Your definition of "interchangeable" is not my definition

[kattahj]

So, in an ONTD post about Psych (which is back soon, squee!), I came upon this comment:

all their original shows are interchangeable

usa: 24 hours of white people in unusual jobs

Is it just me or is that a ridiculously broad category to dub shows "interchangeable"? I mean, okay, if we accept the commenter's definition of "white people" - i.e.

Comments

[justhuman]

Your list is off -- you listed a bunch of shows that don't show on USA Network (at least here in the US) and shows that they "rebroadcast" -- so they are not USA "original shows"

The recent USA originals are

Psych - yay Gus!

White Collar - primarily white with a female black secondary, Jewish white secondary, tertiary black male and a lesbian (guest/recurring)

Royal Pains - Leads are white, canonically Jewish boys and primary/secondary Indian woman. Secondary cast is almost exclusively white. The two primary female characters sometimes pass the Bechdel test, but they don't get much of an opportunity normally

In Plain Sight - Awesome female lead, breaks the Bechdel test virtually every episode. There was a secondary Hispanic character through the first two seasons, but he broke up with Mary and wasn't there much for S3

Burn Notice - All white with mixed white/Hispanic secondary cast and extras. We can tell they're in Miami. New black male secondary character this season - may or may not stay past this season

Monk - I believe all white

Covert Affairs - about to debut. Female lead, promos looking very white

***

Leverage is an original show on another cable Network, TNT

The other shows you listed were the original programming of another network that USA re-broadcasts as re-runs.

Here's the link to the main USA page -- but I don't know if you'll see what I see. I know sometimes the networks pick up your locale and customize the site to you.

http://www.usanetwork.com/

Frankly, the assessment you read was not that far off the mark when you consider he and Divya (Indian) are the only characters on the show with regular, significant screen time.

And I'm saying this as a *HUGE* USA Network fan; it's kind of like a fandom on it's own to me.

[love2loveher]

psst. The list is labeled "Non-USA shows"

[justhuman]

Yup, I completely failed at reading comprehension this morning.

[kattahj]

Like love2loveher pointed out, the list was specifically of non USA shows. Psych is the only USA show I watch, so I didn't write the post to defend the network or anything. I just thought if "white people in unusual jobs" is all it takes to make shows interchangeable, then by the same standards Torchwood is interchangeable with The West Wing.

If what the commenter meant was "too many white guys", then fair enough, but that doesn't make shows interchangeable either.

[justhuman]

Yeah, I completely failed at reading comprehension this morning.

And you're right, the unusual jobs isn't what makes the shows interchangable -- It's the Robin Hood theme in one form or degree.

Psych - Gus and Shawn are technically unqualified to help the general public as crime fighters, but the pull off an elaborate con to help the people.

Sometimes they are aided by an insider, Juliet (Maid Marion), who has to play by the rules but gives them intel on the side. Also aided by a wise mentor, Shawn's dad (Friar Tuck), who doesn't completely go with the methods of the mission, but believes in the spirit of it.

The sheriff is friendlier in Psych, Lassiter, but in general he thinks they should be shot or at the very least go away. He frequently inadvertently helps the heroes -- it's a good thing they happen to be on the same side ;-)

I could make this case for virtually all the USA shows - and Leverage. I used to have a hard time finding Leverage, because it was so obvious to me that it must be a USA show.

[justhuman]

I'm a fan of manpain and womanpain, -- more people should love In Plain Sight. /pimp

So I probably wouldn't have minded as much -- although, I do love the ensemble feel of Leverage.

[kattahj]

...Not to argue for USA shows in general, since I haven't seen them, but I do think this is very rough on Psych. Gus gets as much screentime as Hardison, and more plots devoted to him, and while neither Jules nor Vick may have the screentime Parker and Sophie do, they certainly have agency. And Shawn, while a more pronounced male character than Nate, shows significantly less manpain.

[kattahj]

Yeah, Shawn is Shawn and he hogs attention. It would be hard to have a character like Shawn in an ensemble show, since his raison d'etre is to steal the show, chew the scenery, and do a little dance afterwards. I think over the seasons, though, he's been toned down a little and Gus has stepped forward so that it's now almost a duo show. More of a Moonlighting kind of vibe. (Or indeed, like the Ritchie Sherlock Holmes.)

[kattahj]

Hee! Okay, that I can buy as a too-narrow category for a network to build its shows on. And Leverage is pretty much the definition of the Robin Hood theme. :-)