Christmas-Reviewer This made for TV-film needed some re-casting. THe actors in this film were good however they are in the wrong roles. Devoted father and husband Tom Chandler dies in a car accident, but appears as a ghost to his 11 year old son Jonathan. Now a single mother, Susan Chandler tries to concentrate on her reporter job and dismisses the idea of a ghost, but allows the school counselor, Kevin Harrison, to work with Jonathan. Now Tom's Ghost and Jonathan arrange for Susan to enter a radio show's dating game, and conclude that only Kevin, a widower and coach in Jonathan's former favorite sport, ice-hockey, will do as his stepdad, while she leans towards lawyer Greg Roberts.I truly think that the actors playing Tom and Jonathan should have been switched. The film would of been better served. Besides you can easily see why she was so deeply in love with her husband if he was played by Michael Shanks. If Conan Graham played a school coach you would see why Susan would never "Notice Him". Michael Shanks however stops traffic.

karababe_64 After falling in love with Michael Shanks on Stargate, I've been trying to get my hands on some of his other work. This wasn't worth the effort I had to go through to find a copy. Shanks does what he can but even he can't make up for the cheesy lines and major plot holes.The aspect that bothered me most was the attitude of the mother. She acted more like a spoilt 16 year old than a professional women in her 30s with an 11 year old son. And I wasn't buying her grief either. For someone who apparently had the fairytale marriage, she was able to switch off her grief at the drop of a hat.Burkely Duffield does a pretty good job as Jonathan and has good potential for the future.The one highlight that made the 90mins bearable was Michael Shanks as Kevin Harrison. I totally bought him as a kind and caring teacher. I was hoping to see more of him skating though but that's just my wishful thinking ;-) For Shanks fans I recommend only watching the scenes he is in. For everyone else avoid it unless you like cheesy Christmas movies with cliché dialogue and no real plot.

gee-15 This Christmas movie is only made palatable by its three stars who all give good performances despite what is basically an incoherent, mish-mash of a plot. Jaime Newman creates a very realistic portrayal of a caring woman dealing with the unexpected death of her husband. She isn't perfect but she still tries hard. Michael Shanks is also very appealing as the school counselor with his own tragic past. While he went far beyond what school counselors would normally do, it still seemed believable. Finally, young Burkley Duffield also did a good job in making his character real without being obnoxious. (Why do kids in these movies have such an interest in their parent's love life anyway?) However, they are saddled by a plot that really makes no sense. The ghost of the husband who hangs around seems to have little to do with the plot. The radio contest is a complete plot contrivance. Frankly both ghost and contest could easily have been jettisoned and the focus of the movie on Newman's and Shanks' characters. Why not focus on these two attractive people who have to get beyond their personal tragedies in order to actually see what it is they need? And put it in the Christmas context if you feel the need to. Now that would have been a movie worth watching.

jillpadelf Painfully bad, even for a Lifetime movie or a Harlequin novel. On any other network this would be a Alan Smithee production. The basic premise, a ghost with unfinished business, wasn't the problem. The Patrick Swayze film, Ghost, proves that it can work. In this case, though, the execution of that premise was not handled well. After a year of talking to his dead dad, the kid's mother still doesn't have the kid in therapy. Then one book and some ghostly tricks later, mom decides she may need therapy. Oh, and let's add that the dead father's unfinished business can be summed up that he left mom in a financial hole and she needs a man to take care of her. Ack! The only saving grace was Michael Shank's performance. At least his character came as someone you could tolerate which is more than can be said for the two other adult leads.