Right off the bat, I feel compelled to give Jason Priestly and Jennifer Finnigan kudos for a terrific job in their respective roles of Clive and Barbie. My only issue with them was the Barbie name. It just felt phony. I thought Priestly and Finnigan worked well with one another. There was definitely chemistry between the two.

I wouldn’t say the murder investigation necessarily had me riveted, but was undeniably caught off guard by the direction the investigation went. It wasn’t quite as cut and dry as I anticipated.

While Shawn and Juliet were aided by Gus (Dule Hill), Lassiter (Timothy Omundson), and Henry (Corbin Bernsen), Shawn had a lot of his mind. Marriage. When Shawn and Gus had that little mind reading scene early on, I knew exactly what Shawn was trying to communicate. Shawn clearly though Juliet wanted this weekend away to be big, but Shawn was totally off on his interpretation of what Jules wanted.

Jason Priestly, Jennifer Finnigan

That scene with Gus discovering the ring in Shawn’s Nintendo DS was really meaningful to me. It showed how close Shawn was to proposing. Shawn’s frenzied search for the DS was also explained. He wanted that ring back! If he had, I don’t think Jules would have agreed to be honest. I think she really likes Shawn (if not loves), but marriage is a big step and neither of them have ever felt ready to take that step.

I really wish I had the chance to get something answered by Steve Franks, creator and executive producer of PSYCH. I’d love to know what’s going on with the recent episodes of the guys getting together. I loved seeing Gus, Lassiter, and Henry out on the town, attempting to pick up ladies. The episode “Last Night Gus” was an episode which had all of the guys together in a way we had never really seen them. I’m really liking this new grouping. I’m just curious what the inspiration was.

When you throw in the crazy advances by Arden Myrin’s character, Chelsea, I couldn’t help but really enjoy this episode. Her laughter was hysterical. Henry Spencer’s determination to avoid her at all costs put things over the top.

If a lover’s retreat is ever attempted again, I’d like to see Shawn and Jules away from all crime and let the fellas deal with whatever new murder comes across the wires. I’d like to see Shawn and Jules out of the action and relaxing.

Rating: 8.5

Now as for the bulk of the episode, I actually enjoyed the cult scene even though I felt like we had already done this sort of setup a few years ago with USA Network’s Monk series having an episode that was quite similar.

I was willing to overlook some of my criticism regarding the similarities to Monk because I was having so much fun watching Shawn (James Roday) scramble to piece together the murder case and try to get Gus out of there.

Dule Hill, Diora Baird

As the murder case eventually got pieced together by Shawn, Juliet (Maggie Lawson), and Lassiter (Timothy Omundson), I gradually hated the episode because of the predictable fact that the cult leader, Eli (Deidrich Bader), was the one who was responsible for the death of Dan Cooper and the attempt on Nicole’s life.

Suzanne Krull deserves credit for putting herself out there in the role of Dot. She was not only helpful to the investigation, but she was hysterical. She really made Shawn uncomfortable with the flirting and talking about her dreams. Add to the fact that Juliet was present, well, it really made Shawn feel like he was on the hot seat.

The fall season finale slated for next week looks like a possible highlight for this season. I have high hopes after this somewhat disappointing episode.

Rating: 6.5

Shatner didn’t play just another character. He signed on to play a major character, Juliet’s father. That fact does leave open the opportunity to make other appearances. I wouldn’t object to Shatner returning to the role. Nor would I object to seeing the parents of Gus or even Shawn’s mom appear once in a while.

As for “In For a Penny,” we got to learn all about Juliet O’Hara’s (Maggie Lawson) estranged father, Frank (Shatner). Despite the fact that Juliet is a law-abiding police officer, Frank turned out to be an exceptionally-talented con man. It’s almost like she became a cop because of her father’s checkered past.

I wouldn’t be honest if I didn’t knock the show for a reasonably predictable story. You pretty much knew where things were headed long before they actually made the trip. That being said, I still enjoyed the episode immensely. Some of the writing was excellent.

“Foghorn NEEDS Leghorn.” “They’re the SAME ROOSTER, Shawn.”

“We’re nervous about three things, Gary Busey, Gary Busey, and your 30th birthday party!”

Come on! You know you loved those lines! Not to mention that hilarious chest bump. How many of you saw that coming?!

The flashback of Juliet’s childhood took me by surprise. I don’t get why we don’t explore this kind of stuff more often. Some of the stuff with Shawn’s childhood has become a little boring. Those skits aren’t nearly as funny as they used to be.

“In For A Penny” certainly won’t go down as one of this season’s stand-out episodes but it was largely enjoyable. The script’s comedic writing made up for some lackluster attempts of surprising viewers and some poor acting by Shatner and Lawson in a few instances. PSYCH still manages to be must-see TV for me.

Rating: 6.5

As a matter of fact, “Shawn Interrupted” was one of those few episodes which didn’t really garner a the typical criticism from me. Having Shawn (James Roday) and Gus (Dule Hill) go undercover to do anything is always a good way pique my interest. Going undercover in a mental institute is certainly not their first time in such a wild situation.

Detective Lassiter (Timothy Omundson) has never really felt like the type of guy who would celebrate prematurely. So his party seemed a little out of character. That being said, you do have to appreciate the man’s effort. The professional-looking banner was a nice touch.

Dule Hill as Gus Guster, Julianna Guill as Vivienne

As for the investigation aspect of the show, I loved it. While I did find it obvious what was going on and who the villains were, I still managed to enjoy just about every minute of the mental ward scenes.

A large part of that was because of Dule Hill and his playful, flirtatious Gus character. How could you not like those scenes with Gus and Vivienne (Julianna Guill)? They were very sexy. Julianna Guill did a terrific job reciprocating Gus’ every move. I know Vivienne was a crazy patient, but it’s hard not to want to see Julianna Guill come back, even if it’s just to watch her flirt again. She knows what she’s doing.

Despite being one of the biggest stars of the 1980s, Molly Ringwald, was truly misused. She had almost zero presence. Her character wasn’t the least bit interesting. I really expected the writers to utilize her talent a little better and have her be more a center of attention. I don’t even know that I would have made her one of the villains. None of that really worked for me.

“Shawn Interrupted” happens to be one of my favorite episodes of the new season. Despite my critiques, it’s hard to deny this episode did have a lot going for it. There was a real sense of danger present when Shawn got strapped down by the orderlies. At times it wasn’t clear who was on whose side. The hilarious writing left me in stitches right from the start. A few changes here and there could have turned this into one of the series’ best episodes ever.

Rating: 7.5

I really liked the decision to bring Danny Glover into the show. I’ve really come to enjoy the many movies he has made over the years. The Lethal Weapon films certainly stand out as personal favorites. I just didn’t like Mr. Glover’s performance early on in the episode. The scene where his character asks Shawn (James Roday) and Gus (Dule Hill) to help investigate the death of the team’s hitting coach lacked chemistry. It’s not all on Danny Glover, however. I’d put some of it on the rest of the cast and the director. They should have re-shot that scene.

Danny Glover, James Roday

I’ve knocked PSYCH repeatedly in the past for making it too easy to spot the bad guy. They did a much better job of making introduce red herrings in this episode but it was clear to me that the team’s general manager had something to do with the death of the hitting coach. It just wasn’t clear why initially.

I felt there was a bit of a plot hole when it came to why the general manager wanted their first baseman dead. Why would you want to sign a player who couldn’t hit a curveball? Any decent scout can see figure it out before you sign him. If you don’t like his ability to hit a curveball, you shouldn’t have signed him. Let someone else sign him. The writers didn’t think this one out very well in my estimation. The “why” aspect was a little flimsy for my taste. And then the bad guy’s get away attempt was… well awful. I don’t think I could have come up with a worse get away if I tried.

“Dead Man’s Curveball” was one of those classic “Shawn and Gus” episodes. They can work well but I couldn’t help but find myself missing Lassie (Timothy Omundson) and Juliet (Maggie Lawson). The boom mic had more screen-time than they did.

The comedy present throughout kept this episode from being a total bust. Watching Shawn all hopped up on speed was amusing as Hell. James Roday often gives off an energetic vibe but that was crazy. The train to Crazy Town chugged right on through to the end of the episode when the running gag about a player’s loose girlfriend found one last man to run off with. I don’t know where that story inspiration came from but I loved it. The inner-team brawl was a riot.

Rating: 6.5

Vigilantes always get some play in movies every few years. The resurgence of the Batman film franchise has certainly had some impact on this. Seeing as PSYCH centers around solving crimes, it made a lot of sense to go the route of a vigilante crime fighter.

The mystery about who vigilante was wasn’t the strong point of the episode. I’m a heterosexual male but even I know a good-looking man when I see one. Miles Fisher really stood out amongst the rest of the background characters. Add the fact that Miles’ character had access to the police department intel and it just made it clear to me that he was the vigilante Shawn (James Roday), Gus (Dule Hill), and all of the Santa Barbara cops were after.

Miles Fisher on PSYCH

While I knock the show from keeping The Mantis’ identity not that secretive, I’ll give the writers credit for adding the twist about the reason for The Mantis’ involvement. I didn’t expect him to be after the drug money.

My favorite moment in this whole episode was the big gunfight sequence in the end. Knowing how much Lassiter (Timothy Omundson) loves to fire his sidearm, I have been hoping for more action-packed sequences like this. Usually, Lassiter and O’Hara (Maggie Lawson) show up just as Shawn and Gus have gotten the suspect to confess and neither of the detectives have to fire their weapon. They just mosey onto the set with their guns drawn. Some action scenes every now and again keep things interesting and satisfy that action movie-loving part of my personality.

This episode would have been off the hook if Joey McIntyre would have manned up and performed more of that song and dance shown in the PSYCH-Out sequence at the end of the episode. I’m sure Joey is tired of requests for that stuff, but come on. PSYCH celebrates the 1980s and New Kids on the Block were an enormous part of the 1980s pop culture. Bust out a few more moves! Everyone head to Youtube to check out the official video for “You Got It (The Right Stuff)”.

Rating: 8

Shawn (James Roday) and Gus’ (Dule Hill) vampire costumes were equally as ridiculous. To think anyone would dress up like that voluntarily makes me laugh.

Anytime Carlton Lassiter (Timothy Omundson) is about to be made a happy man, it’s reason to be concerned. As long as PSYCH has been on the air, Lassiter is never happy for long. Much like Gus, Lassiter’s personal relationships end up going bad pretty quickly. The young lady always seems to be wrapped up in some sort of illegal activities.

James Roday, Dule Hill

As is true of most episodes of PSYCH, this episode had its terrific recognizable guest stars. I thought Kristy Swanson did well, but I thought the writers had her character taking too much of a backseat to Carlton Lassiter. I would have liked to have seen Swanson’s character a little more confident and assertive. As for Corey Feldman, I thought he was perfectly cast as the bartender. The one scene cameo wasn’t enough though.

The episode’s murder mystery was genuinely interesting. Looks are almost always not as they seem. It was fair to predict that Lassiter’s new lady friend had something to do with what was going on, but it wasn’t obvious what her role was. Helping her brother out like that isn’t exactly an original plot twist, however it worked well on an emotional level. I’m kind of looking forward to seeing if the writers actually have Swanson back or if her character will simply be written out. I’d love to see Lassiter find a woman and not come into the office sad about another disastrous first date.

I certainly enjoyed “This Episode Sucks”, but it definitely lacked some of the comedic punch that was present last week. Also, this episode felt more of a parody of the vampire craze than a true attempt to create a spooky, scary Halloween episode. I wasn’t really looking for another parody of vampires. It’s been done enough.

Rating: 7

I thought the crew did a terrific crew of paying homage to The Hangover. There are a lot of similarities between the film and this episode. I actually thought the movie would have worked better if it were done by police officers. It felt so much more natural to have PSYCH do this story.

The start of this episode proved to be the perfect location to start things out. Anything can and will happen in a bar. It happened to have a lot of people involved in the story, even Woody (Kurt Fuller), the coroner. When Shawn (James Roday), Gus (Dule Hill), Lassiter (Timothy Omundson), and Woody woke up in the PSYCH office, I admit it was good for a few laughs. Woody and Lassiter both waking up on the same couch was good stuff. However the show really took off when we learned the private investigator was killed by three shots and Lassiter’s gun just so happens to be missing three rounds. I knew it would prove to be a mere coincidence, but it was a terrific teaser.

James Roday as Shawn Spencer

In addition to the murder mystery to being really good, the episode was chock-full of hilarious scenes and a nice little development between Shaw and Juliet (Maggie Lawson). Asking someone to move in with you is definitely a big deal for a couple. That’s generally not something you rush into. I wasn’t the least bit disappointed when Shawn had second thoughts about that step. There’s no need to rush into it…do it when you feel comfortable.

Dule Hill was terrific as Gus… as usual. I’ve been hoping to see Gus get a long-term girlfriend like Shawn may have with Juliet. Gus tends to only get a girl for a single episode. I wouldn’t mind seeing someone normal come into Gus’ life for a change.

That being said, Gus’ lack of a girlfriend proved useful for the purpose of this week’s story. Gus was the villain’s way to the phone that would have caused all kinds of problems. The big shoot-out scene late in the show sealed the deal for this episode. Gus’s mind was clearly compromised by the drugs placed in his drink. And as silly as Gus was, it only got better when the guns came out and bullets were flying around the room. That entire scene was laugh-out-loud funny.

I wish Kurt Fuller would be bumped up to a series regular. His Woody character is hands-down the best coroner on television. He’s got just the right amount of eccentricity about him that works.

The previews USA Network used to promote this episode did spoil a few scenes of this episode. That was really the only disappointment I had. It spoiled a few of the scenes. It’s the nature of the business, however. Showing some of the funniest clips is a good way of drawing people in to watch a show, but it still takes away from some of the surprise when you watch the episode.

It’s rare for an episode to have everything in top-notch form, but somehow PSYCH did it. They pulled off one of the best episodes I’ve ever seen. This episode should be nominated for an Emmy.

Rating: 10

After sneaking into British Consulate Residence in Santa Barbara to get a Darth Vader action figure for a kid who had lent it to the the British Ambassador’s son and wanted it back, Shawn Spencer (James Roday) found himself in a wild situation. He actually found a dead body during his attempt to hide from the security guards.

I knew where they writers were going with this. Shawn’s psychic abilities have always come into question, more so in the distant past than recently, so it felt natural for Shawn to be doubted again when his information was so accurate.

Despite being on the air for five entire seasons, PSYCH is still a blast to watch. James Roday and the whole cast still look like they are having fun. Roday and Hill are the best comedy duo in television. Those early scenes in the British Consulate Residence where Shawn was playing games as he looked for the Darth Vader action figure were excellent. The kid in Shawn is still has obvious as it is today as it was several years ago.

Dule Hill, James Roday

The writers deserve a good pat on the back for this episode. Not only was the episode genuinely funny, but the murder investigation held my attention and surprised me a little.

However some of the best material was left for the interrogation room. It wasn’t surprising that Shawn loves Juliet (Maggie Lawson). He’s just never said it out loud… in front of so many people. You just couldn’t keep from smiling as that scene unfolded.

USA teased some of those interrogation scenes all summer long, namely Lassiter’s (Timothy Omundson) question about whether or not Shawn actually possessed psychic abilities. I was honestly hoping for a little twist there… maybe Shawn say “no” and then have the lie detector machine register it as a lie. That would have been a little more clever than the way they did it.

PSYCH is back and I couldn’t be happier. American grocers can expect to see pineapple sales increase again…

Rating: 8.5

Even when solving an international case, Shawn couldn’t keep his mind off Juliet. I thoroughly enjoyed that scene two-thirds in where Juliet was listening to Shawn and Gus talk about her over the com system. It was a rare touching moment that made Juliet finally remember that Shawn really does care for her.

Seriously, where do you find an ice cream shop open at 8:30am?

The quick chat at Declan’s house was both weird and exciting. Not only did the kiss look awkward, but it was also awkward afterwards when Declan and Gus came back in the room and Shawn and Juliet had to make like nothing had happened.

As a fan of PSYCH right from the start, I can unequivocally say I wanted to see Shawn and Juliet together at some point. The show had a lot of playfulness between the two for a while, but that ended when Shawn started dating Abigail Lytar (Rachael Leigh Cook).

I just wish the spy story would have been more compelling. It didn’t hold my attention nearly as much as the Shawn and Juliet plot. There were a few moments of intrigue thrown in, but I actually thought it was worse than most made-for-tv spy movies and that’s really saying something.

Also, I’d be curious to learn who the show’s technical advisor is. I laughed when the episode’s script actually referred to the super computer’s hard drives as putting out a lot of heat. Unless that computer was using dozens of hard drives, it wouldn’t put out very much heat. It’s the CPU that does works hard and puts out the heat, not the drives.

Without a doubt it was the Shawn and Juliet drama that had me on the edge of my seat. I’m a strong advocate of seeing these two become a couple, hopefully with a lot of playful flirting and not right into the boring relationship stuff.

Rating: 7.6