TVSquad

(S03E06) "I'm nobody's pawn, Shawn. I'm a queen." -- Gus Guster

Since the third season of Psych began there has been an underlying theme of family. During the season premiere the focus was on Shawn and his parents. Then, a few weeks ago, we got a chance to see the relationship between Shawn and his shifty uncle. With this week's episode we move away from the Spencer family and focus on a member of the Santa Barbara Police Department, Chief Karen Vick, and her older sibling.

Siblings are rare in the Psych universe. We know Shawn is an only child (unless they introduce a half-brother or sister in later seasons) and Henry has a younger brother, and Gus may have mentioned some brothers or sisters in the past, but that's about it. So, when we are introduced to a character's brother or sister it helps to not only expand the character, but it also shows another side to them that viewers may have never seen before. Such is the case of Chief Vick, who showed a mean and petty side to her that we have never encountered in previous episodes.

I got to sit in on a conference call with The Closer creator James Duff this week. I have sat in on these calls before-- well, one-- and the call was so crowded with other writers that I couldn't get a word in edgewise. The call with Duff was fantastic because they asked me if I had any questions! But I'll get to that later.

The Closer premieres its third season on Monday at 9pm EST on TNT. I, for one, cannot wait! I had heard the hype about the show, but when I finally watched it (on DVD), I was floored. I have always admired Kyra Sedgewick, especially from Singles and Something to Talk About. And as a parent, I appreciated the sacrifices to her career she made to raise her children while they were young. However, I wasn't prepared for the Tasmanian devil package of energy and talent she unleashed on Deputy Chief Brenda Johnson.

The theme of this third season is family: How do you keep a family together? This theme will be manifest not only as we see more of Brenda's parents (including Northern Exposure's Maurice (Barry Corbin) as her tightly-strung father), but we watch her navigate her relationship with Fritz, and also explore the possibility of having a child.

A few bits of casting news for some shows that will be returning later this year.

Actor Keith Carradine will be joining the cast of Showtime's Dexter for the 2nd season, which premieres September 30th. On the show Carradine will play Lieutenant Frank Lundy, Special Agent for the FBI who will be investigating a large number of bodies recently discovered in Miami. He will appear in nearly all of the 2nd season episodes.

Actor Barry Corbin (Northern Exposure) will be showing up in four episodes of The Closer, which begins its 3rd season on TNT on June 18th. He will portray Clay Johnson, the charming but tough father of Kyra Sedgwick's character Brenda Leigh Johnson. Also returning will be Frances Sternhagen as Brenda's mother.