October 30th: Psych out

To keep myself company as I wrote three different papers this weekend, I decided to watch my favorite TV show, Psych, from the beginning. I thought it would be fun to see how far the show has come. Plus, if I watch a show I’ve already seen, I’ll be able to focus on any schoolwork too, right?

Three episodes and two paragraphs later, I was engrossed fully in the show. The most interesting component of viewing was to see the ways in which the show has changed through seven seasons.

Every show has its developments. From season to season, characters change and grow, as do the circumstances around them. In Psych, though, the changes were more intense and more immediate.

Most significant of these changes were the setting and set designs. The pilot had locations that included the police headquarters, Shawn (the main character)’s father’s house, and the Psych office. By the fourth episode, all of these places had changed. The budget had gone up and sets were designed to meet the ongoing needs of the show.

The characters changed too. One of the main characters from the pilot was gone by the second show, and her storyline was wrapped up quickly, just for the sake of continuity.

It’s a scary thought to think that this show was someone’s baby, that they slaved for hours over each intricate detail of the story, and then, when the show was picked up, a network said “yeah, we like it, but there are going to have to be some changes.” It really begs the question as to which is more important: having your story shared to the masses, or having your story be indisputably yours. In this particular case, I would like to believe that the writer is pleased with the end result, and that the creation was a development, rather than a forced change. That makes the show advancements feel organic. Unfortunately, that is the reality of television production.

Further on in the show, there is a clear point where the makers of Psych clearly needed some financial assistance because product placement sprang up. For the first time, you could see Shawn using particular products and having them factor into the cases he is solving. It was startling to see how abrupt the shift was and how instantaneously the products became a part of the show.

Some parts never change, though. From the very beginning, Shawn is quirky and eccentric guy who demonstrates a difficulty with the separation between what is easy and what is right. Juliet, the female detective and love interest, is a key component of the show, and the tension between her and Shawn happens from the moment they meet. While many of the details change as the show progresses, the fundamental basis of the show remains for fans to connect to these incredibly developed and loveable characters.