Where were you when Laura Palmer was killed? It seems the creators of Psych, the USA comedy series about a fake psychic detective (James Roday) and his partner (Dulé Hill), were at home in front of the TV set, taking notes.
Tonight, 20 years to the day after Laura Palmer's murderer was revealed on episode 16 of Twin Peaks, David Lynch and Mark Frost's surreal television experiment, Psych is airing a tribute episode called "Dual Spires" that both spoofs and pays homage to what is one of the most innovative shows ever to hit prime time.
For those that were too high or too young to remember, Twin Peaks was a bizarre murder mystery that aired on ABC. It lasted from April 1990 to June 1991 and developed a rabid cult following that exists to this day (you know who you are). The narrative (if you can call it that) followed FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan) as he tried to find both the perfect cup of coffee and the killer of Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee), a popular high school cheerleader who led a lurid double life. As Agent Cooper investigates, we get to meet the weird and wonderful inhabitants of the idyllic small town of Twin Peaks, Washington. Like most of Lynch's work, the show was more psycho-sexual dream-state than anything. It wasn’t always great — but when it was good, it was a glorious thing to behold.
Several members of the Twin Peaks cast appear in "Dual Spires," including Sheryl Lee, Sherilyn Fenn, Dana Ashbrook and the marvelous Ray Wise, who played Laura's father, Leland Palmer, and should've won the Emmy that went to Jimmy Smits.
"Dual Spires" was co-written by Psych star James Roday, who calls Twin Peaks his favorite program of all time. Fans of Lynch's show should expect to play detective themselves as they try to find the many clever allusions to Twin Peaks slyly planted in tonight's episode. One nod that'll be easy to catch is the new version of Psych's theme song, which has been arranged in a spacey Angelo Badalamenti style and is sung by Julee Cruise, who played the roadhouse chanteuse all those years ago.
Tune in to USA at 10:00 p.m. (9:00 p.m. CST) to see what the creators of Psych have cooked up. It might not be as good as the cherry pie at Norma's Double-R Diner, but it'll be nice to see some old friends again — and maybe even a dwarf from another place?
Psych is one of my favorite shows and my goal in life is to get James Roday as Scary Stud of the Month. I LOVE THIS SHOW!! They have also had David Naughton appear on a werewolf mystery episode, and Danielle Harris on, as well. I hear the two leads (who are also the producers) are HUGE horror fans. The last time I interviewed Harris she had nothing but good things to say about the show and how much fun it was to be on it.
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