Psych is the most underrated TV show of all time, easily. It has amazing writing, memorable characters, and tons of hilarious episodes spanning eight seasons but no one talks about it! Its first season definitely had a bit of a slow start, but when it got good, it got really good.
Psych has a simple but effective premise. Shawn Spencer has incredible powers of observation and uses them to make money by solving crimes for the police. However, one day, the police gets suspicious so he lies and tells them he's a psychic. The show resolves around Shawn and his best friend Gus starting a psychic detective agency to solve crimes, all while keeping up the gig in front of the police force. Honestly, the psychic aspect isn't the thing that drew me into the show, it's the concept of two best friends solving mysteries together. Shawn and Gus have great chemistry together, and their bickering is a ton of fun to watch. The sharp writing just makes the show even funnier, especially in its second half. However, Season 1 is at the point where it seems like the show is a bit too scared to experiment, so a lot of its mysteries are a bit on the simple and predictable side. It's not until the final episode where we start to get something unique in an excellent horror parody.
While Shawn and Gus are definitely the highlight of the show, the members at the police force are also incredibly entertaining. Lassiter hates Shawn's guts and doubts that he's actually a psychic, which makes his slow development as he warms up to the duo incredibly satisfying. Juliet is unique since she wasn't originally supposed to be in the pilot episode, but the show inserts her into the plot incredibly seamlessly. Out of the whole cast, the only weak link is Shawn's father, Henry. His cold attitude towards Shawn is kinda hard to watch, especially in the earlier seasons, and I never found myself warming up to him all that much. Outside of Henry, however, Psych's cast is great and it's super fun to watch them interact. But similarly to the simple mysteries, I feel like this season barely scratches the surface of who these characters are. Once again, it's not until the latter half of the season until we start to get some great character interactions.
The second half of this season is pretty great, however, and these are the best episodes:
From The Earth To Starbucks: While the crime about an astronomer dying is pretty standard, where this episode shines is in the humor. This is easily one of the season's funniest episodes, especially for Gus who gets a lot of focus here. There's the Jackal, the introduction of the Pluto one-liner, Shawn giving an awful presentation, there's a lot of fun to be had.
He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not: Similarly to the previous episode, while the crime itself is pretty basic, this one is worth noting for what it does to the characters. The speed dating sequence is one of my favorites in the season because while it starts with the cast dating random people, they eventually start to go on dates with each other. It has all the character interactions I wanted to see this season.
Scary Sherry: Bianca's Toast: For a season without an overarching plot, this was a great season finale. The horror parody aspect is incredibly entertaining and well-executed, from Juliet's undercover method acting to the hilarious finale at the haunted house, but what I also love is how this episode showed how much the characters have subtly developed throughout the season.
Overall, Psych has an entertaining premise, funny writing, and a likable cast, but its first season is a bit simple and procedural at first and doesn't quite get better until its second half.
3/5 Stars
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