Monday, August 13, 2007

Psych, I defy you not to laugh

I've mentioned Psych before, but I wanted to revisit the topic, because those of you not watching this show are seriously missing out on high quality hilarity. Psych is a comedy/mystery show on USA.
Synopsis:
The star of the show is Shawn Spencer. Shawn's father was a police officer who drilled powers of observation and deduction into his son through testing and exercises, such as making Shawn prove he observed how many people were wearing hats when they walked into a restaurant before Shawn could have desert. The father (played by Corbin Bernsen) wanted Shawn to become a police officer. Much to Dad's chagrin, Shawn prefers to float through life, never taking anything too seriously. One of the ways Shawn makes money is by watching the news and then making anonymous tips to the police to solve crimes.
Unfortunately, Shawn does this one too many times and the locals think Shawn must be in on the crimes to have this insider information. About to be thrown into the slammer, Shawn explains that he is a psychic and that is how he gets the information. The Chief of police then tests Shawn by hiring him as a psychic on a case-by-case basis. Once this happens, Shawn turns to his best friend Gus, a pharmacology salesman to help him. Together they open Psych, a psychic detective agency.
This show is original, hilarious and brilliant. USA hit the jackpot for cast chemistry with these people. The guy who plays Detective Lassiter, Shawn's main nemesis, has such a dry sense of humor, Shawn is a lovable wacko and Gus is his perfect straight man. The entire cast plays so well off each other. I honestly do not think I have belly laughed at any other comedy the way I do this one. AND it's an hour long comedy to boot. The story lines and situations are so creative and funny. Shawn pretending to channel a cat, impersonating doctors at a vet clinic (which I know is a personal favorite of Belinda's). Murder at a spelling bee competition. This year they ripped off American Idol and watching the two main characters perform (with Gus dressed as Michael Jackson) - damn, comedy just does not get much better. The shows website is:
The show is full of inspired 80's references and jokes. In the last episode Shawn was trying to figure out who shot a spitball at their 5th grade teacher - he had a second spitter theory. To aid in his investigation he bought a row of lockers on ebay. He decorated his and Gus' lockers with a pictures of Crocket and Tubs.
At the end of each episode they do "psych-outs" which usually involves cast members singing, dancing or otherwise acting silly. They also have a couple of short webisodes. The first season was also just released on dvd. I cannot explain to you how funny this show is, watch an episode, I dare you not to laugh. I double dog dare you. Ha, try to wuss out on that one! Seriously, words cannot do it justice. Just watch!
'til next time -
Shel

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