In the good old days, if you wanted a dose of "the unexplained" metaphysics on TV, you tuned into The Twilight Zone. Today, you’re likely to find your psychic fix on TV’s Medium and even random programs, like House, which, more and more, are inserting subplots about the unexplained. This appears to be a growing trend, especially on the subject of Karma. I view this a major shift in the power of the Medium and its Message, as popular culture embraces the idea that often there is more to life than meets the eye.
I don’t watch that much TV, because it’s so bad these days. But every once in a while, boredom and ennui drive me to channel surf. That’s how I ended up watching Medium last week and House last night. Medium was about what I had expected in far-fetched plotting, except I related thoroughly to Patricia Arquette as Allison DuBois, Ms."I’m Everywoman" in her sacky, nondescript clothing, lack of makeup and her true grit. She was not made up as "Queen of all things Cosmic and Beautiful in the psychic world", thank goodness. And I was grateful there was no spooky synthesizer music as background to her dream revelations. This program tended to be melodramatic, but entertaining, in its fashion. Arquette’s normality as Mom and the girl-next-door contrasted nicely with her work as a psychic investigator, solving crimes (a real-life scenario).
Last night, House focused on yet another seemingly incurable disease (I read that House employs a medical researcher to find diseases few people know about). But the title and subject of the show had to do with Karma, in one billionaire father’s ultimate recognition that money doesn’t buy everything - in particular, his son’s health. I overlooked, as best I could, the episode’s romantic sub-plots, as Dr. House (Hugh Laurie) rolled his eyes and shuffled about on his cane. It was more than clear he didn’t believe in Karma, even when the billionaire gave away all his money and the son’s health improved. I’m not sure it’s a good thing his kid was treated like a pin-cushion (including having his brain drilled) while House’s medical team spent most of the hour mis-diagnosing him. With all his billions, the father might as well have called in a psychic to diagnose him while the allegedly first-rate team of House doctors fumbled around. Who’s to say that won’t happen in a coming episode? Maybe Dr. House will see "the light."
I suppose The Ghost Whisperer falls into this category of metaphysics and psychics, but I’ve never watched it. Same goes for The Listener. I might land on one of them, one night, but so far, have not. It is enough for me to note the growing number of popular TV shows that are not afraid to feature main characters who possess paranormal abilities. I guess that would also include the gang over at the show, Heroes. The latter is hugely popular, good for both the industry and those who possess paranormal skills.
Then there are dramas like The Mentalist and Lie to Me that apply more objective, scientific, provable theories to their subject matter. They seem to dance around the possibility that someone may be acting on a hunch or an intuition, and, if they do act on hunches, only in a final attempt to solve the "impossible."
My favorite program, The Amazing Race, also surprisingly mentioned "karma" in passing last week, when one team debated whether purposefully misdirecting another team was bad karma. One of the team members actually asked his cab driver this question. While the cab driver did not respond, this team went from first-to-last place (and was thus eliminated) when one of the members lost his passport. Yes, I said, when the show was over, the cab driver knew all along.
Of course, I am awaiting any new TV drama (a comedy wouldn’t do) about a real-life psychic astrologer who uses the Zodiac plus clairvoyance as a base to solve mysteries and help people navigate their paths. HBO, can you hear me?
The current TV shows I mentioned may be small potatoes to those who want something more substantial like bouillabaisse. You could do your self a big favor by exploring either or both of two delicious cutting-edge TV shows from the past: Twin Peaks (1990) and The X-Files (1993-2002). These are the paragons of all extra-sensory television shows, and they are as interesting today, as they were when they were "new".
And so (Kurt Vonnegut would say) it goes. . . .
