Which show can be described as a police procedural, detective drama, quirky comedy, and an ‘80s and ’90s throwback?
The USA Network’s Psych!
Shawn Spencer (James Roday, Miss Match) was an ornery young boy raised by his single cop dad (Henry Spencer played by Corbin Bernsen, L.A. Law). Okay, Shawn is still a bit ornery today. From a very early age, Shawn’s dad taught him to pay close attention to details; and, it’s this astute ability that has allowed Shawn to trick everyone around him into believing he is psychic.
Everyone, that is, except for his father and his best friend, partner, and pharmaceutical salesman Burton ‘Gus’ Guster (Dule Hill, The West Wing).
Each episode begins with a flashback to the ‘80s when Shawn and Gus were young boys. Often times, this childhood scene depicts an observational lesson from Henry, or a direct memory from Shawn and Gus’ past (like remembering their old classmate, played by Freddie Prinze, Jr.) that will relate directly to the current week’s episode.
After assisting the Santa Barbara Police Department on a case, Shawn and Gus establish Psych, their psychic consulting firm. Hired on a case by case basis by Chief Vick (Kirsten Nelson), Shawn and Gus work alongside detectives Carlton “Lassie” Lassiter (Timothy Omundson, Judging Amy) and Juliet “Jules” O’Hara (Maggie Lawson, TV movies Killer Hair and Hostile Makeover).
Most of Psych’s fun spawns from the banter between Shawn and Gus, Lassie’s constant frustration and exasperation with the two Psych consultants, and the familiar (Shawn and Henry) and romantic (Shawn and Jules) relationships shared between characters.
Fan of the ‘80s? ‘90s? Look no further! Psych not only casts familiar faces from the decades, but also includes puns on particular storylines.
Famous ‘80s and ’90s recurring guest stars include Phylicia Rashad as Gus’ mom (The Cosby Show), Cybill Shepherd as Shawn’s mom (Moonlighting), and Ray Wise as Father Westley (Twin Peaks).
Shawn’s nemeses are all ‘80s greats as well: Yin (Peter Weller, Robocop), Yang (Ally Sheedy, member of the “Brat Pack”), and Pierre Despereaux (Cary Elwes, The Princess Bride).
One of the best episodes to date was the Twin Peaks tribute in season five, “Dual Spires”. James Roday outdid himself writing the episode: he perfected the oddities of the characters from Lynch’s bizarre murder mystery; he mimicked the eerie music and peculiar dancing to a “T”; and, he incorporated a few of the Twin Peaks iconic elements such as the dead girl’s body wrapped in plastic found by the water, the diner, the log lady, the caged bird, and the pie.
Psych even changed the opening credits to honor Twin Peaks. This wasn’t the first time the program made subtle changes to the music to reflect the current episode’s theme (just a little fun-Psych-“I Know You Know”-fact).
Back to the blasts from the past, let’s not forget these additional ‘80s and ‘90s guest stars: Jaleel White (Family Matters), Rachael Leigh Cook from She’s All That, “Brat Pack” member Judd Nelson, C. Thomas Howell (The Outsiders), Ralph Macchio (The Karate Kid), Keshia Knight Pulliam (The Cosby Show), Mena Suvari (American Pie), Carl Weathers (Rocky), and Twin Peaks alumni Dana Ashbrook, Sherilyn Fenn, and Sheryl Lee.
Need more? The new season promises to bring a few new faces from the ‘80s and ‘90s: Molly Ringwald (another “Brat-Pack” member), Kristy Swanson (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the movie), Corey Feldman (The Lost Boys), Joey McIntyre (New Kids on the Block), Jason Priestley (the original 90210), Danny Glover (Lethal Weapon movies), William Shatner (Star Trek movies), and Madchen Amick (another Twin Peaks alumnus).
Rumor has it that this season will also include an Indiana Jones themed episode. No doubt this will be fabulous!
Psych returns this Wednesday, October 12th.
Do you watch Psych? Shawn or Gus? Lassie or Henry? Who is your favorite guest star to date? Do you look for the pineapple in each episode? I’d love to hear from you!
Amber West and I are back with Netflix on this week’s Why It’s Worth a Watch Wednesday. Courtesy of all the programs that television has to offer, we’ve got a few more series that are definitely worthy of queuing up!
I’m taking a trip down memory lane and recommending one of, if not the greatest television Whodunit mysteries of our time: Twin Peaks.
Remember Dallas’ ever-so famous mystery back in 1980: Who shot J.R.?
How about 1984’s Wendy’s slogan: Where’s the beef?
The 1990’s wasn’t far behind with its very own unique conversation starter: Who killed Laura Palmer?
Created by David Lynch and Mark Frost, Twin Peaks first aired April 8, 1990. The series opened with the beautiful scenery of fictional town, Twin Peaks, Washington with the peaceful song “Falling” performed by Julee Cruise playing in the background.
And then the hook – a teenage girl’s dead body is found wrapped tightly in clear plastic on the bank of the town’s river. The sheriff and town doctor arrive only to identify the body as Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee), the local homecoming queen.
News of Laura’s death quickly spreads across Twin Peaks. We see the devastation the news brings to her mother (Sarah Palmer played by Grace Zabriskie) and father (Leland Palmer played by the great Ray Wise). Both of Laura’s parents suffer some sort of breakdown – Leland sporadically breaks into song and dance and his hair turns white overnight, while Sarah begins seeing psychic visions of a white horse and a long-haired man.
We also watch Laura’s high school classmates cry when the announcement pours through the loud-speaker. Sadness sweeps through the school, and the crazy begins. For example, Laura’s boyfriend, Bobby, begins howling like a dog – and this is just episode one.
Everyone loved Laura.
Or did they?
Making matters worse, this small town encounters another young girl walking aimlessly along the rail road tracks. She’s badly injured and in shock. Are the two incidents related?
Enter FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan). Agent Cooper is a very special, or shall I say odd, individual. His peculiarities fit right in with the bizarre townsfolk of Twin Peaks, but more on those individuals later. When satisfied, he enjoys giving a thumbs up, he loves a good piece of pie and cup of coffee, and he constantly records case notes into his microphone addressing someone named Diane. Quirkiness aside, Agent Cooper is one heck of an investigator.
Together, Agent Cooper and Sheriff Harry S. Truman (Michael Ontkean) begin investigating the two cases. What happened to Ronette Pulaski, the girl found wandering the same morning Laura’s body was discovered, and who killed Laura Palmer?
Almost immediately, they learn that Laura is not quite who she appeared to be. Everyone knew she was dating the football star, Bobby Briggs (Dana Ashbrook), but only her best friend, Donna Hayward (originally played by Lara Flynn Boyle, and later by Moira Kelly), knew that Laura was also seeing supposed bad-boy, James Hurley (James Marshall).
Next, Agent Cooper and Sheriff Truman discover that not only was Laura in the middle of a love triangle with the teenage boys, she was also working as a prostitute for Leo Johnson (Eric Da Re) and Jacque Renault (Walter Olkewicz).
The twists and turns don’t stop there. It seems every single person in the small town of Twin Peaks has some secret of their very own. Well, if not a secret, they are so weird that they can’t be excluded from the investigation (like the lady who carries around a log as if it’s a child). The cast of characters in Twin Peaks is one of the best ensembles I’ve ever had the privilege of seeing on television, that’s for sure. And the acting skills? Simply superb.
Characters and appearances include: Richard Beymer, Russ Tamblyn, Miquel Ferrer, Kiefer Sutherland, Billy Zane, Chris Isaak, Piper Laurie, Everett McGill, Peggy Lipton, Heather Graham, Ian Buchanan, and David Duchovny.
Twin Peaks also introduced a young and talented cast. In addition to Laura, Donna, Bobby, and James, alumni also include the beautiful Sherilyn Fenn (Audrey Horne) and Madchen Amick (Shelly Johnson). The female cast was so hot that even Rolling Stone Magazine featured them on the 1990 College Special.
The success of the television series spawned numerous Emmy and Golden Globe Awards. It also prompted a prequel motion picture, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me, and book stores sold The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer (I have that somewhere…).
Twin Peaks can only be described now as a cult classic.
Lynch and Frost’s masterful whodunit mystery kept me on the edge of my seat week in and week out in the early ‘90s; therefore, I’d be remiss to not give Twin Peaks a GTV rating. When viewers learn who the murderer actually is, it’s shocking. One can also get lost watching the colorful characters like Ed’s crazy patch-wearing wife who thinks she’s still in high school.
The plot, characters, and conflict of Twin Peaks are unlike anything on television today.
If asked what my favorite television program of all time, I’d say Twin Peaks. I may be dating myself a bit, but I proudly own the entire series on VHS. Of course, I no longer have a working VHS player in the house….but I sometimes am lucky enough to find Twin Peaks marathons on Chiller.
And, as much as I love Twin Peaks, I have to tell you that the series lost its flare once the murder of Laura Palmer was solved. But, regardless, it’s only 30 episodes – so I highly recommend you Queue It Up!
This is Psych, not Twin Peaks. See the similarities?
The USA Network’s hit television series, Psych, honored Twin Peaks last year in probably my favorite episode: “Dual Spires”. James Roday outdid himself writing the episode: he perfected the oddities of the characters from Lynch’s bizarre murder mystery; he mimicked the eerie music and peculiar dancing to a “T”; and, he incorporated a few of the Twin Peaks iconic elements such as the dead girl’s body wrapped in plastic found by the water, the diner, the log lady, the caged bird, and the pie.
Even better yet, Psych cast a few of the Twin Peaks alumni for the episode: Sheryl Lee (Laura Palmer), Dana Ashbrook (Bobby Briggs), Ray Wise (Leland Palmer), and Sherilyn Finn (Audrey Horne).
Walter channeling Dr. Jacoby
Fox’s Fringe has also paid homage to Twin Peaks. Walter Bishop has worn Dr. Jacoby’s famous glasses with one red lens and one blue lens, and he also dated the actress who played Josie Packard (Joan Chen) in one episode.
Flipping back to the USA Network, White Collar also hosted a few Twin Peaks veterans this year: Dana Ashbrook and Madchen Amick.
If so many current day television programs honor Twin Peaks, shouldn’t you at least check it out? Seriously, queue it up!
So, how about you – did you watch Twin Peaks? Did you figure out the mystery or were you surprised? What is your favorite aspect of the series – the mystery, the unique characters, or the constant intermingling of character conflicts? Are you a David Lynch fan? I’d love to hear from you! *Please try not to give away any spoilers here for those who haven’t watched it yet *
Now click over to Amber’s blog and see why she recommends everyone queue up BBC’s Sherlock!
Come back next week when Amber and I review a few of our favorite FOX programs returning this fall – House& Bones.
Remember to stop by the #watchwed hashtag in Twitter to discuss any of today’s reviews, or to mention any television programs that you’d like to see on Why It’s Worth a Watch Wednesday in the future. We’re currently working on our September schedule and would love to chat with you!
A Recap of The WatchWed Review System:
GTV (Gourmet TV): Everything we want and more MacTV (MacNCheese TV): Guilty pleasure. Not perfect, but is satisfies JFTV (Junk food TV): It’s not great for us, but we’ll go back for seconds SSTV (Still Simmering TV): It has potential, but the jury is still out NIV (Nyquil Induced Viewing): Perfect for that late night television sleep timer LOTV (Liver&Onions TV): Do we really have to explain? Blech
Ready for more summer fun? Tune to the USA Network!
White Collar – Meet Neal Caffrey (Matt Bomer, from Chuck and Tru Calling), a suave and sexy professional con-artist captured by FBI agent, Peter Burke (Tim DeKay). Season 1 opens with Peter releasing Neal from prison under the strict supervision of an ankle monitor, AND one condition: Neal must assist the White Collar division of the FBI in capturing bad guys by utilizing his criminal expertise. Neal enlists the help of his fellow con-artist, Mozzie (Willie Garson, aka Stanford Blatch from Sex and the City) who despite his distrust of the government stands by his friend’s side, and builds his own relationship with Peter and Peter’s wife, Elizabeth (played by Tiffani Theissen most popularly known for her role as Kelly Kapowski on Saved by the Bell). In addition to solving a new FBI case each week, Neal focuses on discovering the truth behind his girlfriend Kate’s disappearance.
Did I mention that Neal is sexy? Neal’s piercing baby blues and charming smile illuminate in combination with his dapper tailored suits and his Fedora hat.
In Season 2, Neal continues his search while everyone, including Peter and his FBI right-hand Diana (Marsha Thomason from Vegas), investigates Kate’s story on their own, each hoping to bring closure to Neal’s heartache. White Collar builds fun and heartfelt character relationships: Peter/Neal, Peter/Elizabeth, Elizabeth/Neal, Elizabeth/Mozzie, Neal/Alex (another con played by Gloria Votsis), and Neal/Sara (insurance investigator played by Hilarie Burton). Season 2 ends with Neal’s previous mentor turned nemesis, Vincent Adler (Andrew McCarthy best known from his 80’s hits Pretty in Pink, St. Elmo’s Fire) escaping once again, ending Neal’s quest for answers – for the time being. What will happen in Season 3? Find out when White Collar returns June 7th!
Covert Affairs – Abandoned on a deserted island by her love, Annie Walker (Piper Perabo, Coyote Ugly) joins the CIA and is immediately thrust into the world of undercover assignments. With the help of her blind CIA tech expert, Auggie Anderson (Christopher Gorham, Harper’s Island), and the former CIA director’s son, Jai Wilcox (Sendhil Ramamurthy), Annie jumps into the toughest cases. Her boss, Joan Campbell (played by Kari Matchett), and her boss’s husband, current CIA director Arthur Campbell (the fabulous Peter Gallagher), constantly throw Annie into veteran situations, test her abilities, and review her loyalties to the CIA. Annie also battles familiar woes living in her sister’s guest house, and playing perfect aunt to her two nieces, while keeping her cover story as a researcher at the Smithsonian Institution intact.
Living her double life, Annie showcases her kick-ass CIA training, and battles her insecurities one day at a time, making Covert Affairs a fun summer pick. Covert Affairs also returns June 7th.
Burn Notice – Bringing sexy back to Thursday nights.Miami + Burned Spy = Hottest Show on Television! Michael Westen, a former spy burned by the U.S. government, teams up with Sam Axe (Michael’s friend and former Navy Seal), Fiona Glenanne (Michael’s gun-crazy on & off again girlfriend), and Jesse Porter (another spy accidentally burned by Michael) to keep Miami safe, and continue Michael’s investigation into his burn notice.
Season 4 ended with a bang, no different from any other Burn Notice finale. Why was Michael taken to Washington D.C.? Was his burn notice lifted? Burn Noticereturns June 23rd.
Law & Order: Criminal Intent – Goren & Eames, together again, returned Sunday, May 1st, for the tenth and final season. It seems tv-land is happy for the original CI partners’ return – the show’s rating was up 43% from last year. In an interview with Candace Havens, Vincent D’Onofrio mentioned that the storyline this season focuses more on the cases than the personal lives of the detectives – back to Law & Order basics.
Psych – It was just announced by the USA Network that Psych doesn’t return until Fall 2011, but I still highly recommend adding it to your Netflix queue for summer fun if you like mysteries, pop-culture from the 80’s, and laughing – especially for the blooper reel!
Growing up with a detective father (Corbin Bernsen from the 80’s greats L.A. Law and Major League) teaching him to pay very close attention to detail, Shawn Spencer (James Roday) fools everyone into believing he has psychic abilities. Everyone, that is, except his father, Henry, and his best friend, Gus (Burton Guster played by Dule Hill from The West Wing). Shawn & Gus open a consulting/detective agency, “Psych”, and freelance their services to the Santa Barbara police department on numerous cases, despite the constant disapproval of lead detective, Carlton Lassiter (Timothy Omundson). Lassiter and his partner, Juliet O’Hara (Maggie Lawson), join Shawn and Gus to close the cases assigned to them by Police Chief Vick (Kirsten Nelson), and comedy ensues each and every time. Every episode promises laughs, especially with the absolutely hilarious nicknames Shawn & Gus assume for each case. The 80’s references, 80’s music, and 80’s guest stars (Judd Nelson & Ally Sheedy from The Brat Pack, Phylicia Rashad & Keisha Knight Pulliam from The Cosby Show, Cybill Shepherd from Moonlighting just to name a few) make watching Psych a fun game of 80’s trivia, especially for those of us deemed children of the 80’s – like myself.
Being a huge fan of the 90s hit Twin Peaks, I absolutely loved the Psych season five episode: ‘Dual Spires’. James Roday outdid himself writing the episode: he perfected the oddities of the characters from David Lynch’s bizarre murder mystery; he mimicked the eerie music and peculiar dancing to a “T”; and, he incorporated a few of the Twin Peaks iconic elements such as the dead girl’s body wrapped in plastic found by the water, the diner, the log lady, the caged bird, and the pie. Even better yet, Psych cast a few of the fabulous Twin Peaks alumni for the episode: Sheryl Lee, Laura Palmer; Dana Ashbrook, Bobby Briggs; Ray Wise, Leland Palmer; and, Sherilyn Finn; Audrey Horne. ‘Dual Spires’ may be my favorite Psych episode to date!
Do you watch USA’s In Plain Sight or Royal Pains? Do you hope that Fairly Legal returns for a second season on USA? Do you miss Monk or The Dead Zone? What other networks and/or shows do you enjoy during the summer months? I’d love to hear from you!
Tiffany A White's Ooo Factor 