I know that the title of my blog is “Books and Movies,” but the truth is that Kevin and I watch much more TV on DVD than we do motion pictures. I decided to start Whatcha Watchin’? Wednesday, a weekly feature that will give me an opportunity to talk about the TV we’re watching, either on DVD or on cable. Feel free to join in and play along – just leave a link to your post in the comments. Grab the graphic, too – my talented husband designed it for me.
We are willing to give any series put out by USA a try, because they usually turn out to be fantastic. Psych stars James Roday as Shawn Spencer, a fake psychic helping the Santa Barbara Police Department solve crimes. Shawn has the gifts of observation and deduction, which he uses to pretend to have psychic “visions” and catch criminals.
Shawn’s partner is his lifelong best friend, Gus, played by Dule Hill. I loved Hill as earnest Charlie on West Wing, but Hill’s real strength is comic acting – and he and Roday play off each other perfectly. Their banter is full of 80s pop culture references that my husband and I both get a chuckle from. Shawn’s dad, played by Corbin Bernsen, is a retired cop, and he is the perfect straight man to Shawn’s wacked out weirdness.
One of the strengths of USA Network’s series seems to be ensemble casting, as seen in Monk and Burn Notice, two more of our favorite series. This strength is very evident in Psych – the three Santa Barbara cops who reluctantly make use of Shawn’s services are brilliantly played by Maggie Lawson (Roday’s real-life love, which explains their terrific chemistry), Tim Omundson, and Kirsten Nelson.
You don’t have to watch the seasons of Psych in sequence in order to “get” the show, but the first three are available on DVD and make for perfect one-after-another viewing.
So, that’s what we’ve been watching this week. How about you?
Twitter: youvegottaread
says:
I’ll be honest. With the exception of Amazing Race and American Idol, and the morning news, we don’t watch much TV. I loosely follow the more successful shows via EW, but I’m basically out of the loop. I sound like an old fogey!
.-= Sandy´s last blog ..Wordless Wednesday – Marlbork #1 =-.
Twitter: booksandmovies
says:
Sandy – no, you’re probably smarter for it! I admit, though, in the evenings I love to have a TV show on – one I don’t have to think too much about, so I can have my laptop open and blog at the same time.
Our son left last Thursday to go back to school and I don’t think our TV’s been on since. He doesn’t watch much TV either. I do like to go to the theater to watch a movie, but somehow, I don’t enjoy it at home.
.-= Kathy´s last blog ..Wondrous Words Wednesday =-.
Twitter: booksandmovies
says:
Kathy – I love to go to the theater, too! It’s definitely a much bigger experience that way.
I like the idea of your new weekly feature. We also tend to watch TV after the fact, in other words, when it comes out on dvd. I just now got all the Gilmore Girls and several seasons of Seinfeld. For some reason we don’t seem to watch the series as they are going on currently.
.-= Margot´s last blog ..Wondrous Words #29 =-.
Twitter: booksandmovies
says:
Margot – I love Gilmore Girls! I watched all seven seasons in a row earlier this year.
I LOVE Psych! The first couple of episodes I wasn’t reallly into the humor, but now it’s one that I know will make me laugh out loud.
.-= stacybuckeye´s last blog ..A Useful Affair, by Stella Cameron =-.
Twitter: booksandmovies
says:
Stacy – I know – I call them snort-worthy, because when I laugh really hard, I snort.
Oh, I LOVE Psych. Whenever it comes on I always tell my husband ‘this is my best show.’ He’s given up on asking what that means, primarily because I’m not sure either, I just said it once in reference to Psych and it stuck. I think it is that this show just always makes me happy – that and I have a crush on James Roday as Shawn.
.-= Jen – Devourer of Books´s last blog ..The Day The Falls Stood Still – Book Review =-.
Twitter: booksandmovies
says:
Jen – it always makes me happy, too! I also like that it’s relatively clean and even the murders are non-grisly, so my kids love it too. and yes, Roday is very cute as Shawn.
Oh, I love Psych! That show is so entertaining and silly. My favorite character is Lassie–he’s cute, in an Inspector Gadget kind of way. I’m not big on the Juliet/Shaun relationship, though.
.-= heidenkind´s last blog ..And the Moonbeams Kiss the Sea =-.
Twitter: booksandmovies
says:
Heidenkind – I love Lassie, too!
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