You can’t very well begrudge the USA Network for attempting to find a perfect companion show to run along with their well-established hit, “Monk.” You can, however, waggle your finger at them for maybe trying a little too hard to reproduce the comedy / drama feel.
James Roday, who looks like Sam Rockwell’s little brother, plays Shawn Spencer; he’s most decidedly a slacker – the number of jobs he’s held since getting out of high school is decidedly into the double digits – but from a very young age, he was trained by his policeman father (Corbin Bernsen) to be very, very, very observant. Yes, it’s worth three very‘s. Though he’s easily bored (hence the tendency to leave a job once he’s felt he’s learned all he can), Shawn’s skills of observation remain honed; he regularly watches the local news and calls in tips to solve crimes, based on what he’s witnessed in the reports. These calls, however, lead him to be picked up by the cops and questioned in one of the crimes; in an attempt to weasel out of arrest, he claims to be a psychic…and that’s when the fun begins.
Unfortunately, Shawn’s having too much fun. That’s not a plot development, however; that’s a critical opinion based on the fact that his dialogue is a bit too wacky. He’s always ready with a quip or a joke, to the point where it becomes obvious that the scripts are trying desperately to paint him as a real cut-up. We get it; he’s funny. Now how about a bit of subtlety…?
Shawn’s crimefighting buddy, Gus (Dulé Hill, who played Charlie Young on “The West Wing”), is appropriately cynical of his friend’s motives, but he’s painted with a broad brush here, basically serving just to give Shawn someone to bounce his one-liners off of. Bernsen’s gruff performance as Shawn’s dad, Henry, is great; one hopes he ends up getting more screen time as the series progresses.
But will the series progress? Let’s hope so. USA has ordered 11 episodes, and, despite the heavy-handed humor at times, there’s a great concept at work here. Particularly impressive is the camerawork used when Shawn is using his gift for observation; the feel is rather like you’re looking through Sherlock Holmes’s eyes while he’s putting together the pieces to solve a mystery. Just stop trying so hard to be a laugh riot. When you’ve got a good premise, use it; don’t try to shoehorn it into matching precisely with the show preceding it.
In this case, a little less comedy will go a long, long way.
