March Madness: Psych vs. Community

It is down to the Final Four, and the choices are getting harder! Now shows on four different channels – two broadcast, two cable – compete for a coveted spot in the final match. Psych won a heated battle (35-21) against Rizzoli & Isles, and for fans of delicious flavor, they can almost taste victory. But they face a formidable opponent: Community, fresh off a 8-to-4 triumph over the freshman fairy tale Once Upon a Time, and season-high ratings for their mid-season return, won’t be giving their USA Network neighbor an inch.

And in case you’ve been living in a bubble and don’t remember what these two shows are about:

Psych features novice sleuth Shawn Spencer (James Roday), who is hired by the police after he cons them into thinking he has psychic powers that help solve crimes. With this assistance of his reluctant best friend, Gus (Dule Hill), the duo take on a series of complicated cases.

Community features smart-aleck lawyer Jeff Winger (Joel McHale), whose education is deemed void by the bar and is forced to attend a local community college with an extremely eclectic staff and student body.

Round 4 will end around 1AM EDT March 25th, so vote by leaving a comment with your choice below! Also, don’t forget to vote on Warehouse 13 vs. Castle!

Update: Psych won, by a mere 19 votes! Go vote for it against Castle here.

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March Madness: Rizzoli & Isles vs. Psych

Leverage fought valiantly, garnering six votes to Rizzoli & Isles’ seventeen, but the female duo’s fan base won out. And White Collar only got one vote against fellow USA Network show Psych. Now two girls and two guys battle to solve the murder first – or at least win your vote!

Rizzoli & Isles follows Boston detective Jane Rizzoli (Angie Harmon) and medical examiner Maura Isles (Sasha Alexander), complete opposites and good friends who solve crimes and bust some of Boston’s most notorious criminals.

Psych features novice sleuth Shaun Spencer (James Roday), who is hired by the police after he cons them into thinking he has psychic powers that help solve crimes. With this assistance of his reluctant best friend, Gus (Dule Hill), the duo take on a series of complicated cases.

Leave a comment with your choice, and don’t forget to vote for all the matchups listed here!

Update: Psych won! Vote for it here.

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March Madness: White Collar vs. Psych

Poor Chuck. The show didn’t get one vote against White Collar! And Psych easily beat out newbie Grimm. USA Network triumphed over NBC, but how will two USA shows fare against each other?

White Collar criminal Neal Caffrey (Matt Bomer) agrees to help the FBI catch other white collar criminals using his expertise as an art and securities thief, counterfeiter and racketeer.

Psych features novice sleuth Shaun Spencer (James Roday), who is hired by the police after he cons them into thinking he has psychic powers that help solve crimes. With this assistance of his reluctant best friend, Gus (Dule Hill), the duo take on a series of complicated cases.

Make your choice, and leave a comment!

Update: Psych won, vote for them here now!

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March Madness: Grimm vs. Psych

Grimm dives into the world of Portland, Oregon homicide Detective Nick Burkhardt, who discovers he is descended from an elite line of criminal profilers known as “Grimms,” charged with keeping balance between humanity and the mythological creatures of the world. Monroe, a reformed “Big Bad Wolf”, reluctantly helps him.

Psych features novice sleuth Shaun Spencer (James Roday), who is hired by the police after he cons them into thinking he has psychic powers that help solve crimes. With this assistance of his reluctant best friend, Gus (Dule Hill), the duo take on a series of complicated cases.

Which crime-solving duo do you prefer to have on the case? Leave a comment with your choice!

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March Madness Comes to TV Breakroom

TV Breakroom is doing its own version of March Madness! And there’s a prize!

You will vote between two shows by leaving a comment with your choice on a bracket post (not on this post – though feel free to predict the winner here!). Every 6 days this month, I will close the comments, add up the totals, and set things up for the next stage of the bracket. I’ll link to all of the bracket posts here.

Every comment you leave throughout the month, whether to vote in the bracket or normal comments on other posts, will count as one entry toward a $15 Amazon gift card. Only one comment per post will count as an entry, and comments flagged as spam will be ignored. Contest begins on March 1, 2012 at 12:01 EST and ends March 31, 2012 at 11:59 EDT. Winner must provide email address and respond to winning notification within 3 days.

For a show to qualify, it had to air at least 5 new episodes between June 1, 2011 and February 29, 2012. It also has to be a US show (airing originally on a US broadcast or cable network, no matter where it was filmed), and I have to have seen at least 5 episodes of the show.

Here is the final match-up! The order in which shows would face each other was created by Random.org. Click the match-up to go to its bracket post and vote! Voting for this round ends around 1AM on March 31st, so get your votes in now!

 

Psych vs. Castle

Update – go here to see the winner!

 

Here are the 32 shows:

  1. Leverage
  2. Supernatural
  3. New Girl
  4. Rizzoli & Isles
  5. White Collar
  6. Chuck
  7. Grimm
  8. Psych
  9. Nikita
  10. Community
  11. The Big Bang Theory
  12. Ringer
  13. NCIS
  14. Being Human (SyFy)
  15. Eureka
  16. Once Upon a Time
  17. Suburgatory
  18. House
  19. The Office
  20. Burn Notice
  21. Bones
  22. NCIS: Los Angeles
  23. Warehouse 13
  24. Alphas
  25. Blue Bloods
  26. The Finder
  27. 2 Broke Girls
  28. How I Met Your Mother
  29. Suits
  30. Person of Interest
  31. Castle
  32. Covert Affairs
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Five ways Psych is like Sherlock Holmes’ “The Red-Headed League” | CliqueClack TV

With all the discussion about the show Elementary “stealing” the idea of a modern-day Sherlock Holmes from BBC’s Sherlock, I thought this article comparing Holmes and Psych was especially apt. Usually House is touted as already being an American version of Sherlock Holmes, but this article clearly shows that Psych can be considered one as well. From gathering clues through observation to a medically-inclined sidekick/friend/indispensable colleague, Shawn and Sherlock aren’t as far apart as they might first appear.

Five ways Psych is like Sherlock Holmes’ “The Red-Headed League” | CliqueClack TV.

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[VIDEO] Chuck, Parenthood, Psych Spoilers — Spoiler Alert!

A new Spoiler Alert! video from TVLine, this one without many spoilers, but it has some great conversation with Zachary Levi from Chuck and the Fox pilot Let It Go, and Parenthood’s Sam Jaeger. Levi offers his thoughts on the Chuck finale, and gives a little more insight into Let It Go. Jaeger and host Michael Ausiello act out an upcoming scene from Psych.

[VIDEO] Chuck, Parenthood, Psych Spoilers — Spoiler Alert!.

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Ashley Tisdale and Louis C.K. Team For CBS Comedy

Glad to see Chris Egan from Kings making it onto a pilot! Can’t really picture him as a Gaston-like character (but then I couldn’t see McNab from Psych in that role either), but he’s an excellent addition to ABC’s Beauty and the Beast.

Ashley Tisdale and Louis C.K. Team For CBS Comedy.

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Once Upon a Time Photos — Episode 12, 13

Ooo, some cool preview pics for February episodes of Once Upon a Time! Includes our first look at McNab from Psych as Gaston (above)! And how awesome is it that Belle (Lost’s Emilie de Ravin) is holding a book and wearing an off-the-shoulder yellow dress, so reminiscent of the animated movie version! Some of the pics (this is the only Beauty and the Beast one) are a little spoilerish, so look at your own risk. The article itself (pics are in a slideshow beneath it, so you’ll only see the non-spoiler first one) is less so.

Once Upon a Time Photos — Episode 12, 13.

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Psych Renewed for 7th Season of 16 Episodes by USA Network – Ratings | TVbytheNumbers

Yay, more Psych! Not that there was any doubt this awesome show would be renewed, but it’s nice to know we’re in for many more Shawn and Gus moments. And I love the fun way James Roday and Dule Hill announced the renewal.

Psych Renewed for 7th Season of 16 Episodes by USA Network – Ratings | TVbytheNumbers.

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Fall 2011 Comedy Verdicts

 

I just made a list of all the shows I’m behind on (it’s getting to be quite a few), but I quickly realized there is one type of show I haven’t put off watching – comedies! Of course, their usual 20-minute length makes them a bit more compatible with a busy schedule than a 45-minute show, but I believe it’s also because I’ve been in the mood to laugh. Continue reading Fall 2011 Comedy Verdicts

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People’s Choice Awards 2012

I like voting for things. Especially when they have to do with my favorite shows. So I thought I’d provide a quick rundown of this year’s People’s Choice Award Nominees. Just the TV section, mind you, and only the scripted shows. I usually haven’t seen most of the movies (I did vote for Thor over the very close choice of Captain America), and I’ve don’t listen to nearly all of the music artists.

FAVORITE NETWORK TV DRAMA

Pretty much a no-brainer that I was voting for House. Supernatural hasn’t captured my attention, and while The Good Wife looks like a solid show, I’ve never seen it (blame my lawyer aversion). And Grey’s Anatomy and The Vampire Diaries look FAR too soapy for me.

FAVORITE TV DRAMA ACTOR

How can I choose between David Boreanaz and Nathan Fillion? Fortunately, with this award, I can vote as often as I like, so I’ve been alternating between the two. Not so when the two face each other in Round 3 of TV Line’s “Ultimate Law-Enforcement Crushes Bracket Tournament.” I don’t know how I’ll pick. Nathan has Castle and Firefly and Dr. Horrible and now Much Ado About Nothing. David has Buffy the Vampire Slayer (I’m ignoring Nathan as Caleb since I hated him in that role) and Angel and Bones.

Hugh Laurie only gets a distant third in this category, and Ian Somerhalder and Patrick Dempsey are soundly ignored by me.

FAVORITE TV DRAMA ACTRESS

A very easy vote for Emily Deschanel. I haven’t even heard of some of the others on the list: Blake Lively, Ellen Pompeo, Eva Longoria, and Nina Dobrev.

FAVORITE CABLE TV DRAMA

Another super easy choice, as I only watch White Collar. Game of Thrones does sound good, though, and people have recommended Dexter to me. Don’t know about True Blood and Pretty Little Liars.

FAVORITE NETWORK TV COMEDY

The Big Bang Theory gets my vote most of the time for this one, but I’ll occasionally vote for How I Met Your Mother as well. Interesting that Dr. Horrible is competing against his sidekick, Moist. I only enjoy Glee for the music, Two and a Half Men is crude instead of funny, and I’ve never seen Modern Family.

FAVORITE TV COMEDY ACTOR

Hmm, Sheldon (Jim Parsons) or Barney (Neil Patrick Harris)? Same as above, I’ll usually tilt toward the Thursday night show but occasionally choose the Monday night one. Alec Baldwin, Chris Colfer, and Cory Monteith don’t make me laugh.

FAVORITE TV COMEDY ACTRESS

Kaley Cuoco wins hands down over Courteney Cox, Jane Lynch, Lea Michele, and Tina Fey.

FAVORITE CABLE TV COMEDY

I don’t currently watch any of these, though I used to watch Royal Pains (seriously, why is this a nominee instead of Psych?). I may come back to the show later, I’m just not a huge fan of medical shows (House is the only one I watch now) and not too fond of the main character (loved Evan and Divya, though). It does get my vote over the shows I haven’t seen: Hot in Cleveland, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Nurse Jackie, and Weeds.

FAVORITE TV CRIME DRAMA

When I first saw the nominees for this category, I thought, Are you kidding? I’ve mentioned several times on this blog that Bones, Castle, and NCIS are my top three crime dramas, and all three were nominated this year! I voted for each of them. I’ve only seen bits of CSI and Criminal Minds episodes.

FAVORITE SCI-FI/FANTASY SHOW

I’ve only seen Supernatural on this list, so I voted for it, but Fringe has been on my to-watch list for a long while. From what I’ve heard, I think I’d prefer True Blood to The Vampire Diaries (too bad my favorite currently-airing vampire show, Being Human, didn’t make the list), and since zombies bore me, The Walking Dead has only appeared on my radar since its ratings are good.

FAVORITE TV GUEST STAR

I loved Jim Carrey’s appearance on The Office, and would have much preferred his character to Robert California. Katy Perry’s appearance on How I Met Your Mother was funny, but I felt like most actresses could have played the role well. I didn’t see the appearances of Gwyneth Paltrow, Kristin Chenoweth, or Michael J. Fox.

FAVORITE NEW TV DRAMA

Twelve options is a lot to choose from, but Once Upon a Time has wowed me in all three episodes. Ringer is a close second and gets my vote every once in a while. Person of Interest has built slowly but is improving, and Grimm’s two episodes have been good enough for me to keep watching.

Out of the remaining shows, I’ve only seen Unforgettable, which I hated. Pilots sometimes don’t match the rest of a show, but I couldn’t even get halfway through episode two. I’ve heard good things about Pan Am, Terra Nova, and Revenge, but my “new shows to try out” list already had 11 shows on it (plus more than a dozen returning shows). Medically-minded Hart of Dixie and A Gifted Man didn’t sound like quite my thing, and neither did The Secret Circle or Prime Suspect.

FAVORITE NEW TV COMEDY

2 Broke Girls was super-easy choice for this category, though Suburgatory has been good and New Girl has been okay. Guessed to be not my cup of tea by the previews: Whitney, Up All Night, Last Man Standing, and Man Up. I don’t watch animated TV (the only way I think I ever would was if Joss Whedon created an animated show), so no Allen Gregory.

 

What did you vote for? Are there any shows mentioned that you think I should be watching?

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Top 10 Favorite TV Opening Credits

Nothing invokes the memory of a favorite TV show faster than its opening credits. That may be why I always feel a bit cheated when a show doesn’t have any, or when they’re terrible, or when they don’t match the show at all.

White Collar is a prime example of how attached fans get to show intros. When season three debuted with new opening titles, fans were very vocal about their dislike. Eventually the network hosted a poll, and the fans voted the old opening back in.

I didn’t include any classic shows in this list – in fact, only one show had episodes airing before the year 2000. There are no animated shows, and it’s also limited to shows I actually watch. I made my decisions based on the music, visual appeal, how well they meshed, and how well they matched the show. I included some unique ones as well.

I had a terrible time narrowing the list down to just ten, and that’s even with leaving out the shows that only have title and creator in their intros (like White Collar above and How I Met Your Mother) or have voiceover intros (Burn Notice’s “My name is Michael Westen, I used to be a spy” and Castle’s “There are two kinds of folks that sit around thinking about how to kill people – psychopaths and mystery writers”). This list changed several times even as I was writing this article, and the main excuse I gave myself for leaving Bones off was that I couldn’t find a good video for the credits!

#10 – Alphas

I love the music to this theme, and how well the lyrics fit the show. I also love the mysterious quality – it’s hard to catch everything the first few times you watch it, which works well for a show that has a lot under the surface.

 

#9 – The Cape

This theme sticks in my head long after I’ve watched the intro, and I love the way the comics dissolve into the show’s characters. Hate that this got cancelled.

 

#8 – Community

The folded paper design of this intro is just plain fun.

 

#7 – Chuck

The cartoon Buy More guy getting in and out of trouble is perfectly in keeping with the lighthearted tone of this show.

 

#6 – Warehouse 13

I love the mysterious quality of these credits, and the music fits perfectly! It’s cool seeing the artifacts “at work,” too.

 

#5 – Covert Affairs

Unfortunately, this clip cuts off the cool intro whistle (which plays before the credits actually start). I like the juxtaposition of the actors over the virtual background.

 

#4 – Veronica Mars

Yes, this is NOT the season 3 opening, which I disliked (it wouldn’t have been as bad if they’d simply changed the visuals, but they messed up the song, too). Bonus points for perfect lyrics (which were even quoted in an episode)!

 

#3 – Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Apologies for the quality of this clip. Love how this opening meshes scary and funny. I rock out to these credits whenever I’m watching Buffy by myself. 🙂

 

#2 – NCIS

A classic, solid, intro, with fun music and great transitions. I especially love McGee’s rocket pack impression.

 

#1 – Psych

No, I didn’t make this my top choice simply because it’s my theme this month and I’m giving away a season. I love how it matches the show, with zany moments and apt lyrics. I also love how they change it up to match special episodes – Spanish lyrics, a Christmas version, even a Bollywood rendition.

 

What openings would be in your top 10? Did I miss any good ones?

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Psych – Giveaway!

This giveaway is over – check out my latest giveaway here!

May the best commenter win.

But first things first. The winner of my September giveaway was Ruth Anderson! She receives her choice of a Castle Season One DVD set or an Amazon gift card.

For October, I’m giving away (in case you haven’t already guessed) a season of Psych on DVD!

Psych is a humorous crime show about Shawn Spencer (James Roday), who uses his hyper-observant skills to pretend he’s psychic. Teaming up with his best friend since childhood, Gus (DulĂ© Hill), the two help solve crimes for the Santa Barbara police department, working with (or hindering) Detectives Carlton Lassiter (Timothy Omundson) and Juliet O’Hara (Maggie Lawson). Chief Vick (Kirsten Nelson) oversees the department. Shawn’s dad, Henry (Corbin Bernsen), is a former cop who trained Shawn to be observant, and often gets pulled into Shawn’s shenanigans.

Which season of Psych is up for grabs? Any of them! This giveaway is WINNER’S CHOICE! Want to start from the beginning with season one? Snag the newest season five? Fill in the season three you never got around to buying? You pick! And if for some reason (like already owning all five seasons) you’d rather have something else, you can select a $15 Amazon gift card instead.

Season six of Psych begins October 12th on USA Network!

 

To enter the giveaway:

Leave a comment on any blog post on this website. Your comment should add to the discussion (at least several sentences is good), and be relevant to the post’s subject. For example, you can comment on this post about what you love about Psych, what sort of giveaways you’d enjoy in the future, or what you think will happen in the season premiere. Any posts flagged as spam will not qualify (though I plan to scan through them to make sure all real comments get through). Every post you leave a comment on will count as one entry. If you leave relevant comments on 50 posts, you will get 50 entries.

Tweeting about the contest with a link back to this page will give you 5 extra entries the first time you tweet, and 1 extra entry per day for any tweets after that.

Linking to this contest on your blog, Facebook, or Google+ will give you 10 extra entries the first time, and 1 extra entry per day after that.

If you have other ideas for promoting this giveaway, feel free to use them, and I’ll award entries accordingly. The more creative/effecting the promotion, the more entries, you’ll receive!

To receive your additional entries for promoting this contest, email me at katie at tvbreakroom dot com to let me know what promotion you did.

 

The Rules:

Contest begins October 1, 2011 at 12:01AM EDT and ends October 31, 2011, at 11:59PM EDT. All entries received outside that time period are invalid.

Winner will be chosen at random from all eligible entries received.

Open to everyone 16 or older with a valid email and mailing address. A winner residing outside the US may have to pay an additional fee for shipping. (Feel free to select an e-gift card instead!)

Winner must provide a way to contact (email or website with some means of contact) and respond to winning notification within 3 days or prize may be awarded to someone else.

What counts as a relevant comment will be at my sole discretion. Comments should be made in English. You may leave as many comments per day as you wish, but only one comment per blog post will be counted as an entry for the contest.

These rules may change at my discretion.

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