Nobody's Watching

Self fulfilled prophecy or "I dare you" title? We will be the judge.

NCIS (contains spoilers)

I just watched an episode from the first season that made me admire the writers. There is a secondary character, Gerald, who is in a few episodes very briefly. He was given a dry sense of humour, played very wryly by Pancho Demmings , the character was a natural, though overlooked, part of the cast... until episode 16, when a terrorist breaks into NCIS in a body bag and begins threatening his life if Duckey, the lead medical examiner, lied. Right before the first break, it looks as if the guy was going to shoot Gerald and suddenly, it was as if I were fearing for the life of someone I knew very well. When he did get shot, I started crying. My husband wondered what was wrong and despite how silly it was to cry about a fictional character, I still shed tears.

Bravo Donald Bellasario and writing staff.

What I've been waiting for: Monk and Psych

I had to create a Google Calendar for the shows I'm trying to catch. I may catch a few reality shows, but for the most part, the shows I focus on are written by a staff. I've been waiting for the Monk season premier and the Psych series premier. Bated breath waiting. Creating my own calendar waiting.

I did not wait in vain. The Monk premier was awesome. Stanley Tucci guest stars as an actor playing Monk in a television show about last season's Astronaut Murder. A nationally known astronaut murders his lover because she is writing a tell all book. Her murder happened while the astronaut was in space, but Monk figures out how he killed her. The television movie is about that case. The case for the premier is a woman is murdered, but the case is secondary to the plot. We know early on who the murderer is. He doesn't truly come into play until later. It starts off with Monk on the road to recovery, planning a trip, looking to the future with some real hope, reducing the number of times he sees Dr. Kroger, his psychiatrist (or psychologist - I never know the difference, but he prescribes drugs, so psychologist?) etc. Then he finds out that a television movie is being made about a previous case and an actor whom Trudy, his wife, liked would be playing him. He's is awed and doesn't want to look weird in front of the man. But something weird happens. The actor starts to truly take on Monk's characteristics. He finds out what drives Monk to function despite his phobias and idiosyncracies. Then he takes them on, studying Monk's case of Trudy, becoming Monk. Stanley Tucci reminds Monk of his previous guilt. Monk always thought it was his fault that Trudy died. In the end, Monk has regressed back to his needy, phobic worse. And we love it.
I've always hated that Randy Disher, the lieutenant detective, has been portrayed as stupid. I hope they do something about that in this season. Natalie is getting better. She isn't as hateful towards men for the past season. I like the growth. I hope they don't take her back. She mentioneed something about her husband being portrayed as a coward by the other guys. I hope that the storyline brings him back into the picture. I guess if Traylor Howard leaves, they can bring him back. But I like her character, Natalie, so I hope not.

Now, for Psych - What a phenomenal show. This first show was a little slow, but that's what we've come to expect from a new show. The first episode has to tell you/show you the whole setup for the show. Shawn Spencer has been trained by his father to be a detective, but when Shawn grows up, he is everything but. However, he can't help solving cases when he sees the answer through keen observation. The police see the many cases he solves without help and believe Shawn may be in on the crimes. To keep himself out of jail, Shawn pretends that he's a psychic, which is how he came by all the information. Then he has to convince the cops that he's really a psychic and convince his friend, Gus, that this will work. Shawn had some really funny lines, especially working with Detective Lassiter. Lassiter's faces are funny when it comes to Shawn. Gus, however, is the funny person to me. Gus getting his coat, Gus jumping around when they find the kidnap victim, Gus needs to use the bathroom, Gus is just funny. I hated that it took fifteen minutes to get to him. I hope that Gus plays into more scenes in the upcoming episodes. Overall, this is a fantastic show and the mysteries are none too shabby. I hope that the smarminess (is that even a word?) of Shawn being a "psychic" levels out so that it's not so cartoony, but I loved Gus's reactions to Shawn.

Two great shows. I am oh so glad!

Commercials

Monk and John Smith are at a party. Monk is waiting for the punch to come out so that he can be the first to get it. He can only drink punch if he is the first to get it. He carefully measures out the punch for several minutes while John watches. Finally, John picks up a cup to grab some punch (since Monk still has the ladle) and he flashes back to see the guy who brought the punch out drinking straight from the bowl. John looks at Monk, who is about to drink and says, "I wouldn't drink that." He leans over and whispers in Monk's ear. Monk, with great disgust and disappointment, pours the punch back into the bowl. There is a break and then it comes back to Monk covering the entire punch bowl in crime scene tape.

I laughed so hard when I saw that commercial. It perfectly explains both characters, their attitudes, their oddities; it gives you an excellent picture of what you can expect from the show. That is why I have so much hope for Psych. The commercials for the show are funny. The commercials involving the lead character, like the one where Monk knows he's a fake but because he's been eating Cheetos Monk won't let him touch him, makes me think that Psych will be another good dramedy to USA's lineup.