The Continental - Hamilton College

tv on dvdtalk of the towntop pick:psychseasons 1& 2If you have never watched Psych, you are seriously deprived. Playfully mocking crime dramas, Psych is centered on Shawn Spencer( James Roday), who uses his photographic memory, “heightened observational skills,” and detecting instincts to convince people he’s psychic.In the pilot episode, he does such a good job of convincing the police that he’s a psychic that he is roped into being a consultant for the SantaBarbara Police Department.The show, which premiered on USA network after Monk, has recently been moved to NBC because of its extremely high ratings. Psychis successful for a number of reasons. First of all, the show premiered on a cable network, which often airs its new shows during the majornetworks summer rerun slump. Also, the show is well-cast and the chemistry between characters is phenomenal. Dulé Hill (formerly ofWest Wing) plays Shawn’s best friend, Gus, who is often unwillingly dragged along on cases; Timothy Omundson plays the head detective ofthe police department, Carlton “Lassie” Lassiter, who hates Shawn with unbridled passion; and Maggie Lawson plays Juliet O’Hara, Lassie’spartner and ultimately Shawn’s love-interest. Corbin Bernsen tops the line-up off as Henry Spencer, Shawn’s angry and disapproving fatherand former police detective.If this wasn’t enough to make you want to watch the show, it is so well written that you find yourself laughing so frequently that you reallyshouldn’t eat or drink while watching: Shawn’s response to his father’s multi-colored, multi-print shirt: “Sorry, Dad, this is like a genocide ofcolor. Somewhere, a rainbow is weeping.” And it’s not just one-liners either. The writing is intelligent and witty and it’s definitely one of thebest television shows on right now.Psych has something for everyone: murder, comedy, mystery, intrigue, singing, and psychics. It pokes fun at everyone and everything,and now is the perfect time to catch up as the show starts its third season on USA in July. Plus, the DVD features special features such as webisodesof “Little Shawn and Gus” (animated episodes of the two characters as children), blooper reels and deleted scenes.- nicole dietsche ’09The 4400 Season 4release dateMay 64400 people, who havebeen abducted by aliens, arereturned to Earth variousyears later with new supercool powers that scare thebuhjeezus out of good olenormal people.Monk Season 6release dateJuly 8Anal-retentive and OCDdoes not even begin to coverMonk’s dysfunctions, but hedoes get the detecting jobdone.Weeds Season 3release dateJune 3Because there’s really noother way to survive suburbianhouse-wifery thanbecoming a pot dealingkingpin.The Dead ZoneSeason 6release dateJune 3Based off of the StephenKing novel (but potentiallybetter), Johnny Smith cansee the future with just onetouch (after getting in a horriblecar crash and being in acoma for years) and tries tosave those he sees in danger.Burn Notice Season 1release dateJune 17When the CIA fires you, apparently,they also kill you.Michael Westen tries to findout who burned him so hecan, well, kill him first.the continental | spring 2008 25