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Psych, Season 5

Psych, Season 5

By Patrick Samuel • July 26th, 2012
Static Mass Rating: 3/5
PSYCH — SEASON 5 (DVD)
Universal/Playback

Release date: May 21st, 2012
Running time: 702 minutes

Creator: Steve Franks

Cast: James Roday, Dulé Hill, Timothy Omundson, Corbin Bernsen, Maggie Lawson, Kirsten Nelson, Buzz McNab

Psych, Season 5

As cliché as they might be, I’ve been a fan of television detective shows since I was a kid. Back in the 80s I remember watching, for example, Magnum, P.I., Cagney & Lacey, Remington Steele and Moonlighting and always trying to work out the mystery before our heroes could.

Along the way I really got to love those characters and looked forward to seeing them each week. There was something so great about the way they formed relationships with each other and this was what made me care about them. During the 90s though, there weren’t that many detective shows I enjoyed in quite the same way as those ones, and for a while I thought that era had well and truly ended…until I discovered Psych.

Having become an avid fan of the show since season 4, I was keen to see what the duo – fake psychic Shawn (James Roday) and his sidekick Gus (Dulé Hill) – would be getting up to this time.

Opening with Romeo and Juliet and Juliet, we see Shawn and Gus trying to solve the kidnapping of a wealthy business man’s daughter. It offers hilarity almost immediately as Shawn thinks he has a penchant for martial arts, which he clearly doesn’t and this is demonstrated several times throughout the episode.

Meanwhile, Juliet (Maggie Lawson) is delaying getting back to her routine duties as a result of her kidnapping at the end of season 4 and Shawn’s dad, Henry (Corbin Bernsen) is hired by Santa Barbara Police Department and effectively becomes his boss.

Psych, Season 5

The episode also sees Psych giving its take on movie genres, which it’s done before with horror, adventure and western. This time it’s Romeo and Juliet with an Asian twist and it works really well as a season opener.

Later on the duo investigate the murder of a former police chief. They team up with two of his former colleagues who are virtually doppelgangers for themselves in thirty years. The bickering banter between them is delightful as they try to clear the old chief’s name and solve his murder.

Midway through the season we’re treated to what I can only describe as the show’s best episode yet. Dual Spires is their homage to David Lynch’s Twin Peaks and it comes complete with appearances from numerous members of the cult show’s original cast including Sheryl Lee, Ray Wise, Sherilyn Fenn and Dana Ashbrook.

The episode sees Shawn and Gus receiving a mysterious email inviting them to the Cinnamon Festival in Dual Spires, a small town that’s invisible on a map. Once they arrive there, they’re drawn into a mystery involving the drowning of a teenage girl.

Everything is spot on with this episode, even the theme song is sun by Julie Cruise and there are moments that reflect on Twin Peaks’s bizarre atmosphere, odd situations and outlandish characters. It’s all lovingly sent up with Dual Spires and even though Kyle MacLachlan doesn’t appear in it, Shawn and Gus take his place rather well.

As the season draws to a close with the episode Yang 3 in 2D, we see the serial killer Mr. Yang (Ally Sheedy) making another appearance and this is where I felt the show let itself down. I felt the show’s villain should’ve been written into the episodes running up to the finale rather than just included at the end, and this was the same problem I encountered with season 3 and 4.

That being said, the season includes 16 episodes and the majority of them are strong in terms of the writing and performances, even though the Shawn and Juliet “will they/won’t they” plot is usually relegated to the sidelines.

Hopefully with season 6 we’ll continue to see Shawn and Gus develop their detective skills as they try to dupe everyone else into thinking one of them is a psychic. It’s a winning combination for the show and proves there are still good television detective shows out there.

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Patrick Samuel

Patrick Samuel

The founder of Static Mass Emporium and one of its Editors in Chief is an emerging artist with a philosophy degree, working primarily with pastels and graphite pencils, but he also enjoys experimenting with water colours, acrylics, glass and oil paints.

Being on the autistic spectrum with Asperger’s Syndrome, he is stimulated by bold, contrasting colours, intricate details, multiple textures, and varying shades of light and dark. Patrick's work extends to sound and video, and when not drawing or painting, he can be found working on projects he shares online with his followers.

Patrick returned to drawing and painting after a prolonged break in December 2016 as part of his daily art therapy, and is now making the transition to being a full-time artist. As a spokesperson for autism awareness, he also gives talks and presentations on the benefits of creative therapy.

Static Mass is where he lives his passion for film and writing about it. A fan of film classics, documentaries and science fiction, Patrick prefers films with an impeccable way of storytelling that reflect on the human condition.

Patrick Samuel ¦ Asperger Artist

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