SFX Magazine
Issue 183
by Tara Bennett
As Patricia Arquette will be the first to tell you, it's always good to have a healthy respect for the unknown. And no, she didn't pick up that life lesson playing psychic Alyson Dubois on Medium for the past five seasons. It turns out little Patricia actually learned early it's best to keep bad juju under wraps.
"When I was little, we used to goof around and be scared", she reminisces. "We used a Ouija board. What was that lady that you were supposed to call to in the mirror with the candle? Bloody Mary! We used to do that but I have kind of a fear and respect for whatever I don't understand. I don't mess around with it, really."
She pauses and then adds, "The only thing I have to say further about the Ouija board is when I did this movie, Stigmata, I met with this guy who did a few, you know, clearings of demons; he said never play with a Ouija board...so that scared me."
So it's ironic that on Medium Arquette had been happily poking around in the spirit realm. As Dubois, the actress gives one of television's most sincere and authentic portrayals of an average suburban mum, who just happens to have psychic abilities that allow her to help solve baffling cases for the Phoenix District Attorney's Office. But it's that grounded approach of family first, abilities second that's provided Arquette her comfort zone with the material.
"For me [Family] is the foundation and the heart and soul and really what I care about in the show and what I thought was interesting about it," she explains. "Of course I always thought the psychic aspect of it was interesting but I don't think I'd have the same connection if it hadn't been for the family stuff. And I didn't feel like there was anyone really exploring a healthy marriage and family on television. [Creator and executive producer] Glen Gordon Caron, who is sort of the guiding spirit behind this whole thing, has always been interested in this sort of love story. And as intricate and as well crafted as the mystery plot lines are, the heart and soul of the show is really in the family."
Audiences obviously agree, because despite tricky timeslots and long delays between some seasons, they keep coming back, making Medium the little show that can. Even Arquette admits it's longevity is surprising. "I was very ignorant about television and I was told if I did this pilot the chances are it would never even get aired and that it was such a long shot. But I really liked the material. I certainly didn't expect to be here for five years because beople started making it clear to me just how rare that was."
Now inching ever closer to their 100th episode, Arquette says they what time has afforded them to explore. "One of the major things I think that I knew would be interesting, but I couldn't foresee exactly, is the changes in the kids. When we started Ariel (Sofia Vassilieva) was just a little girl and now she's a young woman. Playing the transitions that the kids have gone through and exploring that a little bit as a family is interesting. I just didn't foresee it going so fast!"
Luckily, that means playing Allison has also managed to stay fresh. "The writers do a great job of keeping things interesting to play, with new territory to explore. But then there are also aspects that I think for the show to work, we need to maintain a normalcy of life and life in general; family life is a little bit monotonous," she shrugs. "You kind of do end up playing some of the same things which is realistic, but you need that with this crazy kind of premise. That's part of what's interesting about doing a long-term project - it's like a long-term relationship. You run into one pattern and you keep doing that same pattern over and over again, then you have a breakthrough, then you go back to cases, then you keep doing the same pattern over and over again. You don't notice it."
But Arquette has been stirring the creative pot too, directing her first episode this season, "A Person of Interest". "I always wanted to check it out and see how it was," she explains about her new duties. "I mean, when you're in front of the camera for a lot of years on a show that has a specific style and rules of shooting, you start feeling like you understand those rules. So I just wanted to check it out.
"The whole thing was pretty humbling," she says with sincerity. "I've got to say, I have a lot of respect for directors. I think it was a really good experience for me as far as being grateful to other directors because there were times where I felt like that person who's patting their head and rubbing their stomach and hopping because I was still acting in a lot of it. Certain scenes my back was to the camera...so I had to depend on a lot of other people. It's like using a completely different part of your brain...and there were actually times when my head hurt!"
Issue 183
by Tara Bennett
As Patricia Arquette will be the first to tell you, it's always good to have a healthy respect for the unknown. And no, she didn't pick up that life lesson playing psychic Alyson Dubois on Medium for the past five seasons. It turns out little Patricia actually learned early it's best to keep bad juju under wraps.
"When I was little, we used to goof around and be scared", she reminisces. "We used a Ouija board. What was that lady that you were supposed to call to in the mirror with the candle? Bloody Mary! We used to do that but I have kind of a fear and respect for whatever I don't understand. I don't mess around with it, really."
She pauses and then adds, "The only thing I have to say further about the Ouija board is when I did this movie, Stigmata, I met with this guy who did a few, you know, clearings of demons; he said never play with a Ouija board...so that scared me."
So it's ironic that on Medium Arquette had been happily poking around in the spirit realm. As Dubois, the actress gives one of television's most sincere and authentic portrayals of an average suburban mum, who just happens to have psychic abilities that allow her to help solve baffling cases for the Phoenix District Attorney's Office. But it's that grounded approach of family first, abilities second that's provided Arquette her comfort zone with the material.
"For me [Family] is the foundation and the heart and soul and really what I care about in the show and what I thought was interesting about it," she explains. "Of course I always thought the psychic aspect of it was interesting but I don't think I'd have the same connection if it hadn't been for the family stuff. And I didn't feel like there was anyone really exploring a healthy marriage and family on television. [Creator and executive producer] Glen Gordon Caron, who is sort of the guiding spirit behind this whole thing, has always been interested in this sort of love story. And as intricate and as well crafted as the mystery plot lines are, the heart and soul of the show is really in the family."
Audiences obviously agree, because despite tricky timeslots and long delays between some seasons, they keep coming back, making Medium the little show that can. Even Arquette admits it's longevity is surprising. "I was very ignorant about television and I was told if I did this pilot the chances are it would never even get aired and that it was such a long shot. But I really liked the material. I certainly didn't expect to be here for five years because beople started making it clear to me just how rare that was."
Now inching ever closer to their 100th episode, Arquette says they what time has afforded them to explore. "One of the major things I think that I knew would be interesting, but I couldn't foresee exactly, is the changes in the kids. When we started Ariel (Sofia Vassilieva) was just a little girl and now she's a young woman. Playing the transitions that the kids have gone through and exploring that a little bit as a family is interesting. I just didn't foresee it going so fast!"
Luckily, that means playing Allison has also managed to stay fresh. "The writers do a great job of keeping things interesting to play, with new territory to explore. But then there are also aspects that I think for the show to work, we need to maintain a normalcy of life and life in general; family life is a little bit monotonous," she shrugs. "You kind of do end up playing some of the same things which is realistic, but you need that with this crazy kind of premise. That's part of what's interesting about doing a long-term project - it's like a long-term relationship. You run into one pattern and you keep doing that same pattern over and over again, then you have a breakthrough, then you go back to cases, then you keep doing the same pattern over and over again. You don't notice it."
But Arquette has been stirring the creative pot too, directing her first episode this season, "A Person of Interest". "I always wanted to check it out and see how it was," she explains about her new duties. "I mean, when you're in front of the camera for a lot of years on a show that has a specific style and rules of shooting, you start feeling like you understand those rules. So I just wanted to check it out.
"The whole thing was pretty humbling," she says with sincerity. "I've got to say, I have a lot of respect for directors. I think it was a really good experience for me as far as being grateful to other directors because there were times where I felt like that person who's patting their head and rubbing their stomach and hopping because I was still acting in a lot of it. Certain scenes my back was to the camera...so I had to depend on a lot of other people. It's like using a completely different part of your brain...and there were actually times when my head hurt!"
