Ghost Whisperer Goes to Sleep

Melinda Gordon sees ghosts no more! Tuesday morning, CBS pulled the plug on the five-year-old drama which starred Jennifer Love Hewitt and David Conrad.

The drama has made some interesting, if not odd, moves over the years, the most startling of which was a five-year time jump after Melinda gave birth to the couple's son, Aiden. Some might argue that the strangest move was actually killing off Jim Clancy (Conrad's character) and then resurrecting him in a 'love really is eternal and powerful' storyline wherein Jim literally jumps into the dying body of Sam Lucas (Kenneth Mitchell) and eventually resumes living.

Perhaps those folks are right. That was pretty strange, especially because no one in town understands how Melinda fell so in love with this Lucas guy practically over night and then married him. The answer that only a few knew is because it wasn't Sam anymore, it was Jim.

Confused?

The time jump allowed Melinda to bypass all of the lost sleep and baby burping moments. It also let paramedic Jim go to college and become a doctor. The problem was that until the end of the season, Melinda still dressed like a non-mom. Viewers didn't like that. Her plunging necklines were fine for pre-mom, but once Aiden was born, it was time for her to dress the part as well as play the part.

Ghost Whisperer gives credit to James Van Praagh as co-executive producer for its first four years, but it's pretty well known that he had little to do with the series after year one. Oddly, or not, that was probably the show's best year.

What's replacing Ghost Whisperer? It's something called Secret Millionaire. By the end of 13 weeks, CBS will probably be wondering why they didn't stick with Melinda's ghostly visions.