Psych’s James Roday and Dulé Hill, Just Having Fun

While talking with James Roday and Dulé Hill, you get the feeling they are sharing a secret joke between the two of them. It’s not a bad thing, but you do have to resist the urge to just burst out laughing.  They are just too much fun! I don’t know if Roday and Hill are more like Shaun and Gus, or if Shaun and Gus are more like Roday and Hill. The two merge almost seamlessly, and you begin to wonder how much of the show is written and how much is ad-libbed. “Unlike, I think, the majority of shows on television right now we actually have a frighteningly high amount of say in what we do with the dialog.  A lot of times it comes in great and all we have to do is say it, but any time we sort of recognize an opportunity to throw something in or add something or if we have a better name for Gus than the one that came in we just pull the trigger,” says Roday. Hill adds, “Yes.  And the names that we come up with most of the time it has to do with somebody that we know, somebody in the cast knows or somebody that one of the writers knows or a producer, something like that.  I would say pretty much eight times to of ten there is some relation to the crazy name that Gus is being called.”

The success of Psych has partly been in the wonderfully fresh comedy in their crime investigations, and the obstacles the duo sometimes overcome in their partnership/friendship. We’ve seen partners in crime before in television, but James and Dulé have brought back the humor. “You know what, I go to this movie called Without a Clue that not a lot of people saw.  It was Michael Caine and Ben Kingsley, and the idea behind the movie was that Watson was the brains of the operation and Holmes was just this very theatrical sort of charlatan that diverted people’s attention and got all the ladies.  It’s a very, very funny movie that not a lot of people have seen. But I love the fact that it was sort of rooted in the idea that these two guys absolutely, positively were dependent on one another to solve a crime, because Holmes was sort of the face of the franchise but Watson was the guy that sort of kept their feet on the ground and did a lot of the thinking.  That’s not exactly what the dynamic is on Psych, but the sort of ying yang element of it of there’s no way that either of these guys could work on their own and there’s no way that they could accomplish what they were doing without the other one is definitely sort of a big element of what we do on Psych.”

Dulé has a different source. “I guess for myself it’s not any real I guess template that I came in to with a preconceived notion about like in terms of a previous detective team.  I guess if I had to choose one I would say Cosby and Poitier in Uptown Saturday Night.  I want to say that would be the equivalence that I could think of, but besides that there’s not really anything that I’ve thought about before to say yes, this is what the template is.”

Psych is famous for its references to pop culture. Nothing is safe from a good spoof. In the season 4 premiere, we will see them have a little fun with The Mentalist. James talks about it. “No one is off limits when it comes to us, including ourselves.  We’ve made fun of our own sort of resumes on this show.  As long as they have a sense of humor over there I would think that they would be sort of flattered and get a kick out of it. Obviously, it’s not malicious in any, but it’s what we do on our show and if you’re going to go make a bigger show that’s kind of like our show and get four times as many viewers and Emmy nominations then you should expect to hear about it when our show airs.”

What we can expect from season 4 is more of what we’ve already had, but it never gets old because there’s so much more to spoof! “In terms of sort of themes for episodes you saw that we’re doing sort of an expedition Canada, catch a jewel/art thief episode, and we’re doing sort of a Shawn and Gus save an old western town and everything that comes along with that that you could imagine, including a grizzled, gray bearded James Brolin,” says James. “We’re paying tribute to the Exorcist with our exorcism episode featuring the aforementioned Ray Wise, who is just fantastic in the episode I have to say. Just really came in and knocked it out of the park. A little love letter to American Werewolf in London and werewolf movies in general featuring David Naughton, obviously, and Josh Malina. And lots of other fun stuff. I have to say I think we’re kind of storming out of our gates this year with some really good stuff. I think last year we stormed in our heads, but we were actually like trotting at a casual pace, and this year I actually think we’re storming out of the gates for real.”

I thought it was hilarious that Dulé doesn’t really get a lot of the pop-culture references. “I would say about 99.9% of them do not come from me. Maybe if there’s something in the ‘70s that might be something that I came with, but most of the ‘80s references I have no idea what I’m talking about. It’s not until after I film it that I turn around and say, “Okay, now what was that about?” ”

Mapping out the season for us, James and Dulé give a brief rundown of what we may or may not get to see. “Well there may or may not be a continuation of the story that capped off our season last year, An Evening With Mr. Yang.” Dulé: “And there may or may not be something big coming.” James: “There may or may be our biggest guest star ever appearing on the show down the stretch. And we may or may not be getting another dose of what Gus’ hair looked like in the ‘90s. How’s that?” Perfect, guys!

The Friday night lineup of Psych and Monk make for great family television. At least, it does in my house. Join me this Friday, Aug. 7, at 10/9 Central, for the season premiere of Psych on USA.

(Read the full transcript here.)

Sharon Gless: On Being ‘Madeline’

When I got the invitation to join in a conference call with Bruce Campbell and Sharon Gless, I jumped at it, largely because of Sharon Gless. I mean no disrespect to Mr. Campbell, but I had just had the chance to chat with him at Comic Con and I was on two previous conference calls already for this season. To be honest, I was out of questions for him that hadn’t already been asked and answered. So, I turned my attention to Sharon Gless, whom I had been a fan of for many years, since seeing her on Marcus Welby, M.D. That was before Cagney and Lacey.

Sharon and Bruce together were quite entertaining. They played off each other just like their characters on Burn Notice. Campbell shows a lot of respect for Sharon, queuing her to answer the questions first. Well deserved respect, too. Everyone knows her first from Cagney and Lacey, but Sharon has been quite active over the years before she landed Burn Notice. Or Burn Notice landed on her. “I was actually sitting in the fat farm and this script arrived and I was sitting all alone in  my room and it made me laugh out loud and I was all by myself.  And I thought, this is funny.  This is fun, I like this.  It had substance to it, too.”

I had been curious to know what she thought and felt about Madeline. “I’ve never actually had children, myself, but I just connected with Jeffrey’s character and every week it’s different and as the show goes along, Madeline, my character, first she’s totally in the dark and very needy and very sort of just all sort of emotional things that are unattractive.  And as time went on, Matt Nix said, “Sharon, she’s smarter than what I was writing.”  And he gave me one clue, he said, “Remember, he gets his smarts from her.”  I said, “Oh, okay.”  So I just took that information and it gave me and my character a little more confidence.  But I don’t know, how do you prepare for playing someone who’s manipulative?  Is it built in?  I don’t know.”

One of the things that is becoming clearer is that Madeline probably strongly suspects what Michael does for a living by now. “ I think Madeline is slowly figuring it out.  I don’t think, to this day, she really understands the full impact of what it is he really does.  But she knows he helps people.  That’s how she phrases it.  That’s how she lives with it.  And yes, she is getting more informed.  I think there are moments where she does trust him.  She has to, she is, despite what you see, she loves him.  It’s her boy.  But I think there’s always a bit of doubt because he’s never completely forthcoming.  So what she finds out she sort of finds out on her own.  He’s a little vague when he explains things, enough to calm her down or to get her to help in an indirect way.”

Madeline is one kick-ass momma, too. “The only bad guys I have to find my way around are Jeffrey (Donovan) and Bruce.  I mean, my job on the show is the mother from hell.” But Madeline is starting to get more involved with Michael’s cases. Interrogating a bad guy when her son was kidnapped was pretty awesome to watch. it was fresh and exciting and I hope we get to see more of that as the season continues after the break. Campbell agrees. “What’s amazing is she turned out to be a very good interrogator and then who knew.  I actually think we’re going to see in the scenes that come – because Sharon, you were also on a stakeout and you had to spot somebody.   You had to be a lookout. So don’t kid yourself.  You’re going to be an operative before too long maybe.”

“And Maddie is, she is smart, she can be very keen and if she’s, sometimes she plays a little manipulative,” Sharon says. “She’s not totally informed as to what he’s (Michael) doing, but she knows him.  It’s her boy, it’s her son. I think the story would start to end soon if she was totally understanding of what has happened to him and what it is he’s attempting.  Do you know what I’m saying?  Attempting to find his way back.  So I don’t think she knows all of that yet.  She just knows that he’s doing stuff that’s not ordinary and I think she fears for his life, I’m sure.”

I couldn’t ignore the fangirl in me any longer, so I asked Sharon about working with Tyne Daly in an episode due out after the break. “It was wonderful.  And I’m not just saying that.  Tyne Daly is one of the finest actresses I’ve ever met or ever had the pleasure of working with.  It was just like old times.   I mean they were different characters, but we know each other now and her mother had a great expression.  Okay, her mom said, “Sweat makes a great cement.”  And she and I sweat together for six years and we just know each other’s timing, we know, and we love, we love to rehearse, we love to work, and it was a real treat for me and I think for all of us to have her on the show.” Oh, to have been able to watch the two of them working together again. I’m so excited for that episode! I have so much respect for Tyne Daly’s work as well as Sharon’s.Sharon and Bruce would both like to have Tyne come back for another episode. Says Sharon, “I’d like to have Tyne Daly come back.  She wants to come back as a bad guy. Like Judy Dench on the James Bond things.  Not a bad guy, but she would be running the whole thing.”

I mentioned Sharon’s role on Marcus Welby, M.D., earlier, and she had a great story to share about that show. “Do you know I was put on Marcus Welby as a regular for a year because I was to be a love interest of James Brolin, and they said that there was absolutely no chemistry between James Brolin and me and I got fired.” I figured it was a good thing, since she ended up doing Cagney and Lacey not long after that.

And what would happen if Christine Cagney met Madeline? “I don’t see them going camping together. They’re so different.  I don’t know.  I think Madeline might have a little more respect for Christine and what she does, maybe not her attitude. Christine was highly competitive.  I don’t know if she liked any other women around.  There was an episode where they brought in a young cop who was going to observe and they became sort of comedic because Christine just didn’t want anything to do with her and all the men were all over the woman, of course.  I don’t think Christine sees anybody but herself, do you know what I’m saying, herself and her work.  That was part of her problem.  She was a raging alcoholic, I mean they were very different.  But I don’t know, maybe if you sat them down in a bar together that they’d get along.  That’s the best I can do I think.  I could see them just forgetting what either of them do and what their backgrounds are and just sitting down and having a drink.”

Well, count me in, ladies!

Watch the season finale of Burn Notice, Long Way Back, Thursday, Aug. 8, at 9/8 Central, on USA Network.

NiceGirlsTV Talks with Tony Shalhoub

August 7 begins the final season of Monk. After eight years, Adrian Monk will be solving his last cases, including the one that has eluded him from the first season, Trudy’s murder. I was fortunate enough to take part in a conference call, recently, with Tony Shalhoub and other journalists. Tony reveals what we can look forward to, including who will return in this last season, and what will come next for the actor himself. I have watched Monk from its premiere episode, and I’ve enjoyed Tony’s work for years before that. Who could forget Antonio from Wings, Fred Kwan in Galaxy Quest or Jack Jeebs in Men In Black 1 and 2? My children have enjoyed him in two Spy Kids movies and as the voice of Luigi in Cars. He’s a chameleon, blending into every project he’s in.

Adrian Monk has become a comfort zone for me over the years. With all his issues, his fears, his low self esteem, and evening with Monk is like a sigh after a hard day at work. Sounds strange, I know, but Tony explains it better when he said, “Sometimes people’s problems or neuroses are really the things that are kind of a blessing in disguise, and even though there’s, you know, sometimes there’s pain associated with these things that sometimes in the face of adversity with obstacles to overcome, people can really kind of soar and find their higher selves and I think that’s what we’ve tried to do on the show is we’ve portrayed this character as someone who turns his liability, his liabilities into assets per his life.  And that there’s – and I hope that when we get to the end – I don’t know this for sure, but I hope when we get to the end of season eight that we’ll have seen some real healing from Monk, and I believe in that.  I believe that there is healing and that there is change, and that all of those things are – they are just really, really key to all of our lives.”

Looking ahead to this season? “What the writers have in mind is to do, you know, as you said, our normal standalone episodes for the first, I would say, 11, because we’re doing 16, as usual.  So the first 11, I would say, are going to be standalone, and then the last 5 is when we’ll be kind of connected.  They’ll have a connected tissue, and we’ll start to get into the wrap up, not just of Monk, but of some of the other characters as well.  Then what they want to do is the final two episodes, number 15 and 16, it’ll just be one story, a two-part, you know, aired in two segments.  Just to follow – that episode, I mean that two-part will involve the wrap up of Trudy’s murder, you know, the solving of Trudy’s murder.” On that, Tony doesn’t want to give away too much right now. “I think it’s going to be a lot more interesting for people to discover things as we go along.” Trudy’s murder has hung over Adrian’s head for eight years. I often wondered why he wasn’t able to solve it. Monk was always so brilliant in solving crimes that the question was always, why couldn’t he solve this one case? When I heard that this season would be the last, I knew they would let him finally wrap this one up. “ It was always part of Andy Breckman’s agenda to save the wrap-up until the end, I think the biggest reason being that it keeps Monk in a bit of a fog, and it keeps him on his heels, this unresolved, this one case that he just cannot figure out, and that he’s just too close to, to figure out.  And so I think it was always part of his plan.” I’m stocking up on tissues right now. I just know it will be a tear-jerker.

We’ll see a couple old faces from previous seasons returning. Of course, you can’t say goodbye to Monk without Sherona, so Bitty Schram will be visiting. “Bitty Schram is going to come back for episode – I believe it’s episode number 12, which will start shooting in September.  And they want to bring that character back and kind of wrap it up and kind of give that a good send off.  A lot of people really missed that character and the dynamic between Monk and Sharona.  And so we’re all looking forward to that. Of course, we’ll see Harold Krenshaw comes back, one of my favorites.  He’s the other OCD patient who is always kind of in competition with Monk, played so brilliantly by Tim Bagley.  He’s going to return for at least a couple of episodes. And well, that’s it.  I mean, of course, Dr. Bell, the psychiatrist will be in a number of episodes.  I don’t think – people have asked if we’re going to see Ambrose.  I don’t really think that’s in the cards simply because that’s … John (Turturro) is so busy.  It’s difficult to schedule him in.  I mean, if I had my way, we’d do kind of what Seinfeld did and bring back almost every guest star there ever was on the show, but ours is going to go in a different direction.”

Many wondered what would happen to Monk after solving Trudy’s murder. Would it be closure, finally, for him? Or would having that one thing out there that he couldn’t solve, push him even deeper into his OCD issues? “I think it will give him some – I think it will actually help him, and it will give him some kind of peace and some kind of – and in that peace, his OCD symptoms will begin to, you know, significantly drop away.  And when that happens, I think he’ll be able to move forward in his life.  You know, he won’t feel so paralyzed.  He won’t feel so – he won’t have such an aversion to being with other people.  He might even, who knows – I don’t know because the writers haven’t revealed this to me, but he might even be able to find love and romance in his life again.  All those things, I think, remain, you know, all those things are on the table and are good possibilities.”

What’s next for Tony, after closing credits of the finale? “I’ve been a producer on Monk from the very start, and that’s been such a great education for me, I have a couple things in mind that I want to produce that aren’t necessarily vehicles for me.  But I think it’s time for me to branch out into producing.  And then I would also like to do some directing.  I’ve done a little of that in the past, but it’s something I’d like to do more of.  But, of course, I would never consider giving up acting. I still want to keep that alive.  But because of the experience that I’ve gained and the contacts that I’ve made now, I think producing is definitely in my future. I don’t want to take too long a vacation, although I do think I need a break.  I start to – whenever I take too long a break or don’t work a while, all my demons start to resurface, and I go a little nuts.  And I did work on an independent feature this past winter, which I hope will be coming out soon called Feed the Fish, a movie that I acted in, but also co-produced, and a really nice … so we’re looking for distribution to sell this picture, so people should look for that. But beyond that, I want to really, really take some time for myself to decide which direction to go next.  I might do some theater for a year before I do any more television.  I think I need a break from hour long episodic for a while.”

Of course, for some it’s just too hard to say good-bye forever, so the inevitable question, then, is could there be a Monk movie in the future? A Mr. Monk Returns? Tony doesn’t think so right now. “I’ve given that a lot of thought.  I feel like I’m ready to put this character to rest, but by the same token, I never say never, and circumstances could change, and I could change my mind.  Certainly I’ve been known to change my mind.  I just think time will tell.  I would never ever rule something like that out.  I hope that answers your question.”

Monk returns to USA Network Friday, Aug. 7, at 9/8 Central.

(Read the full transcript here.)

Spotlight on “The Listener”

Have you heard of this new television series that will air on NBC this summer? Honestly, I haven’t heard enough. I’d like to see NBC promo this show more because it looks like a winner to me. You might be thinking, “Yeah, BethAnne, but you’re a Nice Girl. You have to say that.” Well, watch this video clip and tell me what you think.

Now, listen in as the stars of the show talk about their characters.

The idea of being able to read people’s minds is a double-edged sword. There’s good and bad about it and I’m curious to see how the show will deal with both. Here is the official press release:

“The Listener” centers on Toby Logan (Craig Olejnik, “The Timekeeper”), a 25-year-old paramedic who has a big secret — he’s a telepath. Until now, Toby kept his ability hidden, exploring its possibilities only with his long time mentor and confidant, Dr. Ray Mercer (Colm Feore, “24: Redemption”). As he makes the rounds with his energetic paramedic partner — “Oz” Bey (Ennis Esmer, “Young People F*#king”), “The Listener” follows Toby as he tries to help people in crisis, and in the process, unravel the truth about his past. While his professional life is in check, Toby’s personal life could use its own rescue. And with the help of Detective Charlie Marks (Lisa Marcos, “Diary of a Mad Black Woman”) and his E.R. doctor/ex-girlfriend Olivia Fawcett (Mylène Dinh-Robic, “Da Vinci’s City Hall”), Toby realizes his gift can help others.

So, who with me? Will you be listening in? The Listener premiere’s June 4 on NBC.

Video Interviews: Simon Baker

Thanks to our friends at Multipleverses.com for these two video clips of Simon Baker talking about The Mentalist. Enjoy!

Simon Baker on “The Mentalist”

TV Addict Interviews Robert Buckley

Fans of NBC’s Lipstick Jungle have completely fallen for Robert Buckley, aka Kirby Atwood, aka Nico’s hotter-than-hot man-on-the-side. He has charm, charisma, and isn’t hard to look at! In celebration of Lipstick Jungle’s first season finale, the TV Addict spent some time chatting with Rob about the show, where he wants to see his character go, and the real reason he was upset that the writers went on strike.

I want to just start by saying that I have completely gotten hooked on the show in recent weeks, and I really like your character.
Robert Buckley: Oh thank you! It’s funny. I told everyone, all my friends who started watching it, stick with the show because it really picks up momentum. I think we’re seeing it now, a lot more people are tuning in and getting wrapped up in the storyline.

They’ve really started to flesh out the characters and you learn more about the characters that have been on the screen. I’m excited at the prospect of more episodes to come.
Hopefully so, we have the season finale, and we’ll know shortly if we’re coming back for a season 2.

(read the rest of the interview…)

Lindsay Price on Rachael Ray

Lindsay Price (Victory Ford) appeared on Rachael Ray’s show yesterday, talking about the early days of her career (Toys ‘R’ Us!), and Lindsay jokes how things have come full circle as far as acting with her idols goes. “I grew up watching Pretty in Pink and being in love with Andrew McCarthy,” she admits. Rachael exclaims, “Hello! And now you’re making out with him!” A blushing Lindsay responds, “I know, it’s kind of amazing! He just sparkles. I mean, nobody plays a millionaire like him.”

When it comes to two of her other co-stars, Brooke Shields and Kim Raver, Lindsay explains that the three of them have such great chemisty, but sometimes things can get a little out of control on the set. Watch the video to hear Lindsay reveal how she fell victim to one of their practical jokes.

Watch the clip here.

Focus on Andrew McCarthy

The folks at the TV Squad have a nice article posted on Andrew McCarthy, who plays Joe Bennett.

While the casting for the ladies to play the power brokers on NBC’s Lipstick Jungle was imperative, no less attention was paid for the men with whom those women would be romantically entwined. For the character of Joe Bennett, the enigmatic, high-powered, complicated Prince Charming with a dark side, producers had to be looking for just the right combination of sexual appeal and sensitive undercurrent. They found the right guy when Andrew McCarthy was cast. The former Brat Packer could be the find of the TV season; the new McDreamy. Read more

Interview with Brooke Shields and Candace Bushnell

MovieWeb recently sat in on a conference call with Brooke Shields and Candace Bushnell. Here’s the scoop!

Brooke Shields and Candace Bushnell have both made their strides in entertainment in different ways. Brooke we’ve known from all the way back to The Blue Lagoon and Candace has made a significant pop-culture impression with her novel Sex and the City that was turned into the popular HBO series. The two have joined forces with the new series Lipstick Jungle, also based off of a Bushnell novel, that premeieres on Thursday February 7 at 10 PM ET. I was in on a conference call with Shields and Bushnell, and here’s what these ladies had to say.

Read more