If you only knew what I know.......

Description:
I know, you know, that I’m not telling the truth you just don’t have any proof. Reading that initially might arise the question of what is it that I know that you don’t, well for that case I can’t tell you or I might lose my true identity. Ok enough with those antics, the truth is the first sentence I wrote is a few lyrics from theme song of the show Psych. I don’t tend to follow many shows on TV, I only tend to watch Pro wrestling and Sportscenter, however since WWE Monday Night Raw is on the USA Network(NBC Universal), I was turned onto a this show.
Psych is a fresh new twist on a cable series. Shawn Spencer who is played by actor James Roday takes what he was taught as a young lad from his father a retired cop from the Santa Barbara police department about the finer details of a crime investigation. Though Henry his dad doesn’t want Shawn to become an office , Shawn uses the gift he has and doesn’t become a police officer he is named lead “psychic”

In the pilot episode when viewers such as myself were first exposed to his “gift” the show started out as a flashback to he and his father at a diner and Shawn would like a piece of cake, in order to prove himself his dad makes him close his eyes and recall all the hats in the room. He asks for some clarification such as does a beanie count as a hat and so forth. After not only naming off how many hats there were he also gave details about what was on each hat

Though Shawn feels he got them all it’s always his dad he finds some way to scrutinize him. It is then they fast forward to the present time and Shawn is on a date he comes to notice some news about a burglary and uses his photographic memory of what he observed the police department and reports all that he noticed and is brought into the police not to claim a reward but as a lead suspect. While they are ready to arrest him for having known everything about the situation, he comes out that he’s psychic. Still finding it hard to believe he starts to have “visions” and wows everyone in the department. Once observed by the then interim Chief police Karen Vick she assigns him his first case much to the satisfaction to everyone on staff except for head detective Carlton Lassiter. Throughout the series Shawn is always finding ways to get on Lassiter’s cases and solving them before Lassiter can in his very unconventional ways. A lot of the humor that takes place in the show is the interaction between Shawn and Lassiter since their personalities clash so well.

After being assigned his first case Shawn enlists his best friend as his assistant. Burton Guster better known as Gus is the totally opposite of Shawn, where Shawn tends to be messy, unorganized and unemployed when he doesn’t have a case. Whereas Gus is a clean cut sharply dressed pharmaceutical salesman. When Shawn feels he’s on the brink of greatness of how to utilize his talent for detective work, he pitches the idea to Gus to open their own private detective agency for side jobs in addition from the cases he gets from the police. Gus is never is too fond of Shawn’s ideas claiming he has a real job and knows it’s a federal offense to lie like Shawn is. Just as Lassiter and Shawn clash, so do does Shawn and Gus they are a winning team, as reluctant as Gus is to aid Shawn in the cases the rewards are worth the stress he is put under.

One more character I need to mention before I end this blog is detective Lassiter's assistant Juliet O'Hara. Shes a blonde bombshell and she carries a gun (how hot is that?), anyways I digress, but Juliet better known to serious viewers as Jules is a great character to put in the mix she is always so impressed by Shawns gift during their cases. Throughout the series thus far Shawn has grown a crush on her and because they're co-workers they cannot cross that line, but that stop the producers and writers to tease avid fans such as myself of possible connections with them. She much like Shawn is very free spirited, but when it comes time for a case shes all business(man I wish I could have a girl like that....)

With twists, turns, screams,fake psychic visions even some romance mixed in with detective investigation and whole lot comedy psych delivers a great new way to view crime based shows. Even though the cases they work with tend to be very serious, Shawn can always find a way to tie in one liners with references to movies, other TV shows and overly exaggerated actions from Shawn with his noble assistant Gus it makes it a classic can’t miss show.

Analysis:
I personally love this show, as I mentioned before I try to stay away from all the reality show garbage and shows like the hills, but this show gets to me. As shows like the hills have drama some people can feel that emotion, in this show I can feel a sense of myself within it. As an inspiring actor myself this show has really opened my personality more than it already was and I too sometimes look deeper into situations and play as if I were Shawn. I know that sounds crazy, but its fun to over exaggerate a little bit. I personally own both seasons that are out on DVD and haven’t missed an episode. Every aspect of the show just clicks there is just something about it that keeps me watching.

One of the many patterns that can easily be identified on this show is the connection from the beginning of the episode to the ending of it. I may be wrong, but all but one episode begin with a flashback mainly of times where Shawn was younger and some things that took place that have an impact in the present time of the episode. The flashback usually relates to the crime that is being committed in the present time of the episode or something Shawn recalls to further adapt his “visions”.

Another pattern that is very comical between Shawn and mainly Gus, but a few of the other characters as well is his references to movies, one hit wonders and current things going on in the entertainment world. In one of the most recent episodes Gus, Shawn and his father get into some trouble so they are brought in to the interrogation for questioning and Shawn asks if he can have a phone call and Lassiter says no and Shawn replies how about a text message all I want to say is OMG LOL which to todays generation is pretty funny. In addition to that Shawn also gets in argument with his dad and Shawn exclaims is it because he has more friends on facebook.

One truly interesting pattern is the shows adaption of using Pineapple in every episode. In the pilot episode Shawn is in Gus’s apartment and before he leaves he grabs one out of the fridge and the rest is history. There’s a feature on the second season DVD set that shows incorporates all the pineapple discussion or the fruit is actually shown. A new twist to this season (3) the producer has hidden the pineapple in each episode and turned into a sweepstakes to those who supply to their mobile text messages (which I do) and you must identify where it was its great fan interaction.

Truly a great show, Steve Franks the creator does a great job evolving the characters and their interactions with the whole cast throughout the episodes, not to mention if you don’t get enough laughs from the entire episode before the credits roll they have a “Psych-out” at the conclusion which is either ridiculous renditions of the cast singing songs or outtakes of lines in the episode and are always a joy to watch. Heres a taste of some of their wild antics:

Well now you know what I know and the only way if you’ll know if I’m telling the truth is if you watch Psych for yourself!
Psych usually airs Friday nights on the USA Network @ 9:00 before House and after Monk, they are currently done airing the first half of the third season right now, but the second half returns in January

The 4400

The 4400 was a one-hour television series that aired on the USA network for 4 seasons. The show is primarily a character-driven drama with science fiction elements. The 4400 takes place in modern day Seattle, although it was primarily filmed in Vancouver. The plot is as follows: Over the past 50 years, exactly 4400 people have gone missing, vanished into thin air with no clue as to their whereabouts. These 4400 abductees are of various ages and ethnicities, from different places and time periods. In the present day, a large comet is on a collision course with Earth, projected to crash in the Pacific Northwest. Just as the comet is about to land, it slows down and explodes into a ball of light. As the light dissipates, the comet is gone and in its place are thousands of people- 4400 to be exact. The returnees to Earth have not aged a day since their abductions and they have no memory of what happened while they were gone.

It is soon discovered that some of the 4400 returnees have special abilities, each of them unique and manifesting themselves in different ways. The first season introduces the main characters and their relationships with each other, while setting up the overall plot for the second season and beyond. The two primary protagonists are Tom Baldwin and Diana Skouris, partners and special agents of NTAC (National Threat Assessment Command), a division of the Department of Homeland Security. The role of NTAC is to deal with the return of the 4400. Agents Baldwin and Skouris are tasked with tracking down returnees, now commonly known as “4400s” and solving cases involving them. Most of the other main characters are the returnees themselves. Shawn Farrell, nephew of Tom Baldwin, returned with the ability to heal another person from whatever ailment they suffer, simply by placing his hands on them for a few moments. The very first of The 4400 to be abducted, a nine year-old named Maia, returns with the ability to predict the future. As Maia was abducted back in the 1940’s, she has no living family members to take her in when she returns and is later adopted by Agent Skouris, who has no children of her own. Jordan Collier, a wealthy real estate mogul, returns with no apparent special powers yet he becomes a leader and visionary of the 4400. Using his wealth and influence, he creates The 4400 Center, a place where 4400s could take sanctuary and learn to harness their abilities, and where non-4400s (normal people) could seek out the "inner" 4400 in themselves.

Each episode introduces the viewer to at least one new member of the 4400 and their special ability, usually from the perspective of Agents Baldwin and Skouris. Tom and Diana usually have to track down these 4400s and resolve whatever conflict may have arisen because of their special powers. Some of the 4400 use their abilities for good, while others use theirs for crime or personal gain. Others may be unintentionally harming people or wreaking havoc on society because they cannot control their abilities. Even though each episode deals with a specific conflict, there is an over-arching plot line to the series that changes in each of the four seasons of the show. In the first season, the main motives of NTAC are to re-integrate the 4400 into society and find out who abducted them and gave them the special abilities.

It is later revealed that the 4400 were not abducted by aliens, but by humans from the future. They were given special abilities and returned to present-day Seattle not at random, but with a very important purpose. The 4400 were returned to Earth to take actions in the present that will have positive effects on the future of mankind. Apparently in the future, there is an impending disaster that can only be prevented by making changes in the past. Most of the major conflicts on the show arise between NTAC and the 4400, with Agents Baldwin and Skouris caught in the middle due to their personal ties to members of the 4400. Other reoccurring conflicts involve Baldwin and Skouris disagreeing with their bosses at NTAC and having to defy direct orders, getting relieved of duty and later re-instated several times throughout the series. NTAC’s stance toward the 4400 changes during the series, sometimes in response to the current threat being faced. The general public also has a rocky relationship with the 4400, mostly due to paranoia and fear of those with special abilities.

After four successful seasons, The 4400 was cancelled in late 2007. Reasons given by writer and co-creator Scott Peters included budgetary problems and lower than anticipated ratings, along with the then-currently-ongoing strike by the Writer’s Guild of America. This was especially upsetting to fans, because the 4th season had ended in a cliffhanger, likely to be resolved in the upcoming 5th season. Fans of the show mounted an unsuccessful campaign to resurrect the series, sending petitions, letters, and sunflower seeds to USA Network president Bonnie Hammer. The sunflower seeds were sent as a reference to the show- they were the favorite snack of a recurring character, Dr. Burkhoff. Creator Scott Peters left this message for the fans, “We've had a great time bringing you this story and submersing you in the lives of all these incredible characters. Let me raise my metaphorical glass to you all and thank you for being so loyal and so dedicated. I wish we could go on forever, but the party has come to an end.”

Analysis
The 4400 is a compelling series with complex and well-developed relationships between the central characters. Each episode is very structured in the way that it introduces, explores, and resolves the central conflict. The over-arching storyline is fairly cohesive and doesn’t meander too much, which serves the show well since there are only 13 one-hour episodes per season. I came up with a few ideas that could be explored in further depth: the relationship between this show and other current sci-fi influenced serial dramas (e.g. Lost and Heroes) and influences taken from earlier sci-fi television (X-Files, 90’s Star Trek). Also I found the fan campaign to save the show very interesting. This has happened quite frequently in the past few years. Other cancelled series such as Jericho, Veronica Mars, and Firefly have all had spirited campaigns to “save the show” after they were initially cancelled. Out of those examples, only Jericho was renewed for a brief seven-episode season, after which it was cancelled once again.