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| Monday, December 13, 2010 11:40 AM |
| On the Viewer - Psych (Season 5, Episode 12 - "Dual Spires") |
 by Fëanor |
Poppy and I had never watched this show before (who knew it's been on the air for five seasons already??), but the ads have always vaguely amused us, and I was really taken by the idea of a Twin Peaks tribute episode, guest-starring a number of the original cast members (including Ray Wise! Yay, Ray Wise!), so we decided to try it out. Turns out it's quite funny and clever.
Our heroes are invited, via a mysterious email, to a cinnamon festival at an extremely tiny California town called Dual Spires. When they arrive, they learn the place is very strange and very isolated. There's no internet, no cell phone towers, and no cars - everybody rides bikes everywhere. Plus...
Gus: "These people keep looking at me like I'm the first black man they've ever seen."
Little girl: "Hey, mister. Are you Frederick Douglas?"
Ha!
The episode is a fantastic parody of Twin Peaks from top to bottom. They even have a parody of the soundtrack, and the opening and closing credits. The local diner is called The Sawmill, because it's all that's left of a sawmill that burned down in a fire years ago. The owner's name is Bob and, as is appropriate, the pie and cider are both excellent.
The sheriff's name: Andrew Jackson. The mayor's name: Douglas Fir. The cinnamon festival mascot: Leo, the cinnamon owl.
Unsurprisingly, a young woman turns up dead (in a very familiar manner), and this tragic event brings the townspeople's many dark secrets to the surface. The mystery has a satisfying number of twists and turns, but really it's not about that; it's about the comedy. Our main characters are fun and interesting, with good chemistry. And Psych does a great job making fun of Twin Peaks' deliberate oddness, and its extreme melodrama. Plus, the lab geek from Fringe shows up as a blind photographer!
So, good times. I don't know if we're going to try to start following Psych religiously or anything, but if it's on and we're not doing anything else, I imagine we'll watch it. |
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