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.