Jim is “dead”. It works because those two are so good together on screen.
i stopped watching when jim died. it turned into a horrible show