This week’s case dealt with the death of a food critic. He appears to have been poisoned by someone. Gus, Shawn, and Uncle Burton learn all they can about the critic and realize there are a lot of people who would benefit from the food critic’s death. Despite having one of the easiest jobs at the newspaper, the critic was very harsh and critical of the food he ate and angered nearly every chef in the area. When Shawn notices a box of poisoned food in the critic’s refrigerator, the police arrest the chef of the restaurant, Chef Antonio.

The case takes quite a turn when Shawn catches a glimpse of the critic’s review of the food. He stated the risotto was served cold, something never done in a five-star restaurant. He also remembered the mushrooms were sliced in cubes, as opposed to strips, as Chef Antonio does. This means someone else prepared the meal and framed Chef Antonio.

After additional research at the newspaper’s office and a visit to a local mushroom grower, Shawn and Gus come to the conclusion that the murderer worked at the newspaper. The killer wanted the food critic job, but the job wouldn’t be available for a long time.

I loved seeing John Amos play Uncle Burton in this episode. Amos worked with Dule Hill on The West Wing several years ago. Being a fan of The West Wing, I am all for Hill bringing in other alumni. Uncle Burton wasn’t a particularly funny character but was an incredible encyclopedia of old detective shows. Watching Shawn and Gus switch jobs was fun, but the show wasn’t quite as funny as it usually is. That being said, I still thought the show was very good.

Psych – Meat is Murder, but Murder is Also Murder
Original Air Date: August 17, 2007

Rating: 7.9

Although Michael and Fiona are on their way to the beach, they decide to make a little detour. Michael is a little surprised when he learns Fiona is now working as a bounty hunter and is after Thomas McKee. Although Michael agrees to help apprehend McKee, he and Fiona find their situation complicated just a bit when another bounty hunter, Wayne Ray, is chasing McKee. Fiona and Michael manage to outwit the muscle-bound Wayne Ray and are able to apprehend McKee without anyone getting seriously injured.

Back at Fiona’s, Michael and Fiona discuss a new possible revenue avenue. Taking Thomas McKee in will get them $4,000, but Thomas is offering $8,000 to clear his name. Thomas is being accused of stealing a $2 million brooch. He doesn’t look guilty, so Michael and Fiona agree to look into it.

Elsewhere, Sam asks Barry, a money launderer we met last week, and asks him if he thinks a brooch like that is on the market. Doubtful, Barry says a brooch like that would never be on the market in its current size. It would be too recognizable. The only way to sell a hot piece like that would be to cut it up and sell it as smaller pieces. Barry knows of just one man who would likely handle a hot rock like this, and gives his name (Cristo) to Sam.

Not being the kind of guy to likes to make appointments, Michael breaks into Cristo’s home and asks him if he’s seen the 30 carat piece. After threatening to ruin Cristo’s reputation, Michael learns that a man approached Cristo a little while ago about selling the brooch. He didn’t get the man’s name, but did get a phone number. Pleased with this, Michael takes a diamond bracelet just to make sure Cristo remains honest.

Back home, Michael reads up on his dossier when Sam drops by. He tells Michael that he should pay a little more attention to Fiona; women don’t like to be second place to anything, even a big dossier. Sam then tells him that he was able to find the name of a guy who put together Michael’s dossier, Phillip Cowan. All he knows about the man is his name and that he works for the NSA. When Sam asks about the jewel case, Sam ends up getting a job checking out the phone number Michael was given by Cristo.

Over at Fiona’s, Michael asks her to get in contact with a few of her friends and see if they can help him contact Phillip Cowan. Fiona agrees to help him out by contacting a few Libyans.

Michael is surprised when Sam tells him the phone number he got from Cristo belongs to Lawrence Henderson. Henderson owns the hotel the brooch was stolen from. Could he actually have been responsible for stealing it? According to Sam, Henderson was cleared by the police, but has found out that one of Henderson’s businesses in New Orleans conveniently burned down and Henderson collected a nice bundle of insurance money.

When Michael briefs Thomas McKee about his suspicion of Lawrence Henderson, the meeting is cut short because Wayne Ray has been able to track them down. Wayne Ray lets himself in and fights with Michael, who is nearly choked to death, but Fiona saves his butt.

The plan for dealing with Lawrence is for Sam to be a middleman for Michael. They are hoping Lawrence will bring the brooch out into the open. For this to work, Sam will have to wear a suit, something he hates to do, especially because of the sweltering Miami heat.

The meeting between Lawrence and Sam goes just fine except for the fact that Sam had to turn down some very good scotch. Meanwhile, Michael meets with Anwar, a Libyan operative, in a parking garage. Michael asks for his help, but doesn’t ask for an answer. He asks Anwar to check into himself, just so he knows Michael is on the up and up.

The meeting Sam set up for Michael and Lawrence Henderson doesn’t go quite as well as they had planned. Lawrence wants to make the final deal at his place, but Michael doesn’t like to buy something this expensive without getting it authenticated.

While Sam and Fiona work on a way to convince Lawrence keeping the brooch at his place isn’t safe, Michael meets with the Libyans. Michael is whisked away in a car. In exchange for telling the Libyans who blew up one of their gasoline depot, Michael asks them to mention Phillip Cowan’s name while the Americans are listening to their conversations. Michael wants them to say Phillip is a friend of some kind. Anwar says he’ll think about the offer.

Afterwards, Michael, Sam, and Fiona work on compromising Lawrence’s security. They test a guard by bribing him. They also disable two security cameras and plant a few things in the yard to make it look like there is a security team watching the house.

The work the guys did in scaring Lawrence worked a little too well. It made him bring in Cristo, who seems to have went against his word to Michael after they beat him up. Michael is able to think on his feet and manages to get out of there in one piece.

Knowing Lawrence still has to move the brooch, Michael and Sam speak to Barry and they are able to learn Lawrence has a security box at Dade Trust. If the brooch is headed anywhere, it may be there.

Elsewhere, Michael meets with Anwar, who agrees to Michael’s offer. Michael hands over a piece of paper containing the name of those who blew up the Libyan’s gas depot. Anwar assures Michael that he’s currently working on holding up his end of the deal.

Down at Dade Trust, Sam, Michael and Fiona prepare for their ambush. Sam calls in a fake bank robbery just before Lawrence and his security team arrive. He also jams the bank security radios. When Lawrence arrives, Michael gives him a call and tells him to look up. When he does, Lawrence sees Sam pointing a rifle at him. Just as Lawrence and his security draw their guns to shoot Sam, the Miami police arrive and arrest the men. The $2 million brooch is found in Lawrence’s possession.

By the end of the episode, Michael receives a call from Phillip Cowan, the NSA agent. Agent Cowan isn’t very happy about the little stunt Michael pulled. The FBI are now watching Agent Cowan thanks to Michael. Michael butts in and tells him he’s got much more up his sleeve if he doesn’t tell him why he was burned. Agent Cowan promises to be in contact.

Wow, quite an episode this week. The jewel case was more exciting than the case in the previous episode. I thought the production crew did a very nice job in balancing screen time for each plot in the show. I felt this was a problem in the previous episode.

Michael and Fiona’s relationship status was brought up a number of times in “Wanted Man.” I found all of the relationship tests to be rather funny and enjoyable. The cast did an excellent job here.

The last bit I wanted to mention was Agent Phillip Cowan. Judging by the voiceover, he will be played by Richard Schiff, one of my favorite actors. He’s perhaps best known for his role on The West Wing, one of the best TV dramas ever. I’m really hopeful Agent Cowan will be a semi-recurring character.

Burn Notice – Wanted Man
Original Air Date: August 16, 2007

Rating: 7.8