Blogocentric Formulations

Day 10: Must See (Funny) TV

*Written as part of the "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" 

Day 10 Prompt: What is one funny TV show or movie that will always make you laugh no matter how many times you watch it? What makes it funny? Convince me I should watch it.

While there are several comedies I watch regularly, I would have to recommend Psych above all others, simply for the fact that it's exactly my kind of humor and after eight seasons, I still laugh as hard as ever at almost every episode. For those of you who haven't seen it before, it's a show that airs on USA Network and is about a man who is hyper-perceptive as a result of his detective father always pressuring/training him to notice and remember his surroundings from an early age. He poses as a "psychic" in order to explain his uncanny knowledge of crime scenes and - with the help of his reluctant best friend - consults with the Santa Barbara police department to solve a new case each week.

What I particularly like about the series is that Shawn and Gus (the "psychic" and best friend, played by James Roday and Dule Hill respectively) have a wonderful dynamic between them with Shawn as the big kid that never really grew up and Gus as the adult who's acted like a grown-up his entire life and yet keeps getting dragged into Shawn's antics. The interaction between the two of them, as well as with the rest of the cast (including Shawn's father, a pair of detectives they're partnered with, and the police chief) are priceless. It's also a huge bonus that the writers are clearly around my age because the pop culture references and jokes are oftentimes about TV shows, movies, products, and trends that were popular when I was growing up in the late 80s/early 90s.

Here are just a few reasons why you should watch the show:

Nearly every episode features someone saying the word "delicious," a fist-bump, and a pineapple hidden onscreen somewhere in one of the scenes.

When Shawn and Gus interview people during the course of their investigation, Shawn inevitably introduces Gus using a different and bizarre name. Past names have included, "Lodge Blackman," "Chocolate Einstein," "Jonathan Jacob 'Jingly' Schmidt," "Clementine Woolysocks," "Ghee Buttersnaps," "MC Clap Yo Handz," "Doughnut Holschtein," "Trapezious Milkington," "Hummingbird Saltalamacchia," "Longbranch Pennywhistle," "Methuselah Honeysuckle," "Squirts Macintosh," "Ovaltine Jenkins," "Lemongrass Gogulope," "Lavender Gooms," "Galileo Humpkins," "Gus T.T. Showbiz," "Felicia Fancybottom," and many, many more.

The theme song to the show was actually written and performed by the show creator's own band, The Friendly Indians. Not only do they alternate between a short version and a full song during the opening credits, but once or twice a season they will surprise audiences with a different rendition of the song to fit the theme of a show, changing the melody, words, and/or sometimes even the intro clips to fit a particular style. Past iterations of the song have included a spanish-language version, a Christmas/holiday version, a Bollywood version, a superhero version, versions inspired by The Shining and Twin Peaks, a Boys II Men cover, and a Curt Smith (of Tears For Fears fame) cover.

The show has many, many recurring jokes which they really commit to. One of them is that Shawn lived a nomadic life before returning to settle down in Santa Barbara, working thirty-plus jobs all over the country. On the official site they created a resume for him and - at one time - even maintained a MySpace page for him (jobs include foot and ankle model, Christmas-light hanger, Wienermobile operator, mystery shopper, and water ski instructor among others). Another recurring joke is to comment on The Mentalist, a show that debuted two years after Psych with a very similar premise (a former con man/fake psychic uses his powers of perception to help the authorities solve crimes). The characters - usually Shawn - will frequently comment on the show in a mocking way. Notably, when Gus says it looks weird when people fake a psychic vision, Shawn replies, "Not when Simon Baker (star of the Mentalist) does it!" And in another episode, Gus mentions that maybe someone covered up their crime because they didn't want anyone to know they watch The Mentalist, to which Shawn makes a comment about not understanding how anyone can watch a show with such a ridiculous premise.

By far, though, the best part about the show is the dialogue. The writing staff is brilliant at characters firing off quick, witty retorts, as well as working in a variety of pop culture references and just plain random stuff that is so bizarre it gets a laugh. Some examples:

         LASSITER (straight-laced detective): We found prints.
         SHAWN: Was he in a little red corvette?
         GUS: Under the cherry moon?
         LASSITER: FINGER prints! We found FINGER. PRINTS!

         (meeting the detectives outside a suspect's house)
         SHAWN: Good morning, officers. Collecting donations for the Policeman's Ball?
         LASSITER: We don't have balls.
         SHAWN: I honestly have no response to that.

         SHAWN: Gus almost fainted that time we ran into Ralph Macchio at the Del Taco.
         GUS: And for the record, he was not working there.

         (while going undercover as a spelling bee judge)
         SHAWN: Banana.
         GIRL CONTESTANT: Can you repeat that?
         SHAWN: Yes. Ba-NA-na.
         GIRL CONTESTANT: Definition please?
         SHAWN (exasperated): A yellow fruit. Also, a kind of pudding. A delicious pudding.
         GIRL CONTESTANT: Sentence please?
         SHAWN (even more exasperated): Anna Banana would like to hear 'Venus' by Bananarama.

         (while going undercover as Civil War re-enactors)
         GUS' SECRETARY: There's a Lieutenant Crunch here to see you.
         GUS: Lieutenant Crunch?
         SHAWN (enters dressed in Civil War gear): Actually, I've just been promoted. It's Captain Crunch now.

Honestly, if you're a fan of silly shows that don't take themselves too seriously, this is a must-see. The chemistry of the cast is outstanding and it's one of those shows you can just tell they had a great time shooting. They even have outtakes called "Psych Outs" that often roll during the end credits. Not only is it the usual mix of hilarious outtakes and alternate versions of a scene, but every so often they get the cast to do a performance piece including singing renditions of Eddie Grant's "Electric Avenue" and TLC's "No Scrubs," as well as practical jokes the cast sometimes plays on one another.