Drama Without Much Mystery

This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

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My formative years in studying the crime-fighting craft on television were spent watching “Columbo.” Something about the manner of Lieutenant Columbo (no first name) combined with the bang-up storytelling skills of its writers and directors – young dudes like Steven Bochco and Steven Spielberg – made for first-rate mystery. Its oddball narrative approach didn’t hurt, either; it was fun to see the crime first, and then follow Columbo’s crooked path to the criminal. Peter Falk’s winning interpretation of the bumbling detective earned the show the eternal respect of – well, clearly the development staff of the USA Network. Their hit series “Monk” and new companion show, “Psych,” both borrow from the architecture of “Columbo.”

If only they could borrow from its spirit. I never bought into “Monk” because it lacked the rich, textured storytelling that distinguished “Columbo” from other cop shows. Its stories lacked complexity, and its characters weren’t compelling enough to attract the star character actors of the sort that once populated “Columbo,” like Robert Vaughn and Jack Cassidy. Instead “Monk” always seemed to exist for the glory of actor Tony Shalhoub, who loves the scenery-chewing opportunities his obsessive-compulsive detective gets. He has won Emmys for a series now entering its fourth season, and the show has inspired the USA Network to do the most pathetically obvious thing possible: create another, almost identical series to go with it.

“Psych” is a new series, debuting this Friday at 10 p.m., right after the season premiere of “Monk,” that also celebrates the most quirky and observant among us. The lead character of “Psych,” a young, hunky dude named Shawn Spencer (James Roday), was raised by his policeman father to have uncommonly well honed skills at recalling visual details. Dad drilled his boy relentlessly, and now he’s able to spend his spare time calling in tips to the police on unsolved crimes. But he’s not psychic; he just pretends to be, because the rest of us don’t pay as close attention to detail as he does. He’s just another bumbling detective. Here he’s partnered with his old pal, unconvincingly played by Dule Hill of “The West Wing.” I’ll just never be able to look at that guy and not think he’d better get those documents to the president as soon as possible.

But the problem of “Psych,” at least to judge by the lackluster 90-minute pilot provided to critics, is that it tries too hard to derive its soul from the comic, ironic sensibility that drove “Columbo,” but without any attention to its tick-tock narratives. “You know everything, don’t you?” someone says to Shawn at one point, marveling at his seemingly psychic skills. “Scary, isn’t it?” he replies, as if to say it’s all part of the game. He loves to make what he does seem superhuman and not grounded in a criminal case with subtleties not visible by the human eye. The crime on “Psych” (a kidnapping) hardly takes up more than half of the first 90 minutes – and that’s one of the main reasons we’re bored.

The other soporific element in “Psych” is its star, Mr. Roday, who reaches for the goofiest elements in his character, and rarely takes his deductive skills beyond the observational. It might have been interesting to see him play a serious scene or two, but instead he’s always commenting on himself (“mysterious … enigmatic”) and raising his own eyebrows, like he’s his own favorite joke. And it’s no surprise that the creator of “Psych” has only one other produced credit to his name, the screenplay of the Adam Sandler film, “Big Daddy.” The oddly comic writing of “Psych” is paired with the directing skills of Michael Engler, who comes from the “Six Feet Under,” “West Wing” tradition. No wonder it feels so out of pitch.

It’s always possible that “Psych” will resonate with those who swear by “Monk.” If the audience for screwed up detectives hasn’t been sated by that series, then “Psych” will probably serve their needs well. That just leaves the other 3 billion of us in search of other shows.

***

I know many of you have been wondering: What does Blum think about Star Jones’s departure from “The View”? What is The New York Sun’s opinion of the situation? But I have been cautious, biding my time, watching, listening. It certainly would not do for me to weigh in with some ill-considered comment on something as important as this. And of course I will await the court’s final ruling in this matter before fully speaking out.

But like you, I am troubled by what I have seen.

Clearly, what we have learned from this episode is that it’s not wise to fool with Barbara Walters. She turns out to be a tough backstage negotiator who wants everything worked out in advance, including the number of filters used to enhance her appearance whenever she’s on camera. (Her preferred number is seven.) Beyond that, Ms. Walters is a savvy calculator of free publicity; with the recent departure of Meredith Vieira and coming arrival of Rosie O’Donnell, the show needs any dose of attention it can get. Who can calculate anymore where the truth ends and the calculations begin? I’m just saying.


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