Psychic detectives aren’t given a lot of respect. Most people think they are fake. Shawn Spencer of Psych, is fake. This, among other things, makes the USA comedy a classic.

In flashbacks, we see that Henry Spencer (Corbin Bernsen) assumed his son, Shawn (James Roday), would follow in his footsteps and become a law officer. In preparation, Henry helps Shawn hone his powers of observation and deduction, often using games and challenges to test him.

Shawn originally becomes known as a psychic when, after calling in a tip on a crime covered on the news, the police become suspicious of his knowledge. Theorizing that such knowledge could only come from the inside, they are about to arrest him when he uses his observations to convince all present that he is psychic. The interim police chief warns Shawn that if his “powers” are fake, he will be prosecuted. With no choice but to keep up the act, he makes the most of it. Pretending to have psychic powers allows him to engage in strange and comic behavior as he turns real clues into hunches and otherworldly visitations. He enjoys teasing lifelong friend Gus (Dule Hill), a pharmaceutical representative, over his eclectic interests (including a love for comic books and superheroes, spelling bees, astronomy, and Spanish-language soap operas).

Head detective Carlton Lassiter (Timothy Omudson) doubts Shawn’s psychic abilities and initially does not value his work, while junior detective Juliet O’Hara (Maggie Lawson) and chief Karen Vick (Kirsten Nelson) either fail to recognize that Shawn is a fake, or else are more willing to go along with the charade to solve cases. Henry Spencer and Shawn have a difficult relationship; still Henry helps Shawn on numerous occasions.
Source: Wikipedia.org

James Roday is great as Shawn. He’s got a cocky/funny attitude towards everything that might come off as aloof or thoughtless to those in authority (his dad, Detective Lassiter, Chief Vick) but it shows a tenderness to the woman he pines over, Detective O’Hara. Dule Hill is hilarious as an uptight pharmaceutical salesman that loves sharing the spotlight with Shawn as they go on “psychic” adventures.

I love this show because it’s character driven. Anyone could play a fake psychic detective and solve crimes because they were hyper-observant. The development of Shawn and Gus brings it to the next level. It just wouldn’t be the same without those characters. The show is filled with plenty of gags and crime fighting, but they just wouldn’t be as funny if they were done by crappy characters. I also love that they use lame, obscure 80′s movie and pop-culture references.

If you love crime-fighting comedy shows, this would be a good one for you, but if you’re into character-based shows even more, then check this show out. It’s definitely in my top 10 shows right now.

Rating: 4 1/2 Dwight Heads

Tags: comedy, corbin bernsen, dule hill, james roday, psych, Reviews, television, usa, usa network

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 21st, 2008 at 1:18 pm and is filed under Reviews, television. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.