Monsters of Television

“I accidentally turned McNab and my dad into confidantes. It’s a weird day.”

“This is way easier than sawing my leg off and being scared of a puppet with a voice modifier.”

Previously. On Psych.

Declan is trying to escape using the most convenient aircraft to him. He tries to get Juliet to go with him but the Man in Puka Shells constantly thwarts him at every pass. You see, the Man in Puka Shells wants Declan to be on his side but then violates his trust and recruits Declan’s followers behind his back. Although, to be fair, Juliet’s heart has always belonged to the Man in Puka Shells. Declan never really stood a chance. So, confused about where his destiny lies, Declan tries to kill himself with dynamite found on a beached pirate ship. Wait, that last part might actually be from Lost.

Really, Psych? A previously on? Just who do you think you are?

Welcome to the post-hiatus or, as the kids like to call it, season 5.5. A lot of promise from the first half of the season is meant to carry over to this half, especially with stunt episodes (It’s a Wonderful LIfe coming up shortly) and the on-again, off-again storyline that has popped up more frequently in season 5, especially with the Declan arc.

Shabbat’s come early because it’s time for Shules.

Are we done groaning at that one? Moving on.

While Cary Elwes was awesome in this episode as the former art thief adversary now victim of framing (man I’m punny today) and the mystery itself was minorly appealing, the big story here was all about James Roday and Maggie Lawson living the dream and making their real-life romance part of their fictional chemistry.

Even if Shawn Spencer in love is sigh inducing. And not an “aww, how sweet” but more like “ugh, how saccharine.” The character has cultivated a protective facade of sarcasm and pop-culture references that is equally disarming and elitist, his tomfoolery making him acceptable in mixed company while also isolating himself (with Gus) away from the hordes that don’t know Ed Lover is still alive. But when he starts falling for a girl, his giant personality is reduced to soft, dulcet tones and the poutiest lips you’ve ever seen. To wit, his time with Abigail last season (4.0 and 4.5), though only shown a handful of times, demonstrated a more desperate Shawn that is different when he actually feels something for a woman, best demonstrated with Abigail left him (again) during the season finale. James Roday performs the romantic Shawn Spencer as being so vulnerable his voice doesn’t often raise above a whisper and the writers feel the word diarrhea that often leaks from his mouth should transform into romantic platitudes. But that’s not a bad thing.

I don’t make it no secret that I am a Huddy hater. The House and Cuddy relationship, though well set up over the years, somehow came off contrived when they got together and maintains an air of surrealism to me (since House is suddenly acting so different for this relationship). This is something they’ve had banked for a while and, now that it’s been executed, that signals to me that we are in the twilight of House. You can understand my fear when accounting for other consummated relationships in recent memory (Jim and Pam from The Office and Chuck and Sarah from Chuck) and the downward trajectories those shows have taken since they haven’t been able to replace the tension between the two characters. Major components of all these series have been shoddily substituted. While I think House is doing the better job of the three at continuing the tension between characters (this week was a breakthrough), allowing two important characters to find a way to be together sometimes gives me pause.

Nothing fancy. But it’s not like they haven’t done this before.

But Psych is different for a few reasons. First, unlike House, being in love is not antithetical to Shawn’s character. Sure, it brings out his schmaltzier side and makes me kind of want to sock him in his bee-stung lips but it’s not against type. And while The Office and Chuck invested heavily into their characters’ budding relationships and “carrot-on-a-stick” consummation, Psych has been far more casual about Shawn and Juliet. An important difference is Shawn constantly qualifying his pursuit of Juliet by saying he wants to tell her he “likes” her, to profess his “like” for her. And while the stakes aren’t as high for his lesser (arguably more realistic) interest in Jules, the kiss in front of strangers was no less satisfying (as is the rest of the episode dedicated to them trying to find a place to properly make out). Also important is the distance Shawn’s romantic life is from the plot of the show. Though Shawn has occasionally dated or slept with women involved in the plot, his romantic life is generally kept at arms length (again, see the Abigail Debacle) so a consummation of Shules doesn’t invite a vacuum of emotional tension. Instead, it can only invite more complication to their lives in Santa Barbara.

So I guess that means I’m on board?

Some other quick things:

• Psych is generally shot in Vancouver pretending to be Santa Barbara. I imagine when the setting is actual Vancouver, it’s a bit of a relief for location scouts who don’t have to worry about the city violating the audience’s perception of locale (like hiding Billy Talent posters — I’m looking at you, Life Unexpected).
• Cary Elwes needs to appear more often, especially now that they’ve killed Mary off. Take note, Chuck, because that’s how you do “stuntcasting.”
• I always forget how much I miss Psych and its consistency until it comes back. It’s a show I trust even if I don’t know where I’m being taken. It’s like Mad Men in that way as opposed to so many other shows (most of them I’ve mentioned in this post) where I either don’t like how things are going or don’t trust the show to be good week-to-week despite its high points. There’s probably a blog post in that somewhere.