Psych the Psychiatric Duo

Recently, I found another new English tv series to dote on. It's called Psych. I'm not sure if anyone have heard about it but it's currently airing the third season overseas and the fourth season is in making. I have just finished the first season of this series.

Suffice to say, I was satisfied. Well, I have always been a sucker for fantasy and comedy type of series and this is one hell of a funny comedy. Basically, it is about Shawn Spencer (James Roday) whose superb observational skills allowed him to be employed by the Santa Babara, California Police Department (SBPD). He convinced other people that he is a psychic and while certain people in the police department are doubtful of his "psychic" abilities, they always turn to him when they hit a stumbling block in investigations. His best friend, Burton Guster (Dule Hill) was pulled into this and together, they made a really cute couple.

Basically, the script writers are the ones who should receive the highest commendation in their success in creating witty and charming characters together with interesting story lines. James Roday as Shawn Spencer, while I have to say did not make a really convincing psychic, is able to mesmerize me with his antics and acting skills. While his buddy Gus did not really make any real impact in most investigations, his serious demeanour with the combination of Shawn's almost suicidal characteristics are just a blast!

Occasionally, I did feel a little bit bored at Shawn's abilities. Basically, nothing ever escape him... it's as if he's untouchable... even more powerful than House! He is able to charm anyone into believing him, notice complicated crime scenes at a glance and is able to solve crimes in a very short time with limited amount of info.

However, I must stress again, that this series is a real good comedic relief. It is the perfect medicine for one who wanted to have a good laugh.

Dexter

Nope, this is not Dexter’s Laboratory available in Cartoon Network. I’m talking about the tv series named Dexter. It is a relatively new tv series which is going to start its first episode in third season soon.

Initially, I did not pay much attention to this series. This is because there are only 12 episodes (I think) in each season. I just felt that with so little episodes per season, maybe they are not really doing that well. Besides, one of the main purposes that I watch tv series is that they can fill up my long lonely nights… it won’t do for me to watch a boxset that would finish in less than a week. However, since I have watched almost every tv series that is available on Earth, I decided to give it a try.

Dexter (Michael C. Hall) is a very disturbed person. I don’t really know the exact term I should use to describe him. He witnessed the gruesome murder of his parents when he was little and was left sitting in mass amount of blood for two days before a police found him. The police took him in as a foster child. Dexter had no memories about the murder but he has grown a fascination for blood. Soon, he found himself killing animals just to satisfy his ‘urges’.

His foster father found out about it and surprisingly, instead of chucking him to a therapist or mental hospital, he taught Dexter to direct his urges to kill to those who deserve it. You might think that he would become a crime fighter or some dark hero who kills the wicked. However, Dexter did not kill for justice; he kills to satisfy the monster that resides in him. He chooses his victims from the wicked just because his foster father, Harry told him to do so. Apart from the ‘blood problem’, Dexter also find himself void of all emotions. As such, Harry taught him to fake his emotions so as to blend in with the society. In one episode, Dexter told a boy that if one does not feel emotions, one should act as if they can feel it.

I have just finished watching season 1 but I expect Dexter to be questioning Harry’s teaching since he discovered Harry lying to him. What that piqued my interest is to find out how the writers would continue the story. Basically, the style used in the first season is the three-pointed attack. There would be one long plot about another serial killer that is sort of the main plot. Then there’re sub-plots where Dexter made his normal killings and also the plot with his girlfriend. And his girlfriend has the uncanny ability to be in deep trouble whenever Dexter is too.

However, there are some points that I did not understand. For example, Dexter;s fascination is with blood, however when he saw a bloodless corpse, he said that the killer is even better than him. Shouldn’t it be the other way around? However, I don’t think this series will gain much acceptance. Most would not be able to accept such brutality and it will not be accepted in most households.

However, I think that this tv series is refreshing since it is sort of an anti-hero and it doesn’t have blazing guns and all those pyromaniacs. Just plain drugs and needle and carefully laid out plans. I would not say that it is brilliant, but undoubtedly it managed to grab a place to be amongst my favourite tv series.

Supernatural – Never Judge a Show By Its First Episode

I know I sound arrogant… but when it comes to anime, tv shows, movies and novels, I am rarely wrong. Sure, not all would agree to my thoughts and comments on movies and shows, but a majority of people would agree with my conclusion on them. I have always prided myself in knowing a success of a tv series or anime by just watching the first episode… and I had never been wrong… until now.

Basically, once a director decided to film a tv series in a certain way, it is hard for them to change no matter how hard they try. Thus, I usually would sample the tv series again only if the director changes if I found the tv series to be of not my taste in its earlier production.

I think it was two years ago when I first watch the series “Supernatural” on Astro… and I found it to be horrible. Well, the casting and storyline isn’t exactly very bad, but even after I have grown up, I am still afraid of the dark and horror movies… and the first episode was absolutely horrifying. I meant that in a good way for horror genre enthusiasts. I don’t know why, but while I am not afraid of demons, succubus, werewolves, vampires, zombies, ghouls, hellhounds, etc., my feelings for ghosts bordered on extreme fear. Maybe it’s because they are such intangible beings (ethereal). They can appear and reappear wherever they want and they can be extremely horrible to look at. While werewolves are not handsome too, I find it easier to accept a horrible looking beast than a horrifying looking ghost… I supposed it’s because ghosts are reflection of us humans when they were alive and the probability that I would end up like that scared me to no end. However, I decided at that time that this kind of tv series is not for me and I did not watch it ever again… until recently.

It was only recently that someone commented that he loved to watch “Supernatural”. We argued for some time but being a very reasonable person, I decided to give this tv series another try. I borrowed the DVD set from my friend mainly to prove him wrong and out of sheer boredom. I ran out of things to watch and read for some time and it was really difficult for me to pass through weekends.

I immediately skipped the first episode which I watched two years earlier. The episode however is still fresh in my mind. It talks about a white dressed woman (ghost) who would seduce men and kill them in a horrible manner. I jumped to the second episode. The second episode was horrifying too… it was about a Wendigo (a human turned monster) on a killing spree. However, no matter how powerful or scary this Wendigo is, it just is not as chilling as the woman in white. Thus, I was pleasantly surprised when I found myself enjoying the series. I was deeply engrossed in the creative way they presented nightmares and horrors. Sure, I was still afraid but at least I am not holding my breath for the entire series.

The series is about how two brothers Dean Winchester (Jensen Ackles) and Sam Winchester (Jared Padalecki) go about to destroying evil and saving lives everyday as they travel back and forth across the country. The first season has a main plot about the brothers trying to locate their missing father and also hunting the evil that killed their mother. However, it is the non main plot related episodes that I find most interesting.

This series don’t have much of those mumbo jumbo and magic like Charmed or Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Angel. The two brothers fight nighttime horrors with mostly guns (well, with different kind of bullets like silver, iron and salt). Chanting is used solely for dealings with demons. Also, the conversations between the brothers are really entertaining. Their constant bickering, bullying and wacky comments casts a nice atmosphere amongst the horror filled background. There was even one episode where the two brothers play tricks on each other and it was really hilarious to watch them resorting to childish methods in order to outdo one another. Each brother portrayed their character very well… one a womanizer who placed his family above all else and another with the burden of knowing he is the cause of his mother’s and girlfriend’s death.

The director also did not try to instill fear amongst viewers by introducing extreme gore in the series… well, there are a few episodes which has a lot of blood but I still find the first episode the most horrifying one :P. With three complete seasons and fourth season showing in the States now, one can rest assured that this is not some B-grade horror tv series.

Anyway, for those who would want to watch something with mild horror, comedy, action and drama all rolled into one, “Supernatural” is the one for you.