TVSquad

The other day was actor James Roday's birthday; on April 4, he turned 32. For the Texas born star of Psych, life is quite nice right now. Psych is coming back for a third season on USA this summer, and starting the other night, episodes from season two will be showcased on NBC. Oh, and he's dating Maggie Lawson, a.k.a. O'Hara, his co-star on the show.

There's a fine line between charming and obnoxious, amusing and annoying, cute and cloying, funny and trying too hard. James Roday veers close to the line. He's a daredevil of a comic actor, daring to be almost too much to take. But like other actors of his ilk, he succeeds in flying close to the sun, but never burning his wings. Like Jim Carrey or Robin Williams, James Roday is willing to push the comic envelope. So far, he's proved to me that watching him is always interesting, arresting and fun. While he may never reach the box office glory of Carrey or cop an Oscar like Williams, he's definitely going to be a TV star for today, tomorrow and down the road.

One thing that gets me about the USA Network's "seasons" is that they barely begin, and then they are over. I am not even sure we got eight episodes of Psych, and now it is gone again, just as I was getting comfortable with my weekly dose of hokey. Hokey, says I? Then why do I miss it?

1. Corbin Bernsen -- You know you loved him in L.A. Law, heck, you even loved him in Major League II. But Psych uses Bernsen's talents to the fullest, in creating one of TV's most obnoxious dads with a true tender side (from bubble baths to believing in his son, even though it is usually somewhat veiled). So, so glad they use him more each season.

2. The mysteries -- Yes, a grand part of the hoke, and sometimes painfully predictable. But I love a mystery, even of the lamest kind, and for me, a show that has some secrets not revealed until the end carries some clout.

(S0E06) Victim's Wife: I never broke two stars.

I realized something just as this week's episode of Psych was about to air. We were looking at a mini (and I mean mini) West Wing reunion with John Amos appearing as Gus' Uncle Burton. For those who don't remember, Amos had a recurring role on The West Wing as Admiral Percy Fitzwallace. His character met an untimely end during Wing's fifth season when his vehicle was caught in an IED explosion. I don't recall if Fitzwallace or Dule Hill's character, Charlie Young, ever spoke to each other while on Wing, but at least they were on the show together.

(S02E03) Lassiter: What color is that suit?

Agent Ewing: Black.

Lassiter: Really? Really? It seems blacker than black.

Ewing: It's Washington Black.

Man o' man o' man, did Shawn have to work his arse off tonight! For the second week in a row Mr. Spencer really had to put his skills to the test to show both the Santa Barbara police department and the Federal government what he could do. And, if that wasn't hard enough, he had to compete with another 'psychic' hired by the Treasury Department. In the end he got the culprit, of course, but it was fun to watch him squirm and try to keep up throughout the episode.

(S02E01) Lassiter: We found prints.

Shawn: Was he driving a Little Red Corvette?

Gus: Under the Cherry Moon?

Lassiter: Fingerprints.

And so, with that reference to 80's pop culture, I welcome you back to the second season of USA Network's Psych. After watching this week's episode I have come to the conclusion that this show has replaced Gilmore Girls as the program with the most pop culture references. In addition to it's nod to American Idol this week there were references to Prince, Michael Jackson, A-Ha, Tears for Fears, Hall & Oates, David Lee Roth's song Yankee Rose, and so many others that I'm sure you, the beautiful TV Squad reader, will remember and point out in the comments.

(S01E15) Exactly twenty years later . . . give or take ten minutes.

And so, with heavy heart, we come to the conclusion of the first season of Psych. What at first seemed like a quirky little comedy-mystery hybrid (I call it mysterdy) featuring a Tom Cruise lookalike, the guy from The West Wing, and Arnie Becker, has become an amusing show full of snappy banter, decent character development and references to 227. Yes, Psych has come a long way in a very short time and I'll miss it while it's away on vacation. In the meantime, though, let's take a gander at this week's show.

Pretty strong for a final episode, although a bit different. That's because it was co-written by Shawn Spencer himself, James Roday, and directed by one Mr. John Landis (Animal House, Blues Brothers). The tone of the show was a little less humor, a little more tension. As Roday put it in his blog, it was a "thriller" episode of Psych.

(S01E14) You knew that a moment like this would eventually come up . . . a time where a father needed his son's help. I mean, even though Henry Spencer shows reluctance about his son's detective skills (especially since he masks them with a fake psychic power), inside he is extremely proud of how far his son has come. So, when an old friend of Henry's asks for help in finding his son the senior Spencer happens to drop Shawn's name. Ah, parents.

Shawn doesn't disappoint this client. In fact, he goes over the top in solving the mystery. By 'over the top' I mean going severely psychic in the presence of the father and his client. As I've mentioned in previous posts Shawn has been pretty subdued when using his psychic powers. Not this episode, though. He went whole hog just to put his Dad in an awkward position. Ah, children.

Smell that? It has the aroma of burning leaves. It must be me thinking about something again. Here's the skinny: I've noticed over the last few weeks that Shawn likes to tell people that Gus is his hero, that he looks up to his best friend. I think that most of that is just joking since it is usually preceded or followed by a false statement about Gus' skills. However, deep down, I wonder if Shawn really does look up to Gus. Gus is very intelligent (something we have just started to see), has a steady job, and seems to have his head straight on his shoulders. Meanwhile, until he began his detective agency, Shawn flitted around from job to job and girl to girl. Perhaps the younger Spencer wants to have just a bit of what Gus has. Then again, I could be blowing smoke out of my poopie chute.

I'm actually going to start off this week's review with a mention about Gus. I haven't spoken much about him even though this role on the show has expanded quite a bit over the last few episodes. I put him up top this time around because even though he was kinda, sorta missing in a few scenes this week the ones he was in he made some significant impact. One of the things I noticed is that he is starting to pick up on some of the detective skills that Shawn had drilled into him by his father. There were one or two occasions where Gus actually saw evidence first before Shawn. The other noticeable trait Gus is exhibiting is his intelligence. I couldn't really tell how smart he was in the first half of the season because he always seemed to be whining. In the second half the producers have fleshed Gus out a bit more to show his intelligence and use it in the process of an investigation.

(S01E11) Yes, the review is late. I'll apologize to each and every one of you individually. That should take a few years, and by that time you'll probably forget what I was apologizing about.

How do you connect speed dating with naked, fat guys found out in the middle of a field? I'm not too sure, but Psych did it and made it work quite well. Gosh, what a funny episode! I can't remember laughing out loud at this show so much as I did this time around.

The second half of Psych has seen a lot of changes. We've seen Shawn mature quite a bit, we've seen Lassiter mellow out, and we've even seen Henry Spencer going out on a date. This week we saw another change. This was probably one of the first episodes where all of the members of the ensemble cast were utilized. We've seen combinations on Gus and Shawn with one or two of the other players, but this week they all participated. Even Kristen Nelson was back as Interim Police Chief Karen Vick. With some of the attention off of Shawn and Gus, the show took on a different feel. The cast is really jelling together as a cohesive team.

(S01E09) After five long months Psych has returned with all new episodes featuring James Roday as Shawn Spencer and Dule Hill (The West Wing) as his trusty companion Gus. For those of you who watched and enjoyed this show when it aired over the summer on USA I say welcome back. For those of you who aren't familiar with this comedy-mystery hybrid (I call it a mysterdy) let me give you a brief synopsis of the plot . . .

The show follows Shawn in his role as a police psychic, solving crimes that they cannot (which are many). However, he really isn't a true psychic. In reality, he has an extraordinarily keen eye minute details, which he obtained through intense training conducted by his policeman father (Corbin Bernsen).

Got it? There will be a quiz at the end of the review, of course. With that out of the way let's move on to this week's show.

I know that we already have a 'Ask TV Squad' category to answer questions from our beautiful and intelligent readers, but that is usually meant for one question at a time. In this episode of 'The Five' I'd like to reply to a number of questions that have come to us over the last few weeks. So, without further ado . . .

1. Steph writes 'Please help! Is Psych canceled? I just discovered it and I've only seen reruns.'

Fear not, dear Steph. Psych is just taking a mid-season break, which is normal for cable shows to do. The USA Network comedy, which stars James Roday, Dule Hill and Corbin Bernsen, returns with new episodes in January of 2007.

(S01E06) Secretary: There's a Lieutenant Crunch here to see you.

Gus: Lieutenant Crunch?

Shawn: Actually, I've been promoted. It's Captain Crunch now.

At first I thought this wasn't going to be a good episode of Psych. There was a big focus on Detective Lassiter at the beginning of the show and it looked like it was going to be one of those team-ups where Lassiter learns a little from Shawn and Gus, and vice-versa. But, that was not the case at all. Once again, it was pretty much Shawn and Gus the whole way. Not only that, but it was one of the best episodes of the series so far.

(S01E05) Let's not dilly-dally around this week. Let's get to the best scene of the episode. This would be the one where Shawn is "channeling" a recently dead singer/dancer in front of the police chief. Well, to be truthful, he's "channeling" the dead woman via a "psychic connection" with a cat (who was previously owned by another recently dead victim).

Shawn is grooving and gliding along, singing in a husky female voice, trying to prove to the chief of police that four recent suicide victims didn't really kill themselves at all. Rather, they were murdered. It was all very surreal, like a nightmare version of All That Jazz. Bob Fosse would have been proud. It was also very funny, as was the entire episode.

USA Network is so proud of its new comedy Psych that it has decided to order up three more episodes for its freshman season. Including the 90-minute pilot that would make a total of 15 episodes for the series. In addition, AOL Entertainment News reports that the show is expected to be picked up for a second season in the near future.

The premiere of Psych drew 6.1 million viewers, a record for a cable series debut this year. Since then it has retained most of the audience of its lead-in program Monk. That series, which stars Tony Shalhoub as a compulsively obsessive detective, is averaging about four million viewers a week. Psych is averaging about 3.9 million per week.

Psych, which stars James Roday as a detective who dupes the police and the public into believing his keen observation skills are actually psychic powers, will most likely follow the split-season pattern of Monk. This means that new shows will run until month's end and then return with new episodes back in January.

(S01E04) Let me just get this first little item out of the way and we can move on. There was a scene early in this week's show where Shawn Spencer and his friend/business partner Gus are talking outside of their detective agency, which is at the beach. Behind Shawn we see the continuation of the beach and a seemingly large evergreen forest looming just above the water.

I'm pretty sure that there aren't any large evergreen forests near the beach in Santa Barbara, where the show is supposed to take place.You would find that type of stuff in the Pacific Northwest, including Vancouver, British Columbia where, by coincidence, Psych is filmed. I only ask that the producers try to limit the amount of outside shots to avoid breaking the illusion that the show is based in Southern California.

There, I feel better now. So, let's get on with the review.