Medium – maybe the Dubois family Should just move to San Diego

This was a big day in Medium-land. First NBC canceled it, then it got picked up by CBS, where it will air in the fall. It’s interesting timing, considering that this news perfectly coincides with a similar shake-up on the show: Joe’s job offer in San Diego. When Joe’s company got bought out by an outfit based in San Diego, we all knew the family wasn’t going to pack up and leave — that’s not how TV shows work. Especially because it’s Allison’s job, not Joe’s, around which the story is based.  After I considered it for a while though, I thought: hey, why not?

Yes, it’s insane to take a show that is set mainly in a DA’s office in Arizona and move it to California. But just a few years ago it would have been considered insane for CBS to pick up a show that NBC canceled. Medium is a great show, but like any procedural (and make no mistake: it may have a twist, but at its core, Medium is a procedural), storylines start looking familiar. I already wrote about how Medium was starting to copy itself; maybe a shot in the arm will do it some good.

Most procedurals avoid getting stale by switching up its cast. The cops on Law & Order get new partners, the doctors on ER get murdered by helicopters; the faces change, and the stories stay fresh. Since Medium centers around a family, however, they don’t really have that option. An option they do have, is to move the family to California. A new state equals a new DA a new detective, and new crimes. Plus, as Simon said, the ocean is really nice.

Don’t get me wrong; I love Scanlon and Devalos, but I don’t find them integral to the show. Putting Allison in a new office where she needs to prover herself would be interesting, as would the contrast between the way things are done in Arizona versus the way they’re done in California. Plus, the move would cause a lot of new issues for the Dubois family that could alter their dynamic, providing more fodder for the family side of the show.

From a business standpoint, CBS doesn’t want to look like it’s just taking NBC’s sloppy seconds, so it would be in its best interest to differentiate the show somehow. A geographical move would be a quick, cheap and easy way to do this. Instead of, “Hey, remember Medium? That show NBC screwed with for years and then finally shot in the back? Well, we’ve got it!”, CBS can have, “The all-new Medium.”

Whether or not CBS takes my advice and changes the setting, I’m glad that they saved it. Medium was one of the stronger shows on NBC, both creatively and ratings-wise, but for whatever reason, it was hugely underappreciated. Hopefully the move to CBS will bring some new fans and a general resurgence in the series. No matter where the Dubois family lives, I’m looking forward to watching them next year and beyond.

Clacked by Kona Gallagher
on May 20, 2009 @ 09:00 EST5EDT