(S03E02) From the title, it was clear tonight's show was going to relate to Ferris Bueller's Day Off. In fact, in true Shawn and Gus fashion, the entire John Hughes' oeuvre was mined for comic gold, as Gus was hosting the 13th high school reunion -- that's right. Not 10, but 13 years. Ironically, in 1995 there was no John Hughes movie. Never mind, the references were more '80s than '90s anyway, including Milo and Otis, Karla DeVito, and all those Hughes movies.Overall, there was something lacking tonight. The setting came first, Gus and Shawn's class reunion, then the case. It was like Murder She Wrote, where Jessica Fletcher just happens to stumble onto a murder wherever she is.
It seemed an awkward arrangement. The show is better when Shawn and Gus horn in on a Santa Barbara PD case.
What was interesting in the show was Shawn revisiting the love that might have been with Abigail, Gus questioning if he's a failure because he hasn't achieved greatness since graduation, and in a side plot, Henry going down memory lane with Madeline. Is Psych getting all mushy on us? Two weeks in a row, our usually off-the-wall, goof ball Shawn has had serious moments. This week it was Shawn and Henry in the car; last week, Mom and the revelation.
Humor wise, the boys were definitely channeling teen Hughes, i.e. Ferris, Pretty in Pink, Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles. Shawn chose a Judd Nelson photo tag, and identified the victim when he realized he was a Duckie, the character Jon Cryer played in Sixteen Candles Pretty in Pink.
The big reveal had Shawn in front of a crowd, one of his favorite things to do. Remember last season with the fashion show? Again, our Shawn had a serious moment; a salute to his best friend. I kept waiting for the punch line, but it was really a serious moment.
Overall, a good episode, but I've come to expect more from the boys. More ha-ha. Call me shallow, I prefer the lighter stuff.
Other points of interest
-- Shawn finds closure with Abigail because he realizes there's something going on with Jules. Yeah, it's still there.
-- Henry and Madeline; I'm not feeling it. Everything is based on the past, not the present.
-- Did you see the pineapple? It was on the sign-in table.
-- "No body, no crime." They repeat it enough times to say it should be on a tee shirt. I agree.
-- References to Barnaby Jones. The Wonder Years. And from Ferris Bueller, "Abe Froman the Sausage King of Chicago" was his alias to get into the French restaurant.
-- All of Henry's Matchbox cars for Shawn were cop vehicles.
-- Gus is stunned that Shawn never went to the high school football games. Shawn explains the games were on Friday. That would mean missing Step by Step, heart of the ABC TGIF lineup.
TV Squad Ten: Top Ten ESPN shows from worst to first
Andy Richter: The TV Squad Interview
Have any questions for Vik Sahay of Chuck? Ask them here!
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
7-26-2008 @ 10:24AM
Karen said...
Jon Cryer was Duckie in "Pretty in Pink," not in "Sixteen Candles."
I thought this episode worked really well, myself.
Reply
7-26-2008 @ 10:24AM
Meghan said...
I personally loved the episode, as the standard setup can be predictable at times. I felt the humor and serious stuff were well balanced this episode, from goofy psychic dancing and 80s references through the missed-moments.
Plus, the tag at the end with the Breakfast Club voice-over was BRILLIANT. Fist in the air!
Reply
7-26-2008 @ 12:43PM
Nathaniel said...
Surprised you didn't mention the refrence to the short lived 1988 ABC series "Probe." Definetly caught me by surprise.
Reply
7-26-2008 @ 4:33PM
Susan Burns said...
I loved the episode. I loved the Jon Hughes references. I loved the breakfast club ending...., and I loved the scene in the car between Sean and his dad.
Anyway, a good change of pace with a tie up that is all Psych.
Reply
7-26-2008 @ 12:51PM
Jennifer said...
This show holds a 10-year reunion 13 years later, for the class of 95, and it's an 80's party. God, I love this show.
I enjoyed how Carlton's idea of a good date is getting to ARREST his date. Also the Gas n' Sip guys out in the hall, the Duckie, etc. I love the 80's too.
Also enjoyed Abigail, and couldn't help but wish Shawn would someday have a sense of follow-through. He's all chase and no catch.
Reply
7-26-2008 @ 4:13PM
Carissa said...
I love the show, too. Thanks for mentioning the 80s thing, because I don't understand the show from that aspect. Last week they had Furbies, Dynamite mag with Square Pegs and Shrinky Dinks. Obviously its written by people around 40, but in spite of the fact these kids were total dweebs if they weren't into things in the 90s in school, it works. I love references from my generation even if they are out of place. ;-)
7-27-2008 @ 3:54AM
ak said...
I was loving the reunion thing because my actual 10th reunion is this year. I was kind of thinking about the '80s thing too, but I don't find it out of place because if they're the class of '95 then they're my cousin's age, and we're always nostalgic about the '80s, despite the fact that we were young kids. Personally, I find it a lot harder to be nostalgic about the '90s...but it is getting easier the further away from them that we move.
7-26-2008 @ 12:53PM
Anita said...
I thought this episode was hilarious, as well as the premiere. Some of my favorite Hughes references included S asking to borrow Henry's 'panties' while in the car, the breakfast club ending, and Sean's Judd Nelson high school pic. I loved that although it tamed the crazy, it still kept the wacky from Gus' girly shriek to S's angst at his parents' appearance -
Reply
7-26-2008 @ 2:19PM
Jake said...
I actually thought this was one of the best episodes in a long time -- the writing was just so well done especially at the end with Shawn's best friend speech and his later speech with rachel leigh cook.
I really really liked the episode a lot.
Reply
7-26-2008 @ 6:17PM
nickmagoo said...
good episode. the kiss between sean and abigail and the subsequent 'it felt like closure' was nice, although it felt like their parting was a bit hurried. lassiter's gleeful 'this is the best date i've had in a while' during the psycho blonde's arrest was hilarious...
the bad guy (football player) was also 'cancer cowboy' from the excellent, yet sadly cancelled CBC show J-Pod based on the douglas coupland book of the same name. great show, look for it on DVD if it ever comes out.
Reply
7-26-2008 @ 8:49PM
Seth said...
I think the thing you are missing -- is what should be in every episode of Psych. I love the laughs but in the end they should be grounded in something touching and dramatic which I think in this particular episode was very well done.
Seriously, what is it going to take to have James Roday nominated for best comedy actor -- hopefully the SAG and the golden globe awards will take notice.
Reply
7-27-2008 @ 8:37AM
SPT Layzner said...
I loved TGIF as a wee child. Who could forget such shows like Coach, or that Teenager that Ate a Hamburger and Died, and the Urkel Show?
Man was Shawn on drugs during his whole high school tenure?
Reply
7-27-2008 @ 11:15AM
angus said...
what's the name of that song that's playing in the scene with Shawn and Abigail on the dance floor?
Reply
7-28-2008 @ 10:55AM
Josh.A. said...
angus: The song is called "On and On" by the Longpigs, off their first album "The Sun is Often Out".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Longpigs
The song was on the Mission: Impossible movie soundtrack, but not actually in the movie - go figure.
I'm a huge fan of the band, which split around 2000, so i was glad to hear it used.
8-04-2008 @ 11:18PM
astralroamer said...
About 10 minutes into the episode, in the gymnasium -- what is that song in the background?
7-27-2008 @ 1:09PM
Jude said...
I loved this episode. I liked the fact that Shawn didn't turn his tribute to Gus into a joke. He had chemistry with the guest star. He still had the *keys* from high school (and they hadn't changed the locks).
Reply
7-27-2008 @ 4:31PM
Katie said...
Does the fact that Abigail was the girl from "She's All That" count as a movie reference? I realize that it was late 90's but it still falls into that high-school movie genre.
Anyway, I loved the episode. Personally, I think it's good that they are building some depth the the characters. Don't get me wrong I love the comedy but to keep a show on the air you've got to gradually build a good back story or things start to get stale.
Reply
7-27-2008 @ 6:46PM
Mike K. said...
I'm from the Class of '95 and the 80's love definitely rang true... even though we're a little young to remember all of it, all those movies played constantly on the local UHF stations during my teen years.
Also, who else loved the Gus photo montage?
Reply
7-28-2008 @ 1:15PM
Argus said...
This seemed like a bit of a weird post. Kind of short, we basically got a summary and then feelings about the review with very little explanation. The points at the end such as Sean seeming very into Abigail and then suddenly throwing it away for Jules deserved more than a casual ending. What's up with that anonymous TV squad blogger?
Reply
7-28-2008 @ 2:00PM
Harry J. Friedman said...
Just wanted to add that the "1995" floating in the punch bowl appeared to be made of pieces cut from a pineapple.
Reply