I Love Psych

What has brought on this overwhelming emotion of love for this screwball detective show? The fact that they consistently pay homage to all that was awesome about the 80's. Whether it's their commercials (Miami Vice, 'Private Eyes'), their random but apropos references like "Dude, we're in Witness," or their use of 80s icons like Ralph Macchio (who still looks young!), Curt Smith, or the cast of Twin Peaks, they consistently warm my heart.


As I write this, I have just watched the "Dual Spires" episode and is was (as I sigh) great. I was an avid Twin Peaks viewer and am still the proud owner of 2 books - The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer and The Autobiography of F.B.I. Special Agent Dale Cooper: My Life. My Tapes - as well as the audiotape: Diane... The Twin Peaks Tapes of Agent Cooper. There was so much in this episode that was a complete and clever shout out to the series.


Here's a list of the shout outs I picked up on...

• The name of the town. Dual Spires.
• The use of the original cast - although not in the same roles, but roles connected to their old parts.
• Dana Ashbrook as Bob Barker, the original Bobby Briggs.
• Sherilyn Fenn as Maudette Hornsby, the original Audrey Horne
• Sheryl Lee as Dr. Donna Gooden, the original Laura Palmer
• Ray Wise, as Father Peter Westley, the original Leland Palmer
• Robyn Lively, as Michelle Barker, the original Lana Milford
• Lenny von Dohlen, as Sheriff Andrew Jackson, the original Harold Smith
• Catherine Coulson, as Woman with Wood, the original Log Lady
• "A tiny town that we haven't heard of" out in a secluded part of Washington/California. "This is one secluded town..."
• The delicious goodness of a dessert and drink that is the best ever! (Dual Spires = cinnamon pie; Twin Peaks = apple pie. Dual Spires = apple cider; Twin Peaks = coffee) Made by the head proprietress of the local diner.

• The funky music that was very reminiscent of the music from the original series -- although I missed that theme music (owned the single for it). It was very hauntingly beautiful -- as was the opening sequence of the T.P. series. (For a better quality version of the opening sequence, although you have to sit through 30 seconds of commercials for this one. And here's the link to the single that included the lyrics, Julee Cruise, "Falling.") Julee Cruise performed the special T.P. version of the theme song and I loved how they made it usual weird things like the opening to T.P. (It's another reason I love Psych, how they will change the theme song according to the episode.) My favorite part of the whole sequence: Henry (Corbin Bernsen) peering over the boat in a really creepy way... Also loved the random horse in town which reminded me of another cooky town, Cicely, Alaska (Northern Exposure).
• "Something's off about this place... They keep looking at me like I'm the first black man they've seen." (I don't remember a single black person on the series, although there were several Native Americans...) It cracks me up that the kid asked Gus if he was Frederick Douglass.
• The Sawmill Diner, complete with jukebox. I don't remember the name of the original diner, but the town was a milling town and the opening sequence was the sawmill at work.

• Dana Ashbrook, as Robert "Bob" Barker, is the proprietor of the diner. He's married to Michelle. In the original series, his character, Bobby, was having an affair with Shelley, the waitress at the diner. And one of the better touches, he was sporting the white hair that Laura's father developed after discovering her death. I would have really loved if Madchen Amick had played the wife, since she was Bobby's secret girlfriend, Shelley, in T.P., but I was happy to see Robyn Lively.
• Sheriff named after a dead president. Dual Spires = Andrew Jackson; Twin Peaks = Harry S. Truman. And the sheriff was played by creepy Harold, Lenny Von Dolen, who was creepy as the sheriff.
• Mayor Douglas Fur. USA noted that this part was originally planned for David Lynch to play, but they didn't approach him "for fear that he would pull the entire episode." I don't know why he would be such a curmudgeon about it, because I was a huge fan of the show and loved watching this send-up - partially because of how it highlighted all the ways the show was quirky, odd, and clever.

• Paula Merral is an anagram for Laura Palmer. Just like Laura, she was a cheerleader, volunteered, was seeing a counselor who remarked that she didn't fear death," and was found wrapped in plastic. Another aside - that counselor had the same kind of bird that Laura's counselor did in T.P.
• Gus's name was Lodge Blackman - not only is Gus a black man, but the Black Lodge was a place in Twin Peaks where ne'er-do-wells did nefarious deeds.
• The way the body of the supposedly straight-laced head cheerleader was found: wrapped in plastic. Of course, in the episode, her best friend, Jack, ("the Ducky") had found the body and wrapped her so they wouldn't "see her like that." And the coroner was played by the original Laura Palmer, Sheryl Lee. She got to look down at her 'dead' body.

• The way her adopted father, who played Laura's legitimate boyfriend in the original, mourned over her dead body as the mood music played. (Although Ray Wise did it better in the original. They really tried, but Ray, as Laura's father, Leland, was so gut-wrenchingly distraught. It was right at the beginning, and even though you didn't know the characters, you cared that this girl was dead and her father was upset. Side note -- I predicted who the killer was and I was right. I didn't know about Bob the demon, but the killer was just off in how he acted.)
• Another bit of trivia: James Roday (Shawn Spenser on the series) helped write this episode! And T.P. is his favorite TV show.
• "The earth is soft and moist." A random statement by the show's Native American deputy. T.P. had lots of random statements and a Native American deputy.

• Gus as a sympathetic crier just like Sheriff Truman.
• "An angel sent from heaven" - to describe their new station manager in regards to SBPD's donut selection, but I seem to remember Agent Cooper describing Norma that way after he ate some of her pie.
• Shawn referring to Juliet as Detective O'Hara and himself as Shawn Spencer - much akin to Agent Cooper's affinity for naming people and being named.
• The legitimate boyfriend, Randy Jackson, who dresses and wears his hair exactly like Bobby Briggs in T.P. (I do have to say that Dana Ashbrook wore it much better than this kid.) His father is Sheriff Andy Jackson - in T.P., Bobby's father was a high-ranking general and not the town sheriff. Harry Truman wasn't ever married.

• The log lady (who had a reason to be carrying the log beyond the fact that it talked to her). And when she talked, it wasn't to the log but to a boy. That was very clever!
• The fact that Paula had a secret boyfriend - Randy (the Bobby character). Also a little different than T.P. because Laura's secret boyfriend wasn't Bobby Briggs, but James Hurley. But they tied it back by having R & J being her 2 love interests.

• Town librarian, Maudette, was seductress Audrey Horne. Her father owned the sawmill. I loved how she sucked 'seductively' on her Cherry Coke. "Isn't cherry the best." Miss Audrey Horne once ate a cherry seductively for Agent Cooper, tying the stem in a knot in her mouth.
• The librarian popping up, looking through the stacks at them, just like Audrey used to look through secret peepholes in her home. Plus the fact that Maudette was spying on people and trying to figure out their secrets just like Audrey did.
• Paula had a secret hidden diary.
• "I like to dance all night long." said Sherilyn Fenn, whose character, Audrey, did this iconic dance on T.P. It was iconic because it was so random and yet not something you could take your eyes off of.
• Jack Smith - Paula's best friend and confidant, who lip synced to old records with her. It seems to me that Laura did something similar with James Hurley.

• Ray Wise, who played Laura's father, Leland Palmer, reprising his priestly role on the show. And an homage to Leland's transformation, Wise's character's hair turned white, too.
• Randy - our suspect - does wood work, another throw back to the sawmill in T.P., complete with slow motion turning blade like in the opening credits.
• They get taken to a cabin that the inside of looks a lot like the lodge that Laura used to sneak off to, and the Black Lodge.

• The ending scene - Jack dressed in the midget's red suit, dancing to weird music from the jukebox. He wasn't nearly as creepy as the dwarf who did it on T.P. - it still creeps me out to think of it.
• "That's a damn fine cup of [cider]." And Lassiter cocked his arm just like Cooper did when drinking.
• The guy ordering the pie appeared in the Black Lodge, too.
• The other weird dancing in the diner (just like how Audrey danced). And how Leland/Bob danced with their dead daughter's picture.
• Randy barking at something. I was waiting the whole episode for it. It's one of those things that I've always remembered from the show, Bobby barking menacingly at James when they were in jail. Of course, Randy was barking at dogs, but he was barking still.