Melinda Gordon (Jennifer Love Hewitt) owns and operates an antique shop called 'Same as it Never Was Antiques' in the small town of Grandview. Melinda and her husband, Jim Clancy (David Conrad), both have special ways of helping people in their community. Jim is a paramedic and is dedicated to aiding those with physical injuries and health related emergencies. His wife has the unique ability to assist those who are beyond his help—these particular individuals are no longer living and have passed over into the spirit world. There are occasions when a person's soul isn't ready to step into the bright light because of some unfinished business on earth. These wandering spirits, or ghosts, are visible to Melinda and often go to her for help to tie up loose ends with the living. Their appearances can be very distracting when they show up at inopportune moments, like when Melinda is trying to help a customer in her shop, or when she wants to spend some time alone with Jim.

Jim takes it all in stride and understands that her gift simply cannot be ignored when there are so many distraught ghosts around them. In the episode titled "Love Never Dies," a plane crash near Grandview sends numerous souls into the afterlife, including Melinda's good friend Andrea (Aisha Tyler). Although Andrea wasn't on the plane, she happened to be in the aircraft's path as it descended to the ground. Andrea's death is devastating to Melinda; they were like sisters to each other. While Melinda is grieving over her loss, Andrea's ghost appears, along with the figure of an evil entity that is threatening to take her soul to a dark place. It's up to Melinda to find a way to save her friend's spirit from an unsettling demise.

One of the shows in the second season gives the viewer a glimpse of Melinda's personal demon that has haunted her from her youth. In "A Grave Matter," Melinda has to come to terms with the shortcomings of her childhood. The disappointment in her father leaving his home and family when she was a little girl follows her into adulthood. A ghost asks Melinda to help him when he claims to have been buried in the wrong grave. His family situation brought back some of the sad memories from Melinda's past making it difficult for her to want to help the man. To make things even more interesting, it's Halloween, and everyone is seeing ghosts, ghouls and goblins roam the streets in search of candy. Jack-o-lanterns are displayed in home and store windows as they cast eerie glows into the night. Delia Banks (Camryn Manheim), who recently started working at 'Same as it Never Was Antiques' loves Halloween. What she doesn't realize is that the spirit world is closer than she thinks. An earthbound ghost is attached to the purse that Delia recently bought at an estate sale. Melinda sees the ghost hanging around and tries to help her find closure in a relationship before moving on to the light.  

Each episode puts Melinda into different situations where she converses with the dead in an effort to help them crossover completely into the spirit world and to set them free from unresolved matters at the time of their death. Professor Rick Payne (Jay Mohr) occasionally helps Melinda when she comes across an unusual type of phenomenon that she isn't familiar with.

James Van Praagh, a well known psychic and medium, was a consultant on the series. John Gray is the creator of Ghost Whisperer. The show's pilot aired on September 23, 2005. Since then the series has captivated TV audiences on Friday nights and is currently in its third season.

Special Features: "A Conversation With The Living" has comments from the cast and crew on character development and the changing tone of the show. • "Grandview Graveyard" gives background information on some of the ghosts in certain episodes that is provided by the writers and producers. • In "Melinda's Closet," Joseph Porro discusses how he came up with the unique style of clothing and accessories for Melinda's wardrobe on the show. • "Ghostly Visions" will be especially interesting for those who would like to go behind the scenes to see how some of the ghosts are skillfully created to look scary in season 2 with the application of makeup. • "The Other Side" has 8 webseries or webisodes with accompanying trailer and a behind-the-scenes look with star Mark Hapka. • There is also a bonus feature titled "Jennifer Love Hewitt Speed Painting Video" and "Crystal Ball Mind Game" included with the second season 6 Disc collection of Ghost Whisperer.

Final Words

Although the series certainly appeals to those who have an interest in the supernatural, its story plots are written in such a way that a wider ranged audience can relate to them. There are words of wisdom and food for thought entwined with each story and episode. Jennifer Love Hewitt and David Conrad add depth and dimension to the characters they portray in the show. They are like any other young couple except they have to cope with unexpected visitors from beyond the grave who need to take care of specific issues so they can move on to a higher spiritual realm. I give the second season DVD collection (22 episodes) of "Ghost Whisperer" a thumbs up for enjoyable entertainment with good thematic material.