Patricia Arquette stars as real life psychic medium Allison DuBois in NBCs new thriller drama Medium that premiered on Mon., Jan. 3, promising to be perhaps the first hit series of 2005.

The series is unique, different from any coming before it. Psychic medium DuBois speaks to dead people as if she were conversing with live people, who give her information and help her solve unsolvable crimes. Victims of murder seek out DuBois from the grave in hope of solving their own murders.

The premiere episode set the tone for the series, opening with DuBois a law student, working diligently as an intern for the District Attorney’s office. Unsure at this point of her powers, DuBois is able to view pictures of crime scenes and place them in the order of occurrence within the crime, a feat that the police is unable to do. She also has dreams of speaking to perpetrators and is able to see the truth within their souls, despite what is coming from their lips.

In the series premier, DuBois is awakened one night after having a dream in which she has a conversation with a perpetrator who had just killed his wife. DuBois’ husband asks herifshe is OK. After she assures him that she is, he then turns over and goes back to sleep. Then another voice in the room asks, “Are you sure?” DuBois opens her eyes to see the room filled with dead people all with eyes on her, standing at the foot of her bed.

“Yes, I’m fine,” DuBois replies in answer as if nothing out of the ordinary was happening, then turns over and goes back to sleep with her husband oblivious to the surroundings. To the couple, this is nothing out of the ordinary and has been happening to DuBois since her childhood.

During the course of the first episode, DuBois goes with another attorney to interview a housewife. “Because we have no concrete leads,” the attorney tells DuBois, “we have to listen to every housewife with nothing but time on her hands for leads.”

Arriving at the home, DuBois realizes that this is the home of another psychic medium, who gives the two women information concerning the disappearance of a three-year-old child. A non-believer, the attorney promptly dismisses the information as poppy cock and leaves the room; however, DuBois remains behind to ask the other medium about the process that she goes through when she receives information, in an attempt to make sense of it all.

“They tell me that you are the best of the best,” the elder medium tells DuBois, speaking of the dead who have spoken to her, “Even among the special, you are the most special. Why are you denying who you are?” DuBois, still confused, runs out in horror with the elder medium yelling after her, “If you need help in figuring it all out, I’m here.”

The next morning, DuBois’ husband talks her into letting him send out the information she has been receiving from the dead to the police stations in the areas of the crimes to see if there is a response, in an attempt to help his wife make sense of it all. “If we don’t hear from them, then you continue with law school as planned and we will know that you are just stressed. But if we hit a nerve with the police, we will know it.”

Shortly, they receive word from the Texas rangers, out of state, who want to see DuBois. Upon her arrival, the police chief is very skeptical. He agrees to take her to seven places, with only one being the crime scene. After the first three, DuBois declares that he is wasting her time. She then takes him to the crime scene in which a seventeen-ear-old male molested and killed a six-year-old boy. “Are you sure?” the police chief asks DuBois, “It looks like the Partridge family lives here.”

“I’m sure and so are you,” DuBois replies with confidence, then goes up the stairs and into an open bedroom. She sees a young teenage girl lying on the bed, listening to head phones; however, the girl is dead and no one else can see her but DuBois. DuBois has a conversation with the girl as if having a conversation with a live person. The girl was the perpetrator’s brother, witnessed the crime and tells DuBois what happened and even where the body was buried, making a believer of the police chief.

Medium is a fresh and different drama thriller, causing the viewer to see his or her own surroundings in a different light. Arquette portrays DuBois to perfection, capturing the essence of the character, making hercome alive and real, giving the series life and believability. As a result, the viewer is forced to see life from another perspective ... and maybe sleep with the lights on for a few nights as well.