Now that Jim Clancy's soul inhabits Sam's body ... Where does "Ghost Whisperer" go from here? Soon after the press conference started, I found myself breathing more easily. Jim Clancy, expertly portrayed by David Conrad on CBS's "Ghost Whisperer," may be dead, but he won't be leaving the show anytime soon. For those of you who have been keeping up, Jim's soul now inhabits the body of another but does not remember being Jim. This week's episode, airing Friday, Nov. 21, at 8 p.m., will continue the story line conceived by P.K. Simonds, a writer and producer on the show. I have to admit, when the show first took a step in this direction, I was aghast. I have followed "Ghost Whisperer" since it started and really love the relationship Jim Clancy and Melinda Gordon (Jennifer Love Hewitt) have. Killing off Jim, for me, would be like excising the soul of the show. But, with the end of last week's episode, I saw a glimmer of hope. Simonds first started thinking about this story line around the beginning of last season and assures us that the concept is plotted at least through the end of this season. "We love David Conrad," he said, "and he'll be here for a long, long time." Conrad admits that he thought he might become a ghost from the very first episode. "I thought they might come to me and say, ‘We hired David Duchovny and you're gone," he said. As far as this story concept goes, the jury is still out for me. But, I admit that it does have a lot of possibilities, as Simonds suggested during the press conference. "We're interested in the soul of Jim," he said. So, now that he inhabits a new body and doesn't remember being Jim, how will his "Jim-ness" show through? They can now explore the difference between "what people say you are and what you feel you are," says Simonds. This character, while being mostly Jim (is that like being mostly dead?) also holds the "muscle memories" of Sam, the original inhabitant of the body (fleetingly portrayed by Kenneth Mitchell, who you might remember from the short-lived "Jericho"). So, what he likes to eat might change, the way he moves, etc. Then there are the people of Sam's past - how will they interact with a now different Sam? "The idea is to rebuild from scratch what's already there," says Simonds. It is a unique opportunity to explore Jim and Melinda's relationship from the beginning. It also allows for new ways for Melinda to interact with her more skeptical friends. She's in a vulnerable place where she really needs their support - will they support her in this crazy new romance? I, for one, am willing to give this story arch a chance. Simonds has penned some of my favorite TV episodes on other shows ("Nightstalker" from Kindred: The Embraced and several episodes of Earth 2), so I believe that he'll do this show justice. According to him, Love Hewitt cried when he first pitched her the concept, she was so touched. "Everyone was nervous at first," he said, but when they realized where the arch was going, they could all see the potential. At the end of the conference, Simonds teased us with the promise of exciting things at the end of the season and in to the beginning of the next, once most of the issues surrounding the Sam/Jim and Melinda story are resolved. Express yourself and be part of the news! Leave a comment below or join our rabid discussions on the SyBoards.