Special 'Consistent Awesomness' Award 2011

(FYI - BEST VIEWED IN BLOGGER - NOT TUMBLR)

They aren't just great shows - they're consistently the most humourous, well scripted and choc full of pop-culture-referency television on air at the moment. 

Psych has so much going for it - a great cast with excellent chemistry, who seem to genuinely enjoy working together; some of the tightest writing in the bizz - by people who have clearly watched every television show and film in the history of time and aren't afraid to admit to it; pop culture references from the current to the obscure and some great plots and crimes (so often neglected in primarily comedic shows). 

That's not what makes it work though - it's the relationships within the show. Sure, they are exaggerated, but they are also fresh, realistic, occasionally poignant and allowed to evolve. Shaun and Gus are the sort of best friends that we all wish we could be. They don't always agree but they have each others back through thick and thin; they know each other backwards and forwards and they never hesitate to be honest with one another. 


And every single relationship in the show is executed that well. Shaun and his near-estranged disappointed father, Henry. Heck, Shaun and his near-permanently elsewhere mother - these bonds are usually played for comedic effect but they feel no less authentic for it. 

Shaun and Gus as the dynamic duo toying with the Santa Barbara Police department. 
Lassie and Jules (and will they ever actually hug like friends?). Police Chief Vick - who knows there is something fishy going on but willingly looks the other way as the Psych results are too good to ignore. 
Hell, even the secondary guest stars get to be real people with funny quirks - not just background bods - take a bow Buzz, Woody and Ken - I'm looking at you!


And Shaun and Jules. This relationship deserves a special mention. The only reason that the show hasn't gone bad in that Moonlighting-shoot-me-now-king-of-way is that for a built up lovely dovey storyline - you never get to see it. They're a couple but only really off screen. But I defy anyone who saw the resolution to the missing Nintendo not to have had a major awwwww session, despite the lack of PDA!


As if that weren't enough, it's the show that brought Steve and I together - it's still the one that we chat about the most; we're still intrigued by it and after nearly 6 years or viewing, that's a pretty great sign!

Raising Hope - our great new hope (pun intended and instantly regretted) is the second in our special award recognition blog...thingy.

Unfortunately, Psych probably won't run for ever - no matter how much we might want it too!
Raising Hope leads us to dream that we might still be able to giggle and laugh and aww and secretly sob at a show without having to hide it from friends and family!

It based on a very simple premise - a very young minded young man called Jimmy is unexpectedly called upon to raise the child he didn't know existed. Okay - it isn't quite so simple. Jimmy had a one night stand with a serial killer - Lucy. She contacts him from death row so that he can take care of his baby girl. He - with more than a touch of the simpleton about him - is forced to rely utterly on his chain smoking mother, Virginia and his more idiot than not loser father, Burt. Despite their horror at being grandparents - the whole family (*not forgetting Great-Grand-Mother Maw-maw - who has alzeihmers) pulls together to raise Hope and provide her with a loving home.

Clearly from the same stable as My Name is Earl; this show avoids some of the unfortunate pitfalls of its predecessor. What could be a repetative storyline is adroltly avoided within it's ever-growing cast and expanding scope. 
Jimmy and his functional disfunctional family provide a wonderful baseline - however secondary characters like the delightful Sabrina (whom Steve luuuuuves), her musical cousin Shelly, Jimmy's boss Barney and the FANTASTICALLY FABULOUS Frank keep the comedy fresh and provide wonderful tangents. Meanwhile the whole task of raising a child is handled in a senstive rather than slapstick way. 

So.
There you have it. 
Two shows - very different but each worthy of...

THE 2011 CULTFIX 

SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARD...

FOR BEING ALL SORTS OF 

CONSISTENT 

AND FUNNY...

AND GENERALLY GREAT...

IN A WORLD OF TV 

THAT'S JUST A BIT...

WELL...

BLAND AND CRAP...

Please see the totally wacky tailer below to get a sense of what we're loving about it!





Agree? Great, feel free to leave a comment.

Disagree? Even better, feel free to leave a comment and then I'll probably argue with you. 

Then stalk you on twitter. 

Or pull faces at the computer screen...