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Welcome to Dayle Loves This, wherein I recommend books, TV, and movies (and maybe other things) that rocked my world.
When the pandemic drove us into our homes in 2020, one of the first shows I binge-watched wasPsych (2006–2014, plus three movies). I’d seen most of them, although I’d missed some of the earlier episodes when I was watching the show as it aired. (Remember doing that? How quaint.)
I watched Psych because I needed gentle and funny, cozy mysteries that kept me reasonably guessing, and an overall sense of the ridiculous. Plus I love the various relationships on the show.
The premise of Psych is that Shawn Spencer grew up with a police officer dad, who constantly drilled in him the need to pay attention to things—he’d quiz Shawn when they were in a diner, for example, asking him to close his eyes and then count all the hats in the room. Most episodes started with a flashback with Shawn, his father, and/or his best friend, Burton Guster (aka Gus).
In the present day, Shawn eschewed joining the police, and isn’t really holding down a job. He’s still best friends with Gus who, by comparison, is straight-laced and serious, wearing suits to his job as a pharmaceutical sales rep. Then Shawn discovers he can use his deductive abilities to convince people he’s psychic. At which point he promptly rents a storefront to start a new business, Psych, as a psychic detective, with Gus his somewhat unwilling partner.
Unsurprisingly, barely controlled mayhem ensues.
One of the things I love the most about the show is Shawn and Gus’s relationship. It’s the perfect example of a bromance. Shawn may tease Gus about being so serious (one of the running jokes is that every time he introduces Gus, he makes up a ridiculous name for him), Gus may be exasperated by Shawn’s antics. But in the end, they’ve always got each other’s backs.
Among the whimsical features is the pineapple. In the first episode, there’s a pineapple, and the actor playing Shawn ad libs a line about taking the pineapple with them. Thereafter, there’s a pineapple in every episode, and websites devoted to where it appears each time. The pattern on a shirt, slices in a fruit mix, a pineapple-shaped lamp…. (Ken and I still joke about finding the pineapple in other shows or in real life. Probably one a year I take a picture of one in the grocery store and text him.)
Then there are the regular recalls and jokes about the 1980s, whether it be guest stars (Ally Sheedy, Judd Nelson, etc.), episodes honoring the TV show Twin Peaks and the movie Clue, or Shawn’s devotion to the band Tears for Fears.
Now, the actual math of Shawn and Gus’s high school reunion having a 1980s theme doesn’t work. They would have graduated in mid-1990s, and not been so obsessed with the 1980s. But as a fan, I don’t care, and given the popularity of the show (eight seasons), other fans didn’t care either.
(It’s a good learning experience for me as a writer: You can get away with things like this if your project is solid and fans love it. I mean, look at James Bond movies—they stunts are completely unbelievable—but does anyone care? No.)
Warnings: The first few episodes aren’t quite in the same tone as later ones (Shawn is more of a womanizer early on, for example). The show finds its delightful groove fairly quickly, though. Also, the side character of police detective Carlton Lassiter makes a few jokes about wanting to go out and shoot criminals. In current times, this is cringy to the point of offensive. However, remember that the show started airing 16 years ago, and trust that jokes like those do fade away as the show goes on. It’s an unfortunate blip in an otherwise great show.
Dayle says if you need an escape from the current world, give Psych a try. She thinks you might love it, too.
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