The fourth season of '' Ghost Whisperer'', an American television series created by John Gray, commenced airing in the United States on October 3, 2008, concluded May 15, 2009, and consisted of 23 episodes. The series follows the life of

Melinda Gordon Melinda Irene Gordon is the title character of the American paranormal television series ''Ghost Whisperer'' created by John Gray. Gordon was portrayed by American actress Jennifer Love Hewitt. Character background Melinda Gordon (Jennifer Love ...

( Jennifer Love Hewitt), who has the ability to see and communicate with ghosts. While trying to live as normal a life as possible—she is married and owns an antique store—Melinda helps earthbound spirits resolve their problems and cross over into the Light, or the spirit world. Her tasks are difficult and at times she struggles with people who push her away and disbelieve her ability. In addition, the ghosts are mysterious and sometimes menacing in the beginning and Melinda must use the clues available to her to understand the spirit's needs and help them. '' Ghost Whisperers fourth season aired in the United States (U.S.) on Fridays at 8:00 pm ET on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

, a

terrestrial Terrestrial refers to things related to land or the planet Earth. Terrestrial may also refer to: * Terrestrial animal, an animal that lives on land opposed to living in water, or sometimes an animal that lives on or near the ground, as opposed to ...

television network A television network or television broadcaster is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, where a central operation provides programming to many television stations or pay television providers. Until the mid- ...

, where it received an average of 10.62 million viewers per episode, becoming the most watched season of the series.

Plot

In the fourth season, Melinda meets Eli James (

Jamie Kennedy James Harvey Kennedy (born May 25, 1970) is an American actor and comedian. He has played Randy Meeks in the ''Scream'' franchise (1996–2000) and a multitude of characters in '' The Jamie Kennedy Experiment'' (2002–2004) on The WB. His oth ...

) after a fire at Rockland University who, after his own

near-death experience A near-death experience (NDE) is a profound personal experience associated with death or impending death which researchers claim share similar characteristics. When positive, such experiences may encompass a variety of sensations including detac ...

, develops the ability to hear ghosts. Melinda says goodbye to her close friend

Rick Payne The following are fictional characters from the television drama '' Ghost Whisperer'' created by John Gray. Main characters Melinda Gordon Melinda Gordon, played by Jennifer Love Hewitt, is the protagonist of '' Ghost Whisperer ''. Melind ...

, who leaves Grandview on a research trip for the university. In this season, Jim is shot and killed. He does not "cross over" because he does not want to leave Melinda, and his spirit later enters the body of a man named Sam Lucas, who died in an unrelated accident in Grandview and crossed over. When Jim/Sam regains consciousness, he has no memory of being Jim. Melinda works to get him to remember his past life and her, and succeeds after much difficulty and skepticism on the part of her friends. They soon discover that Melinda is pregnant and that the date of conception was right before Jim died. At the end of the season, Ned and Eli find the Book of Changes, a book written by the Watchers (a benevolent group of ghosts who keep watch over the living). The book tells them of past and future prominent dates, such as Andrea and Jim's deaths. One date is listed as September 25, 2009; Melinda's due date. Melinda learns from a Watcher named Carl that her child is destined to not only inherit her gift, but be far more powerful than her. Melinda and Jim decide to remarry and have a small ceremony on a snowy night, on the street where they first met.

Development

''Ghost Whisperer'' is based on the work of "Spirit Communicator"

James Van Praagh James Van Praagh (; born August 23, 1958) is an American author, producer and television personality who describes himself as a clairvoyant and spiritual medium.executive producer and regularly updates a

blog A blog (a truncation of "weblog") is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts). Posts are typically displayed in reverse chronological order s ...

about the show through LivingTV. The stories are also said to be based in part on the work of "Spirit Communicator"

Mary Ann Winkowski Mary Ann Winkowski is a television personality whose paranormal experiences are the basis for CBS's '' Ghost Whisperer'', on which she was also a paid producer. She currently resides in North Royalton, Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern ...

. Development of the show dates back to at least two years before its premiere. The show was produced by Sander/Moses Productions in association with

CBS Television Studios CBS Studios, Inc. is an American television production company which is a subsidiary of CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global. It was formed on January 17, 2006, by CBS Corporation as CBS Paramount Television, as a renaming of the o ...

(originally

Paramount Network Television The original incarnation of Paramount Television was the name of the television production division of the American film studio Paramount Pictures, that was responsible for the production of Viacom television programs, until it changed its na ...

in season one and

ABC Studios ABC Signature is an American television production studio that is a subsidiary of Disney Television Studios, a division of Walt Disney Television, which is part of the Disney General Entertainment Content division of The Walt Disney Company. ...

(originally Touchstone Television in the first two seasons) and

CBS Paramount Network Television CBS Studios, Inc. is an American television production company which is a subsidiary of CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global. It was formed on January 17, 2006, by CBS Corporation as CBS Paramount Television, as a renaming of the o ...

in seasons two and three). The show was filmed on the

Universal Studios Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...

back lot in Los Angeles. One area on the lot is

Courthouse Square Courthouse Square is a backlot located at the Universal Studios Lot in Universal City, California. The set is composed of several facades that form an archetypal American town square with a courthouse as its centerpiece. The set was built for th ...

from the ''Back to the Future'' trilogy, though it has been drastically modified to depict Grandview. For example, the clock tower in ''Back to the Future'' has been completely covered up. Cast and crew members believe that the set gets visits from real spirits. Sound effects were completed at Smart Post Sound. Visual effects for the pilot and some season one episodes were completed at Flash Film Works. Visual effects for nearly the entire series were created at Eden FX. Creator John Gray grew up in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, which is not far from Grandview-On-Hudson, west of the

Hudson River The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between N ...

. Piermont is often referenced in episodes as the neighboring town, which is accurate to real life as Grandview-On-Hudson is actually located just north of Piermont. Professor Rick Payne worked in the fictional "Rockland University," and perhaps not coincidentally, the actual Grandview, New York is a village located in

Rockland County, New York Rockland County is the southernmost county on the west side of the Hudson River in the U.S. state of New York. It is part of the New York metropolitan area. It is about from the Bronx at their closest points. The county's population, as of t ...

Cast

* Jennifer Love Hewitt as

(23 episodes) *

David Conrad David Conrad (born August 17, 1967) is an American actor. From 2005 to 2010, he starred in the television series ''Ghost Whisperer'' alongside Jennifer Love Hewitt. Early life Conrad is the youngest of three sons born to James Watson Conrad, an ...

as Jim Clancy/Sam Lucas (23 episodes) *

Camryn Manheim Debra Frances "Camryn" Manheim (born March 8, 1961) is an American actress known for her roles as attorney Ellenor Frutt on ABC's '' The Practice'', Delia Banks on CBS's '' Ghost Whisperer'', Gladys Presley in the 2005 miniseries '' Elvis'', and ...

as Delia Banks (23 episodes) *

Jay Mohr Jon Ferguson "Jay" Mohr (born August 23, 1970) is an American actor, comedian and radio host. He is known for his roles as film producer Peter Dragon in the TV comedy series '' Action'', Professor Rick Payne in the TV series ''Ghost Whisperer'' ...

(1 episode) * Christoph Sanders as Ned Banks (13 episodes) *

as Eli James (23 episodes)

Episodes

References

;General references * * * {{Ghost Whisperer 2009 American television seasons 2008 American television seasons 4