Article first published as Psych's 100th Clue on TheTVKing.
USA's Psych presents a special 100th episode tonight. Titled "100 Clues," the installment is a tribute to the cult-1980s comedy film, Clue. In that spirit, the hour has many references to the movie, and guest stars three Clue alumni: Christopher Lloyd, Martin Mull, and Lesley Ann Warren.
The premise looks familiar: Shawn (James Roday) and Gus (Dulé Hill) attend a mysterious dinner party at a spooky mansion. Once there, they learn they have been invited by a rock star named Billy Lipps (Steve Valentine, I'm in the Band), whom they helped put away for murder, and whom has recently been released from prison. Their fellow diners include others who testified against Billy: his manager (Mull), a groupie (Warren), and a biographer (Lloyd). Billy doesn't seem to be holding a grudge, but soon bodies begin piling up.
As a huge fan of Clue, there are plenty of fun references. We get a singing telegram girl, running back and forth as a theory is unspooled, a funny bit about adding numbers, a secret room, and more. It's nice to see some of the actors return, even if they are in entirely different roles, and the house has the right look to pull off a tribute. Plus, it's a dark and stormy night, of course.
But it's not a full-on Clue remake. In fact, the tone feels more like classic Psych than the movie. Shawn is still center stage, Shawn and Gus have their familiar banter, and when Juliet (Maggie Lawson) and Lassiter (Timothy Omundson) arrive to investigate a missing person, it becomes yet another crime the team must solve. For those who have never seen the movie, they will not be at all lost.
Which is a bit of a shame. I was really hoping for more Clue stuff. Obviously, the entire cast couldn't return. Madeline Kahn, my favorite of the troupe, sadly passed away in 1999. Michael McKean is still recovering from an injury last spring. There hasn't been any mention I could find about why Eileen Brennan isn't present, though she doesn't have many credits as of late. And while the original plan was to build "100 Clues" around Tim Curry's previous Psych guest character, the actor was ultimately unavailable when it was time to film. Twice. But a bit more of the dialogue style and camera shots would have made for a more faithful tribute.
"100 Clues" also fails to deliver as an awesome Psych episode. Part of this is a structural necessity. "100 Clues," like Clue, has filmed three alternate endings. Fans will vote during the East and West cost airings tonight, and two separate finales will likely air. (The third, unfortunately, is reportedly being held for the DVD release.) Because of this, the story must play out so that any one of the five main suspects could be culpable right up until the end, making for a twisty, impossible-to-predict criminal.
I really like the conceit of the film because "Who done it?" is not the point of the tale; it's a series of comedy sketches with zany characters that works incredibly well. With a less talented cast (I'm sorry, but it's true) and a cohesive murder investigation part of the Psych formula, it doesn't quite come together as it should.
Also, although "100 Clues" opens with a case from five years ago, during the time the series was on the air, the opening bits don't relate to any previous Psych episodes, which would have made for a better way to celebrate 100 episodes of the show. Should we blame Curry for this, too?
That being said, I did greatly enjoy Mull, Lloyd, Warren, Saturday Night Live alum Garrett Morris as the butler. They all have some terrific one-liners and some interesting character choices. Morris, in particular, has some witty repartee with Gus involving stereotypes. Of the four, Lloyd is the least used, but a couple of Back to the Future references should satisfy his fans, too.
Besides the structure, the second reason "100 Clues" doesn't quite do it for me is because of the lack of a real emotional stake. I dig the Shawn-torn-between-Gus-and-Jules conceit, which is a recurring theme, but other than that, there isn't much to grab onto. Last season, Psych deepened its characters, committing Shawn to being in a real romantic relationship, depressing Gus, expanding Lassie, and putting Henry's life at risk. This year, much effort has been made to return to the light-hearted, frothy procedural, which feels a little hollow now that we've seen that the actors can dig deeper. I know it keeps the series delivering what some fans want, but for those who see the potential for something greater, it's a disappointment.
Even the opening credits of the episode, which have new graphics that are a throwback to the Clue board game, aren't Psych's most original, keeping the regular, short version of the theme song.
Will I continue to watch Psych through to the end, likely after next season? Of course. I've enjoyed it this long, and will probably continue to do so, on some level. But it's not as good as it can be, nor the best show on USA, and so even "100 Clues," what should be a major triumph, is only middling in terms of quality.
At least we still have the upcoming musical episode to hold out hope for.
Psych airs Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET on USA.
USA's Psych presents a special 100th episode tonight. Titled "100 Clues," the installment is a tribute to the cult-1980s comedy film, Clue. In that spirit, the hour has many references to the movie, and guest stars three Clue alumni: Christopher Lloyd, Martin Mull, and Lesley Ann Warren.
The premise looks familiar: Shawn (James Roday) and Gus (Dulé Hill) attend a mysterious dinner party at a spooky mansion. Once there, they learn they have been invited by a rock star named Billy Lipps (Steve Valentine, I'm in the Band), whom they helped put away for murder, and whom has recently been released from prison. Their fellow diners include others who testified against Billy: his manager (Mull), a groupie (Warren), and a biographer (Lloyd). Billy doesn't seem to be holding a grudge, but soon bodies begin piling up.
As a huge fan of Clue, there are plenty of fun references. We get a singing telegram girl, running back and forth as a theory is unspooled, a funny bit about adding numbers, a secret room, and more. It's nice to see some of the actors return, even if they are in entirely different roles, and the house has the right look to pull off a tribute. Plus, it's a dark and stormy night, of course.
But it's not a full-on Clue remake. In fact, the tone feels more like classic Psych than the movie. Shawn is still center stage, Shawn and Gus have their familiar banter, and when Juliet (Maggie Lawson) and Lassiter (Timothy Omundson) arrive to investigate a missing person, it becomes yet another crime the team must solve. For those who have never seen the movie, they will not be at all lost.
Which is a bit of a shame. I was really hoping for more Clue stuff. Obviously, the entire cast couldn't return. Madeline Kahn, my favorite of the troupe, sadly passed away in 1999. Michael McKean is still recovering from an injury last spring. There hasn't been any mention I could find about why Eileen Brennan isn't present, though she doesn't have many credits as of late. And while the original plan was to build "100 Clues" around Tim Curry's previous Psych guest character, the actor was ultimately unavailable when it was time to film. Twice. But a bit more of the dialogue style and camera shots would have made for a more faithful tribute.
"100 Clues" also fails to deliver as an awesome Psych episode. Part of this is a structural necessity. "100 Clues," like Clue, has filmed three alternate endings. Fans will vote during the East and West cost airings tonight, and two separate finales will likely air. (The third, unfortunately, is reportedly being held for the DVD release.) Because of this, the story must play out so that any one of the five main suspects could be culpable right up until the end, making for a twisty, impossible-to-predict criminal.
I really like the conceit of the film because "Who done it?" is not the point of the tale; it's a series of comedy sketches with zany characters that works incredibly well. With a less talented cast (I'm sorry, but it's true) and a cohesive murder investigation part of the Psych formula, it doesn't quite come together as it should.
Also, although "100 Clues" opens with a case from five years ago, during the time the series was on the air, the opening bits don't relate to any previous Psych episodes, which would have made for a better way to celebrate 100 episodes of the show. Should we blame Curry for this, too?
That being said, I did greatly enjoy Mull, Lloyd, Warren, Saturday Night Live alum Garrett Morris as the butler. They all have some terrific one-liners and some interesting character choices. Morris, in particular, has some witty repartee with Gus involving stereotypes. Of the four, Lloyd is the least used, but a couple of Back to the Future references should satisfy his fans, too.
Besides the structure, the second reason "100 Clues" doesn't quite do it for me is because of the lack of a real emotional stake. I dig the Shawn-torn-between-Gus-and-Jules conceit, which is a recurring theme, but other than that, there isn't much to grab onto. Last season, Psych deepened its characters, committing Shawn to being in a real romantic relationship, depressing Gus, expanding Lassie, and putting Henry's life at risk. This year, much effort has been made to return to the light-hearted, frothy procedural, which feels a little hollow now that we've seen that the actors can dig deeper. I know it keeps the series delivering what some fans want, but for those who see the potential for something greater, it's a disappointment.
Even the opening credits of the episode, which have new graphics that are a throwback to the Clue board game, aren't Psych's most original, keeping the regular, short version of the theme song.
Will I continue to watch Psych through to the end, likely after next season? Of course. I've enjoyed it this long, and will probably continue to do so, on some level. But it's not as good as it can be, nor the best show on USA, and so even "100 Clues," what should be a major triumph, is only middling in terms of quality.
At least we still have the upcoming musical episode to hold out hope for.
Psych airs Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET on USA.
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