Psych
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| Psych | |
 Psych title card |
|
| Format | Comedy drama |
|---|---|
| Created by | Steve Franks |
| Starring | James Roday Dulé Hill Timothy Omundson Maggie Lawson Kirsten Nelson Corbin Bernsen |
| Opening theme | "I Know You Know" by The Friendly Indians |
| Country of origin |  United States |
| No. of seasons | 3 (4th season out summer 2009) |
| No. of episodes | 47 (List of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Location(s) | White Rock, BC Vancouver, BC |
| Running time | approx. 43 minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | USA Network |
| Picture format | 1080i (HDTV) |
| Original run | July 7, 2006 – present |
| External links | |
| Official website | |
Psych is an American comedy television series created by Steve Franks and broadcast on USA Network. The show stars James Roday as Shawn Spencer, a young crime consultant for the Santa Barbara Police Department (SBPD) whose "heightened observational skills"[1] and impressive detective instincts allow him to convince people that he is psychic. The program also stars Dulé Hill as Shawn's best friend, straight man, and reluctant partner Burton "Gus" Guster, as well as Corbin Bernsen as Shawn's captious father, Henry.
The series airs in the US on Friday nights at 10PM ET/PT on the USA Network. During the second season, an animated segment was added to the series titled "The Big Adventures of Little Shawn and Gus". Psych debuted July 7, 2006, immediately following the fifth season premiere of Monk. The show was the highest-rated U.S. basic cable television premiere of 2006.[2] Psych completed its third season run on February 20, 2009 and has been renewed for a fourth season starting August 7, 2009. Season 3 will be released on DVD in the US on July 21, 2009 with Monk.[citation needed] William Rabkin has written two books that tie in with the show.[3][4]
Contents |
[edit] Characters
[edit] Main characters
| Name | Portrayed by | Occupation/Status |
|---|---|---|
| Shawn Spencer | James Roday | Main character who works with the Santa Barbara Police Department (SBPD) as a "psychic detective." Though he portrays himself as a "psychic," it is really his exceptional observational skills and photographic memory that make him such a good detective. |
| Burton "Gus" Guster | Dulé Hill | Shawn's best friend and partner; also works in pharmaceuticals. |
| Carlton "Lassie" Lassiter | Timothy Omundson | Head detective for the SBPD; doubts Shawn's psychic abilities. |
| Juliet "Jules" O'Hara | Maggie Lawson | Junior detective for the SBPD; Lassiter's partner, Shawn's love interest. |
| Karen Vick | Kirsten Nelson | Chief for the SBPD. |
| Henry Spencer | Corbin Bernsen | Shawn's uptight and precise father; a former police sergeant. |
| Young Shawn | Pilot: Josh Hayden Seasons 1 - 3: Liam James |
Appears in flashbacks at the start of each episode. |
| Young Gus | Season 1: Isaah Brown Season 2: Carlos McCullers II |
Appears in flashbacks at the start of each episode. |
Flashbacks show that Henry Spencer assumed his son would follow in his footsteps and become a law enforcement officer. In preparation, Henry helps Shawn hone his powers of observation and deduction, often using games and challenges to test him.
Shawn originally becomes known as a psychic when, after calling in a tip on a crime covered on the news, the police become suspicious of his knowledge. Theorizing that such knowledge could only come from the inside, they are about to arrest him when he uses his observations to convince all present that he is psychic. The interim police chief warns Shawn that if his "powers" are fake, he will be prosecuted. With no choice but to keep up the act, he makes the most of it. Pretending to have psychic powers allows him to engage in strange and comic behavior as he turns real clues into hunches and otherworldly visitations. He enjoys teasing lifelong friend Gus, a pharmaceutical representative, over his eclectic interests (including a love for comic books and superheroes, spelling bees, astronomy, reality tv, his "super smeller", and Spanish-language soap operas).
Head detective Lassiter doubts Shawn's psychic abilities and initially does not value his work, while junior detective O'Hara and chief Vick either fail to recognize that Shawn is a fake, or else are more willing to go along with the charade to solve cases. Henry Spencer and Shawn have a difficult relationship; still Henry helps Shawn on numerous occasions.
[edit] Recurring characters
Police officer Buzz McNab, played by Sage Brocklebank, is a naive but lovable cop who often provides Shawn and Gus with clues. He also adopts a 'little boy cat' (who is actually a girl cat) that once helped Shawn solve a case.
Cybill Shepherd has also appeared in the first two episodes of the third season and the season finale of the third season, as Shawn's mother and Henry's ex-wife, psychologist Madeleine Spencer.
[edit] Former characters
 |
This article describes a work or element of fiction in a primarily in-universe style. Please help rewrite it to explain the fiction more clearly and provide non-fictional perspective. |
Detective Lucinda Barry (portrayed by Anne Dudek) was partnered with Head Detective Carlton Lassiter for nearly a year; five months after Lassiter's separation from his wife, Barry and Lassiter became involved in a relationship of their own, though Barry wanted to keep it quiet so that their colleagues wouldn't think she was "climbing the ladder the hard way."
Det. Barry seemed amenable to the arrival of Shawn Spencer, helping him covertly when he needed information about the McCallum disappearance. Soon after, however, Barry transferred out of the SBPD, at least partially to be closer to her mother who was recovering from an industrial accident. Whether her relationship with Lassiter played any part in the transfer is yet unknown. She was replaced by Jr. Det. Juliet O'Hara. Although Barry and Shawn seemed to get along very well in the first episode, he moved on very quickly to Juliet as soon as she was transferred, and he revealed to Gus that he prefers Juliet.
While her name was never given in the pilot episode, the episode summary lists her as "Lucinda," and Lassiter reveals her last name as "Barry" on his blog (though he also refers to her first name as "Lucina" rather than "Lucinda").
[edit] Episodes
The first season, comprising fifteen episodes, began airing on USA Network from July 7, 2006 to March 2, 2007.
The second season, comprising sixteen episodes, began airing on July 13, 2007. The second half of season 2 began on January 11, 2008, with the season finale aired on February 15, 2008.
The third season, comprising sixteen episodes, began airing on July 19, 2008[5] with the mid-season break episode (which was a Christmas themed episode) airing on November 28, 2008. The second half of the season 3 began on January 9, 2009, with the season finale airing February 20, 2009.[6]
Announced on October 10, 2008, Psych has been renewed for a fourth season starting August 7, 2009.
| Season | Episodes | Premiere Date | End Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Season 1 | 15 | July 7, 2006 | March 2, 2007 |
| Season 2 | 16 | July 13, 2007 | February 15, 2008 |
| Season 3 | 16 | July 18, 2008 | February 20, 2009 |
| Season 4 | 16 | August 7, 2009 | 2010 |
[edit] Production information
 |
This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (December 2007) |
The show uses White Rock, British Columbia, Canada for its arid Santa Barbara, California setting. Psych also incorporates Vancouver and various locations around the Lower Mainland of British Columbia as a backdrop. The terrain portrayed in the series is very green and marked by bays and islands. Santa Barbara is on a mountainous coastline without bays and just has the few Channel Islands miles offshore. Many of the overlooking helicopter shots and set up shots (in which the exterior of the Santa Barbara Courthouse is shown) are actually filmed in Santa Barbara. The animated segments "The Big Adventures Of Little Shawn And Gus" were created by J.J. Sedelmaier Productions, Inc. The music, effects and sound design for "The Big Adventures Of Little Shawn And Gus" were created by Fred Weinberg. USA also offers a contest for each episode online in which you have to see the episode and find the "hidden pineapple" and submit your entry online.
[edit] Theme song
The theme song for Psych is "I Know You Know" by The Friendly Indians, series creator Steve Franks' band. It has been re-done in Season 2 with a Christmas theme for the episode "Gus' Dad May Have Killed an Old Guy" (episode 10), as well as sung in Spanish for "Lights, Camera, Homicidio" (episode 13). In Season 3, the episodes "Disco Didn't Die. It Was Murdered!" (episode 5), "Earth, Wind and Wait For It..." (episode 12), and "Truer Lies" (episode 14) use the extended full-length version of "I Know You Know", but all other episodes use the usual, shortened version.
[edit] Response
[edit] Critical reaction and ratings
Psych scored a 4.51 rating and an average of 6.1 million total viewers at its premiere, which made it the highest rated scripted series premiere on basic cable in 2006 in all key demographics (households, P18-49, P25-54, and total viewers), according to a USA Network press release, quoted from the Futon Critic.[7]
From the San Jose Mercury News:
- James Roday (Miss Match) is utterly charming and delightfully funny as Shawn Spencer (who may not be psychic but who does have wonderful powers of observation), and he gets fine support from Corbin Bernsen (L.A. Law) as his cop father and Dulé Hill (The West Wing) as his Dr. Watson-esque sidekick.[8]
From the Seattle Post-Intelligencer:
- "Psych" is one of those happy collisions of an intelligent script and an appealing cast. Roday's a charmer, nice looking but more charismatic than pretty, and ably paired with West Wing alumnus Dulé Hill, who plays Shawn's ultra-responsible childhood friend Gus.[9]
[edit] Nominations and awards
Psych was the winner of an Independent Investigations Group Annual Award for Excellence in Entertainment for advancing the cause of science and exposing superstition (2006).[10][11]
James Roday was nominated for a 2006 Satellite Award for Best Actor - TV Series Musical or Comedy.[12]
[edit] DVD releases
| Title | Ep # | Region 1 | Region 2 | Region 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season One | 15 | June 26, 2007 | April 24, 2008 | April 30, 2008 |
| Season Two | 16 | July 11, 2008 | April 9, 2009 | TBA |
| Season Three | 16 | July 21, 2009 | TBA | TBA |
| Season Four | 16 | TBA 2010 | TBA | TBA |
[edit] References
- ^ Season 1, episode 11: "My heightened observational skills are considered a gift by most, but I'm here to tell you, they can be a burden."
- ^ "Psych Debuts As This Year's Most-watched New Show in Basic Cable". The Futon Critic. http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news.aspx?id=20060711usa01.
- ^ http://www.amazon.com/Psych-Mind-Terrible-Thing-Read/dp/0451226356/ref=bxgy_cc_b_img_b
- ^ http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0451227441/ref=ord_cart_shr?_encoding=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&v=glance
- ^ Psych TV Series News -USA Network Picks Up Hit Series "Psych" For Third Season
- ^ [1]
- ^ the futon critic - the web's best primetime television resource
- ^ http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/entertainment/columnists/charlie_mccollum/14976592.htm
- ^ On TV: Future holds a lot of fun for 'Psych' viewers
- ^ IIG - 08/09/2007 Press Release
- ^ The IIG Awards
- ^ http://www.pressacademy.com/satawards/forms/pdf/2006-IPA-Nom-Announce.pdf
[edit] External links
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Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Psych |
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