When it comes to humor and homage in your everyday murder mystery comedy TV show, nothing stands out quite like Psych. The show is full of original jokes and characters that play off each other hilariously well. Importantly, however, the show also leans heavily into parody, and its commentaries are equal parts funny and smart. This is especially true in Season 8 when Psych decided to comment on how best to do a remake – by remaking one of their episodes. Season 8, Episode 3, "Cloudy... With a Chance of Improvement,” was borne from a desire to remake a less-than-stellar episode of Season 1, “Cloudy... With a Chance of Murder,” and tap into the concept’s full potential by giving the story a second look.
Shawn (James Roday Rodriguez) and Gus (Dulé Hill) begin the episode by following a random train of thought on the subject of remakes, expressing their hatred for them. They both end up agreeing that unnecessary remakes that are created for no particular reason have little entertainment value. Capitalizing on the original’s popularity without adding substance to it completely disregards the point and insults the original at the same time, while also neglecting to make use of film and TV’s ability to get creative with its material. In their words, “You don’t remake The Dukes of Hazzard.”
This commentary on remakes is especially relevant today, even eight years after the airing of “Cloudy... With a Chance of Improvement.” In the era of elaborate franchises and constant revisits to older classics, hearing a reasonable argument against the unnecessary remake is vindicating. It speaks volumes to the discussion of originality that we have had four different Spider-Man versions in just the last twenty years. Do we need something new? Or something old but expanded upon?
Psych chooses not to condemn all remakes, only the unnecessary ones. Shawn says as much with some hilariously on-the-nose dialogue: “The whole point of a remake is to choose something that showed serious promise but failed to live up to expectations.” Apparently, the cast and crew felt exactly this way about “Cloudy... With a Chance of Murder.” Remaking one of their weakest episodes not only proved that they were capable of doing a promising concept justice but also made a point to explain through example how to properly create a remake – with the correct reasoning and intentions. The opportunity also allowed for plenty of meta-jokes. Shawn’s comment on The Dukes of Hazzard is an especially funny line, considering that James Roday Rodriguez was in the film.
Remaking an entire episode of a series was unheard of; in fact, Psych was the very first show to improve on an already-existing episode. Thanks to their creativity and determination to make each chapter of the show the highest quality possible, the team behind Psych made a truly iconic pair of episodes.
And if that wasn’t enough, Psych went one step further toward making “Cloudy... With a Chance of Improvement” memorable. In both versions, the general setup is the same: when a weatherman is murdered, it’s up to Shawn and Gus to assist attorney Adam Hornstock (Michael Weston) in defending his wrongfully arrested client, Sandra Panitch (Lindsay Sloane), and solve the case to prove her innocence. But then the story beats begin to branch off in different directions, making certain clues and characters into versions of the original that make more sense and add more entertainment value.
At the center of these changes are the casting choices: nearly all the characters in this episode are played by guest stars who appeared previously in numerous episodes. Sandra Panitch is now played by Lindsay Sloane, who originally appeared two seasons prior in “Shawn and the Real Girl” as a completely different character. Father Westley (Ray Wise), originally appearing in Season 4’s “The Devil Is in the Details…And the Upstairs Bedroom” and later returning in Season 5’s “Dual Spires,” brings the courtroom judge to life. The cast is full of actors from different episodes in the series, and their rearrangement also makes for some fun meta-humor. One of the few supporting characters to remain the same is Hornstock, who acts as an anchor and connects the original to the remake perfectly.
Throughout its run on the air, Psych has been well known for its clever and bold use of meta-humor and homage, but “Cloudy with a Chance of Improvement” takes the commentary to a whole new level. By first criticizing the all-too-repetitive trend of frivolous and unneeded remakes and introducing a way to enjoy an original story with a new twist, Psych poses a question and an answer within the first five minutes. The rest of the episode is just Psych following its own advice and leading by example, proving its thesis correct in the most entertaining way possible.
The most beautiful thing about this pair of episodes is that both are enjoyable in their own way. Some may prefer the original, others the remake. I’ve heard it both ways. No matter which one you watch, it’s clear that Psych’s dedication to good storytelling and love for out-of-the-box humor led to the creation of something truly memorable and made TV history in the process. Even for those who don't care as much about the behind-the-scenes reasons, story details, or meta-commentary, “Cloudy... With a Chance of Improvement” is also a pretty creative way for the show to have some fun, taking note of the initial confusion and closely following delight of the viewers and playfully saying: Psych!
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