Psych Season 3- 7/18/08 (1 Viewer)

[Ockeghem]

Adam,

LOL! Yeah, I too remember 'jinx' when I was in grade school. But your joke was very much in keeping with the spirit of Psych. Well done!

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Wow! Quite the spectacular brain fart on my end. Of course it was "Jinx!" I rescind my exclamation and apologize to John for the inadvertent confusion.

...And I didn't even do any drugs between grade school and now.

 

[Ockeghem]

I loved last night's episode. When I first saw the bank, I thought it was the same one that I saw recently in an episode of Monk. I was half expecting to see Disher (yes, in an episode of Psych) working part-time at his new job.

Some of the lines last night that had me ROTF--

"It's non-negotiable" (when Shawn was telling the man who was holding the hostages what his demands ought to be--LOL).

And Lassiter's "You two know I'm in the van, right?" (or something to that effect). That was priceless.

And what a nice touch having Jules show up at Shawn's after her date was cancelled. I loved it when she began to walk out, and Shawn said something (it didn't really matter what he said); Jules snapped herself around really quickly--almost as if she were waiting for him to say anything so she would have an excuse to stay a few more moments.

 

[LCD22]

I also love the Orange Julius bit. According to writer Andy Berman in his episode commentary, James Roday improvised the line "I know my body, I know my stomach, I need to go potty". This was another great summer finale for "Psych".

 

[Ockeghem]

I find the show to be really, really funny. Had Disher appeared in Psych, I probably would have written to the producers and thanked them!

 

[LCD22]

I've been watching "Psych" since the pilot and it is hands down the funniest series on American television.

As for Disher popping over to this series, it would be a blast to see a Monk/Psych crossover before "Monk" ends its run. They just have to do one.

 

[Ockeghem]

Chris,

Last night, my wife, eldest son, and I were thinking how much fun it would be to be having dinner with:

Monk
Harold
Gus
Shawn
Lassiter
Stottlemeyer

 

[Inspector Hammer!]

Man, I tell you Shawn is the man but I sooo wanted to give him a tag upside the head...

"Jules, I like you, I really like you, i've liked you since I first saw you. Lose the other dude and go out with me."

Is that so hard to say!? He was there, she was open for such a comment and...nada! I'm terrified of even speaking to women and even *I* would have went for it on at least two occasions in that ep.

Ugh, Shawn, what am I gonna' do with you?

Otherwise it was awesome! I just KNEW there would be a Ferris Bueller referance in there somewhere, they couldn't resist naming one of the characters 'Cameron'.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

It was a generally very good episode that played with the relationships between a lot of the key characters in interesting ways. I especially liked the way Gary Cole's character plausibly brought together others who wouldn't normally work together. I found the dynamic between Shawn and Lasseter[sic] to be especially fascinating. The "You two know I'm in the van, right?" line from Lassie basically exposed the fact that Shawn and Jules carry out their open attraction in front of everyone in the midst of everything. Their casual conversation about dinner plans as they moved in on the house showed how positively surreal their lives are.
The only thing that bugged me was the resolution. True, I didn't see it coming, but we were given no reason to care about the perpetrators. They were basically two random hostages picked to wrap things up fast. I would have liked to see Gary Cole as one of the perpetrators, even though that woudl have broken off the thing with Jules a little too easilyHe's already made the forward play numerous times only to be shot down. He knew she was still seeing Gary Cole's character so his move was subtler (and ultimately more effective) than what you suggested. Instead of exploiting the opening to go all in, he surprised her and gave her a night that would stick in her mind through the next night's date with Gary Cole. Something tells me the dinner in the fancy restaurant isn't going to measure up to hot dogs on the boardwalk.

 

[Will_C]

And how about sending Cole's character down into the sewer to look for the perp, when he knew where he was hiding, then sending Lassiter after him through the vent? Now that was Shawn thinking three steps ahead of everyone else. Either Cole cancels the date with Jules because of the smell he can't wash off, or Jules has a bad date with him and doesn't want to be around him anytime soon. Dude, either way it's a win-win for Shawn!

 

[Ockeghem]

He's brilliant. I'd venture to say he thinks that far ahead when he's talking to everyone he meets -- with the single exception of his father. Then, both (IMO) are on a level playing field. Sometimes, his father is a step ahead, while at other times, Shawn has the advantage.

 

[Inspector Hammer!]

I don't know, guys, while this little game they're playing with each other is cute it's also a bit silly, Shawn likes Jules and Jules likes Shawn, I just think they need to cut the crap and give each other a chance.

There's nothing stopping them but this wierd hard-to-get thing they're doing.

 

[Ed Moroughan]

I wonder if they just want to avoid the "Moonlighting" curse? All in all I think this was a strong season for the show. Decent plots, great jokes, good guest stars. Bring on Christmas and the January return!

 

[Will_C]

Now that you mention the "Moonlighting" curse, Cybill Shepherd did play his mom. And she seems to be the one person he doesn't use his "thinking 3 steps ahead ability" as I called it. And Scott's right, Shawn and his dad tend to be on an equal playing field, except when Shawn snookers his dad into that retirement home in season 2. One of the best lines was Gus telling Henry that Shawn's "tricks" (can't remember the exact term) were actually funny when they weren't directed at him. Damn this show is good!

 

[JohnS]

Just as a reminder that the Psych Christmas episode airs tonight.

Christmas Joy

Shawn and Gus investigate a department store Santa who they suspect is up to no good. Meanwhile, Gus' sister flies in for Christmas, in town for the holidays and looking to repeat a one time fling she had with Shawn, who is determined to keep his best friend from ever finding out.

Phylicia Rashad returns as Gus' mother
The weird thing is that actor Keith David has taken over the role as Gus' father, that was played by Ernie Hudson
Gus' sister, Joy is played by Faune Chambers
Directed by John Landis

And if you haven't heard by now Psych has been renewed for a Season 4
With sixteen episodes

 

[Ockeghem]

John,

Thanks for the reminder. And it's great news about the renewal.

 

[Joseph DeMartino]

Not really that weird. One of the problems with recurring characters (as opposed to regulars or one-shot guest stars) is that producers are held hostage to the availability of the actor. (And the wiles of the actor's agent, who may up the actor's price if the character was a hit with the audience.) If you have a flexible schedule, you can postpone shooting a script with character "x", or sometimes you can rewrite the script to use some other character. But if you absolutely, positively have to shoot a script at a particualr point in the schedule (as for a holiday show) then you have no choice but to recast the role. On important character on Monk has been played by at least three actors that I can think of. In at least one case I think the change was due to budget cuts on the show, which might have put the original actor out of their reach the next time the character appeared.

Re: "The Moonlighting Curse". (Or the Cheers curse, or the I Dream of Jeannie curse, pick your series.)

I don't think that would be quite so much of an issue here, apart from the obvious loss of possible romantic interests for Sean. Part of the premise of Moonlighting was that Dave and Maddie were attracted to one another despite being utterly unsuited. That was what created the romantic tension - they wanted each other, yet each was aware that it could never work short of one of them getting a personality transplant. Same with Sam and Diane. Two strong personalities who can't be in a relationship. The minute you put them in a relationship and try to make them a stable couple, you have to alter at least one of the characters. David and Sam have to become more responsible and mature - but that kills half their charm. One of the reasons we like Mayday Malone and David Addison is that they say and do things that we wish we could do. They're the "life of the party" guys. The ones who are guys love to hang out with for a few hours and women might like to have a fling with, but who nobody would want to live with on a permanent basis. Cheers survived by killing the relationship and getting rid of Diane, thus letting Sam go back to being the same jerk we'd known and loved. Also because it was always an ensemble show, despite the early focus on Sam and Diane. Moonlighting didn't because they couldn't just get rid of Cybil, and because it was primarily a two-character show with a supporting cast. Once their relationship changed they were stuck with the consequences and trying to make the change believable. (Also Moonlighting was really about the relationship between Dave and Maddie. The mysteries were just a peg to hang the banter on.)

Shawn, despite his goofiness, is already more mature than Sam and David, and the two leads in Psych are Shawn and Gus, not Shawn and Jules. Getting Shawn and Jules together is neither as conceptually impossible nor as show-changing as the other examples. Short of their getting married (which would obviously change the dynamic of Shawn's realtionship with both Gus and his father), a romance between Shawn and Jules wouldn't really alter the show that much. It would be more like Sara and Grissom getting together on CSI, another show where relationships aren't the main focus. Initially only the audience knew about their romance, which the characters carefully hid from their co-workers. It was only when Jorja Fox decided to leave the show that they were "outed" as a couple because that became part of the storyline that led to her departure. (And the after-effects of that story are being used to set-up William Peterson's exit from the regular cast.)

Anyway, I'm looking forward to tonight.

Regards,

Joe

 

[JohnS]

I liked this Matchstick Men sort of episode.

I really enjoyed Keith David's version of Gus' dad better than Ernie Hudson's.
Ernie Hudson's portrayal didn't seem to fit much.
Keith David's version seemed more of what Gus is like.
I was always slightly annoyed by that line Ernie's character always said "We hear you son, we hear you."

I'm wondering if it was a creative decision more than, Ernie Hudson was too busy, so we had to replace him.
But looking at Ernie's schedule, he was doing five films about that time.

I thought it was funny when Keith David was trying to duck and cover from Shawn's psych reading, down in the Gus' basement.

"No...no. You're not gonna read me. Stick and move...stick and move."

Also thought it was funny on the small Secret of My Success scene with Gus, Joy and Shawn going into each others rooms at night.

And they toyed with us again on Shawn and Juliet and the possibility they have feelings for each other.

I'm glad they wrote in another Shawn and Henry Spencer gift guessing scene.

 

[Ockeghem]

That was priceless, even if you knew who was going to win (and continue the streak).

I thought Dave -- when he left the baggage behind during the closing moments -- was quite good in his role. And I bought Britney's spiele for a couple of minutes during the opening, until she began her crying. Having daughters helped me to see through that one.

More later.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Until the mid-season finale, she'd always been the one nixing it more. Her shrugging off his apology reminded me strongly of last year's Christmas episode at the O'Hara household, which was Shawn's Irish Catholic Christmas nightmare.