Psych – Reality shows gone bad!

If you didn’t know this about me, I hate reality television, with a passion. Complete and total hatred … especially trash stuff like The Bachelor and The Bachelorette (I had a blast live-tweet/bashing an episode with fellow Clacker Janey earlier this season). So when Psych decided to lampoon this type of show, I had to elbow Jaylen out of the way so I could pitch in (in actually, he’s visiting the Museum of Pez Memorabilia in Burlingame, CA).

The setup of the episode was great and the guest casting was phenominal – but did anyone feel like most of the guest spots were wasted? I’m a huge Greg Grunberg fan, but it felt like his character was given such a short shrift. The same could be said about Wayne Brady, but at least he was given some funny material to work with.

I did enjoy the jealousy that Jules exhibited towards Shawn’s appearance on the show. Last week, when I talked about television writers avoiding certain relationships on shows, I left out Shawn and Jules, another perfect example of how to write a relationship. The conversation they had as the episode closed — where Shawn admitted how much he appreciates being with Jules just moments after the show within a show lampooned the Shawn/Gus dynamic — proves it. Shawn (and Gus) are still the same lovable couple they’ve always been, uninterrupted by Shawn’s relationship with Jules.

To be honest, my favorite part of the episode was the appearance of WWE Superstar The Miz – even if I didn’t think it was necessary that he was credited as “WWE Superstar The Miz”). Because, before he was The Miz he was Mike Mizanin, who got his “start” in the industry on MTV’s The Real World. Chickens come home to roost indeed (Yes, I’m aware I just admitted to knowing some reality TV trivia … move along, nothing to see here!).

Did you catch all of “fake” reality pitches? Which was your favorite?

• Punk my Mom
• The Girl and the Bear
• So You Think You Think You Can Dance
• Don’t Touch That, That’s Infected
• Conjugal Midwife
• Man vs. Pneumonia
• America’s Got Crabs
• Passing Ships

Notes & Quotes

• “Look, all you have to do is line the people up in a row! Want me to fix this? Watch this [grabs a PA]. Take one white guy, put him in a suit, along with the rest of the Backstreet Boys, and boom!” – Milton
• “They better make great TV, because I sold this to NBC, right. NBC! They make classics like Friends, and uh … uh … uh … uh … uh …” – Dimitri
• Few things make me happier when I’m watching a TV show, and seeing it’s directed by one of my favorites; this week, Timothy Busfield.
• “Shawn, I’ve been studying reality TV all my life for an opportunity just like this. I’m in it to win it.” – Gus
• “So drop the front. You know, the whole safe brother with the boring job and your shirt tucked into your pants. That’s so ’90s, Huxtable!” – Wayne
• “Can you say ‘Suspecto Numero Uno?’” – Shawn
  “Suspecto….” – Gus
  “Don’t do it; it sounded way better in my head.” – Shawn
• “I saw it, I knew it was coming … I was getting my heart on.” – Gus (say it out loud)
• “Once you see someone have a complete mental breakdown, it’s probably a sign that he’s not a good match for you, but really it just made me think that Mario’s super-passionate, but I kinda heard my mom’s voice in my head.” – Melinda
• “This is a taco/burrito conversation, nachos!” – Gus
• “I’m not a doctor.” – Shawn
  “Yeah, I kinda figured that when you said you graduated from ‘Bob Hoskins Medical School.’” – Melinda

Clacked by Ivey West
on Mar 14, 2012 @ 23:49 EST5EDT