Here is the full unedited transcript. Enjoy!
Moderator: Akiva Griffith
November 19, 2010
11:00 am CT
And our first question comes from the line of Troy Rogers with TheDeadbolt.com. Please proceed.
Troy Rogers: Hi, James. Hi, Sheryl.
Sheryl Lee: Hi.
James Roday: Hey, Troy.
Troy Rogers: Sheryl, I wanted to know, how did it feel when you walked on set and saw a lot of your castmates from Twin Peaks?
Sheryl Lee: Well, I keep telling everyone it was s such an incredible gift that James and everyone that’s a part Psych gave us, because some of us hadn’t seen each other from Twin Peaks in years and years. And it’s such a wonderful group of people and it’s such a wonderful group of people at Psych as well that it was truly, truly a gift to – it’s hard to believe that 20 years have gone by, but to be able to see these people who have such a special place in my heart. It was really wonderful.
Troy Rogers: Excellent. And James, we know you’re a huge Twin Peaks fan, so what was it like to work with the real Laura Palmer?
James Roday: It was crazy. I was like – you know, I think there are Twin Peaks like fan boys out there who actually go to sleep and dream about what I got to do. It was remarkable. And like Sheryl said, it was like three experiences in one. It was – you know, it was them getting to see each other for the first time after all these years and us getting to watch them. And they were getting emotional, which made us emotional and then, you know, on top of everything it was the closest I’ll ever come to being in an episode of my favorite show, so it was ridiculous.
Only in our line of work do we get to do thing like this and call it work.
Troy Rogers: And in addition to the Twin Peaks cast members, you also landed Julee Cruise to perform the Psych theme song. How did that come together?
James Roday: Well, we were sort of swinging for the fences across the boards with this episode and luckily we’ve set precedent with, you know, messing around with our theme song in previous episodes. So, it was really easy to say, “Let’s go after Julee and hope that she wants to get in on the fun,” and she did. And it’s probably my – it’s my favorite of the different renditions we’ve done of our theme songs.
It’s pretty inspired. Props also goes through our composer, Adam Cohen who we just sort of – we said, “Dude, come up with a Twin Peaks-inspired slowed down synthesized version of our song. Thanks. Bye.” And he had to do that and then Julee came in and just nailed the vocals. And yes, we’re all pretty stoked about the theme song.
Troy Rogers: Excellent. I can’t wait to check out the episodes. Thanks, guys.
Sheryl Lee: You’re welcome.
Operator: Thank you. And our next question comes from the line of Jamie Steinberg with Starry Constellation Magazine. Please proceed.
Jamie Steinberg: Hello. It’s a pleasure to speak with both of you.
Sheryl Lee: Hi.
Jamie Steinberg: I was up there with James. It must be a little daunting to work with people you’ve worshiped for so long. How did you select the individuals that would participate in the Twin Peaks episode?
Hello?
Sheryl Lee: James? Brad?
Operator: Mr. Roday, we’re unable to hear you.
Brad Bernstein: I think we might have some technical difficulties there. Do you mind, operator, calling out to James one more time to see if we can maybe get him back?
Operator: Certainly. (Unintelligible), I’ll just step away.
James Roday: Wait, here I am.
Brad Bernstein: Oh, there he is. There he is.
Jamie Steinberg: James, I was saying it’s a little bit daunting probably to work with people you’ve worshiped for so long, but how did you select the individuals who you would have participate in your Twin Peaks episode?
James Roday: Well, a lot of it was the story that we came up with and then Dana Ashbrook is a very close friend of mine that I’ve known for many, many years. So, the sort of seed was, you know, I wasn’t going to give Dana a choice. He was going to have to be in no matter what and then hopefully from there we could sort of spread the love and build an ensemble.
I couldn’t imagine doing a Twin Peaks tribute without Sheryl and without Sherilynn. I felt like those were sort of the two iconic faces that if we didn’t have we might as well not even try. So, they were sort of always on the board as musts. You’ve got to have Laura. You’ve got to have Audrey.
We were lucky enough to have cast Ray Wise last season, so it was just a matter of figuring out how to get his character involved in the action, which we did. And then, it was sort of like who do match up for these characters? And, you know, Lenny von Dohlen, I thought was a really interesting way to go for the Sheriff and you know, Robyn Lively kind of represented a second season of Twin Peaks all by herself.
So – and then we had always sort of planned on a cameo from Catherine Coulson. So, we’d all sort of – again, it was – the planets really kind of aligned for us on this and it came together really nicely.
Jamie Steinberg: How did you originally meet and become friends with Dana?
James Roday: I moved from New York to L.A. to do a show on Fox that lasted for about ten minutes, but inside that ten minutes I met Dana. He was – he came on and did an episode and I basically stalked him into becoming my friend. I’m not proud of it, but it was one of the boldest things I’ve ever done.
I kind of – I just – I saw his name on a call sheet and I went over and knocked his trailer door and I said, “Can I come in,” and he was like, “Yes, I guess,” and I just laid it all out. I laid it on the line and luckily he didn’t get scared. I think he was actually flattered. And a couple weeks later he took me to the Playboy Mansion and the rest, as they say, is history.
Jamie Steinberg: Sheryl, what was it like for you to – in the commercial we see that there is a dead body wrapped in plastic, à la your character Laura Palmer was. Was it sort of an out of body experience maybe to see someone positioned in the way that you had iconically been?
Sheryl Lee: Yes, that is the perfect way to describe it. I actually did feel as if I was out of my body that whole day. It was a very strange surreal feeling, mostly because, you know, I – it’s hard to understand how that much time went by that quickly and I remember that day, for me, as if it was yesterday.
There’s a lot of things in the past 20 years I don’t remember, but that day 20 years ago laying on that beach in the freezing cold, I remember as if it was yesterday. And so, it was very, very surreal and it was more – it touched me deeper than I expected it to. It sort of snuck up on me.
Jamie Steinberg: Thank you very much for both of your time.
James Roday: Thank you.
Operator: Thank you. And our next question comes from the line of Joshua Maloney with Niagara Frontier Publications. Please proceed.
Joshua Maloney: Hi, Sheryl. Hi, James. Thanks for your time today.
Sheryl Lee: Hi.
James Roday: (Sure enough).
Joshua Maloney: So, Sheryl, a lot of people have told me over the years that the Psych set is just really, really unique. It’s just really fun that all of the cast members, the crew, that everyone’s just very warm and inviting. Can you tell us a little bit more about the experience of working with the Psych team?
Sheryl Lee: Oh, well, it is a fantastic group of people. They are so blessed and the wonderful thing about them is that they know how blessed they are to all get along so well and to have such beautiful respect for each other and it’s one of the happiest crews that I’ve ever seen.
They have so much care and respect for their actors because of the way that their actors care and respect them – care for and respect them and it’s an absolute delight. It’s a fun set. It’s – there’s no hidden angst anywhere. It’s just an absolute delight. I’m so grateful to have gotten to come, you know, play with them.
Joshua Maloney: And James, Season 5 has been, you know, I think absolutely fantastic. Good job on that. Obviously, the show has taken some pretty big steps I recent weeks, Shawn and Juliet being the most notable one. What can you tell us about the rest of the season and what we can expect?
James Roday: Well, we’re doing this Twin Peaks episode. Well, thank you…
Joshua Maloney: No kidding?
James Roday: …for your kind words, first of all. And then secondly, you know, it’s kind of compacted this little second half we have, so you know, we’re just kind of – we’re blowing it out with Twin Peaks, which for me is, you know, I hate to throw around profundities, but I – it’s easily the most proud I’ve ever been of any of our achievements on the show. So, it’s hard to even like sort of look past that one. It’s just like, “This is it. This is what we’re doing.”
But in addition to that, we also have a holiday episode coming up that we took a year off last year and didn’t do a Christmas episode and we came back with one this year and its pretty wild. It’s kind of like It’s a Wonderful Life on acid. Shawn gets a glimpse into what everyone’s lives would be like if he had never come back to Santa Barbara and we did some pretty crazy stuff there.
Ralph Macchio swung in and did a very funny episode that was sort of us ripping on Police Academy. And then, we close up shop with the finale of the Yin Yang serial killer trilogy, which I thought came together pretty nicely. Ally Sheedy’s back. Jimmi Simpson’s back, which is a testament to our writing staff for being able to come up with a way to bring back a character that’s dead. And Mena Suvari came up and she was fantastic and all questions are answered and everything comes out in the wash.
So even though it’s a short season, I feel like it’s pretty packed with goodness, with richness, stuff that smells of deep rich mahogany.
Joshua Maloney: Right. Right. And I guess speaking of smells and the Twin Peaks, why a cinnamon festival?
James Roday: That’s a good question. We knew that – well, we needed a way to get Shawn and Gus to this tiny little town and way back and I think it goes all the way back to the pilot, there was a mention of a cinnamon festival. And so, we kind of just – we piggybacked that idea that Shawn and Gus go around d to cinnamon festivals and have never missed one and here’s one that they never knew existed.
So of course they were going to go, no matter how far it was away or how difficult it was to find, if there is a cinnamon festival out there to be experienced they were going to go. And it also gave us sort of a natural way to put our own spin on the cherry pie.
Joshua Maloney: All right. Well, I’m sure the episode will be fantastic. Thanks to both of you.
Sheryl Lee: You’re welcome.
James Roday: Thank you.
Operator: Thank you. And our next question comes from the line of Earl Dittman with Wireless Magazines. Please proceed.
Earl Dittman: Hi, guys. How are you all today?
Sheryl Lee: Good. Thank you.
James Roday: What’s up, Earl?
Earl Dittman: James, I have to say you must have been really young when Twin Peaks came on. How – in your – 10, 11, 12, somewhere in there?
James Roday: I was 13 and 14.
Earl Dittman: Thirteen and 14, so what was about it that turned you on that just made you obsessed with such a great show? I mean, a lot of people didn’t get it and a lot people did, what was it about it that got you?
James Roday: Well, I was a strange, you know, dark little dude. I fell in love with horror movies at a very early age. And somehow as a first grader, was able to convince my parents to let me go see, you know, stuff like American Werewolf in London, like in theaters.
So, I sort of had a – I was headed in that direction anyway and then I remember one night I think my parents were out at a function of some kind and I had just gotten cable in my room, it was a big deal and I saw Blue Velvet on HBO, I think. And it blew my mind in a way that I don’t think children’s minds are supposed to be blown, but they probably shouldn’t be watching Blue Velvet.
But, from that moment on I was – you know, I was sort of obsessed with David Lynch and then when, you know, he came to television there was no way I wasn’t going to watch. And then of course, he delivered everything that you would expect David Lynch to deliver and more. And – you know and to me, like (The Great Koo), was that he was doing it in primetime on network television.
Earl Dittman: Yes.
James Roday: And you just – even as a 14-year old, I just – I wanted someone in the room with me that I could look over and say, “Can you believe we’re watching this?” Like, “Can you believe that he’s doing this? How is he doing this,” you know and I think it redefined television.
As short of a period of time as they were actually on the air, I think he’s influenced television in a way that, you know – I mean, I don’t know if we have stuff, you know, like Deadwood and – you know and Boardwalk Empire, you know, if Twin Peaks had never happened. Like, I truly feel that way.
Earl Dittman: So, this really was a dream come true for you?
James Roday: Oh, absolutely and it was four years in the making, so we actually had to kind of like be patient and plan and, yes, it was really gratifying.
Earl Dittman: And Sheryl did – do – are you still surprised that people have these feelings for a show, as you said, 20 years later that they still love it as much as they did back when it first aired? (And it continues, you even) have more fans. Does that surprise you?
Sheryl Lee: Well, you know, there’s two things that happen, I think, when people experience something, whether it’s a song or a television show or a film or a book, any piece of art that they’re experiencing it for what it is. But then, it also connects them to a certain part of their life and whatever was going on at that time in their life.
So in that sense, no it doesn’t surprise me because I know for me, you know, I can be driving around and all of a sudden hear a song on the radio and boom, I’m back at that time in my life.
Earl Dittman: Yes.
Sheryl Lee: And so, the one thing that people tell me that they experienced so often with Twin Peaks was that it brought people together; that people start – were watching it together as a community and talking about it together at work. So, I think when they think of the show they’re also remembering that sense of community that they shared this thing with.
Earl Dittman: Yes. Yes. So, it’s – it brings back great memories and it – because it’s – it was such a fantastic show. I’m like James, I’m as obsessed with it and will buy every edition of – it comes out on DVD and Blue-ray.
One final question for James. James, you – now am I – I might be losing my mind, but is there going to be another season?
James Roday: Say that again, sorry?
Earl Dittman: Is there going to be a Season 6?
James Roday: Yes, there is. We…
Earl Dittman: Okay. Okay. Because…
James Roday: …yes, we got our pickup a while back and…
Earl Dittman: All right. Great.
James Roday: …we’re pumped and we’ll take a little break here and recharge the batteries and then we’ll figure out how to knock 16 more of these puppies.
Earl Dittman: Well, there – it sounds great. Thanks you both and I can’t wait to see it.
Sheryl Lee: You’re welcome.
James Roday: You’re going to love it.
Earl Dittman: Oh, I hope so. I know so. Thank you.
James Roday: Thanks, man.
Sheryl Lee: Bye.
Operator: Thank you. And our next question comes from the line of Sammi Turano with TV Grapevine. Please proceed.
Sammi Turano: Hi, good morning. How are you?
Sheryl Lee: Good. Thank you.
James Roday: Morning.
Sammi Turano: Good morning. Good to talk to you again, James. And Sheryl, my sister wanted to say she loved you on One Tree Hill; loved, loved you.
Sheryl Lee: Oh, thank you. Please tell her thank you so much.
Sammi Turano: I will. It’s her favorite show, so she’s psyched I’m talking to you.
Sheryl Lee: Oh.
Sammi Turano: Anyway, my first question is, what made you decide to do a Twin Peaks reunion on Psych rather than just doing a regular reunion show?
Sheryl Lee: Oh, is it – is that question for me…
Sammi Turano: For both of you.
Sheryl Lee: …or for James?
Sammi Turano: Both of you. You can both answer.
Sheryl Lee: Well, in regards to doing a reunion show for Twin Peaks, that would not – that just would be on its own, that’s probably up to David. So, this happened on Psych because James got it together first to ask us first.
Sammi Turano: Oh, wow.
James Roday: I am…
Sammi Turano: And what (unintelligible)…
James Roday: …I as a fan and am holding out hope for the real thing though. I know that there’s a – there is a hunger for it and it would be wonderful to see all of those guys come back together again. They’d have to figure out a third character for Sheryl, but I’m sure David already has something in mind.
Sheryl Lee: Yes, there already was one if the show hadn’t have been cancelled.
James Roday: So, see we’re good.
Sammi Turano: (Unintelligible). Okay. James, how much of an honor is it for you to have this reunion happen on your show?
James Roday: Again, I – it’s the most sort of transcendent experience that I have had on this show and that I suspect I will have on this show. I mean, it – Twin Peaks was iconic. Again, I think it changed the face of television and to be able to rub shoulders with this cast. In even the tiniest of ways, feel like I, you know, got to participate in some of that magic, you know, will not be topped, so huge, huge honor and very, very grateful that it was able to come together.
Sammi Turano: Okay, one more question for the both of you, what’s the biggest most memorable moment in filming this episode?
James Roday: Well, for me it’s very easy and I’m not just saying this because Sheryl is on the phone, but it was – you know, it was the moment, the precise moment that – you know, that Sheryl’s character opens the plastic and reveals the dead girl. The juxtaposition of Laura Palmer looking at Laura Palmer, it was kind of mind-blowing.
A close second would be Sheryl’s character talking about the girl later in her office, so that was it for me.
Sammi Turano: Okay, Sheryl, what was yours?
Sheryl Lee: That’s hard because there were so many moments that I loved and they were just different colors. You know, they were the moment on beach James is speaking of was an emotional moment for me and a very surreal moment for me.
But then, there were other moments that were just so fun and delightful and giggly and challenging and just to be with all of those people. The cast of Psych is such an incredible group of people and then also all these people from Twin Peaks just even being able to see them and work with them again and sit around on the set and have a coffee with them. It was just a wonderful, wonderful experience all around.
Sammi Turano: Oh, well, that’s wonderful to hear. Thank you to both of you for doing this. And by the way, episode’s fabulous.
Sheryl Lee: Thank you.
James Roday: Oh, thanks.
Operator: Thank you. And our next question comes from the line of Alice Chapman-Nugent with Times Courier Newspaper. Please proceed.
Alice Chapman-Nugent: Hi, guys. Thanks so much for taking the call.
Sheryl Lee: Hi.
Alice Chapman-Nugent: James, what is it about Psych that you think draws such a large crowd and they keep coming back for more? I mean, I love the show myself, but what’s your idea on the subject?
James Roday: Well, I think over the course of the first couple seasons, we were able to kind of negotiate a tone on our show that allowed us to really kind of stretch the parameters of what we may have thought we were going to be after – you know, after the first season. And in doing that, you know, we’ve kind of become this hybrid show that can do almost anything we want and still put it in the box that keeps (it) an episode of Psych.
So, I think we’re able to reach a much wider audience because, you know, as long as we solve a case every week we can do stuff like a tribute to Twin Peaks. We can – you know, we can do a Jaws episode. We can do a musical, you know, we can do an entire episode dedicated to John Hughes. It’s like (unintelligible).
Alice Chapman-Nugent: Hello? Are you there?
Sheryl Lee: I – Sheryl’s here. I’m here.
Alice Chapman-Nugent: Okay. Well Sheryl…
Operator: And I’m sorry, I’m showing the line has just disconnected of Mr. Roday. He’ll be with us shortly.
Alice Chapman-Nugent: Okay. Well, Sheryl, I had some questions for you too.
Sheryl Lee: Great.
Alice Chapman-Nugent: What – when did you realize that you wanted to become an actress and was – and why? Was there a certain actor that you admired or was it a show, or – and how did you…
Sheryl Lee: No.
Alice Chapman-Nugent: …get into acting?
Sheryl Lee: It was actually – I think it found me. I was in high school and I had wanted to be a dancer or an artist and I tore my knee up on a tobogganing accident in Colorado and ended up on crutches for a while and was getting very antsy because I wasn’t dancing and I was getting sort of ornery around the house, I think. And my mom said, “Why don’t you try out for the school play?”
And I had always been painfully shy and I said, “Absolutely not. I cannot speak in front of people. No way.” And then, my English teacher, one of my teachers at school also said, “Why don’t you try out for the play?” And so, I thought, “All right, I’ll just try,” and I ended up getting it to play the mother in The Bad Seed. And…
Alice Chapman-Nugent: Oh, okay.
Sheryl Lee: And I will never forget the first day of rehearsals. Auditioning was excruciating for me and it still is, but the first day of rehearsals it was that moment where I went, “Oh, this is it. This is what I’m supposed to.”
Alice Chapman-Nugent: And how old were you?
Sheryl Lee: Fifteen.
Alice Chapman-Nugent: You were 15?
Sheryl Lee: Yes.
Alice Chapman-Nugent: So, you still have issues with shyness, or are you pretty much…
Sheryl Lee: Oh, I definitely still have issues with shyness and auditioning.
Alice Chapman-Nugent: Oh. Well, do you have any upcoming projects that you could tell us about?
Sheryl Lee: Well, I did a scene in Winter’s Bone, which I’m very, very proud to be a part of that film that won the Sundance Award this year and I have this episode of Psych and I have a film that I think is coming out next year called The Fields with Sam Worthington and Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Directed by Amy Mann.
Alice Chapman-Nugent: Why you were filming this special episode, was there anything funny or unusual that happened to you behind the scenes that you could tell us about?
Sheryl Lee: Oh, gosh, let me think. I mean, I just remember, you know, the whole thing as it was sort of – there were a lot of giggles going on, you know, the whole time just because we were so happy to see each other and it was so fun and, you know, some of the writing is so funny and it was just – it was such a delight. I know I keep using that word, but it’s – it just – it was, it was absolutely delightful.
Alice Chapman-Nugent: Oh, that’s great. It’s wonderful. Well, thank you so much and good luck to you.
Sheryl Lee: You’re welcome. Thank you so much.
Operator: Thank you. And we have – Mr. Roday is back on the line. And our next question comes from the line of David Martindale with Crown Features. Please proceed.
David Martindale: Thank you. First for James, Dual Spires is a great title, but I thought I saw a different title attached to it at one time, which was A Damn Fine Tribute Episode, which is also good. Do you have a preference and what’s the story there?
James Roday: I never heard A Damn Fine Tribute Episode.
David Martindale: (Good enough then).
James Roday: I think you can take credit for that.
David Martindale: Okay.
James Roday: Yes, you know, the only title we ever had was Dual Spires and the lovely Maggie Lawson actually came up with that, so credit goes to her.
David Martindale: Okay, cool. Well, I dreamed the A Damn Fine Tribute Episode, but it is a damn fine title, isn’t it? Sheryl, when you started up with Twin Peaks and Laura Palmer, what were your expectations? Were you like, “Wow, this stuff is really weird and who’s going to get this,” or did you have a feeling that it would make an impact?
Sheryl Lee: You know, I had no expectations. At that time, I was living in Seattle doing theater, wasn’t thinking at all about moving back to L.A. or doing film or TV or anything. And I just got a call that David had seen my headshot in a local casting office up there and had thought that I was this dead girl in this thing that he was doing that was all very secretive.
So, I was originally hired for just a few days worth of work as a corpse with a couple of flashbacks and to – you know, to be wrapped in plastic and thrown on the beach. And then – so that was for the pilot and – which was shot up there in Washington, but then they all left and went back down to Los Angeles. And I stayed up in Washington and, you know, kept pursuing theater.
And it wasn’t until months later that David called and said, you know, “Would you like to come back on the show and move to LA?” And then, that was a – you know, then all of a sudden my life took a very different quick turn. And I had no experience in TV and no experience with the entertainment industry down here and so I had no expectations.
I wish I’d had a handbook at the time to know how to get through all that craziness, but I didn’t. I was winging it.
David Martindale: Okay. And are there any challenges to playing a dead girl wrapped in plastic, aside from just being still and, you know, holding your breath?
Sheryl Lee: Yes, for me it was – it – I mean, this is going to sound corny, but it really was an opportunity sort of meditate on death and I don’t mean that in a morbid way, I mean that in an absolute way. And, you know, I had studied a little bit of meditation at that time and knew that there was a possibility of sort of slowing the body down and slowing the breath down and slowing the mind down.
And so for me, that was what all those scenes were about, was an exercise in that and an exploration of that. And also, just being able – it was such a great opportunity because I had not been on a set before and so to be able to able to just be on a set as a sponge and get to soak all of that up was an incredible learning experience.
David Martindale: Okay. And is it creepy at all to ever look at yourself as a dead person?
Sheryl Lee: I – it’s not something I would ever choose to do on a regular basis, I’ll say that.
David Martindale: Okay.
Sheryl Lee: I think it’s much more disturbing for my family, so…
David Martindale: Good point. (That)…
Sheryl Lee: Especially my mama.
David Martindale: …makes sense because they weren’t on the set and they didn’t see and – you know. Yes. Okay. Thank you so much. A pleasure. Looking forward to…
Sheryl Lee: You’re welcome.
David Martindale: …(the episode).
Operator: Thank you. And our next question comes from the line of (Becca Shule) with PopCultureMadness.com. Please proceed.
(Becca Shule): Hello. Thank you so much for taking the time to speak with me today.
Sheryl Lee: You’re welcome.
James Roday: Hey, (Becca). What’s happening?
(Becca Shule): Sheryl, I was wondering, were you a fan of Psych before doing the episode?
Sheryl Lee: You know, I feel so bad saying this, I hadn’t seen it before. Now, I’m a big huge fan. But also you must know, there’s very few television shows that I do actually see, especially ones that are on later than 9:00 at night, but I am a fan now.
(Becca Shule): It’s a great show.
Sheryl Lee: Yes.
(Becca Shule): James, we know you had really high expectations for the Twin Peaks episode, so after four years in the making how well do you feel it lived up to expectation?
James Roday: I was really, really, really, really pleased. I mean, the only thing I would – I wish I could do is – you know, is – there’s about, I don’t know, seven or eight minutes worth of this episode that you won’t be able to see unless you buy the Season 5 DVD. Other than that, I – you know, I was pretty tickled.
I mean, we got the right director. You know, I was sort of – I really struggled with – you know, with the idea of not directing this episode because I knew I was going to be micro-managing and, you know, could I possibly hand it off to somebody else?
But, Matt Shakman, as it turns out, is every bit the Twin Peaks fan boy that I am. He even took it one step further by purchasing the secret Laura Palmer diary that Jennifer Lynch wrote and I believe he still has it in his possession. So, as soon as he told me that I knew we were going to be fine. And again, you know, except for the fact it just – there was too much good stuff and because we wanted it to breathe and kind of feel pacing-wise like a Twin Peak episode, we just couldn’t keep it all in. Other than that, I love it.
(Becca Shule): And how do you both think that viewers will react to the episode as either major fans or kind of sort of fans or people that vaguely remember it?
James Roday: I would say the diehard Twin Peaks fans are in for, you know, about 48 minutes of pure bliss. I don’t think any of the winks or the tributes will be lost on them and I think it’ll be wonderful. I think for people that were casual fans of Twin Peaks, you know, some of the bigger sort of homages, I think will probably and.
But, it’s also just a really well-acted, you know, sort of well-crafted episode of our show, so you know even for people that are just Psych fans and may not know Twin Peaks at all, my hope is after watching this episode they will go seek it out. They will go buy the DVDs. They will find it online or all the different ways you can access material these days and go have that experience for the first time.
(Becca Shule): All right. Thank you so much. We loved the episode in the office. We’ve just watched it recently. It was fantastic. So…
James Roday: Thank you very much.
(Becca Shule): …thanks for talking to us today, guys.
Sheryl Lee: Bye.
(Becca Shule): Bye.
Operator: Thank you. And our next question comes from the line of Gerri Miller with Mnn.com. Please proceed.
Gerri Miller: Good morning. James, can you tell me what you love most about playing Shawn? Can you hear me? (Sorry).
James Roday: Sorry, I lost you there for a second.
Gerri Miller: Do you want me to repeat?
James Roday: Yes, please.
Gerri Miller: Okay. I ask you what you loved most about playing Shawn.
James Roday: What I love most about playing Shawn? You know, I guess the fact that the character really lends itself to, you know, improvising and changing, you know, within the context of, you know, he’s got to be the same guy each week.
Gerri Miller: Right.
James Roday: I think the fun of the character is that no matter, you know, what they throw at us or what the world is or what the case is, you know, he never really has a plan and it’s always sort of jump first, ask questions later. And that’s a fun character to play because most of us are not like that in life because we can’t afford to be because there are consequences and ramifications and in the real world it doesn’t always go your way like it can on a television show.
Gerri Miller: Right. Okay. And my outlet is a green Web site, so I wanted to know what, if anything is done on the set to be more ecofriendly and what both of you do offset to be more mindful of the environment?
James Roday: Well onset I can tell you that about three years ago we stopped with bottled water of any kind…
Gerri Miller: Okay.
James Roday: …and as a crew gift, gave everybody their own little canteen thing and then they just bring it to set and refill it. That was our big move.
Gerri Miller: Okay.
James Roday: And then this past season, for the first time we started using sides that were double-sided, which…
Gerri Miller: Yes.
James Roday: …I can tell you it’s beyond confusing and I’m not sure if it’s going to stick, but we gave it a shot.
Gerri Miller: Okay. By the way, a lot of sets are going to iPad now instead of the printing on the double-sides to try to save paper completely. They’ve gone to the iPad system, so you might want to think about that too.
Sheryl Lee: This is a huge passion…
James Roday: Yes. We’ll get right on…
Sheryl Lee: Oh, go ahead. Go ahead.
James Roday: …that and see if we can get iPads issued to everyone. Brad, are you taking notes?
Gerri Miller: Okay. And what do you do offset, both of you, to be more mindful of being green?
Sheryl Lee: This is a huge passion of mine. You know, where do we start? I mean, this is hours of conversation, but I will say…
Gerri Miller: Okay.
Sheryl Lee: …recycling first and women’s beauty products…
Gerri Miller: Yes.
Sheryl Lee: …are a huge problem. They are filled with poisons and toxins and, you know, generate poisons and toxins in how their made. There’s wonderful organic beauty products out there now for women. I try to buy organic food, you know, before anything else.
The – you know, the constant signing of petitions online, whether it’s for World Wildlife Fund or any, you know, organization that’s working for the planet. You know, everyday you can take five minutes, ten minutes and just sign petitions to stop the toxins, stop the pollutions, help the endangered species; it’s a huge thing for me.
Gerri Miller: Yes, thank you. That sounds great. And anything to add to that, James?
Sheryl Lee: Whether – we all – this is another thing. I’m sorry, I’ve got to say this, but we all…
Gerri Miller: Go ahead. No, no. (Unintelligible)…
Sheryl Lee: …have two hands, we can pick up at least two pieces of litter a day.
Gerri Miller: Yes. Absolutely.
Sheryl Lee: If everybody just picked up at least two pieces a litter a day that they see on the side of the street that alone would make such a difference in our world.
Gerri Miller: Excellent. Thank you. And James, do you have any to add about what you do personally?
James Roday: I don’t own a car.
Gerri Miller: Ah, how do you get around?
James Roday: You know, I do travel in cars. I have been known to get into other peoples’ cars…
Gerri Miller: Okay.
James Roday: …but I – you know, my last lease expired a couple years ago and I just figured, “You know what, not getting a car will challenge me to A, spend more time in New York and B, you know, only drive when it’s absolutely necessary since it’s so awful for our atmosphere. So, that’s it. That’s my tiny little contribution in the world of Sheryl Lee.
Gerri Miller: Okay. Do you (unintelligible)…
Sheryl Lee: That’s a big contribution my friend.
Gerri Miller: Yes, that’s good. Do you…
Sheryl Lee: That’s huge.
Gerri Miller: …bicycle a lot or walk a lot, what do you find yourself doing to get around most?
James Roday: I actually do a lot of walking. I think it’s – I’ve always found it ironic that, you know, in New York, you know, you’re going to try a new restaurant and it’s 22 blocks away and you don’t even think twice about it. Like…
Gerri Miller: Right.
James Roday: …it’s nothing, 22 blocks is no problem. But in Los Angeles, like we feel the need to drive around the corner to get our coffee.
Gerri Miller: Yes. Yes, I know. You’re absolutely right.
James Roday: It’s ridiculous.
Gerri Miller: Yes, completely. Well, thank you so much…
James Roday: (Gee, I mean I’m lucky)…
Gerri Miller: …for both of your answers.
James Roday: You got it.
Sheryl Lee: You’re welcome.
Operator: Thank you. And our next question comes from the line of Travis Tidmore with The CineManiac. Please proceed.
Travis Tidmore: Hey, guys. Thanks again for joining us today.
James Roday: Sure, Trav.
Sheryl Lee: You’re welcome.
Travis Tidmore: I sat down yesterday to watch the episode and made sure I had a piece of cherry pie and some coffee to drink while I watched it and it was great getting to go back and recall those episodes that I watched when I was nine and ten and then again when I was in college. I was just wondering, what was your all – your favorite, I guess, in joke and kind of reference to the show that you all had?
James Roday: It’s a good question because it’s overstuffed with as many as I can think of. I guess – I mean, I guess there are some really small ones that made it that I’m pretty happy about. I mean, the big ones are kind of obviously, so I think they sort of speak themselves.
But, I’m kind of tickled by the fact that the episode starts panning off a chocolate bunny sitting on my desk. It’s really quick. You know, it’s the first thing you see when the show starts, but one of the biggest laughs I ever had watching Twin Peaks was, you know, Agent Cooper to Diane, “I am now holding in my hand a box of chocolate bunnies.”
So, my little tribute to that opens the show and no one got it. No one – like nobody understood why there was a bunny on my desk, but they kept it in, so I’ll go there as a small one that makes me feel warm inside.
Travis Tidmore: Sheryl, what about you?
Sheryl Lee: Well, this is a tricky question for me because I haven’t seen the series in 20 years, so a lot of the stuff like that I don’t remember. You know, I remember my experience of working on the show, but I don’t remember the show itself as much. But, when we were working on Psych, there was something that Ray Wise said in a scene that we all had and I just – I can’t remember what it was, but I just feel giggle thinking about the – that moment.
I just love him so much and he’s such a talented actor and you know, I was looking at him…
James Roday: And he had the white hair while he was saying it.
Sheryl Lee: Exactly. And I’m looking at him and seeing, you know, my dad from 20 years ago and it – that tickled me.
Travis Tidmore: Well and James, did you have to go back and rewatch the series to get – stuff all those jokes in there, or is it still that fresh in your mind?
James Roday: You know what, I did go back and watch – I watched the first 15 again to make sure that there was nothing that I was missing or there was no – there wasn’t anything subtle that I could sort of use to kind of brushstroke the edges of the scene and stuff like that, because I hadn’t watched it as a complete set, wow, probably since I was about 23 or 24 years old.
But, it was a great excuse to go out and get the Gold box and, I don’t know, it just – it’s like Sheryl mentioned earlier on the call, it’s like I so clearly identify watching episodes of that show with a very specific time in my life and it just takes you back there immediately. It’s uncanny in the way that that works.
Travis Tidmore: Well, thank you, guys, both for – again and I loved the episode.
James Roday: Thank you, man.
Sheryl Lee: All right. Thank you.
Operator: Thank you. And our next question comes from the line of Lena Lamoray with LenaLamoray.com. Please proceed.
Lena Lamoray: Hi, James and Sheryl.
Sheryl Lee: Hi.
James Roday: Hey.
Lena Lamoray: James, you really created a masterpiece with this Psych episode and such a beautiful homage to David Lynch, so I would like to commend you on that.
James Roday: Oh, thank you for saying that. Thank you for being affected that way by it.
Lena Lamoray: Okay, (unintelligible). Now, you really nailed the Twin Peaks element with a special Psych flavor, so can you talk about what it was like being able to bring the two together in some of the most challenging scenes to film?
James Roday: Well, for me it was all about walking that fine line of, you know, being Psych, but never for one second like mocking, you know, Twin Peaks. I mean, it was a love letter, it was always meant to be a love letter and it became – you know, it became that much more sort of pressure-filled when we add seven, you know, original cast members walking around.
It was like I found myself looking at them a lot like, “Is this all right? Is this – does this feel right? Is this – are we doing it,” like the scene on the beach is a great example of like, you know, I was kind of quietly taking my queues from Sheryl because I figured if something had been wrong or in any way we weren’t – you know, we weren’t nailing the tone or we were being disrespectful, I was really hoping that, you know, they would speak up and say, “You know what, this is no good.”
That was the big challenge for me, just sort of walking the line of like, “Yes, we still have to be our show, but most importantly, you know, we want to show how much we love this other show.” So, that was basically me for the whole shoot. I was sort of tone police making sure that we were accomplishing both of those things. Part of the…
Sheryl Lee: You did an incredible job with that, James.
James Roday: Thank you, Sheryl. It – I mean, you – and the cast, I mean they all just knocked it out of the park. I mean, it was like – it was almost like there was a discussion that probably should have happened where we gathered everybody around and said, “Okay, this is what we’re doing. You can all feel confident and comfortable that we’re here for the right reason and this is just a giant love fest.”
But, we never actually – like we may – we never formalized that and yet there seem to be sort of like an unspoken thing where everybody just kind of got it and went for it, like boldly went for it. Like I remember when Dana like approaches the body and loses it. Like, you know we said, this is Leland at the funeral and he just jumped in, man. Like he just went for it because he realized like it’s okay, we’re not – you know, we’re not poking fun. We’re embracing this.
And I don’t know, as soon as that happened, I felt like we were probably in pretty good shape.
Lena Lamoray: Now, Sheryl, how do you feel the Psych team did in capturing the true essence of Twin Peaks?
Sheryl Lee: I thought they did an amazing job. Like James was saying, you know, over the years there have been little things here or there that I’ve been asked to do that were sort of, you know, I’m going to – trying to think of the right word, but to – you know, that we’re a little bit like stepping back into that Twin Peaks time and they didn’t feel right to me. They didn’t feel like it would have been done in a tone that felt authentic for me in that way and these guys at Psych did an incredible job of making it, you know, exactly what he said.
You know, we can laugh about it, you know, we – those of us who were on Twin Peaks, you know, we’re the – we can very easily make fun of it, but you know, we’re – it’s – we get along really well and we have a playful energy together and there’s sort of power in numbers. Like the more of us that are there the more comfortable we all feel and the – you know, we’ve worked together before, so we can get to those places really quickly.
And at the same time, you know, we would be the first ones to say, “You know, something about that doesn’t feel right,” and as far as I know, none of us ever, ever had to say that. But you know, everybody at Psych did such a wonderful job of walking that balance.
Lena Lamoray: Now, James and Sheryl, how well do you feel Shawn and Gus handled themselves in this episode and feel free to give some extra points for all the incredible screaming involved.
Sheryl Lee: Honey, I’m so sorry, I’m having a hard time hearing the question.
Lena Lamoray: Okay. I said how well do you feel Shawn and Gus handled themselves in this episode and feel free to give extra points for all of the incredible screaming involved.
Sheryl Lee: Give extra points for what?
Lena Lamoray: Screaming involved.
Sheryl Lee: Oh, I’m so sorry. I cannot – I don’t know what’s happened with the line. I can’t hear very well.
Lena Lamoray: Extra points for all of the – Shawn and Gus’s screaming and yelling.
James Roday: Screaming and yelling. Oh, okay. We got it. We got it. Well, you know, schematically the idea was sort of that Shawn and Gus become Agent Cooper by coming to this town. They’re the outsiders. So and of course combine their intelligence, it doesn’t come anywhere close to Coop’s, so obviously it wasn’t quite as smooth.
But, you know, I think on a scale of one to ten you probably can’t go much higher than a five because if it hadn’t been for Ray’s character, Father Wesley, they would have burned in the library and the episode would have ended about 20 minutes sooner.
I mean, you can’t give them too much credit. I – they needed to be fully rescued in this episode.
Lena Lamoray: Good work. Thank you so much, guys.
James Roday: Thank you.
Sheryl Lee: Thank you.
Operator: Thank you. And our next question comes from the line of Jennifer Decker with DigitalAirwaves.net. Please proceed.
Jennifer Decker: Hi, guys. Thank you so much for talking to us today. There have been a lot of…
James Roday: Our pleasure.
((Crosstalk))
Jennifer Decker: …parodies/tributes done on Psych, like Hitchcock and now Twin Peaks and It’s a Wonderful Life, are there any other ones coming up in the future that we should be looking for and what’s the status of the musical episode we keep hearing about?
James Roday: I think musical will happen next season. I think we’ve dragged our feet enough and I think it’s time to sort of do our business or get off the can with that one. So, I would say that it’s – you can probably go ahead and put that one down in ink that you’ll get the musical next season.
As far as other tributes go, we’ve been talking about doing a baseball episode for a while. We’ve got Corbin Bernsen on our show, so I think it would be a shame if we didn’t exploit that before it was all said and done. And then, I think a vampire episode is in the works…
Sheryl Lee: Oh, I’m in that one.
James Roday: …and for us that’s – you know, that’s another tricky one because like you said, there’s a lot of parody out there already and vampires are a easy target. So, we’re going to have to come up with something that’s better than that…
Jennifer Decker: To try to avoid the Twilight syndrome?
James Roday: …and make it worth everybody’s while. Yes, just – you know, there’s a lot of stuff that’s easy to pick on and easy to make fun of and you know, it’ll be a challenge. We did werewolves and that was pretty fun and I think it’s a – I think vampires needs to happen, it just needs to happen in the right way, so that one’s on the books for next year too.
Jennifer Decker: Okay. Now, I have a couple questions about the last couple of episodes. We’ve seen how Gus reacted at the last episode after finding about – out about Shawn and Jules. Is that going to change the dynamic between Shawn and Gus in the future?
James Roday: You know, not very drastically. I think we sort of work towards like Shawn kind of over – or perhaps underestimating Gus’s ability to deal with the situation and while there’s a little bit of conflict, it’s – you know, it’s not a major thing. I mean, Shawn’s had a girlfriend on the show before and, you know, Gus and Juliet get along. So, I think it would be weird to – if all of a sudden (they just did not function), so it’s not a major riff.
Jennifer Decker: Okay. Now, Shawn still hasn’t told Jules the truth about really being psychic and in the last episode they ended with some promising no more lies between them. Is she ever going to find out?
James Roday: That’s a great question and I don’t have the answer. I can tell you that it’s not going to happen any time soon. So yes, he’s digging himself deeper and deeper with each passing week.
Jennifer Decker: Okay. And I have several friends who are big fans and they all wanted me to ask if we’re ever going to see Ben the Mouse again?
James Roday: Possibly. Possibly. I can tell you that he’s safe and that he’s pretty happy and that he gets all the cheese that he wants. But yes, maybe we can see him again. He’s good though. Make sure you tell your friends that he’s doing well.
Jennifer Decker: I’ll let them know. Thank you very much.
James Roday: Thank you.
Operator: Thank you. And that concludes our question-and-answer session for today. I’ll now turn the call back to Brad Bernstein.
Brad Bernstein: Great. Thank you, everyone, for participating today and thank you to James and Sheryl for taking the time. Remember Dual Spires Episode of Psych airs December 1 on USA Network at 10/9 Central. Thank you both, James and Sheryl.
Sheryl Lee: Thanks. Bye.
James Roday: Thank you, Sheryl.
Sheryl Lee: Thank you, James. Thank you so much. I look forward to seeing you soon.
James Roday: See you in a couple weeks.
Sheryl Lee: Brad?
Operator: Thank you.
END