Jason Priestley Brings His Enthusiasm and Charm to PSYCH

Carrying on with the tradition of casting well-known actors in guest-starring roles as both a fun nod to the fans and the actors who just want to have a bit of fun, in the mid-season finale of PSYCH, Jason Priestley makes a cool appearance as the mysterious Clive who surfaces during Shawn and Juliet’s romantic getaway vacation in the episode “Neil Simon’s Lover’s Retreat.”  In a recent conference call with press, Jason talked candidly about his character Clive and how he got the chance to appear on the hilarious comedy series PSYCH.

What drew you to make an appearance on PSYCH?

JASON: Well, I’ve always been a fan of the show, oddly enough. I started watching PSYCH back in the first season. Actually, I have a close friend who’s actually my children’s godmother is actually a controller at NBC Universal and she is the controller who controls PSYCH. So I’ve known about I knew about the show from its inception and I started watching it, and because I saw a very early version of the pilot I really enjoyed the show from that very early version of the pilot.  So I was able to get the role through very nefarious channels that I can’t really talk about because I’m sure that the “copyright police” will come kicking through my door and take me away in handcuffs! But I’ve always liked the show and I’ve always been a fan of it, so when they called me up and asked me if I wanted to do this episode and they explained the episode to me and what it was going to be  – and then they told me that Jennifer Finnigan was going to be playing my partner in this episode — I was even more excited by that because Jennifer and I have been very good friends for a very long time and I’ve been a big fan of her work, and just on a personal level, her and I have been very good friends for a long time. So it was a wonderful confluence of things that made this a lot of fun for me and something that I was very happy and very eager to be a part of.

Where did you draw your inspiration to play an eccentric character like Clive?

JASON: Clive’s a rogue and Clive’s a conman and the real thing the real thing with Clive – -it was that old saying “I never met a conman I didn’t like,” so I just sort of really took that to heart and made sure that Clive was as charming as charming could be. The really the big thing that me and Jennifer made sure was that the two of us were the very gregarious, loquacious couple that were very entertaining and kept every kept everybody laughing while we were reaching into their back pockets and stealing their wallets.  That was the thing that we really worked  — we really wanted to just keep everybody looking over here, while we were stealing their stuff over there.

What would you say are the most endearing characteristics and the most troubling characteristics of Clive?

JASON: Well, the Clive is very much in love with his wife and they are very much a couple and they are very much in love with each other, and that’s very endearing and it’s very cute. But the most troubling part of it is that at the end of the day, they are sociopaths, and they want to steal everything that you have. But you’ve got to take the good with the bad, you know what I mean?

Can you describe what you find interesting about the humor in PSYCH and how it complements your own sense of humor?

JASON: The humor and the way that they use humor in the storytelling in PSYCH is a  very modern type of humor that I think we use a lot — we utilize it a lot in storytelling nowadays. It’s sort of what has led to the death of the sitcom really because it’s no longer  “set up, set up, punch line.”  “Set up, set up, punch line” is not what audiences want.  They are too sophisticated for that and audiences want more out of their humor and they don’t like to have it spoon-fed to them like that anymore.  They want more than to be – than to be told when to laugh by a laugh-track. And I think that PSYCH as a television show has been very successful in that genre, especially being a one-hour show. It’s been very successful, and now it’s in its sixth year, it was kind of an early pioneer of that one-hour comedy “dramedy” genre which has a lot of traction now in the television business, and they’ve been very successful in it.  It has a lot of comedy and a little bit of action and it’s a “buddy show” and it’s got a little romance now.  So it’s been very successful in crossing a lot of genres. I think also that audiences are very savvy now and audiences demand more out of their television and I think that PSYCH has been very successful in crossing all of those genres.

What do you think was the most challenging aspect of being on the show — was it dealing with Roday being so goofy and Dule cracking you up?

JASON: It was. All of mine and Jennifer’s stuff was with Roday and Maggie Lawson, and with Tony Hale as well. So it was really just the five of us. And, yes, the hardest part of working with James is keeping a straight face because he is a very, very funny man and so there are challenges inherent within that. But he and Maggie are both very professional and very prepared.  You really have to show up on that set with all your material prepared and ready to go because — as it is in television — everything moves very quickly and you need to you need to hit your marks and get it right and be able to hit the funny in the first few takes because we got a lot of work to do. But it was a lot of fun. Those guys are very professional and we had a lot of laughs.

Are there any other characters on the show that you would have liked your character Clive to have more scenes with?

JASON: It would have been fun to have some scenes with with Dule or with Corbin Bernsen.  Corbin and I have been friends for years. I could have had some stuff with Timothy. I put Timothy in a “movie of the week” that I directed about 10 years ago, so it would have been fun to get to work with him again because I haven’t worked with him since then. So I have a lot of connections to a lot of the actors on the cast of that show and it would have been fun to work with all of them because I know them all. Maggie and I worked together on TRU CALLING too.  So it was it was nice to reconnect with Maggie as well. It just it was just great to be on the show and be there with all those people.  It’s funny when you get to be an actor of my age and having been around this business for so long when I walk on sets — like when I walked on the set of PSYCH — I knew pretty much everybody on the set. It was strange. So it was kind of like being at work and just showing up and it was like, “Hey man.  Oh hey, where were you?”  It wasn’t like walking onto a new show, you know what I mean. It was very nice. It was a nice set to work on and it was a good place to be.

Since you have known so many people on PSYCH and you knew about it from the beginning, do you know if they had you in mind for this character or if it was just kind of happenstance casting?

JASON:  I don’t think they had me in mind per se, but I think that once my name was suggested in the producer’s office, I think everybody thought it was that was a wonderful idea. And I’m just very happy that I happened to be available and able to go up there and do it because it really I really did have a wonderful time up there. Jennifer and I had a great time working together.  Like I said, she and I have been friends for a very long time and have never worked together and it was really a lot of fun to get to work with her and we just had a great time together.

Were you a fan of ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT and Tony Hale before you worked with him?

JASON: I certainly was. I was a big fan of that show and I was really sad to see that show get cancelled the way that it did. I thought it was horrible.  Jason Bateman and I have been friends for 20 years — man, I’m way too old! — so I was really sad to see that show go the way that it did. I didn’t know Tony before we went up there to do PSYCH together, and he was fantastic. He was great in the episode. He’s really funny. And yes, man, he was really cool.

If they did a Despereaux thing and you guys broke out of jail, would you come back to do PSYCH again?

JASON: Oh, absolutely! Yes. I certainly would. I had a great time on the show. It was a lot of fun.

Which scene did you most enjoy filming for this episode?

JASON: I think the scene that we had the most fun with was the cake scene in the restaurant with me, James, Maggie and Jennifer, then Tony comes into the restaurant and we talk about his watch and all that stuff. That was a lot of fun, that scene. We had a good time shooting that scene that day.

It’s interesting that you mentioned Clive is very sociopathic and morally complex, like your character on CALL ME FITZ.  Are you drawn to those particular types of characters – those that have a moral complexity, but who are also very charming?

JASON: Well, yes. I think those types of characters, as an actor, provide more challenges and they also provide more opportunities because they are more complex.  Characters who tend to be more altruistic tend to also be more boring, to be perfectly frank. So it’s characters that are more complex are just more interesting and more challenging and more fun to play.

Do you have any guest spots lined up or are you pretty much still on the directing track and working on CALL ME FITZ?

JASON: Well, we just finished shooting our third season of CALL ME FITZ and I just got back here to L.A. literally a week ago.  So I just got back here and it’s the holidays now and I’m going skiing on the weekend. So I’m I’ll figure it out when the holidays are over.

How would you describe your journey as an actor?

JASON: I think it’s the journey that most actors take.  You’re always looking for new challenges and you’re always looking for different characters to play to challenge yourself.  As an actor to continually play the same character over and over again would be boring and that’s not the life of an actor.  The reason to become an actor is so that you can play a myriad of different characters, and thus to continually play the same character over and over and over again would be counterintuitive to the whole process.

Do you have a favorite project you worked on in your career?

JASON: Wow. That’s difficult. I’m so hyper-critical of everything I’ve ever worked on. I’m very, very proud of all the work that we do on CALL ME FITZ.  I think that’s a fantastic show. I’m really hyper critical of everything. I think “Love and Death on Long Island” was a beautiful movie. I think maybe those. I think “Tombstone” was a great movie, but they cut so much of my work out of it. But it was still a great movie. I don’t know, it’s tough. I get so hyper critical of so much of my work. It’s difficult.

What you can tell the audience or the fans to be psyched about in the upcoming episode of PSYCH?

JASON: Well, the whole episode is very funny and I just remember how good Jennifer Finnigan was in the episode. I thought she was outstanding. I think what should the fans be looking out for is that it’s a classic episode of PSYCH. It’s a lot of laughs and there’s a little romance, there’s a little adventure, and it’s everything you want. It’s got it all — and it’s got me, Jason Priestley!

To see what mischievous adventures and shenanigans Jason’s character Clive finds himself amidst, be sure to tune in for the PSYCH mid-season finale on Wednesday, December 14^th at 10:00 p.m. on USA Network.

Fun candid photos of the PSYCH cast from Comic-Con 2011

James Roday (photo credit: Jennifer Schadel)

Dulé Hill (photo credit: Jennifer Schadel)

Corbin Bernsen (photo credit: Jennifer Schadel)

Kirsten Nelson (photo credit: Jennifer Schadel)

Maggie Lawson (photo credit: Jennifer Schadel)

Timothy Omundson (photo credit: Jennifer Schadel)

Dulé Hill & Corbin Bernsen (photo credit: Jennifer Schadel)

Corbin Bernsen (photo credit: Jennifer Schadel)

Dulé Hill (photo credit: Jennifer Schadel)

James Roday (photo credit: Jennifer Schadel)

Kirsten Nelson (photo credit: Jennifer Schadel)

Maggie Lawson (photo credit: Jennifer Schadel)

Timothy Omundson (photo credit: Jennifer Schadel)

Kirsten Nelson (photo credit: Jennifer Schadel)

Kurt Fuller (photo credit: Jennifer Schadel)

Kurt Fuller and Kirsten Nelson (photo credit: Jennifer Schadel)

Related articles:

“A Candid Conversation with PSYCH’s creator/executive producer Steve Franks”

“From the Hilarious Files of James Roday and Dule Hill As They Tease the 6th Season of PSYCH”

Calling all PSYCH-O’s! PSYCH is Back With More Laughter and Hijinks

Jumping right off the gang-plank and back into hilarious comedy, USA Network’s series PSYCH returns for its sixth season ready to rumble, in “Shawn Rescues Darth Vader.”  With Lassiter (Timothy Omundson) now clued in on the relationship between fake psychic detective Shawn Spencer (James Roday) and his partner Juliet O’Hara (Maggie Lawson), the cat-and-mouse game of who-knows-what is delightful.

Also joining the season premiere is the return of Kurt Fuller as Woody the Coroner and Malcolm McDowell as a diplomat embroiled in a murder; and returning to share in the fun are the familiar faces of Shawn’s partner-in-crime Gus (Dule Hill), Shawn’s detective father Henry Spencer (Corbin Bernsen), and Chief Vick (Kristen Nelson).

"Psych" pineapples!

To read more about what James Roday and Dule Hill had to say about their wacky characters and the upcoming season, check out their recent Q&A here.

For fans, USA Network has concocted a wonderful interactive way to join in celebrating the return of PSYCH with scheduled “pineapple parties” around the country, with pineapple accouterments such as Snuggies, pineapple pillows, and yummy pineapple flavored food items.  Whether or not you are attending a local “pineapple party,” you are specially invited to participate online via Twitter using the #Psych hashtag or to share your tweets with @Psych_USA.

To see what PSYCH has in store for its 6^th season, you can watch the online sneak preview here:

To see more of the fun PSYCH antics, check out the video “Shawn and Gus Breaking Their Own Records”

And “Psych’s Upcoming Amazing Guest Stars”

With so many opportunities to tease, tantalize and taunt their fans with more homages to the greatest hits of film and television, the upcoming season is certain to tickle everyone’s funny bones!

PSYCH returns with all new episodes on Wednesday, October 12^th at 10:00 p.m. on USA Network.  Join in all the pineapple-goodness!

Where to find this article:

http://www.thetvaddict.com/2011/10/12/calling-all-psych-os/

A Candid Conversation with PSYCH’s creator/executive producer Steve Franks

As if the sixth season premier of PSYCH is not enough to get everyone excited, in a recent conference call with press, creator and executive producer Steve Franks provided a bit more insight into his dream PSYCH episodes and what he hopes for in the (cross-your fingers!) show’s seventh season.

James Roday alluded to the seasonal finale of Season 6 as having a big cliffhanger. If the series is not picked up for Season 7, would you conclude the show with a movie or something like that?

STEVE: It was sort of a natural.  When we’re finishing up the season finale, we had something big planned that we didn’t think work well enough and something we sort of saved. And as we looked at the way the story is developing, along the course we found like a really, really cool cliffhanger, and we ended up shooting that as our finale. So if we don’t get a Season 7, I think we could create a situation where fans would want a riot on Wall Street as well. So it was only after the fact that when I watched it, I’m like “Oh my God. There’s no way they can’t pick us up for a Season 7 now.” But I’m always thinking about the movie. And actually, when we go in to talk to the executives, I don’t know if it would be on the table. But I have not only a way we could do the movie, but I have sort of the world and the story of it. So I would want to do a Season 7 and a movie. That would make me happy. And I want to make sure if we do the movie, we all need to get on the same page. If we do the movie, I’d want it to be something that was in theaters, even if it’s a small run in theater and not just do a direct to video, like a double episode of the show. I’d want it to feel special. I’d want it to feel like it was something that was worthy of being in the theaters. I think we have something that’s really fun. Making the money and the schedule to work out is always a challenge with these things. But for me it’s like I come from features. I structure our show every week, like you’re seeing an hour-long summer popcorn movie. So I don’t think the leap to the big screen is that far for our show. And it would make this experience even greater than it’s been. So I’m going to be pushing for the movie in the off-season and I’ll be pushing for a Season 7. We’ll see if I get both.

Regarding the Hashtag Killer Game, how you feel the Internet has affected your show and your writing, and how does fan feedback impact the decisions you make about the show?

STEVE: As far as the Hashtag Killer thing, it’s incredible. I can’t believe the numbers of people. We’re shocked and amazed and excited. And at first it seemed like it was just, “Hey, here’s something that can get people to remember that you have your show — that you’re coming back because we’ve been gone for ten months.” But it really turned into something fun and that and the people inside that worked on it.  They did an incredible job of making it more than just a point-and-click game. Because when they first explained it to me, I’m like, “I don’t understand this at all. How are they going to talk to people?” And I didn’t understand the format of it. Through a lot of meetings, it soon became very clear, “Oh this just like our show, but it actually puts everybody in the middle of it.” And then I said, “Okay, well there’s no way we pull this off.” But I brazenly went along the ride. And slowly but surely, all the elements came together.  . . It’s amazing the response we’ve gotten. And I kind of wish that I didn’t know the solution to it so I could play too, because it seems like it’d be a lot of fun. So I’m challenging other television shows that I like to come up with their own game. In fact, I can’t wait for the PARENTHOOD Hashtag Killer Game. I think it’s going to be spectacular!

Can you talk about the status of the musical episode and why it didn’t make it into Season 6?

STEVE: I wanted to make sure I address it because I should have shut my mouth up last year about how the musical episode was imminent and coming along. The episode that we’re premiering with tomorrow was the first episode of the season, and my plan through my own ignorance was we shot it second, which was way back in March. And I was going to come back from Canada after we shot it in my office, close the door and work on nothing but the musical. Then in August, we were going to shoot the musical. Well, I came back from Canada, closed my door and immediately, people started opening it, asking me questions about all the other 15 episodes for the season. So it was one of the things where my day job was getting in the way of my dream job, which is to write and direct the musical. So I made slow, but not that great progress on it. And I finally, in about the end of May, realized I’m not anywhere close to having enough done for this. So I said, “You know what? I’m very brazenly overconfident about a Season 7. I’m going to push it into Season 7.”   It gave me an opportunity to then say, “Oh my God, now I have to come up with an episode to do in that slot,” which gave me the opportunity to do a “Raiders of the Lost Ark” episode and bring Despereaux back. So it was a win for me and probably a little bit frustrating for people waiting for musical. But now that I’m giving it the proper amount of time and attention, it’s going to be twice as good as first imagined.

Speaking of the “Raiders of Lost Ark” episode, can you give us a hint of what we’ll see when Pierre Despereaux reunites with Shawn and Gus?

STEVE: Every time Cary comes up, we know it’s going to be the most fun we’ve had during the season. And this one was just designed as — you know, there’s always been like a little action element to the Despereaux episodes. In the first one, it was the ski chase. And the second one, it was hanging the guy off the building and the Batman special effects things, and the shoot-out at the cabin. And this time, my goal was, “Let’s just get to those action pieces and let’s do more than we ever imagine this show could do.” So it is a thrill ride beyond anything that we’ve done. It’s really fun. It’s really fast and there’s some truly shocking moments in the show, along with some spectacular stunt pieces and Despereaux at his most fun, and Shawn cracking a whip and most importantly, me fulfilling all my childhood fantasies and getting to sort of riff on my favorite movie of all time.

Do you see an end to PSYCH or do you just kind of keep going as long as people want you to go? What are your thoughts on the future?

STEVE:  When we were doing the pilot, I am brazenly overconfident at all times and extraordinarily positive. But when we’re doing the pilot, all I kept saying is, “You know that this show is going for five years” and everybody is very superstitious on the set and they’re like, “Would you just shut up. Shut up. Stop saying that. Stop saying that.” And then when we got to Season 3, I’m like, “Oh my gosh, we’re going 7.” So the joke has become 7. So now if we go one more, I think I’m going to have to up the joke again because to me, it’s like, well these are two guys who really aren’t growing up. At some point, if they’re 45 years old, that joke isn’t funny anymore. But the show has just grown and so many great and unexpected ways and we’d never thought we sort of have the great dramatic drive that we get. And we never thought we’d be able to do the sort of cool, fun actionary things that we do as well. So the show is growing in so many different directions. For me, the second I feel like we’re just doing the exact same thing again, then I think we should get out while people still have good memories of the show. But at this point, I have so many things that I want to do. And I get as excited about doing an Indiana Jones episode as I do about a superhero episode, where Shawn goes undercover in an insane asylum. There’s so many fun worlds. And because of the definition of what the show is and what it can be, it’s not like we’re just going, “Okay, this week we’ll solve a kidnapping; this week we’ll solve a murder; this week we’ll do a hit and run.” It’s usually more about a sea lion or a polar bear and there are a lot of crazy variations of stories in the world with sort of the rules and parameters that we’ve set up. So I’ll do the show as long as they let us and as long as it’s fun, and as long as people like it.

Of all the characters that you’ve written, which character on the show do you think most resembles you in personality?

STEVE: Well, I always fee like I’m half of Shawn and half of Gus. I mean if you meet me, I talk like Shawn. And I sort of present that kind of unsounded overconfidence at all times and I’m usually about positive and I try not to stress about anything. And I do define my life about — I make all my decisions on what’s fun. But I’m also not a rule-breaker. So I’m always the guy that says, “Oh, my god. It says Do Not Enter, we should not go in there.” And so I have exactly half of Shawn and half of Gus in me. But I like to believe that I’m all Shawn. But I have the same insecurities and problems that Gus has. But outwardly, I’m Shawn. But they’re both really fun characters to write for. And the character that I actually most enjoy writing — because Shawn and Gus are always a given — but I love to write Lassiter stories. Just because it’s so outside of who I am and you sort of get to treat your minds to the craziest thoughts you could possibly have and then have that character embrace them as his mantra.

What would be the pinnacle episode of PSYCH to wrap it up for good when we finally have to say goodbye to it?

STEVE: I think I have something really good, and I think I have something that ties things together and brings us right back to the pilot in a great way. I think that a good ending to a show resolves the question that’s posed in the pilot. And I don’t know if I’m going to be the only one who loves it. But I have it, and I’ve never told anyone. So it has to stay in my head because Chris and Kelly, our other executive producers, are not great secret-keepers. But I have a great way that I’d like to do it. And I love when shows wrap themselves up that they they bring everybody back and they sort of tie up all the loose ends. And it would be really nice if we have the luxury of knowing what the end of the show is and to be able to work towards that.

How do you get all these amazing guest actors? Do you guys approach most of them or do any of them approach you about being on the show?

STEVE:  Every once in a while, we hear about some.  I have actually three lists. One of them is people we’ve heard are interested in doing our show. People we’ve heard that are fans of the show. And then we sometimes find out through Twitter or we find out through our casting director, Julie Ashton. And then sometimes, there’s a list of “people we’ll never get in a million years, but let’s just keep them on the list.” And that’s like David Bowie and people like that who don’t act much and all that. And then there’s also people that our casting director puts out in a breakdown for a character, and then we get the list of available actors. And then we’ll go to them and sometimes their schedule won’t work. They’re working on something else, or sometimes the dates won’t work or the time or maybe they don’t want to play the killer or they want to do something differently. But we keep a very well-documented list of people who’ve ever said when we asked them if they want to be on the show, “Oh I like that show. I watch it with my kids. Oh I like that show. My wife and I watch it,” and we make sure that we go back to them. And like a lot of the people – like Malcolm McDowell who’s in the premiere episode, he was originally going to be Yin last year, and the dates just didn’t work out. He had a wedding reception that night and we’re like, “You know what, Malcolm, we will get you back.” And fortunately for me, he happened to be in my episode and he was so good. He was so good in it. And Shatner who comes up later in the year, we’ve always wanted to have Shatner on the show. We call all the time and finally he was available. And we had a really wonderful idea and a great script, and he jumped at the chance. So it’s a lot of just keeping our ears to the ground. And as the show goes on, we know that we have to offer something to the actors. and our guarantee — this is what I said to Malcolm McDowell in the first day, I said, “This isn’t the most fun you’ve had at least?” And Malcolm McDowell — it’s hard to say this is the most fun you’ve ever had because Malcolm McDowell’s had a lot of fun –  so to me, I would say, “If this isn’t one of the most fun professional experiences you’ve ever had, then we’ve done our job wrong.” And we make sure we have a very open and fun engaging set, and that everyone is on the show has a blast. And we just say, “Tell your friends.” Whereas in Season 1 and Season 2, it was always like, “What? Which show? PSYCH? What is that? I’ve never heard of that?” Word has gotten around and so it’s a lot easier to get people. And for us, we treat them well. We give them great roles and that’s paid off. So it’s a multi-pronged approach. Paying attention, having people have heard of our show, making up our dream list of actors and having a great casting director who really thinks and really is creative and smart — and Julie Ashton is such a great person just to be around and she’s also kind of genius as a casting director.

Did you write the character for William Shatner, or did you develop that character with Shatner in mind?

STEVE: No, this is actually awesome question because we did not write this with Shatner in mind at all. In fact, we didn’t think he was available. And I think that his CBS show had just ended and became available, and it worked out completely for the best because we didn’t write a Shatner type character. I think if we’ve known it was Shatner when writing it, we would have written it differently. We would have written it like a William Shatner role and with all the sort of things that you’d get with William Shatner role. And because we’ve written it with a completely different thought in mind, it was such a great role for him because he’s completely different than you’d expect and surprising. And yet all the things you love about William Shatner are there. And it was serendipitous for us that we had no idea that he would be available. . . . By the end of the day, he was calling our producer/director Mel Damski — he had memorized the script before ever flying up there. He knew his lines and had a few tiny little things that he had questions about.  And we’ve never had somebody of his stature and worldwide fame come in and be so invested in it. And it really shows. It’s some of the best emotional scenes we’ve ever seen on the show, that came out with the Shatner stuff. And we’re just like dying for him to come back next year. Like how can we write him into every episode and would he do it?  . .  He is tireless and amazing, and it’s one of the best episodes of the show we’ve ever done. And I think it doesn’t air until like eighth episode, so you’ve got a couple of months to wait for it.

Dulé Hill mentioned that he wanted to do a WHITE COLLAR crossover. Is there any chance for any sort of crossover to happen with PSYCH and another USA Network show?

STEVE: That sounds like a totally great idea! The natural one that we should have done was MONK, when we were airing with MONK. But I think we do occupy sort of the same world. It’s up to me. I love that. I always love when they cross-pollinate shows. I would love to do that — WHITE COLLAR would be fun because when we were in New York  – we were trying to figure out how we could shoot like two days in New York and Shawn and Gus go to New York and maybe we could use the WHITE COLLAR crew or something like that. But doing a WHITE COLLAR crossover would be fun. That’s an interesting idea. I think we really should do that. Actually, I think I would like to do a BURN NOTICE one because then I could go to Miami, and I could go to Miami and we could blow stuff up. So we could jump in a car across the bridge. That would be fun. So I’m going to do between WHITE COLLAR and BURN NOTICE. I would love to do a crossover episode!

If you could pick any insane topic other than the musical, what world would Shawn and Gus delve into?

STEVE: Well, there’s still a handful. I keep a list, and I’ve gotten to do all of them. I’ve always said, “Okay, Shawn and Gus, go hunting for sharks. Shawn and Gus go to the aquarium. They go to the planetarium. They do Indiana Jones.”  That was another big one. “Kung Fu” was another thing that I really wanted to do. There’s a couple that I couldn’t figure out. And even since the pilot, I’ve always wanted to figure out how we could actually do a legitimate “Star Wars” type episode. But since they’re not in space and it’s not a long time ago in a galaxy very far away, I don’t know exactly how we pull that off perfectly. But sky has been the limit. We’ve been sort of able to go off on any tangent that we’ve wanted to. So I don’t know.  The shiny one is like a last minute addition. We actually had the “Clue” episode ready to go and the main actor in “Clue” suddenly became unavailable and I said, “Oh, I’ll do it next year.” And we had like a week to come up with a new episode and James is directing. So it’s one of those big deal things and I had an idea for something and I said, “Just do this. Just do that.” And they came back and they said, “Well how about this? What if Lassiter is in an apartment and it’s ‘The Shining’ apartment?” And it’s like every once in a while, you hear an idea and it’s like, “Oh my God, that’s it!” And we just pitch it around in the room and it came to life faster than any episode we’ve ever had. And I just watched it, the director’s cut this week. It’s really, really fun. But you won’t get to see it until like March of next year. I don’t know when they’re scheduling it. But it’s a way toward the end. But it’s super cool and it’s really fun. So we’ve really gotten to do it. The one thing that James always wants to do, and because of his love of horror movies, he always wants the resolution to be unexpected, so he goes, “Well what if the resolution to this story is it really is a demon?” And I’m like, “Well, we can’t do that because our show exists in a version of reality.” “But what if it was?” And so we always try to sort of draw the line and see how close we can get to making it the outrageous thing. The other fun one I always wanted to do was – and I don’t know how we do it — oh shoot, you know what, we probably will do it —  shouldn’t tell you what it is. I always wanted to do a surf competition. I have a great idea that revolves around a surf competition. But the problem is in Vancouver the waves are 11 inches high, at their highest. So there’s like no wave. So I don’t know how we could shoot the actual surf competition. We’d have to come down to LA and shoot a bunch of it. But the one thing that we haven’t got to do is — I wanted to do the movie. And that’s been the big thing for me. To do that we would have to go somewhere exotic to shoot a couple of days and then shoot the rest of it on our stages. So the big thing that I would really want to get over the hump this year and see if we can go and shoot a couple of days in an exotic American city. We were very close to going to Vegas like in Season 2, or it was in 2007 because I remember we were starting to explore the story and then the stock market crashed. So that option was immediately not available to us.

Can you talk about Corey Feldman’s brief appearance in the upcoming vampire episode?

STEVE: You know, what’s amazing about that is we didn’t know we were getting Corey until like a couple of days before the shoot.  So we brought him in. We had a great idea we wanted to do, but the script was a locked in and there was a very short amount of time. So we gave him a really fun reveal and a great fun. But that character could certainly come back, and Corey had a great time. He was only out for a day or two. But we got to go to dinner with him and it was a lot of fun.

What’s the likelihood of doing a Goonies episode?

STEVE: We have thought about the Goonies. In fact, the greatest adventure in the history of cable television was originally titled “Early Onset Goonies,” but then it became less about the Goonies. So it sort of a little bit like the Goonies, but not enough.

What would be your ultimate dream episode?

STEVE: There’s still a few things that we haven’t done. There’s a certain amount of people that we would like to get on the show — if we got Mick Jagger to be on the show, if we got David Bowie. All the people we dream of getting on the show are rock stars oddly enough. But you know what, the great thing about this show is we actually get to do our dream episode every week. And there’s almost always a way to pull it off. And our dream episode at this point would be doing the movie and having a full 90 minutes to open up a story and to be able to do big fun stunts and have all these great people on that we’d like. So our show is a non-stop carousel of wish-fulfillment — and we just want to keep it going. It’s only because of guys and girls that support our show and keep the word out that we have this great following that sticks with us after all these years. So we’re so happy just to be able to do the show and we hope that it makes people happy because it makes us happy, and that’s our gauge and that’s our barometer.

For more PSYCH adventures, be sure to tune in for all new episodes tonight at 10:00 p.m. on USA Network!

Where to find this article:

http://www.thetvaddict.com/2011/10/19/a-candid-conversation-with-psych-creator-steve-franks/

From the Hilarious Files of James Roday and Dule Hill As They Tease the 6th Season of PSYCH

Best known for its outrageous homages to cultural icons, including fun references to films and television shows past, as PSYCH prepares for its sixth season, stars James Roday and Dule Hill chatted a bit “tongue in cheek” with the press in a recent conference call about to expect as the hysterical series about a fake psychic detective returns.

Could you talk a little about the upcoming Halloween, Indiana Jones, and Cuckoo’s Nest-inspired episodes?

JAMES: Yes, we did in fact deliver on those other ones. Those are in the can. Those are fully produced and being mixed.

DULE: We also have a “Shining” episode this year too.

JAMES: “Shining” is what you get in place of “Clue.” So we still felt like we should swing big. . . .Halloween is the vampire episode. And I think it’s airing the week of Halloween.

Are there any special guest stars in the Halloween episode?

JAMES: Kristy Swanson, the original Buffy, and Corey Feldman, one of the Frog Brothers from “The Lost Boys,” and Tom Lenk, a regular on BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER TV Series.

That’s a lot of Buffy guest-stars.

JAMES: Yes, we went double Buffy.

DULE: And Blacula makes a guest appearance also.

JAMES: Guest appearances, Blacula and the Vampire Lestat.

Can you talk a bit about the Indiana Jones episode and working with John Rhys-Davies?

JAMES: That episode came out really well, and it’s also the third installment of the episodes involving the Despereaux character, played by Cary Elwes. And for my money, it’s the best of the trilogy for sure and a lot of fun. And yes, John Rhys-Davies was a blast man. We didn’t get to work with him a ton but he came in and he was kind of bigger than life and sort of what you would imagine. And he was a real sweetheart.

DULE: Fun guy to work with. Full of energy.

About the “Clue” episode, is it definitely off?

JAMES: It is not off, it’s just not a part of our 6th Season. It’s still very much in the hopper and all of the key players are still committed, we just weren’t able to shoot it this season because of various scheduling conflicts. But it’s on tap for next season — knock on wood — probably the first or second episode.

Can you talk about about some of Gus’s upcoming nicknames this season?

JAMES: Oh wow.

DULE: I don’t know. Roday, what are some of the nicknames? Once they come and go, I kind of forget about them until they air.

JAMES: The only one I can remember is because I just finished watching the cut for “Shining” yesterday and we do Eddie Adams from Torrance, which I believe is a “Boogie Nights” reference.

DULE: Okay, okay. I’m kind of blanking out. I’m sorry I don’t have a better answer. I can’t remember some of the names I’ve been called this year.

What can you share about the Joey McIntyre episode?

JAMES: That was our Superhero episode. There’s like a vigilante superhero like combing the streets of Santa Barbara, cleaning them up one bad guy at a time. And it may or may not be Joey, we don’t know.

What are the possibilities of seeing the remaining members of High Top Fade Out with all the members of New Kids on the Block on the show one day?

DULE: It would be a fun PSYCH-Out. I don’t know.  I mean I don’t know if that’ll ever happen.  That’s a lot to ask. I think we can maybe work it out where we can get some members of High Top Fade Out and a member of New Kids on the Block all in one season. I think we can make that happen this year.

What’s your favorite PSYCH-Out that you’ve done? They all seem like so much fun, but what’s your favorite?

DULE: For myself it would be either the one we did with Joey, which because when you start involving real, you know, musicians and real singers and real artists singing their own songs with you, you can’t really top that. It would be the one that we did with Joey, and then it would be the original one that we did in the pilot, “Man in the Mirror,” because that’s kind of what started the whole machine going with the PSYCH-Outs. And that was just really just Roday and I having a lot of fun off camera. And then we got to the final shot just, “You know what, let’s put it on tape. Let’s just do it.” And it turned into this whole big PSYCH-Out phenomenon so.

JAMES: Yes, and in the spirit of doing PSYCH-Outs with the original artists, I’ll mention a drunken rendition of “Head Over Heels” that we did with Curt Smith.

What kind of nuggets do you have planned for the fans this season, like Gus’ nicknames, pineapples and such?

JAMES: Well there’s definitely some nicknames, there’s definitely some “Gus Don’t Be’s.” One that we’re particularly proud of that you’ll see in the Jennifer Lynch episode entitled Guillermo del Toro presents (“Autopsy Turvy”), which will air late in the season. So asterisk that one for a Gus Don’t Be. I don’t want to spoil it. And I believe there’s still a pineapple every episode. I think that’s just a machine that kind of takes care of itself.

What is one of your favorite nicknames from the show?

DULE: My favorite is always the original.  I’m guess I’m a big fan of the original ones, like Gus “Silly-Pants” Jackson.  One, because it made Gus a Jackson, you know, and I’m a big fan of the Jacksons so; and then it also caught me off guard when Roday first did it and I was like, “What did this cat just call me? Did you just call me Silly-Pants?” But that’s my favorite.

What is your favorite Season 6 pop-culture reference?

DULE: I’m going to have to like tap out on that one because I’m really blanking out on the references this year. And I don’t know if it’s just because we just finished and I kind of just dumped everything out of my mind. But as I’m going back and trying to think I cannot really come up with, just on top of my head. But that one I’m going to tap out on.

JAMES: There’s a visual reference in our vampire episode where we’re in a very strange vampire bar and we approach the bar and the bartender has his back to us and when he turns around to face us there’s a music queue and the actual casting of the bartender that comes together to create what I feel is a pretty delicious ‘80’s visual reference. So I’ll go with that.

What was it like working with William Shatner, who plays Juliet’s dad this season?

JAMES: Unbelievable.

DULE: Right.

JAMES: The man is — I mean he’s an icon obviously — but watching him work was an honor in and of itself. I mean he’s a machine. He was totally invested. And I say this is not me editorializing or exaggerating, he had the heaviest load that we’ve ever given a guest star on our show. He pretty much drives the entire episode. He had the same schedule as Dule and I, and it was just remarkable. I mean not only did he know everything, he had questions, he had thoughts, he had concerns. You know, he was modulating his performance and he really, really wanted to knock the role out of the park. And then to top it off, when the weekend came and Dule and I basically beach ourselves and recharge our batteries so that we can get back to it Monday morning, he flew to Calgary and did two live shows on Saturday and Sunday, and then flew back to Vancouver and was back at work at 6:00 am Monday morning. The man is 80 going on 20. And like I said, “It was humbling and it was a really honor just to watch him work and pick his brain and be around him.”

How did William Shatner’s character respond to Shawn? How does he take to Shawn? I imagine they locked horns a little bit.

JAMES: Well, we had some fun there because it’s kind of like, you know you can’t snow the snowman, you can’t con the King of Con, so he kind of had the ability to see right through Shawn and that made things really interesting. And then Shawn of course sort of fired back by seeing through him and calling him on all of his BS. So we had sort of an interesting game of one-upsman-ship and a little bit of a chess match going on, with the common thread of course being that they both do care very much about Juliet.

Now that Shawn has Juliet, Gus is all by himself. Is he ever going to have a longer relationship than like an episode or two?

DULE: I think we’ll have to see what happens in Season 7.   But in Season 6,  he makes a valiant effort to attain that. He goes for it. You know, you can’t blame Gus for trying in Season 6.  He’s actually is throwing his hat into the ring and he’s out there, you know, really trying to make it happen. But we’ll see what happens going into Season 7.  Maybe he’ll get past the one-episode love interest then.

We found out last season that Lassiter found out about Shawn and Juliet. How do you think that’s going to affect their relationship with him?

JAMES: You know, it’s a little touch and go out of the gates, but Lassiter himself finds love this season and I think that kind of helped cushion the blow. And it’s pretty much back to business down the stretch.

Are we going to see more development between Henry and Shawn’s relationship this season?

JAMES: I think it’s less relationship-driven and more just Henry-driven, in terms of where he is, and where he is in his life, and what he wants, and stuff like that. The season finale addresses some of that stuff. But he’s still at the police station and they’re forced to sort of work with one another on a daily basis so that’s still happening. But then I think we take it a little further with Henry towards the end of the season.

Do you think Juliet is inspiring to female viewers?

JAMES: I think Jules has come a long way. I think she was a junior detective when the show started, and Maggie looked like she had just graduated high school. And if you kind of track the evolution of that character I think it is is a little inspiring. I mean we’ve kind of watched both the actress and the role/the character kind of come of age on our show. And she’s pretty tough and she takes care of business.  But she’s still very feminine and all of that is sort of in place as well. And considering that she isn’t Shawn or Gus, and isn’t at the forefront of every episode, I think it’s a nice character to cite on TV, sure.

The show has done a whole bunch of themed episodes, like the Twin Peaks episode, is  there something you haven’t done yet? Is there something you really want to do that just hasn’t happened?

DULE: Well , I know Steve Franks has talked about it for a couple of seasons now and it hasn’t actually happened yet, but I hope that in Season 7 we can actually make the musical episode happen. I mean that’s how I started in the business — doing musicals — so it would be great to bring that to PSYCH and be able to sing and dance in an episode, and not just in a PSYCH-Out.

JAMES: Agreed.  Yes, I think that’s kind of the pinnacle of theme episodes that we’ve yet to do. So that’s the Big Apple that hopefully we’ll be able to slice up and feed to all of our fans. You know it’s tricky, it’s not something that you could throw together. You know, other shows have tried it to varying levels of success and I think because Steve has such a love for music.  His band sings our theme song, so it’s really important to him to hit a homerun with it. And I think he realizes — and I think it really hit him this past off-season —  like just how much work it’s going to take to do it right and that’s why he postponed it. But I think he’s committed and I expect it to happen next season. . . . I think he knows that. And but the good news is he’s got a “game” cast and he’s got his own band and they’re songwriters – and it’s just a matter of putting in the time and you know, we should be able to execute.

This show has had so many guest stars in every single season, and this one is no different. So do you guys have any initiation rituals? How do you bring them into the PSYCH family?

DULE: We don’t have initiation rituals, we do have I guess, sendoff rituals.

JAMES: This is true.

DULE: Yes, whenever a guest star has wrapped, we always send them off with a Happy Birthday song by the PSYCH cast and crew, which I’ve got to say, “We sing pretty well.”

JAMES: It’s the one song everybody knows and we’ve been able to really start playing with some unorthodox harmonies and crescendos. I think the guest cast get down with it.

DULE: They always cry.

JAMES: There’s always that initial sort of moment of, “But wait a minute it’s not my birthday.” But then they get it.

Having spent six seasons now with Shawn and Gus, of course you know the characters extremely well.  But do you ever find yourself surprised by something that has been written into the script or that either one of you bring up in improv, be it an interest of Shawn and Gus’ or a reaction, or anything else of the sort?

JAMES: I get surprised two or three times a year, when our writers come up with something for the purposes of one episode that Shawn has supposedly had as part of his character for much longer than that, like a strange way of talking or a fear of something. A lot of times we’ll just sort of invent something for the purposes of an episode as a theme. And I’m suddenly sort of thinking, “Wow, that’s odd. I didn’t have that last week.” They’ve done that to me a couple of times this season. . . all of a sudden there was an episode where Shawn has a great fear of death and doesn’t know how to deal with it, which is odd because of course we were around death every week. But it served the purposes of the one episode that it’s in, so we rolled with it.

DULE: I’m learning how to expect the unexpected when dealing with the PSYCH writers, which – so I don’t really get too surprised when things come around. But having that mentality, I mean it leaves the room wide open for the writers to do what they do and come up with all these amazing stories and roles for us to get into. So that’s kind of my motto of each season is, “Expect the unexpected.” When you have Andy Berman, Todd Harthan, Steve Franks, Saladin Patterson — all these cats all in one room — you can expect something crazy’s going to come out of there.

JAMES: Yes, as a matter of fact. Our “Shining” episode will feature a brand new, completely different rendition of the theme song.

DULE: And we do get a re-run. We get a re-run of the Boyz II Men a cappella version.

Is there anything this season that you kind of learned about yourself or just in general, since this season started?

JAMES: That it takes less takes and less stairs for me to get winded when we’re in pursuit of bad guys.

DULE: I probably learned something about — I mean I like Vancouver but the love kind of starts to fade as my seasons go on. You know, the rain gets a little worrisome.

If you could have any crossover with whatever show, which would it be?

DULE: USA Network? I would want to do WHITE COLLAR. I mean, that’s on the air right now, I would say WHITE COLLAR. A show that was off the air ? I would still go back to MONK.

JAMES: Well, if it’s any show I would say we should crossover with THE WALKING DEAD because I think we’re due for a zombie episode.

DULE: For myself I would say if it’s any show I would say, MODERN FAMILY, because I just love the show so much. And I think it would be fun to have Shawn and Gus interact with all of those characters over there.

If you could replace each other with a different actor for one episode, who would it be?

DULE: I would replace myself with Deon Richmond, who is the real “Bud,” to see if anybody noticed the difference.

JAMES: I would – for one episode — I would replace Dule with David Bowie. It would be a different take on Gus, and I would get to work with Bowie. And I wouldn’t feel bad because I’d know Dule would appreciate the time off and he would be back the next week.

Is there anything you can dish about the season finale, is it a cliffhanger?

JAMES: Yes, it is fair to say there is a shocking ending that I hope our fans will not soon forget.

With more irreverent humor and crazy antics adding to the adventures of Gus and Shawn, be sure to catch PSYCH when it returns Wednesday, October 12^th at 10:00 p.m. USA Network.

http://www.thetvaddict.com/2011/10/11/the-hilarious-files-james-roday-and-dule-hill-preview-psych-season-6/

 

 

A Program Executive Attempts to Use Jedi Mind-Manipulation to Convince Us That These Are Not the TV Shows We Are Looking For

In response to my article “The Year Round Programming Debate: Do We Want Our Summer Shows in Winter?” (LINK: http://www.thetvaddict.com/2010/11/30/the-year-round-programming-debate-do-we-want-our-summer-shows-in-winter/) one program executive provided the following rationale for why networks are doing so.  He proffered that it was for “strategic business reasons” in order to attract and secure Fall ad sales and to achieve ratings goals that his network moved a number of summer programs onto the Fall broadcast slate.  He also attempted to justify the move by citing that the shows that were moved were achieving “healthy” C3/L7 data numbers – which translates to ratings including 3-day DVR playback and 7-day DVR playback.

But, as TVbytheNumbers emphasized in their recent articles “Dear Fans of Low-Rated Shows: Ignore the Deceptive ‘Percentage Gain from DRV [change to DVR]’ Rankings,” DVR numbers are but a “Jedi Mind Trick” (LINK: http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2010/12/20/dear-fans-of-low-rated-shows-ignore-the-deceptive-percentage-gain-from-dvr-rankings/76092) and “Network Jedi Mind Tricks: Live+7 Ratings and Your Favorite Show” (LINK: http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2010/10/17/network-jedi-mind-tricks-live7-ratings-and-your-favorite-show/68123), the C3/L7 ratings virtually amount to no ad revenue and are just reported for press purposes.

In fact, the same network executive (Ted Linhart, VP Research for USA Network) explained on Twitter, “Never look at C7, not used for anything, don’t feel comfortable releasing C3 – some clients don’t have it yet.”  He went on to explain in response to TVbytheNumber’s articles, “Yes, that is true.  But will say rewarding internally to see that many more people watched than we thought.  Morale and pride.”  In addition, he further clarified, “To be clear what we say is that the increase from Live+ Same Day to Live + 7 is meaningless to ad revenue.”

Translation: the DVR-play back ratings showing increased viewership essentially do not count.  They are simply a way to measure that more people watched a show, but there is no MONEY that comes from that viewership.  Thus, essentially viewers tuning in late are not financially supporting their shows.

When pressed further, Mr. Linhart provided as proof of his network’s satisfaction with one of their summer show’s performance for November and December the fact it gained 2 million viewers in the 18-49 year old demograph.  This is what is key.  Demograph ratings are equivalent to gold in Hollywood.  However, if you are a viewer outside of the demograph – then you do not count.  Your viewership is less desirable.

It is all about increased demographic ratings.  Demographs sell at a higher rate and thus bring in higher ad dollars – more revenue from less viewers.

Incredible, but true.  If you are in the magical 18-34 year old demograph, you are simply worth more to a network programmer.

But it begs the question: how do they know exactly who is watching?  While a Nielsen subscriber may state they are in a specific age group, that may not necessarily be true.  Who is verifying the ages of the Nielsen viewers?  And who is verifying that the person turning the dial in the Nielsen household is the person registered?  Perhaps there is someone else in the household who falls outside the registered age group who is watching the television?  And what about those DVR-ratings?  While Time Warner, Comcast, TiVo and other DVR-providers may be sharing viewership patterns, they do not necessarily collect data on the ages of their subscribers – and even if they did, it is still nearly impossible to verify that the information about a viewer’s age is accurate or that the subscribing viewer is in control of the television remote at all times.  For after all, not every person with a television hooked-up to a DVR unit lives alone.

Thus, ratings data is not infallible.  It is faulty at best.  But it is this very data that draws in the ad revenue for which the network executives are dependent. So as long as the “reported” Nielsen or DVR-data falls within the coveted 18-34 year old demograph, they are getting more money.  It does not matter whether the network lost viewers by moving a television show to a less desirable timeslot or more crowded time of the year – so long as they increased their 18-34 year old demograph.  Then they are ecstatic.

But I say this is unfair to fans and the creators of the shows.  A creator/writer or anyone who works on a TV show wants more viewers – not less.  They want more people enjoying their blood, sweat and tears to create television magic; and fans do not want to be forced out of watching their shows because they are deemed too old.  Did you shudder the minute you turned 35 because you realized that you were no longer the desired television demograph?  Did you scream your frustration at aging because it made you commercially undesirable?

This is exactly what television executives have deemed us as.  We’re too old to be in the desirable television audience.  We don’t count and are not counted.  We are worthless.  Our viewership means little or nothing because we are not commercially desirable.

This is absurd.

Is it really worthwhile (financially feasible) for a television network to sacrifice 2 million viewers simply because there is a higher number of viewers in the coveted demograph?

In its 3rd season, BURN NOTICE had 7.6 million viewers as of August 26, 2009.  When it returned in January 2010, it returned to only 5.4 million viewers, which slid to 4.3 million by the end of its winter run on March 3, 2010.  A similar drop was seen when BURN NOTICE ended its summer run on August 26, 2010 with 6.29 million viewers to return to only 4.32 million as of November 11, 2010.

In its 5th season, PSYCH had 4.11 million as of August 18, 2010, but returned to only 2.79 million on November 10, 2010.  Its ratings bumped up for its TWIN PEAKS homage episode on December 2, 2010 to 3.53 million, but then returned to 2.9 million for its season finale on December 22, 2010.

These ratings illustrate that nearly 2 million viewers were sacrificed for each show.  If USA Network believes these numbers are still generating a profit margin for them, then they must be relying on demograph revenue.  Any other show on television with such a huge loss of viewership would surely mean cancellation – regardless of the number of viewers in the coveted demographic range.

But this is the world television as we know it today.  Live ratings are still king.  Live + 3 day DVR numbers rarely reflected a significant number of viewers.  It is only Live + 7 day DVR numbers that show a big jump – and that data is not worth a penny.  Advertisers are not willing to pay money for late-stragglers.

So as you sit in front of your TV, think about it.  Are you watching live?  Are you financially supporting your show?  Or are you one of the late-to-the-party viewers who watches typically 3 or more days after a particular show has aired?

The next time you wonder why your TV shows keep disappearing off the television landscape, you might want to think about WHEN you actually watch your shows.  It does make a difference.  In the meantime, do not be fooled by press data that claims significant increases in viewership with DVR ratings added in.  That will not save a show.  It is simply for boasting-rights.

And if you are outside of the 18-34 year old demograph, do not even worry about it — you do not count anyway.

Where to find this article:

http://www.thetvaddict.com/2011/01/04/one-program-executive-attempts-to-use-jedi-mind-manipulation-to-convince-us-that-these-are-not-the-tv-shows-we-are-looking-for/

Reflecting on CASTLE, SUPERNATURAL and PSYCH’s fun-filled television homages of TV shows past

Every now and then television decides to pay homage to other cult classic television shows, and if you saw a few of the recent episodes of CASTLE, SUPERNATURAL, and PYSCH, then you were in for a treat.

In the November 15th episode of CASTLE entitled “Close Encounters of the Murderous Kind,” Richard Castle and Detective Kate Beckett investigated the murder of a young research scientist who was killed in zero gravity conditions. All signs pointed towards an unearthly abduction and THE X-FILES Easter-eggs were carefully placed throughout the episode. And while there was a UFO encounter and abduction — it was by government agents, not aliens. There was also a fun nod to THE X-FILES companion series MILLENIUM, with Lance Henriksen making an appearance as the leader of an alien abduction support group, who wrote the book, “Taken By the Fourth Kind.” Whether it was Castle whistling THE X-FILES’ theme song or a cameo of a cigarette-smoking man, the show did a fun job giving homage to THE X-FILES.

Then in the November 19th episode of SUPERNATURAL entitled “Clap Your Hands If You Believe,” it also dabbled with an homage to THE X-FILES. It even modified its opening credits to mimic the opening credits of THE X-FILES and inserting a tagline which read, “The Truth Is In There.” Similar to CASTLE, the ultimate culprit behind the string of abductions was not little green men of the alien kind, but rather little green men of the fairie kind. Given that SUPERNATURAL is based in a reality where demons, angels and all sorts of alternate-life forms do exist, aliens would not have been impossible, but the show mockingly poked at that notion by opting for a more old world tale. It also recruited Robert Picardo as their leprechaun villain, which was a fun nod to both the STAR TREK and STARGATE series, and used David Bowie’s song “Space Oddity” as a backdrop to one of their fight scenes. So while the crop-circles, bright lights, and mysterious abductions were classic X-FILES mythology, it was all the more fun as the Winchester brothers tried to figure out if alien life did actually exist, and if not, what was the real culprit. Agents Mulder and Scully would have been proud.

Finally, in the December 1st episode of PSYCH entitled “Dual Spires,” fake psychic detective Shawn Spencer and his partner Gus traveled to a mysterious little town where the inhabitants mirrored the characters of the television cult classic TWIN PEAKS. In PSYCH’s case, they opted to not simply craft a typical homage, they cleverly cast several of the original actors from TWIN PEAKS in guest-starring roles for their quirky tale of murder and deception. While revisiting the world where everyone is pie-obsessed, haunting music, and everyone has a deep, dark secret, PSYCH lovingly brought its comedic storytelling into a world that entranced the television audience 20 years ago. Everything from the body wrapped in plastic down by the lake to the Log Lady and the startling hair color change of Ray Wise’s character invoked cherished memories. PSYCH sought not only to laughingly share its love for TWIN PEAKS, it wanted to emulate it. It was a true homage — a love letter to a series gone but not forgotten.

Over the years, nearly every television show finds a way to weave in bits and pieces of other television shows — whether it is in an outright homage or through the use of punch-lines. But these three recent examples were particularly fun as they sought to remember two cult television shows that captured our hearts and minds for a time.

The fact that three prominent television shows chose to salute two cult classic sci-fi shows is telling. In the 1990′s, no two shows were more idolized than TWIN PEAKS and THE X-FILES. Each rose from obscurity and went on to become iconic symbols of science fiction (though many would describe TWIN PEAKS as horror-fiction than science fiction). What was it about those two series that lent themselves so well to homage?

For one, they were outrageously over-the-top. Both THE X-FILES and TWIN PEAKS took the idea that there were other types of life forms besides our own that were intervening in our world and shaping it for their own purposes. Both were daring looks at worlds that we cringed from and were scared could possibly exist. As much as we may be intrigued by the idea of alien life or demonic life, we fervently hope that it does not. Like a car wreck — it was fascinating and while we could not look away, we were grateful that it did not actually exist. And like nightmares, it was something for which we were glad to have woken up from and then sighed with relief to know that it was not real in the first place.

Despite the unnerving fascination with that which scares and repels us, THE X-FILES and TWIN PEAKS have lived in infamy even after they were long gone. To see both series so prominently featured in homage was a wonderful walk down memory lane. It was done with love and laughter. CASTLE and SUPERNATURAL’s nods to THE X-FILES were told in a spirit of fun as they invited us to remember a sci-fi series that challenged us to believe in extraterrestrial life. Of the course of the 10 years that THE X-FILES was broadcast, and with so much in our world that is unexplainable, it seemed easier to go along for the ride and stop being the doubting Scully and succumb to the lure of being the believing Mulder. So when CASTLE attempted to lure us back into the world of “believing” all things are possible — even alien life — we were nearly ready to jump back in. We wanted to believe even as our brains were telling us it was impossible — and we laughed along with them, when it was proven to have a more earthly solution.

Thus, SUPERNATURAL’s tale was perfect timing in preying on our susceptibility. It made it all the more fun as we were about to run right along with Dean in the cornfield shouting “UFO, UFO — close encounter!” It was hysterical what was really going on there. SUPERNATURAL can have little winged people, but not little antennaed people? The hypocrisy was hysterical. It is always fun when a TV show can poke fun at itself.

And last, but not least, after seeing how charming a visit it was on PSYCH, I am sure there are quite a few of us who would willingly venture back into the hazy, surreal world of TWIN PEAKS once again. We may still not be sure if a person or spirit killed Laura Palmer, but being invited to dance with the quirky characters populating a seemingly idyllic community and dream of cherry pie has captivated us again.

A good homage makes us laugh. A great homage makes us yearn to wind back the clock. Kudos to CASTLE, SUPERNATURAL and PSYCH for offering homages that make us wish for the impossible.

Related article:

http://www.thetvaddict.com/2010/12/07/reflecting-on-castle-supernatural-and-psychs-fun-filled-television-homages-of-tv-shows-past/

James Roday and Sheryl Lee talk “Psych’s” pie-worthy homage to “Twin Peaks”

James Roday has been obsessed with “Twin Peaks” since its heyday in the early ‘90’s.  In fact, he is a self-professed “Twin Peaks” super-fan and has been pushing for the day that “Psych” could have a “Twin Peaks”-esque episode ever since “Psych” premiered.

Thus, to Roday’s undying delight, it was only five years in the making – which was perfect timing as the “Psych” homage ended up being broadcast exactly 20 years since “Twin Peaks” first graced the television screen.   Due to his passion over it, Roday even co-wrote the script for the episode along with Bill Callahan and worked hard to incorporate as many references to the original “Twin Peaks” series as possible.  He sheepishly confessed that he relied on Callahan to make a cohesive storyline out of all the cookie crumbs that he insisted on layering throughout the episode.  In fact, one of Roday’s prized Easter-egg moments is the chocolate bunny, which is on his desk at the beginning of the episode, which ties back to a reference that Agent Cooper made about holding a box of chocolate bunnies in “Twin Peaks.”

In the episode “Dual Spires,” fake psychic detective Shawn Spencer and his partner Gus are invited by email to a cinnamon festival in a remote mountain village.   However, just as soon as they have sampled the heavenly pie, a murder is uncovered and Shawn and Gus are on the hunt to track down a deadly killer before he strikes again.  When asked why he chose a cinnamon festival, Roday said that it was a reference that Shawn and Gus had made early in the series that they attend cinnamon festivals and the absurdity felt appropriate to tie into this fun mystery story.  It was a way of mimicking the cherry pie fascination of “Twin Peaks,” but by putting a decidedly “Psych” spin on it.

During a conference call with NiceGirlsTV, Roday enthusiastically shared that “Dual Spires” will be 48 minutes of bliss for “Twin Peaks” fans.  Though he was quick to reassure that “Psych” fans would be just as pleased with the comedic meddling of “Twin Peaks” humor with the usual “Psych” shenanigans and physical comedy.

Mostly, this episode was not only a homage to a show that Roday loves, but it was a chance to invite some of the original cast of “Twin Peaks” to venture back into the quirky world that captured the imagination of television audiences and began a new era of television with out-of-the-box dark humor blended with terrifying mystery.

Then, in a remarkable achievement, “Psych” was also able to lure back seven of the original cast members from “Twin Peaks” to reprise or reimagine new roles for the episode dubbed “Dual Spires” by Roday’s co-star Maggie Lawson.  Making special appearances are Sheryl Lee, Ray Wise, Dana Ashbrook, Sherilyn Fenn, Robyn Lively, Lenny Von Dohlen, and Catherine Coulson.

Due to a fortunate run in with Dana Ashbrook years ago, Roday and he have been friends ever since, so it was a lock getting him to appear in “Dual Spires.”  Roday then avidly pursued getting Sheryl Lee and Sherilyn Fenn as he could not imagine “Twin Peaks” without them and because Ray Wise had already made an appearance on “Psych” it was an easy deal getting him to come back and reprise his earlier role as well.   Then, as for Lenny Von Dohlen, Robyn Lively and Catherine Coulson, they were also must-have faces from a show that made such an indelible imprint on the “Twin Peaks” fans.  It was just too rich that they were all available and willing to join “Psych” for this fun little homage episode.

Sheryl Lee shared that for her, the chance to join in “Dual Spires” was a bit surreal, but she loved the chance to reunite with some of her “Twin Peaks” cast mates.  She also thought working with the “Psych” cast was simply wonderful as everyone was so warm and welcoming, which made the entire experience a delight.   Lee was also grateful that this time she was not the one being wrapped in cold, wet plastic and had the chance to play one of the mysterious inhabitants of “Dual Spires.”  Roday added that that he did his best to make sure that the scene at the lake when the body is discovered closely replicated  the original scene in “Twin Peaks” as that visual set the tone for the remainder of the underlying creepiness in the episode.

Finally, in addition to the original cast members, Roday ecstatically shared that they were able to recruit songstress Julee Cruise to perform the opening title sequence for “Psych” especially for the “Dual Spires” episode. It was the final crowning achievement on a love-letter to “Twin Peaks.”   The entire “Dual Spires” episode was the ultimate fan-boy experience and Roday hopes that both fans of “Psych” and “Twin Peaks” will enjoy it as much as he did in bringing it to fruition.

Sheryl chimed in to add that the episode is an “incredible gift that James and everyone at Psych gave us.”  It touched her and the other “Twin Peaks” cast members more than they expected and they are grateful for the chance to reunite after all these years.

Finally, because the episode was already jammed to the brim with an extra seven minutes of footage, Roday encourages fans to get the fifth season DVD when it becomes available to see the additional 8 minutes of footage that was filmed and did not make it into the episode.  He promised that it is worth buying just for those exclusive 8 minutes of footage.

Be sure to watch “Psych’s” special “Twin Peaks” episode entitled “Dual Spires” when it airs Wednesday, December 1, 2010 at 10:00 p.m. on USA Network.

Link to PHOTOS: http://www.twitpic.com/e/rp2

Where to find this article:

http://nicegirlstv.com/2010/12/01/psych-james-roday-sheryl-lee-on-a-pie-worthy-homage-to-twin-peaks/

The Year Round Programming Debate: do we want our summer shows in winter?

This Fall brought an interesting phenomena to television: for the first time summer shows were returning in November and December, after only a short 2-3 month hiatus. Just when viewers were adjusting to summer shows returning in January and February, the television networks had the bright idea of mixing it up and bringing back their biggest summer shows to compete during November sweeps and during the December dead-zone.

It used to be that television was divided into the standard television season running mid-September through late May, with a winter break in December and January. Yet with the need to push for year-round programming, networks began dabbling with a third season, launching summers shows in June and July to run for 8-12 weeks.

For the most part, summer shows were a huge success. Viewers loved having new programs to watch with little or no competition vying for their attention; and networks got to test the waters of whether or not it was financially viable to launch a third season.

Thus, television became a three-season event, Fall, Spring and Summer — with Winter still a hodge-podge of either specials, repeats or the slow return of the regular season shows. Then in the past few years, networks decided to use the lull time of Winter to debut new shows or re-launch established series. Dubbed “Mid-Season,” it was made a television event. Viewers began to look forward to January and February for the return of major series such as LOST, 24, or AMERICAN IDOL; and last winter the new series CAPRICA and HUMAN TARGET were both launched mid-season.

But the biggest proponent of Winter Season programming has been USA Network, which first began with split seasons of its biggest television series, MONK. As early as 2004, MONK was broken into two half-seasons with the first half in the Summer and the remainder in the Winter. Then in 2007, it did the same with its second biggest original series PSYCH, and then in 2009, it brought back BURN NOTICE in a similar split season fashion. Based on this successful formula, it then did the same with its new series WHITE COLLAR in January 2010. The latest series to join the split-season format is ROYAL PAINS, which returns January 20, 2011.

Another network venturing into Summer/Winter programming, Syfy split seasons with its flagship series STARGATE SG-1 as early as 1998. Then in the past year, it continued with that format by splitting the seasons of both CAPRICA and STARGATE: UNIVERSE.

Yet, for all the success for some series with split and off-season programming, this year has shown a dramatic change. Viewers are less tolerant and seem more than a little confused by it.

When both PSYCH and BURN NOTICE returned from their Fall hiatus earlier this month, viewers did not return as expected. Off by 2 to 1 million viewers each, it would seem that (1) viewers simply did not know these shows had returned to conclude their current seasons, or (2) were already overloaded with other television shows and unable to find a way to work these shows into their TV viewing schedule.

Similarly, STARGATE: UNIVERSE and CAPRICA returned in October and also felt the impact of viewer disinterest or schedule overload. Either way, viewership had declined dramatically.

So it begs the question: do viewers want their summer shows in winter? Do shows that appeal one time of year, run the risk of being rejected if they return another time of year?

Do shows such as BURN NOTICE, PYSCH, and ROYAL PAINS suffer because viewers think of them as “blue sky” series? Meaning shows that offer us the escape into the fun in the sun and where life has a perpetual blue sky. The entire visual background of these shows are sold to us on the premise that life is always sunny. They offer characters who dress in summer attire, who live near the beach and are frequently outdoors enjoying life in the sun. Thus, it feels a bit out of place to have these types of shows on during Fall or even the Winter season.

In addition, it feels like shows that viewers devoted their time to were trying to encroach or push themselves on viewers who had committed to other television shows during the Fall/Spring seasons. What if football were to begin games in March, instead of August? Would football fans be elated or frustrated because it encroached on basketball season? Television has always been seasonal and by tinkering with programming schedules, networks do not realize that they are antagonizing the very viewers that were loyal and appreciative and gave their shows an audience.

Fans aware of the scheduling shifts are generally supportive, but quick to point fingers at networks for the lack of promotion when they move or re-launch shows at different times or during seasons that seem out of place. However, even with an overdose of publicity advising viewers that shows like PSYCH and BURN NOTICE were returning in early November — viewers still did not tune in. This then leads us to speculate that it was viewer-fatigue or viewer-frustration that kept them from watching.

Perhaps networks have gone too far. Are television viewers ready and willing to adapt to having their shows plopped onto the television schedule at any old time? I propose that they are not. Even DVR’s are not smart enough to know when TV shows return, and with TV Guide Magazine becoming obsolete and out of date, viewers are unable to keep track of when the shows they want to watch are on.

Figuring out when TV show are on has become a labrythine-like puzzle. For sophisticated viewers, we track shows through a multitude of sources via online sites, Twitter and a combination of print media. We set up tracking grids to keep track of the shows we want to watch and how to make sure each is either recorded or watched live — or has to be bought online or by DVD because there were simply too many competing shows on at the same time.

So the unreasonable assumption by television programmers that we want our summer shows sprinkled throughout the remainder of the year (whether that be November through December, or January through April), it is just pushing our tolerance levels to the extreme. Too much change and transition makes it hard to keep track of the shows we do love and want to watch; and by sliding them around and springing them up at the least expected times of the year is not making it easy to be a fan.

Networks need to establish fixed schedules and stick with it. No more meddling with our TV shows and treating them like chess pieces. Television viewers do not want to watch TV like they are playing a board game — and summer shows, need to be summer shows and not pretend that they are winter shows. It is confusing, disorientating and discouraging. It is no wonder that DVR’s are being used to simply watch shows a day or two later, but sometimes weeks later. Viewers want what they want, when they want it. Bring a show back at the wrong time of year, and it may suffer for it. “Blue sky” shows belong during the summer — not smack dab in the middle of winter when no one expects them. Winter is a time for dreaming of sugar plums and ski boots, not bikinis and mojitos on the beach.

Related article: http://www.thetvaddict.com/2010/11/30/the-year-round-programming-debate-do-we-want-our-summer-shows-in-winter/

What does the band Tears for Fears have in common with a fake psychic detective? The “Psych” panel at Comic-Con answers just that very question

At Comic-Con, after a funny clip of our intrepid heroes Shawn and Gus meeting Curt Smith, the lead singer of the band Tears for Fears, Curt Smith appeared on stage to sing “Shout” with James Roday and Dule Hill, much to the audience’s delight. It was a rip-roaring event that brought everyone to their feet and got everyone in the mood to find out what other shenanigans the show is up to.

While a bit coy about the relationships of the characters and the upcoming story arcs, creator/writer Steve Franks happily shared that there may or may not be more building on the sexual tension between Chief Karen Vick and Buzz McNab, that there would be more puns and amusing nicknames for Gus, and that James would be directing an upcoming episode.

Franks also shared that directing has taught him so much more as a writer. For example, as a writer he can dream up all kinds of hilarious storylines heedless of what goes into actually executing his vision on the page. It was only after directing an episode that he learned that such grand ideas can cost a lot more than they have budgeted, that it may be too cold in Vancouver to do some of the stunts or stories he had crafted, and that the actors are working much longer house than he ever envisioned.

Thus, he has tried to be a bit more circumspect and realistic of the harsh realities of putting his words on paper into action on film. After all, all those words do add up to money, time and labor by the hard-working cast. Directing has taught him to be much more efficient and conscious of the people working on the show.

Franks also admitted that because he did not know any better, he has an incredible open-door policy in which he invites the entire cast and crew to propose ideas for stories and to have a lot more input than most shows would normally allow. But it has also created an environment where everyone feels like they are part of the team and that their input is valued and appreciated. It has made a uniquely welcoming and fun environment to work.

Perhaps because they are such a fun show to work with, they have also attracted some super cool guest stars, such as William Devane, Chi McBride, Adam Rodriguez and Nestor Carbonell. This sort of dream casting has made the show richer for them all.

As a nice bone to the Comic-Con fans, each of the cast was asked which costume would they choose if they had the chance to wear one to Comic-Con: Corbin Bernsen said a pineapple (which is an inside joke for those watching the show); James said he would come as Alf; Dule would be Papa Smurf; Maggie would choose to be Wonder Woman; and Kirsten would come as Hit-Girl. These were clearly great choices as the room erupted with laughter and cat-calls.

Lastly, not to be left out of the fun, Timothy Omundson was spotlighted in a closing gag-reel in which he did a dead-on impersonation of singing “I’m Too Sexy,” the outrageous song by the band Right Said Fred, while doing the catwalk. “Psych” is a fun show that aims to please its fans at all times, but from the looks of it, they are probably having more fun than we are watching the show!

“Psych” airs Wednesday nights at 10:00 p.m. on USA Network.

Related article:

http://insideblip.com/node/387/expect-more-sexual-tension-nicknames-in-psych.html