That’s right everybody, Shawn and Gus are coming home (this Friday, January 9 at 10:00 on USA). Not that I didn’t appreciate last month’s Christmas special, but a themed-show doesn’t really allow the boys room to work.
Now I know you’ve all been hearing some noise about how great The Mentalist is, and everyone’s arguing over whether or not it is or isn’t exactly like Psych. Not interested in the argument. Personally, I saw The Mentalist pilot and was very turned off by it. My wife didn’t even stay awake for the ending (okay, we have an eight-month old, but still). Actually, she asked me to recap the last fifteen minutes for her (I was very quick with the delete button on my remote) and I refused. Couldn’t risk her wanting to give it a second try.
But I digress. Whether or not The Mentalist is the first coming or the second, Psych stands on its own two feet and is awesome. The cases themselves? Not so interesting, though they’ve definitely rocked the Bee (Spelling, that is), Civil War reenactments, telenovelas (how creative is this?), singing competitions and high school reunions. It’s the characters and the writing that make this TV-must-see.Shawn (James Roday) irritated me at first. He’s kind of whiny, very needy, and way too angry at his dad (the always amazing Corbin Bernsen) for reasons that have never really been explained to us. What brought me around was two-fold. First, the way he rides (get your mind out of the gutter) Lassiter (Timothy Omundson). The second? His brilliant interplay with Gus (Dulé Hill).
Dulé is the reason my wife and I started watching Psych in the first place. He was absolutely incredible as Charlie on The West Wing (though why’d he go slumming with Zoey Bartlet?), and after how underutilized he was in the final season, we needed more. Enter Gus, or as we like to call him, Gustopher. Pharmaceutical salesman. American Spelling Bee fanatic. ‘Super Smeller’. No, they don’t make them like Burton Guster any more.
Though, as much as Gus makes the show, I’ve never understood how he and Shawn adequately explain why a psychic needs an assistant. To take notes during visions? And as the show has progressed, Gus has even started offering information and answers to the assembled police, etc. How do they defend that? They’re not alleging that he’s psychic, right? So doesn’t that just give away the fact that all Shawn and Gus do is investigate?
The hole in the premise of the show notwithstanding, Psych is great fun. I appreciate it for how easy it is. Some shows you have to work to watch and enjoy. But Psych is so simple that you don’t even have to be 100% following the case to laugh. In fact, USA has done a great job of that overall with their original content. Not dumb TV, just easy.
Just do me a favor USA: spare us The Big Adventures of Little Shawn and Gus and bring back the singing Psych-Outs at the end. They’re classic!
Clacked by Aryeh S.
on Jan 08, 2009 @ 15:00 EST5EDT
I am such a huge fan of Psych! You’re right, the actual “mysteries” aren’t that good, but they are really just a backdrop for Shawn and Gus to act crazy, which is always entertaining! It’s so funny, but Dule Hill is the reason I started watching it, too. There just isn’t anything else like this on the air right now, and I’m so glad it’s finally starting back up. Psych is definitely an hour of pure fun, and I don’t have to pause it every time the kids come in the room, which is rare these days.
I always figured that, for the general public, Shawn the Psychic was such a loon that he required a minder like Magichead – sorry, Gus – just to walk the streets and to interact with normal people. Sometimes the nice Mr. Guster even translates what the raving madman is actually saying.
My whole family loves Psych. Dule is awesome, we miss him on West Wing, another great show. Great writing, loveable, quirky characters–entertaining and not smutty. We also love Burn Notice.