Your Entertainment Corner

Prof. Plum in the Study with a Candlestick. Review: Psych – “100 Clues”

Season 7, Episode 5

Air Date: Wednesday, March 27, 2013, 10/9c on USA

Rating: ★★★★★

 

Is one of them the killer?

“100 Clues” marks a TV milestone for Psych as this is its 100th episode. How do you celebrate 100 episodes of murder and mayhem? With a homage to the 1985 comedy Clue. While not a remake, “100 Clues” does reunite three Clue cast members: Christopher Lloyd (Martin Kahn), Martin Mull (Highway Harry) and Lesley Ann Warren (Leslie). Rounding out the rest of the suspects are guest stars Steve Valentine as rock star Billy Lipps, and Garrett Morris as Clizby the butler.

Shawn (James Roday) is invited to a party at a mysterious house by an unknown host. Because Juliet (Maggie Lawson) is called away on police business, Shawn takes Gus (Dule Hill) with him instead, and soon they realize that a case from their past has brought all the players back together again, but for what reason? During the evening, someone is found murdered, leaving them all to wonder which one of them is the murderer and who is next?

Weapon or giant candy cane?

Keeping with the spirit of the movie, which had three different endings, “100 Clues” has multiple outcomes and through online voting, fans are allowed to choose the ending they want. I asked Terry Goldman, Director of Social Media for USA Network, how fans could see the other endings after the episode airs and he responded, “Alternate versions will be on the website/vod. 3rd ending will be on Dvd release.”

In my last two reviews of Psych, I expressed my disappointment with the writers’ continual use of homage episodes as opposed to writing original material. I regret to say my frustration continues, especially with the decision to pay tribute to Clue, which was considered a box office bomb. In 1995, Janet Maslin of “The New York Times” reviewed Clue, saying the beginning “is the only part of the film that is remotely engaging. After that, it begins to drag.” Roger Ebert of the “Chicago Sun Times” wrote: “Lots of sight gags and one liners are attempted, but few of them succeed. The cast is talented but stranded in weak material.” Given all of that, this is how you celebrate 100 episodes? By paying tribute to a movie deemed boring by the critics? Well, congrats, writers, you succeeded because I was bored.

At one point in the episode, Shawn quips, “That is quite a mess,” which sums up my feelings for “100 Clues.” The episode feels like it was written by a 14-year-old boy, especially when Shawn refers to Chief Vick as “Chief Dick,” along with two comments about ”boobies” in the first five minutes alone. And later, there are three more bosom references, all of which are totally unnecessary to the story line. As silly as Psych can get, I can’t remember any other episode where the writers relied on boobs just to get a laugh.

Considering the hype surrounding the 100th episode, “100 Clues” is a letdown, like so many other shows that are overhyped by the networks. I liked the idea of an old case coming back but you would think after 100 episodes, the writers could have found an episode to bring back previous guest stars instead of making up an old case. By the end of the episode, I found myself bored and uninterested.

Will Shawn be able to figure out who the killer is before it’s too late?

The other thing I feel was missing were the people who got Psych to this stage. USA Network has been promoting the crap out of this episode, showing photos of the cast at a celebratory party with a big 100th episode cake, running contests, and more. Where was young Shawn or the Psych-Outs we have gotten used to over the years? This was the one episode to have everyone back—people like Phylicia Rashad, Rachael Leigh Cook, etc. Instead, not only did they not bring back any prior guest stars, a chunk of the current cast – McNab, Chief Vick, Woody, etc – doesn’t even make an appearance. I point this out only because the writers set up the possible scenario of having returning guests by telling us in the flashback that this was one of Shawn’s first cases.

I doubt I was the only one who almost blinked and missed that the opening scene was a flashback. For six seasons, the flashback has always involved a kid who helped to delineate the flashback from the remainder of the episode. I asked Ted Linhart, SVP of Research for USA Network, if this marked the end of flashbacks with young Shawn. He told me, “I think so – kids age out of roll and not worth recasting process.” Given the part has been played by four kids and been recast three times, it makes you ask, why now? With what appears to be only 19 episodes left for the series, I am beginning to wonder whether the writers have already started to dial it in.

 

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All photos © 2013 USA Network, a division of NBC Universal, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

 

Greg Staffa

I provide testosterone to the site. You won’t be reading about how nice a actress looks in a dress or how much of a hunk Matt Bomer is in my reviews. I describe colors using words like brown, not taupe. My twitter name is @staffaroadtrip because I love road trips and have done two different 48-state road trips since 2008. My favorite show is White Collar.

Greg Staffa

I provide testosterone to the site. You won’t be reading about how nice a actress looks in a dress or how much of a hunk Matt Bomer is in my reviews. I describe colors using words like brown, not taupe. My twitter name is @staffaroadtrip because I love road trips and have done two different 48-state road trips since 2008. My favorite show is White Collar.