| "Pilot" | |
|---|---|
| Psych episode | |
 Malcolm Orso, after being shot by Mr. McCallum. Co-executive producer Chris Henze considered the murder to be the most gruesome scene in the show's history. | |
| Episode no. | Season 1 Episode 1 |
| Directed by | Michael Engler |
| Written by | Steve Franks |
| Production code | 1001 [1] |
| Original air date | July 7, 2006 |
| Running time | 66 minutes [2] |
| Guest appearances | |
| |
"Pilot" is the first episode of the TV series, Psych . It originally aired on USA Network on July 7, 2006.
Shawn Spencer (James Roday) has never kept a job for more than 6 months. He helps the Santa Barbara Police Department prove a man guilty, while watching a news program he used his keen powers of observation and his near perfect photographic memory to determine who committed the crime. The information was so good the cops believed he may have been involved. Detectives Carlton Lassiter (Timothy Omundson) and Lucinda Barry (Anne Dudek) take Shawn into questioning, where Shawn claims to have obtained the information psychically. The police let him go with no proof to disprove the claim. On his way out, Shawn is asked for help by Chief Karen Vick on a high-profile kidnapping case. The investigation into the kidnapping of Camden McCallum, sole male heir to the McCallum fortune, is stalled. She believes Shawn's psychic powers can help solve the case. Shawn takes advantage of this, realizing a new career has just fallen into his lap. [1]
He visits his childhood friend Burton "Gus" Guster (Dulé Hill), a pharmaceutical representative. Shawn decides to get Gus involved. Gus is reluctant, but eventually gets involved with the McCallum case. Shawn and Gus find out that about 18 months before, Camden had straightened up his usual party boy act. They learn Camden never did anything without his dog, and he disappeared from a park along with the dog. Shawn realizes Camden wasn't kidnapped, he disappeared. Exactly 18 months before, Mr. McCallum threatened to cut Camden out of the inheritance if he didn't straighten up. Camden also stopped hanging around with his close friend, Malcolm Orso. Camden and Malcolm were planning a ransom. [1]
Shawn and Gus check out Orso's cabin, where they find Camden's "missing" dog. Shawn goes back to the cops to convince them he had a psychic vision of Orso's cabin. The police go inside the cabin and find both Camden and Orso dead in an apparent suicide murder situation. Shawn takes a quick look at the room, and he is not convinced. Especially because Mr. McCallum had a cut on his wrist that could be a dog bite. Shawn visits his estranged father, Henry (Corbin Bernsen). Henry says Shawn's powers are getting soft and he's trusting people he shouldn't be. Shawn then suspects Camden's sister, Katarina. [4]
Katarina wasn't involved, but her bag was. At one time it had to have carried the money. One of the McCallums tried to pay the ransom, but something must have gone wrong. Shawn and Gus confirm that it was Mr. McCallum that tried to make the ransom. McCallum saw Camden inside Orso's cabin. During the ensuring argument, Camden fell, hit his head, and bled to death. McCallum has no choice but to shoot Orso to cover his tracks and make it look like Orso murdered Camden then committed suicide. On his way out, McCallum was bitten by Camden's angry dog. Shawn proves himself to the police by explaining and proving a "vision" of dog bite medication in McCallum's medicine cabinet that Gus actually saw when he was going to the bathroom. McCallum is arrested. Shawn and Gus have solved their first case and open their own private detective agency, Psych. [4]
After successfully pitching the film Big Daddy to the production company Columbia Pictures, the film's writer, Steve Franks was requested by Columbia to pitch them ideas for five new television programs. Among the ideas Franks pitched was the original outline for Psych. [5] Columbia Pictures felt that the idea for the show was completely ridiculous, so Franks forgot about it. A few years afterwards, Steve Franks met with producer Kelly Kulchak, asking her to help him with creating a one-hour-long TV series. Kulchak agreed, and Franks presented the original idea he had for Psych, which Kulchak considered to be brilliant. [5]
Franks and Kulchak pitched the idea to numerous TV networks, including the "Big Three". Kulchak stated that "it was a great pitch and that everybody laughed, but no one wanted to buy it". [6] Kulchak attributed this due to the show's comedy–drama format, which was virtually unused at the time. [6] The show's producers stated that Psych's comedy drama format is based on the former TV series' Moonlighting and Remington Steele , of which creator Steve Franks was a longtime fan. [7] [8] The final network Franks and Kulchak pitched the show to was USA Network. The network loved the concept, and decided to produce the show. [6] However, the network brought in other writers to help with the show, which Steve Franks was unhappy about, as he originally intended to make the show entirely himself. [5]
USA Network first announced their potential broadcasting of Psych on June 17, 2005. The network stated that they had requested a pilot episode of the series, to be managed by Tagline Productions. The original working name for the series was "Psyche". [9] By August 30, James Roday and Dulé Hill had been cast to play the show's main characters. [10] It was also announced that the production for the show's pilot episode would begin shortly, and the episode would likely air in 2006. [11] On January 5, 2006, USA announced the Psyche would be competing against In Plain Sight , written by David Maples, and Underfunded , written by David Breckman, for air time and broadcasting slots. [12] Later in January, the network confirmed that the pilot episode for the show would air later that year. They also announced that the show's name had changed to Psych. [13] On February 21, 2006, USA Network announced that it had ordered eleven one-hour episode scripts for Psych. They confirmed that the show would take Monk's 10 p.m. (EST) Friday night time slot, and that the pilot episode, planned to be two hours in length, would be broadcast on July 7. The network also revealed that Corbin Bernsen had been cast as another of the show's major characters. [14] [15] The network released, on April 27, that filming for the pilot episode, which had been cut to 90 minutes in length, had begun in Vancouver, British Columbia. In addition, USA Network announced that Timothy Omundson and Kirsten Nelson would have starring roles in the episode. [16]
The episode was written by Steve Franks, who reused much material from the original pitch to USA Network. The pitch focused on a man who would call in crime-solving tips to the Santa Barbara Police Department through his photographic memory and uncanny ability to notice details. [17] It followed him as he was arrested by the police, talked his way out of jail, and solved a crime for the police department. [17] The plot of the show was later changed to Shawn's fake psychic ability by the producers. [18] The show's introductory flashback to young Shawn was adapted from the pitch, in which it was located in the middle of the installment. The use of an introductory flashback has been used in almost all following episodes. [17] Among other scenes added to the episode was a confrontation between Shawn and Henry at a barbecue restaurant, which was added by Corbin Bernsen, [19] and the episode's conclusion, again a confrontation between Shawn and Henry. [20] In addition, much time was spent revising the scene of the arrest of Mr. McCallum. [20]
Large portions of the installment's dialogue were improvisations made by James Roday. Several of Roday's improvisations have become reoccurring themes on the show; Shawn's unusual and spasmodic "psychic episodes" were added by Roday, and was kept by the producers, who loved the idea. [21] Another major theme that was created through Roday's improvising was the inclusion of food in every episode. This was established when Roday ate pretzels while talking to Gus for the first time in the episode. [22] Also, the inclusion of a pineapple in nearly every episode was established through an improvised scene during the pilot. [23] In addition, large amounts of dialogue were removed in favor of using visual elements and facial expressions. [24]
Several scenes were deleted from the episode, generally because the producers felt they were not necessary. A short scene about Chief Vick's pregnancy was removed from the installment because it was deemed to be irrelevant to the episode's plot. Mention of the chief's pregnancy was not made until it was time for her to give birth. [25] A scene about Shawn hooking up with Katarina and then gathering evidence from her was removed from the episode, as well as several smaller scenes. [26]
The pilot is the only episode to feature Anne Dudek as Lucinda Barry, Lassiter's original partner and love interest. As test audiences did not recognize Lassiter was separated from his wife, his relationship with Barry caused negative reception to the character. Barry was subsequently written out of the series, while the character Juliet O'Hara (Maggie Lawson) was created to replace her. [27] [28]
Steve Franks and his wife, April, went to Santa Barbara on their honeymoon. At the time, he was developing the idea for Psych. He knew he didn't want a big city atmosphere. He wanted a place that was beautiful.
Mel Damski, speaking on the decision for the filming location for Psych. [29]
Creator Steve Franks wanted to set Psych in a city that reflected the show's personality. Franks knew that he did not want the show to be set in a big city atmosphere. While developing Psych, Franks visited Santa Barbara while on his honeymoon. He felt that Santa Barbara was the perfect place to set the show, but that they would be unable to film the show there. Executive producer Mel Damski commented the filming of the show, that "We wanted to set and film it in Santa Barbara, but the area doesn't really have enough crewmembers". [29] After the show was approved, Franks began looking for places to film, settling for Vancouver, British Columbia. He felt that Vancouver was "the next best location" to Santa Barbara. [17]
Although Franks chose to film the show in Vancouver, most of the show is filmed in the surrounding communities. Approximately 40% of the pilot was filmed in the Vancouver suburb of White Rock, including most scenes focusing on coastal areas. Several other scenes were filmed in regional mountains. [30] The entire episode was filmed in real-life locations, instead of the sets used for every episode since. The show had to use real locations due to uncertainty on whether the show would succeed. Not being able to use a stage for filming created several issues in the episode. [18]
The installment's opening flashback was filmed at a Vancouver diner. The small dimensions of the diner forced the filming crew to alter the angle of the scene. [17] The entire episode was filmed during November and December, and cold temperatures affected filming. Producers commented on how the temperature was usually between 1°C and 4 °C (33.8°F –39.2 °F). [17] Most scenes involving the Santa Barbara police department were filmed in a working youth hostel, HI Vancouver Jericho Beach, [31] which was earlier used as an army barracks. However, one scene was filmed in a "haunted" insane asylum, which later inspired the first-season finale "Scary Sherry: Bianca's Toast". [32] Rain also tampered with filming of the episode. Several outdoor scenes in the episode were filmed in heavy rain, and forced the crew to use tarps and additional sound equipment. [33]
Due to environmental differences between Santa Barbara and Vancouver, the crew had to use several different props to make the installment seem believable. The producers brought in fake palm trees, surfboards, and Southern California newspapers in order to make White Rock seem like Santa Barbara. [18] [29] Producers commented on how they made many mistakes in writing the episode. Steve Franks acknowledged that "within the first 6 seconds of the show, we made a mistake". [17] The installment's murder scene was considered by the producers to be "the most gruesome thing we've ever done on the show". [34]
IGN gave the episode a favorable review, saying that although the 90-minute episode "drags on a bit longer than it needs to" it "certainly has the makings of a fun and diverting series." [35] Richard Keller of TVSquad.com had a few issues with the first episodes such as the location and the underutilization of Dule Hill, other than that he stated that the show's concept "works well; even better than Monk in many respects". [36] On other hand, People 's Tom Gliatto declared "Unlike Monk, a gently comic character coping with mental illness, Roday's just an overgrown kid. Who needs him?" [37]
Psych is an American detective comedy-drama television series created by Steve Franks for USA Network. The series stars James Roday Rodriguez as Shawn Spencer, a young crime consultant for the Santa Barbara Police Department whose "heightened observational skills" and impressive eidetic memory allow him to convince people that he solves cases with psychic abilities. The program also stars Dulé Hill as Shawn's intelligent best friend and reluctant partner Burton "Gus" Guster, as well as Corbin Bernsen as Shawn's father, Henry, a former detective with the Santa Barbara Police Department.
James Roday Rodriguez is an American actor, director, and screenwriter. He is best known for starring on the USA Network series Psych as hyper-observant consultant detective and fake psychic Shawn Spencer. He most recently starred in A Million Little Things, which debuted in 2018, playing Javier "Gary" Mendez.
Shawn Spencer is a fictional character and main protagonist on the American television comedy-drama Psych played by American actor James Roday Rodriguez. Taking advantage of his eidetic memory and keen observational skills, he poses as a psychic and works as a private detective who often consults with the Santa Barbara Police Department.
Burton "Gus" Guster is a fictional character on the USA Network television comedy Psych played by American actor Dulé Hill. He functions as the "straight man" for Shawn Spencer's antics, and provides sobering advice, helpful knowledge, steady support, and friendship. Over the course of the show, Gus evolves from nothing more than a conventional, uptight pharmaceutical representative to a strong support system through all Shawn Spencer's crazy antics. He frequently tries to pass himself off as "fearless" although in reality the opposite is true, and often cries, sometimes due to "sympathy" and other times when Shawn is insensitive to his feelings. It is believed that Gus was named after a relative of Steve Franks, the technical producer of the show, Burton Franks.
"Spellingg Bee", also known as "The Spellingg Bee", is the second episode of the first season of the American comedy-drama detective television series Psych. It was written by series creator and co-executive producer Steve Franks, and was directed by co-executive producer and director Mel Damski during November and December 2005. The episode originally aired on USA Network in the United States on July 14, 2006. The installment features guest appearances by Kirsten Nelson, Alexander Calvert, Kyle Pejpar, and Jeremy Loheir, among others. It also features an appearance by sportscaster Bud Collins.
"Speak Now or Forever Hold Your Piece" is the third episode of the first season of the American comedy-drama television series Psych. It was written by writer and co-executive producer Steve Franks, and was directed by assistant director Michael Zinberg. The episode originally aired on USA Network in the United States on July 21, 2006. The installment features guest appearances by Kirsten Nelson, Sage Brocklebank, Tom Butler, and Gina Holden among others.
"Who Ya Gonna Call?" is the seventh episode of the first season of the American comedy-drama television series Psych. It was written by co-executive producers Jack Sakmar and Kerry Lenhart, and was directed by Michael Lange. The episode originally aired on USA Network in the United States on August 18, 2006. The installment features guest appearances by Kirsten Nelson, Sage Brocklebank, Frank Whaley, and Nico McEown among others. The title refers to the song Ghostbusters, written and performed by Ray Parker Jr.
Steve Franks is an American screenwriter, director and musician based in Orange County, California. He is best known as the creator of the USA Network original series Psych.
"American Duos" is the first episode of the second season of Psych, and is the 16th episode overall.
The first season of Psych originally aired in the United States on the USA Network television network between July 7, 2006 and March 2, 2007. Produced by Universal Cable Productions and Tagline Television, the series was created by Steve Franks, who served as executive producer with Kelly Kulchak and Chris Henze.
The fourth season of Psych originally aired in the United States on USA Network from August 7, 2009 to March 10, 2010. It consisted of 16 episodes. James Roday, Dulé Hill, Timothy Omundson, Maggie Lawson, Corbin Bernsen and Kirsten Nelson reprised their roles as the main characters. James Roday portrayed Shawn Spencer, a fake psychic detective who periodically consults for the Santa Barbara police department. A DVD of the season was released on July 13, 2010.
"Woman Seeking Dead Husband: Smokers Okay, No Pets" is the fourth episode of the first season of the American comedy-drama television series Psych. It was written by writer and co-executive producer Steve Franks, and was directed by Jeff Melman, his only work on the show. The episode originally aired on USA Network in the United States on July 28, 2006. The installment features guest appearances by series regulars Kirsten Nelson, Sage Brocklebank, Liam James, and Patricia Idlette among other guests.
"Dual Spires" is the 12th episode of the fifth season of the American comedy-drama television series Psych, and the 75th episode overall. The episode was directed by Matt Shakman and written by Bill Callahan and series star James Roday Rodriguez. It originally aired December 1, 2010.
The sixth season of Psych, consisting of 16 episodes, premiered on the USA Network in the United States on October 12, 2011 and continued to air until April 11, 2012. James Roday, Dulé Hill, Timothy Omundson, Maggie Lawson, Corbin Bernsen and Kirsten Nelson all reprised their roles as the main characters.
The seventh season of Psych, containing 14 episodes, premiered on the USA Network in the United States on February 27, 2013. The primary run ended on May 29, 2013, but a television special, Psych: The Musical aired later in the year. James Roday, Dulé Hill, Timothy Omundson, Maggie Lawson, Corbin Bernsen, and Kirsten Nelson all reprised their roles as the main characters in the series.
The eighth and final season of Psych, containing 10 episodes, premiered on the USA Network in the United States on January 8, 2014. James Roday, Dulé Hill, Timothy Omundson, Maggie Lawson, Corbin Bernsen and Kirsten Nelson all reprise their roles as the main characters in the series.
"Psych: The Musical" is an episode of the seventh season of Psych and the 110th episode in the series overall. Formatted as a musical, it aired as a two-hour event, using up episodes 15 and 16 of the season order. The episode aired on December 15, 2013.
Psych: The Movie is a 2017 American made-for-television comedy film based on the USA Network dramedy series Psych. The film follows the Psych characters three years later in San Francisco, since the series finale in 2014. The movie aired on December 7, 2017, on the USA Network. James Roday, Dulé Hill, Timothy Omundson, Maggie Lawson, Kirsten Nelson, and Corbin Bernsen all reprised their roles from the series, with frequently recurring actors Kurt Fuller and Jimmi Simpson also appearing. The film was directed by series creator Steve Franks, who co-wrote the script with Roday. Franks stated his hope to make five more sequels in what became Psych's film series.
Psych 2: Lassie Come Home is a 2020 American made-for-television comedy film based on the USA Network dramedy series Psych. The film is a stand-alone sequel to the first film from 2017. The movie was released on July 15, 2020 on Peacock. James Roday Rodriguez, Dulé Hill, Timothy Omundson, Maggie Lawson, Kirsten Nelson, and Corbin Bernsen all reprised their roles from the series and first film, with frequently recurring actors Kurt Fuller and Jimmi Simpson also appearing. The film was directed by series creator Steve Franks, who co-wrote the script with Roday Rodriguez and Berman.
Psych 3: This Is Gus is a 2021 American made-for-television comedy film based on the USA Network dramedy series Psych. The film is a direct sequel to the second film from 2020. The movie was released on November 18, 2021 on Peacock. James Roday Rodriguez, Dulé Hill, Timothy Omundson, Maggie Lawson, Kirsten Nelson, and Corbin Bernsen all reprised their roles from the series and previous two films, with recurring actor Kurt Fuller and previous guest star Curt Smith also appearing. The film was directed by series creator Steve Franks, who co-wrote the script with Roday Rodriguez.