Living with the Dead at PopArtsPlace.com

As commercials go four hours is over kill on any topic. As mini-series/made-for-tv movies go, this one isn't half bad. That not to say it's all good... but I found it considerably more enjoyable than the commercials led me to believe it would be.

Ted Danson is a talented actor, married to the also talented Mary Steenburgen, & in Living with the Dead (previously titled Talking to Heaven by Hallmark Entertainment) they have found a script in which they work well together. The chemistry from the moment they first meet is wonderful. Danson said in an interview that this was not meant to be the exact story of the life & times of James van Praagh... a documentary it is not. When viewed independent of the public persona James van Praagh it makes for a decent/good story. But bring to it the baggage of James van Praagh -- he's a real man, but are his "skills" for real? -- & the debates you can find on line that say he is a good psychic versus those that say he is skilled at reading people & telling them what they want to hear, & you come out wishing this was nothing more than a good fictional story.

Facts, or in this case publicly documented doubts (if you would like to read a review of James van Praagh's readings go here.) get in the way of an otherwise interesting an engaging story. So, for me, the man & the movie are separate, I doubt I'll tune in to Beyond with James van Praagh (unless I have to in order to review it) but Tuesday April 30 I'll be tuning in for part II of Living with the Dead.

James Van Praagh (Emmy & Golden Globe-nominee Ted Danson, Gulliver’s Travels) has been haunted by psychic visitations since he was a child. Terrified by the gift, he’s encouraged by his friend Midge (Queen Latifah, Mama Flora’s Family) to explore it even further. He’s also encouraged by his mother (Oscar & Emmy–nominee, Golden Globe-winner Diane Ladd, Christy: A Change of Seasons) — after she dies — to accept it as a blessing. He has no choice when a criminal investigation plunges James into the realm between life & death as he struggles to make a connection between his experiences with the beyond — & a thirty-year-old unsolved murder.

In death, seven young boys have appeared before James. Each of them has ties to another boy named Eddie who first came to James many years ago in search of help. When James turns to Detective Karen Condrin (Oscar & Golden Globe-winner Mary Steenburgen, Gulliver’s Travels) to help him identify the children, they both embark on a remarkable journey toward solving the crime, & helping the lost boys continue their path toward Heaven. The experience also paves the way for Praagh to become an internationally recognized force in spiritual clairvoyance.

Directed by Stephen Gyllenhall (A Killing in a Small Town) & written by John Pielmeier (Flowers for Algernon), Hallmark Entertainment’s Talking to Heaven is the astonishing true story of a medium’s message of hope. Based on the groundbreaking #1 bestseller, it answers our most profound questions about life after death.

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