They’ll Psych You Out!

PSYCH, SEASON 4 (DVD)
Universal/Playback

Release date: July 18th, 2011
Certificate (UK): 12
Running time: 702 minutes

Cast: James Roday, Dule Hill, Timothy Omundson, Corbin Bernsen, Maggie Lawson, Kirsten Nelson

I love my detective shows. Whether it’s Columbo, Miss Marple, Jessica Fletcher or Agatha Christie’s Poirot, there’s something to be said for anyone who can crack a good murder case without going all David Caruso and these guys were definitely the masters at what they did.

In recent years we’ve seen a flurry of new case-solving shows and while I’m a relatively newcomer to Psych I found it was something I was able to pick up very quickly and that was all down to the combination of charisma and goofiness of the show’s main duo, Shawn (James Roday) and Gus (Dulé Hill).

They’re extremely likeable and exactly the kind of guys you should hire, but not to solve a case, probably as entertainers. You see, Shawn is a fake psychic and together with his partner and best friend Gus, they hire themselves out as such, but they also get called on by the Santa Barbara police department to help out on cases too.

With his keen sense of perception, photographic memory and all the training passed onto him by his dad, Henry (Corbin Bernsen), a former cop, Shawn is very much passable as a fake psychic. His fake powers impress everyone around him and the duo, well, actually trio with Henry included, have managed to fool everyone, so far.

Each episode in Season 4 is a new case. They venture out to Canada to catch Cary Elwes, they stop by the Old West, they hunt down a werewolf and there’s even a possession when Ray Wise turns up as a priest in an Exorcist spoof episode. As if that wasn’t enough we also get to see Gus re-forming his old band, Blackapella, with Kenan Thompson and the theme song gets a one-off makeover by none other than Boyz II Men.

What ties the show together of course is the relationships. We see the dynamic of Shawn and Gus balanced by the often antagonistic Lassie (Timothy Omundson) but there are also moments when they come to depend on him to help them out of tight situations, like when Shawn gets kidnapped and held at gunpoint by some not-very-nice men in the episode Shawn Takes a Shot in the Dark.

On the romantic side, Shawn continues to keep his feelings for co-worker Juliet (Maggie Lawson) to himself. This is probably for the best as he’s already dating Abigail (Rachel Leigh Cook), but even though they share a lot of good times together, like dates at the morgue and trips to police interrogation rooms, there are moments when he steals a glance at Juliet and wonders. Meanwhile Gus gets a new girlfriend and Shawn is keen to vet her for any un-datable traits.

As the show heads to its season final with the James Roday directed and Hitchcock-heavy episode Mr. Yin Presents, Psych pays homage to classics such as Psycho, Rear Window, North By Northwest and Marnie. The episode also features a chilling guest appearance by Ally Sheedy who plays a former nemesis to the crime-solving duo.

Needless to say, Season 4 has me hooked and I’ll be looking out for earlier seasons to see how it all began and also Season 5. It’s a great show with some interesting ideas and unlike most other shows on at the moment, this one knows how to balance comedy and crime without getting hi-tech or taking itself too seriously.