WIP shows!
I missed a couple of episodes of Psych this season - it's really awkwardly structured at a really awkward time (10 on Fridays), so it's easy to miss. But I downloaded three of the last 4 episodes on iTunes, and I must say, I am quite impressed. I've never been impressed by this show before; entertained, yes, but not impressed. It is getting consistently better, and James Roday is showing he can do more than be an overgrown frat boy!
James Roday (who plays Shawn Spencer) never had much more to do than go into over-acted fake psychic fits and be stupid and juvenile, but lately, there's been more "scope for imagination" in the writing, and man, has he delivered. He is showing remarkable subtlety in certain scenes. For example, in "From Earth to the Starbucks" (the cleverness of which I only just realized - this show has the stupidest episode titles, but that one's actually pretty good), his father starts dating again after 15 years. Perhaps earlier in the show, Shawn would've faced that with blatant disgust and absurdity, but in this scene he actually seemed truly affected by it, like he was a little confused and upset and lost. It was quite touching.
And in the episode, "He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not, He Loves Me, Oops He's Dead" (told you, really stupid titles), there's this whole thing going where Shawn and Juliet matched up perfectly in their speed-dating profiles (which they were doing undercover). At the end of the episode, she tells him that she doesn't take them seriously and she doesn't want there to be any awkwardness between them, and he's all "Oh, yeah, I just copied over your shoulder, so yeah...". And then there's this really awkward goodbye where Shawn seems too distracted by her to get out a coherent (and not idiotic) sentence. Gus comes over, and Shawn says something like, "Oh, it's just Jules, it's not like we were on a date," and talks about how it would never work anyway. And then he does this adorable little smile-laugh, you know, the kind you do when you're really sad but trying to fight it so you laugh instead? And it was just so honest and real that I watched it over and over, because I am VERY impressed by his acting in this scene. Very nice. Very subtle.
I do feel kind of bad for Dule Hill, though. From "West Wing" to "Psych"? Seems like a downward career move to me. I didn't watch "The West Wing", though, so I don't know what his role in that was; at least in "Psych" he's a major character. Sure, Gus is kind of two-dimensional, but maybe he's fun to play. And Dule Hill certainly does the best he can.
If this show keeps improving the way it has been, it could actually become a pretty good show. Right now it's an original premise, but the writing is kind of silly and the characters are moderately two-dimensional, but it's growing in leaps and bounds! And really, "Bones" was kind of awful at the beginning, too. But that has turned out to be a pretty good show - and Emily Deschanel has become a pretty good actress (which she manifestly was not at the beginning). Heh. I'd like "Bones" anyway, because right now that's kind of my career goal (or a possibility, at least), but it's very entertaining and pretty much continually improving (because Stephen Fry can only improve a show). And though Booth started out a pretty generic character, David Boreanaz has done quite a lot for him - I'm impressed with his subtlety, as well, because I wouldn't expect it from looking at him (or his past shows). Maybe Booth could be played by anyone, as I read somewhere, but then he wouldn't be nearly as lovable as he is now - seriously, David Boreanaz is quite good.
Hee. I talk a lot. Fair warning: there is a massive rant behind this cut, addressing both "Psych" and "Bones" and subtlety in acting and shows that are improving quite nicely and for which I have great hopes for the future. I hope you are mildly entertained/interested, or at least didn't waste too much time. :D
James Roday (who plays Shawn Spencer) never had much more to do than go into over-acted fake psychic fits and be stupid and juvenile, but lately, there's been more "scope for imagination" in the writing, and man, has he delivered. He is showing remarkable subtlety in certain scenes. For example, in "From Earth to the Starbucks" (the cleverness of which I only just realized - this show has the stupidest episode titles, but that one's actually pretty good), his father starts dating again after 15 years. Perhaps earlier in the show, Shawn would've faced that with blatant disgust and absurdity, but in this scene he actually seemed truly affected by it, like he was a little confused and upset and lost. It was quite touching.
And in the episode, "He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not, He Loves Me, Oops He's Dead" (told you, really stupid titles), there's this whole thing going where Shawn and Juliet matched up perfectly in their speed-dating profiles (which they were doing undercover). At the end of the episode, she tells him that she doesn't take them seriously and she doesn't want there to be any awkwardness between them, and he's all "Oh, yeah, I just copied over your shoulder, so yeah...". And then there's this really awkward goodbye where Shawn seems too distracted by her to get out a coherent (and not idiotic) sentence. Gus comes over, and Shawn says something like, "Oh, it's just Jules, it's not like we were on a date," and talks about how it would never work anyway. And then he does this adorable little smile-laugh, you know, the kind you do when you're really sad but trying to fight it so you laugh instead? And it was just so honest and real that I watched it over and over, because I am VERY impressed by his acting in this scene. Very nice. Very subtle.
I do feel kind of bad for Dule Hill, though. From "West Wing" to "Psych"? Seems like a downward career move to me. I didn't watch "The West Wing", though, so I don't know what his role in that was; at least in "Psych" he's a major character. Sure, Gus is kind of two-dimensional, but maybe he's fun to play. And Dule Hill certainly does the best he can.
If this show keeps improving the way it has been, it could actually become a pretty good show. Right now it's an original premise, but the writing is kind of silly and the characters are moderately two-dimensional, but it's growing in leaps and bounds! And really, "Bones" was kind of awful at the beginning, too. But that has turned out to be a pretty good show - and Emily Deschanel has become a pretty good actress (which she manifestly was not at the beginning). Heh. I'd like "Bones" anyway, because right now that's kind of my career goal (or a possibility, at least), but it's very entertaining and pretty much continually improving (because Stephen Fry can only improve a show). And though Booth started out a pretty generic character, David Boreanaz has done quite a lot for him - I'm impressed with his subtlety, as well, because I wouldn't expect it from looking at him (or his past shows). Maybe Booth could be played by anyone, as I read somewhere, but then he wouldn't be nearly as lovable as he is now - seriously, David Boreanaz is quite good.
Hee. I talk a lot. Fair warning: there is a massive rant behind this cut, addressing both "Psych" and "Bones" and subtlety in acting and shows that are improving quite nicely and for which I have great hopes for the future. I hope you are mildly entertained/interested, or at least didn't waste too much time. :D