In 2005 a new series premiered on NBC that caught viewers fancy and tied into that desire to know what would happen in our futures if we could. Our fascination with psychics had been a long one going back to people like Edgar Cayce and Jeanne Dixon and moving forward at the time with John Edwards. This series renewed that interest and took as its basis the real life story of psychic Allison DuBois, a psychic who has aided the police on several occasions.Patricia Arquette stars as DuBois in the series. Having grown up with these abilities but never applying them she tries to lead a normal life living in Phoenix with her husband Joe (Jake Weber) and their three daughters (Sofia Vassilieva, Maria Lark and Madison and Miranda Carabello). Allison becomes an intern working for Phoenix District Attorney Manuel Devalos (Miguel Sandoval) and while working for him has a dream about a murder case taking place in Texas. Now the problem is how does she convince the law enforcement people she works with that her visions are legitimate not to mention convincing her husband as well? Of course she does eventually get them to follow up on the clues she can provide and bad guys are caught. In the course of these events her abilities are accepted and she helps with more cases than ever.The thing is if they never accepted her abilities there wouldn't have been a series worth of stories to tell and especially a series that lasted 7 seasons. And as a viewer you have to believe that the crime in Phoenix would become non-existent with the way the DA and his team rely on her abilities more and more often as it progresses. Plus they have to convince anyone in other police departments in other cities of her abilities when she dreams about those locations.But this is television. We want to believe, we want to be entertained and we want to hope that someone out there like this can help put bad guys away behind bars. With the crime statistics in this country it would seem a never ending battle. But again that doesn't matter as long as the show can be entertaining and this one was.Arquette comes off as an everyday mom who has had these visions all her life but who has finally found a way to apply them to help others. At the same time it's not just helping solve crimes that goes on here. She's making lunches for her kids, dropping them off at school and dealing with their day to day issues as well. She has to comfort her husband when the need arises and the pair here on screen present a loving couple that deals with the same issues we all do on a daily basis be it bills or bullies or gossip mongers. Arquette's performance here brings the character to life in all of these circumstances.Weber does a great job as well as the beleaguered husband who at first doesn't believe and yet learns that what she claims is true. And with the dreams and visions she has being those involving murder and mayhem he's the solid base she needs to stay grounded. Weber's portrayal of that supportive spouse is well done here. Even more so when it turns out that their three daughters also are in the midst of developing the same psychic connections.While the series did well enough when it was on it was often up against some of the stiffest competition there was. It battled against the CBS juggernaut that was the CSI franchise in one form or another, the hottest shows on at the time. It later found itself up against LOST and the phenomena that that was and then LAW & ORDER: SVU but it carried on. The series lasted 5 seasons on NBC and then shifted over to CBS for 2 more seasons before finally calling it quits.This box set contains all 7 seasons for fans to go back and enjoy all over again. And if you never got around to watching any more than occasional episode you can now join in from the start and follow through to the last episode. Fans of Arquette will love having them all in one spot on the shelf and those who have been picking them up in individual seasons can now sell those off and take up less space there with this comprehensive collection.

This has to be the most awful TV show i've ever layed my eyes on, after "Charmed" of course. And believe me I only see it when there is nothing, absolutely nothing else on TV. I read a review which stated exactly what I think, Patricia is an awful actress, she always has that desperate face for no reason, her mouth doesn't open, her head doesn't move, her hair is glued to her head and face. And boy...the scenes with the husband, I can't even go there because theyare so bad, that couple doesn't have chemistry at all, like someone here said (same review, which was brilliant by the way)the guy shouts his lines for no reason, he overacts the scenes and Patricia just stands there looking at him with those lifeless eyes trying to remember what she has to say next. It is so ridiculous it is exasperating...and I don't know why I even bother to see it anyhow. I have to have a brain check...Awful awful show. Just don't waste your time on that.

Before we talk about the show, let's talk about the talent. Glen Gordon Caron has been on the other side of the camera for a very long time, with a pedigree that includes, oh, for example, discovering Bruce Willis. And that's just for starters. Similarly, Arquette had a long and fairly impressive run in features, not always the A-roles, perhaps, but consistent nonetheless. Bringing these two together in 2005 was a match full of promise and ultimately the promise was kept. Next, the stories. It may be because the premise was based on a real person that the week-to-week plots were entirely consistent with the way real intuitives actually operate in the real world. Ordinarily Hollywood simply cannot resist the temptation to take it up a notch, especially from season to season. Had the plot arcs followed the usual Tinseltown roadmap, the Alison character played by Arquette would be getting predictive dreams in Season 1 and raising the dead by Season 6. But the producer showed restraint, and I believe that is part of the reason for the success of this show. I have seen every episode, and I recall that by the time the last season rolled around, they were getting just a tad frisky -- Alison may have a fatal illness, Alison's ability may be illegal in court; Alison tries to help Joe's business with her gift -- but a 6 year run is nothing to sneeze at. It was consistent, it was solid, it was entertaining. In TV, that's about as good as it gets.

(Getting caught up on this series via Netflix) Personally speaking, this show would have been a lot better with a different actress playing Allison. Arquette barely ever changes her facial expressions, nor the tone of her voice (she is usually breathless and frowning about something). Her character is selfish and annoying; she is a terrible wife to her overly caring and understanding husband. And on few occasions was more concerned about the "case" than her own family. Maybe it's because I'm watching one episode after another, but it gets hard to watch her lack of talent for acting. On a positive note, the remaining characters (particularly her 2 youngest daughters) are enjoyable, and the stories are pretty well written.