Ghost Whisperer Producers Dish on the New Set
Hey!
Man, have we been running! Writers are writing, directors are directing, crew and everyone are prepping and shooting (and more prepping and shooting). Actors are acting, post is editing and visual fx-ing. The composer is composing and sound and digital media have been working steadily to get ready to premiere Ghost Whisperer on Sept. 25.
But before we get into Ghost Whisperer world, for those of you who have asked what Christoph (Ned) has been up to click here.
Special thanks to all of you who tuned into the premiere of Ghost Whisperer on SyFy over Labor Day Weekend. SyFy said Monday's show was their highest-rated Monday night since September 2008. We are excited to reboot the show with the pilot.
Here's the lowdown on our new Grandview Town Square, rebuilt from the Universal fire last year. We took advantage of the rebuilding process to make some great alterations to town square.
Rockland Memorial Teaching Hospital: When Jim becomes a doctor in the show, his place of business is on the square, a stone's throw away from Mel's "Same As It Ever Was" shop (which has been fully restored). Previously, the exterior hospital was located on New York street of the Universal Lot. The interiors of the hospital (which have grown tremendously this season) are on our sound stages.
Irondale Lighting: The store is a nod to Kim's hometown of Donora, Pennsylvania — her father (who's crossed over into the Light) ran a hotel called The Irondale. It was definitely haunted.
Toy Store: This is a great addition since we've got a new child in the mix this season.
Gas Station: A totally new look — lots of action at the gas station. And, guess what, we can manipulate gas prices any way we want...
Additionally, the following sets received a great makeover:
Bayridge Café & Books: This location was on the square before the fire but in a different place and it had a different look. This is prettier and has a great outdoor cafe.
Lento's Restaurant: Lento's is bigger and better in season five — complete with a lovely outdoor dining area.
Gazebo: Last season, the center of town on the WB lot included a gazebo, which we fell in love with. It was a great spot to have characters interact and it easily became a centerpiece in the outdoor activity scenes of the show. In rebuilding, we decided to keep that new asset and move the soldier statue next to city hall where it stands prominently. The gazebo is also a great place to shoot our cross-over scenes on the show.
There is no longer a movie theatre, but when you start watching the next season of Ghost Whisperer, we're sure you'll agree that the new changes work well for our new season. Special thanks to our wonderful production designer Mayling Cheng and her staff for doing a beautiful job! This all started with cardboard miniatures — and now we're walking through the town square—pure magic on the part of her and our partners at Universal.
Also, we'd like to send our best champagne wishes to our Ghost Whisperer Emmy nominees who will attend the Creative Emmy Awards on tomorrow night. Our composer Mark Snow is a nominee for "Outstanding Music Composition for a Series" for his work in the episode "Leap of Faith." Additionally, our visual effects supervisors, Armen Kevorkian and Art Codron, are nominated for Outstanding Special Visual Effects For A Series for the episode "Ghost in the Machine." Congratulations on these well deserved accolades. Kudos to everyone, from the writers on down, who had a giant hand in these episodes! Good Luck to our nominees!
In tonight's episode "Endless Love," a series of very strange and disturbing hauntings perplex Melinda (Jennifer Love Hewitt) until Eli's (Jamie Kennedy) ex-girlfriend, occult professor Zoe (Jaclyn DeSantis) finds the thread that connects the clues. Only problem is, her explanation is unthinkable: something undead is haunting Grandview. And it won't rest till it's taken its intended victim -- a vulnerable high school co-ed (Alexa Vega) — to join it in death.
"Endless Love" was written by Executive Producer P.K. Simonds and directed by Executive Producer Ian Sander.
This episode guest stars: Young Artist Award Winner Alexa Vega as Serena Westen ("Spy Kids"), Emmy Award nominee Gail O'Grady as her mother, Jenn Westen ("NYPD Blue", "Desperate Housewives" & "American Dreams"), Erich Anderson as Dale Western ("Cold Case, "Close to Home" & "Boomtown") and Jaclyn DeSantis as Zoe (Windfall).
Musically this episode features "Disappear" by piano-rockers The Gabe Dixon Band (Concord Music Group), Siri Svegler's "Their Wine" (Compost Records), and indie stars Luscious Redhead's "Don't You Dig Too Deep."
To prepare you for tonight's episode, check out "Vampire Ghost," a romantic interactive journey from the point of view of a vampire ghost as he attempts to seduce the love of his life.
Check us out next week, right here!
Kim & Ian
